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Welcome to ESAHistory of Europe in spaceELDO/ESRO/ESA:
Key dates 1960-2010Key figures European space pioneersPast Directors General of ESAESRO Directors GeneralELDO Secretaries GeneralChairs of ELDO/ESRO/ESA CouncilESA History Project The History of the European Space AgencySpace history on the webFurther reading on European space historyDownload ESA Bulletin: The ESA History ProjectHistory Study ReportsA History of the European Space Agency, Volume I:
The story of ESRO and ELDO, 1958-1973 (pdf)A History of the European Space Agency, Volume II:
The story of ESA, 1973-1987 (pdf)
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| | Apollo 11 astronauts look back at Earth | |
On this day: 40 years ago
18 July 1969
At 12:31 a.m. CEST, the astronauts begin first scheduled colour television broadcast from spacecraft, showing views of Earth from a distance of about 237 000 km. During the 36-minute transmission, views are also shown inside the Command Module.
2:42 a.m. Mission Control bids the crew goodnight.
2:41 p.m. Mission Control lets the astronauts sleep an hour later than scheduled on the third day of the outward journey. After breakfast, they begin housekeeping chores, such as charging batteries, dumping waste water and checking fuel and oxygen reserves.
| | | Armstrong checks out Lunar Module |
9:40 p.m. One of the clearest television transmissions ever sent from space is begun, with the spacecraft 324 000 km miles from Earth and 88 900 km from the Moon.
The hatch to the Lunar Module is opened and Armstrong squeezes through the 70 cm-wide tunnel to inspect it, followed by Aldrin.
More information:
ESA celebrates the 40th anniversary of mankind first setting foot on the Moon and pays tribute to the men and women who took part in this endeavour, some of whom are still active in NASA, ESA and international space programmes. A series of articles chronicles each day of the historic mission 40 years ago, from launch to landing, with many rarely-seen archive photographs and highlights of some fascinating European contributions to lunar exploration.
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| | The Apollo 11 crew On this day, 40 years ago... More pictures from this day in 196916 July 196917 July 196919 July 196920 July 196921 July 196922 July 196923/24 July 1969 First 'flag' on the Moon? Interview with an Apollo ground station pioneer ESA 'birthday card' of Apollo 11 landing site Human Spaceflight Education with ESA History of Europe in space NASA Apollo 40th anniversary site
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