Moon Landing Revisited On Decades Diginet

Decades Network, the multicast TV network from Weigel Broadcasting and CBS Television Stations, has scheduled a special full-day programming event remembering the historic 1969 moon landing.

On Wednesday, July 20 — the 47th anniversary of Apollo 11 — Decades will present original and historical programming spotlighting America’s 11-year space journey that culminated with Neil Armstrong’s and Buzz Aldrin’s first steps on the lunar surface.

The broadcast event begins with a special edition of Through the Decades, the network’s original daily program. Hosted by journalist Bill Kurtis, this 90-minute special ‘Go: The Great Race’ features original interviews with Astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell, as well as Mercury space program engineers and journalist George Leopold.

They recount the 11 years of creativity and commitment through success and tragedy that led to fulfilling President Kennedy’s bold promise to “land a man on the moon, and return him safely to Earth.”

“Our fascination with what lies beyond Earth was never more palpable, never united us more than the great space races of the 1960’s,” said Kurtis. “The journey to get to the moon, as charted in this special of Through the Decades, reminds us that the power to achieve what was previously thought impossible is never too far from grasp.”

Through the Decades uses the archives of CBS News to relive the race to the moon from Sputnik and Mercury to Gemini and Apollo. The special program unwinds through the voices of the 1960’s Mercury engineers tasked with building the first-ever American spacecraft and tells the tales of failure and ingenuity that eventually propelled Alan Shepard into space. Audiences will also hear about the successes of Gemini with Jim Lovell and relive with legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin the complex world of Apollo that finally led to man’s first steps on the surface of the moon.

“When we landed on the moon, we accomplished the challenge President Kennedy set out for us. We did what we said we were going do and we did it in public. Remembering it today, reminds us of how much more there is to do,” said George Leopold, author of, Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom.

Through the Decades is presented four times each weekday at 1 and 7 a.m. as well as 7 and 10 p.m. 

The full day celebration of the moon landing on Decades continues with The Dick Cavett Show and his 1995 interview with director Ron Howard as they discuss the movie Apollo 13. Next, One Small Step pays tribute to the first man on the moon Neil Armstrong, who narrated his historic feat with the famous words; “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

America’s fascination with space in the 1960s was also reflected on popular television shows.  Decades presents two space-themed episodes of The Twilight Zone, followed by an episode of Star Trek.