i can remember that. a few years later, i'm in germany with the first group of astronauts. little did i realize that once i got acted to m.i.t. for graduate degree -- i fell in love with airplanes at the naval academy. i became a fighter pilot in the air force. they sent me back to m.i.t.. m.i.t. have the contract to build the navigation system in the instrumentation lab. i did my master's thesis on that system. i got to meet a number of the astronauts who were coming up to monitor the development of the system. they were so pumped up, so enthusiastic, so excited. i decided that maybe i could do that. they told me to go to test pilot school. i got selected after i volunteered. it was a year out there. then we left for houston. i got selected.

it was a stepping stone. i never -- only after m.i.t. can i say i really wanted to be a national not. up until that time, it was maybe out there. >> other questions? moon walker? i have one more. we have a guy right here. >> high, charles. just a question on your take on the potential benefits that humankind can get out of exploring the moon? where do we stand with our progress? are we still in the analysis phase? >> to good questions. i think a lot of the benefit and space is twofold from the moon flights. apollo was the basic science that we generated through six

different experiment packages. we left of the orbital experiments that we did. the other was the technological benefits that were done to make apollo possible and the space program. i had just gotten back from the hundredth anniversary of the department of the m.i.t. they said apollo generated 88 times the return on our investment. that is a good deal. >> and investment -- an investment manager would like this kind of stats. >> there are a few technologies that will have to be developed to take us to mars, where we can not only explore mars but stay and have a reliable system that works. i would like to see is go back to the moon.

i think there are some things we could do on the moon scientifically. jack schmidt on apollo 17 is dying to get back and start mining helium three, a fusion will feel that leaves no radioactive decay, as i understand it. there is a lot of it up there. there is not so much down here. there are other things that can be generated. i think the moon would be a great place for to have a scientific base, like in antarctica. we can live and do the same on the moon. that would reap a lot of benefits if we could do that. to be honest, right now i don't see a real strong program to get out of earth's orbit. there is a -- we mentioned about

the russians going to fly circum-lunar. the only spacecraft that we developed that i know of is the orion. the first light is supposed to be unmanned, coming up later this year. there is a new rocket that is 110 tons capable. some people like it, some people don't. finally, the commercial side of it is paying big dividends. to me, and i'm glad to see it's happening, it's what's -- it is what nasa has always done. normally we would give them a design and say you build this thing. how much that going to cost us? they got a lot of skin in the game.

those guys that spacex and the others. to make it possible, it's going to be government monday that will make it possible. it is an economic model. they get that from both them, spacex and boeing have signed contracts to supply the space station over the next two years. it's picking up again. i think we are getting some interests. if there's successful with their vehicles, it will be real need. >> i will have to wrap it. first of all, we will clap at the end for charlie and everybody. i want to thank everybody who has come out today to this great event for the ham radio contest frank bauer, presenters, what

cunningham, brian binney, gregg olson, billing goals, charlie duke -- bill ingalls, charlie duke. i want to thank the cochairs. it would not have happened without that. i'm sure this a lot of other people i could thank. brian henson came all the way from texas. that is pretty cool. becky nichols, the wife of alan nichols is back there. alan is on a trip. he could not be here. becky is always here. she is always here. thank you very much. the explorers club is a cool place. come see us. we do sea ocean, primates, all that stuff. thank you very much. [applause]

>> more from the explorers club in new york city. this is about 50 minutes. [applause] >> good afternoon. bill ingalls has been a professional photographer for over 27 years and has heard as the senior contract survivor -- photographer or nasa since 1989. he has traveled the world. assignments have taken him from the kennedy space center to the inside of an active volcano in alaska, oval office, inside of a dca, -- dc8.

his photographs have appeared in national geographic, newsweek time, the washington post, fortune, people, the los angeles times. bill is recognized amongst his peers for capturing some of our countries historic moments including the first launch of a u.s. citizen on a rush and rocket jfk junior's life is it to the white house, and the burial at sea of neil armstrong. he is only the second photographer ever to receive the prestigious national space club press award. the award was first given to edward armour murrow. it is my pleasure to introduce him to you this afternoon. ladies and gentlemen, mr. bill ingalls. [applause]

