his name was neil armstrong. shortly after 7 in the morning the 3 astronauts headed for the launch pad. with. armstrong the mission commander and pilot buzz aldrin will attempt a landing. michael collins will stay on board the command module as it continues to orbit the moon. it's now been 8 years and 2 months since president kennedy gave the order. among those doing the launch is former president lyndon johnson. the saturn 5 was the 1st u.s. rocket that was designed and built exclusively for space flights even though it was originally proposed as a launch vehicle for military satellites. janet armstrong and her 2 sons watched the liftoff from a friend's yacht it's now 1032 on the morning of july 16th. the crew reached orbit around 12 minutes after launch here they fly over the canary islands on an altitude of 190 kilometers. now the crew had to make a key flight decision once they did there would be no turning back. nearly 3 hours after liftoff the 3rd stage of the saturn 5 rocket was fired which pushed the apol

armstrong's cremated remains. were scattered at sea by a navy honor guard he summed up his historic achievement with a few simple words. in my own view the important achievement of all of it was a demonstration that humanity is not forever chained to this planet. if astronauts ever return to the moon or even if they travel to mars. they will carry with them the memory of neil alton armstrong. it might not look that appetizing. but they're very popular with or maybe. c.q. comes. through a sea creatures are found in southern madagascar. according to strict ecological regulations. that have a general who's going to match your. judgment that's double. the big i'm not laughing at the gym i just sometimes i am but i stand up and whip it up and research i don't think deep into the german culture of looking at the stereotypes question but if you think the future of the country that i doubt. kiev needed to be fixed for this drama. you because it's all about a new i might show join me for me jeff and sunday to be a. post. q

genet armstrong hoped for the best. landing except for the late afternoon on july 20th armstrong and buzz aldrin now entered the lunar lander and separated from the columbia command module. armstrong steered the lunar module standing up the vehicle had no seats to cut down on wait. the astronauts families followed the flight on t.v. . ready suddenly the modules guidance computer set off several alarms but it turned out to be nothing serious. we all feared the worst but a mission control technician who'd seen this problem before told the crew to ignore the computer and keep going or ignore we had been called. armstrong noticed that the lander was headed for a rocky area so we took a piece of action. armstrong stepped on the gas and flew the module like a helicopter knowing full well that he was running out of fuel we told our breath as the reports came in 60 seconds if you will level $1030.00 he's going to. armstrong kept his nerve and landed the module safely. back right. ok and i'm. going to ground out of my garden abo

armstrong. 38-year-old american standing on the surface of the moon, on this july 20, 1969. >> that is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> i think that was neil's quote. i didn't understand. >> one small step for man but i didn't get the second phrase. we would like to know what it was. andhe surface is fine powdery. i can pick it up loosely. it appears in the fine layers like powdered charcoal to the sides of my boots. walter: that is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> the footprint of my boots and the treads, are fine, sandy particles. >> neil, this is houston, we are copying. mr. cronkite: thank you, television for letting us watch this one. this is something. 240 thousand miles out there on the moon. >> there is difficulty moving around, as we suspected. it is even perhaps easier than s performed on the ground. definitely no trouble to walk around. mr. cronkite: that is good news. mr. armstrong: it did not leave a crater of any size. there is about one

neil armstrong, buzz armstrong, michael collins. i think neil armstrong would history should not simply record the first man on the moon, period. >> ok, i'm heading in. >> neil has been on the surface a few minutes longer than two hours. buzz, approximately 20 minutes less than that. >> this is houston. the magazine go off on that sample, over? >> i have half the magazine hooked in the m 13. >> roger. >> he has a record of losing those film and camera magazines in space, don't want to leave any on the moon. leave the cameras but not the pictures. nothing worse than getting home from a holiday to find you didn't get pictures of the kids with uncle ed or superman or whoever. announcer: all weekend, american history tv is looking back 50 years to the apollo 11 moon landing. we continue now with cbs live coverage of the return and recovery of the apollo 11 astronauts on july 24, 1969. the broadcast includes president nixon's interviews with the three astronauts, buzz aldrin, neil armstrong, and michael hornet, aboard the uss the ship th

