The 45th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing (Program 144)

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on another celestial body.  The triumph of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing was the culmination of many years of work, effort, and research.  It was also the culmination of years of sacrifice, of great triumphs and sorrowful tragedies.  From the earliest space launches, to the first orbital flights, from President Kennedy's commitment that we should land on the moon before the end of the 1960s, to that final triumph in that decade that had brought so much strife and unrest to the nation, the goal was accomplished, and the triumph of American industry, manufacturing, and ingenuity shone brightly.  On Galaxy Moonbeam Night Site, we look back to those days in a 45th anniversary retrospective.  We talk about the journey to the moon through all the years of effort.  We remember the emotions and feelings as man walked on the moon.  We look back at how science fiction became science fact.  Additionally, we also listen to extensive radio news broadcasts to put you back in that place and time.  Join us for this anniversary look back at Apollo 11 and astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.

Neil Armstrong 1930-2012

We are saddened at the passing of Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the surface of the moon.  Heroes are sometimes difficult to find, but in Neil Armstrong, we all had a hero from the days when America had set its sights on landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.  The days of the Apollo Space Program were an exciting time to be alive and to be an American.  The nation fulfilled the promise to the late president John F. Kennedy when he stated in 1961 that the United States had all of the available resources and manpower to land a man on the moon and safely return him home by the end of the 1960s.  Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the two men who first set foot on a heavenly body other than this earth, have gone down in history.  Now that we have lost Mr. Armstrong, he has become legendary, and will be remembered for generations to come.  The staff of Galaxy Moonbeam Night Site salutes the memory of Neil Armstrong, and recall his "One Giant Leap for Mankind" he took on July 20, 1969.