KSC Press Site (post 42)

Full of adrenaline from viewing  the Apollo 11 crew walkout at dawn, we head out on a slow-moving NASA bus, caught in heavy traffic, to the KSC Press Site. It is a large grandstand about 3 ½ miles from Pad 39A. We climb to the top and I take a picture of the scene in the early morning light. We look around the Press Site but then decide that we will view the launch from the VIP Site along with the hundreds of dignitaries NASA has invited for the occasion. Politicians, military leaders, former NASA brass, ambassadors and entertainers are among the invitees. Even Hermann Oberth, one of the fathers of rocketry, is there (we briefly encounter him earlier at a hotel)

#Apollo11Eyewitness  Post #42  July 16, 1969 Events

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Apollo 11 crew walkout (part 2) (post 41)

The Apollo 11 crew walks to the base of the ramp towards the van that will take them to Pad 39A where their Saturn V awaits.  I take a third photograph with my primitive film camera. I miss Armstrong giving a “thumb’s up” because of someone’s head in the way, but catch Mike Collins (right) and Buzz Aldrin, followed by two white- helmeted spacesuit technicians. The first one (left) is Joe Schmitt, the veteran who also suited up Alan Shepard and who is still alive at last report at age 98. The second one is a very young Ron Woods, who is still working for NASA and has become a noted space artist. Following behind them is Deke Slayton, his head partially obscured. (Years later I send both Schmitt and Woods copies of this photo, one for them to keep and the other to autograph). The fourth and final fifth photographs show the astronauts entering the van but are blurred and have obstructed views.

#Apollo11Eyewitness  Post #41  July 16, 969 Events

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Apollo 11 crew walkout (post 40)

Astronauts Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin briskly walk down the ramp in their spacesuits from the MSOB towards the transfer van. There are loud cheers; hundreds of flashbulbs go off. Photographers jostle for position, elbows flying, as we try to get off some shots. I am able to take 5 photographs but I have no idea whether they will turn out (I am using Kodachrome slide film, long before digital cameras allowing instant review). All three astronauts have a smile, Armstrong cocking his head a little, Collins looking serene, and Aldrin with a big grin. Armstrong and Aldrin each give a “thumb’s up” as they approached the van. In so many ways this is the emotional high point of my trip—I am among a privileged few who see the last steps on Earth of the first men to walk on Moon. It is a sight I will never forget.

#Apollo11Eyewitness   Post #40   July 16, 1969 Events

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Awaiting the Apollo 11 crew (post 39)

We go in the pre-dawn darkness on July 16, 1969 to the Apollo 11 News Center to catch a press bus to see the Apollo 11 astronauts leave for the Moon. The bus takes us near the Manned Spaceflight Operations Building (MSOB), later known at the Operations and Checkout Building (O&C). There is a mad rush from the bus to stake out front row positions behind a rope. Marv and I run to the front and are able to get a second or third row spot. We stand there crushed in a crowd of journalists from 5:30 a.m. until 6:10 a.m. when Deke Slayton comes out for a television interview. Then at 6:25 a.m. we see a man in a white space suit at the door of the MSOB—Neil Armstrong.

#Apollo11Eyewitness  Post #39  July 16, 1969 Events

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Previewing the launch for the Michigan Daily (post 38)

Marv and I have dinner at the Holiday Inn the evening of July 15, 1969. I go back then to the Apollo 11 News Center to write a story for the Michigan Daily and the College Press Service (CPS). The Daily this morning published a preview article about Apollo 11, which we had written earlier; it had also been sent out on CPS’s wire network. I work a couple of hours on an article about the preparations for tomorrow’s launch using a portable typewriter and then dictate it via a pay telephone  to the Daily for tomorrow’s edition (no cell phones, faxes or internet). I can’t get through on the phone to CPS. I drive back to the Sea Missile motel to try to get some sleep—we hope tomorrow will be the big day and I set the alarm for 4:30 a.m.

#Apollo11Eyewitness   Post#38   July 15, 1969 Events

Interviewing Dr. George Mueller, head of manned spaceflight (post 37)

When we had first arrived at the Apollo 11 News Center we had an opportunity to sign up for individual interviews with NASA officials. We were able to land a 3:15 p.m. appointment for today with Dr. George Mueller, Associate Administrator for Manned Space Flight. We go back to the News Center to talk to him but find, to our chagrin, that he is not there. We rush to the Holiday Inn where he is talking to journalists in his hotel room, accompanied by a NASA PAO. Marv and I have a fascinating 20 minute personal interview with Dr. Mueller in which he lays out a bold future plan for space exploration beyond Apollo. I tape record the interview and realize immediately that it would make a perfect magazine article.

#Apollo11Eyewitness   Post #37   July 15, 1969 Events

Apollo 11 "Prelaunch Brieifng" with top NASA officials (post 36)

At the KSC Press Site, the top operational officials for Apollo 11 are on a stage facing the press grandstands for the “Prelaunch Briefing.” They include (left to right) Deke Slayton (flight crew operations), Dr. Charles Berry (medical operations), George Low (Apollo program manager), George Hage (Apollo mission director), Rocco Petrone (KSC launch operations director), Lee James (Saturn V program manager), Ozro Covington (Goddard support) and Col Royce Olson (DOD space flight support). NASA’s Jack King (right) is the moderator. Hage reports that all is proceeding well toward the planned launch tomorrow at 9:32 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Petrone states the weather looks very good as far as launch conditions. Then the members of the media go on to ask a series of mostly inane questions. We briefly talk to Deke Slayton and Dr. Berry afterwards..

#Apollo11Eyewitness  Post #36  July 15, 1969 Events