The crew of Apollo 11 blast off from Cape Kennedy with the hope of being the first humans to walk on the moon.
Apollo 11 and its three man crew of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, lifts off at 2.32 pm Irish time on 16 July 1969.
The spacecraft that would land the first men on the moon was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Millions of people around the world listened in on radio and watched on television as the countdown to launch took place and the three spacemen were blasted off from earth, their mission to land on the moon. At Cape Kennedy, thirty thousand people gathered to watch the launch.
Commentators on NBC Radio News live from Cape Kennedy describe in detail each moment of the lift-off and their journey through the various stages into space. RTÉ presenters attempt to decipher the details of the launch for listeners.
Still the confusing language from both Cape Kennedy and Houston, but the information at the moment is that all systems are ago.
While the information coming from Cape Kennedy and Houston is somewhat technical, it appears that the launch goes as smoothly as possible and next stop is the moon.
It looks fine and dandy. Apparently, everything is all go. Moon next stop.
The entire launch is controlled from the Kennedy Space Centre. The moment the launch takes place, ground control in Houston Texas takes over the entire mission.
Broadcast on 16 July 1969. The reporters are Mike Burns and Seán Duignan.
