For Apollo 11 He Wasn’t on the Moon. But His Coffee Was Warm.

Great story. 50 years ago yesterday, I was flying F4s at Shaw AFB, SC and by chance scheduled to fly as Apollo 11 was preparing to launch. As we cranked engines, we listened to the countdown on HF radio. On takeoff, we pointed the aircraft directly toward Cape Canaveral, over 300 miles away. As we passed through about 15,000 feet, all at once we saw the world's fastest and most brilliant contrail, heading straight to the heavens. As we headed off on our terrestrial mission, we knew we'd just witnessed history.

An American to be proud off, such a class act, witty, intelligent, a famous modest man, how refreshing...

I think he wrote the best book by an Astronaut of his era, Carrying the Fire. His description of orbital dynamics’s is the best I’ve ever read. I just might have to read it again in honour of the 50th anniversary.

Michael Collins has always been a star to me. I remember the enthralled rapt excitement with which the whole nation witnessed our lunar landing and how as a 9-year old kid I wanted to know everything about it. His daughter Kate Collins is not without her own distinction as an actress and has also inspired millions by her portrayals...a wonderful family.

I bet if his coffee had been cold, he would have thought to himself (like so many have), "They can put a man on the moon but they still can't make my coffee right...."

Two things I noticed reading this article, Mr. Collins has great sense of humor and is such a grounded person for somebody who spent so much time flying around!

What a great quote: “The thing that really surprised me was that [the earth] projected an air of fragility,” he said. “And why, I don’t know. I don’t know to this day. I had a feeling it’s tiny, it’s shiny, it’s beautiful, it’s home, and it’s fragile.” So prescient and reflective of the state of our "home" today - wonderful yet fragile.

Unmentioned here is the fact that both Mr. Collins and Mr. Aldrin were graduates of West Point despite being Air Force Officers. After the US Air Force was separated from the US Army and until the Air Force Academy was up and running, cadets had the option of the USAF or the US Army. The long gray line extends to the Moon.

Humanity's is a shared journey. Some people fail, as when experiments with fire or flight kill them, but the rest of us learn from them. Some people provide a quiet support we rarely take notice of—the cameraman to the star actor's summer smash, the graduate student-gofer to the doctor's big-news study—but the rest of us are greater for them. Those who lead our charge and succeed advance us, but the shoulders they stand on are no less great or crucial for it. In holding his vigil over Neil and Buzz, Collins held our shared journey in good hands. I am grateful; I hope we all are. (And those in the journey who would hinder and divide us won't hold us back; we'll make do without them. They're always welcome to buy our flying cars and catch up.)

True American heroes, and a reminder of the greatness that was and is America. Going further than that, a reminder of the greatness that is humankind. People by their very nature want to work together, help each other, and achieve.

I'm pretty much an average Joe, but I managed -- by luck or by chance, at different times and at different places -- to meet and share a few words with each of the Apollo 11 astronauts. I lingered a bit after Neil Armstrong was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor in Lancaster, California, in 1991. We shook hands and I introduced him to my wife. He was modest and charming, and signed our souvenir program. Fighter jets from nearby Edwards AFB flew overhead -- we had to shout over the engines' roar. We never forgot how approachable he was -- and what a rare occurrence it was for him to appear in public. I ran into Buzz Aldrin at Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory in the Planetarium -- made famous by James Dean in "Rebel Without a Cause". Under the artificial night sky, bright with faux starlight created by the large, eerie Zeiss star projector, the second man on the moon was gracious -- even chatty -- and was happy to sign my old moon-landing copy of National Geographic from 1969. As a young bartender I was mixing drinks at a small event at Los Angeles Country Club when MIchael Collins approached the bar with some friends. We spoke briefly, but in that situation I was absolutely forbidden from asking for an autograph. The group went to their table for dinner, but a few minutes later Mr. Collins returned and discreetly signed a LACC cocktail napkin for me, sliding it across the bar with a wink and a smile. "Our secret," he said.

Great article. One little thing though: according to Neil Armstrong, the quote is, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."

I remember studying Apollo at Northwestern. It was a harrowing experience.

"You know, from their knees down, their nice white suits had all this grimy goo on them from the rocks and dust on the moon." Like Tom Hanks as a lad, I prided myself on being Mr. Space. But I never thought of that. As I recall, while traveling to the moon the astronauts spent some time in the lunar module not only for work, but because it afforded them more room. I wonder if Michael Collins ever went into the lunar module for any reason? Michael Collins - a real American hero. Thank you for the story.

