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Apollo

Follow the Apollo 11 Mission in Real Time

By Marc Boucher
NASA Watch
July 9, 2019
Filed under

Follow the Apollo 11 Mission in Real Time
Apollo 11 in Real Time
“This website replays the Apollo 11 mission as it happened, 50 years ago. It consists entirely of historical material, all timed to Ground Elapsed Time–the master mission clock. Footage of Mission Control, film shot by the astronauts, and television broadcasts transmitted from space and the surface of the Moon, have been painstakingly placed to the very moments they were shot during the mission, as has every photograph taken, and every word spoken.”
Credits:
– Ben Feist: Ben is a software engineer and historian at NASA JSC and Goddard. He created the concept, research, mission data restoration, audio restoration, video, software architecture and programming. Follow @BenFeist for updates.
– Stephen Slater: Archive Producer, historical audio/footage synchronization
– Chris Bennett: Visual design, interface styling and programming
– David Charney: Visual design
– Arnfinn Holderer: Audio restoration programming
– Robin Wheeler: Photography timing, transcript corrections
Marc’s note: This is brilliantly done.

SpaceRef co-founder, entrepreneur, writer, podcaster, nature lover and deep thinker.

14 responses to “Follow the Apollo 11 Mission in Real Time”

  1. Bob Mahoney says:
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    Very, very awesome.

  2. Winner says:
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    On the one hand, amazing memories and I was there to watch it on TV as a young teenager. I still have a copy of the LA Times that I bought on that day.
    On the other hand, if I had been told that 50 years from 1969 that we would not have visited Mars, in fact we would not have re-visited the moon, in fact we would have a space station but would have no way to put US astronauts in orbit in 2019, I would have been shocked and saddened.
    Yet there are a few glimmers of hope. Most of all is SpaceX – reusing first stages, working to get to Mars. Sadly NASA manned spaceflight turned into pork projects being jerked around politically with little sensibility. At least the deep space probes have been wonderful and leading edge.

    All in all a very mixed bag.

  3. James Lundblad says:
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    Yes, I think it’s almost criminal that there is not a 50th Anniversary landing. I was thinking that part of the issue might be that we have lost something that was relatively recent in the 50s and 60s which is the organizational willpower that came from the war effort and the generation that lived it.

  4. Ben Feist says:
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    Thanks for sharing the website. I’m the author. I’m happy to answer any questions.

    • Skinny_Lu says:
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      Great work. I have been mesmerized by it, so much so I do not mind listening to static for periods of time. Paid attention to some of it, for example, I listened to ground control read a list of calibration/correction factors for the capsule pressure gauges. unbelievable folks… “steely eyed missile men” Sometimes, ground control folks irritate the astronauts with their “procedures” you can hear it in the voices… Ha.

    • Tim Blaxland says:
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      Great work Ben. Having spent a significant amount of time reading the Apollo Flight Journals and Lunar Surface Journals, I’m really enjoying this more interactive format.

      I believe you were also involved in the similar Apollo 17 project: https://apollo17.org/. Are there plans for more?

      • Ben Feist says:
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        Always plans for more 🙂 When the dust settles after the Apollo 11 anniversary, I’ll try to cement timelines for the other missions. It might take a lifetime, but I’m sure I’ll enjoy every minute of it.

    • Robert van de Walle says:
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      Thank you for creating this!

    • Carlton Faller says:
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      Wow. First I thought up the iPhone 3 months before it launched. Then I created Wikipedia, only to be told by my kids that it already exists. Then Khan Academy, and now this. I had this idea two months ago. I’m so happy to know it’s here. It looks awesome, Ben. Thanks so much for doing this.

    • James Lundblad says:
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      It’s too cool! What is it implemented with?

    • Jack says:
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      I love the website and have it on most of the day.
      I do have one question.
      Why do you display a Mach number on the dashboard when it’s undefined in the context being used?

  5. James Lundblad says:
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    This is interesting reading, they nearly cancelled Apollo 16 & 17.
    https://history.nasa.gov/SP