On July 16, 1969, the 363-foot-tall Apollo 11 spacecraft was launched from the Kennedy Space Center with the mission of landing two men on the lunar surface and safely returning them to Earth. The spacecraft was crewed by three astronauts: Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr.
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| The Apollo 11 moon landing mission crew is shown from left to right: Neil Armstrong (holding a plaque intended for the Moon), Buzz Aldrin (holding the Apollo 11 insignia), and Michael Collins during a news conference at the Space Center on July 5, 1969. |
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| Apollo 11 crew-signed "Type 2" Dow-Unicover Insurance Cover featuring an "Apollo 8" 8¢ U.S. stamp, postmarked July 16, 1969 (the launch date) with a Kennedy Space Center machine cancel. It is signed by Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin. |
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| Photo: Armstrong and Aldrin practiced the 2.5 hours of tasks they were scheduled to perform on the moon. |
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| Photo: Armstrong rehearses climbing the ladder of a Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) simulator.
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| Photo: Armstrong and Aldrin practicing the moon landing in the lunar module simulator. |
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| Photo: Armstrong and Aldrin at a televised press conference, with a technician wearing a mask to protect the astronauts from catching colds or other infections. |
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| Apollo 11 official NASA cachet on a cover featuring a Kennedy Space Center machine cancel. This hand-painted cachet was created by Alec Bartos, the Romanian Astrophilately Chairman, visual artist, and stamp designer. Alec designed this cover to represent items carried in Armstrong's Personal Preference Kit (PPK), which included a piece of wood from the left propeller of the Wright brothers' 1903 airplane, a piece of muslin fabric from its upper left wing, and a gold olive branch pin that was left on the Moon's surface. |
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| Photo: The primary and backup crews of Apollo 11 gathered for dinner on July 15, 1969. |
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| Photo: Collins and Armstrong having breakfast before their historic Apollo 11 flight on July 16, 1969. |
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| Apollo 11 crew-signed cover featuring a small stick-on Apollo 11 emblem label, postmarked on launch day, July 16, 1969, with a Kennedy Space Center machine cancel. |
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| Photo: Commander Neil Armstrong (right) waited in his spacesuit while observing technicians as they completed dressing the other members of the Apollo 11 crew, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. The two were reclining in chairs designed to facilitate their suiting-up process.
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| Photo: Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin were in high spirits as they departed the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building to board the transfer van heading to Pad 39, where they would enter their spacecraft in anticipation of the moon landing. |
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| Photo: (Left) A close-up view of the Apollo 11 rocket lifting off. (Right) An illustration of the moon landing mission. |
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| A cover from the Apollo 11 Tracking Station at Point Arguello, postmarked at Vandenberg AFB, California, on July 16, 1969. |
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| Photo: Mission Control at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, monitoring the Apollo 11 spacecraft en route to the moon. |
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The NASA Manned Space Flight Network (MSFN) was a global network of stations that tracked the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab missions. Most MSFN stations were primarily used during the launch, Earth orbit, and landing phases of lunar missions. However, three "deep space" sites equipped with larger antennas provided continuous coverage during the trans-lunar, trans-earth, and lunar mission phases. These three sites form the NASA Deep Space Network:
Top: The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC), commonly known as the Goldstone Observatory, is situated in the Mojave Desert near Barstow, California.
Centre: The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC) is located in Robledo de Chavela, Spain.
Bottom: The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) is an Earth station in Tidbinbilla, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. The DSS-42 antenna was the first antenna built at this complex. |
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| A cover from the NASA-INTA (MSFN) Tracking Station in Madrid, Spain, featuring an Apollo 11 Snoopy cachet and signed by the Station Director, Dan Hunter. |
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| Photo: This image of the Moon, captured during the Apollo 10 mission in May 1969, highlights the location where Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility. |
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| Photo: Charles Conrad (right), the Apollo 12 flight commander, watches Apollo 11's lunar orbit insertion alongside Milton Windler at the flight director's console in Mission Control. |
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| Apollo 11 entered lunar orbit on July 19, 1969. |
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| Photo: Tracking screens in Mission Control display the moment Apollo 11's lunar module landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. |
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| Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the Moon in the lunar module Eagle, while Collins stayed in the command module Columbia, orbiting the Moon at an altitude of 97–121 km (60–75 miles). |
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| Photo: Top officials in the space program at Mission Control observing the Apollo 11 lunar module's landing on July 20, 1969. |
