July 16, 2019: Fifty years ago today, Apollo 11 took off from Cape Kennedy on mankind’s first journey to walk on the moon. The crew included Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.[1]
Six months earlier, Apollo 8 had become the first mission to leave earth’s gravitational field and orbit the moon. That was followed by Apollo 9 in March, the first time the lunar module was tested in flight.[2] Apollo 9, however, never left earth's orbit.
In May, Apollo 10 followed Apollo 8’s path and became the second mission to orbit the moon. They even went a step further when astronauts Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. Cernan flew the lunar module within 10 miles of the moon’s surface. They made two passes over the expected Apollo 11 landing site.[3]
All of this was done in preparation for the launch of Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. Following the launch, the crew orbited the earth for 2 ½ hours. They then reignited their engines and became the third crew to escape earth’s gravity. It would take them three days to reach the moon and journey into history.
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