armstrong: that one? mr. aldrin: yes. ok, you are clear now. mr. armstrong: thank you. wally: new armstrong has the scoop for -- scoop for the bulk sample. >> they have about another hour and 25 minutes of activity fore it will be closed. they have an hour more on the scope. >> it has completely disappeared .ow >> i don't know what color to describe this other than a grayish-purple color. most of theering lighter part of the boot. very fine particles. buzz, this is houston p you are cutting out of the end of your transmissions -- houston. you are cutting out at the end of your transmissions. can you move your microphone over? mr. aldrin: roger. i will try that. >> beautiful. mr. aldrin: that went inside my mouth that time. >> it got a little wet. >> neil has been on the surface for an hour now. buzz, not quite 20 minutes less than that. >> in general, time spent in the shadow [indiscernible] inside the suit. but ais a difference tendency to be cooler than out in the sun. >> this is houston paired over. -- houston. over. >> one hour and a half expended on the's s as well

neil armstrong was reserved. as his family and i were just chatting he was in some respects even try. that was how it struck me on the few occasions i had the privilege to speak with him. i told rick, my young daughter charlotte and i had the privilege of watching the last space shuttle launches with new armstrong. oh struck by his ability and modesty and how quickly he deferred whatever he had accomplished to literally hundreds of thousands of men and women in engineers. who made it possible for him to be there and come home safe. but among his colleagues it's important to remember on this day when we unveil this historic spacesuit that neil armstrong was called ice commander. generations who enjoyed this display i think would do well to remember the strength of character encouraged of this man. just month before apollo 11 the loss control designed to help astronauts train for the moon landing and history records he objected three seconds before it crashed to the ground and exploded in a ball of fire. more remar

, with mary, with rick's oldest son, bryce armstrong. would you join me in welcoming the armstrong family and friends? thank you for being with us. it is an honor to be here at the national air and space museum to unveil one of the most important artifacts of what president kennedy called correctly the most hazardous and most dangerous and greatest adventure upon which mankind has ever embarked. on this day 50 years ago, apollo 11 launched from pad 39-a at the kennedy space center to begin its historic quarter million mile journey to the moon. just three days later, mission commander neil armstrong would wear the space suit that we will unveil in just a few moments when he took that one giant leap for mankind. when president kennedy declared in 1961 that the united states would put a man on the moon before the decade was out, it is important to remember in our time that he issued a challenge before our country was able to meet it. the truth is, we didn't have the rockets, we didn't have launch pads, we didn't have space suits. we not onl

armstrong at houston. for word that she's leaving her house and television cameras set up on the lawn along with story cameras, from the world's press waiting to see the wife of the commander of apollo 11 on this great day when they have returned safely to earth after a historic mission to the moon. we reported a little bit earlier, congratulations are flowing in. they came the first time with landing on the moon and now with successful completion of the entire mission. the president of the soviet union has sent his congratulations from moscow. the russian news agency reports this. you know, as we wait for mrs. armstrong, something occurs to me here. i got a very nice wire from general ed white. his father, a astronaut who was our first to walk many space and who lost his live in the pad fire of what was to have been the first test flight of the apollo command module. along with gus grissom and roger chaffee. we say frequently and it's almost a cliche that these men did not die in vain. these fellows reall

armstrong is on the moon. neil armstrong, standing on the service of the moon. this july 20, 1969. neil: that is one small step for mankind.giant leap for i think that was neil's quote. one small step for man, but i did not get a second phrase. the surface is fine and powdery. i can pick it up loosely with my 1toe. it is an fine layers like powdered charcoal. walter: that is one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. neil: the footprints of my boot, the treads are in the fine particles. houston: this is houston, we are copying. thank you television for letting us watch this one. it is something. there seems to be no difficulty in moving around. easier than the various simulations we performed on the ground. around.le to walk walter: that is good news. neil: we have about one foot clearance on the ground, we are on a very level place. of rasee some evidence ys imitating, but very insignificant amount. >> they need to fix that simulation. walter: yeah. we're getting a negative picture back, they switched to negative polarity. >> we are in good shape. looks like it is coming

