To the moon! 45 years later, remembering Apollo 11
On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 blasted off on a mission to put man on the moon. That dream came true on July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong took "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Forty-five years after Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins made history, CBS News is celebrating their achievement. Each day through July 20, CBSNews.com will post videos showcasing archival footage of the coverage of the monumental mission and interviews with the astronauts and others reflecting on their great accomplishment.
Above, watch CBS News legend Walter Cronkite anchor coverage of Apollo 11's dramatic blastoff from Cape Kennedy in Florida and the dramatic days that followed, culminating in the moon landing.
- 45 years ago, Apollo 11 blasted off into history
- Buzz Aldrin launches social media campaign to mark moon landing anniversary
Cronkite marveled at how throngs of people stopped in their tracks to watch the liftoff.
"It seemed that the whole world stopped as man set out on the adventure to escape from his own planet and to set foot on a distant one," he said.
Later, after the successful moonwalk by Armstrong and Aldrin, Cronkite said he was struggling to accept that the lofty ambition of putting man on the moon had finally come true.
"After seeing it happen, knowing it happened, it still seems like a dream," he said.