[words on screen] National Archives, www.archives.gov
255.GSFC.69-510 Source: 16mm RCK (P Copy)
JFK: 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.
NARRATOR: All is in readiness for the launch of Apollo 11 from Cape Kennedy.
Mission Control at the Cape reports the countdown is proceeding on schedule.
Astronauts Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins have suited up
and ingressed the Command Module aboard this 363-foot-high Saturn Apollo configuration.
Weather is satisfactory at the cape. It is estimated that about 1 million tourists
are now converging toward the beaches for the launch.
12, 11, 10, 9 -- Ignition sequence start --
6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero.
All engine running.
Liftoff! We have a liftoff, 32 minutes past the hour.
Liftoff on Apollo 11.
Tower cleared.
ARMSTRONG: We got a roll program.
NARRATOR: Neil Armstrong reporting the roll and pitch program, which puts Apollo 11 on a proper heading.
[Text on screen: APOLLO 11... THIS IS GODDARD]
[A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
DURING THE APOLLO 11 MISSION]
ARMSTRONG: Roll's complete and the pitch is programmed.
ARMSTRONG: One bravo.
NARRATOR: "One bravo" is a abort control mode.
Altitude's two miles.
HOUSTON: Apollo 11, Houston. You're good at one minute.
ARMSTRONG: Roger.
NARRATOR: Downrange 1 mile; altitude three, four miles now.
Velocity 2,195 feet per second.
GODDARD CONTROL: --Plus one-three-five-zero-zero-three-five-five-four-four-eight-seven.
Minus zero-five-four-eight-four. Minus four balls one.
Plus six-six-two-three-three. With me?
>> Go ahead.
> One-eight-zero-two-three-nine-zero-zero-one.
Apogee is N/A.
Perigee is plus zero-zero-one-seven-five-
six-six-four-five-eight-seven-three-seven-six-six-one-niner-niner
two-four-two-zero-eight-seven-one-six-seven.
[unintelligible]
Zero-zero-eight down two-seven. Minus two-six-zero-five.
Minus zero-two-five-zero-zero.
One-one-two-two-niner-three-three-niner-niner- three-zero-one-two-five-five-three-five.
Still there?
>> Keep going.
> OK. Deneb and Vega: zero-six-seven-two-eight-three-three-three-seven. No LH. [dialog fades out]
Up here you see the orbital element again. APO, that's the apogee and perigee.
[control room chatter]
MADRID: Madrid AOS [acquisition of signal]. Madrid AOS.
NARRATOR: Early communications was noisy but readable.
Mission Control was able to hear the voices of the crew
shortly after the tracking station at Madrid, Spain, acquired the telemetry signals.
ARMSTRONG: Apollo 11 is getting its first view of the landing approach.
NARRATOR: The Apollo 11 Lunar Module "Eagle" has begun its descent toward the surface of the Moon.
Descent stage engine of the Eagle was fired at about 9 minutes of 2 p.m. Central Daylight Time.
The engine burn time was less than 29 seconds.
The engine firing places the Lunar Module into a slowly descending orbit.
Meanwhile, astronaut Collins in the Command Module "Columbia"
maintains a constant vigil on the descending Lunar Module.
Communications have remained good with both Eagle and Columbia.
The planned touchdown is for 3:17 p.m. in an area called Landing Site No. 2.
ALDRIN: 40 feet, down 2 1/2. Kicking up some dust.
30 feet, 2 1/2 down. Faint shadow.
4 forward. 4 forward. Drifting to the right a little. OK. Down a half.
GODDARD CONTROL: -- of the spacecraft ... has started tracking
and we will start processing that data.--
ALDRIN: Contact light.
OK. Engine stop.
ACA - out of DETENT.
ARMSTRONG: Out of DETENT.
ALDRIN: Mode control - both auto. Auto Descent Engine Command Override - off.
Engine arm off.
413 is in.
[cheering in Goddard control room]
HOUSTON: We copy you down, Eagle.
ARMSTRONG: Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
HOUSTON: Roger Tranquility, we copy you on the ground.
You've got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot.
[Control room buzz]
NARRATOR: The Lunar Module has been on the Moon since 3:18 p.m. Central Daylight Time,
following a near-letter perfect descent and landing. The Lunar Module,
while on the surface of the Moon, is being referred to now as "Tranquility Base."
Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are preparing
to step onto the lunar surface this evening.
Preparations for the extravehicular activities are running a little behind schedule.
