Page 38 - The Appollo Story
P. 38
The Apollo Story
Apollo 11 (AS-506) The Eagle Has Landed
Armstrong concentrated on piloting their improbable flying machine, looking ahead to the intended land-
ing site. At a height of l ,OOOft (305m) he could make out a field of jagged boulders directly in the way
and he pitched the lander forward toward clearer ground beyond. At 300ft (92m) the fuel was down to 8
per cent as they chased their shadow across the barren surface. Armstrong took semi-automatic control
and, with Aldrin calling out altitude and velocity data. Now there was a crater in the way. He nudged the
hand controller forward, levelled out and spotted a clearer area beyond that. With ninety seconds of fuel
left the dust began to kick up around them. Sixty seconds. The engine blast was throwing up so much dust
he could barely get a fix on the ground. Thirty seconds of fuel left. They landed at 20: 17 :40 UTC on July
20 with only about 25 seconds of fuel left. It was a close call.
APOLLO 11
