coming up on american history tv programs from reel america. next a nasa documentary detailing the first mission to land two men on the moon. that's fold by the story of the construction of the hoover dam. in an hour a 1960 interview with herbert hoover who discusses life beyond his presidency. and later u.s. army captain william johnston with his work on the republic of vietnam in the 1960s. that's all ahead here on c-span 3. this labor day, on this c-span network, on c-span at

5:30 eastern an education department summit on bullying in schools. at 8:00, bill nye the science guy and ken hamm debate evolution. on c-span's 2 book tv james clyburn talks about his life from his youth in the jim crow south to his leadership position in the house of representatives. at 8:30 author civil a dukes morris on her book "price of fame." at 10:00 p.m. arthur lewis discusses the hidden world of high frequency stock trading. on c-span 3's american history tv at 7:15 p.m. eastern time, american artifacts look at declassified documents related to the 1964 gulf of tonkin. at 8:00, president warren

hardings's love letters. and then that's followed by an interview with milton freeman. let us know about the programs you're watching. call us at 202-626-3400. on twitter use the #c123 or e-mail us at commentsass comments@c-span.org. >> each week reel america brings you archival films that help tell the story of the 20th century. 45 years ago on july 20th, 1969, as millions around the world watched on live television, neil armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon. next, a half hour nasa documentary chronicling the

"apollo 11" mission from liftoff to splashdown. >> we copy you down eagle. >> houston, the eagle has landed. >> roger. tranquillity he copy you on the ground. the guys were turning blue, we're breathing again. >> we're getting picture on the tv. great deal of contrast and currently it's upside down on our monitor but we can make out a fair amount of detail. we can see you coming down the ladder. >> sunday, july 20, 1969, around the world a billion people watched this on television as first man from earth prepared to set foot upon the moon.

>> it's about one or two inches, although the surface appears to be very, very fine grain as you get close to it. it's almost like a powder down there. one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> i believe that 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 the earth. >> what they accomplished in the years and days to come. we stand ready to share for the benefit of all mankind. >> as we explore the reaches of

space let us go to the new worlds together, not as new worlds to be conquered but as new adventures to be shared. >> since the earliest time man has imagined this moment. the moment when his fellow man would make the first journey to the moon. now the time had come. in the sixth decade of the 20th century the ancient dream was to become a reality. the flight of "apollo 11" was the culmination of many years of planning, working,%

earlier missions and now they were ready. the astronauts chosen for this mission had flown it many times in ground base simulators. now they too were ready. astronaut michael collins would pilot the command module. astronaut edwin aldrin jr. would pilot the lunar module. and astronaut neil armstrong would serve as mission commander. armstrong would be the first man to step upon the moon. july 16th, the day had come. the moon awaited. the men rose early, ate breakfast and dressed in their

space suits. [ applause ] other astronauts had made this journey to the launch pad, but never with such anticipation. 9:32 a.m., july 16th.

three hours later the apollo command module moves forward to extract lunar module from the third stage of the launch vehicle. both are moving at more than 17,000 miles per hour. docked together they will sail a million quarter miles across the sea of space and into orbit

around the earth's nearest neighbor. >> loud and clear, mike. we understand that you are docked. >> during the three day journey to the moon the astronauts kept busy. checklists, navigation and observation, house keeping. they must work in a weightless environment keeping their spacecraft and themselves in good condition. data must be collected and reported. experiments must be performed, including photography both inside and outside the spacecraft. because of the film speed these actions appear faster than they actually were.

july 19th, "apollo 11" slows down and goes into orbit around the moon. the bright blue planet of earth now lies 238,000 miles beyond the lunar horizon. astronauts armstrong and aldrin now in the lunar module separate from the command module. astronaut collins remains behind. preparation for the lunar module descent to the moon now begins.

the command module assumes the new name, "columbia." the lunar module will be called "the eagle." from "columbia" michael collins camera sees bright rays of the sun reflecting patterns of color from the surface of "the eagle." in this strange metallic bird rides the ancient and endless dream of all mankind. the command pilot can see detail which his camera cannot record. the four landing pads of the lunar module are fully dpended and locked in place. "the eagle" is prepared for its descent to the lunar surface.

the moon landing craft rocket engine fires to slow it down and to place it on the pathway to the landing site in the sea of tranquillity. there's tension and caution as "the eagle" flies lower. warning lights blink on as they try to keep up with data but the status remains go. >> eagle we got you now. it's looking good. over. >> roger, copy. >> eagle, houston, angled pitch. plus one eight. >> roger. here a go. >> go to continue. you're go to continue. >> altitude now 21,000 feet still looking very good.

velocity down to 1,200 feet per second. >> give us a reading on the program alarm. >> roger. we are going at alarm. >> good radar data. we're now in the approach phase. everything looking good. altitude 4200. you're go for landing. over. >> open landing. 3,000 feet. >> altitude 1600. 1400 feet still looking very good. >> 33 degrees. 100 feet down. 19. >> roger. 1201 alarm. we're a go. we're a go. >> altitude velocity light, air down. 23 feet. 15 forward. another forward. 200 feet. 4 1/2 down. 5 1/2 down. 60 seconds.

lights on. down 2 1/2. forward. forward. 30 feet down. 2 1/2. picking up some dust. forward. forward. drift to the right a little. engine stopped. >> we copy you down, eagle. >> tranquillity base, the eagle has landed. >> through the window of "the eagle" armstrong and aldrin see what no human eyes have ever seen before. their spacecraft casts a long shadow across the undisturbed dust of centuries.

seven hours after landing, after careful preparations for later assent were completed armstrong opens the eagle hatch and begins his climb down to the surface. the first foot steps on this strange new world must be taken cautiously. the moon has only one sixth the gravity of earth. the nature of its surface was still unknown.

