Apollo 11: NASA and Civilians Remember the Moon Landing

“It was a feeling that went throughout the world, almost like an electric bolt,” one woman remembers of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The lunar landing, which celebrates its 50th anniversary on July 20, is collectively remembered in the film by a handful of the 530 million people who watched the event live on national television in 1969.

Among the personal accounts is that of Clark Neily, an orbital-rendezvous training instructor who worked on the Apollo 11 mission himself. Neily recalls the intensity of the moment when, among the NASA staff, the launch seemed inevitable: “There was this dead silence while everyone considered the fact that we had no more technical excuses not to attempt to land [on the moon] for the next mission, Apollo 11.” Read more:

"Landing on Airwaves" was directed by Jonathan Napolitano ( It is part of The Atlantic Selects, an online showcase of short documentaries from independent creators, curated by The Atlantic.

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