13 years ago I had the privilege of spending the day with Buzz Aldrin, and had the opportunity to ask him questions I've always wondered about the moon flight. What was going through his mind as Armstrong tried to land the LEM, and almost ran out of fuel? he was concerned he said, but he kept his mouth shut. Armstrong was the best pilot he had ever met. Aldrin said that before he stepped out of the LEM onto the surface of the Moon, he fashioned a doorstop to keep the LEM door open while they were outside. He told me the door had a tendency to lock when it closed, and you didn't want to be locked out on the moon.

Human and engineering durability over an “air of fragility”. Happy Lunaversary Michael Collins and Apollo 11.

It's very cool to learn so much about a man who never got the spotlight. His stories about his preparation for Apollo 11 and how he wasn't even planned for that mission are quite interesting. He seems like a down-to-earth guy (no pun intended) with some real knowledge on his profession. He sure had a heck of an experience, even if it just meant floating around 60 miles above the Moon while his partners were on the lunar surface.

What a wonderful article on this historic day. I stood on the beach in Florida 50 years ago as a wide eyed little girl watching Apollo 11 take off for the moon...thanks to another Mr Collins (my Dad) who loved the space program. So proud of Armstrong and Aldrin and Especially Michael Collins, who will always be the most special space explorer in my family’s heart. God bless and God speed to you forever sir!

All of the astronauts were men of courage and vision. They knew that everything had to go right if they were going to be safely returned to earth. They were committed to their missions and to science--they didn't want to be celebrities, and none of them sought the limelight for its own sake.

“And why, I don’t know. I don’t know to this day. I had a feeling it’s tiny, it’s shiny, it’s beautiful, it’s home, and it’s fragile.” A Beautiful thought by Astronaut Collins. One month later I was at Woodstock in Bethel, NY. In American, 1969 was so much better than 1968.

I regularly visit my mother in Rome Italy and stay with friends whose house is behind another building that commemorates Michael Collins’ birth with a plaque stating that he was born in Rome while his Father was Military Attaché. Another Roman that helped change the world!!!

I had the opportunity many years ago when I was working for a Congressman and Mr. Collins was lobbying for the funding to get the Air and Space Museum going. He came across as someone who took that mission and his space flight but not himself very seriously.

I stood on an elevator by the hanger deck on Lexington, one of the oldest aircraft carriers in the US Fleet as the ship broadcast the landing over the 1MC, the ship's announcing system. I cried. We were at the beginning of Star Trek, my hope that Mankind would live through its self-destructive tendencies and become something greater than its petty rivalries. I hope this message resonates for all humanity as it did for me then and still does for me now. God bless you America but God bless all of Humanity for looking beyond petty squabbles to a more "Human" world and universe.

What was it about the American mission to the moon that was so generous, so optimistic, even knowing that the initial impetus behind this epic accomplishment was a Cold War goal of beating the Soviets? What made this particular mission, with its emphasis on the skilled professionalism of three pilots, so accessible to people the world over? How was this different from Bezos’ or Musk’s or Branson’s vision of extraterrestrial accomplishment? Would any one of these massive egos have allowed Armstrong to take credit for his remarkable first steps? We all had a part in the Apollo Mission, however small, because we all contributed through our representative governance and our progressive taxation. We all owned a little piece of this mission and we all shared it with the rest of the world. We came in peace for All Mankind.

I have nothing but praise for Neil Armstrong, but I know that NASA was disappointed that Armstrong didn't put more effort into promoting the space program after his return - upon reflection, NASA thought maybe somebody who was more media friendly should have been the first to set foot on the moon. Apparently, Collins was one of the alternatives they considered. He would have been a fine choice. Thank you Mr. Collins - you are still a hero to this 60 year old admirer. Like a lot of young Americans during the Apollo era, I loved you guys like nothing else.

"Carrying the Fire" isn't merely meticulous, it is far and away the best of the astronaut memoirs (and there are quite a few). Engaging, funny, self-deprecating and surprisingly relatable, it's Travels with Charley meets Star Wars, with a whole lot of engineering and scenery thrown in. Never mind "The Right Stuff," if you want the story of the space program in its heyday, read this.

