In the space race of the 1950s and ’60s, the leading voices were rocket scientist Wernher von Braun and … another guy.

Household names included Neil Armstrong, Alan Shepard and … oh, you know, the fellow who pushed the idea of a separate crew capsule and lunar lander.

More than a dozen Pilot journalists helped create a presentation on the docking of the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower.
On Sunday, see The Virginian-Pilot to learn what it takes to dock a warship the size of a skyscraper, and come back to PilotOnline.com to follow the Eisenhower’s docking as if you were on board.
Here’s a preview:

CLICK ON THE INTERACTIVE ABOVE TO WATCH VIDEOS AND LEARN MORE.
 
ABOARD THE EISENHOWER
After a journey of 56,000 miles, hundreds of combat flights and five months away from loved ones, the crew of the Dwight D. Eisenhower is within sight of home.

VIRGINIA BEACH
E.E. Brickell integrated Virginia Beach schools in 1969, but he figured the first two generations of students would suffer.
Black students had to catch up to their white peers after decades of second hand books and second-class schools, Brickell said. "I thought it would take over twenty years," he said. "I was hopeful, but I was wrong."

VIRGINIA BEACH Soldiers holding machine guns stood on street corners. Plywood covered more than 100 shattered storefronts, shards of glass sparkling on the sidewalk. It looked like a hurricane had struck a 10 -block stretch of Atlantic Avenue. In a way, it had.

VIRGINIA BEACH
On the surface, this city looks like an American melting pot.
It ranks among the most integrated in the nation, with blacks, whites, Asians and a growing Hispanic population living side by side.
Virginia Beach schools have been integrated for 40 years and the city's work force matches the diversity of its population.

Aug. 19, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille's assault on central Virginia, in which nearly 150 people died. This series was first published in The Virginian-Pilot 10 years ago to mark the 30th anniversary. By Earl Swift The drought has gone on for two summers now.

Aug. 19, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille assault on central Virginia, in which nearly 150 people died. This series was first published in The Virginian-Pilot 10 years ago to mark the 30th anniversary. By Earl Swift

Aug. 19, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille assault on central Virginia, in which nearly 150 people died. This series was first published in The Virginian-Pilot 10 years ago to mark the 30th anniversary. By Earl Swift

Aug. 19, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of Hurricane Camille assault on central Virginia, in which nearly 150 people died. This series was first published in The Virginian-Pilot 10 years ago to mark the 30th anniversary. By Earl Swift At daybreak the rain had slowed to a drizzle. Tommy Huffman and his brother Russell stepped outside to a world changed.