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Anders, William Alison 'Bill'

American pilot astronaut 1963-1969. Member of first crew to orbit the moon.

Status: Inactive; Active 1963-1969. Born: 1933-10-17. Spaceflights: 1 . Total time in space: 6.13 days. Birth Place: Hong Kong.

Official NASA Biography as of June 2016: William A. Anders (Major General, USAF Reserve, Ret.) NASA Astronaut (former)

PERSONAL DATA: Born October 17, 1933, in Hong Kong. Married to the former Valerie E. Hoard of Lemon Grove, California. Four sons, two daughters. Recreational interests include fishing, flying, and cross-country skiing. He also serves on several corporate boards.

EDUCATION: Received a bachelor of science degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1955 and a master of science degree in Nuclear Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in 1962. Completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program in 1979.

ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society, American Nuclear Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Society of Experimental Test Pilots, and the National Academy of Engineering.

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS: Distinguished Service Medals from the Air Force, NASA and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Air Force Commendation Medal; National Geographic Society's Hubbard Medal for Exploration; Collier, Harmon, Goddard and White Trophies; and the American Astronautical Society's Flight Achievement Award. He has been awarded several honorary doctoral degrees. He holds several world flight records, and received the American Defense Preparedness Association's first Industry Leadership Award in May 1993.

EXPERIENCE: Anders was commissioned in the air Force after graduation from the Naval Academy and served as a fighter pilot in all-weather interception squadrons of the Air Defense Command and later was responsible for technical management of nuclear power reactor shielding and radiation effects programs while at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in New Mexico.

In 1964, Anders was selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as an astronaut with responsibilities for dosimetry, radiation effects and environmental controls. He was backup pilot for the Gemini XI, Apollo 11 flights, and was lunar module pilot for Apollo 8 -- the first lunar orbit mission in December 1968. He has logged more than 6,000 hours flying time.

From June 1969 to 1973 he served as Executive Secretary for the National Aeronautics and Space Council, which was responsible to the President, Vice President and Cabinet-level members of the Council for developing policy options concerning research, development, operations and planning of aeronautical and space systems.

On August 6, 1973, Anders was appointed to the five-member Atomic Energy Commission where he was lead commissioner for all nuclear and non-nuclear power R&D. He was also named as U. S. Chairman of the joint US/USSR technology exchange program for nuclear fission and fusion power.

Following the reorganization of national nuclear regulatory and developmental activities on January 19, 1975, Anders was named by President Ford to become the first Chairman of the newly established Nuclear Regulatory Commission responsible for nuclear safety and environmental compatibility. At the completion of his term as NRC Chairman, Anders was appointed United States Ambassador to Norway and held that position until 1977.

Anders left the federal government after 26 years of service and after briefly serving as a Fellow of the American Enterprise Institute he joined the General Electric Company in September 1977 as Vice President and General Manager of the Nuclear Products Division in San Jose, California. In this position he was responsible for the manufacture of nuclear fuel, reactor internal equipment, and control and instrumentation for GE boiling water reactors at facilities located in San Jose and Wilmington, North Carolina. In addition, he had responsibility for the GE partnership arrangement with Chicago Bridge and Iron for the manufacture of large steel pressure vessels in Memphis, Tennessee. In August 1979, Anders was placed on special assignment to attend the Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.

On January 1, 1980, Anders was appointed General Manager of the General Electric Aircraft Equipment Division with headquarters in Utica, New York. With more than 8500 employees in five plant locations in the Northeastern U.S., the Aircraft Equipment Division products include aircraft flight and weapon control systems, cockpit instruments, aircraft electrical generating systems, airborne radars and data processing systems, electronic countermeasures, space command systems, and aircraft/surface multi-barrel armament systems. In 1984, he left GE to join Textron as Executive Vice President-Aerospace, moving to Senior Executive Vice President-Operations in 1986. He was also a consultant to the Office of Science and Technology Policy and was a member of the Defense Science Board & the NASA Advisory Council, and is a retired Major General in the USAF Reserve.

Mr. Anders was made Vice Chairman of the General Dynamic Corporation for 1990 and was made Chairman & Chief Executive Office January 1, 1991. In 1993 he retired as an employee of the corporation but remained Chairman of the Board until May of 1994 when he fully retired from company service.

DECEMBER 1994

This is the only version available from NASA. Updates must be sought from the above named individual.

