Michael Collins

Apollo

11 had a crew of three astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.

Armstrong was the mission commander.

Aldrin was the lunar module pilot.

The two spacecraft also had names.

The command module was Columbia, and the lunar module was Eagle.

Michael Collins would stay in Columbia and orbit the moon while Armstrong and Alden took Eagle down to the surface.

On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Mr. Armstrong's old bedroom is now decorated with photos and paintings of the Moon landing.

Ms. Mikesell has hosted nine astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin, who flew to the Moon with Armstrong and Michael Collins in 1969.

So did he never come back to his boyhood home?

Um, she never actually met him.

Mm-hmm

... who's still with us, famous

And Michael Collins got stuck up there.

Well, and Michael Collins, the, the whole plan was that he, that, he, he was, he stayed in the, in the spacecraft that circled the Moon.

I am eulogizing another stretch.

I am eulogizing Michael Collins, born 1930, died 2021.

He is one of the three men from the Apollo 11 mission.

So yeah,

on

20th of July, 1969, two men made history being the first to set foot on the moon and another made history in his own way as the loneliest man to live.

On the lunar module orbiting for 76 hours around the moon, Michael Collins became the man that was farthest from any living being in history when passing over the dark side of the moon.

And he was completely shut off from all radio communication for 48 minutes each rotation.

All of this put a tremendous amount of pressure on NASA to come out on top by being the first to put a man on the moon.

Then on July 16, 1969, the Saturn V rocket carrying astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The Saturn V was the biggest and most powerful rocket on Earth.

It was basically one big gas tank, which meant that the three astronauts had to crowd together into the tiny command module on their trip to the moon.

More than 25 million people across the United States tuned in to watch the live broadcast as the rocket lifted off.

Then four days later on July 20th, Apollo 11 reached its destination.

From there, a smaller ship called the Eagle Lander detached from the main vehicle, carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the lunar surface while Michael Collins remained in orbit.

Roughly 600 million people around the world tuned in for the live feed as Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lander and took his first historic step onto the moon.

But listen, because I haven't even – I'm going to crush you on this.

So Michael Collins, we haven't got to Michael Collins.

Let me read the summary.

Go ahead.

He poses some interesting questions.

All you have to look up is

Michael Collins.

NASA was exposed.

But there's some really interesting accounts.

During the first trip to the moon on Apollo 11, as they were circling around the moon, Michael Collins, one of the astronauts on that mission, turned to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

And he said, I want to read it to you here.

He said, it's amazing how quickly you adapt.

People talk about the loneliest people in space and, you know, when...

Michael Collins was alone while Neil and Buzz were landing on the moon, but he was still inside a spaceship.

This is just an astronaut floating out in space by himself.

Yep.

On July 20th, 1969, human beings walked on the surface of another world for the first time.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent roughly 21 hours on the lunar surface before climbing back into the ascent module and rejoining Michael Collins in orbit.

The entire Apollo 11 mission from launch to splashdown lasted 8 days, 3 hours and 18 minutes.

During that time, Earth was never more than one and a third light seconds away.