A Ringside View of the Moon Shots, Part 1: "Living Room" to the Moon

Apollo 11 launch preparations created a great deal of interest at Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Information Center.  Here, the author of this blog series, Steve Milner, reviews copy blocks he wrote for new displays there.  (NASA photo courtesy of Steve Milner)

By Steve Milner
Contributing Writer

Were it not for a persistent aerospace engineer-mathematician working at NASA Langley’s Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, there’s a good chance the United States would have missed President John Kennedy’s challenging timetable for sending men to the Moon and returning them safely to earth, before the end of the 1960s. Not only was Dr. John Houbolt sure his approach was the best one to achieve this incredible task, he had to convince a doubting National Aeronautics and Space Agency hierarchy, principally the Marshall Space Flight Center’s world-famous and assertive Dr. Wernher von Braun, that it could work.

Dr. John Houbolt developed the Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) concept, and convinced NASA to use it for its Apollo manned missions to the Moon. (NASA Photo L-62-5848)

Dr. von Braun wanted to send astronauts directly to the moon and have them return to earth on a not-yet-built-and-tested rocket that would have to be nearly twice as powerful as the Saturn V, the launch system later used. This direct approach was also the one writer Jules Verne depicted in his 1865 book, “From the Earth to the Moon.” And over the years, numerous science fiction movies and television programs featured this direct, fictionalized approach.

Instead, Dr. Houbolt suggested a Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) concept. Following this approach, astronauts would be launched into Earth orbit aboard a Command Module (CM), where they would rendezvous and dock with a Lunar Module (LM) that was carried on the same launch vehicle. And after making the three-day journey to the Moon and orbiting it, two astronauts would descend to its surface in the LM, while the third orbited overhead in the CM. Then the LM would ascend from the surface and again rendezvous and dock with the CM for the return trip to Earth.

"Why send the whole house to the Moon, when all you have to send is the living room?"

When I recently told my friend, Kathryn Barrett, a longtime and respected medical reporter who retired from Norfolk television station Channel 13, that I was writing this blog, she unexpectedly said she had interviewed Dr. Houbolt in his later years, long after the lunar dust had settled on the Apollo program. Commenting on his lunar approach, he told Kathryn, “Why send the whole house to the Moon, when all you have to send is the living room.” In this case, Dr. Houbolt was referring to the joined Apollo spacecraft and its lunar module. 

Jumping ahead to July 20, 1969, a lot of folks throughout the world breathed a sigh of relief when Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin touched down safely on the Moon in their lunar module, while Michael Collins orbited in the command module overhead.

In addition to practicing their missions in simulators, Apollo astronauts deployed experiments and picked up simulated moon rocks on a sandy field at Kennedy Space Center. In this view, Apollo 16 astronaut Charles Duke trains, as Florida Today space reporter, Sanders LaMont, in right background, talks with this blog post’s author, Steve Milner. (NASA photo courtesy of Steve Milner)

But a great many events had to be accomplished before the idea of a manned lunar landing could move ahead from science fiction to reality. Rocket and spacecraft hardware had to be developed and man-rated, ground launch support equipment had to be built and astronauts had to hone their in-fight skills in spacecraft simulators and on mock lunar surfaces.

Apollo 11 Mission Commander Neil Armstrong suits up for his historic launch to the moon on July 16, 1969. (NASA photo courtesy of Steve Milner)

July 16, 1969, was no ordinary Florida summer day as the three suited astronauts, mission commander Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, sitting side-by-side and strapped snugly on their Apollo spacecraft’s couches, began the first leg of their nearly 240,000-mile journey from the Kennedy Space Center to earth’s mysterious celestial neighbor. Generating seven-and-a-half million pounds of thrust, their Saturn V’s five first-stage rocket engines performed flawlessly. Four days later, on July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin descended in a lunar module, call sign "Eagle," and became the first men to walk on the moon’s surface. While they were accomplishing this age-old quest, Collins orbited overhead every two hours, as planned, in the command module, nicknamed "Columbia."  

