Before the Moon Blog
Exploring the past, present, and future of space.
Category: Bucks County
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In the early 1950s, inside a restricted Cold War research facility in Warminster, Pennsylvania, a young biophysicist began work that would quietly reshape aviation safety and aerospace medicine. Her name was Alice Stoll. She did not arrive as a test subject, a novelty, or a symbol. She arrived as a scientist, recruited for her expertise…
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Before Silicon Valley became synonymous with American innovation, there was a different kind of creative energy radiating from a quiet base in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Inside its hangars and labs, engineers, scientists, and technicians were redefining the limits of aviation, communication, and computing. One of them was Doug Crompton—a radio engineer, inventor, and ham radio enthusiast…
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When Blue Origin revealed the six person crew of its upcoming New Shepard NS 37 mission, one name immediately stood out for those of us who have been documenting the rise of commercial spaceflight: Jason Stansell. A computer scientist from West Texas, a lifelong space enthusiast, and now a private astronaut preparing to fly above…
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What If the Most Important Computer in Space History Needed Philly to Get to the Moon? When people think of Apollo, they picture Saturn V rockets, astronauts in white suits, and Houston’s legendary Mission Control. But behind every lunar landing was a computer so advanced—and so small for its time—that it practically invented modern digital…
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In the quiet heart of Warminster, Pennsylvania, beneath the shadow of shopping centers and suburban streets, lies a history that once helped power the Space Race. Eleanor O’Rangers, President of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Cold War Historical Society, has dedicated her career to uncovering it. “Most people think of Bucks County as the birthplace of America,”…
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When you walk through the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, you’re not just looking at objects, you’re peering into the DNA of American invention. That’s where Clint Flack works as an Exhibit Specialist and Curator, installing exhibits, researching local history, and safeguarding the stories of Bucks County’s innovators. His perspective reveals how a quiet farming county…
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When State Representative Brian Munroe talks about Warminster, it’s not just as a legislator – it’s as someone who feels deeply connected to the community’s past, present, and future. Representing Pennsylvania’s 144th District, which includes Warminster, Warrington, Ivyland, and parts of New Britain Township, Munroe has seen firsthand how small towns can leave an outsized…