>> no break? good lord. thank you. i want to thank stacy and the explorers club. this is an honor for me to be here today. i just don't feel like i am worthy of it, but happy to show slides. i am not comfortable being on camera. i apologize to those on c-span. i am real sorry. the rest of you here -- i was not sure how to put this together. i was usher who the audience would be, and what to focus on pardon the pun. it is a portfolio of sorts. way too many pictures. feel free to get up and leave, tweet, and check your e-mail. that's me. i'm in charge. i don't do this often, as you can tell.

this is my predecessor. he was the first senior photographer for nasa. you will note the pall mall cigarettes in the right hand, the leica camera, the sunglasses on, whiskey drinking cussing hell of a photographer. i am doing every thing again to live up to his standards. he was with the crew from the beginning of the apollo project. he went through all their training together. he did all of their around the world victory marches. i was fortunate enough to get to know him, spend a few years with him before he passed on. this is some of his work. he set the bar pretty high. this is the apollo 11 crew. i came onto nasa as an intern in television. i was a writer and a producer and spent the summer and nasa headquarters and i also did freelance photography. i went on to teach television at

the university of pittsburgh. i called nasa every day and begged for a job. i think they got so sick of me calling that they gave me an office pit we will hear less from him. my busted me the option. he said that this position that bill had had had gone away and there were other agency photographers who had started to pick up at the very centers. i could either revitalize that or work and be a photo researcher in their office. both are great jobs. i definitely wanted to try to revitalize this position is best i could. i still have his original cameras in my office. they all have stories. we don't have all day. i will keep marching on. this is at the kennedy space center, which is also a wildlife refuge. there are quiet a bit of wildlife there.

i also spent a lot of time in washington, where there is loud -- wildlife as well. this is kennedy space center and some of my shuttle related work that i've done there. this is on the transporter with the space shuttle on its last final role to the launchpad. these are workers and their families invited to the along the entire route to say goodbye to the shuttle program. again, i take my job -- i am silly. i have a lot of fun. i work hard. i take it very seriously. i am no -- i know i have been given a privileged position to be on this, to be the eyes and ears for others that cannot be there. i take it very seriously. this is on that crawler transporter. this is charlie bolden shaking hands with workers as were writing the transporter out to the pad. of course, the shuttle lift up

at night. i had to get a lightning shot in their, too. you will see a common theme throughout my images. if there is a puddle, i would use it. here is the first one. i will sit there. i have a lot of pictures. i am happy to answer questions about them at the end. this is writing out on the helicopter with a sniper. the security is very serious. both here and in russia. this is in the lobby of the launch control center before going up to the firing room for one of the launches. the mural that they have there. this is inside the firing room. i used to joke that i never saw a single launch. i always watched people watching logically that is nasa

administrator charlie bolden. this is one shot with myself in the frame. i used a remote. his office juts into the firing room. these are remote camera set up around the launchpad. you don't want to be this close during the launch. the closest that you can get is three miles during a shuttle launch. three quarters of a mile for so use launch. -- soy isuz launch. landing of scs 135. charlie bolden on the left and the center director on the right. that is the main landing gear on

the tar mark of the shuttle landing facility for sts 135. chris ferguson, feeling if there is he coming off the front of the shuttle after we landed. a unique view underneath the shuttle looking towards the front nose. this is the final role from the landing facility to the opf. then i had a responsibility to work with others and help document all the shuttles going to their final homes. this is discovery at dulles airport in virginia.

pouddle number two. puddle number three. this is where the enterprise was being pulled out and discovery it was being rolled and as they pass each other. enterprise being loaded up to come to new york. this is that dulles airport as well. look for it. this is coming into jfk. some days or weeks later, out on a boat in the hudson. the enterprises being brought up to the intrepid. -- the enterprise is being brought up to the intrepid.

