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| Above, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the moon. NASA photo. |
Forty-five years ago today, man first landed on the moon.
It was on July 20, 1969 that Apollo 11 lunar module, Eagle, landed on the Sea of Tranquility. Eagle carried Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin to the moon's surface while Michael Collins remained in orbit in the command module, Columbia. The moon landing was broadcast live on television.
Apollo 11 was launched from the John F. Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. I remember the date as it was my grandmother's 69th birthday.
We watched the live broadcasts of the moon landing and the moon walks by Armstrong and Aldrin on our new (at the time) color television. Unfortunately, the images were in black & white and a bit ghostly. Still it was exciting to experience. I was 15 years old at the time.
Back when the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing was celebrated in 1989, A & E broadcast "As It Happened" programs over several nights with former NBC News reporter Edwin Newman hosting. My daughter Amber was two and a half years old at the time, but she sat on my lap mesmerized by the programs. I taped those programs and still have the tapes.
I've always contended that the U.S. Space Program was the only worthwhile government program. Too bad it has been pretty much dismantled in recent years.
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