Extraordinary flown 10.5 x 8 double-sided page from the final Apollo 11 Flight Plan carried into lunar orbit aboard the Command Module 'Columbia' during the first lunar landing mission, signed and flight-certified on both sides in blue ballpoint, “Carried to the moon aboard Apollo XI, Buzz Aldrin.” The page’s front and back, numbered “3-71” and “3-72,” provide a detailed timeline of activities beginning 75 minutes after their historic landing—namely, the steps for "Stay/No Stay for Lunar Surface Operations." Notably, there are some hand-notated amendments to the plan, including "Don Helmet and Gloves" under the "CDR" column at 104:20. This is only one of eleven sheets in the flight plan to detail the lunar surface activities for Apollo 11. In fine condition.
Accompanied by a detailed letter of provenance signed by Buzz Aldrin, in part: "Enclosed with this letter is a sheet numbered 3-71 and 3-72 from the Apollo 11 Flight Plan, Part No. SKB32100080-350, S/N 1001. It is part of the entire document that was carried to the Moon in Command Module Columbia on the first lunar landing mission during July 16 to 24, 1969. This sheet is from the detailed timeline section and covers hour 104 through the beginning of hour 106 in the mission.
Page 3-71 lists the steps for the Stay/No Stay for Lunar Surface Operations. Neil Armstrong had just made history’s first manned lunar landing less than 2 hours before these steps. Since that time, we were in a posture to leave the lunar surface if an emergency occurred. By this point in the flight plan, we and Mission Control had verified all our systems were operating properly. We were then given a go to stay on the lunar surface during our 104th hour in the mission.
Needless to say, Neil and I had an abundance of energy after this historic landing and starting a rest period as listed on page 3-72 was the last thing on our minds. At about 104 hours and 30 minutes into the mission, Neil asked and received concurrence from Mission Control to start the EVA or moon walk activities about 5 hours earlier than written in the flight plan. Thus, we were actually doing EVA Prep work during this period on page 3-72. These tasks consisted of configuring our space suits to be able to strap on our PLSS (Portable Life Support Systems) or 'back packs,' then performing space suit pressure and communication checks.
The flight plan was probably the single most important document related to the success of our mission. It provided a time schedule of crew activities and spacecraft maneuvers to accomplish the first lunar landing. This page in particular from a Ground Elapsed Time (GET) standpoint has some of the most significant events that occurred during the entire Apollo 11 flight."
This item is Pre-Certified by STEVE ZARELLI
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