OUR GREATEST DAY

The history of the United States is filled with great days. Lincoln at Gettysburg; Eisenhower and D-Day. VE day. VJ day. The invention of the Polio Vaccine by Dr. Salk. 

But perhaps in the history of Human-Kind, July 20, 1969, will stand out as the greatest day of humanity. Led by the United States, and two courageous men. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. We landed and walked on the moon. 

Stop for a moment and consider that again. Humanity, who once gazed across the seas and pondered what was on the other side, left Earth and landed on another Planet (yes the moon isn't a planet, but you get what we mean). We started off walking across the plains of Africa, crossing the ice bridge into North America. We conquered mountain ranges and deserts and oceans, and caves and the bottom of the sea. 

And then we turned our gaze to the heavens. 

It's hard to remember what a leader can do when s/he inspires instead of attacks. When s/he unites instead of divides. 
But that's what occurred in May, 1961,  when President Kennedy challenged a nation to put a man on the Moon by the end of the decade. 
We did it. 
It was our greatest accomplishment. Our greatest day. America's greatest day. Humanity's greatest day. Because we came for all mankind. 

So here is the landing, with all the drama of the 1201 and 1202 alarms. And listen closely as they are landing,  to the "60" second and then "30 second" calls. That's mission control telling Armstrong how much fuel he had left and it's why after the Eagle landed CapCom responded with "you got a bunch of guys about to turn blue here." They were holding their breath praying that Apollo 11 didn't run out of fuel. 

This is the MC loop so you can hear the comments between the men at Mission Control and Apollo 11. 
Astronaut Charlie Duke, who later walked on the moon during Apollo 16 is Capcom for the landing. He is the only one talking to the Eagle. 
The legendary Gene Kranz, who also was the hero for Apollo 13, was the flight director for the landing. You will hear him talking in the loop to his controllers. 
Here are some key moments: 

 6:10:  they were given "GO" to continued PD (powered descent). 
7:29: The 1202 alarm and by 7:50 MC had determined they were 12:02 alarm. 
10:58 the historic "GO/NO GO" for landing. 
11:06: Kranz tells Capcom they are GO for landing. 
11:08: Duke tells Eagle they are GO for landing. 
11:20: Within a second after acknowledging they are GO for landing Armstrong notes a 1201 alarm.
12:20:  There is an "attitude hold" as Armstrong at around 500 feet from the surface is actively looking for a landing spot. He is now manually piloting Eagle. 
12:25: Kranz tells his team that the only call-outs will be remaining fuel. From this point forward you hear Aldrin calling out the speed and altitude as Armstrong looks to land the Eagle. 

When people talk about American Exceptionalism, this is what they should be talking about. Kranz has enough faith in his men to let them do what they are trained to do. Armstrong is arguably the best pilot in the world, and all the training is now paying off as he is flying around large boulders, looking for a place to land, with just two minutes of fuel. Aldrin is cool as can be, giving Armstrong  velocity and altitude and rate of descent. This is teamwork at its finest. 

13:35: First fuel call: "low level".
13:47: 5% of fuel. 
13:57 60 seconds of fuel. Listen how cool Kranz is as he relays this information. 
13:59: Duke, with a little more urgency in his voice tells Eagle they have 60 seconds of fuel remaining. 
14:16: They are soooo close. Aldrin notes that they are "kicking up some dust". 
14:21: A controller tells Kranz they have 30 seconds of fuel.
14:28: Duke tells Eagle they have 30 seconds of fuel left. 
14:37 Aldrin calls out "Contact light!". The probe of the lander has touched the surface of the moon. The men now quickly go through their landing checklist. It's fascinating to hear. 
14:59: From Tranquility Base, perhaps the most historic words ever spoke in the history of the English Language "The Eagle Has Landed." And Duke responds about a "bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again." 
15:50: Kranz is still all business while everyone around him is going crazy and he calls for a T1 "Stay/No Stay". 

This is historic footage. Watch and listen to it all. It's worth it. 
This is American Exceptionalism. Not some nonsense about trade tariffs and who pays more for NATO. This is the real stuff Americans are made of. And we shall return.