When President John F Kennedy committed to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth, he could not have known that bad weather would nearly bring the mission to a tragic end.
As Apollo 11 approached Earth, thunderstorms were brewing in the landing zone. If it had continued on its planned course, high-altitude winds would have torn the capsule’s parachutes to pieces.
It would have struck the water with enough force to kill the astronauts. The storm danger was only spotted thanks to another US space effort, the “Program 417” weather satellites.
The capsule changed course, heading for a splashdown site 200 miles (322km) away where conditions were somewhat better. When ground control described the weather in the new landing zone as fine, adding that there were 3-6ft waves, the astronaut Michael Collins drily responded: “The air part of it sounds good.”
The capsule bobbed around violently in the sea after splashdown, but was successfully recovered. When President Richard Nixon greeted the astronauts on board the USS Hornet, one of the first things they discussed was not the moon but the weather on Earth, taking a typically visionary view.
“We haven’t been able to control the weather yet,” said Neil Armstrong. “But that’s something we can look forward to as tomorrow’s challenge.”
