The Honeysuckle Station Log for Apollo 11


 

The log kept at the Operations Console at Honeysuckle.

John Saxon and Ken Lee

Entries by Operations Supervisors John Saxon (left) and Ken Lee.



 

John Saxon writes,

It may seem strange, but Apollo support sites were not required to keep a formal log. Usually particular times were reported to Houston as they happened, or when the action was completed. Some times were reported in post-pass Teletype messages.

At Honeysuckle, we did try to maintain an overall log of mission events as we observed them. And the operating position on the right hand side of the main station Operations console got lumbered with the job.

This position was also required to monitor anything up to 6 or 7 voice loops simultaneously, and respond as required. Also, there were two 25 key CAMs (Computer Address Matrix) used to control some aspects of the Command and Telemetry Computers (send commands to the Spacecraft if data communications were lost between the site and Houston, etc.), operated by this position. So keeping a written log as well, was sometimes difficult.

Most sections of the station (USB, TLM, Computer, Comms, etc.) also made note of significant times and events, and so this helped the main log keeper because they could be reported later in ‘easy time’. Times were sometimes guessed when there was a chance to jot them down, so normally they were noted to the nearest minute unless they were deemed to be very significant!

The log pages presented here were maintained for the entire Apollo 11 mission 24 Hrs per day by myself and my opposite number Ken Lee (otherwise known as ‘the Silver Fox’) as we worked alternating 12 Hour shifts. It should be noted that they were ‘borrowed’ by me at the end of the Apollo program. All the rest of the mission files, which contained many other documents on each mission, were consigned to the local landfill site (Tharwa tip) when we were not looking (:-((




The Honeysuckle Apollo 11 Log

Dates and times in GMT.

Apollo 11 log at Honeysuckle

Download the log as a 4.5MB PDF file.

This is a new (late 2017) scan.

Preserved by John Saxon; pages scanned by John’s daughter, Penny Neuendorf; assembled by Colin Mackellar.
Higher resolution version available.

 

To see the log pages as individual image files
(from the 2003 scans), click the Page numbers below.

Page 1

2300 Tuesday 15 July – 0936 Wednesday 16 July 1969
Terminal count to T-30

Page 2

0936 – 1830 Wednesday 16 July
Launch, Revolution 01

Page 3

1839 16 July – 0049 Thursday 17 July
Trans Lunar Coast

Page 4

0052 – 0907 Thursday 17 July
Trans Lunar Coast

Page 5

0909 – 2321 Thursday 17 July
Trans Lunar Coast

Page 6

2334 Thursday 17 July – 0824 Friday 18 July
Trans Lunar Coast

Page 7

0855 – 2331 Friday 18 July
Trans Lunar Coast

Page 8

0005 – 0657 Saturday 19 July
Trans Lunar Coast

Page 9

0720 – 2323 Saturday 19 July
Lunar Orbit Insertion

Page 10

2327 Saturday 19 July – 0228 Sunday 20 July
Lunar orbits 4 & 5

Page 11

0240 – 0540 Sunday 20 July
Lunar orbit 6

Page 12

0543 – 0909 Sunday 20 July
Lunar orbits 7 & 8

Page 13

0946 – 2216 Sunday 20 July
Lunar Touchdown

Page 14

2247 Sunday 20 July – 0141 Mon 21 July
EVA Preparations

Page 15

0143 – 0349 Monday 21 July
Armstrong on surface

Page 16

0354 – 0619 Monday 21 July
EVA continues

Page 17

0619 – 0828 Monday 21 July
end of TV

Page 18

0830 – 1841 Monday 21 July
CSM orbits 21, 22. LM liftoff

Page 19

1954 Monday 21 July – 0119 Tuesday 22 July
LM docking and jettison

Page 20

0136 – 0330 Tuesday 22 July
CSM orbits 29 & 30

Page 21

0339 – 0736 Tuesday 22 July
Trans Earth Injection

Page 22

0739 – 1344 Tuesday 22 July
Trans Earth Coast

Page 23

1400 Tuesday 22 July – 0235 Wednesday 23 July
Trans Earth Coast

Page 24

0250 – 1401 Wednesday 23 July
Trans Earth Coast

Page 25

1820 Wednesday 23 July – 0728 Thursday 29 July
Trans Earth Coast, ALSEP

Page 26

0742 – 1651 Thursday 29 July
Splashdown.