Apollo 11 Flight Plan Commemorating the 30th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon
Landing
The
flight plan for Apollo 11 was a minute-by-minute time line of activities for
the mission crew--Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins, and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin--and
Mission Control in Houston. The flight was launched July 16, 1969. Touchdown
on the moon took place, as scheduled, on July 20, 102 hours, 47 minutes, and
11 seconds after launch from Cape Kennedy. The astronauts spent 21 hours and
36 minutes on the moon, and returned to Earth on July 24.
The
flight plan describes tasks to be done 102 to 103 hours into the flight. Immediately
after landing, Armstrong and Aldrin reviewed their lunar contact checklist and
reached a decision on "stay/no stay." Armstrong then reported to Houston:
"The Eagle has landed."