armstrong. there's been speculation about what the first man on the moon will say when he gets there. will you prepare something ahead of time or will it be prepared for you or can we expect a spontaneous exclamation? >> attention during the training period and up until now has been focused on how to do the job and how to do it fast, and not so much with what might be the emotions of the moment. >> reporter: and then it was time. 50 years ago tomorrow morning, families across the country gathered in their living rooms. hundreds of millions watching all over the world. >> the estimate is more than 1 million persons are in the immediate area. >> reporter: gathering along highways, beaches, setting up tents. children wearing space helmets. ready for launch in florida. >> go for launch. >> go for launch. >> we're down to 12. 11. 10. 9. ignition sequence started. we should see fire. 4. 3. 2. 1. >> liftoff. >> liftoff. >> roger, liftoff. >> and we have liftoff. >> reporter: at 9:32 a.m., apollo 11 lif

armstrong, collins, and aldrin could not have accomplished this alone. apollo 11 was the culmination of the hard work of more than 400,000 americans who, with limited experience and comparatively primitive technology, committed themselves to accomplish this task and completing president kennedy's order of rushing the astronauts safely home. i'm so proud to represent johnson space center in houston, texas, and the historic mission control of that apollo era. on the wall of the house science, space and technology committee, here in the -- on capitol hill where i serve as senior republican on the space and aeronautics subcommittee is written from the bible proverbing 29:18 which reads, where there is no vision, the people perish. the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing should serve as a reminder of what we as a nation can accomplish when we do have a clear mission. 600 million people from around the world gathered around their grainy television sets to watch those first steps. what is amazing is that this took place only 40 years after lindhberg firs

armstrong. >> come forward mrs. armstrong please. how are you?ike to say to the president of the united states, president nixon, president , to all to all of nasa of the contractors that have helped make this flight successful, to the astronaut who madethe three men this historic flight, and to all the people of the world we thank everything, your prayers, your thoughts, everything. if anyone were to ask me how i could describe the flight i can only say that it was absolutely out of this world. >> can you tell us how you feel? >> i am proud of him i guess. mrs. armstrong did you have any sort of good luck charm you might be able to tell us about? can you tell us what your husband took to the moon for you? can you tell us if he left anything on the moon? can you tell us what the president said in his telephone call? >> he told me he would be -- >> are you looking forward to the ceremonies? >> i think they will be outstanding. it is time for your husband to quit or do you think he should keep going? >> i don't care what he does. [indiscernible] >>

what is the first thing you and neil armstrong will do after landing? mr. aldrin: one of the first things we will be engaged in is making immediate decisions as to how long we will be staying on the surface. there are several favored abort points that we will be checking various systems to get a stay or no stay beyond these points. the first one occurs some four or five minutes after touchdown, the next one about 10 minutes, and the final stay occurs one revolution afterwards. what we will be doing during that first revolution is very intensely preparing the vehicle for a simulated countdown to launch, which we will carry up to the last five or 10 minutes before the ascent. following this, we will go --ough that to the ascent one revolution later, as the command module comes over. following this we will go through a powerdown of the systems in the lunar module, preparing it for an extended stay on the surface. we will have an eating period followed by a four-hour rest period. when we awake hopefully from much-needed sleep after four hours, we will have anot

at the time the burn was initiated armstrong's heart rate was 110.own on the lunar surface, he had a hard rate of 156. and the heart rate is now in the 90s. we do not have biomedical data on buzz aldrin. >> the hatch is coming open. >> hatch reported coming open at 109 hours eight minutes five seconds. >> okay, houston, i'm on the porch. >> roger, neil. >> okay, everything's nice in here. >> okay. can you pull the door open a little more? >> okay. >> okay. >> houston, this is neil. radio check. >> neil, this is houston, loud and clear. break, break. buzz, this is houston. radio check and verify tv circuit breaker in. >> roger. tv circuit breaker's in. >> roger. >> and we're getting a picture on the tv. >> you had a good picture, huh? >> there's a great deal of contrast in it and currently it's upside down on our monitor but we can make out a fair amount of detail. >> okay. >> i'm at the foot of the ladder. the lem foot beds are only depressed in the surface about one or two inches, although the surface appears to be very, very fine grained as you get

