Kennedy's goal accomplished -- FEC

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Date Posted: 02:48:09 07/24/12 Tue
Author: This Week in History, Jul 24 - Jul 30
Subject:

Kennedy's goal accomplished

General InterestAAACite ThisRSS...Jul 24, 1969:
Kennedy's goal accomplished
Previous Day July 24 Calendar Next Day .

0

At 12:51 EDT, Apollo 11, the U.S. spacecraft that had taken the first astronauts to the surface of the moon, safely returns to Earth.

The American effort to send astronauts to the moon had its origins in a famous appeal President John F. Kennedy made to a special joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961: "I believe 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 Earth."

Eight years later, on July 16, 1969, the world watched as Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins aboard. After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19. The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, separated from the command module, where a third astronaut, Michael Collins, remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:18 p.m. the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility.

Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston a famous message: "The Eagle has landed." At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module. Seventeen minutes later, at 10:56 p.m., Armstrong spoke the following words to millions listening at home: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." A moment later, he stepped off the lunar module's ladder, becoming the first human to walk on the surface of the moon.

Aldrin joined him on the moon's surface at 11:11 p.m., and together they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests, and spoke with President Richard M. Nixon via Houston. By 1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module and the hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module. Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon--July 1969 A.D--We came in peace for all mankind." At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51 p.m. on July 24.

There would be five more successful lunar landing missions, and one unplanned lunar swing-by, Apollo 13. The last men to walk on the moon, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission, left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972.

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Previous Day July 24 Calendar Next Day .
This Week in History, Jul 24 - Jul 30
Jul 24, 1567 Mary Queen of Scots deposedJul 24, 1847 Mormons settle Salt Lake ValleyJul 24, 1969 Kennedy's goal accomplished
Jul 25, 1832 The first railroad accident
Jul 25, 1898 Puerto Rico invadedJul 25, 1956 Ships collide off NantucketJul 25, 1965 Dylan appears at Newport Folk FestJul 26, 1847 Liberian independence proclaimedJul 26, 1908 FBI foundedJul 26, 1945 Winston Churchill resignsJul 26, 1956 Egypt nationalizes the Suez CanalJul 27, 1794 Robespierre overthrown in FranceJul 27, 1921 Insulin isolated in TorontoJul 27, 1949 First jet makes test flightJul 27, 1980 Ousted shah of Iran dies in exileJul 27, 1996 Bombing at Centennial Olympic ParkJul 28, 1932 Bonus Marchers evicted by U.S. ArmyJul 28, 1976 Worst modern earthquakeJul 29, 1588 Spanish Armada defeatedJul 29, 1848 Tipperary Revolt ends in failureJul 29, 1900 Italian American assassinates Italian kingJul 29, 1981 Prince Charles marries Lady DianaJul 30, 1619 First legislative assembly in AmericaJul 30, 1898 Henry Moore bornJul 30, 1945 USS Indianapolis bombedJul 30, 1966 England wins World CupJul 30, 1974 Watergate affair approaches climax.

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