“OK, we’re off to a good start, play it cool” – Apollo 11 audio

Turns out there’s a huge archive of raw NASA audio at the Internet Archive. Metadata is incomplete and some audio is missing but it’s all gripping stuff, even the long periods of hum from the ‘high-gain’. And the ultra-laconic language (“we’ve lost Eagle. Stand by”, “OK everybody, let’s hang tight and look for landing radar”, “he thinks we’re a little long, downrange. We confirm that”) only intensifies the tension. This half hour session takes us from the beginning of Eagle’s powered descent to the first landing on the moon and I guarantee you’ll cry when you hear the muted cheer on the right channel when Armstrong confirms the landing.

Download the MP3.