GREEN LIGHT FOR A LUNAR LANDING

[Music] on May 18th 1969 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Apollo 10 stood ready on pad [Music] 39b it was the work of 400,000 people and would carry three of them to the Moon two of them within 9 miles of its surface the closest man had ever been [Music] it was a flight that had to be made before others could safely land by 10: a.m. Thomas Stafford John Young and Eugene cernon were ready and received an affectionate send off from an upstart Beagle from a comic strip Snoopy a pilot himself and longtime mascot of the Apollo quality control program really deserved to go along anyway he was there in spirit and in name and throughout the complex and difficult Mission Good Humor prevailed a mood which the world shared a good thing to have when you're out there alone a quarter of a million miles from [Music] home 17 seconds in counting guidance internal 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 we have ignition sequence start [Music] space flight seems to express extreme of every sort an inferno below a blizzard of ice above overpowering thrust contrasting with seeming reluctance to [Music] go 20 seconds and 280 tons of fuel later the rocket cleared the path [Music] [Music] the launch directors found that they had been within 7,000 of a second of their planned time for liftoff it was going well right on time right on Target in Houston the flight controllers breeed through Earth orbit and injection towards the moon with deceptive ease and calm the three astronauts had been very active in getting color TV put aboard and were determined to share their experience in space hey we got the color now okay I'll try adjus it for you yes sir it's looking great uh no sweat we got it right in the center of the screen Jean it looks like the sun's really bright on it tremendous in the first transmission they brought virtually the entire world into their cabin to witness their first critical Maneuvers separation and docking with the lunar module [Music] our 10 it's looking real stable to us we show you closing [Music] fining a second I hope [Music] Roger there got you saw the do Char any Master alarm everything looks Apollo 10 had a rugged Flight Plan it combined the features of the nine flights before it and was a full dress rehearsal for the infinitely complicated lunar Landing to follow fortunately between the Earth and the moon there's a long Coast with some time to unwind after liftoff and subsequent Maneuvers this gives the astronauts an opportunity to adjust to a weightless environment in which there is no up or down no Sunrise or Sunset and no one else around [Music] in the second color telecast the three astronauts introduced their two starways Snoopy and his pal Charlie [Music] Brown good G Charlie Brown now you're going to bring on that wizard here okay we got Snoopy now well he's been quiet for two days he's he's going to get a chance to do a little woing here in the next couple days we notice the resemblance there too Snoopy R I didn't know Tom had a big nose like that on TV and in onboard Motion Pictures the crew appeared deceptively idle for the average viewer the astronauts humor and their relaxed appearance tended to obscure the 8 days of intense concentration [Music] on they sailed by Tuesday Morning May 20th they were 1,000 mi from home and would soon be feeling the pull of the moon's gravity at that point their speed would increase from a low of 2500 [Music] mph on Earth at 1/2 mph Apollo 11 had started its Journey to the Moon [Music] [Music] in Test Facilities and simulation Chambers the crew of Apollo 11 continue the exact and intense training which had already filled their lives for so many months Edwin Aldren lunar module pilot Neil Armstrong spacecraft Commander the one slated to be the first man to set foot on the [Music] moon Michael Collins Command Module pilot the training goes on suit tests and previews of their Hardware simulated lunar gravity training underwater and in the [Music] air the role of lunar Landing might have fallen to any of the astronaut Crews it might even have been the crew of Apollo 10 as it is the burden of reality the excitement of what is almost unreality has been given to these [Music] three meanwhile the Apollo 10 trajectory was so accurate that three of the four midcourse Corrections were skipped on the fourth day 74 hours into the flight a precise burst of the main engine put them into orbit around the Moon [Music] then another burst using only a few ounces of fuel fired at just the right instant for a precise length of time made their orbit nearly circular at 69 Mi and they prepared for descent in the lunar module astronauts Stafford young and cernon became the second group of three to see this site and they were the first with the potential to see it from a point 60 Mi closer than it appears in this [Music] scene it was a prime objective of Apollo 10 to duplicate the Apollo 11 flight plan in every way the timing spacecraft performance the performance of men and equipment on Earth the only minor difference would come [Music] now this is their lunar track as it was displayed in the control room at Houston and this is the view they had from The Command Module looking past the thrusters of the lunar [Music] module Jack you're looking at some of those uh depressions that go right through uh some of the ERS now and and they're very flat and where the shadow where they're shallow we can see right to the bottom of them now it was time for Stafford and cernon to crawl through the connecting Tunnel right away there were problems while Houston and the world waited they finally solved a pressure problem in the tunnel and fixed a radar system defect then there was an unexplained twisting in the docking collar but it didn't get worse as they disappeared behind the moon for the 11th time they were still together when they next appeared they were 50 ft apart flying formation John Young radioed his companions below you'll never know how big this thing gets when there ain't nobody in here but one guy and they answered you'll never know how small it looks when you're as far as we are here in the lunar environment as Apollo 9 had done in Earth's environment the crew