Apollo 11 CSM “Columbia”

Apollo 11 CSM “Columbia”

Spacecraft· NASAinactive

Columbia — the Apollo 11 Command/Service Module that carried Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to lunar orbit and home (July 1969).

Open in 3D viewSee Apollo 11 CSM “Columbia” in the live, interactive 3D map

Key facts

Distance from Sun
1.01 AU
Status
Completed
Launched
1969

Mission & specifications

Mission

Operator
NASA
Launched
July 16, 1969
Status
Completed

Trajectory

Distance from the Sun
1.01 AU
Distance from Earth
398,626 km
Distance from Venus
0.646 AU

Mission

NASA's Apollo 11 was humanity's first crewed lunar landing, fulfilling President Kennedy's 1961 goal of reaching the Moon before the decade was out. It launched on 16 July 1969 from Kennedy Space Center atop a Saturn V carrying Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. After a three-day cruise, the Command/Service Module Columbia entered lunar orbit, and the Lunar Module Eagle separated to descend while Collins stayed aboard Columbia — the crew's only ride home. Eagle landed at the Sea of Tranquility on 20 July; Armstrong and Aldrin spent about 21.5 hours on the surface, collected 21.5 kg of samples, and deployed experiments before rejoining Columbia in orbit. Columbia carried the crew home, splashing down in the Pacific on 24 July after eight days in space. The astronauts were quarantined for three weeks against unknown lunar microbes. Columbia is the only part of the spacecraft that returned to Earth and is now displayed at the Smithsonian. Apollo 11 proved that humans could travel to another world and return safely, and remains one of the defining achievements of the 20th century.

  1. 1969Launch from Kennedy Space CenterLaunch

    A Saturn V lifts off from Pad 39A with Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins aboard.

  2. 1969Lunar orbit insertionArrival

    Columbia and Eagle fire into orbit around the Moon after a three-day cruise.

  3. 1969Eagle undocks and landsLanding

    Eagle separates and descends to the Sea of Tranquility, touching down at 20:17 UTC.

  4. 1969First moonwalkSpacewalk / EVA

    Armstrong then Aldrin step onto the surface; ~21.5 kg of samples gathered over about 2.5 hours.

  5. 1969Ascent and rendezvousAscent

    Eagle's ascent stage lifts off and redocks with Columbia in lunar orbit.

  6. 1969Trans-Earth injectionMilestone

    Columbia fires its engine to leave lunar orbit and head for home.

  7. 1969Pacific splashdownSplashdown

    Columbia splashes down southwest of Hawaii; the crew begins three weeks of quarantine.

Images

Command/Service Module Columbia in lunar orbit
NASA (public domain) · Wikimedia Commons

Images from open archives · credit shown per image