It was a shining moment in the history of the United States… and the world. On July 20, 1969, mankind, represented by Astronaut Neil Armstrong, first set foot on the Moon. In honor of the 50th anniversary of that First Step, cities around the country still plan special celebrations. But nowhere is the event more eagerly anticipated than in Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast of Florida, homebase of NASA’s manned flight program.
“For both locals and tourists, if you’re looking for the one place in the country to be this July, this is it,” Peter Cranis, executive director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism, says. “There is so much pride here on Florida’s Space Coast because of the crucial role this community has played in the U.S. space program and especially in that giant leap forward that occurred in July, 1969.”
The astronauts lived, trained - and, famously, played - in Cocoa and other towns along the Space Coast during the early NASA missions. Many local residents worked at Cape Kennedy or were employed by space industries as well.
Astronauts and their families from all phases of the space program have been invited to come back to Cocoa for the celebration. The city plans a series of free and ticketed events where visitors can mingle with the space explorers and their families, culminating in the Astronaut Parade and street party on Saturday, July 13. Astronauts will ride through the streets of Cocoa Beach in Corvette convertibles, while Apollo astronaut families travel in Teslas.
Other events, including golf tournaments, concerts, banquets and panels, are part of the Celebrating Apollo program. Astronauts and space industry veterans will discuss the roles of Women in Space and the Future of Space at free events. On Friday night, visitors can sign up for an Astronaut Pub Crawl through Cocoa Village, walking from bar to bar in the historic downtown. At each stop, an astronaut will be on hand to tell stories of his or her experiences in space, while guests enjoy a special, space-themed beverage. Details and tickets for all events are available on the Apollo 50 website.
All proceeds from the Celebrating Apollo events benefit the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. Originally founded by the Mercury 7 astronauts, the organization has grown into the country’s largest merit-based monetary scholarship program. Each year, the best and brightest university students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are selected to be Astronaut Scholars, receiving substantial scholarships to further their education. The Foundation also oversees the Astronaut Hall of Fame located at the Kennedy Space Center, inducting a new class of honorees annually.
Apollo Saturn V Center Upgrades, including projection mapping. [Photo/Kennedy Space Center]
The Apollo Celebration shifts to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) the following week, with lots of special events planned. These include a July 16 “flashback” celebration with original footage of the Apollo 11 lift-off, a July 20 “One Giant Step” celebration marking the anniversary of the lunar landing, and a final welcome home event on July 24 to commemorate the day the Apollo 11 astronauts returned to Earth, plus a first-day-of-issue event on July 19 hosted by the U.S. Postal Service featuring two “1969: First Moon Landing” Forever Stamps. The Space Center also plans many giveaways, kids’ activities, special films and astronaut encounters during the anniversary period.
Major upgrades have been completed at KSC in preparation for the Apollo 11 anniversary, including a new entrance plaza built to resemble the giant crawler-transporters that deliver rockets from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad. Centerpiece of the updates is the reimagined Apollo/Saturn V Center which opens to the public on Monday, July 15.
“That is where visitors will see the biggest changes,” says Rebecca Shireman, communications manager at the Kennedy Space Center. “We have transformed all the exhibits, making them more interactive and digital. The changes make the story of that historic journey into space easy to understand for all ages. We want to share the excitement of space travel with all our visitors.”
One of the biggest changes, Shireman says, is that the Lunar Module, once suspended overhead, is now on display at ground level, under the enormous Saturn V rocket that forms the centerpiece of the center’s exhibits.
“People can now get a much better look at the Lunar Module and the Command Center Module as well,” she says. “We have interactive features that help people understand how all the parts of the moon mission worked together.”
The Saturn V rocket itself now serves as a screen for historic moon mission footage that is projected onto its side. Another update transforms the entrance to the Lunar Theater, which recreates the dramatic landing on the moon. Guests will step into recreations of a 1969 living room and a 1960s era bar.
“We wanted people to experience what it was like when people gathered to watch the historic event in living rooms and bars around the world,” Shireman explains. “The whole world was watching. It brought us together.”
Another change at the Apollo/Saturn V Center is a Moon Tree Garden on the lawn beside the Banana River. Twelve Moon Trees, one for each of the Apollo astronauts, have been planted here, grown from seeds taken into space by Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa. His daughter, Rosemary Roosa heads the nonprofit Moon Tree Foundation, which has planted Moon Trees around the world to share the story of the Apollo missions. A seven-foot-tall bronze statue, depicting the Apollo 11 crew, stands amid the trees.
The reimagined Saturn V exhibits also include new interactive features surrounding the moon rock on display, which visitors can touch, as well as a host of other new hands-on opportunities, a digital mosaic display and a collection of Fisher Space Pens. Able to write in zero gravity, the unique Fisher pens were used on every Apollo mission and every space mission since.
“Everyone is excited about the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and that first step on another planet,” Shireman says. “That enthusiasm is a testament to the popularity and support for future space exploration.”
With manned flights from the Space Coast soon to resume as SpaceX and Boeing prepare to send crews into space, excitement is mounting about the future of space travel.
“There so much more to learn, so many more places out there to go - the Moon, and Mars and beyond,” Rebecca Shireman says. “Our mission is to reach the hearts and minds of people everywhere and to inspire the next generation of explorers.”