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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for July 16, 2019
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
July 16, 2019: Fifty years ago today, Apollo 11 took off from Cape Kennedy on mankind’s first journey to walk on the moon. The crew included Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.[1]
Six months earlier, Apollo 8 had become the first mission to leave earth’s gravitational field and orbit the moon. That was followed by Apollo 9 in March, the first time the lunar module was tested in flight.[2] Apollo 9, however, never left earth's orbit.
In May, Apollo 10 followed Apollo 8’s path and became the second mission to orbit the moon. They even went a step further when astronauts Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. Cernan flew the lunar module within 10 miles of the moon’s surface. They made two passes over the expected Apollo 11 landing site.[3]
All of this was done in preparation for the launch of Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. Following the launch, the crew orbited the earth for 2 ½ hours. They then reignited their engines and became the third crew to escape earth’s gravity. It would take them three days to reach the moon and journey into history.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- July 15, 2019 – 8.82 hours of sleep daily for average American
- July 12, 2019 – 21 percent of voters believe the United States has no right to decide who can enter the country
- July 11, 2019 – 60 percent of voters approve of the Supreme Court’s performance
- July 10, 2019 – 96 percent of Americans engage in leisure activity daily
- July 9, 2019 – 12.16 million barrels of oil produced per day in United States
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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