50th Anniversary of Apollo 11 Moon Mission

50 years ago, in July 1969, NASA launched the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. Millions watched as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in the Eagle lunar module. The Saturn V rocket which propelled Apollo 11 into space could trace its origin back to a Second World War weapon, the V-2. The V-2 was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. Both the V-2 and Saturn V rockets were designed by the German scientist Wernher von Braun.  

 

During the Second World War, the Allies used aerial photography to identify and locate German V-2 rockets. This intelligence work was code-named Operation Crossbow. Aerial images of rockets, test sites and storage bunkers discovered during Operation Crossbow can be viewed on the NCAP website.