Apollo 11 Launch – 40 Years Ago From Today

[image: life.com]

July 16, 1969 – 40 years ago from today, Apollo 11 was launched to be the first manned mission to land on the Moon. Three astronauts flew the huge Saturn V rocket. These are Mission Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, Jr.

Apollo 11 launched at thee Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969 at 13:32 UTC (9:32 a.m. local time). It entered orbit 12 minutes later. After one and a half orbits, the S-IVB third-stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon with the Trans Lunar Injection burn.

In a few days from the launch, the vision set by President John F. Kennedy of reaching the moon by the end of the decade would be fulfilled. In his joint session of Congress speech back in May 25, 1961, Kennedy said

“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.”