Rusty Schweickart, Houston astronaut parade, August 1969. Footage of NASA astronaut Russell Louis 'Rusty' Schweickart (born 1935) and his family being driven by car at the Houston astronaut parade of 16 August 1969 in Houston, Texas, USA. Schweickart was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1963. At the time of this footage, he had flown the Apollo 9 mission (March 1969), his first and last mission. With him in the car are his wife Nancy and their children Vicki, Randolph, Russell, Elin and Diana. This parade was held to honour the Apollo 11 astronauts, but also featured other NASA astronauts. The Apollo 11 crew had achieved the first landing by humans on the Moon on 20 July 1969. Houston is the home of NASA's mission control, the Manned Spacecraft Centre (MSC), and this was among the first parades held in their honour. It featured numerous marching groups, with around 300, 000 people lining the streets. A ticker tape parade was held along the downtown Houston section of the route. |