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Apollo 11 moon landing had thousands working behind scenes

Apollo 11 moon landing had thousands working behind scenes
5 years 1 week 5 days ago Monday, July 15 2019 Jul 15, 2019 July 15, 2019 3:32 AM July 15, 2019 in News - AP Texas Headlines

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - It took 400,000 people to put Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon a half-century ago.

That massive workforce stretched across the U.S. and included engineers, scientists, mechanics, technicians, pilots, divers, seamstresses, secretaries and more who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to achieve those first lunar footsteps.

One of them was JoAnn Morgan, the first female launch controller. Navy frogman Clancy Hatleberg was another. He was the first to welcome the moonmen back to Earth after their capsule splashed down in the Pacific.

They'll join other Apollo 11 workers at festivities this week to mark the 50th anniversary of the launch and landing.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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