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Description
This split screen montage combines angles from four different cameras which were all recording material during the Apollo 11 powered descent and landing. Each piece of footage has been accurately synchronised with the air to ground flight audio loop and the flight director's communication audio loop.
Description of angles
Top left window - Overhead MOCR TV Camera
This footage was recorded from a camera feed overlooking the Mission Operations Control Room (MOCR) during the entire Apollo 11 descent and landing. Although of low resolution it gives a good impression of where various controllers are sitting, and an idea of what was going on in the room at the time. Initially the shot only shows the display boards and the front row of mission controllers in the front trench. At around the moment of touchdown the camera pans round and tilts down to show most of the room. At this point the two 16mm film cameramen Jerry Bray and Bob Bird become visible in shot, and they have been highlighted to show their positions as they move around filming the action.
Top right window - On Board Sequence Camera
This was recorded from on board the Apollo 11 lunar module (LM) Eagle during the powered descent to the moon's surface.
For a more detailed description and full frame version of this, see clip FTV-0002181
Bottom left window - Jerry Bray's 16mm camera footage.
Jerry Bray positioned himself near the front of the room and trained his camera mostly on the Apollo 11 capsule communicator (capcom) Charlie Duke.
For a more detailed description and full frame versions of this footage, see the following clips:
FTV-0008006, FTV-0008007, FTV-0008008, FTV-0008038, FTV-0008039, FTV-0008040, FTV-0008041, FTV-0008042
Bottom right window - Bob Bird's 16mm camera footage.
Bob Bird stationed himself near the back of the room to capture the reactions of some of NASA's top managers, and Flight Director Gene Kranz. In the window behind them some of the reactions of the VIP guests can be glimpsed. For a more detailed description and full frame version of this footage, see the following clips:
FTV-0006026, FTV-0006027, FTV-0006028, FTV-0006029
Historic Context of Clip
Background to Apollo 11:
The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. It was the fifth human spaceflight of the Apollo programs, and the third human voyage to the moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin.
Landing:
On July 20, 1969 the Lunar Module, called Eagle, separated from the Command Module, Columbia to make its descent to the lunar surface. As the landing began, Armstrong reported they were "running long"; Eagle was 4 seconds further along its descent trajectory than planned, and would land miles west of the intended site. Armstrong's first words after landing were: "Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed."
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