On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong set foot on the surface of the moon and changed the course of history.
HISTORIC MOMENT: The USS Hornet had just finished a tour of duty in Vietnam when it was tasked with the recovery of the Apollo 11 astronauts after the moon landing.
If Apollo 11's 50th anniversary has sparked your space interest, there's a way to start your own NASA collection.
Take a look back at the crew's exact moments before launch in 1969.
In 1969, ABC built a mock Apollo command module to give viewers an inside look at how astronauts would travel to the lunar surface.
Westinghouse custom-built the 7.25-pound Apollo Lunar Television Camera to NASA specifications.