was able to check out the lunar modules Landing radar navigation and guidance systems they were also proving Out The Descent rocket an engine which can be throttled like an ordinary [Applause] car the reflection in the window comes from the astronaut's sleeves as he took the pictures I hear you weaving your way up the freeway the waterless Sea of Tranquility was their target and the decent orbits swept them in lower and lower for the first pass over Landing site number two this is a preview of what the crew of the Apollo 11 will see when they head in for lunar Landing Apollo 10 made the same run at the the same angle under the same lighting conditions only shortly after Splashdown this film was being used by the 11 crew in the lunar Landing simulators in Houston that's a characteristic of all Photography in Space the pictures one sees in print and on television are actually there as a bonus for the primary purpose is most often scientific and there are dozens of experts in many fields impatient for prints the moment a spacecraft returns to earth in the science of geology there is disagreement over the formation of the moon's surface some believe it is the result of volcanoes some say meteors some say [Music] both in this scene the altitude is 9 mies not much more than that of a commercial jet but the clarity of detail is far greater since there are no clouds or Haze and no gases acting as distorting [Music] [Applause] [Music] filters as the crew told mission control it looks so close all you have to do is to put your tail wheels down and you're there they were close all right within 50,000 ft a level at which the Command Module could still have come down and rescue them if necessary one more burn of The Descent engine and they would indeed have been right down among sample is sample number 12 and here on a mock lunar surface in a hanger at Houston the Apollo 11 Landing crew is practicing with equip and Drilling and procedures for that fast approaching [Music] day example number 13 is a particular but rtic looking into this pocket over Neil Armstrong's Knee will go the so-called contingency sample the one that guarantees that something will be brought back even if they leave in a hurry during the actual Mission every sample will be described and [Music] [Music] photographed the crinkly material on the outside of the lunar module is for protection against extremes in temperature by pulling a lanyard they open the panel protecting the two scientific experiments which they will leave [Music] behind one is a battery of reflectors which will bounce back laser beams from Earth the second is a moonquake detector these panels will collect energy from the Sun and keep the batteries charged okay next they will take bulk samples of the lunar soil in this training session just sawdust the lightness of which may help them adjust to the expected workload in lunar gravity which is one6 that of Earth Gravity the characteristics of the lunar surface that we see that is certainly bring back the bulk samples are sealed in return containers better known as rock boxes on those at the end of 22 hours two and a half of them working outside the lunar module the Apollo 11 Landing crew Will Blast Off from the surface of the Moon leaving The Descent stage where it [Music] landed Apollo 10 however now sweeping into the second pass over the prime Landing site slightly lower still had only to separate from The Descent stage and move up to rendevu with the command ship it did not start well the backup guidance system apparently did not function properly the spacecraft took a sudden and unexpected 180° turn the astronauts took over manual control and stabilized the lunar module in 8 Seconds [Music] [Applause] [Music] after a few missed heartbeats the ascent continued smoothly and the crew was amply compensated by the sheer beauty of the ride [Music] during the Maneuvers that followed the crew proved out the lm's Rendevous radar at its maximum range 350 Mi fixed cameras were running in both spacecraft as they slowly closed together never [Music] after docking the ascent stage of the lunar module was released its work was finished it glided off toward orbit around the [Music] [Applause] sun even farther below they could see The Descent stage continuing to circle the Moon [Music] the big day was finished a whole string of new firsts had been added to the books things looked good for a lunar Landing but there was still a Homeward leg to think [Music] about during the two-day Coast to Earth there was time to reflect on some of the small achievements along with the big ones for example life on board was enormously improved over other Apollo flights the food was better the schedule permitted them to take their meals and rest periods all at the same time they used to be staggered has had sleep periods and most important to the crew there were no instances of motion sickness or colds or intestinal disease one reason for this might have been the special exercises planned before the flight head movements to avoid nausea tumbling to help adjust to weightlessness [Music] [Applause] [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] all together the crowded space seemed very comfortable and Spirits were right up to the level at which the flight began [Music] [Music] Jack uh one reflection uh that we felt very strong about as we show you our last telecast here uh of the earth is that we felt very strong about uh sharing with you some of the adventure the excitement the challenges and the rewards of these eight days and uh through this endeavor we both hope that we've made you and uh millions of people of the world uh uh more of a part of the history that's being made in our day and age and so from the five of us Jean cernon John Young Tom Stafford Snoopy and Charlie Brown we just like to say uh goodbye and we'll see you back on the water in the South Pacific in fact we should land uh about 300 mil east east of Samo in approximately 5 hours so from the C of Apollo 10 and goodbye [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] because of Stafford young and cernon because of Apollo 10 Apollo 11 stands on 39a and the countdown is proceeding now a green light for a lunar Landing [Music]