lift-off on apollo 11. >> neil armstrong reporting. apollo 11. [ applause ] >> one bravo is aboard control mode. altitude is 2 miles. houston, you're good at one minute. >> we're through the reach of the maximum pressure now. 11 houston you're looking good. >> eight miles down range. velocity 4,000 feet per second. >> stand by for mode 1 charley. >> stand by for mode 1 charley. >> mark, mode 1 charley. >> go. go. >> apollo 11 from houston you are go. >> giving the report here from the control center. >> stage two. >> thrust is go all engines. looks good. >> houston, thrust is go all engines. you're looking good. >> roger. we confirm. >> roger. >> neil armstrong confirming both the engine separation and the launch escape tower separation. down range 270 miles, altitude 82 miles. >> stand by. >> okay. >> roger. >> the visual is go today. >> this is houston. roger that. >> altitude is 100 miles, down range 883 miles. outboard engine cut-off. >> and ignition. >> ignition confirmed. >> and we are at the third stage now. velocity 23,128 feet

armstrong was working by the lunar module with his back to the camera. suddenly aldrin came dashing in from the left parade across the land site, moon dirt flying from his glutes. and the generation back to mission control was called but his feet was anything but. he was doing a move run, as far as saying what a sustained pace might be, but what i'm using now we get rather tiring after several hundred . even though the whole point of the spacesuit was to explore the moon, ream could not wait for the moonwalk to end. why in the world where they all acting crazy on the moon, of all places? ream knew that the astronauts were out there you for actually enjoyingwhat they were doing . if the world was excited about the moon landing, imagine that you guys got to do it. according to the flightplan after the landing armstrong and aldrin were scheduled for a five hour. a told mission control and wanted to get the net and get outside had flown all the way to the moon to wait. still, what aldrin Ãaround ream", nothing please get back up the ladder, get back into the

neil armstrong: the eagle has landed. mission control: roger, tranquility.t was 50 years ago today six hundred million people watched neil armstrong take that first, small step onto the moon's surface. buzz aldrinjoined him 19 minutes later. it's 3:30 a.m.. our world is on next, about the story of twins joined at the head. safa and marwa are identical twins joined at the head. the family wants doctors to separate them. great ormond street in london of the few hospitals in the world with the expertise to do it. what we need to achieve is effectively an twisting the brains, and that is difficult, a bit too difficult. but it is perilous. there the bbc was given unique access to chart the complex medical and ethical choices made. the moment of truth. everything has just got to be perfect. in the hope of giving the girls safa and marwa are 21 months old, and were born in pakistan. they have come to london's great ormond street hospital with their mother zainab, grandfather and uncle, and are under the care of neurosurgeon owasejeelani. it is clearly very difficul

for neil armstrong. michael collins. and buzz aldrin it was the mission of their lives the estimated probability for success was put it only 20 percent by nasa technicians and engineers. the launch was followed by multiple complex maneuvers each of which would have disastrous consequences if anything went wrong to get to the moon pilot mike collins had to ignite an engine to the nearest 2nd and then down the lander ferry and separated from the rocket. surely duke was one of the team members at the control center he kept in touch with the astronauts on their mission. that the ready 1st place was building but we were in a space race with the russians so that motivated ready us to commit to it. there was a tense moment 4 days into the mission when armstrong and aldrin flew towards the moon again and again the radio cut out. then the navigation computer sounded the alarm neil armstrong took control and landed the lunar module gently. on the moon's surface. here. maybe your. way through the eagle is. very excitedly i said wri

armstrong didn't always respond.luting the solar system. >> so this is someone writing saying they're upset they left things behind on the moon. >> mr. dickerson is concerned about environmental trash. armstrong sent a long letter back. >> as you can see from the second paragraph, nasa has taken all reasonable precautions to avoid disrupting the natural environment of the moon. >> there's a merchant in turkey who armstrong paid for suv souvenirs. >> this is a guy who sold armstrong something where he was visiting. didn't want to cash the check because it was from neil armstrong but then wrote armstrong to say can you send me another check. >> neil sent a duplicate. he said keep one for yourself and cash the other. in which case you may feel free to destroy the check. >> international letters surprised hansen. the many complimentary letters from our -- >> the first chapters you deal with is letters from soviets. from russians. >> yeah. >> who were congratulating him. >> that's right. >> another reason i wanted to do t