[control room chatter]
[music]
A special display has been set up in the auditorium of Building 8
at the Goddard Space Flight Center during the flight of Apollo 11.
The wide variety of displays includes models of the Apollo 11 Command Module and Lunar Module,
an animated Apollo 11 mission profile, and information on the Manned Space Flight Network,
the vital communications link required for the Apollo missions.
Goddard employees are invited to bring their family and friends to see the display.
Hours of the open house are from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. daily throughout the Apollo 11 mission.
In addition, visitors may watch operations of the real-time computer center,
NASCOM and SCAMA through the viewing windows in Building 14.
[ambient music and crowd noise]
Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are preparing to step onto the lunar surface.
Armstrong will leave the cabin first. TV viewers around the world will be able to see
Armstrong be the first human to set foot on another celestial body.
GDS: Goldstone, Apollo.
GODDARD: Goldstone, Goddard Voice. Would you [unintelligible] on that one for voice check, please.
GDS: Roger.
ARMSTRONG: OK, I just checked getting back up to that first step, Buzz.
It's not even collapsed too far, but it's adequate to get back up.
HOUSTON: Roger, we copy. ARMSTRONG: It takes a pretty good little jump.
HOUSTON: Buzz, this is Houston. F/2 - 1/160th second for shadow photography on the sequence camera.
ALDRIN: OK.
ARMSTRONG: I'm at the foot of the ladder.
The LM footbeds are only depressed in the surface about one or two inches,
although the surface appears to be very, very fine grained, as you get close to it.
It's almost like a powder down there, it's very fine.
ARMSTRONG: That's one small step for (a) man; one giant leap for mankind.
NARRATOR: That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.
ARMSTRONG: Surface is fine and powdery. I can, I can pick it up loosely with my toe.
It does adhere in fine layers--
GODDARD: Honeysuckle, Goddard Voice Network.
HONEYSUCKLE: This is Honeysuckle.
GODDARD: Roger, Honeysuckle. How's your TV looking now?
ARMSTRONG: I only go in--
HONEYSUCKLE: Roger, we're starting to get the commercial picture now, thank you.
ARMSTRONG: --the footprints of my boots and the treads in the fine, sandy particles.
GODDARD: White House, Goddard Voice. WH: White House.
GODDARD: Roger, White House, Goddard Voice. How do you hear me?
WH: You're loud and clear, sir. How me?
GODDARD: You're loud and clear here also.
We'll be extending this circuit now into the Apollo net at Goddard for the presidential call to Tranquility Base.
WH: Roger, thank you.
GODDARD: Thank you. Goddard Voice out.
HOUSTON: We'd like to get both of you in the field of view of the camera for a minute.
HOUSTON: Neil and Buzz, the president of the United States
is in his office now and would like to say a few words to you. Over.
ARMSTRONG: That would be an honor.
HOUSTON: Go ahead, Mr. President. This is Houston. Out.
NIXON: Hello, Neil and Buzz. I am talking to you by telephone from the Oval Room at the White House,
and this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made.
I just can't tell you how proud we all are of what you've [done]. For every American,
this has to be the proudest day of our lives. And for people all over the world,
I am sure they, too, join with Americans in recognizing what an immense feat this is.
Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man's world.
And as you talk to us from the Sea of Tranquility, it inspires us to redouble our efforts to bring
peace and tranquility to Earth. For one priceless moment in the whole history of man,
all the people on this Earth are truly one: one in their pride in what you have done,
and one in our prayers that you will return safely to Earth.
ARMSTRONG: Thank you, Mr. President. It's a great honor and privilege
for us to be here representing not only the United States, but men of peace of all nations,
and with interest and a curiosity and a vision for the future.
It's an honor for us to be able to participate here today.
NIXON: And thank you very much, and I look forward -- all of us look forward
to seeing you on the Hornet on Thursday.
ALDRIN: I look forward to that very much, sir.
HOUSTON: Columbia, Columbia, this is Houston, over.
ALDRIN: --like it's a little difficult to dig through the initial crust.
ARMSTRONG: This is very interesting. It's a very soft surface, but here and there
where I plug with the contingency sample--
NARRATOR: Two groups at the Goddard Space Flight Center are waiting
for samples of the Moon rocks that will be brought back by astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin.
