On July 20, 1969, the world was transfixed as Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr. started their descent to the Moon surface in the Lunar Module “Eagle.” The third member of the Apollo 11 Mission, Michael Collins, orbited above in the command module. At approximately 10:56 P.M. EST, Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder to the Moon surface and said, “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.” The three astronauts would return to Earth on July 24 with a splash down in the Pacific Ocean. For detailed information on the Mission, including audio and video, be sure to visit NASA’s Apollo 50th: Next Giant Leap.
Just think, only 66 years before the moon landing two other Ohioans from the Miami Valley, Wilbur and Orville Wright, changed the world with the first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903.
The first flight (ms1_16_2_8)
Dayton Daily News, July 21, 1969
Armstrong was a native of Wapakoneta, Auglaize County, Ohio, so residents of the Miami Valley paid particular attention to the Apollo 11 mission. The local newspapers, the Dayton Daily News and Journal Herald, covered both the mission and the reaction at home.
In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, University Libraries’ Digital Initiatives and Repository Services Department (DIRS) collaborated with SC&A to digitize and make available the Dayton Daily News and Journal Herald newspapers featuring Apollo 11 and photographs of Armstrong and his homecoming to Wapakoneta. The items can be viewed anytime by visiting the Wright State University Campus Online Repository, CORE Scholar Apollo at 50.
In addition to the newspapers and photographs from the Dayton Daily News Archive (MS-458), SC&A has a variety of collections documenting the U.S. Space program from the first days of the Mercury Program through the Space Shuttle flights. If you are interested in Apollo 11 or the Space program be sure to check out the a description of the collections below.
Major Blanton NASA Patch Collection 1981-2002 (MS-377)
The greater portion of the collection relates to space shuttle missions. The mission patches span the beginning of the space shuttle program with Space Transport System, STS-1 in April, 1981 through STS-63 in February of 1995. As well, there is the mission patch for STS-110 of April, 2002. The remaining series in the collection contain other space related patches, military patches, and a number of novelty patches, many pertaining to aircraft and Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Skylab Collection 1960-1990 (MS-451)
The Skylab Collection comes from the library of Dr. Shiro Furukawa, who was a NASA scientist that worked under the supervision of Skylab physician Dr. Paul Buchanan. Dr. Furukawa was a flight surgeon on the Skylab Medical Team and later investigated space station era life sciences, medicine programs, manned operations, as well as automated/robotic space construction operations at Kennedy Space Center. This collection houses publications, reference material, NASA reports, journal, magazine, and newspaper clippings related to the research he conducted throughout his career.
Paul Webb Collection, 1953-1993 (MS-426)
The Paul Webb Collection consists of records and files accumulated by the research firm Webb Associates during the course of experiments in human physiology and calorimetry between 1972 and 1984, as well as articles, book drafts, and other publications on similar topics, written by or citing Dr. Paul Webb. The collection also contains several Vari-Temp suits which were part of a calorimeter designed and used by Dr. Webb, as well as prototype space activity suits also designed by Webb.
Dr. Stanley C. White Papers, 1950-2000 (MS-465)
Stanley C. White was a pioneer in the design of life support systems for space travel. He worked as an aerospace doctor with the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab programs. He was the president of both Aerospace Medical Association and International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine. Dr. White’s collection contains photographs, slides, and papers from his career. Many of the photographs are from his work at NASA and his papers contain the selection of astronauts. There are many family photographs and slides.
The above collections can be viewed by visiting our reading room on the 4th floor of Dunbar Library during regular hours. Also keep an eye out in late July as we unveil an exhibit in the Library to celebrate the Moon Landing and Ohio’s contribution to the space program.