A Saturn V liftoff is spectacular, and the launch of Apollo 11 was no exception. But it didn’t give the audience any surprises. To the three Gemini-experienced pilots, who likened the sensation to the boost of a Titan II, it was a normal launch.

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On July 16th 1969, nearly a million people crowded the Florida highways, byways, and beaches to watch man’s departure from the earth to walk on the moon. Twenty thousand guests looked on from special vantage points.

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In addition to the ordinary taxpayers who gathered on the beaches and roads of eastern Florida, 20,000 VIPs were invited by NASA to watch the lift off from viewing stands near the Vehicle Assembly Building.

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In addition to the fixed-base lunar module simulators in Houston and at the Cape, astronauts also practiced at Langley Research Center on the suspended lunar landing trainer which was equipped with realistic surface views and lighting.

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Steve Bales (Guido) made a new entry to the trajectory and guidance section of the rules book which excluded lunar module computer program alarms 1201 and 1202 from the abort list.

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Crew training for Apollo 11 was already complicated by the need to master the controls of two different and very complex spacecrafts, as well as the space suit, but now the mission took on new dimensions, principally in learning how to set a 14.5-metric-ton lunar module safely down on the moon.

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After his death, Armstrong was described, in a statement released by the White House, as “among the greatest of American heroes—not just of his time, but of all time.”

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Armstrong became more and more excited about the prospects of both the Apollo program and of investigating a new aeronautical environment.

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When Neil was 2 years old his father took him to a flying event called the Cleveland Air Races. This could have been the beginning of Neil’s love for flying.

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Unfortunately Aldrin’s life became difficult shortly after he emerged from quarantine and began months of public appearances.

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