In this ultra-wide "fisheye" view, the huge, 363-feet tall Apollo 11 (Spacecraft 107/Lunar Module 5/ Saturn 506) space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), at 9:32 a.m. (EDT), July 16, 1969. Aboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. Apollo 11 is the United States' first lunar landing mission. This view of the liftoff was taken by a camera mounted on the mobile launch tower. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descend in the Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the moon, astronaut Collins will remain with the Command Module (CM) "Columbia" in lunar orbit. (NASA Photograph S69-39959 via NHHC Photo Curator Flickr)

Back to July 16, when the crew’s Apollo/Saturn V vehicle lifted off at 9:32 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, taking 11 seconds to clear its launch tower and an additional 12 minutes to reach earth orbit. Now, Houston’s Manned Spacecraft Center took control of this eight-day, manned lunar-landing mission, as the Saturn V left its Florida launch site. The Kennedy Space Center’s launch and support teams had done their jobs superbly, and continued to support Houston’s Mission Control as needed. The Apollo 11 space pilots were on their way, as millions of people throughout the world followed their exciting journey via television. Former President Lyndon Johnson was among the VIP’s who attended this historic launch.

Reporters interview astronaut Neil Armstrong’s wife, Janet, and sons Eric, left, and his brother, Mark, at Kennedy Space Center, following the successful Apollo 11 launch to the Moon. (NASA photo courtesy of Steve Milner)

After orbiting the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin transferred to the "Eagle" and separated from their mother ship, "Columbia." As their LM touched down on the lunar surface, the world heard Armstrong report to Houston: “Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” Seven hours later, Armstrong climbed down the lunar module’s ladder, saying, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” But confusion quickly arose when it appeared he had omitted the letter “a” before man. There’s a possibility the “a” got lost during Armstrong’s transmission. But the big news was that the lunar pair had turned a new and unprecedented page in aerospace history.

This interior view of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module (LM) taken by mission commander Neil Armstrong shows astronaut Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, approximately 57 hours into the lunar landing mission. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the LM "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the moon, astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar orbit. Armstrong took this picture of Aldrin wearing his intravehicular suit, a specially made set of garments designed to be as flame retardant as the rest of the ship, and made from the same fabric as the outer layer of the spacesuits. (NASA Photo AS11-36-5390, Project Apollo Archive)

After descending the LM's ladder, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin stands on one of its footpads before stepping out onto the lunar surface. (Apollo 11 Hasselblad image from film magazine 40/S – EVA, NASA Photo AS11-40-5689, Project Apollo Archive)

Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, walks on the surface of the moon near the leg of the Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 20, 1969. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this photograph with a 70mm lunar surface camera. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the moon, astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar orbit. (AS11-40-5903, NASA Photograph Collection via NHHC Photo Curator Flickr)

Armstrong and Aldrin spent about 21 hours on the Moon, gathering 40 pounds of rocks and taking soil samples for analysis on earth. With the moon’s gravity one-sixth of earth’s, they bounced along its surface. Their samples might provide clues to the origin of our universe. They planted an American flag, and Armstrong took a close-up photo of his crewmate—with his own image reflected in Aldrin’s helmet’s golden visor. This iconic view became synonymous with the Apollo 11 mission, and was the cover of a birth announcement my wife, Enid, and I chose for our oldest son, Michael, who was born two months later. I had asked the mission’s Launch Operations Director, Walter Kapryan, if he would request the Apollo 11 crew to sign Michael’s birth announcement when they returned to the Florida spaceport to thank space workers who had sent them on their historic journey. I also asked Dr. Kapryan, who had called on me to write speeches, to sign the same birth announcement, which he did. Years earlier, the launch director had relocated from NASA’s Langley Research Center to the Cape.

