David Weldon: “Today, July 20, marks the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing. President Kennedy set us on a race…”

“Today, July 20, marks the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing. President Kennedy set us on a race against the Soviet Union to land a man on the Moon and return them safely to Earth. America obviously rose to this challenge and succeeded beyond our expectations. All Apollo missions were comprised of a crew of three men. Apollo 11 had Mission Commander Neil Armstrong, Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins. All three carried the hopes and prayers of a Nation on the greatest mission of exploration since the dawn of mankind. The Apollo lunar mission comprised of three main components: the massive Saturn 5 booster, the command module and the lunar module. The Saturn 5 was and still is the most powerful rocket ever built. At lift-off, it contained 5.6 million pounds of propellant. At 363 feet tall, the mighty Saturn 5 stood 60 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. One of the Saturn 5's main engines was more powerful than 30 diesel locomotives. Take that, Superman.”