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HMS Eagle was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy sunk during World War II. | HMS Eagle was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy sunk during World War II. | ||
The Eagle was laid down at the Armstrong yards at Newcastle-on-Tyne on February 20, 1913. She was to be the battleship Almirante Cochrane for the Chilean Navy. Her construction was halted with the outbreak of World War I. In 1917 she was acquired for the Royal Navy, at a cost of | The Eagle was laid down at the Armstrong yards at Newcastle-on-Tyne on February 20, 1913. She was to be the battleship Almirante Cochrane for the Chilean Navy. Her construction was halted with the outbreak of World War I. In 1917 she was acquired for the Royal Navy, at a cost of ÿ£1.3 million, to be converted into the carrier HMS Eagle. She was the fourteenth ship to bear that name. | ||
Her initial redesign was as a base for sea-plane operations. After trials with other ships the design was changed to a proper fleet carrier with a full flight deck and 'island'. She was launched on June 8, 1918 but the delays meant that the Eagle was unfinished at the end of hostilities. Construction was halted and not resumed until 1920 and she was only commissioned on February 26, 1924. | Her initial redesign was as a base for sea-plane operations. After trials with other ships the design was changed to a proper fleet carrier with a full flight deck and 'island'. She was launched on June 8, 1918 but the delays meant that the Eagle was unfinished at the end of hostilities. Construction was halted and not resumed until 1920 and she was only commissioned on February 26, 1924. | ||
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At 2:56 UTC, six and a half hours after landing, Armstrong made his descent to the Moon surface and took his famous "one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin joined him, and the two spent two-and-a-half hours drilling core samples, photographing what they saw and collecting rocks. | At 2:56 UTC, six and a half hours after landing, Armstrong made his descent to the Moon surface and took his famous "one giant leap for mankind." Aldrin joined him, and the two spent two-and-a-half hours drilling core samples, photographing what they saw and collecting rocks. | ||
They planned placement of the Early Apollo Scientific Experiment Package (EASEP) and the U.S. flag by studying their landing site through Eagle's twin triangular windows, which gave them a | They planned placement of the Early Apollo Scientific Experiment Package (EASEP) and the U.S. flag by studying their landing site through Eagle's twin triangular windows, which gave them a 60° field of view. Preparation required longer than the two hours scheduled. Armstrong had some initial difficulties squeezing through the hatch with his PLSS. According to veteran moonwalker John Young, a redesign of the LM to incorporate a smaller hatch was not followed by a redesign of the PLSS backpack, so some of the highest heart rates recorded from Apollo astronauts occurred during LM egress and ingress. | ||
The Remote Control Unit controls on Armstrong's chest prevented him from seeing his feet. While climbing down the nine-rung ladder, Armstrong pulled a D-ring to deploy the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA) folded against Eagle's side and activate the TV camera. The first images used a Slow-scan television system and were picked up at Goldstone in the USA but with better fidelity by Honeysuckle Creek in Australia. Minutes later the TV was switched to normal television, and the feed was switched to the more sensitive radio telescope station at the Parkes Observatory in Australia. Despite some technical and weather difficulties, ghostly black and white images of the first lunar EVA were received and were immediately broadcast to at least 600 million people on Earth. | The Remote Control Unit controls on Armstrong's chest prevented him from seeing his feet. While climbing down the nine-rung ladder, Armstrong pulled a D-ring to deploy the Modular Equipment Stowage Assembly (MESA) folded against Eagle's side and activate the TV camera. The first images used a Slow-scan television system and were picked up at Goldstone in the USA but with better fidelity by Honeysuckle Creek in Australia. Minutes later the TV was switched to normal television, and the feed was switched to the more sensitive radio telescope station at the Parkes Observatory in Australia. Despite some technical and weather difficulties, ghostly black and white images of the first lunar EVA were received and were immediately broadcast to at least 600 million people on Earth. | ||
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After transferring to LM life support, the explorers lightened the ascent stage for return to lunar orbit by tossing out their PLSS backpacks, lunar overshoes, one Hasselblad camera, and other equipment. Then they lifted off in Eagle's ascent stage to rejoin CMP Michael Collins aboard Columbia in lunar orbit. Eagle was jettisoned and left in lunar orbit. Later NASA reports mentioned that Eagle's orbit had decayed resulting in it impacting in an "uncertain location" on the lunar surface. | After transferring to LM life support, the explorers lightened the ascent stage for return to lunar orbit by tossing out their PLSS backpacks, lunar overshoes, one Hasselblad camera, and other equipment. Then they lifted off in Eagle's ascent stage to rejoin CMP Michael Collins aboard Columbia in lunar orbit. Eagle was jettisoned and left in lunar orbit. Later NASA reports mentioned that Eagle's orbit had decayed resulting in it impacting in an "uncertain location" on the lunar surface. | ||
After more than | After more than 21½ hours on the lunar surface, they returned to Collins on board "Columbia," bringing 20.87 kilograms of lunar samples with them. The two Moon-walkers had left behind scientific instruments such as a retroreflector array used for the Lunar Laser Ranging Experiment. They also left an American flag and other mementos, including a plaque (mounted on the LM Descent Stage ladder) bearing two drawings of Earth (of the Western and Eastern Hemispheres), an inscription, and signatures of the astronauts and Richard Nixon. The inscription read: | ||
Here Men From Planet Earth | Here Men From Planet Earth |
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