50 Years Ago: Apollo 11 Astronauts Leave Quarantine…Aug. 12, 2019
(...) On the evening of Aug. 10, MSC Director of Medical Research and Operations Dr. Charles A. Berry opened the door to the LRL’s Crew Reception Area (CRA), and Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins stepped out into the hallway. They were welcomed by MSC Director Robert L. Gilruth, other NASA officials and colleagues, and a swarm of reporters once they stepped outside the building into the hot and muggy Houston night. It was the first time they could freely interact with the outside world since their preflight quarantine began more than a month before. Individual cars whisked the astronauts to their homes for reunions with their families. The next day was a day off for the astronauts and they spent it with their families. To prepare for the upcoming events, Aldrin and Collins went shopping for new suits, while apparently Armstrong had an adequate number and spent the day relaxing by his pool. (...)
Armstrong giving a brief speech as he leaves the LRL. Credits: AP Photo.Armstrong greeting well-wishers outside the LRL. Credits: AP Photo.Two views from the Apollo 11 crew postflight press conference in the MSC Auditorium: (left to right) Aldrin, Armstrong, and Collins.On Aug. 12, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins entered MSC’s Auditorium to a capacity crowd of reporters and TV crews who saluted them with a standing ovation. Armstrong set the stage for the press conference with the following opening statement,
“It was our pleasure to participate in one great adventure. It's an adventure that took place, not just in the month of July, but rather one that took place in the last decade. We … had the opportunity to share that adventure over its developing and unfolding in the past months and years. It's our privilege today to share with you some of the details of that final month of July that was certainly the highlight, for the three of us, of that decade.”For the next 45 minutes the astronauts described their historic mission in great detail, using photographs and film clips taken during the flight to illustrate their presentation. (...)
Apollo 11 astronauts (left to right) Aldrin, Armstrong, and Collins wave to the crowds.Overhead view of the crowds assembled at Chicago’s Civic Center Plaza. Credits: Chicago Tribune.When President Richard M. Nixon greeted the astronauts aboard the USS Hornet on splashdown day, he had invited them and their wives to a state dinner in Los Angeles in their honor. True to his word, President Nixon even lent them his presidential jet for the occasion. The trip to Los Angeles began at 5 AM on Aug. 13, when Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins accompanied by their wives and children boarded the VC-137B aircraft (a modified Boeing 707 called Air Force One when the President was aboard) at Ellington Air Force Base (AFB) near MSC. However, their first destination was not Los Angeles but New York City. They landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport and were whisked by helicopter to the Wall Street heliport. From there, the astronauts were treated to the largest, longest, and loudest tickertape parade in the city’s history. At City Hall, Mayor John V. Lindsey placed the gold medal of New York City around their necks. The parade then continued to the United Nations (UN) where UN Secretary General U Thant welcomed them. The astronauts made brief speeches at each stop. An estimated four million people lined the parade route. They were whisked back to the airport where they boarded the presidential plane, bound for Chicago. (...)
At the Presidential state dinner in Los Angeles, (left to right) the Agnews, the Aldrins, the Collinses, the Armstrongs, and the Nixons. Credits: Getty Images.After landing at Los Angeles International Airport where they were welcomed by Mayor Samuel W. “Sam” Yorty, they flew by helicopter to the Century Plaza Hotel for President Nixon’s promised state dinner, the first ever to be held outside of Washington, DC. Among the 1,440 guests assembled for the gala were the President and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and their families, 14 members of the President’s Cabinet, 44 Governors including California Governor Ronald W. Reagan who welcomed everyone to his state, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, 50 members of Congress, NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine and 48 astronauts, ambassadors from 83 countries and numerous celebrities. The state dinner was televised live so all Americans could share the moment. Guidance Controller Steve Bales, who during the critical moments of the descent to the Moon decided that the landing could proceed despite the guidance computer’s program alarms, accepted a NASA Group Achievement Award on behalf of the entire flight operations team. In a sense, Bales represented the 400,000 Americans who had worked on the Apollo program and made the Moon landing possible.(...)
After a day that was perhaps as stressful as the day of the lunar landing itself, the astronauts and their families, accompanied by NASA Administrator Paine, flew back to Houston on Aug. 14 aboard the presidential jet. Their postflight duties, however, were far from over. The next day, the same day as a giant music festival was getting underway in upstate New York, Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin taped an interview with the CBS News
Face the Nation program that aired Aug. 17. During the program,
Collins announced his decision that Apollo 11 was his last space flight but that he would remain with NASA for the foreseeable future. On Aug. 16, it was Houston’s turn to welcome the astronauts with another tickertape parade attended by about 250,000 cheering supporters. The parade was followed by a barbecue party in the Houston Astrodome for an estimated crowd of 50,000 people, with Frank Sinatra as the emcee. Much more lay ahead in the coming months for the Apollo 11 astronauts and their wives as they adjusted to being worldwide celebrities. (...)
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-apollo-11-astronauts-leave-quarantine