>> step off now. that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> once on the surface armstrong scoops up a small sample of lunar dust and rock, precaution against the possibility of an emergency takeoff. according to plan, astronaut aldrin now descends from "the eagle." he and his equipment would weigh 383 pounds on earth. here they weigh about 66 pounds.

♪ for a brief moment the first men on the moon stand and look at the stark, lonely landscape around them, an experience which no one before them can share. but there is much to be done in the limited time in which they can stand on this airless, cloudless satellite of earth. this sheet of metal foil traps and holds particles from the sun, the solar wind or barrage

of solar energy which constantly strikes the moon's surface. results of this experiment will be taken back to earth to reveal new secrets to anxious scientists. an american flag is left behind on the moon, together with medals honoring american and vote spacemen who lost their lives in earlier space tests and a small disk carrying messages of goodwill from 73 nations on earth. a plaque on the lunar module reads here men from planet earth first set upon the moon july 1969 a.d. he came in peace for all mankind. through a specially made division camera viewers in many

nations on earth were able to watch the astronauts as they walked and worked on the moon. despite the bulky space suits and backpacks containing oxygen the "apollo 11" crew found they could easily move about the surface. because there is no wind or rain on the moon, these foot prints will remain for centuries. in addition to collecting rock and soil samples, the explorers leave behind a seismonitor. it will leave behind information on lunar moments.

a 100 prism laser reflect swror will help man measure the exact distance of earth to moon to an accuracy of six inches. these were the first of many experiments which will be taken to the moon to provide man continuing and increation knowledge about the moon]c-?ux. vastness of space beyond. after two hours and 31 minutes the first lunar explorers had completed their research on the moon. a night of rest in the lunar module, countdown preparations and they were ready to come

home. >> tranquillity base, houston. guidance recommendation. you're cleared for takeoff. >> roger, we understand. seven, six, five. >> beautiful. >> very quiet ride. >> thousand feet high, 80 feet per second vertical rise. >> eagle, houston, looking good. all green. >> right down u.s. 1. >> houston, right down the track, everything is great. >> horizontal velocity

approaching 2,500 feet per second. >> roger. >> some 2100 miles to go. >> july 21st, "the eagle" and it's two man crew lifted off perfectly and rendevoued to dock with the mother ship "columbia." >> while armstrong and aldrin explored the moon, astronaut collins kept a long and lonely vigil in the "columbia." the approaching eagle was a welcomed sight.

later the three men would share their reflections on this adventure with the world. >> i believe that from the early space flight we demonstrated potential to carry out this type of a mission and, again, it was a matter of time before this was accomplished. >> it's a technical triumph for this country to said what it was going to do a number of years ago and then by golly do it. >> the relative ease which we were able to carry out our mission which, of course, came after a very efficient and logical sequence of flights, i think this demonstrated that we were certainly on the right track when we took this commitment to go to the moon. >> i just see it as a beginning, a beginning of a new age.

once again the bright blue planet of earth rises over the lunar horizon. for those who had witnessed man's landing in the sea of tranquillity the moon would never again appear quite the same.

[ sirens ] >> july 24th, dawn in the pacific. apollo blazes across the heavens coming back to earth at 20,000 miles per hour. president richard nixon who had talked with the astronauts by telephone while they were on the moon was waiting aboard the recovery carrier to welcome the returning voyagers.

the president later expressed the nation's response to this historic mission. >> some way when those two americans stepped on the moon, the people of this world were brought closer together. that it is that spirit, the spirit of "apollo" that america can now help to bring to our relations with other nations. the spirit of "apollo" transcends geographical barriers and political differences, it can bring the people of the world together in peace. >> to protect against any possible lunar contamination the astronauts put on air tight special garments before coming on board the rescue ship. they transferred directly from the helicopter to a mobile

quarantine van in which they would be flown back to houston, texas. july 27th, the journey was ended. they were home again. ♪ [ applause ]

>> ahead lay three weeks of isolation, medical tests and mission debriefings. then visits to major cities of america and abroad. the details of their unique mission would be relived and re-remembered so others might learn what they had learned and that future travellers in space might build upon their experience. ♪ the rock and soil samples brought back would be examined and analyzed by scientists in many lands. they would reveal new insights in to the origin and age and the composition of the moon. and perhaps new knowledge of the earth as well.