Historical source snapshot

After launch on Saturn V SA-504 on 16 July 1969 at 13:32 UT (9:32 a.m. EDT) from pad 39A of Kennedy Space Center, Apollo 11 entered Earth orbit. After 1 1/2 Earth orbits, the S-IVB stage was re-ignited at 16:16:16 UT for a translunar injection burn of 5 minutes, 48 seconds putting the spacecraft on course for the Moon. The CSM separated from the S-IVB stage containing the LM 33 minutes later, turned around and docked with the LM at 16:56:03 UT. About an hour and 15 minutes later the S-IVB stage was injected into heliocentric orbit. During translunar coast a color TV transmission was made from Apollo 11 and on 17 July a 3-second mid-course correction burn of the main engine was performed. Lunar orbit insertion was achieved on 19 July at 17:21:50 UT by a retrograde firing of the main engine for 357.5 seconds while the spacecraft was behind the Moon and out of contact with Earth. A later 17 second burn circularized the orbit. On 20 July Armstrong and Aldrin entered the LM for final checkout. At 17:44:00 the LM and CSM undocked. After a visual inspection by Collins, at 18:11:53 a separation maneuver was performed, moving the two spacecraft apart. The LM descent engine fired for 30 seconds at 19:08 UT, putting the craft into a descent orbit with a closest approach 14.5 km above the Moon's surface. At 20:05 the LM descent engine fired for 756.3 seconds and descent to the lunar surface began.