Moonwalk Launch Party
The launch 40 years ago of Apollo 11, which put a man on the moon, brought Americans together during a time of nationwide unrest
- By David Burnett
- Smithsonian magazine, July 2009, Subscribe
In the summer of 1969, all eyes turned to a spit of land on Florida's Atlantic coast—the site of the Kennedy Space Center, named for the president who had challenged the nation to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. That July, the Apollo 11 mission would attempt just that. I was 22, a year out of Colorado College and working as a photographer at Time magazine's Miami bureau. In the days before the launch, thousands of people drove from all over the country to see it firsthand, converging on Titusville, across the Indian River from NASA Launch Complex 39-A. I asked my superiors if I could cover these witnesses to history. The previous year had been one of division over the Vietnam War and trauma over the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, but now a sense of common purpose pervaded the beach. At 9:32 a.m. on July 16, the rocket's engines ignited amid a plume of smoke and flame. I didn't see it. I was looking into the faces of my proud, expectant countrymen.
People brought their children, their folding chairs and their binoculars. The previous Christmas Eve, the Apollo 8 astronauts had read from the Book of Genesis as they orbited the moon; that hopeful mood translated into the selling of Apollo 11 souvenirs even before the flight. At takeoff, as the noise and the shock waves rippled across the water toward us, I told myself, "I'm not going to come all this way and not see the rocket." So I turned around and made one frame of it clearing the gantry before turning back to my assigned subject, the crowd.
The day before the launch was like an exodus in reverse. Local officials expected nearly a million visitors, and it seemed as if their expectations would be met. Early arrivals staked out campsites on the Indian River across from the launch site or took rooms in motels, where space-related pastimes prevailed. As I sought spots from which I could shoot crowds on the beach, it dawned on me that I'd have to wade into the water; I made a mental note to look out for broken glass. that evening I headed over to a square dance at the local mall and was surprised to see a lot of people there. I couldn't say why, but a square dance seemed like a fitting send-off for the astronauts.
Around dusk the lights went up on the launchpad, and the vigil seemed to begin in earnest. Late into the night I photographed people sleeping in, on or beneath their cars, though I thought many of them were too excited to sleep. Women stood in a long file outside a gas station restroom without detectable annoyance, almost as if the wait were a badge of honor. Even after launch day dawned, hours passed before liftoff. It was so long in coming and so quickly gone, yet it remains burned into my memory like a slow-motion movie.
David Burnett returned to Florida this past May to shoot the launch of the mission to repair the Hubble space telescope.
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Comments (24)
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big event
I was born after but my father told me how exciting it was to observe the event.
And as a peruvian i am proud to mention this comment:
In his book World History of Aeronautics (co-authored with Fred Ordway), Wernher von Braun, former head of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, and director of the Saturn V rocket that took men to the Moon, states: "Pedro Paulet (peruvian) was in Paris in those years (1900), experimenting with his tiny two-and-a-half kilogram motor, and achieved 100 kg of force. By this act, Paulet should be considered the pioneer of the liquid fuel propulsion motor." Further, in his History of Rocketry and Space Travel, von Braun recognizes that "by his efforts, Paulet helped man reach the Moon.
Posted by victor meneses on July 6,2010 | 11:29 PM
Hey, that's us, younger 40 years ago, of course. I'm in the green shirt and my wife to my right in blue. We came from California to see the launch. We had a picture of David Burnett, the photographer, taking pictures that day and sent it to him.
Steve Robb
Posted by Stephen and Lillah Robb on August 15,2009 | 01:32 PM
My family including our 5 daughters lived in Titusville during this time; I had worked for McDonnell Aircraft on the Gemini program. The evening before the launch we drove around town and the girls kept track of the license plates to see how many states were represented. We all swear that we counted 50. It was quite a time, especially following the moving event of Christmas Eve the year before with Apollo 8 circling the moon.