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| Photo: Televised footage of Neil Armstrong stepping onto the moon's surface on July 20, 1969. |
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| Armstrong's first step onto the lunar surface was broadcast on live TV to a worldwide audience. He described the event as "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." |
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| Photo: Neil Armstrong starts setting up equipment shortly after taking his first step on the moon. |
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| Apollo 11 "First Man on the Moon" cover from the Space City Cover Society, postmarked in Houston on July 20, 1969. Signed by Neil Armstrong. |
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| Buzz Aldrin, the lunar module pilot, was the second person to walk on the moon, following Neil Armstrong. Aldrin stepped onto the lunar surface approximately 19 minutes after Armstrong made his historic first step. |
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| Photo: Mission Control observes a televised broadcast of the astronauts from the moon. |
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| Photo: Neil Armstrong reads the inscription on the plaque attached to the descent stage of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module. |
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| Aldrin sets up the Solar Wind Composition Experiment. |
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| Photo: Armstrong and Aldrin placing the American flag on the moon's surface, close to the lunar lander that transported them there. |
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| Photo: Soon after planting the U.S. flag on the moon, Armstrong and Aldrin received a congratulatory phone call from President Richard Nixon. |
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| Photo: President Richard Nixon watching the telecast from the moon while seated at his desk in the White House. |
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| Aldrin salutes the American flag that has been planted on the moon's surface. |
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| This "Type 1" Insurance Cover, signed by the Apollo 11 crew, originally belonged to lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin and comes with a signed Letter of Authenticity. It is an official commemorative cover from the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Stamp Club, postmarked in Houston, Texas, on July 20, 1969, the date of the moon landing. Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin all signed it in blue felt tip to the right of the cachet. This cover is mounted on a signed Letter of Authenticity printed on Aldrin's personal letterhead. It is one of the three designs of the Apollo 11 insurance cover. The astronauts signed a limited number of these covers to leave on Earth as a contingency against their failing to return safely from the moon. If a tragedy had occurred, the covers would have been sold, with the proceeds benefiting their families, functioning similarly to an insurance policy. - Heritage Auctions |
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| On July 20, 1969, at 10:56 PM EDT (12:56 PM Australian Eastern Standard Time on July 21), an estimated 600 million people around the globe watched as Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon for the first time. Just eight and a half minutes after these iconic images aired, NASA chose Parkes for the final two hours and twelve minutes of live coverage because of its exceptional image quality. The cover above displays a stamped CSIRO ANRAO Parkes cachet, postmarked at Parkes on July 21, 1969. |
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| Photo: A London commuter learns about the moonwalk by purchasing a newspaper featuring a headline about the historic event from a news vendor in Trafalgar Square. |
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| The Apollo 11 Lunar Module, Eagle, ascended from the Moon at 1:54 PM on July 21, 1969, leaving its descent stage behind as planned. To lighten their load for the ascent into orbit, the astronauts also left behind several items, including two still cameras, their portable life support systems, and their boots. |
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| Photo: Charles "Pete" Conrad (left) and Alan L. Bean, the flight commander and lunar module pilot for the Apollo 12 mission, watch the tracking screen at Mission Control, Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas, during the lift-off of the Apollo 11 lunar module from the Moon. Conrad and Bean attentively followed the Apollo 11 operations as Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin offered them a glimpse of the events to come. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 11 crew captured images of the area as they departed the lunar surface to dock with the command module. |
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| It took four hours for the Lunar Module, Eagle, to rendezvous with the Command Module, Columbia, which would transport the astronauts back to Earth. The two spacecraft successfully docked at 5:35 PM, reuniting the Apollo 11 crew. At 7:42 PM, the astronauts detached Eagle and got ready for their journey home. Apollo 11 commenced its return trip at 12:56 AM on July 22. |
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| The Apollo 11 Command Module, Columbia, departed lunar orbit on July 22, 1969. |
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The Apollo 11 astronauts carried a blank cover, an imperforate C76 moon landing stamp, and a postal rubber stamp inscribed with "MOON LANDING JUL 20 1969 USA" to the Moon. However, due to their busy schedule and various tasks on the lunar surface, they forgot to postmark the cover while on the Moon. The unique postmarking was instead completed during their return to Earth on July 22, 1969. Prior to the mission, Dr. Matthew I. Radnofsky conducted a simulation of canceling in space in his laboratory, preparing four proof covers and 150 specimens for philatelic reference.
Top: Specimen cover no. 35 of 150, featuring a "MOON LANDING JUL 20 1969 USA" postmark, applied by Dr. Matthew I. Radnofsky for philatelic reference prior to the Apollo 11 mission.
