‘We Just Sat In The Rocket For A Few Days, And Then We Were There,’ Says Former Astronaut
SATELLITE BEACH, FL—Referring to the Apollo 11 spaceflight and lunar landing as a “walk in the park,” astronaut Buzz Aldrin recalled Friday the relative ease with which he and fellow astronauts Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins reached the moon during heir 1969 mission. “We wore special suits and so on, as I’m sure you know, but in essence we kind of just boarded the rocket and pressed the requisite buttons, and it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. I guess I got a little nauseous during takeoff, but it wasn’t too bad. After a few days sitting in the rocket, we were there,” said Aldrin, admitting that he napped through most of the trip and that Armstrong had to wake him up in time to pilot the lunar module down to the Sea of Tranquility. “The scientists did most of the hard work, if I’m honest, and I floated around and ate snacks to pass the time. If you’ve ever taken a flight from New York to L.A., it’s about the same thing.” Aldrin conceded that it was “kind of tough” to take communion in low-gravity conditions.