with fuel running low, commander armstrong takes manual control. armstrong takes manual control. for man, one giant leap for mankind. 0n on tv all across the world 600 million people were watching. on tv all across the world 600 million people were watchingm on tv all across the world 600 million people were watching. it is very different, but it is very pretty out here. at the time all things seemed possible, yet three yea rs later things seemed possible, yet three years later the apollo programme ended and humans have not been back since. it was america's flag planted, but this moment was an achievement for all humanity. the mesmerising coverage of that landing, brought previously unthinkable images into homes across the world. 22 million people tuned in to watch the bbc‘s first all night broadcast and it was all unplanned. james burke was the man who guided the nation through all the events, and david sillito has been to meet him. good evening! james burke, 50 years ago he was the bbc‘s moon man. at this moment, apollo 11 is nearly 35,000 miles out from earth and heading for t

we all remember the very first words uttered by neal armstrong after landing. he said, quote, houston, tranquility base here. the eagle has landed. of course, he was talking to the greatest minds of the generation who were working at johnson space center in houston, texas. the men and women at mission control center exercised full control over apollo 11 from the launch at canada space center to the landing on the moon to the splashdown in the pacific ocean. for more than 50 years now, the johnson space center has been at the heart of america's space program. the successful apollo mission marked a turning point in space exploration and folks across texas are eager to celebrate this momentous anniversary. you can do like i have and visit johnson space center yourself and see nasa's mission control from apollo. it's redesigned to look exactly the way it did in 1969, down to the retrocoffee cups and glass ashtrays. you can watch the houston astros you can find space-themed menus and ask an astronaut events to educate our next generation of space travelers. to comme

there is a reason neil armstrong as well was called the ice commander.anding area turned out 3 so full of large boulders that landing there would have doomed the mission and the crew, history records that neil armstrong calmly took control of the lunar module, skimmed along the top of the surface of the moon in search for a safe place to touchdown and by the time he found a safe spot known to all of us as tranquility base, armstrong and aldrin had only 17 seconds of fuel remaining. like every one of my generation iran member that day. 600 million people around the world were watching their tvs and listening to their radios, waiting with admiration, anxiety, and wonder. and i was one of them. a little boy sitting in front of our black and white television in the basement of our home in indiana. when those first snowy images of neil armstrong stepping off the bottom rung of the latter beamed to earth at 10:5:06 pm on sunday, july 20, 1969, they made an indelible mark not just on my imagination but on the imagination of my generation and every generation to

armstrong, collins, and aldrin could not have accomplished this alone. apollo 11 was the culmination of the hard work of more than 400,000 americans who, with limited experience and comparatively primitive technology, committed themselves to accomplish this task and completing president kennedy's order of rushing the astronauts safely home. i'm so proud to represent johnson space center in houston, texas, and the historic mission control of that apollo era. on the wall of the house science, space and technology committee, here in the -- on capitol hill where i serve as senior republican on the space and aeronautics subcommittee is written from the bible proverbing 29:18 which reads, where there is no vision, the people perish. the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing should serve as a reminder of what we as a nation can accomplish when we do have a clear mission. 600 million people from around the world gathered around their grainy television sets to watch those first steps. what is amazing is that this took place only 40 years after lindhberg firs

for neil armstrong. michael collins. and buzz aldrin it was the mission of their lives the estimated probability for success was put it only 20 percent by nasa technicians and engineers. the launch was followed by multiple complex maneuvers each of which would have disastrous consequences if anything went wrong to get to the moon pilot mike collins had to ignite an engine to the nearest 2nd and then down the lander ferry and separate it from the rocket. surely duke was one of the team members at the control center he kept in touch with the astronauts on their mission. the enthusiasm for space was building but we were behind in a space race with the russians so that motivated us to commit to it. there was a tense moment 4 days into the mission when armstrong and aldrin flew towards the moon again and again the radio cut out. then the navigation computer sounded the alarm neil armstrong took control and landed the lunar module gently on the moon's surface. with. new york. way through the go is. very exciting only roger toy

but the room a legend was simply a human being who was neil armstrong. was his destiny starts july 20th on t.w. . welcome to global street thousands this week we learned why matchmaking agencies a site in china. we took to farmers in columb.

