You’re looking at one of the most incredible moments in human history.
That’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, walking on the moon.
Okay, maybe you’ve seen this clip before, but think about that for a second: They’re
on the moon.
A celestial object nearly 240,000 miles into outer space.
That distance is like flying all the way around the Earth 9 1/2 times.
Millions of people around the world watched on July 16, 1969, as Apollo 11, carrying astronauts
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida,
and disappeared into the sky.
It was the climax of years of preparation and research, and the pinnacle moment of the
so-called “Space Race” between the United States and Soviet Union, a years-long rivalry
to compete for dominance in space exploration.
For the eight days following the launch, the world awaited the return of the would-be heroes.
So what actually happened between here
and here?
So let’s start with the components of the ship that were discarded one by one until
this
became this.
Here’s the rocket that sent the astronauts into space: the Saturn V.
The three stages of the Saturn V each played a different role in launching Apollo on a
path to the moon — we’ll get to that later.
On top of the rocket is the actual Apollo spacecraft.
It’s made up of three parts too.
There’s the lunar module, the component that would eventually land on the lunar surface,
the service module, which had propulsion systems for course corrections and entering and escaping
orbit, and the command module, where our three heroes were for most of the mission.
And last but not least, this is the launch escape system, which was designed to pull
the command module away from the rocket if something went wrong during launch.
Together, all these pieces made up the Saturn V rocket and Apollo 11 spacecraft.
But it’s the way they came apart that made the moon landing happen.
The Saturn V’s first stage launched Apollo, carrying the spacecraft 42 miles above the
Earth and reaching a speed of about 6,000 miles per hour.
The first stage then detached, and once the Saturn V’s second stage kicked in, the now
needless launch escape system jettisoned too.
The second stage propelled the spacecraft even farther and faster into space, and after
it detached, the third stage of the rocket fired briefly to knock Apollo into a parking
orbit, 103 miles above the Earth’s surface.
Here, final checks were made, and the Saturn V fired again to set Apollo on course to the
moon, in a move called the “translunar injection.”
Once the spacecraft propelled away from Earth, the Saturn V’s job was done.
Now the astronauts needed to pull off a mid-flight maneuver to reconfigure the ship so the crew
could access the lunar module, which had been stored in a protective compartment during
launch.
To do this, the command and service modules detached together and flipped 180 degrees,
docking with the lunar module and extracting it.
In the process, they ditched the third, now-useless, stage of the Saturn rocket.
This whole high-stakes launch process only took about 3 1/2 hours and this — the completed
Apollo spacecraft — was the end result.
For the next three days, Apollo coasted through space.
Until it finally reached its target and was pulled into orbit by the moon’s gravity.
This is where the crew split up.
Armstrong and Aldrin transferred to the lunar module, named Eagle, and slowly descended
toward the surface.
While Collins continued to circle the moon in the command module, called Columbia.
Now here comes another tricky part: landing on the moon.
To make this historic moment happen, Eagle turned and used its engine to slow its momentum
and ultimately touch down on the lunar surface.
“The Eagle has landed.”
The moonwalk was broadcast live on television, immortalizing Neil Armstrong’s words here:
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
“I think that was Neil’s quote I didn’t understand.”
“‘One small step for man,’ but I didn’t get the second phrase …”
After about 21 1/2 hours on the moon, Eagle performed the first launch from a celestial
body that wasn’t Earth, leaving its landing gear behind and timing its ascent with Columbia’s
path in lunar orbit to rejoin the spacecraft.
Once Armstrong and Aldrin transferred back into the command module, the lunar module
was no longer needed.
Just like before, Apollo needed to break out of orbit.
This maneuver is called the transearth injection, and began the 2 1/2 day journey home.
Upon approaching its entry point into Earth’s atmosphere and no longer needing its propulsion
engines, Apollo jettisoned the service module and prepared for reentry, protected by the
now-exposed heat shield on the bottom of the command module.
“Apollo blazes across the heavens, coming back to Earth at 25,000 miles per hour.”
Parachutes deployed, and Columbia splashed down safely into the Pacific Ocean.
And what was once a 3,000-ton behemoth of rocket, fuel, and freight
was reduced to this.
A small command module floating in the ocean, carrying three astronauts and rock samples
collected from the surface of the moon.