The July 1969 landing of the Eagle, the manned module of NASA’s Apollo 11 lunar mission, marked the fulfillment of President Kennedy’s goal of reaching the moon within a decade. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. made the landing; Michael Collins piloted the command module that returned the three safely to Earth.
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Apollo 11 Mission Commentary, Transcript, July 20, 1969
Sending Americans into Space
In the 1950s, the United States and the Soviet Union began programs for manned and unmanned scientific missions into space. The Soviets’ successful launch of the unmanned Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957 made Congress determined to jolt the U.S. space program into action. Winning the race to space became a political, scientific, and security priority. The United States intensified its efforts to be the first nation to send a man to the moon.
The July 1969 landing of the Eagle, the manned module of NASA’s Apollo 11 lunar mission, marked the fulfillment of President Kennedy’s goal of reaching the moon within a decade. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. made the landing; Michael Collins piloted the command module that returned the three safely to Earth.
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
