Soviet Union and USA flags, USSR/CCCP/USA, date unkown
In the summer of 1969, the technological superiority competition between America and Soviet Union had tensions at an all-time high. Desperately trying to beat Soviet Union, NASA was attempting to fulfill Kennedy’s promise to reach the moon before the decade ended. Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957, which was the first probe in space, starting the Space Race and prompting many countries to attempt to reach the moon.
When they finally achieved a suitable spacecraft module, called the Eagle Module, the crew was selected: Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins. Two of the three (Aldrin and Armstrong) were the backup crew for a previous Apollo mission Apollo 9, and Michael Collins had piloted Gemini 10.
Then on July 16, 1969 at Cape Canaveral, later known as Cape Kennedy, Apollo 11 launched. Millions of Americans watched the launch and celebrated when the entire procedure advanced without trouble.
The launch was televised throughout the nation, and there were headlines in every newspaper announcing the success of the launch. Millions of spectators from everywhere in the nation watched the Apollo 11 mission launch. In fact, the amount of people attempting to observe in person was so vast that traffic was blocked miles away from the actual launch site. Throughout the entire nation, people celebrated, for it seemed like America had won the Space Race. This accomplishment would lead to world-wide astonishment.