50 years ago today - Apollo 11 liftoff!

[Sooner or later]

CBS news is broadcasting the event on youtube.


9:32 a.m. EDT- On schedule to within less than a second, Apollo 11 blasts off from Launch Pad 39A at Cape Kennedy, Florida to start what is looked upon as the greatest single step in human history-a trip to the Moon, a manned landing and return to Earth.

From Launch Control the last words were: "Good luck and Godspeed." Commander Armstrong replied, "Thank you very much. We know this will be a good flight."

9:35 a.m.- The spacecraft is 37 nautical miles high, downrange 61 nautical miles and traveling at 9,300 feet per second or about 6,340 miles per hour. Armstrong confirms the engine skirt and launch escape tower separations.

9:44 a.m.- With the three Saturn stages fired one after another and the first two jettisoned, Apollo 11 enters a 103 nautical mile-high Earth orbit, during which the vehicle is carefully checked by the astronauts and by the ground control crew.

12:22 p.m.- Another firing of the third-stage engine, still attached to the command service module, boosts Apollo 11 out of orbit midway in its second trip around the Earth and onto its lunar trajectory at an initial speed of 24,200 miles an hour.

12:49 p.m.- While the spacecraft moves farther and farther from Earth, the lunar landing craft, code-named Eagle is unpacked from its compartment atop the launch rockets. The astronauts first fire some explosive bolts. These cause the main spaceship, given the name Columbia, to separate from the adapter and blow apart the four panels that make up its sides, exposing the lunar module (LM) tucked inside. They stop the spacecraft about 100 feet away -34 feet farther than they were supposed to-turn the ship around, facing the landing craft, and dock head-to-head with it. The docking complete, the LM's connections with the adapter are blown loose and the mated command/service and lunar modules separate from the rocket and continue alone toward the Moon.

[Rtrorkt]

was parking cars at the garage next to the morgue in Pittsburgh. Brought my TV and watched the entire happening. Just like it was yesterday.

[Sooner or later]

I guess CBS killed the stream broadcast after two hours. The first broadcast from the craft was supposed to happen at 11 am eastern.

[Sooner or later]

Stream is back!

[cairns]

If you can still get it I would highly recommend picking up a copy of yesterdays WSJ. A large separate section on Apollo 11 which is fascinating.

[sc_rufctr]

God bless the USA.

I was 4 when it happened so I don't remember the launch.

These guys did it! (with a lot of help)

[sc_rufctr]

The lift off is at 2:50:05

[RNajarian]

I had the privilege of meeting and doing some work with Colonel Aldrin. His contribution to space exploration goes much farther than his moon walk.

His PhD dissertation from MIT was on orbital rendezvous, still applicable today.

Long Life Colonel, thanks for your continual inspiration.

[GH85Carrera]

I lived in Hawaii at the time. Back 50 years ago there was usually a long delay (usually a day) for national news to be broadcast in Hawaii. I suspect I was still sound asleep at 9:00AM EDT for the launch. We saw a tape delay of it later of course.

The landing was a prime time event for us. When they returned to Earth, we lived on Hickam AFB and when the "moon germ" containment module came from the Navy ship to the Air Force for transport back to the mainland it passed within a few blocks of our house. We watched the Navy ship with them sail past the Officer's Club on Hickam. They unloaded the crew and the module and I knew the likely route.

I rode my bicycle along side and Neil waved right to me. Somehow I suspect he would not have remembered me as much as I remember that moment and his smile.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Pretty awesome achievement. I hope this will build some inertia towards going to the moon in the next 5 years, and working towards Mars next. Sad that we did so much in the 1960s then allowed this capability to languish.

[RNajarian]

Here is a copy of the Customs Declaration from the Apollo 11 mission

[island911]

Cool stuff Raffi^^

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

...

I was 4 when it happened so I don't remember the launch.
...

Yeah, 5y/o here; although I do remember the launch (so cool) and the grainy gray moon surface video as they seemed to fly over the surface forever. I was thinking maybe they were just looking for moon monsters. My friends and siblings had lots of pre-landing speculation.

[ckelly78z]

Also 4 years old when it happened. I believe I watched the whole event, but didn't grasp the magnitude of it at the time. In the following years, I watched many shuttle launches, and rendevous on TV with great pride. I got some of that sense with the recent successful Space-X Falcon Heavy launches, and returns....way cool !

[Jims5543]

I was too young to remember this event. I was lucky enough many years later to stand on both Pad 39A and Pad 39B, I was working for a company that was supporting NASA directly as well as Brown & Root who was a large contractor out at Kennedy.

We were called on multiple times to provide services to them both. We had to go through a background check and was escorted the entire time we were on the launch pads. It was in the 90's and I can remember it like yesterday. It was extremely impressive.

This was during the Space Shuttle years with NASA in pretty full swing at the time.

It is sad to see the decline, even sadder is to drive through Titusville, Florida, it has turned into a Ghost town. I hear it is finally starting to make a comeback as of late. 6 years ago it was a depressing town to drive through.

[Sooner or later]

I was 15. Can't say I remember that specific launch but I do remember the landing

Our family went over to a friends house for a landing party. They had multiple tv's set up and probably 50 people at the party.

They supplied Rocket Fuel drinks. Moon Rock meatballs. That kind of stuff. Quite the time.

[winders]

I turned 8 years old on 7/16/69. I remember the launch and subsequent events quite well. It was amazing.....

[KFC911]

I was 9 that summer....annual July family vacation we went to FL....toured the Space Center....saw that baby being tested on the launch pad....

Like it was yesterday

Thanks!

[jcommin]

I was 18 - I was glued to the TV. A remarkable accomplishment in a short period of time.

[wdfifteen]

I remember the launch and the landing so well. My girlfriend at the time was a tantalizing science nerd just like me.

[astrochex]

I was 6 and I think I vaguely remember watching the launch. Aviation Week has a great timeline of the Apollo program. https://aviationweek.com/timeline-apollo-program