Official Biography

NAME: William A. Anders

BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: Anders was born October 17, 1933, in Hong Kong.

EDUCATION: Anders received a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1955. While in the Air Force he obtained a Master of Science degree in nuclear engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology

EXPERIENCE: After graduation Anders was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force and served as a fighter pilot in all-weather interception squadrons of the Air Defence Command. After receiving his Master of Science degree he was assigned responsibility for technical management of nuclear power reactor shielding and radiation effects programs at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory.

NASA selected Anders as an astronaut in 1964. After Mike Collins had to leave the crew due to an illness, Anders received his first flight assignment on the Apollo 8 crew, together with Commander Frank Borman and Jim Lovell. A last minute decision was made to send Apollo 8, only the second manned Apollo flight, into lunar orbit in order to beat the Russians. On December 21, 1968, the Apollo 8 crew became the first humans to reach escape velocity as their Saturn V put them on a trans-lunar trajectory. Early on Christmas Eve, the Apollo 8 command-service module braked into lunar orbit. In an unforgettable Christmas message to the world, Borman, Lovell and Anders read the story of creation from the first ten verses of the Bible's Book of Genesis, while sending a vivid televised image of the stark lunar surface rolling by below. On Christmas Day, Apollo 8's engines pushed the crew out of lunar orbit and back toward Earth to a landing in the Pacific Ocean.

Anders left NASA after the Apollo 11 mission and served as executive secretary of the National Aeronautics and Space Council from 1969 to 1973. In 1973 he was appointed to the Atomic Energy Commission. Following reorganisation of national nuclear regulatory and development activities in 1975, Anders was named by President Ford to become the first Chairman of the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Ford later named him U.S. ambassador to Norway.

Anders left the federal government after 26 years of service in 1977 and assumed a series of management positions with the General Electric Company. Later he worked as Senior Executive Vice President-Operations, Textron, Inc. Anders retired as Chief Executive Officer of General Dynamics in 1993, but remained Chairman of the Board. He finally retired from General Dynamics in 1996. Anders then became President and Director of The Anders Foundation, a philanthropic organisation. He held the rank of major general in the Air Force Reserve.

More at: Anders.

Family: Astronaut. Country: China, USA. Spacecraft: Gemini. Flights: Gemini 11, Apollo 503, Apollo 8, Apollo 11. Projects: Apollo. Agency: USAF. Bibliography: 5105.

1933 October 17 - .

Birth of William Alison 'Bill' Anders - . Nation: China, USA. Related Persons: Anders. American pilot astronaut 1963-1969. Member of first crew to orbit the moon. 1 spaceflight, 6.1 days in space. Flew to orbit on Apollo 8 (1968)..

1963 June 5 - .

10 to 15 new astronauts to begin training in October - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Aldrin, Anders, Bassett, Bean, Cernan, Chaffee, Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Freeman, Gordon, Schweickart, Scott, Williams, Clifton. Program: Apollo.
NASA announced that it would select 10 to 15 new astronauts to begin training in October. Civilian applications were due July 1; those from military personnel, prescreened by their services, were due July 15. New selection criteria reduced the maximum age to 35 years and eliminated the requirement for test pilot certifications.

1963 October 17 - .

NASA Astronaut Training Group 3 selected. - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Aldrin, Anders, Bassett, Bean, Cernan, Chaffee, Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Freeman, Gordon, Schweickart, Scott, Williams, Clifton.
The group was selected to provide crew members for planned Apollo missions (then planned as 4 Saturn I missions in 1965, 2-4 Saturn IB missions in 1966, 6 Saturn V missions from 1967).. Qualifications: Qualified jet pilot with minimum 1,000 flight-hours, bachleor's degree in engineering or physical or biological sciences, under 35 years old, under 183 cm height, excellent health. US citizen.. There were 271 applications, 200 from civilians (including two women) and 71 from military pilots (including two African-Americans). President Kennedy pushed for NASA to appoint a black astronaut, but neither of the applicants met the test pilot requirements. Bobby Kennedy arranged for one of these, USAF Captain Edward Dwight, to be enrolled in the USAF Test Pilot school. He graduated, and then had the necessary qualifications. He was 28 years old, an engineering school graduate, and a B-57 bomber command pilot with 2,000 hours flying time. However NASA did not find him as well qualified as other candidates, and he was not among the 32 chosen for final physical and mental tests.
From these 32, the final 14 were selected. Of them, four would die (two in a T-38 crash, one in a car crash, and one in the Apollo 204 ground fire) before flying in space. All of the ten remaining would fly in the Apollo program.

