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AF Academy to celebrate 50th Anniversary of Lunar Landing

U.S. Air Force Academy — (U.S. Air Force photo/Trevor Cokley)

By Judith Cara, July 15, 2019

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo.– Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted away from Earth on a Saturn V rocket on July 16, 1969. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin set foot on the moon, the first humans to do so. The three returned to Earth on July 24.

Celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the lunar landing are planned around the world. Whether you remember that day or have experienced it only through videos and stories, visit the Air Force Academy’s Planetarium July 20 to view “Apollo 11: First Steps Edition,” a cinematic experience that showcases the real-life moments of humankind’s first steps on the moon.

The filmmakers reconstruct the exhilarating final moments of preparation, liftoff, landing and return of this historic mission — one of humanity’s greatest achievements and the first to put men on the moon.  With a newly-discovered trove of never-before-seen footage and audio recordings, “Apollo 11: First Steps Edition” joins Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, the Mission Control team and millions of spectators around the world, during those momentous days and hours in 1969 when humankind took a giant leap into the future.

This film will be shown twice on July 20 , at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.  At 2:17 p.m., the exact moment the lunar landing occurred–the national anthem will be sung on the planetarium steps by Master Sgt. Julie Bradley, a vocalist with the Air Force Academy Band, as well as the singer in the Falconaires Jazz Band.

Learn about Academy grads who went on to become astronauts.