worked with the appropriate power made me forget about what was really happening on the Moon and which was the really exciting event». Fresnedillas, along with the Tracking Stations in Goldstone (California USA) and Honeysuckle Creek (Canberra-Australia), had become one of the key elements of the Apollo Program. This was a U.S. project fostered by President Kennedy in response to Soviet supremacy in space. In 1961, he said: «I believe that this Nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to earth», but he didn’t get to see it. It was Richard Nixon who called Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins and told them: «Because of what you have done, the heavens have become a part of man’s world». Everything was planned, even the speech that Nixon would deliver if the mission failed. «Fate has ordained that men who went to the Moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. These brave men know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice…». LANDING ON THE MOON The spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral on July 16th and reached the lunar orbit without any setbacks. However, when descending to the Moon, there were critical moments and, the technicians in Fresnedillas were able to hear what was happening 400,000 kilometres away. The first incident occurred when the Columbia command modules —where the astronauts made their trip— undocked from the Eagle Lunar module. González Pintado remembers that «the component that kept them together was not correctly depressurised and the result was almost like when you open a bottle of champagne. The lunar module was ejected further away than expected, which altered the landing site». When Collins verified that the Eagle was not damaged, his colleagues went on. He was the only one who did not step on the moon. He piloted the Columbia and remained there orbiting the Moon until Armstrong and Aldrin came back. Astronaut Edwin Aldrin, walking on the moon after descending from the Eagle. Below, lift-off of Apollo 11 from Cape Canaveral. July/August 2019 Revista Española de Defensa 33
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