AT 2.32pm on July 16, 1969 Apollo 11 was launched on its historic mission to the moon.
Four days later Neil Alden Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon’s surface.
Langholm, considered by Armstrong to be his home town, will celebrate this historic moment with an Aftermoon Tea Party in the Buccleuch Centre on Tuesday, July 16 and watch the lift-off exactly 50 years to the day, hour and even minute on the centre’s big cinema screen.
The launch of the Saturn V rocket took place from the Cape Kennedy Space Centre at 2.32pm UK time and on board were Neil Armstrong, Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin and Michael Collins.
There will be film and photos of the launch and guests will be able to hear from Langholm’s astrophysicist Hayden Goodfellow and Grace Brown BEM who helped organised Neil Armstrong’s visit to Langholm in 1972.
As well as the Aftermoon Tea itself, there will be songs and stories from Langholm’s own ‘stars’.
Mairi Telford Jammeh said: “The event is open to everyone and tickets (£10) are available from the centre’s box office.
“The Tea Party will start promptly at 2pm when the countdown to lift-off at 2.32pm will begin. It should be a truly memorable event and Langholm is definitely the place to celebrate it.”
The celebrations continue later in the week in the Buccleuch Centre with presentations by Dr Ken Mactaggart, the renowned space historian, on Saturday, July 20.
It will include a special showing of The Armstrong Tapes and recordings of the landing at 9.18pm.
Armstrong’s biographer, James Hansen, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, who wrote the book First Man and was a co-producer of the film starring Ryan Gosling, will introduce the film on Sunday, July 21.
He will give a talk about Neil Armstrong – The Man, a fascinating insight into the character and personality of this very private individual.
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