Apollo 11 Launch: 40 Years Later
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}July 16, 1969: Apollo 11 astronauts stand next to their spacecraft in 1969, from left to right: Col. Edwin E. Aldrin, lunar module pilot; Neil Armstrong, flight commander; and Lt. Michael Collins, command module pilot.
July 16, 1969: NASA ground crew at the Kennedy Space Center announces "We have liftoff," as Apollo 11 launches for the first ever manned mission to land on the moon. (AP)
July 16, 1969: Apollo 11 launches from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, with Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin. (AP)
July 16, 1969: This image captures the launch of Apollo 11 on the first manned space mission to land on the Moon. (AP)
July 16, 1969: Apollo 11 makes history on the journey to the moon for the first ever lunar landing by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. (AP)
July 16, 1969: Apollo 11 flight crew prepares to board the space craft before liftoff from Florida's Kennedy Space Center. (AP)