1963 October 18 - .

Selection of 14 astronauts for Projects Gemini and Apollo - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Aldrin, Anders, Bassett, Bean, Cernan, Chaffee, Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Freeman, Gordon, Schweickart, Scott, Williams, Clifton. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: Gemini.
NASA announced the selection of 14 astronauts for Projects Gemini and Apollo, bringing to 30 the total number of American spacemen. They were Maj. Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., Capt. William A. Anders, Capt. Charles A. Bassett II, Capt. Michael Collins, Capt. Donn F. Eisele, Capt. Theodore C. Freeman, and Capt. David R. Scott of the Air Force; Lt. Cdr. Richard F. Gordon, Jr., Lt. Alan L. Bean, Lt. Eugene A. Cernan, and Lt. Roger B. Chaffee of the Navy; Capt. Clifton C. Williams, Jr., of the Marine Corps; R. Walter Cunningham, research scientist for the Rand Corporation; and Russell L. Schweickart, research scientist for MIT.

1964 February 3 - .

Fourteen new astronauts reported for training - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Aldrin, Anders, Bassett, Bean, Cernan, Chaffee, Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Freeman, Gordon, Schweickart, Scott, Williams, Clifton. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: Gemini. Fourteen new astronauts, chosen in October 1963, reported at MSC for training for the Gemini and Apollo programs..

1965 February 16 - .

Specialty areas for 13 astronauts not assigned to Gemini - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Aldrin, Anders, Bassett, Bean, Cernan, Chaffee, Collins, Cunningham, Eisele, Freeman, Gordon, Schweickart, Scott, Williams, Clifton. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: Apollo LM, CSM ECS, LM Communications, LM ECS, LM Guidance.
MSC announced a realignment of specialty areas for the 13 astronauts not assigned to forthcoming Gemini missions (GT 3 through 5) or to strictly administrative positions:
Operations and Training
Edwin E. Aldrin, branch chief - mission planning
Charles A. Bassett - operations handbooks, training, and simulators
Alan L. Bean - recovery systems
Michael Collins - pressure suits and extravehicular activity
David R. Scott - mission planning and guidance and navigation
Clifton C. Williams - range operations, deep space instrumentation, and crew safety.
Project Apollo
Richard F. Gordon, branch chief - overall astronaut activities in Apollo area and liaison for CSM development
Donn F. Eisele - CSM and LEM
William A. Anders - environmental control system and radiation and thermal systems
Eugene A. Cernan - boosters, spacecraft propulsion, and the Agena stage
Roger B. Chaffee - communications, flight controls, and docking
R. Walter Cunningham - electrical and sequential systems and non-flight experiments
Russell L. Schweickart - in-flight experiments and future programs.

1965 May 17 - .

MSC to participate in Apollo LEM manned environmental control system tests - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anders. Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: Apollo LM, LM Communications, LM ECS.
MSC informed Grumman it believed it would be beneficial to the LEM development program for MSC to participate in the manned environmental control system tests to be conducted in Grumman's Internal Environment Simulator. The following individuals were suggested to participate: Astronaut William A. Anders or an alternate to act as a test crewman for one or more manned runs; D. Owen Goons or an alternate to act as a medical monitor for the aforementioned astronaut; and John W. O'Neill or an alternate to monitor voice communications during the test and record astronaut comments.

1966 September 12 - . 14:42 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC19. LV Family: Titan. Launch Vehicle: Titan II GLV.

