Apollo 11: Liftoff, 16 July 1969 8:32 AM CDT
This is the third of eleven geocaches being placed in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11. These caches are being scheduled to publish at 50 years to the minute after the event each one represents. The city where they are placed has the distinction of sharing its name with the Apollo 11 Command Module, Columbia.
Launch day is upon us. The crew was awakened around 3:00 AM CDT to shower, shave, and have a traditional pre-flight breakfast of steak and eggs. About 5:30 AM CDT they headed to Launch Pad 39A. Over the next hour, the three astronauts were seated in the Command Module and the hatch was sealed.
As many as one million spectators were in the vicinity of Kennedy Space Center to witness the launch including former president Johnson, Vice President Agnew, and many members of congress, state governors, ambassadors, etc. The launch was to be televised in 33 countries to 25 million viewers.
Now we will join the Public Affairs Officer Jack King as he announces the final moments of the countdown:
“T minus 1 minute, 35 seconds on the Apollo mission, the flight to land the first men on the Moon. All indications coming in to the control center at this time indicate we are Go. One minute, 25 seconds and counting. Our status board indicates the third stage completely pressurized. Eighty-second mark has now been passed. We'll go on full internal power at the 50-second mark in the countdown. Guidance system goes on internal at 17 seconds leading up to the ignition sequence at 8.9 seconds. We're approaching the 60-second mark on the Apollo 11 mission.
T minus 60 seconds and counting. We've passed T minus 60. 55 seconds and counting. Neil Armstrong just reported back: "It's been a real smooth countdown". We've passed the 50-second mark. Power transfer is complete - we're on internal power with the launch vehicle at this time. 40 seconds away from the Apollo 11 lift-off. All the second stage tanks now pressurized. 35 seconds and counting. We are still Go with Apollo 11. 30 seconds and counting. Astronauts report, "It feels good". T minus 25 seconds.
Twenty seconds and counting. T minus 15 seconds, guidance is internal. Twelve, 11, 10, 9, ignition sequence starts... 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero, all engines running…
LIFT-OFF! We have a lift-off, 32 minutes past the hour. Lift-off on Apollo 11.”
Three brave men have left the earth for a date with history.
This geocache has been placed in accordance with the published guidelines of Columbia Parks & Recreation Department, Lida M. Gochenour, Administrative Supervisor.