Jul 20 2009 written by Michael Biven photography Lane Hartwell
"An age may come, when Project Apollo is the only thing by which most men remember the United States - or even the world of their ancestors, the distant planet Earth." - Arthur C Clarke
Splashdown 2009 - Apollo 11 40th Anniversary Celebration
Jul 20 2009 written by Michael Biven photography Lane Hartwell
- USS Hornet CVS-12 moored at Alameda Point . (Photographer/Lane Hartwell)
"An age may come, when Project Apollo is the only thing by which most men remember the United States - or even the world of their ancestors, the distant planet Earth." - Arthur C Clarke
The USS Hornet will be hosting a four day celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moonlanding July 23rd - 26th. Former crew members who served onboard the USS Hornet during the Apollo 11 mission will be present as well as Bob Fish the Apollo curator from the USS Hornet Museum, Don Blair the only radio newsman onboard the Hornet during the recovery of Apollo 11 and Special Guest Buzz Aldrin - Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 11 and the second man to walk on the Moon.
The Hornet recovered the unmanned Apollo capsule CM011A used in the AS-202 mission in 1966 and served as the Prime Recovery Ship (PRS) for both the Apollo 11 and 12 missions in 1969. The unmanned AS-202 mission tested the heat shield of the Command and Service Module and was the second test flight of the Saturn IB rocket. The capsule used in that mission will be on display along with the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) used by the Apollo 14 mission and helicopters similar to those used in the Apollo 11 and Mercury recoveries.
Buzz Aldrin will giving a public presentation and will then be signing copies of his new book "Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon". You can purchase a copy of the book Friday evening with an "A" ticket to get you in line during the first hour of the book signing.
This is an unique opportunity to see in person a special part of history from the US space program on the anniversary of the Apollo 11 Splashdown.
Directions to the Hornet and additional information can be found here.
You can relive the historic event at the following sites:
We Choose the Moon - a site from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum that recreates in realtime the Moon mission that Kennedy started us on. Archived communications from the Apollo 11 space craft, Lunar Module and Houston Control on Twitter. And from Jason Kottke's 40 year delayed coverage of the Apollo 11 on CBS by Walter Cronkite.
