Coverage Around Chicago

Residents in the city of Chicago eagerly awaited the launch of Apollo 11 and tuned in to view the history launch from home and around town. Reporters Sara Jane Goodyear and Michael Killian penned a piece detailing the crowds around Chicago, including those at the Zenith Display salon, Prudential Building, the Adler Planetarium, and Assumption Catholic Church.

International Coverage

Reports and congratulations from around the world, including the Russian Space Agency and the Queen of England, were filed and published by Tribune correspondents. Of special interest though, was a piece about the lack of launch coverage in Latin America and the Caribbean.

A couple years ago I shared a story about how neither of my parents nor several family members and close family friends saw the launch of Apollo 11 or the Moon landing on television. I was met with disbelief and astonishment, because most people couldn’t imagine not having access or the ability to watch both. Imagine my surprise at finding a piece in the Tribune that corroborates some of their stories and experiences.

The article below details how NASA and COMSAT cut service to ENTEL right before the launch, essentially depriving millions in Latin America of any Apollo launch coverage at all.

Apollo 11 Launch Facts

Several additional pieces about the Apollo 11 launch were filed that included fun and interesting facts, a few relating to Chicago or Illinois. Two pieces detailed specific information added to microfilm that would be left behind on the lunar surface, launch data and lunar science experiments were detailed, and a special piece about Houston’s role in the mission was included.