Gemini 11 - . Call Sign: Gemini 11. Crew: Conrad, Gordon. Backup Crew: Anders, Armstrong. Payload: Gemini SC11. Mass: 3,798 kg (8,373 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Houston. Class: Manned. Type: Manned spacecraft. Flight: Gemini 11. Spacecraft: Gemini. Duration: 2.97 days. Decay Date: 1966-09-15 . USAF Sat Cat: 2415 . COSPAR: 1966-081A. Apogee: 280 km (170 mi). Perigee: 161 km (100 mi). Inclination: 28.80 deg. Period: 88.80 min.
More highjinks with Conrad. First orbit docking with Agena, followed by boost up to record 800 km orbit, providing first manned views of earth as sphere. Tether attached by Gordon to Agena in spacewalk and after a lot of effort tethered spacecraft put into slow rotation, creating first artificial microgravity.
The primary objective of the Gemini XI mission was to rendezvous with the Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) during the first revolution and dock. Five maneuvers completed the spacecraft/GATV rendezvous at 1 hour 25 minutes ground elapsed time, and the two vehicles docked nine minutes later. Secondary objectives included docking practice, extravehicular activity (EVA), 11 experiments, docked maneuvers, a tethered vehicle test, demonstrating automatic reentry, and parking the GATV. All objectives were achieved except one experiment - evaluation of the minimum reaction power tool - which was not performed because umbilical EVA was terminated prematurely. Umbilical EVA began at 24 hours 2 minutes ground elapsed time and ended 33 minutes later. Gordon became fatigued while attaching the tether from the GATV to the spacecraft docking bar. An hour later the hatch was opened to jettison equipment no longer required. At 40 hours 30 minutes after liftoff, the GATV primary propulsion system (PPS) was fired to raise the apogee of the docked vehicles to 741 nautical miles for two revolutions. The PPS was fired again, 3 hours 23 minutes later, to reduce apogee to 164 nautical miles. The crew then prepared for standup EVA, which began at 47 hours 7 minutes into the flight and lasted 2 hours 8 minutes. The spacecraft was then undocked to begin the tether evaluation. At 50 hours 13 minutes ground elapsed time, the crew initiated rotation. Initial oscillations damped out and the combination became very stable after about 20 minutes; the rotational rate was then increased. Again, initial oscillations gradually damped out and the combination stabilized. At about 53 hours into the mission, the crew released the tether, separated from the GATV, and maneuvered the spacecraft to an identical orbit with the target vehicle. A fuel cell stack failed at 54 hours 31 minutes, but the remaining five stacks shared the load and operated satisfactorily. A rerendezvous was accomplished at 66 hours 40 minutes ground elapsed time, and the crew then prepared for reentry.

1966 December 22 - . Launch Vehicle: Saturn V.

Crew selection for the second and third manned Apollo missions - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anders. Program: Apollo. Flight: Apollo 7, Apollo 8. Spacecraft: Apollo LM. NASA announced crew selection for the second and third manned Apollo missions. . Additional Details: here....

1967 December - .

Apollo 503 (cancelled) - . Crew: Anders, Borman, Collins. Backup Crew: Conrad, Gordon, Williams, Clifton. Nation: USA. Program: Apollo. Flight: Apollo 503. Spacecraft: Apollo CSM.
The third Apollo flight announced on December 22, 1966, was the Apollo E mission - a test of the Apollo lunar module in high earth orbit. In order to beat the Russians around the moon, it was decided that the E mission would be cancelled and instead Borman's crew would fly an Apollo CSM into lunar orbit. This became Apollo 8.

1968 August 19 - . Launch Vehicle: Saturn V.

Changes in planning for Apollo flights - . Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anders, Borman, Lovell. Program: Apollo. Flight: Apollo 8. Spacecraft: Apollo LM, Apollo Lunar Landing, CSM SPS.
In a Mission Preparation Directive sent to the three manned space flight Centers, NASA Apollo Program Director Samuel C. Phillips stated that the following changes would be effected in planning and preparation for Apollo flights:
Apollo-Saturn 503
- Assignment of Saturn V 503, CSM 103, and LM-3 to Mission D was canceled.
- Saturn V 503 would be prepared to carry CSM 103 and LTA (LM test article)-B on a manned CSM-only mission to be designated the C prime mission.
- The objectives and profile of the C prime mission would be developed to provide maximum gain consistent with standing flight safety requirements. Studies would be carried out and plans prepared so as to provide reasonable flexibility in establishing final mission objectives.
- All planning and preparations for the C prime mission would proceed toward launch readiness on December 6, 1968.
  Apollo-Saturn 504
  Saturn V 504, CSM 104, and LM-3 were assigned to the D mission, scheduled for launch readiness no earlier than February 20, 1969. The crew assigned to the D mission would remain assigned to that mission. The crew assigned to the E mission (Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and William Anders) would be reassigned to the C prime mission. Training and equipping the C prime crews and operational preparations would proceed as required to meet mission requirements and to meet the newly established flight readiness date.
  Additional Details: here....

