At 12:56 GMT, Armstrong and Aldrin entered Lunar Module Eagle. (National Archives Identifier 6734365)įully prepared for lunar arrival, the Apollo 11 spacecraft continued on its trajectory for three days, traveling 238,900 miles into a lunar orbit. This maneuver was unique to the Apollo missions. This maneuver consisted of turning the command module around and docking its nose with the lunar module, which was located in the upper portion of the S-IVB stage of the Saturn V rocket. Shortly thereafter, Collins performed the transposition, docking, and extraction maneuver. (Trans-lunar injection is a propulsion maneuver used to set a spacecraft on a trajectory that will cause it to arrive at the Moon.) This final stage then separated from the remaining spacecraft, which included the command module, Columbia, and service module. The third stage, S-IVB stage, sent the spacecraft to a velocity of 25,053 mph and completed the trans-lunar injection. It then separated and splashed down in the Atlantic.

The second stage, S-II stage, propelled the craft to an altitude of 109 miles, to a speed of 15,647 mph and placed the rocket into a low-earth orbit. It then separated and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean more than 300 miles from the space center. The first stage, S-IC stage, carried the rocket to an altitude of 42 miles, to a speed of 6,164 mph, and burned 4,700,000 pounds of fuel. Saturn V rockets consisted of three distinct stages. Atop a Saturn V rocket, the three astronauts inside the command module blasted off toward the Moon. The Apollo 11 mission was launched from Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, near Cape Canaveral on July 16, 1969, at 13:32 GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Then, on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission was ready for launch. Congress took action against NASA and removed two high-ranking executives from office, and NASA did not run a crewed mission again until Apollo 7 on October 11, 1968. On January 27, 1967, during a launch pad test simulation for Apollo 1, the interior of the command module caught fire and killed all three astronauts on board. President Kennedy’s statement rallied intense national pride in the NASA Apollo Space Program, and for the next eight years the nation poured resources and technology into successfully completing Kennedy’s vision. Press copy of Special Message by the President on Urgent National Needs, May 25, 1961. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.” Kennedy charged NASA with one goal: “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. Kennedy’s speech to a Joint Session of Congress on May 25, 1961. The motivation for the Apollo Space Program and the goal of reaching the Moon were outlined in President John F.

Excerpt from the Apollo 11 Transcript of the Moon Landing, page 49, 1969.

Excerpt from the Apollo 11 Transcript of the Moon Landing, page 24, 1969.

Excerpt from the Apollo 11 Transcript of the Moon Landing, page 3, 1969.The moment was forever memorialized by Armstrong’s words: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” This marked the Apollo 11 mission as the single greatest moment of human space exploration. (National Archives Identifier 4957611)Īpproximately seven hours after Eagle touched down on the lunar surface, Armstrong became the first human to step onto the Moon. Left to Right, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, 1969. On July 20, 1969, Commander Neil Armstrong and Astronaut Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo lunar module, Eagle, and spent the next 21.5 hours on the lunar surface, while Command Module Pilot Michael Collins orbited the Moon. July 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Today’s post comes from Vincent Bartholomew from the National Archives History Office. From Jthrough August 7, 2019, a special featured document display relating to the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Landing is in the East Rotunda Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC.

Lunar landing july 20 1969