Bottom: The reverse of the same cover bears a "Webster Aug 11, 1969" machine postmark and a "Delayed in Quarantine at Lunar Receiving Laboratory, M.S.C - Houston, Texas" handstamp. These were later added to the 214 covers flown to the Moon, carried by Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins in their Personal Preference Kits. - Auktionshaus Felzmann |
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| Columbia reentered Earth's atmosphere at 12:35 PM on July 24, 1969, generating such extreme heat that communication with the spacecraft was interrupted due to the intense atmospheric conditions. After a four-minute blackout during reentry, Houston Mission Control resumed calling Apollo 11. |
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| A scene of celebration at Mission Control in Houston following the splashdown of the Apollo 11 capsule in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969. The Apollo 11 mission successfully fulfilled the national goal set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961. |
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| Everything proceeded as planned, and the Apollo 11 crew safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:51 PM, about 950 miles (1,527 kilometers) southwest of Honolulu and just 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the prime recovery ship, USS Hornet. The above is a postcard featuring the USS Hornet carrier on the front, with a Beck rubber-stamped cachet on the back, hand-cancelled aboard the ship on the day of the recovery, July 24, 1969. |
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| A cover featuring an Ekas stamped cachet, postmarked with a machine cancel from the USS Hornet on July 24, 1969. |
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| This Apollo 11 Captain's cover postmarked with a hand cancel from USS Hornet on July 24, 1969, and signed by Captain Carl J. Seiberlich. A total of 6,000 copies of this envelope were produced by the ship's commanding officer. |
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| Once the drogue chute deployed, the recovery team took over communications with the Apollo 11 crew. The cover shown above features a hand-painted cachet by Van Waay and a USS Hornet hand cancel dated July 24, 1969. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 11 capsule floating in the ocean, awaiting recovery after the crew had been picked up by the recovery helicopter. |
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| A cover featuring a printed "Apollo 11 U.S. Navy Recovery Force" cachet along with an illustration of the splashdown scene, postmarked with a machine cancel on July 24, 1969. |
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| USS Arlington (AGMR-2) served as President Nixon's "Floating White House" during the Apollo 11 recovery operation. While USS Hornet served as the prime recovery ship, USS Arlington played a crucial role in providing communications support. Following the recovery of Apollo 11, both vessels made their way to Pearl Harbor, with USS Hornet arriving first. Although the majority of covers from USS Arlington bear a Honolulu postmark, a limited number were stamped with "USS Arlington", as shown above. |
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| Photo: A televised image shows Richard Nixon watching the splashdown from aboard USS Hornet on July 24, 1969. |
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| This cover bears the signature of William Pierce Rogers, who served as Secretary of State under President Richard Nixon from January 22, 1969, until September 3, 1973. The USS Hornet hand cancel on the cover features a variation that omits the "AM" time slug.
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| To avoid any risk of contamination, the Apollo 11 crew donned Biological Isolation Garments (BIGs) upon their return to Earth. These garments were supplied by the recovery task force divers following the command module's splashdown in the ocean. |
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| The Beck printed cachet cover, known as B804, was originally intended for the USS Goldsborough; however, this particular one was sent to the USS Hornet instead. |
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| Photo: President Nixon meets the Apollo 11 crew while they are in their quarantine station aboard the USS Hornet. |
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| This cover features a variation of the Apollo 11 USS Hornet hand cancel, with the time slug positioned above the year 1969. |
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| An Apollo 11 "Orbit Covers" with a Beck rubber-stamped cachet and a variation of the USS Hornet machine cancel with a centered AM time slug. This cover is signed by William R. Carpentier, the NASA flight surgeon who conducted a verbal physical examination of the astronauts as they were lifted to the recovery helicopter individually. |
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| Photo: An interior shot of the Apollo 11 Mobile Quarantine Facility captures Neil Armstrong playing a ukulele, Buzz Aldrin talking on the phone with his family, while Michael Collins sits with his eyes closed, covering his ears to block out the noise. |
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| An "Art Craft" cover featuring a hand cancel from the USS Hornet dated July 24, 1969. |
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| Photo: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin Aldrin review some of the rolls of film they captured during their journey to the Moon. |
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| The Apollo 11 crew emerged from quarantine on August 11, 1969. |
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| Photo: The Apollo 11 crew held their first press conference on August 12, 1969, following their release from quarantine. |
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| Photo: Newsmen examine a moon rock that was brought back by the Apollo 11 astronauts. |
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| Photo: On September 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts presented a model of the lunar landing module to George Paul Miller, a U.S. Representative from California. |
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Apollo 11 covers autographed by Neil Armstrong and Wernher von Braun are presented on a wooden plaque measuring 9" x 11.75". The plaque showcases two signed Apollo 11 event covers and four space-themed U.S. stamps, all laminated to a red album page and protected by Plexiglas. It also features a space medallion. The signed items include:
(1) An Apollo 11 cover issued by the Bendix Company's Launch Support Division, postmarked on July 16, 1969 (the launch date) with a Kennedy Space Center machine cancel. This cover is addressed to the Honorable Harry Flood Byrd, Jr., a U.S. senator from Virginia. It is signed by both Neil Armstrong and Wernher von Braun.
(2) An unaddressed Apollo 11 splashdown cover with a Cape Canaveral cancellation on July 24, 1969, showcasing a color cachet that illustrates the astronauts and their recovery in the Pacific. This cover is signed by Neil Armstrong. - Heritage Auction |
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| Photo: Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, received a warm ovation from 20,000 fellow servicemen and women. The astronaut was introduced by entertainer Bob Hope during a recent performance at Long Binh, S. Vietnam, as part of the comedian's annual holiday tour. Photo by Shunsuke Akatsuka, UPI. |
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| Photo: (Top) Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins commemorate the 5th anniversary of Apollo 11, the first moon landing mission. (Bottom) A ceremony celebrating the 25th anniversary of the historic moon landing. |
(Reference from
Apollo 11)