1968 December 21 - . 12:51 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. Launch Platform: LUT1. Launch Vehicle: Saturn V.

Apollo 8 - . Call Sign: Apollo 8. Crew: Anders, Borman, Lovell. Backup Crew: Aldrin, Armstrong, Haise. Payload: Apollo CSM 103 / LTA-B / S-IVB-503N. Mass: 28,833 kg (63,565 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: Apollo. Class: Moon. Type: Manned lunar spacecraft. Flight: Apollo 8. Spacecraft: Apollo CSM. Duration: 6.13 days. Decay Date: 1968-12-27 . USAF Sat Cat: 3626 . COSPAR: 1968-118A. Apogee: 185 km (114 mi). Perigee: 185 km (114 mi). Inclination: 32.50 deg. Period: 88.19 min.
Apollo 8 (AS-503) was launched from KSC Launch Complex 39, Pad A, at 7:51 a.m. EST Dec. 21 on a Saturn V booster. The spacecraft crew was made up of Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and William A. Anders. Apollo 8 was the first spacecraft to be launched by a Saturn V with a crew on board, and that crew became the first men to fly around the moon.
All launch and boost phases were normal and the spacecraft with the S-IVB stage was inserted into an earth-parking orbit of 190.6 by 183.2 kilometers above the earth. After post-insertion checkout of spacecraft systems, the S-IVB stage was reignited and burned 5 minutes 9 seconds to place the spacecraft and stage in a trajectory toward the moon - and the Apollo 8 crew became the first men to leave the earth's gravitational field.
The spacecraft separated from the S-IVB 3 hours 20 minutes after launch and made two separation maneuvers using the SM's reaction control system. Eleven hours after liftoff, the first midcourse correction increased velocity by 26.4 kilometers per hour. The coast phase was devoted to navigation sightings, two television transmissions, and system checks. The second midcourse correction, about 61 hours into the flight, changed velocity by 1.5 kilometers per hour.
The 4-minute 15-second lunar-orbit-insertion maneuver was made 69 hours after launch, placing the spacecraft in an initial lunar orbit of 310.6 by 111.2 kilometers from the moon's surface - later circularized to 112.4 by 110.6 kilometers. During the lunar coast phase the crew made numerous landing-site and landmark sightings, took lunar photos, and prepared for the later maneuver to enter the trajectory back to the earth.
On the fourth day, Christmas Eve, communications were interrupted as Apollo 8 passed behind the moon, and the astronauts became the first men to see the moon's far side. Later that day , during the evening hours in the United States, the crew read the first 10 verses of Genesis on television to earth and wished viewers "goodnight, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you - all of you on the good earth."
Subsequently, TV Guide for May 10-16, 1969, claimed that one out of every four persons on earth - nearly 1 billion people in 64 countries - heard the astronauts' reading and greeting, either on radio or on TV; and delayed broadcasts that same day reached 30 additional countries.
On Christmas Day, while the spacecraft was completing its 10th revolution of the moon, the service propulsion system engine was fired for three minutes 24 seconds, increasing the velocity by 3,875 km per hr and propelling Apollo 8 back toward the earth, after 20 hours 11 minutes in lunar orbit. More television was sent to earth on the way back.

1968 December 27 - .

Landing of Apollo 8 - . Return Crew: Anders, Borman, Lovell. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Anders, Borman, Lovell. Program: Apollo. Flight: Apollo 8.
On the sixth day, the crew prepared for reentry and the SM separated from the CM on schedule. Parachute deployment and other re-entry events were normal. The Apollo 8 CM splashed down in the Pacific, apex down, at 15:51 GMT - 147 hours and 42 seconds after liftoff. As planned, helicopters and aircraft hovered over the spacecraft and pararescue personnel were not deployed until local sunrise, 50 minutes after splashdown. The crew was picked up and reached the recovery ship U.S.S. Yorktown at 17:20 GMT. All mission objectives and detailed test objectives were achieved, as well as five that were not originally planned.
The crew was in excellent condition, and another major step toward the first lunar landing had been accomplished.

1969 July 16 - . 13:32 GMT - . Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: Cape Canaveral LC39A. Launch Platform: LUT1. Launch Vehicle: Saturn V.