and i hosted neil armstrong several times. you get to be able to asking questions and those kinds of things. such a great hero for all of us. what he used to say, hey, you are a hero, he would say, i am, and forever will be, white sox, pocket protector, nerdy engineer. i remember sitting at dinner with him and the highest award at purdue is the neil armstrong of work. and we were honoring sully sullenberger with. so, he gets up on stage, and he goes, he looks down at the table and he says sully, we have two awards in common. one is obviously the neil armstrong award. and, he goes, the second is the people who land in strange places. that is just a little bit of him. but i think my greatest point of personal connection and pride is that my oldest son is a rocket scientist. he is a spacecraft design engineer at the jet propulsion laboratory at nasa. he has designed a robot arm for mars 2020. i will never forget going down, the first time i went to go see him, he's so excited. he goes dad, these are the smartest people in the wor

armstrong selected because he was a civilian? was --i don't think that it was certainly a consideration that neil -- almost all the astronauts of been military test pilots. neil was a test pilot but he was a civilian test pilot. i don't think that was very high on the list of selection criteria for the mission. was in the rotation that made them the choice for the first landing attempt. then his bosses recognized he was particularly well-suited to be the first man. the fact he was a civilian may have been an element. in that host: from peoria, illinois. hi, i was a 20-year-old in college not knowing what i would do. nasa was on my list. i ended up being a college teacher. i have been a college professor for over 40 years teaching history of mathematics in particular. when i think about watching the 66 years as a, blink in the eye of the history of the world. 66 years after the wright brothers. i remember that hitting me. born twoy dad was just years after the wright brothers and he was sitting there watching the plan on the moon.

neil armstrong, buzz aldrin and i. three very lucky people. neil armstrong was born in 1930. buzz aldrin in 1930, mike collins in 1930. three quite different people. neil armstrong did not like the spotlight. buzz aldrin does like the spotlight. mike collins does not like — with all due respect, sir — mike collins does not like the spotlight either. and yet here we are and we will talk about what happened in 1969. do you talk about it with an enduring sense of pride? very much so. i was very proud of the job that the three of us did getting us to and from the moon. the trip is a long and fragile daisychain and the links are very fragile and we were able to keep them all intact and do ourjob properly. but more than the three of us, there were almost 400,000 americans working on project apollo and i thank them. they're the ones who don't get recognised. i want to take you back quite some time before the mission, before those amazing pictures of the footsteps on the moon. i want to take you back tojohn f kennedy pledging to invest whatever it took to get american men onto the mo

right down to those famous words from neil armstrong. it was 50 years ago this morning, 9:32 eastern, neil armstrong, buzz aldrin, michael collins taking off at kennedy space center in florida. >> i can see her rising now. >> reporter: 76 hours and 240,000 miles later, they entered into the lunar orbit. it was the next day armstrong opens the hatch five hours ahead of schedule. 10:56 p.m. on july 20, armstrong steps off ladder and steps foot on the moon. but that famous quote, was it really what americans heard? >> that's one small step for man. one giant leap for mankind. >> reporter: he later said it was difficult to hear what he actually planned to say. that's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. buzz aldrin, who jo would join the moon 19 minutes later. they took photographs, ran sign tiffist tests. 1:11 in the morning, july 21st, both astronauts were back inside, hatch closed, and they would sleep on the surface of the moon. few remember armstrong's backpack hit the "engine arming switch," needed to light the engine,

for neil armstrong. michael collins. and buzz aldrin it was the mission of their lines the estimated probability for success was put it only 20 percent by nasa technicians and engineers. to launch was followed by multiple complex maneuvers each of which would have disastrous consequences if anything went wrong to get to the moon. pilot mike collins had to ignite an engine to the nearest 2nd and then dunk the lander fairy and separated from the rocket. charlie duke was one of the team members at the control center he kept in touch with the astronauts on their mission. the ready enthusiasm for space was building but we were behind in the space race with the russians so that motivated the u.s. to commit to it. there was a tense moment 4 days into the mission when armstrong and aldrin flew towards the moon again and again the radio cut out. then the navigation computer sounded the alarm neil armstrong took control and landed the lunar module gently on the moon's surface. when neil came back for a way through the eagle has la

