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NEW YORK – At a live recording of the StarTalk podcast at the New York Comic-Con yesterday (October 5), Neil deGrasse Tyson read a moving letter to NASA on the occasion of its sixtieth joint anniversary, describing what it was like to watch the agency become more inclusive over the decades.
Tyson's birthday is today (October 6) and NASA officially opened on October 1, 1958, just days before it was born. But he had a stormy relationship with the agency in his (and her) first years, as she seemed so separate from the civil rights movement and struggled for the equality that lived in her Bronx community. Look at his passionate reading of the letter in the video above – he first posted the letter on Facebook on October 2nd.
"I was three years old when John Glenn orbited for the first time on Earth," begins Tyson. "I was seven years old when you lost astronauts Grissom, Chaffee and White in the tragic fire of their Apollo 1 capsule on the launch pad.I was ten years old when you landed on Armstrong. and Aldrin on the Moon.And I was fourteen when you stopped going to All this time, I was excited for you and for America.But the vicarious thrill. of travel, so prevalent in the hearts and minds of others, was absent from my emotions. "
"I was obviously too young to be an astronaut," he adds. "But I also knew that my skin color was way too dark for you to see me as part of this epic adventure."
NASA has struggled to include minorities, says Tyson, and unlike his peers, he was inspired to become an astrophysicist "despite [the agency’s] achievements rather than because of them. "
As he continues, Tyson becomes more emotional while he describes the agency's long history and vital role in inspiring future scientists and engineers nationwide. In the end, he wishes the best to his "birthday buddy".
Tyson hosts the radio show "StarTalk" (and now in podcast) since 2009, where he brings scientists and personalities from pop culture to talk about space and science. In 2015, he began to host a television series "StarTalk" on National Geographic, which has had four seasons so far.
Email Sarah Lewin at [email protected] or follow her. @SarahExplains. follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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