#46YearsAgo #Apollo11 landed on the #moon and #NeilArmstrong made a legend. - http://clapway.com/2015/07/20/neil-armstrong-first-man-to-walk-on-moon-46-years-ago-233/

Today marks the 46th anniversary of Apollo 11.

Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969, along with fellow astronauts, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Lt. Col. Michael Collins, accompanied Armstrong.

In 1961, during the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy addressed Congress to share his vision of space exploration for the United States. At that point the Soviet Union had outperformed U.S. in this category.

Neil Armstrong Step, One Small Step for ManKind

1 billion people watched from 251,000 miles away as Neil Armstrong said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

In October of 1968 the U.S. deployed the first manned spaceflight, Apollo 11. Apollo 11 orbited the Earth and tested the mechanisms necessary to deliver a successful moon landing.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin photographed the moon’s terrain, conducted tests, and planted a U.S. flag. They also left a plaque that read “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon — July 1969 A.D. — We came in peace for all mankind.”

During their mission, Armstrong and Aldrin spoke to President Nixon through their Houston base. They returned via the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969.

The Apollo Program

In total more than 400,000 engineers worked on the Apollo program. It cost $24 billion to complete, equal to $100 billion today. The Apollo program was responsible for landing 6 missions on the moon and providing 400 kilograms of lunar samples. According to NASA the goal of the Apollo program was to establish the technology to meet national space interests and establish man’s ability to work in the lunar environment.

Smithsonian Attempts to Preserve Apollo 11’s History

The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum has started a campaign to conserve the spacesuit Neil Armstrong wore on the moon. The suit was created for short-term use so the materials are expected to break down over time.

The Smithsonian hopes to build a climate-controlled case for Neil Armstrong’s suit that will protect it in addition to allowing the public to view it. The campaign is currently live on Kickstarter with a goal of $500,000.

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Neil Armstrong, First Man to Walk on Moon 46 Years Ago

Space Pioneers Reunite To Celebrate 40th Of Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, The First Human Space Flight - http://clapway.com/2015/06/13/space-pioneers-reunite-to-celebrate-40th-of-apollo-soyuz-test-project-the-first-human-space-flight-864/

In July of 1975, 40 years ago, a U.S. Apollo spacecraft ran into a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. Crew members of both ships, doing the polite thing, took the opportunity to introduce themselves. The two spacecraft commanders, Alexey Leonov and Tom Stafford, shook each other’s hands. What may be just a natural gesture to us was known as the “handshake in space,” which represented something quite symbolic: a coming together of the world’s 2 superpowers, America and Russia – the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project – the last of the Apollo missions and the first international human space flight.

 

THE REUNION OF TOM STAFFORD AND ALEXEY LEONOV

Stafford, Leonov and others met this Monday June 8 in Weatherford, Stafford’s hometown, a little over 60 miles from Oklahoma City. The two decade-long friends hugged and re-created the legendary handshake that made history 40 years ago. Both men were wearing suits that did not resemble what they wore decades ago.

“We worked together, and it proved to the world that two countries with different languages, different units of measurement and vastly different political systems could work together to achieve a common goal,” Stafford said. He also recalled the comments his friend gave during a pre-mission news conference, when someone asked the cosmonaut what language he would speak in space.

“In space we speak three languages,” said Stafford, who was imitating the response of Leonov. “We speak English. We speak Russian. We speak Oklahoman.”

 

The APOLLO-SOYUZ MISSION

Ben Keppel says that the mission will forever be significant, due to the fact that the Space Race began as a competitive race between the States and the Soviet Union, while the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was a friendly partnership between the two countries. Keppel is an associate professor in the history department at the University of Oklahoma.

Keppel goes on to add that the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project also was a big positive symbol for America and Russia, as it represented the tension dying away, a long-term process of cultural diplomacy between the 2 powerhouses.

 

THE FRIENDSHIP OF STAFFORD AND LEONOV

Another positive outcome of that historic Apollo-Soyuz handshake that took place decades ago in space, is that Alexey Leonov and Tom Stafford have remained incredibly close friends ever since. Both have traveled several times to their respective homelands, as well as joined one another on hunting trips.

Leonov aided Stafford and his wife Linda in their adoption of two sons from Russia 11 years ago in 2004. Leonov himself has a granddaughter that he named after one of Stafford’s daughters, while Stafford has a grandson who he named after Leonov, Andrew Alexi.

“He is like a brother to me,” Stafford said.

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Space Pioneers Reunite To Celebrate 40th Of Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, The First Human Space Flight