INTRODUCTION
Apollo 11, US spaceflight during which commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Edwin (‘Buzz’) Aldrin Jr., on July 20, 1969, became the first people to land on the Moon and walk the lunar surface.
It was the culmination of the Apollo programme and a massive national commitment by the United States to beat the Soviet Union in putting people on the Moon.
THE PROMISE
"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."
President John F. Kennedy’s "We Choose the Moon" speech became a pivotal moment in the space program, rallying the nation behind a mission that was far from certain. Kennedy told the crowd at Rice University in Houston;
Take Off
TIME:
DATE:
LOCATION:
16-07-1969
9:32 am
Cape Kennedy
From the time of its launch on July 16, 1969, until the return splashdown on July 24, almost every major aspect of the flight of Apollo 11 was witnessed via television by hundreds of millions of people in nearly every part of the world.
The pulse of humanity rose with the giant Saturn V launch vehicle as it made its flawless flight from Cape Kennedy, Florida, before hundreds of thousands of spectators.
FIRST CONTACT
Aboard Apollo 11 were Armstrong, Aldrin and command module pilot Michael Collins. Their enthusiasm was evident from the beginning, as Armstrong explained...
“This Saturn gave us a beautiful ride...it was beautiful.”
Descent
By firing Eagle’s propulsion system, the astronauts changed to an elliptical course who closet approach to the Moon was only 15,000 metres. At this low point they again fired their engine, this time to undergo the powered descent initiation manoeuvre. At about 150 metres above the surface, Armstrong began manoeuvring the craft manually to avoid landing in a rock-strewn crater.
On the morning of July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin crawled from the command module through an interconnecting tunnel into the lunar module, Eagle. Toward the end of the 12th lunar orbit, the Apollo 11 spacecraft became two separate spacecraft: Columbia, piloted by Collins, and Eagle, occupied by Armstrong and Aldrin.
Touchdown
Armstrong then radioed at 4.17pm U.S. (EDT):
"THAT’S ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN, ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND."
In the excitement of the moment, Armstrong skipped the ‘a’ in the statement that he had prepared. He immediately described the surface as “fine and powdery” and said that there was no difficulty moving about. Aldrin joined his companion about 20 minutes later.
