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'If they can do it, why can’t I?' Inspired by Apollo 11, Greeley man was finalist for Teacher in Space project

Robert Stack was inspired to want to go into space after witnessing the Apollo 11 launch.

GREELEY, Colo. — The legacy of the Apollo 11 resonates far beyond scientific discovery. From the launch to the first steps on the moon, the mission inspired people all over the world to ask the same question: what’s it like to go to space? 

"A feeling of exuberance. Of excitement. Knowing something is going to happen that has never happened in the history of this planet," said Robert Stack, a retired teacher and Air Force Colonel. "A little voice in my head said, 'if they can do it, why can’t I?'"

As he watched the Apollo 11 launch from the hood of his car parked with a front row view of the launch pad in Florida, the event would set off a lifelong love for space. 

"When you first get to the Cape, you see thousands of cars parked outside the boundary. As far north as you can look and as far south as you can look," Stack said. "We got a front seat parking spot. I tried to sleep on the hood of the car using the windshield as a pillow. It was like all the spotlights in the world were on that spacecraft. You watched it all night long."

Nearly two decades after the first steps were taken on the moon, Stack got closer to space than most ever will. 

Out of the 80,000 teachers from across the nation who applied for a chance to ride on the Challenger shuttle, Stack was one of 10 finalists. He wouldn’t be here today if he had been chosen. 

"I came close, and that was with Challenger," Stack said. "Would I still go? In a space second."

There is one group of people who Stack says gets lost in all the coverage of the anniversary of the moon landing: all the people who worked behind the scenes. That’s everyone who sewed the space suits by hand, packed the parachutes, and built the space craft. He wanted to make sure they get their fair share of recognition 50 years later.  

To this day, the retired Colonel carries around a coin made forged from the metal of the Apollo launchpad. It's a gift he’ll one day give to his grandchildren with the hope it will inspire another generation of space exploration. 

"This little silver coin is a piece of that space history," Stack said. "That was an incredible moment for the entire planet."

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