Simon Wheaton is the man responsible for all the detailed images we have from NASA’s Apollo moon landings.
In the 1960s, he was given a scholarship to study for a Ph.D. but his sponsor asked him to work a few years, to learn from the ground up, at the largest chemical company in the U.K.
One of their products was a chemical substrate (physical film base) for 35mm and x-ray film. Simon explains, “I was working in Scotland at that time, and digital cameras were not even in our imagination. Substrate is about the thickness of a modern plastic shopping bag, but must be incredibly strong to withstand the photo-reactive chemicals applied to it, which were known to cause distortion when magnified. It was possible that when an image was ‘blown up,’ something you see may not have actually been there but was a distortion on the substrate.”
Two gentlemen from NASA approached his boss with requirements for a new substrate that would do—and not do—certain things. “I had two days and a production line. They did not say, so I didn’t know until much later, that the ‘project’ was Apollo. No one had been to the moon yet, so it wasn’t like Mars landings where we are all anticipating it and it’s in our collective conscious.”
A true Englishman, he sought no accolades or credit, and doesn’t boast about the film, or the many awards in engineering, plastics, and chemistry he has received since. He says, “I received many projects like that. When I asked why they choose me, the newest and youngest, they said, ‘Because we didn’t know if it could be done,’ but I took it in stride. Kodak and DuPont had declined to try, but I knew what should make it work. It was a relatively small amount of product and the NASA men left with it under their arm.”
As an engineer, he has an appreciation for the photo technology we have today, and smiles to think of the valve-tube-transistor evolution he was part of in his career. “My first circuit was about as big as the tip of my little finger. It’s amazing how things have reduced in size, but the Hasselblad camera on the front of Buzz’s suit—the same camera Neil was using—had a 2-1/2-inch negative, and that is the reason you can even see the wrinkles in the gold foil of the lunar lander in the reflection of his helmet.”
STILL INNOVATING
Simon’s career has been much more diverse and fascinating than we can share in this space, but he is still up at 5:30am every day, answering emails from clients around the world for his company, CypherCo Limited. Since 1989, he has produced everything from beer keg handlers to chemical safety equipment. “When you understand the pathology of some chemicals, you know that rubber gloves are often not enough.”
As a naturalized citizen and Georgetown resident, he loves the variety of America, and the business sense of Texas, and has no plans to retire. He does admit he may, perhaps, slow down a bit to enjoy more time on his boat.
If you are fortunate enough to meet Simon in person, ask him about Uncle Harry and the beknighted boat owner.