that is something you see every day. back down to florida. this is for endeavor's departure off to los angeles. i enjoy doing all of these tremendously. it is bittersweet, obviously the into the shuttle program. as a photographer, this is one of the really rewarding experiences that i have had where we are able to see the public and the orbiters and what we do so close together in one place. going to the streets of los angeles with endeavor was incredible. it's too bad we cannot do it every day. this is from the goodyear blimp. as endeavor went by the randy's donuts. i just like saying that i was in the goodyear that is fun. throughout the entire route

just this outpouring of love and excitement. people holding their breath. they had to his exact to the streets and avoid buildings and take out a few trees along the way. they try their best not to do that. time warner let people get up in their boxes and photograph it as it went by. i was told that in inglewood when we went through there, they had zero crime that day. zero. that is los angeles.

and, a lot of people ask me if when i first came to nasa i was a big fan of space, nasa, and so forth. i have be honest and say i was a fan of nasa. i was not obsessed with it. it was not my goal. photography was my first love. i was extremely lucky to have such great subject matter. the two go together so well. maybe i've had the kool-aid now for 25 years, but if there's anything about what i have learned over the years from being at nasa and making pictures for nasa is summed up in this picture and many of the pictures like it. regardless of what we discover in space, regardless of where we end up, the act of getting there, discovery, the whole process -- to see kids get excited about it and start seeing them light up and think about math and science is worth every single penny.

sometimes i get bored. this is the administrator checking out an atlas five rocket. this is juno spacecraft on its way to jupiter. again, remotes. these are a bunch of unmanned missions good this is out of the annenberg air force base with the beautiful pacific behind it. -- vandenberg air force base with the beautiful specific pacific behind it. the lawyer on the right followed me everywhere and watched everything i shot. [laughter] robert bigelow, another entrepreneur with inflatable habitats. i think of this is the jiffy pop that we are going to fly into space. these are his inflatable space

stations. this is an orbital down at nasa. we had a rollout that happened yesterday. these are not those. these are various other rollouts taking place. this is the newest launchpad for me to be working on. it is a lot of fun when you go set up remotes, to be there to discover new images. it starts to get repetitive after a while. i have done how many soyuz launches. you want to try to tell the story in a unique and challenging way. that can be difficult when it's repetitive. it is very exciting to have different opportunities. this is out on a boat in the ocean getting some shots around

sunrise. a remote set up. i was so happy they put that sign there. i started dipping my 10 oh into infrared. this is false color infrared remote camera shot. i'm still working on that a little bit and will make it better next time. -- i started dipping my toe into infrared. i went to retrieve this remote and was happy. i was fortunate enough to go over to japan for the launch of the gpm spacecraft. i had never been to japan before.

i always wanted to go. i had an incredible expense there. i really enjoyed it. not unlike our visitor center. it's interesting to see what similar and different. just driving around you see space related themes everywhere. h2 a rocket. it is a beautiful rocket. it was gorgeous. there were servers out there earlier. i was upset that i missed that shot. it's the shop gets away. you circle in one eye and set a goal, and once the goal is reached, you circle in the other eye. this was used for the building of the rocket and the goal was the successful launch and putting it into orbit. i guess these are getting

cropped a little bit. it is what it is, i guess. i was surprised. i did not realize -- certainly in russia, there are a lot of traditions. i did not realize that in japan they have traditions as well leading up to launch. they visited three different shines before -- reince before lunch. they leave two bottles of sake. they do some prayers. we moved on to the next one. my interpreter who was with me was -- my friend olga from moscow is here. she's going to kill me for calling her out. my interpreter, who is very dry and straight about everything as me if i knew much about the religion. she said, there's over 8 million deities. we are visiting three shines in leading prayers. she said, you know what's

