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MEET Buzz Aldrin
Edwin Aldrin is born in Montclair, New Jersey, on January 20, 1930. His baby sister gives him his nickname — she calls him "buzzer" instead of "brother." Aldrin is a top student, and graduates third in his class at West Point. Like Armstrong, he flies combat missions in the Korean War. Afterwards, he goes back to school, to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, he studies rendezvous — how two vehicles can find each other in space. -
MEET Neil Armstrong
Born August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio, Neil Armstrong designs model planes as a boy. He gets his pilot's license before his driver's license. In the Korean War, he flies 78 combat missions. Then he becomes a test pilot. After John Glenn orbits Earth, Armstrong says, "Space is the frontier, and that's where I intend to go." -
MEET Michael Collins
Not your typical hotshot pilot, Michael Collins likes to paint, take care of his roses, and read. He doesn't care much for computers. Collins is born in 1930, on October 31 in Rome, Italy. He earns his science degree from the U.S. Military Academy. -
Astronaut Training
the astronauts are spun around at high speed until the pressure on their bodies is 16 times that of their own weight. -
The Beginning
The Soviet Union has just launched the world's first satellite, Sputnik. -
Seven Pioneers
April 9, 1959, NASA chooses seven astronauts, John Glenn, Jr. is one of them. At 37, he is the oldest and holds the highest military rank — Lieutenant Colonel in the Marines. Born July 18, 1921, in Cambridge, Ohio, Glenn flew combat missions in both World War II and the Korean War -
First Space Flights
But on April 12, 1961, the Soviets successfully launch Yuri Gagarin into orbit. He circles Earth in 108 minutes and lands safely. -
US COME BACK
On May 5, 1961, less than a month after Gagarin's flight, the U.S. sends astronaut Alan Shepard into space. His 15-minute sub-orbital flight doesn't impress the Soviets. -
BLAST OFF
February 20, 1962
After several delays, John Glenn is awakened at 2:20 a.m. for a planned 7:30 launch on February 20, 1962. He is ready.
Glenn rides an elevator up to his capsule. His family decides to name it Friendship 7. -
Returning Home
February 20, 1962.
Friendship 7 plunges through the atmosphere. The retro-pack catches fire. A strap swings around and hits the window. Glenn reports, "That's a real fireball outside." Burning chunks of something fly past. The heat shield, he wonders? The fireball silences the radio. Glenn has to sweat out re-entry alone.Friendship 7 splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean. John Glenn has orbited Earth and made Americans proud. -
MISSION TO THE MOON
NASA schedules Apollo 11 as the first manned mission to the moon. In January 1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins are named as the crew for the historic flight -
APOLLO 11
On Wednesday, July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 stands on the launchpad, ready for liftoff. -
ALL SYSTEMS GO
It is 9:32 a.m. on July 16, and Apollo 11 is go for launch. The thunderclap of liftoff rolls across the Florida fields. The rocket rises into the sky. In three minutes, Apollo 11 vanishes from sight. Before liftoff, the crew had named the LM the Eagle and the command module Columbia. For three days they fly with Columbia and the Eagle nose to nose. Millions of people watch the live television broadcast from inside Columbia. Excitement is high. As Collins puts it, "All of us are aware… [that] we -
RISK
On the morning of July 20, 1969, Collins helps Armstrong and Aldrin through a tunnel into the tiny Eagle.Armstrong and Aldrin fly face down, then flip over and see Earth — a quarter-million miles away. When they are just 12 minutes from landing, they fire the engines. Suddenly, lights flash in the cockpit. "Program alarm!" Armstrong barks. The computer is overloaded. Tense minutes pass while Mission Control decides if this alarm requires an abort. Mission Control says to keep going. The Eagle f -
THE "REAL" MOON WALK
It is 9:30 p.m. Houston time on July 20, 1969. Armstrong and Aldrin put on their bulky moon suits and prepare to take the first steps on the moon.
Armstrong is the first to wriggle out of a square hole in the Eagle. Once outside, he lowers a small drawbridge that holds a TV camera. Now the world can watch as he backs down the ladder.
Back on the home planet, 600 million people watch on television. Armstrong touches the moon's surface and says, "That's one small step for man… one giant leap for -
THE US WINS THE RACE TO SPACE
On July 24, the capsule splashes down in the Pacific Ocean. The race to the moon is over. An aircraft carrier plucks Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins from the ocean. President Nixon is onboard. He says, "This is the greatest week in the history of the world since creation. As a result of what you have done, the world has never been closer together." A Marine band plays "The Star-Spangled Banner."
The astronauts watch everything from behind a little glass window. They are stuck in quarantine once a -
First Surface Travel on Another Planet
Arriving aboard the space probe Pathfinder, the robot Sojourner explores the surface of Mars. The six-wheeled, remote-controlled, solar-powered rover sends images of the planet’s surface and investigates chemical properties of Martian soil. During the Sojourner’s three months in action, the Pathfinder mission yielded tons of photographs and scientific findings. -
First Non-Astronaut to Enter Space
Dennis Tito, a billionaire from California became the first paying passenger to enter outer space. Mr. Tito, age 60, has dreamt of going into space for over 40 years — and he paid $20 million to finally fulfill his dream. He now promotes the idea of ordinary people entering space. -
LITTLE TOO LATE! China Sends First Man Into Space
China successfully sent its first astronaut, Yang Liwei, into space. This makes China the third country to send a human into space; only the United States and Soviet Union had successfully done so before. Yang Liwei remained in space for 21 hours, and was given a hero’s welcome when he landed safely. -
First Spacecraft to Orbit Saturn
Cassini-Huygens became the first spacecraft to go into orbit around Saturn. Later in the year the spacecraft flew within 800 miles of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Titan is also the only moon in our solar system with an atmosphere.
