Apollo 11
What was the exact time and date of lift off for the Saturn V rocket?
Space Race
1969 saw the final leg of the Moon Race, with the United States leading it after the flight of Apollo 8. Unbeknownst to the Americans, the Soviet moon program was in deep trouble. Without the N-1 rocket, the USSR had no way to land on the Moon. The next two Apollo missions proved that the Lunar Module worked well, both in low-Earth orbit and in lunar orbit. It was time to proceed to an actual landing mission. Under this backdrop, Apollo 11 was being prepared for a July encounter with the Moon. The Apollo 11 crew consisted of commander (CDR) Neil Armstrong, command module pilot (CMP) Michael Collins, and lunar module pilot (LMP) Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. They were selected as the crew in January 1969, and they trained for the mission until just before the actual launch day. On July 16, 1969, at exactly 9:32 am EDT, the Saturn V rocket – serial number SA-506 – lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida with Apollo 11 on board. The lunar trip took just over three days. After achieving orbit, Armstrong and Aldrin transferred into the Lunar Module, named "Eagle", and began their descent. After overcoming several computer malfunctions, Armstrong took over manual flight-control at about , and guided the Lunar Module to a landing on the Moon's Sea of Tranquility at 4:17 pm EDT, July 20, 1969. The first humans on the Moon would wait another six hours before they ventured out of their craft. At 10:56:15 pm EDT, Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon. The first step was witnessed by at least 500 million TV viewers on Earth. His first words when he stepped off the LM's landing pad were, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin joined him on the surface almost 20 minutes later. Altogether, they spent just under two and one-quarter hours outside their craft. The next day, they performed the first launch from another celestial body, and rendezvoused with the "Columbia" Command Module. Apollo 11 safely left lunar orbit and returned to Earth, landing in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969. When the spacecraft splashed down, 2,982 days had passed since Kennedy committed the United States to landing a man on the Moon and bringing him back safely to the Earth before the end of the decade; the mission was completed with just 161 days to spare. With the safe completion of the Apollo 11 mission, the Americans won the race to the Moon. This was followed by successful lunar landings on Apollo 12 (November 1969), Apollo 14 (February 1971), Apollo 15 (July 1971), Apollo 16 (April 1972), and Apollo 17 (December 1972). One lunar landing attempt, Apollo 13 (April 1970), was unsuccessful, but the crew returned safely.