Apollo 11 Astronaut Returns to Launch Pad 50 Years Later

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins returned on July 16 to the exact spot where he flew to the moon 50 years ago with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 spacesuit is unveiled at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington, on July 16, 2019. Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins returned on July 16 to the exact spot where he flew to the moon 50 years ago with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Collins had the spotlight to himself this time—Armstrong has been gone for seven years and Aldrin canceled. Collins said he wished his two moonwalking colleagues could have shared the moment at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, the departure point for humanity’s first moon landing.