50 år siden Saturn 5 sendte Apollo 11 crewet til himmels

Foto: NASA

Today (July 16) marks 50 years since astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins began their historic flight to the moon.
By 6:45 a.m. this day in 1969, the astronauts had eaten their steak-and-egg breakfasts, suited up, and had strapped themselves into the spacecraft. The weight of the moment hung thick in the air and the world watched as the crew prepared to make humanity's inaugural flight to the lunar surface.

At 9:32 a.m., NASA's Saturn V rocket ignited and, with 7.6 million lbs. (34.5 million newtons) of thrust, lifted off from launch pad 39A. Perfect weather met the Apollo 11 launch and spectators flocked to Kennedy Space Center and the surrounding area in Florida to catch a glimpse of the 363-foot (111-meter) tall rocket blasting off from Earth.