This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, and the successful recovery of the mission’s astronauts by the famous aircraft carrier, USS Hornet. This July, the USS Hornet Museum, anchored at historic Alameda Point on San Francisco Bay, is hosting “Splashdown 2009,” a weekend of special events commemorating the ship’s remarkable place in space and naval history and featuring special guests such as renowned former astronaut and second man on the moon Buzz Aldrin.
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The recovery of the Apollo 11 capsule aboard the USS Hornet |
The three-day series of special events will take place from July 24 through July 26, and will include ship tours, special interactive exhibits, static displays such as the Apollo command module CM011A, and opportunities for visitors to meet various representatives from NASA and the space industry and the U.S. Navy, including astronauts, key naval officers, recovery pilots and former USS Hornet crew members from the recovery mission. On Saturday July 25, Aldrin will be the featured guest speaker. Splashdown 2009 festivities are open to the public, with many activities scheduled for families with children.
Forty years ago, the aircraft carrier USS Hornet recovered the first two NASA missions that landed men on the moon—Apollo 11 and Apollo 12. The USS Hornet is the largest surviving artifact from these incredible events.
For more information, visit http://www.uss-hornet.org.