In the days leading up to the launch of Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969, people from across the country and the world poured into Brevard County, Florida, home of NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Roadways were gridlocked and regional airports reported 4 to 5 times their usual traffic. The Sheriff's Department estimated that somewhere between 750,000 to 900,000 tourists assembled along the county's coastline to witness this history-making event.

One observer described the scene that Wednesday morning as a "mammoth family picnic" filled with "kids and sand castles and the smell of suntan lotion and a sea of blankets and six-packs of Busch strapped to belt loops and lovers in the sand dunes and bridge games and paper bags fashioned into sun shades and dogs like fuzzy brown mushrooms." People set up telescopes alongside charcoal grills, waved American flags, and displayed hand-painted signs wishing the astronauts well. Residents sold them orange juice from local citrus groves and an enterprising youngster rented seats in a makeshift grandstand in her parents' backyard.

At 9:32 a.m., all eyes turned to the sky as Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong began their ascent towards the moon. Millions more watched from the comfort of home courtesy of ABC, CBS, and NBC. As the mission unfolded, 53 million households (nearly 94% of all homes with a television set) tuned in. The moon landing had the largest audience of any event in history up to that point.

United in their viewership, Americans were in fact deeply divided over the value of Project Apollo. The program's staggering cost—projected to exceed $20 billion—and accelerated pace caused great concern. Many people felt that the money spent on the lunar landing program should be applied to terrestrial issues, such as curing cancer, improving education, and fighting poverty. Others feared that the race to the moon diverted America's best minds—scientists, engineers, and managers—from the same problems. Public opinion polls reveal that, in the 8 years between Kennedy's directive and touch down at Tranquility Base, 45 to 60% of Americans believed Project Apollo was not worth the costs.