interesting is that they all like sake. [laughter] one of the challenges i have is that i'm not allowed to photograph a lot of things that will show our systems and design. that is a challenge i am always overcoming. you will show people in the workplace doing a lot of work. i shoot minimal depth of field cutting people together see you don't see monitors. i don't set them up, but i'm always looking for this when i'm shooting to make sure i'm not -- i'm respecting those bounds. the rocket launch in japan. we had to wear hardhats. we are three miles away. [laughter] i have a love affair with a moon. this was the full moon -- super moon at the lincoln memorial. >> guys, the photo before that

is one of the photographs we will auction off. >> ok. this is the last super moon as well. i do a lot of hearings in washington. i actually enjoy doing those. i have a front row seat between whoever is testifying in congress and typically every emotion is covered in 30 minutes. i start with smiles and they go downhill from there. it is great. i notice i have let the smiles out of this one. this is our current administrator, charlie bolden. he is a wonderful man. four-time astronaut. this guy, john glenn, by far one of the best people i have ever met in my career, just amazing.

>> [indiscernible] >> what i always still people is that he will walk in a room, could be me, custodial staff president united states. as for as he is concerned, we are all the same. if just a sweetheart, really nice guy. and of course, neil armstrong. an amazing human being. sorry, i am dragging on here. i will try to speed up. this is that jpl. this is the day we are about to land on mars. this is the moment in the control room where we got the signal back that we have landed successfully. i did one of these pictures during the mars pathfinder landing. there was a gentleman that had

been at nasa for a decade and he was part of the mars viking program. he was rejoicing. i saw him with a very stern look on his face. i said, what's the matter? aren't you happy? is there a problem? did we not get a good signal question mark -- good signal? he said, back in my day men were not having like this. -- hugging like this. [laughter] she made a visitor nasa a few years ago. this is the president's science advisor being interviewed by a student reporter. we do quiet a bit. this is the president making a call to the international space station. this is elon musk, puddle

number four. kennedy space center. and trying to keep secret service out of your frame is not always easy. and in the oval office as well. this is the last time i photographed these gentlemen with the president in the oval office before neil passed away. i had the incredible honor the family permitted me to be the only photographer at the funeral for neil. that was a personal family funeral. i went on to cover the washington, d.c. funeral as well. i went on a navy ship out into the atlantic for his aerial at sea. this is his granddaughter preparing her remarks. his wife and granddaughter. i had no idea this was happening.

these things are planned, but these things just don't happen. this was the second full moon the night of his funeral in cincinnati. back in washington at the national cathedral. and this is in jacksonville, florida, waiting for the remains to come off the plane. and, out of seat. the navy put down their cameras and let me be the only photographer to shoot this. i'm not sure why, but -- my first trip to moscow was in 1991, when we first started

discussions together to partner up. i think i have made about 70 trips to moscow, and 56 earned so to kazakhstan. my first launch is a 1995 at of kazakh's stand. the rocket is in three cases when we arrive. the capsule area. they just start to slap that thing together. it is pretty amazing to watch, actually. it takes about 12 hours for this to go on. there was one time when it was almost all the way together, my escort was saying it's time to go. i said i wanted to see it all together. i was making pictures. he was asking me to go. i said the light is not right. he said, have you seen this movie, kill bill.

[laughter] were done. move on. this is the business in. rollout like clockwork 7:00 a.m. that is the same launchpad that eureka garamond launched off of. -- yuri garg aaron -- the darren . when my friends. -- one of my friends. this is a rock at a door and of saatchi. -- sochi.

that is a 32nd exposure. it is not that fast. -- that is a 30 second exposure. if you were to ask me what is missing and what i need to do more of in the future, this is it right here. after you have done is forever the hardware is cool, but it's the people. that's definitely what i'm looking forward to doing more and more of, people that i love. the priest comes down to bless the rocket. he comes over and blesses the media as well. i think he has a special target on me specifically.

there is the crew in the background in quarantine waiting for a no go or go for launch. they put on the flights is behind the glass. this is one of the things that i have been wanting to get for a long time was the crew getting their haircuts, just to show -- they are normal human beings that do things that we all need to do. finally, after years of trying to get into do this, they got me into do it. i was asking my colleagues and they -- what should i expect. they said, it depends. i said, what does it depend upon ? they said, it depends on how short the skirt is today.

