Apollo 11 PR/FAQ
We wrote the landing first.
Drafted May 25, 1961. The press release is dated July 20, 1969.
Memorandum
PR/FAQ: a manned lunar landing and return
To: The Administrator. From: The Apollo team. Date: May 25, 1961, revised July 16, 1969.
This document works backwards. It opens with the press release we intend to issue on landing day, then answers the questions that release will raise, outside the agency and inside it. The tenets come first, because they settle the arguments the rest of the document will start.
Read it in silence, start to finish. Discussion follows.
1. Tenets
Four tenets settle every argument. Coming home is the first.
Coming home is half the goal.
"...landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."
President Kennedy to Congress, May 25, 1961
- 02The date is the date."Before this decade is out" means December 31, 1969. Plan backwards from it.
- 03Every step flies first.Orbit, spacewalk, rendezvous, docking, rocket, lander: each proves itself on an earlier flight.
- 04We do it in public.Launch is open to the press and the landing goes out live, whichever way it goes.
1. Tenets
Four rules that settle every argument
1. Coming home is half the goal. The President asked for a man landed on the Moon and returned safely to the Earth. A landing without a return is a failure.
2. The date is the date. "Before this decade is out" means December 31, 1969. We plan backwards from it.
3. Every step flies before we need it. Orbit, spacewalks, rendezvous, docking, the rocket and the lander each prove themselves on an earlier flight.
4. We do it in public. Launches are open to the press and the landing goes out on live television, whichever way it goes.
2. Press release
Written in May 1961. Dated July 20, 1969.
Today's date
July 20, 1969
Status Issued
Draft 1, written May 25, 1961
Sunday, July 20, 1969
Apollo 11
Two Americans land
on the Moon
Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin set their lunar module, Eagle, down in the Sea of Tranquility at 4:17 p.m. EDT. Michael Collins orbits overhead in Columbia. All three are due home July 24.
-more-
2. Press release
Two Americans land on the Moon
WASHINGTON, July 20, 1969. Neil A. Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. landed their lunar module, Eagle, in the Sea of Tranquility at 4:17 p.m. EDT today. Michael Collins is orbiting the Moon in the command module, Columbia, waiting to bring them home. Splashdown is planned in the Pacific on July 24.
The mission's objective, stated simply: "Perform a manned lunar landing and return." Meeting it meets the national goal President Kennedy set on May 25, 1961.
2. Press release: problem and solution
For all of history, the Moon was a thing to look at. Apollo makes it a place to go.
- The problem
- Everyone has looked at the Moon. Nobody has been.
- The solution
- One Saturn V. Two spacecraft. Three men. Two land in Eagle, one waits in Columbia, and all three come home together.
Jul 16 Launch
Jul 19 Lunar orbit
Jul 20 Eagle lands
Jul 24 Splashdown
2. Press release, continued
The problem and the solution
The problem. For all of human history the Moon has been something to look at. Nobody has been able to go.
The solution. One Saturn V sends three men and two spacecraft to the Moon. In lunar orbit, Armstrong and Aldrin take Eagle down to the surface while Collins stays aloft in Columbia. Eagle's upper stage lifts off, docks with Columbia, and all three come home together: about eight days, door to door.
2. Press release: the quotes
We wrote the leader's quote in 1961. The customer's came from the Moon.
From the leader, May 25, 1961
"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth."
From the customer, July 20, 1969
[Customer quote: to be supplied from the surface]
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
2. Press release, continued
The quotes
From the leader, May 25, 1961: I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.
President John F. Kennedy.
From the customer, July 20, 1969, 10:56 p.m. EDT: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
Neil Armstrong, from the surface.
2. Press release: how to get it
Turn on a TV. No ticket required.
From the Moon: black and white, 10 frames a second, 320 lines.
Live Apollo 11 All times EDT
- Wed Jul 169:32 a.m.Launch
- Sun Jul 204:17 p.m.Eagle lands
- Sun Jul 2010:56 p.m.First step
- Thu Jul 2412:50 p.m.Splashdown
2. Press release, continued
How to get it
Switch on a television. The launch is live from Launch Complex 39A, Florida, at 9:32 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 16. Eagle lands on Sunday, July 20, at 4:17 p.m., and the first step comes at 10:56 p.m. A black-and-white camera on the lander sends the picture from the Moon at 10 frames a second. Splashdown is Thursday, July 24, at 12:50 p.m.
No ticket is required.
3. External FAQ
Everyone will ask the same six things. Answer them first.
What will they leave behind?
Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon
July 1969 A.D.
We came in peace for all mankind
- When do they go?
- July 16, 9:32 a.m. EDT, from Florida.
- How long is the trip?
- 8 days, 3 hours, 18 minutes.
