<P> Meanwhile, the S - IVB third stage of Saturn V AS - 506 had arrived on January 18, followed by the S - II second stage on February 6, S - IC first stage on February 20, and the Saturn V Instrument Unit on February 27 . At 1230 on May 20, the 5,443 - tonne (5,357 - long - ton; 6,000 - short - ton) assembly departed the Vehicle Assembly Building atop the crawler - transporter, bound for Launch Pad 39A, part of Launch Complex 39, while Apollo 10 was still on its way to the Moon . A countdown test commenced on June 26, and concluded on July 2 . The launch complex was floodlit on the night of July 15, when the crawler - transporter carried the mobile service structure back to its parking area . In the early hours of the morning, the fuel tanks of the S - II and S - IVB stages were filled with liquid hydrogen . Fueling was completed by three hours before launch . Launch operations were partly automated, with 43 programs written in the ATOLL programming language . </P> <P> Haise entered Columbia about three hours and ten minutes before launch time . Along with a technician, he helped Armstrong into the left hand couch at 06: 54 . Five minutes later, Collins joined him, taking up his position on the right hand couch . Finally, Aldrin entered, taking the center couch . Haise left around two hours and ten minutes before launch . The closeout crew sealed the hatch, and the cabin was purged and pressurized . The closeout crew then left the launch complex about an hour before launch time . The countdown became automated at three minutes and twenty seconds before launch time . Over 450 personnel were at the consoles in the firing room . </P> <P> An estimated one million spectators watched the launch of Apollo 11 from the highways and beaches vicinity of the launch site . Dignitaries included the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General William Westmoreland, four cabinet members, 19 state governors, 40 mayors, 60 ambassadors and 200 congressmen . Vice President Spiro Agnew viewed the launch with the former president, Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife Lady Bird Johnson . Around 3,500 media representatives were present . About two - thirds were from the United States; the rest came from 55 other countries . The launch was televised live in 33 countries, with an estimated 25 million viewers in the United States alone . Millions more around the world listened to radio broadcasts . President Richard Nixon viewed the launch from his office in the White House with his NASA liaison officer, Apollo astronaut Frank Borman . </P> <P> Saturn V AS - 506 launched Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969, at 13: 32: 00 UTC (9: 32: 00 EDT). It entered Earth orbit at an altitude of 100.4 nautical miles (185.9 km) by 98.9 nautical miles (183.2 km), twelve minutes later . After one and a half orbits, the S - IVB third - stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon with the trans - lunar injection (TLI) burn at 16: 22: 13 UTC . About 30 minutes later, the transposition, docking, and extraction maneuver was performed: this involved separating Columbia from the spent S - IVB stage, turning around, and docking with Eagle still attached to the stage . After the Lunar Module was extracted, the combined spacecraft headed for the Moon, while the rocket stage flew on a trajectory past the Moon . The was done to avoid colliding with the spacecraft, the Earth or the Moon . A slingshot effect from passing around the Moon threw it into an orbit around the Sun . </P>

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