That’s one small step…

Today, July 16th, is the date that Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the Moon, was launched. I was fortunate enough to be there as part of the work force that made the mission possible. Because of my status as a lowely engineering aid I had no responsibilities on the actual launch date. I did have access to everywhere but Firing Room 1 where the countdown was conducted. It was better than being a VIP because I didn’t have to stay with any group.

My day began early, riding my little Yamaha 100cc “motorcycle” to work at 4:30 AM. I wanted to get there in time to see the crew walk out of the crew quarters and get in the transport van that took them to the launch pad. It was quite a sight. They walk out to the cheers of all the workers. All suited up, the crew each carry a portable air conditioning unit in one hand (to keep the suit comfortable) and wave with the other. It is by no means graceful, but these 3 guys were going to try to go to the Moon! Everyone watching shared the same hope for the mission and fear of the great risk involved.

NASA, being always redundant, had Firing Room 2 manned and tracking the countdown in case it was needed. That meant I was able to go there and listen to the launch team’s chatter as the countdown progressed

When launch time approached I walked out in front of the VIP stand to watch it. I didn’t own a camera . A secretary friend of mine was taking a picture of the rocket and I just happened to walk into the edge of the picture. So purely by accident I have a picture of me (barely recognizable) with the rocket in the background.

The closest you can get to the launch pad is about 3 miles away. I stood on the dirt road in front of the VIP stand to watch. From there the launch vehicle is visible across a lake and only looks about 1 inch tall.

As the countdown got into seconds I was thinking about the whole space program and how interested I was in it. In 3rd or 4th grade I was drawing rockets on the launch pad with little men on work stands painting them. I tracked all the launches from Vanguard through the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Programs. I even snuck a transistor radio with an earphone in to school to listen to a mission back when they covered them from launch to splashdown. Now here was the culmination of that logical progression of dress rehearsals. We had demonstrated all the technology and procedures worked – except for that landing and return thing. Now the time was here. A decade of work, 3 men’s lives, and there it sat on the pad, venting oxygen, ready to go. 10-9-8-7-engines start- 6-5-4-3-2-1---. If you have never seen a manned launch it is hard to understand what emotions are felt. It is a personal experience and a group experience. The Saturn 5 launch is much different than a shuttle. The shuttle leaps off the pad and accelerates rapidly. The Saturn 5 sits on the pad for 7 seconds with all 5, 1st stage engines running 100%, generating a huge exhaust and steam cloud. Then at T-0 seconds the hold down s are released and the rocket slowly rises taking, I think, 7 or 8 seconds to climb the first 350 ft and clear the tower. The Saturn is much louder than a shuttle, too.

At T-0 seconds the rocket is released. At this point it is a visual experience since the sound has not yet reached us. The crowd is also silent. You can feel the collective will of thousands of people wishing that thing into the air. Slowly it rises. I could feel my heart pounding and I realized I’m saying out loud “go baby, go baby”. I also realize that half of the people around me are saying that too. So far so good, the lift-off is right on schedule at 9:32 AM with no delays. Optimism spreads. Some people shout.The sound wave is visible as it crosses the lake and disturbs the surface of the water. When it hits you feel it deep in your chest. It is a constant rumble with some sort of deep popping sound mixed in. The rocket rises right into the Sun so everyone has one hand up blocking the sunlight. The exhaust of the rocket appears as bright as the Sun. The rocket continues rising picking up speed as it goes. Soon all you see is the white exhaust plume capped by a bright spot in the sky- but you watch it till it disappears. All this time the crowd is cheering. Finally, all that’s left is a crooked exhaust plume being blown out of shape by the wind.