Apolo 11 e recolha dos três astronautas pelo USS Hornet - Some miles away from S. Francisco Bay, I had the opportunity to seat at the command desk of the USS Hornet

I  had  the honor to be received on board  of  the   USS HORNET,  the  ship   that  recovered  the  capsule  where  the  3  astronauts  returned  to  Earth.   Some  miles  away  from  S. Francisco  Bay,  I  had the opportunity  to  seat  at  the command desk,  to  see  some of the crew members  that  are  still  alive,  to  touch  and  see  the  aircrafts  from  the original  fleet of  the  USS  Hornet.


Os primeiros e até agora únicos astronautas a pisar solo lunar,  retornaram á Terra  no  dia  24 de Julho  de  1969   e  foram  recolhidos  no  oceano pacífico  pelo  porta aviões americano  USS Hornet.

Tive  o  privilégio e a imensa alegria  de ser  recebido  a bordo  do  USS  Hornet,  ao  largo  de São Francisco,  de  conversar  com  "velhos"  Membros da tripulação da altura,  ainda  vivos,  de me sentar  no posto  do  comandante e com ele tirar  uma foto, de  ver, tocar  e  admirar  os  aviões  que  faziam  parte da frota  do  USS  Hornet.

Seated  at  the  command desk  of  the  USS Hornet

Me  and  my  wife, teresa,  at the command desk

One  of  the  original  aircrafts  of  the  USS  Hornet

                          The  three  signatures  of  Neil  A Armstrong,  Erwin  Aldrin  and  LT Colonel Michael Collins

Apollo 11

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the television film, see Apollo 11 (film).

Apollo 11
Mission insignia
Crew photo
Left to right: Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first humans on the Moon, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 at 02:56 UTC. Armstrong spent about two and a half hours outside the spacecraft, Aldrin slightly less, and together they collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material for return to Earth. A third member of the mission,Michael Collins, piloted the command spacecraft alone in lunar orbit until Armstrong and Aldrin returned to it just under a day later for the trip back to Earth.

Launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16, Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission of NASA'sApollo program. The Apollo spacecraft had three parts: a Command Module (CM) with a cabin for the three astronauts, which was the only part which landed back on Earth; a Service Module (SM), which supported the Command Module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water; and a Lunar Module (LM) for landing on the Moon. After being sent toward the Moon by the Saturn V's upper stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered into lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into the Lunar Module and landed in the Sea of Tranquility. They stayed a total of about 21½ hours on the lunar surface. After lifting off in the upper part of the Lunar Module and rejoining Collins in the Command Module, they returned to Earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24.

Broadcast on live TV to a world-wide audience, Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and described the event as "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Apollo 11 effectively ended the Space Race and fulfilled a national goal proposed in 1961 by the late US President John F. Kennedy in a speech before the United States Congress, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth."^[3]

On July 24, the astronauts returned home aboard the Command Module Columbia just before dawn local time (16:51 UTC^[12]) at 13°19′N 169°9′W, in the Pacific Ocean 2,660 km (1,440 nmi) east of Wake Island, 380 km (210 nmi) south of Johnston Atoll, and 24 km (13 nmi) from the recovery ship, USS Hornet.^[1]

At 16:44 UTC the drogue parachutes had been deployed and 7 minutes later the Command Module struck the water forcefully. The Command Module landed upside down but was righted within 10 minutes by flotation bags triggered by the astronauts. "Everything's okay. Our checklist is complete. Awaiting swimmers," was Armstrong's last official transmission from the Columbia. 

The crew of Apollo 11 in quarantine after returning to Earth, visited by Richard Nixon

After touchdown on the Hornet, the astronauts exited the helicopter, leaving the flight surgeon and three crewmen. The helicopter was then lowered into hangar bay #2 where the astronauts walked the 30 feet (9.1 m) to the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) where they would begin their 21 days of quarantine. This practice would continue for two more Apollo missions

President Richard Nixon was aboard Hornet to personally welcome the astronauts back to Earth. He told the astronauts, "As a result of what you've done, the world has never been closer together before."^[55] After Nixon departed, the Hornetwas brought alongside the five-ton Command Module where it was placed aboard by the ship's crane, placed on a dolly and moved next to the MQF.