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The Latest: Crowds flock to Apollo 11 anniversary events

4 years 9 months 4 days ago Saturday, July 20 2019 Jul 20, 2019 July 20, 2019 12:53 PM July 20, 2019 in News - AP Texas Headlines

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing (all times local):

12:30 p.m.

The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing is drawing crowds to the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

The spacecraft that carried the three-man crew to the moon and back to Earth is on display at the museum, part of a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.

The Seattle museum added its own artifacts and some from private collections, including engine parts from Apollo missions that were salvaged from deep in the Atlantic by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

First in line Saturday was computer programmer Tim Turner. He remembers watching the first footsteps on the moon on a black-and-white TV with his family in Tennessee. He said Apollo 11's feat is "still amazing."

The golden anniversary is being celebrated at events across the country.

10 a.m.

Celebrations are in full swing across the country for the 50th anniversary of humanity's first footsteps on another world.

Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. Armstrong was the first one out, proclaiming: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, cars were backed up for miles Saturday morning outside the visitor complex. In Armstrong's hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio, runners competed in "Run to the Moon" races.

The White House reiterated its goal to send astronauts back to the moon and "take the next giant leap - sending Americans to Mars." Vice President Mike Pence headed to Kennedy to tour the Apollo 11 launch pad and give a speech.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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