- How long on the Moon?
- 21 hours, 36 minutes. Two and a half outside.
- What do they bring back?
- 47.5 pounds of the Moon.
- Will they bring back germs?
- 21 days in quarantine, to be sure.
3. External FAQ
What everyone will ask
When do they go? July 16, 1969, at 9:32 a.m. EDT, from Launch Complex 39A in Florida.
How long is the trip? Eight days, three hours and 18 minutes, door to door.
How long on the Moon? Eagle stays 21 hours and 36 minutes. About two and a half hours are spent outside.
What do they bring back? 47.5 pounds of rock and soil.
Will they bring back germs? The crew spends 21 days in quarantine to be sure.
What will they leave behind? A plaque: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon, July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind."
4. Internal FAQ
Inside, the questions get harder. So do the answers.
What will it cost?
$25.4B
The 1961 ask was $531 million for fiscal 1962 and an estimated $7 to 9 billion more over five years. Apollo came to $25.4 billion. Going half way, Kennedy warned, would be worse than not going at all.
How many people does it take?
400,000
About 400,000 at the peak, across NASA and the companies building the rocket, the spacecraft and everything in between.
How do we land with a rocket we can build?
2 ships
Lunar orbit rendezvous. The mother ship stays in lunar orbit; a small, light lander goes down and comes back up to meet it. NASA chose it in July 1962.
What has it already cost us?
- Gus Grissom
- Ed White
- Roger Chaffee
The Apollo 1 crew died in a fire during a launch pad test on January 27, 1967. The command module was redesigned before anyone flew in it again.
What if they can't come home?
On file
There is a statement for the President, written in advance. It is the next page of this memo.
4. Internal FAQ
What we ask ourselves
What will it cost? The 1961 request was $531 million for fiscal 1962 and an estimated $7 to 9 billion more over five years. Apollo came to $25.4 billion.
How many people does it take? About 400,000 at the peak, in NASA and across industry.
How do we land with a rocket we can build? Lunar orbit rendezvous: the mother ship stays in orbit and a small lander goes down and back. Chosen in July 1962.
What has it already cost us? Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, killed in a launch pad fire on January 27, 1967. The command module was redesigned before anyone flew in it again.
What if they can't come home? See section 5.
5. The worst case
The worst case has a written answer. Nobody ever had to read it.
To: H. R. HaldemanFrom: Bill SafireJuly 18, 1969
In event of Moon disaster:
Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.
These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.
Prior to the President's statementThe President should telephone each of the widows-to-be.
Filed July 18, 1969. Never needed.
5. The worst case
In event of Moon disaster
On July 18, 1969, two days after launch, William Safire wrote a statement for President Nixon to read if Armstrong and Aldrin were stranded on the Moon. It begins: Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.
Its instructions begin with a telephone call from the President to each of the widows-to-be. It was filed with the plan, and it was never needed.
6. What must be true
Nine things had to be true first. Then the tenth.
Proven by
1969
10 of 10 true
- A person can live and work in orbit Friendship 7Feb 1962
- A person can work outside the ship Gemini 4Jun 1965
- A crew can last two weeks in space Gemini 7Dec 1965
- Two ships can find each other in orbit Gemini 6A and 7Dec 1965
- Two ships can dock Gemini 8Mar 1966
- The Moon rocket flies Apollo 4Nov 1967
- A crew can reach the Moon and return Apollo 8Dec 1968
- The lander flies with a crew Apollo 9Mar 1969
- A full rehearsal, short of landing Apollo 10May 1969
- Land a man on the Moon and return him Apollo 11Jul 1969
6. What must be true
Nine things first, then the tenth
Each of these had to be proven, in order, before the landing could be attempted:
A person can live and work in orbit (Friendship 7, February 1962). A person can work outside the ship (Gemini 4, June 1965). A crew can last two weeks (Gemini 7, December 1965). Two ships can find each other (Gemini 6A and 7, December 1965) and dock (Gemini 8, March 1966). The Moon rocket flies (Apollo 4, November 1967). A crew can reach the Moon and return (Apollo 8, December 1968). The lander flies with a crew (Apollo 9, March 1969). A full rehearsal, short of landing (Apollo 10, May 1969).
The tenth is the release itself: Apollo 11, July 1969.
7. Result
Splashdown, July 24, 1969. Every clause came true.
- "...of landing a man on the moon Jul 20 1969
- "...and returning him safely to the earth Jul 24 1969
- "...before this decade is out 160 days to spare
Write your press release first.
7. Result
Every clause came true
Eagle landed in the Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969. Columbia splashed down in the Pacific at 12:50 p.m. EDT on July 24, with all three men aboard, 160 days before the decade was out.
The press release ran as written. Write yours first.