Apollo 11 - Personal Log

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.  --  Lao Tzu

I would like to take my readers on a journey back in time…

Today is July 13^th, 1969.  Today is my 12^th birthday.  Every birthday is exciting but this one is extra special.  You see, it is T minus three days.  Any kid who grew up in Satellite Beach, Florida knows what that means.  Three days from today, a mission will lift off from the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center 25 miles up Route A1A.

The mission is called Apollo 11.  It represents the culmination of a promise made eight years ago by the President after whom the Space Center is named.  The mighty Saturn rocket will lift the command module and the lunar lander out of our planet’s gravity well and send the tiny spacecraft on their way to our nearest neighbor, the Moon.  One week from today, the lander will descend from lunar orbit and touch down on the barren surface.  If all goes well, Man will then set foot on another world for the first time.

My family has been part of America’s space program for the past six years.  We moved back to Satellite Beach when my dad took a job at the late lamented Pan American Airways, heading a science group that was under contract to NASA.  Their mission was to monitor downrange tracking stations, ensuring their continuing functioning, collecting and disseminating tracking data.  We had a personal stake in the success of every Gemini and Apollo mission through Apollo 11.

The crew, engineers and other support personnel are busy preparing for the mission while we are busy celebrating my big day.  This is the first entry in my personal log of the most exciting two weeks of my life.