Moon Landing: T Minus 4 Days – Launch

Forty years ago today, Apollo 11 and its crew of three blasted off from Pad 39A at Cape Canaveral.

The Saturn V moon rocket remains the largest booster rocket yet flown. While the little -known Russian N-1 moon rocket exploded on each of its four launches, the Saturn V flew successfully on each of its 13 launches, from its first test launch with the unmanned Apollo 4 capsule in 1967 to its final curtain call in 1973 putting NASA’s Skylab space station into Earth orbit.

Airfix Apollo Saturn V

This illustration is a very familiar one to plastic modellers – Airfix’s 1/144th scale Apollo Saturn kit. Regular Airfix artist Roy Cross portrays the immense power of the rocket’s first stage as it climbs away from the pad with NASA’s 525 foot tall Vehicle Assembly Building, in which it was built, dwindling into the distance.

There are many more Airfix box illustrations in the Roy Cross’ own book, The Vintage Years Of Airfix Box Art.

Back in 1969, the first and second stages of the Saturn V separated as scheduled and the third stage placed the Apollo Command Service Module (CSM), with the astronauts on board, and the Lunar Module (LM) into a lunar transfer orbit. The crew detached the CSM from the rest and turned it through 180 degrees to dock with the LM before pulling the LM clear of the Saturn V’s third stage. They then lit the CSM’s engine and began their three day voyage to the Moon.

Yesterday – Predicting The Date
Tomorrow – Mission Overview

• Coinciding with Jeremy’s countdown to the 40th Anniversary of the first Moon Landing, downthetubes published “Moon Landing 40th Anniversary: A Comics Celebration” – a gallery of illustrations and comic art inspired by space exploration

WEB LINKS

Airfix A11170 Apollo Saturn V 1:144 Scale Series 11 Plastic Model Kit

• Airfix A11170 Apollo Saturn V 1:144 Scale Series 11 Plastic Model Kit
Buy it from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

APOLLO BOOKS AND OTHER MEDIA

Apollo (Graphic Novel)
By Matt Fitch, Chris Baker & Mike Collins
Buy it from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

Apollo GN - Cover

In 1969, humankind set foot on the moon. Neil Armstrong, Edwin ”Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins carried the fire for all the world. Backed by the brightest minds in engineering and science, the three boarded a rocket and flew through the void―just to know that we could. In Apollo, Matt Fitch, Chris Baker, and Mike Collins unpack the urban legends, the gossip, and the speculation to reveal a remarkable true story about life, death, dreams, and the reality of humanity’s greatest exploratory achievement.

Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut’s Journeys
by Michael Collins
Buy it from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

The years that have passed since Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 spacecraft to the moon in July 1969 have done nothing to alter the fundamental wonder of the event: man reaching the moon remains one of the great events – technical and spiritual – of our lifetime. In this remarkable book, Michael Collins conveys, a very personal way, the drama, beauty, and humour of that adventure

Apollo 11: The Inside Story
by David Whitehouse
Buy it from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

David Whitehouse reveals the true drama behind the Apollo 11 mission, putting it in the context of the wider space race and telling the story in the words of those who took part – based around exclusive interviews with the key players.



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