The Gadfly's Apollo 11 Memory File
Forty years ago this morning, I sat in the VIP bleachers at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A in Florida and watched in awe as Apollo 11 lifted off for its historic trip to the surface of the Moon.
That I was able to witness the Moon shot still amazes me today. When Governor Dewey F. Bartlett received the invitation to attend the launch from Oklahoma astronaut Tom Stafford and invited me, his press secretary, to accompany him and his wife, Ann, I knew it would be one of life's great experiences and it turned out to be just that.
Unless you've been present when a space launch takes place, you can't understand what happens even at a distance from the launch site; the air is not just filled with noise. It vibrates, pulsates, as the ground undulates. The staccato engine blasts fill the air until the rocket begins to fade from view. The launch took place on July 16, 1969, at 8:32 a.m. EST. The spacecraft carried a crew of three: Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. Four days later, the lunar module landed on the surface of the Moon and history was made. ~ Mike McCarville
That I was able to witness the Moon shot still amazes me today. When Governor Dewey F. Bartlett received the invitation to attend the launch from Oklahoma astronaut Tom Stafford and invited me, his press secretary, to accompany him and his wife, Ann, I knew it would be one of life's great experiences and it turned out to be just that.
Unless you've been present when a space launch takes place, you can't understand what happens even at a distance from the launch site; the air is not just filled with noise. It vibrates, pulsates, as the ground undulates. The staccato engine blasts fill the air until the rocket begins to fade from view. The launch took place on July 16, 1969, at 8:32 a.m. EST. The spacecraft carried a crew of three: Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. Four days later, the lunar module landed on the surface of the Moon and history was made. ~ Mike McCarville
Labels: Apollo 11, Gadfly's Columns
posted by Mike McCarville @ 12:57 AM
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