HistoryLink.org

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 Sea of Tranquility. Astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first human being to set foot on another celestial body, followed by companion Edwin "Buzz" 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).

Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.

Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided By: The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins | Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry | 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle | City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private Sponsors and Visitors Like You