Fifty years ago, on July 24, 1969, at 12:49 p.m. EST, American astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin Jr., and Mike Collins splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following the first manned spaceflight to the surface of the moon and back.
President Richard Nixon, who was aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet that picked up the astronauts from their capsule, offered words of greeting to the astronauts and a prayer of thanksgiving was shared by everyone on the ship.
Following their return to earth, the astronauts underwent three weeks of strict quarantine to prevent the spread of “moon germs” that the crew may have been exposed to during their mission.
A parade was held on August 13 in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles honoring the crew of Apollo 11, with a state dinner in Los Angeles to cap off the festivities.
The Apollo 11 mission departed on July 16, 1969, a date that “will remain forever one of the greatest dates in mankind’s long history, and perhaps a departing date in a new and unforeseen future of humanity as well,” a commentary that appeared in The Ukrainian Weekly noted. “On that day [July 20, 1969] man stepped on a new planet and attained the unattainable, realizing the dreams of men for centuries.”
“…The Eagle landed safely on the moon and Tranquility Base was born. The men who landed on the moon represented not any group, or race or nationality; they represented all humanity in its eternal search to attain new heights.
“As millions throughout the world watched and listened via television and radio, Astronaut Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11’s Commander, declared matter-of-factly: ‘Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed!’ (Some observed the moon landing crowded around a television set in the library of the Main House at Soyuzivka.)”
The commentary continued: “July 20, 1969, opened a new era in man’s history, for it was on that day that man transcended the limits of his natural habitat and the human race entered upon a new and unknown age, leading to new realms which heretofore existed only in science fiction and imagination.”
Also noted was the space race between the Soviets and the U.S., but this achievement, The Weekly wrote, was for all the world to share in this “giant leap for mankind.”
The success of Apollo 11 was a marker for man’s technological advancements, and we can see that, 50 years later, mankind’s thirst for knowledge and further exploration has not been quenched.
The Ukrainian Weekly reprinted a letter that appeared in the Denver Post which acknowledged the advancements in rocketry that made the moon landing possible – especially the equations for mid-flight rendezvous between the orbiting command module and the lunar lander – that were pioneered by Ukrainian scientist Yurii Kondratiuk (1897-1942). Kondratiuk is credited with developing basic equations for rocket motion, calculating for optimal flight trajectories, explaining the theory of multistage rockets and advocating the use of new rocket fuels, including the boron fuels used today.
The National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) translated his work into English and has used many of his concepts in the Apollo missions. A crater on the far side of the moon is named after Kondratiuk. He was drafted into service of the Soviet army during the second world war, and died under undisclosed circumstances. He has been featured on postage stamps and coins issued by Ukraine and streets in Poltava (Kondratiuk’s hometown), Kyiv and Moscow have been named after him.
Armstrong, while visiting the Soviet Union following the Apollo 11 mission, stopped at Kondratiuk’s home in Novosibirsk, Russia, and collected some of the soil to take with him as an honor to the man whose discoveries made his historic moon landing possible.
Source: “American astronauts back on Earth,” “One giant leap for mankind,” “Ukrainian contributes to man’s walk on the moon,” The Ukrainian Weekly, July 26 and August 16, 1969.