Apollo 11 - . Call Sign: Columbia. Crew: Aldrin, Armstrong, Collins. Backup Crew: Anders, Haise, Lovell. Payload: Apollo CSM 107 / Apollo LM 5 / EASEP / S-IVB-506. Mass: 28,800 kg (63,400 lb). Nation: USA. Agency: NASA Houston. Program: Apollo. Class: Moon. Type: Manned lunar spacecraft. Flight: Apollo 11. Spacecraft: Apollo CSM. Duration: 8.14 days. Decay Date: 1969-07-24 . USAF Sat Cat: 4039 . COSPAR: 1969-059A. Apogee: 186 km (115 mi). Perigee: 183 km (113 mi). Inclination: 32.50 deg. Period: 88.19 min.
First landing on moon. Apollo 11 (AS-506) - with astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., aboard - was launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, KSC, at 9:32 a.m. EDT July 16. The activities during earth-orbit checkout, translunar injection, CSM transposition and docking, spacecraft ejection, and translunar coast were similar to those of Apollo 10.
At 4:40 p.m. EDT July 18, the crew began a 96-minute color television transmission of the CSM and LM interiors, CSM exterior, the earth, probe and drogue removal, spacecraft tunnel hatch opening, food preparation, and LM housekeeping. One scheduled and two unscheduled television broadcasts had been made previously by the Apollo 11 crew.
The spacecraft entered lunar orbit at 1:28 p.m. EDT on July 19. During the second lunar orbit a live color telecast of the lunar surface was made. A second service-propulsion-system burn placed the spacecraft in a circularized orbit, after which astronaut Aldrin entered the LM for two hours of housekeeping including a voice and telemetry test and an oxygen-purge-system check.
At 8:50 a.m. July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin reentered the LM and checked out all systems. They performed a maneuver at 1:11 p.m. to separate the LM from the CSM and began the descent to the moon. The LM touched down on the moon at 4:18 p.m. EDT July 20. Armstrong reported to mission control at MSC, "Houston, Tranquillity Base here - theEagle has landed." (Eagle was the name given to the Apollo 11 LM; the CSM was namedColumbia.) Man's first step on the moon was taken by Armstrong at 10:56 p.m. EDT. As he stepped onto the surface of the moon, Armstrong described the feat as "one small step for man - one giant leap for mankind."
Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface of the moon at 11:15 p.m. July 20. The astronauts unveiled a plaque mounted on a strut of the LM and read to a worldwide TV audience, "Here men from the planet earth first set foot on the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." After raising the American flag and talking to President Nixon by radiotelephone, the two astronauts deployed the lunar surface experiments assigned to the mission and gathered 22 kilograms of samples of lunar soil and rocks. They then reentered the LM and closed the hatch at 1:11 a.m. July 21. All lunar extravehicular activities were televised in black-and-white. Meanwhile, Collins continued orbiting moon alone in CSM Columbia.
The Eagle lifted off from the moon at 1:54 p.m. EDT July 21, having spent 21 hours 36 minutes on the lunar surface. It docked with the CSM at 5:35 p.m. and the crew, with the lunar samples and film, transferred to the CSM. The LM ascent stage was jettisoned into lunar orbit. The crew then rested and prepared for the return trip to the earth.
The CSM was injected into a trajectory toward the earth at 12:55 a.m. EDT July 22. Following a midcourse correction at 4:01 p.m., an 18-minute color television transmission was made, in which the astronauts demonstrated the weightlessness of food and water and showed shots of the earth and the moon.

1971 January 22 - .

Low and Anders visit the Gagarin Training Centre. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anders, Low. They are very interested in the Soyuz and Volga trainers..

1971 March 9 - .

Major DOS training exercise by first crew. - . Nation: Russia. Related Persons: Anders, Rukavishnikov, Shatalov, Yeliseyev. Program: Salyut. Flight: Soyuz 10, Soyuz 11, Soyuz 12 / DOS 1. Spacecraft Bus: Almaz. Spacecraft: Salyut 1.
A major training session is held with Shatalov, Yeliseyev, and Rukavishnikov. They make a 15 hour simulated 'flight' aboard the DOS trainer from 09:15 to 22:45. All operations expected in a thirty-day mission to the station are gone through. This includes simulation of emergencies to test the reactions of both the crew and ground controllers. Kamanin receives a letter from Anders, thanking him for the tour of Star City. Representatives from the Swedish firm are in town to negotiate the contract for the TsF-18 18-metre radius centrifuge. Both Korolev and Mishin fought against the VVS getting such a centrifuge.

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