there is you and neil armstrong? yep. when you and neil armstrong? yep. your life in the public eye, neal backed away. he didn't want to sign anything, he didn't want to sign anything, he didn't want to sign anything, he didn't want photos taken, he just wa nted didn't want photos taken, he just wanted to be private person neil armstrong. at this museum in nearby titusville, consoles and various space mission memorabilia are needed by astronauts and space workers are lovingly showcased. this week is very much about honouring the achievements of the past, but at the kennedy space center, eyes are firmly fixed on producing astronauts and technicians for the future with hands—on training experiences for younger visitors. they will be needed. we are in a renaissance now, the nation is building three cups was to return to the moon, two of them are being built here. we're building bigger rockets, state—of—the—art satellite facilities, it's a good time. because the birthplace of american spaceflight is now reinventing itself as america's spaceport.. long—term vi

the first step by neil armstrong, at about 10:56 p.m. on july the 20th, but buzz aldrin would follow about 20 minutes later. that mission, when the astronauts left the moon july 21, 1969, returning to earth on july 24, 1969. we talk about the historical significance, what it means for spaceflight today, and as we hear from historians and astronauts at the like, we will hear from you. you can call and let us know those impressions. again, if you watched the moon [indiscernible] -- landing, (202)n for8000, and (202) 748-8001 all others. if you want to share your history.ns on c-span facebook.com, you can talk about the apollo 11 mission. you can participate on twitter in a poll that c-span history. weekend long will give your programming specifically related to apollo 11. you can watch that on c-span3. go to our website at c-span.org. if you go to the webpage you can find all the programming that they have planned and all the other information for you, specifically not only about apollo 11, but other programming as well. another interestin

neil armstrong was one of my heroes. what my heroes did they did for all mankind.t was a pity that it was not us russians that space travel was developing fast and it was clear that many countries would send astronauts into space. now i am at the end of my career as an astronaut but i have never been to the moon. >> he is saying it was our humanity, a bigger part that we discovered we went to the moon. what about at nasa? what have we discovered? you know the problems with financing g and funding. what can be improved today? >> i was 14 at the time.e. what he says resonates with m me very much. part of the problem, g going bak to the moon has never been rocket science. it is s political. can you maintain a program f for enough yeaears and justify the expense to congress and go through elections and still have the next administration one to supportt something and thehere a lot of risk there that is political. i i guess what w we have also learned n now is w wisest sewero do something now that we did 50 years ago?o? nobody has the answer. ththis is the thirird time w

narrator: neil armstrong, command pilot for the apollo 11 moon landing mission. what is the purpose of the apollo 11 the mission? 11 ismstrong: apollo man's first attempt to demonstrate the ability to go to the moon, to land there, and to return to earth. narrator: what are your responsibilities as commander of apollo 11? mr. armstrong: in general, the responsibilities are to make the on-board decisions whenever required, because i oversee the performance of, the duties of all the crew, including himself. case, iparticular participate in procedures on board the spacecraft as well as oversee those of my fellow crewmembers, and the specific tasks that i am charged with the performance of include monitoring the launch, the manual climb of the boosters, should that be required, and taking my turn on watch and monitoring of the spacecraft systems in the command module. in the lunar module, i'm charged almost equally with the lunar module pilot in the operation of the lunar module systems and control of the vehicle during descent and ascent. interviewer: will you descr

armstrong selected because he was a civilian? was --i don't think that it was certainly a consideration that neil -- almost all the astronauts of been military test pilots. neil was a test pilot but he was a civilian test pilot. i don't think that was very high on the list of selection criteria for the mission. was in the rotation that made them the choice for the first landing attempt. then his bosses recognized he was particularly well-suited to be the first man. the fact he was a civilian may have been an element. in that host: from peoria, illinois. hi, i was a 20-year-old in college not knowing what i would do. nasa was on my list. i ended up being a college teacher. i have been a college professor for over 40 years teaching history of mathematics in particular. when i think about watching the 66 years as a, blink in the eye of the history of the world. 66 years after the wright brothers. i remember that hitting me. born twoy dad was just years after the wright brothers and he was sitting there watching the plan on the moon.