[laughter] the crew is in the back room saying goodbye. they are signing the door. lots of traditions. the priest ready to bless the crew as they come out. pressure suit check out -- up and saying goodbye to the family. steve swanson. this is that the base of the pad. this is a 14 millimeter lens which exaggerates things. it is a small rocket. one of the things i have yet to capture his when the crew gets up to the stairs, they path them on the back and then there's a

guy takes his knee and jams it into their butt, saying get out of here. this is the other launchpad. this is the other time that i -- this of the only time i photographed the other launchpad into zack and stand. this is from pad one. this is a two minute exposure in the middle of daylight. staged in kazakhstan -- we had often he looked cracked -- helicopters. there is a media healer craft -- helicopter. we circled the area where the capsule is supposed to land.

once we see that we are a -- at a point, we open up the door of the helicopter. i am hanging out. another guy lays down next to me. two guys lay down on top of his who are shooting. two guys sit on the four of us. there's two guys leaning on the shoulders. there are eight guys doing this thing. there are only six of us these days. we open the door. the first time this happened, max, a good friend of mine was on top of me. you can't hear anything. the wind is blowing. it is cold. your craning your neck to look around to see if you can find why you're shooting. you're waiting to see if we could see it. max says, bill. i love you. i said dude, not the time. not the time. [laughter] this is staging.

this is the flotilla, 12 helicopters. this is the runway, which is no longer in use, but we use it for our landings. some of the locals come and pick us up and take us into town for a few hours of rest before the next morning. we at -- eat at the restaurant. you stay at the hotel. i found some breakfast, which is always good. when the doctor eats it, i know it's ok. he is the flight surgeon. here we are hanging out at the helicopter and seeing it come down with three people who have been in six months. it is pretty incredible. these pilots are good.

this is shot with a 300 millimeter lens. we are right on it. you can see the ground crew chasing after it is well in atvs and jeeps. a lot of farmers fields out in that neck of woods. this is a shop that i had been trying to get for ages, to see the retro jets firing. this is shot at 11 frames per second. that is how quick it happens. i have had a lot of folks and come to me after they get out of the capsule and ask me if they really fired. this is during early morning landing, with all the support vehicles with their headlights on.

crew of three inside. this ran on the front page of the new york times. a different landing. this is nice to see the scenery out there. one thing that is a good question to ask katie and others is something i haven't heard talked about yet. i remember ken talking about this. when they open the hatch, the was no one there. it took a while for the support crew to get there. he talks about the first thing was the smell of dirt and earth and inhaling that and loving that smell after being in space. there is cakey. -- katie. this is a print that is available as well today.

all of these images are in the public domain. all of these images can be downloaded from the nasa website to be used. the crew is being brought out of the capsule. they are carried over to a chair. a little thumbs up. smelling the smells. some of our rush and friends. this ran on the cover of aviation week a couple of weeks ago. then there is a lot of work it takes a place on the capsule to get it out of there. ron gearan in the helicopter. mike blown away by gravity. he gives the wrong his hat up in the air. how cool is this.

a lot of the crew, some of them feel up to walking and want to do it. others don't. there is almost always support personnel who insist upon helping them anyway. the whelping -- welcoming party at kazakhstan at the airport. they are given much of the dolls -- these dolls after landing. thank you for your patience. [applause] how are we doing? we ran long, didn't we? >> we have a lot of time. before you guys have questions. bill, have you ever had a picture you took an nasa said you cannot use that one?

