This morning at 9:27 EDT, Buzz Aldrin crawled into the Lunar Module Eagle and began the lengthy process of powering things up for the short mission life of the module. An hour later, Neil Armstrong joined Buzz in the LM.
A little over three hours after that, 1:47 PM, they released the latches and separated from the Command Module. At 2:12, Michael Collins fired thrusters on the CM moving it two miles away from the LM. Except for that small altitude difference, both vehicles remained in their initial orbit from yesterday's lunar orbit insertion until 3:08 PM when Armstrong fired the descent engine to lower the Eagle's orbit.
What follows is a 20 minute video depicting the landing which is easily the best modern reconstruction of the landing that I've seen. It combines video from the window as Armstrong would have seen it with the audio traffic from Mission Control. The first three minutes gives a modern simulation and animation of how it all worked; after that, it goes to the view recorded on the LM with spacecraft communication on the left speaker and mission control intercom on the right. Yes, I think it's worth the time.
The LM touches down at 4:18PM EDT.
At 6:00 PM, Armstrong radios down to mission control that he recommends they start the EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) sooner than planned; at 9 PM. Although they don't make the 9PM goal, the 10:39 beginning of the EVA is still five hours earlier than the mission plans.
As I've mentioned elsewhere, this was the last vacation I would ever take with my parents. July of 1969 was the summer between my 9th and 10th grade years of school, and I was 15 years old. Like millions of people around the world, I hung by the front of the black and white TV; this one in my uncle's house in New York City. We watched intently but I don't recall exactly how much we saw or if we watched until 1:11 tomorrow morning when the EVA officially concluded. It's a sobering thought how many of the family members there on that historic day and night have passed away. Both of my parents, my uncle and aunt, and I'm simply not sure how many else.
Over the years, this meme from Aesop at Raconteur Report has become my default way of thinking of the Apollo program itself. While he clearly means the landing of Apollo 11, I can see the entire Apollo program as a strong contender for the Peak of Western Civilization.
I can tell you right now you did not watch it all through the night. TV channels before about 1975 used to shut off around 1 or 2am. Even during the aftermath of JFK's assassination tv stations signed off. Usually with The Star Spangled Banner playing.
ReplyDeleteAfter that? A test pattern for a while, then snow, blessed electric snow until around 6:30 or 7am.
Maybe earlier in Farm Country (for the morning's farm report) but mostly that was on the radio.
The major networks did run coverage all night. I was about to go into 11th grade in Miami that summer. Dad and I had driven up to the Cape to watch the launch. One of the networks had Heinlein on as a guest and commenter, one had Clarke. There was definite all night coverage - I watched it.
DeleteWeird, watched it until the networks shut down. Very strange. Amazing that they did run coverage. Must have been different markets or something.
DeleteLOL.
ReplyDeleteAt least one station in SLC was on at 0500 with the weekly farm report or a documentary film about the forest service, or some such thing. My dad would be up watching then, even though he ran a print shop, he liked to know what was going on.
ReplyDeleteThe only variance to that was when a telethon would be on for MD, or March of Dimes, etc. I remember having mumps and not being able to sleep, but Jerry Lewis was on with his pals.
There were giants, then.
ReplyDeleteThey were true heroes, then. Money isn't the only thing that has cheapened in those 55 years.
ReplyDeleteWatched the video, trying to scan the altitude, status, and flight data and listening to all the audio - just like Gene Kranz used to do. MAN! That was bloody close (but I knew that) but they Got 'Er Done, just like the Early Giants used to do regularly in the Space Program.
ReplyDeleteWe have the same today but things are different. Much different. More computer reports/controls, more "awareness" - really! - of what's going on in Real Time. Doesn't mean that Things aren't a white-knuckle ride sometime, though! And we now have high-bandwidth to give us cameras in glorious 4K color!
Ain't technology g-r-e-a-t ?!?!