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KF5JRV > TODAY 24.07.19 13:41l 6 Lines 2724 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 11085_KF5JRV
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Subj: Today in History - Jul 24
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<N3HYM<KF5JRV
Sent: 190724/1137Z 11085@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQ6.0.18
At 12:51 EDT, Apollo 11, the U.S. spacecraft that had taken the firstastronauts to the surface of the moon, safely returns to Earth.The American effort to send astronauts to the moon had its origins in afamous appeal President John F. Kennedy made to a special joint sessionof Congress on May 25, 1961: “I believe this nation should commit itselfto achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man onthe moon and returning him safely to Earth.öEight years later, on July 16, 1969, the world watched as Apollo 11 tookoff from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, EdwinAldrin Jr., and Michael Collins aboard. After traveling 240,000 miles in76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19. The next day,at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by astronauts NeilArmstrong and Edwin “Buzzö Aldrin, separated from the command module,where a third astronaut, Michael Collins, remained. Two hours later, theEagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:18 p.m. the crafttouched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility.Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston a famousmessage: “The Eagle has landed.ö At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of theoriginal schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module.Seventeen minutes later, at 10:56 p.m., Armstrong spoke the followingwords to millions listening at home: “That’s one small step for man, onegiant leap for mankind.ö A moment later, he stepped off the lunarmodule’s ladder, becoming the first human to walk on the surface of themoon.Aldrin joined him on the moon’s surface at 11:11 p.m., and together theytook photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simplescientific tests, and spoke with President Richard M. Nixon via Houston.By 1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar moduleand the hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface ofthe moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to thecommand module. Among the items left on the surface of the moon was aplaque that read: “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on themoon–July 1969 A.D–We came in peace for all mankind.ö At 5:35 p.m.,Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at12:56 a.m. on July 22 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashingdown in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51 p.m. on July 24.There would be five more successful lunar landing missions, and oneunplanned lunar swing-by, Apollo 13. The last men to walk on the moon,astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt of the Apollo 17 mission,left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972.
73, Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV @ KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email: KF5JRV@GMAIL.com
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