30 Minutes After Launch

michael collins Hey, Buzz?

buzz aldrin Yeah.

collins How would you like the camera?

aldrin O.K.

...

collins All right, Buzz, here’s one Hasselblad for you.

...

collins Have we got any daylight? I can’t see outside at all.

neil armstrong Nothing yet.

...

aldrin Let’s get into the Hasselblad, get the right settings on it.

collins O.K.

...

armstrong We ought to be coming out into the daylight here in a little bit.

...

collins Jesus Christ, look at that horizon!

armstrong Isn’t that something?

collins Goddamn, that’s pretty! This is unreal. I’d forgotten.

armstrong Get a picture of that.

collins Ooh, sure, I will.

collins I’ve lost a Hasselblad. Has anybody seen a Hasselblad floating by? It couldn’t have gone very far, big son of a gun like that.

...

armstrong It’s too late for sunrise, anyway.

...

collins Ah! Here it is.

armstrong Find it?

collins Yes.

armstrong Beautiful.

collins It was floating in the aft bulkhead.

...

collins I got a little horizon. Man, look at that!

...

collins Fantastic. I have no conception of where we’re pointed or which way we are or a crapping thing, but it’s a beautiful low-pressure cell out here.

...

armstrong Now, how we doing checklist-wise? Let’s make sure we don’t screw up and forget.

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Translunar Injection

mission control, houston Apollo 11, this is Houston. Slightly less than one minute to ignition, and everything is go.

...

aldrin There we go. Thrust.

armstrong Ignition! Call it at 15.

collins Ignition. O.K.

armstrong Whew!

...

armstrong Hey, Houston, Apollo 11. That Saturn gave us a magnificent ride.

houston Roger, 11. We’ll pass that on. And it certainly looks like you are well on your way now.

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Separating and Docking With the Eagle

armstrong O.K., Houston, we’re about to sep.

collins Thrusting.

armstrong Sep!

...

collins Flies like a spacecraft instead of a simulator. Hope that’s good.

collins Sure beautiful. I hope you got some pictures, Buzz.

...

aldrin I can’t get much with the Hasselblad. That window’s no good, I’m afraid.

...

collins Stand by, we’re closing.

...

collins That wasn’t the smoothest docking I’ve ever done.

armstrong Well, it felt good from here.

...

Outward Bound

aldrin Hi, Houston, Apollo 11. How many miles out do you have us now?

houston We have you — stand by, Buzz. Roughly about 50,000. Stand by.

aldrin It’s a beautiful sight.

...

aldrin O.K., Houston. You suppose you could turn the Earth a little bit so we could get a little bit more than just water?

houston Roger, 11. I don’t think we got much control over that. Looks like you’ll have to settle for the water.

...

Inspecting the Eagle

armstrong Mike must have done a smooth job in that docking. There isn’t a dent or a mark on the probe.

...

armstrong Looks like we’ll be ready to go into the LM [lunar module Eagle] early if that’s O.K. with you all down there.

houston Roger. It’s fine with us, Neil. Go ahead any time you wish. Over.

...

houston 11, that’s real good camerawork.

armstrong That’ll be the most unusual position a cameraman’s ever had, hanging by his toes from a tunnel and taking the picture upside down.

...

houston Is Collins going to go in and look around?

armstrong We’re willing to let him go but he hasn’t come up with the price of the ticket yet.

...

houston Roger. 11, Houston. It’s pretty hard to describe this view. It’s really — really great.

aldrin Now you know how we feel.

...

Behind the Moon

aldrin Hello, Houston. Apollo 11.

houston Apollo 11, Houston. Good morning.

...

aldrin We’ve got the sun right behind the edge of the moon now.

houston Roger.

aldrin It’s quite an eerie sight.

...

Lunar Orbit Insertion

houston 11, this is Houston. You are go for L.O.I. Over.

aldrin Roger. Go for L.O.I.

...

armstrong Burning. We’re looking good.

...

collins I take back any bad things I ever said about M.I.T. — which I never have.

...

armstrong That was a beautiful burn.

...

collins Hello, Moon. How’s the old backside?

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collins Well, there’s no doubt that this is a little smaller than the Earth — would you look at that curvature?

...

armstrong What a spectacular view!

...

collins Like you to know this quest for science has caused me to lose my lunch. Floating around in here somewhere, but I can’t find it.

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Earthrise

collins Where the hell is the horizon with the world coming over it? I guess it’s behind us, huh?

armstrong Up there? We should be getting Earthshine — Earthrise features — should be coming up pretty soon.

collins Your f/8 is 250, at infinity?

aldrin Yes.

collins Good deal. Keep working, you got a lot of film.

...

Undocking the Eagle

collins Eagle, you read Columbia?

aldrin Roger. Loud and clear.

...

collins You cats take it easy on the lunar surface. If I hear you huffing and puffing, I’m going to start bitching at you.

aldrin O.K., Mike.

...

aldrin Looks like a good sep.

collins Looks good to me.

...

armstrong Roger. Eagle’s undocked.

houston Roger. How does it look, Neil?

armstrong The Eagle has wings.

...

collins I think you’ve got a fine-looking flying machine there, Eagle, despite the fact you’re upside down.

armstrong Somebody’s upside down.

...

collins You guys take care.

armstrong See you later.

collins Thrusting.

...

Descending to the Surface

houston Eagle, Houston. If you read, you’re go for powered descent. Over.

...

aldrin Rog. We read you.

...

armstrong Program alarm.

houston It’s looking good to us. Over.

armstrong It’s a 1202.

aldrin 1202.

armstrong Give us a reading on the 1202 program alarm.

houston Roger. We got you — we’re go on that alarm.

...

houston Eagle, Houston. You’re go for landing. Over.

...

houston 30 seconds [of fuel left].

...

aldrin Drifting forward just a little bit. That’s good.

aldrin Contact light.

armstrong Shutdown.

aldrin O.K., engine stop.

...

houston We copy you down, Eagle.

Apollo 11 As They Shot It Next chapter: One Small Step

Produced by Jonathan Corum, Mika Gröndahl, Evan Grothjan, Marcelle Hopkins, Jon Huang, Lingdong Huang, Yuliya Parshina-Kottas, Karthik Patanjali and Graham Roberts. Additional production by Paul Fjeld, Destinée-Charisse Royal, Rumsey Taylor, Lian Chang and The Mill.



This project combines condensed mission transcripts with selected photographs taken by the Apollo 11 astronauts from July 16-24, 1969.



Sources: NASA; Apollo Flight Journal; Apollo Lunar Surface Journal. Photos from NASA’s Johnson Space Center and the Project Apollo Archive.