Launch Of Apollo 11 In Real Time (July 16, 1969)

I meticulously synchronized the console audio from the Booster, CAPCOM, Flight, and RETRO feeds with footage from dozens of sources to come up with an experience close to what you would have gotten being on the inside of Mission Control on a headset for the launch of Apollo 11 on the morning of July 16, 1969. Enjoy!
#NASA #Apollo #Moon

[michlo]

Sending a 30-story building into space with nothing but magnetic tape, slide rules, cigarettes, and skinny ties is incredible by itself. But then navigating a quarter of a million miles of empty space in a tin can with only the aid of a few celestial observations and a 16-bit guidance computer to land on the moon is some serious piloting.

[Rogsie-pl]

If you weren’t there you can’t imagine the excitement of those days.

[jt]

The fact that you are holding something with more technology than that entire spaceship had is the more incredible thing

[rahnlawson]

I lived in Cocoa Beach at the time of the Apollo Program. My Dad worked at the Space Center at Cape Canaveral. I watched this launch from the beach. When these Saturn V rockets would launch all the windows in our house would rattle and sound like they were going to fall out of the window frame. Great memories growing up in Cocoa Beach during the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Sky Lab programs.

[cinemaipswich]

As a teenage boy in Australia, I remember watching the moon landing on B&W TV, via satellite, at school. It was the most amazing thing that I ever saw. I will never forget what happened on that day. The school principle said that we could go home. It was obviously important to him. Most of us stayed at school (a miracle) so that we could see it happen on the TV in the library. I will never forget that day.

[WayneScott-wz]

On the 16th July 1969, I was just a young boy aged 7. I recall being taken down stairs where I sat on the living room floor at the feet of my late father. I vaguely recall the excitement and build-up on our small black and white television set and then the count down and the ignition of thise 5 huge engines and the Saturn V slowly lifting from the launch pad and. Climbing high into the sky as the multiple tv cameras followed it on its journey to the moon. That mission was the beginning of my passion and love for all things to do with space flight and astronomy followed quickly along.
As I watch this video footage, my thoughts turn to Neil Armstrong who sadly passed away due to his operation and of course CM pilot Michael Collins too. Fortunately, we are all still blessed to have Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. With us to tell the story of that most incredible and momentus event in mankind's history - three brave men sat all suited and booted on top of that huge rocket as it thundered away into earth's orbit at 17, 500 mph and upon given the go ahead, fire the engine of the CM to push them to 25, 000 mph so as to break free from earth's gravity and onto La Luna.

[JeffSunnyside]

Finally, we see and hear what was happening at the start of human beings greatest achievement of the twentieth century. No music, narration, or useless journalism in this documentary, it can be witnessed ourselves. The communication, coordination and purpose of the people involved in the first lunar landing is important to acknowledge.Thank you for presenting this in such a way that all will understand the complexity of that endeavor.

[MrButtonpresser]

As a 7 year old at the time, this still ranks as one of the most amazing times of my life! Thanks very much.

[pdlawson-venusloon]

Stunning footage of an incredible achievement.

[fratercontenduntocculta]

It still amazes me that most of the math done for this mission was done on both chalkboards and paper. Early NASA is still my favorite era of the organization. Thanks for your hard work, Fran!

[jackreacher.]

I had the measles. My priorities were: Pillow, blanket, ice water with a bendy straw, and best CBS interception via rooftop antennae. I was America's most devoted Apollo 11 live coverage viewer.

[MrDHCuthill]

I was 17 at the time.
For me, this is the greatest achievement of all time. 55 years later, it still cannot be equalled.
People nowadays can't understand an era before the mobile phone and the internet. But at the time, this was the highest tech money could buy. On top of that, the sheer number of people, and the moving parts required to even launch the mission, let alone land men on the moon and return them safely to Earth today takes my breath away. At the time we took it for granted.
We assumed that by 1980 there would be moon bases. It never happened.
Today the funds are not available for such a mission. It will be a massive achievement to successfully complete another crewed landing on the Moon, because it will need to be done much more cheaply.

[emilycs]

Really brings light to how incredible the scope, and scale of mission control was. I knew it was massive, but this footage brings a new perspective to that I had not seen. Such as the scene panning through all the printers for telemetry with guys in IBM jackets.

[TomTimeTraveler]

Those of us fortunate to have witnessed this event as it happened will always have a sense of awe and pride in this astounding achievement.
Imagine the individuals in Mission Control who were part of this and those who are still with us can always say, "Yeah, I was there; I was part of it." Sends chills up my spine.
And it never gets old.

[tomcooper]

Was 13 in 69....we'd always watch every launch. We were so proud of our scientists, engineers and pilots. Such a nobel endeavor.

[kernfgr]

Even today, 55 years later, we can still marvel at this.

[henrybecker]

This is absolutely FANTASTIC Fran. Thank you so much for the great idea and all of the time you must have devoted to put this together..

[njwebwiz]

I watched every Apollo launch live when I was a kid. It's astonishing to think they accomplished all that with less computing power (on the rocket and in mission control combined) than I have in my pocket right now.

[lynnowens]

The bravery of the astronauts, the engineering brains (before the computer age as we know it) and the achievement of these guys is off the scale.

[soonerlon]

Great video - I still remember and loved our "Mercury, Gemini and Apollo years", what a great time to be an American. Speaking as a retired mechanical engineer, I still regard our walking on the moon as the greatest moment in technology. It's hard to believe that our phones have more computing power than all of the computers on the rocket and NASA and yet we still did it. What a great step it was!!!!