Apollo 11: 40 Years Ago This July 16

Above, the offical patch design for the Apollo 11 moon mission.

July 16 will mark the fortieth anniversary of one of man’s greatest achievements: the Apollo 11 moon landing.

Those who were alive then will never forget "Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed" and "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."*

Above, the Apollo 11 astronauts: Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, Columbia (command module) pilot Michael Collins and Eagle pilot (lunar module) Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

It was on July 16, 1969 that a Saturn V rocket was launched at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon. This mission fulfilled President Kennedy’s goal of “landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.”

Above, Apollo 11 is launched atop a Saturn V launch vehicle.

It was a good year to be fifteen years old, as I was at the time. I was always a big fan of the U.S. Space Program (it is the only worthwhile government program we have, in my opinion). It was a month before the Woodstock rock festival. The launch date was on my grandmother’s 69th birthday.

Above, former President and Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson are joined by Vice President Spiro Agnew at the launch.

The command module was called "Columbia" and the lunar module was named "Eagle." Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon in Eagle while Collins remained in moon orbit in Columbia. The actual landing site was at the Sea of Tranquility. The landing platform of Eagle is still there. The capsule portion of Columbia is now at the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Twenty years ago, the Arts and Entertainment cable channel ran a series of programs on the 20th anniversary “as it happened.” Hopefully, they will re-play these programs this year. Fortunately, I videotaped these programs. My two-year-old daughter sat on my lap and absorbed these programs with fascination. It is hard to believe that 20 years have passed since then. It is even harder to believe that 40 years have passed. That’s when one realizes how old they are. I remember the launch and the live television broadcast from the moon’s surface. Practically the whole world was glued to their televisions sets that night (with the exception of a few communist countries). Those were exciting days.

Above, ghostly black & white images were broadcast live from the moon.

This is one anniversary that we should all look back on and celebrate.

Above, following splashdown, the Apollo 11 crew is welcomed back by President Richard Nixon on the USS Hornet.

Above, spectacular images, such as this one of astronaut Aldrin on the moon were shown once the many rolls of film were developed.

*This is what people heard. It was intended for Neil Armstrong to say, "That's one small step for a man..." The "a" had been left out possibly due to Armstrong's flubbing of the line. See Snopes.