25 July 2007
Apollo 11 Landing Module Makes First Descent to Lunar Surface
Excerpts from first manned mission to land on moon on July 20, 1969
Following is a transcript of a portion of the exchange between the Apollo 11 crew and NASA mission control on July 20, 1969. Those speaking are Charlie Duke at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston; astronaut Mike Collins in Columbia, the command module; and astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in Eagle, the landing module.
(begin transcript)
Probably Mike Collins in Columbia: Hey, Eagle.
Aldrin or Armstrong: Roger, how does it look?
Collins: The Eagle has wings.
Aldrin or Armstrong: Right.
Charlie Duke, at the Space Center in Houston: Columbia , Houston. Over.
Mike Collins in Columbia, the command module: Houston, Columbia. Reading you loud and clear.
Duke: Rog. Five-by, Mike. How did it go? Over.
Collins: Listen, babe. Everything’s going just swimmingly. Beautiful.
Aldrin: We’re now in the approach phase, everything looking good.
Aldrin: Altitude 4200.
Duke: Eagle, Houston. You’re go for landing. Over.
Aldrin: Roger. Understand. Go for landing, over. 3000 feet.
Duke: Copy.
Aldrin: Program Alarm. 1201.
Aldrin: Altitude 1600. 1400 feet, still looking very good.
Armstrong: 1201. Okay, 2000 at 50.
Duke: Roger. 1201 alarm. We’re go. Same type. We’re go.
Aldrin: 2000 feet. 2000 feet.
Armstrong: Give me an LPD.
Aldrin: Into the AGS, 47 degrees.
Duke: Roger.
Aldrin: Altitude 1600.
Aldrin: 1400 feet, still looking very good.
Aldrin: 700 feet, 21 down, 33 degrees.
Aldrin: 600 feet, down at 19.
Aldrin: Program alarm. 1201.
Armstrong: 1201. Okay, 2000 at 50.
Duke: Roger. 1201 alarm. We’re go. Same type. We’re go.
Aldrin: 3 1/2 down, 220 feet, 13 forward.
Aldrin: 11 forward. Coming down nicely.
Aldrin: 200 feet, 4 1/2 down.
Duke: 60 seconds.
4 1/2 down.
Aldrin: Light’s on.
Aldrin: 60 feet, down 2 1/2. 2 forward, 2 forward. That’s good.
Aldrin: 40 feet, down 2 1/2. Picking up some dust.
Aldrin: 4 forward. 4 forward. Drifting to the right a little. 20 feet, down a half.
Aldrin: Okay. Engine stopped.
Duke: We copy you down Eagle.
Armstrong [on-board]: Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