>> no, i have to admit that i'm pretty fortunate. i also know what nasa is not going to like. i have had my share of mistakes over the years. one is a funny story. i had made a picture in the firing room of everyone on headsets and in their working. we ended up scrubbing for the day. we launched a day or two later. i came back in the firing room for the reattempt and one of the gentlemen there sent, we just got a strange: the firing room. he said a radio station in all essentials called us live on the air and said we have the firing room? they said that they zoomed in on a photograph that had the phone on it. luckily, everyone thought it was hilarious.

i was concerned about it. >> obviously being around all these guys and taking all of these pictures of these rockets taking off, and you want to go into space? are you going to buy a ticket on verging galactic? you must make a lot of money is a photographer, right? >> that punchline was pretty good. no, i would love to go up. i think it would be great. i am always thinking about what i would do it there that might be different. a lot has been done. tom has done a lot of the shots that i had on my list. i think the only thing left is a series of nudes. >> not nudes of you? >> i once interviewed bill anders, who took the the very

famous photo. i was like to ask people what they were thinking at the time they did a great thing. for bill, it was earthrise. he said you wanted know what i'm thinking. i'm thinking i am off mission. i'm supposed to be taking photos of the dark side of the moon as we go around because apollo was the first time anybody had gone around the moon and instead of taking photos of the potential lunar landing sites for apollo 11. here i am taking pitchers of the earth. i'm wasting film. what i really thought was that i was going to get a lot of trouble for taking these pictures. they were so beautiful. he cannot help himself. bill got the right one. it's being in the right place at the right time? >> absolutely. that is half the game, just rang to plan ahead and think about where you need to be and hope it happens. >> give me an example of one

where you were in the right place at the right time. >> all right, well, you caught me off guard. absolutely. it's not so much nasa related when jfk's last visited the white house. tom hanks was having his premier. it was being premiered in the east room with president clinton , and jfk junior was there with his wife, he killed off for a moment and i saw him approach the famous portrait of his father with the arms folded. i never made a couple of frames of that. i cannot pass on it. i just happened to be hanging out at the right time in the right place. anyway, the white house photographer came and joined the great i backed off. i felt it did not have a whole lot to do with what i was doing here. when he passed away, the white

house put together a photo welcome to present to the family , and they use my photo of that. it's just one of those happenstance things. >> i'm going to open it up now for questions. let's start here in the front row. can someone give him a microphone? >> thank you. it's very clear that there is a strong connection between you and your work. there is a lot of love there. it's clear that there is a lot of love that you put into your work. the images speak for themselves. being a young person, i'm really curious to know -- there is obviously a lot of tenacity that is tied with that love. is that some you have always had? and if you could talk about one or two key moments when you are in your 20's and beginning to move towards nasa?

lakeshore. -- >> sure. photography has always been my passion, more than nasa, but now nasa's in my blood, too. i feel very fortunate that that has not gone away. anytime i go out on a photo assignment, especially to places where had i have been again and again. i love that challenged to find something new, try to find a new picture, and yet of the story in an understandable way, because you could just go crazy and take pictures that don't make sense. you have to tell the story as well. for me it's that passion that has never gone away. that's not entirely true good i have had my moments where i have gone home from work and not wanted to pick up a camera. the first time that happened to me, it scared me. am i losing it.

then it comes back. that's the one thing from my experience. i don't freak out when that happens. it still happens. i know just to stick with it and it will come back. it does. i love looking at the work of others. i should mention that my colleagues -- if you have not seen his pictures, very creative, very good. it's nice seeing some fresh eyes. it helps to inspire me as well. being around others who love what i do as well as part of it. did that answer your question? >> yes. this fellow here. >> equipment question. what kind of camera, lens, handhold, tripod? >> yes to all of the above.

i shoot nikon stuff day in and day out to all the remote cameras are cannons with nikon lenses. we have the whole shooting match. i shoot some films still, just for personal satisfaction, but not a lot. i was a hold out for a long time. i did not go to digital until i had to. now, i am in full hawk -- hog. i had a scanner, hairdryer, fish tank heater clips -- the whole thing. i remember the hotel in moscow. i'm standing there with a roll of film and a smock wit