On July 16, 1969, the huge, 363-feet tall Saturn V rocket launches on the Apollo 11 mission from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, at 9:32 a.m. EDT. Image: NASA

50 years ago today, Apollo 11 and its crew of three – Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins – blasted off from Pad 39A at Cape Canaveral.

10 years ago on downthetubes, Jeremy Briggs wrote a 40th anniversary day-by-day celebration series of articles marking the Apollo 11 mission, featuring contemporary British comics and illustrations – and you can read his 16th July 1969 entry here, which spotlights the Apollo launch and the work of artist Roy Cross for Airfix.

The Times, 16th July 1969 – The World’s Dearest Suit

This picture of the Apollo 11 astronauts heading to their rocket was not published in The Times until 17th January 1969

Before you head to that, though, you may also want to check out Audible‘s brilliant audio documentary series The Space Race, narrated by Golden Globe and Emmy-nominee Kate Mulgrew (Orange Is The New Black, Star Trek: Voyager).

Produced by B7 Media, the company that brought you the Dan Dare Audio Adventures, The Martian Chronicles and Dilation, the ten episode series marks the 50th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing, charting the definitive story of the past, present and future of humankind’s exploration of space.

The Space Race uses archive, original interviews, dramatic reconstructions and first-hand accounts to tell the story of mankind’s first amazing steps off our world towards the future of our civilisation.

Brilliantly put together – I’ve been listening to it over the last few days – with unprecedented access, The Space Race gives listeners access to Virgin Galactic’s space programme in the Mojave Desert, features conversations with spacenauts Buzz Aldrin, Gene Cernan, Sergei Krikalev, Tim Peake and numerous key players at mission control, and pulls back the curtain on untold aspects of the space-exploration story.

WEB LINKS

• NASA: Apollo 11 in Real Time, 50 Years Later

• The Space Race from Audible on Amazon (Affiliate Link)

• NASA: Frequently Asked Questions about Apollo

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John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, John works as a comics editor, writer, as Creative Consultant on the Dan Dare audio adventures for B7 Media, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Working in British comics publishing for over 30 years, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Magazine and Babylon 5 Magazine. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War and “Dan Dare”. He’s the writer of “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz, published on Tapastic; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood for digital comic 100% Biodegradable.

Categories: Audio, downthetubes News, Events, Other Worlds

Tags: Apollo 11, Apollo 11 at 50, Apollo at 50, Apollo50, Audible, B7 Media, downthetubes News, Jeremy Briggs, Moon Landing, Roy Cross, Technology News, The Space Race