Posted by andrew workum on July 31,2009 | 07:52 PM
For Rick re poster of earth in the moon sky:
Poster is available at
http://www.mcmahanphoto.com/prco-space-apollo11.html
Posted by Reader Services on July 27,2009 | 03:12 PM
This is a memorable day! Having been there to witness this historic event your article has brought back wonderful memories. The most incredible thing about the article in this month's magazine came when my daughter called me from New Mexico to tell me about a photo of three boys on page 54. I came to your web site and much to my surprise two of the three boys are my sons. At the time they were 6 and 3. The boy with them is Michael Smith (not David) Michael's father, Tilghman Smith, was a good friend of mine who invited our family to go with him to see the Apollo 11 launch. My older son Dayl, who lives in AZ, said "who would ever think that of the 1000's of photos there would be one with 3 boys from a small town in PA." As my son Gregg commented above, my husband and I had privileges that few others have had. We did have an extensive tour of the VAB, saw Apollo 12 and 13 in various stages of assembly and attended a press party where we met Eugene Cernan and Apollo 12 astronaut Ron Evans. My husband being in the press box was able to take some wonderful pictures of the launch that have never been published. The boys and I were 20 miles away to witness this historic event. As the rocket launched skyward it was framed on both sides by 2 palm trees that I still picture in my mind's eye. The windows in the motel shook and the water in the pool rippled. This once in a life-time event will never be forgotten. Thank you for this article.
Posted by Bertha Seigfried on July 20,2009 | 10:14 AM
The whole Apollo mission adventure was our shining achievment at the C.S. Draper Lab where the Guidance syastem was developed. So having played a small role in that venture I was particularly proud on the 20th of July to be at at the Red sox ball game that day with my son.
The game was stopped--- the announcement "The Eagle has Landed" was broadcast over the speaker system---They played our national anthem, and the crowd (and the players) at Fenway Park sang, saluted,clapped, and some of us cried for about 10 minutes before the game resumed. A moment my son and I will cherish forever!
Posted by Bob Price on July 12,2009 | 07:37 AM
I was 7 in 1969 and my only memory of Apollo 11 was the comment from one of the astronauts that the moon did not appear to be made out of cheese but that it looked more like a chocolate milk shake.
Posted by Matt on July 9,2009 | 05:44 PM
Mom parents, sister, Aunt and Uncle and two cousins all drove down from Ontario in a big station wagon to watch the launch. The beach was a giant party, people from all over the US and Canada. My dad and his brother had built a big wooden box for our luggage on top of the car and my sister and cousins and I staked claim to it for our night's sleep
I have told this tale to my sons as they grew up in Maine, how the world changed that day. We came together as a planet, not just a nation or a political genre. The awe and optimism I felt that day returns to me whenever I think back to the launch. I felt that same optimism watching President Obama's inaguration. A feeling that, maybe, our best was ahead of us, not behind.
Posted by Julie Green on July 9,2009 | 11:43 AM
My memory of the walk on the moon...I was working at the telephone company as an operator between my sophomore and junior year of college. I answered a "light" which was someone calling the operator to make a long distance call. The person in a very excited voice said, "He is walking on the moon!" I guess she had no one else to call so she called the operator. I was so pleased to hear the news.
Posted by Marilynn Gholston Shaw on July 9,2009 | 08:33 AM
I will never forget being 11 years of age and my mother having us crowd around the t.v. to watch the landing on the moon. I was excited about it. We all need to thank our mothers for making us watch it. To answer REM's question, I believe there was a man on the moon.
Posted by Jean Tatum on July 8,2009 | 01:32 AM
Regarding your promotion of the story on the moon landing, I was wondering do you have a picture of the earth in the moon sky that has been taking from the moon with an astronaut in the foreground. Would you please send it to me.
Posted by Rick on July 8,2009 | 01:13 AM
I was about 9-month old in July of 69, and I've said to my parents that I vividly remember sitting in my dad's lap in our living room late at night when Neil Armstrong set foot on the surface of the moon. I guess the importance and excitement of the moment stuck with me and made me remember such event.
Posted by Alonso Martinez on July 8,2009 | 10:34 PM
My husband, now deceased, worked with Dr. Werner von Braun's team to put the men on the moon. It was a very exciting time in Huntsville, Alabama.
Posted by Kathryn Hamilton Willis on July 8,2009 | 05:54 PM
As a small boy I've always looked to the heavens, facinated with airplanes and space. I promised myself I will be there when our astronauts leave for the moon, and I was on Cocoa beach that morning when Armstrong, Aldren and Collins lifted off. Of all of my life's experiences, that was my second most memorable. My first, was when I soloed as a student pilot. I spent my entire life in love with airplanes, and I am so happy I picked aviation as a career. I still look up each and every time an airplanes flies over, and I still marvel.
Posted by Al Cenci on July 1,2009 | 01:28 PM
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