Apollo 11 lands on the moon on July 20, 1969, in first human visit to another world.

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On July 20, 1969, four days after being launched into space by the Boeing-built Saturn S-1C booster, Apollo 11 Lunar Excursion Module "Eagle" touches down on the moon's Tranquility Sea. Astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first human being to set foot on another celestial body, followed by companion Edwin "Buz" Aldrin, while Michael Collins remains in lunar orbit aboard the Command Module.

In addition to building the giant Saturn S-IC boosters for NASA, Boeing also coordinated technology and integration for the Apollo program, built the Lunar Orbiters which surveyed possible landing sites, and built the Lunar Rovers used on the last three missions to the moon.

Sources:
Robert Redding and Bill Yenne, Boeing: Planemaker to the World (San Diego: Thunder Bay Press, 1997).

By Walt Crowley, July 15, 1999

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Related Topics: Exploration | Aviation | Technology | Firsts |

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Boeing-made Saturn V booster sends Apollo 11 toward the moon, July 16, 1969
Courtesy Boeing Archive