When the Apollo 11 crew returned to Kennedy Space Center to thank its personnel for their successful launch to the Moon, they signed a birth announcement for the eldest son of this blog’s author, Michael, who was born two months after their mission. (Courtesy of Steve Milner)

Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, renders a salute to the deployed United States flag during Apollo 11 extravehicular activity (EVA) on July 20, 1969. The Lunar Module (LM) "Eagle" is on the left, and the footprints of the astronauts are clearly visible in the soil of the moon. Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander, took this picture with a 70mm Hasselblad lunar surface camera. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the LM to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the moon, astronaut Michael Collins, command module pilot, remained with the Command and Service Modules (CSM) "Columbia" in lunar orbit. NASA Photograph Collection. (NASA Photo AS11-40-5874, Project Apollo Archive)

The Apollo 11 command module and its crew safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean July 24, 900 miles southwest of Hawaii, and were taken aboard the Navy’s prime recovery ship, USS Hornet (CVS 12), to a Mobile Quarantine Facility for a few days. Here, President Richard Nixon spoke to them through their trailer’s protective glass window, before they were transferred a few days later to a more comfortable Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston. NASA was concerned they might have brought back “lunar germs,” which proved not to be the case.

The Apollo 11 crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean 900 miles southwest of Hawaii, eight days after beginning their successful moon mission.  Here, U.S. navy pararescueman Lt. Clancey Hatleberg closes the command module hatch prior to their pickup and brief helicopter flight to the mission's prime recovery vessel, USS Hornet (CVS 12). (NASA Photo courtesy of Steve Milner)

It was all smiles at the Mobile Quarantine Facility, aboard the Apollo 11’s prime recovery vessel, USS Hornet (CVS 12), as United States President Richard Nixon, greets the flight crew through protective glass. They astronauts are, left-to-right, mission commander Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. (NASA Photograph Collection via NHHC Photo Curator Flickr)

The Apollo 11 crewmen, still under a 21-day quarantine, are greeted by their wives on July 27, 1969.  Looking through the window of a Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) are (left to right) astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins. The wives are (left to right) Mrs. Pat Collins, Mrs. Jan Armstrong, and Mrs. Joan Aldrin. The crew of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission remained in the MQF until they arrived to the Crew Reception Area of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC). The astronauts were from quarantine on Aug. 11, 1969. (NASA Photograph Collection via NHHC Flickr)

The top Pacific Fleet Admiral, John McCain, Jr., accompanied the president on Hornet, only two months before his son, a U.S. Navy pilot and the future Arizona Senator, John McCain III, was shot down and captured over North Vietnam. Apollo 11’s lunar rocks also were isolated initially for study, and the crew began its far-reaching public appearances, beginning with a traditional ticker-tape parade in New York City.

New York City welcomes Apollo 11 crewmen in a showering of ticker tape down Broadway and Park Avenue on August 13, 1969, in a parade reported to be the largest in the city's history. Pictured in the lead car, from the right, are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot.  (NASA Photo S70-17433 via NHHC Flickr)

Editor's Note: In addition to serving as public affairs officer for 17 years at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Steve Milner was also a public affairs contractor with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Cape Canaveral during the manned Gemini, Apollo and Skylab programs.

Recovering Gemini 11-1965/1966

One of the advantages of the modern-day Space Shuttle is its ability to land at the same place it took off and be reused for a future flight. Before the invention and perfection of this technology, the modules carrying American astronauts in the Apollo, Gemini, and Mercury programs had to splash down in the ocean. This required the mobilization of a large task force of warships to be on standby, ready to pick up the astronauts.

In 1965, NASA and the Navy tasked the Atlantic Fleet to recover Gemini 11 and astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad and Richard Gordon (more about the mission and its many accomplishments can be read here at NASA's website). Shown here are two images of the ship's company of the Norfolk-based USS La Salle (LPD-3/AGF-3) rehearsing the recovery of a Gemini space craft off the coast of Ascension Island.

Gemini 11 began reentry on September 15, 1966. Splashdown in the western Atlantic Ocean some 700 miles east of Cape Kennedy occurred at 8:59:35 a.m. EST. The crew was picked up by helicopter and brought to the Norfolk-based USS Guam (LPH-9) at 9:23 a.m. and the spacecraft was recovered at 9:58 a.m.