His book, Carrying the Fire, is wonderful. He is a brilliant writer. If you only do one thing to commemorate this amazing adventure then please read his account of history.

Even as a 4yr old, I remember the space landing. I recall the description Mr. Collins orbiting the moon, periodically disappearing to the dark side, completely alone and with no view back to home. The solitary serenity must have been amazing.

What has happened to the United States of America? We put the first men on the moon, we created the first polio vaccine, we liberated Europe in WW2 and then rebuilt its cities, we welcomed generations of immigrants. The list is endless. I can't escape the feeling that we are retreating, becoming small, with no direction or vision. What was the last great noble cause that we led? For my children, I want to return to the America of vision and shared purpose.

Just finished last week reading the most recent edition of his book. By far the best account of any astronaut's participation in the space program...

What a nice, nice man. They should make 'em more like you Mr Collins. Wishing you health and happiness.

Armstrong and Aldrin got most of the attention in America, but I guarantee that in Ireland, they were watching Collins and as proud of him as they were of Armstrong (which is another Irish name, though much lesser known than Collins.)

I can cry.... We rose so high, and have fallen so low.

In the operating room, we have the stars (surgeons) and those that keep the ship on orbit (anesthesiologists). Thank you for this article. I can't think of a better analogy for what I do, every day, for the last 30 years.

I once won a trivia contest asking for the name of the third astronaut who had gone to the moon but didn’t walk. I knew it because Mr Collins lovely daughter was on a soap opera I wrote about for my campus newspaper and she had mentioned him in interviews. I didn’t know much more about him though. It was wonderful to learn more about Mr Collins and his participation in this seminal event.

At the time of the moon landing my father told me to, "remember Mike Collins, he'll be the one people will forget"

Think of the skill set needed to fly that craft to splashdown BY YOURSELF. That is what he was trained to do, if things went sour.

How about a President in 2020 who challenges America to reach carbon neutrality (or better) by the end of the decade. You know, a ‘reach for the stars’ national challenge.

I have a special place in my heart for all the command module pilots tasked with the underappreciated work of getting the moon landers home. My hat is off to all of them.

Thank you Mr. Collins!

"it’s tiny, it’s shiny, it’s beautiful, it’s home, and it’s fragile." Our beautiful planet. Everyone should be proud of this moment in history, this trip, when Americans led the way in what is the greatest scientific adventure story of our time.

Mike Collins has always, in a crew of idols, been ever-ever-so-slightly higher (by micrometers!) in my favourites. He seems quite an interesting character, a guy you could sit and talk in depth with about any subject in the world over a nice glass of wine and a good meal. A weird way of judging, I guess :D

I love this so much. I was eleven years old when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. My Navy family was stationed on Guam and there was no live coverage of the event there. But months later we got to see Neil Armstrong when he visited our fair island. A proud moment, I remember.

In 1969 at the age of 8, I firmly concluded that Michael Collins was my favorite Apollo 11 astronaut. Nothing has changed over the years, and this interview is a perfect example of why. Love this fellow.

Thank you, Mr. Collins, for your courage and personal sacrifice. Your legacy continues. Your contribution was essential and meaningful. Sometimes we can only understand greatness with time. You hold an important place in the hearts of all people.

It still surprises me that men have walked on the moon in my lifetime but not in my children’s or grandchildren’s. In 1969 when Michael Collins was part of the first mission to another world, most of us thought that it was just the beginning. We’d be on Mars in a few years, maybe even a colony there. Those were the years when I was proud to be an American. We could accomplish anything. We had hope. This anniversary of Apollo 11 is to me a sad reminder of what we could have been and a regret for how far we have fallen since that glorious event. Thank you Mr. Collins. You and the other astronauts were my heroes You still hold a special place in my heart and in my imagination.

What was nice about all three of the Apollo 11 astronauts was their continual humility. They always thanked the thousands of people who made the whole mission possible, and basically simply referred to the mission as "doing their job". It seems to me today that such humility is out of fashion and gross hubris is now the norm.

I watched PBS's special the other night. Mr. Collins had the perfect attitude toward his critical role in the mission. He was exactly the right man for that job - humble, sense of humor, no need for the prime spotlight. We desperately need humble heroes like him, all three, in our current turbulent world.

Thank you, Mr. Collins! I recommend his book, "Carrying the Fire". What a great team!