The scientists, headed up by Dr. Isidore Adler, of the Theoretical Studies Branch,
and Dr. John Philpotts, of the Planetology Branch, will be among some 140 experimenters
from the United States and foreign countries to receive the samples after they
have gone through quarantine and prepared for distribution by the lunar receiving laboratory
of the Houston Manned Spacecraft Center.
ARMSTRONG: -- the hard rock samples have what appear to be vesicles in the surface.
Also, I am looking at one now that appears to have some sort of phenocryst.
ALDRIN: Hey, Neil, didn't I say we might see some purple rocks?
ARMSTRONG: Find a purple rock?
NARRATOR: At approximately 11:53 p.m. Central Daylight Time tonight,
astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin began preparations to reenter the Lunar Module.
The Eagle lifted off the surface of the Moon at 12:54 p.m. Central Daylight Time today.
Apollo 11 is on the way home.
Apollo 11 is streaking toward a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
The speed will rapidly increase to a maximum of about 24,800 miles per hour.
400,000 feet above the Earth, the spacecraft will begin to encounter the atmosphere.
At that point, the heat shield will begin to heat up.
SYDNEY: 596, this is Sydney, go ahead.
QANTAS: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Captain Brown speaking from the flight deck of Qantas 596.
It does seem that we're going to get a very good view of Apollo 11--
Oh, I think I can -- here they come! On the left side. Two of them.
One object, brighter than the other. See the two of them? One above the other?
Brightest one, lowest. One's the Command Module, one's the Service Module.
They each weigh six tons. They're just picking up heat now.
The bottom one's leaving an incandescent trail. You see him flashing?
That's the trail of epoxy ablative resin coating. See it brightening up?
What a spectacle! It's passing abeam us now at nearly 300 miles. There it goes!
NARRATOR: Apollo 11 with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins
has splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. The historic voyage to the Moon
and back ended at 11:50 a.m. Central Daylight Time.
The landing took place at a point about 900 miles southwest of Hawaii.
As the spacecraft reentered the atmosphere, one of the recovery planes sighted
the spacecraft glowing in the early morning sky. Shortly before splashdown, another of the
instrumented aircraft spotted Apollo 11. Then the spacecraft was spotted briefly
behind the clouds by those on the recovery ship Hornet.
At 11:45, the Apollo 11 crew reported that the chutes had deployed.
At 11:48, the Hornet reported visual sighting, then the Apollo 11 itself reported.
HORNET: Apollo 11, Apollo 11, this is Hornet, Hornet. Over.
APOLLO 11: Hello, Hornet. This is Apollo 11 reading you loud and clear.
Our position: 1330, 16915.
NARRATOR: Helicopters immediately began to hover over the Apollo 11,
and then the swimmers dropped into the water for the recovery.
GODDARD: Hornet, Goddard Voice, via ATS.
HORNET: This is Hornet, go ahead.
GODDARD: Roger, you're loud and clear. How do you read me?
HORNET: Copy you loud and clear.
GODDARD: Roger. We're going to be monitoring this circuit for the recovery sequence.
We'll also be extending this circuit on to the White House.
HORNET: Roger, understand.
GODDARD: White House, Goddard Voice.
WH: White House.
GODDARD: Roger, how do you hear me?
WH: You're loud and clear.
GODDARD: Roger. You're loud and clear also. We'll be extending this circuit
into the Apollo net at Goddard. Thank you very [much].
["Hail to the Chief" plays]
NARRATOR: President Nixon waving to the astronauts.
The curtains have been drawn. There they are in the rear window.
[applause]
NARRATOR: The president signalling for applause from the crowd.
Astronauts gathered in the window.
NIXON: Neil, Buzz and Mike, I want you to know
that I think I'm the luckiest man in the world, and I say this not only because
I have the honor to be president of the United States, but particularly because I have
have the privilege of speaking for so many in welcoming you back to Earth.
I can tell you about all the messages we've received in Washington:
Over 100 foreign governments, emperors and presidents and prime ministers and kings,
have sent the most warm messages that we've ever received.
They represent over 2 billion people on this Earth, all of them who have had
the opportunity through television to see what you have done.
HORNET CHAPLAIN PIIRTO: All this we pray as our thanksgiving rings out to thee.
In the name of our Lord, amen.
>> Amen.
["Star-Spangled Banner" plays]
[Photographed & edited by Ron Craig & Keith Walters]
[Real time commentary: Jim Kukowski]
[Sound: Pen Stephens]
[Producer: Alfred Rosenthal]
["Star-Spangled Banner" continues]
[END OF RECORDING]