British television Apollo 11 coverage

British Television Apollo 11 Coverage
James Burke, one of the main presenters of the BBC's coverage of the Apollo 11 mission, reviews its launch earlier in the day on 16 July 1969
Starring	James Burke Patrick Moore Cliff Michelmore David Frost Alastair Burnet Pink Floyd Neil Armstrong Buzz Aldrin
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Production
Running time	8 days
Release
Original network	BBC1, BBC2, ITV
Original release	16 July – 24 July 1969

British television coverage of the Apollo 11 mission, man's first to land on the moon, lasted from 16 to 24 July 1969. All three UK television channels, BBC1, BBC2 and ITV, provided extensive coverage. Most of the footage covering the event from a British perspective has now been wiped or lost.

BBC television coverage of man's first landing on the moon consisted of 27 hours of coverage over a ten-day period. The programmes titled Apollo 11 were broadcast from Lime Grove Studios in London. The BBC2 sections were broadcast in colour and the BBC1 sections in black and white (full colour television in the United Kingdom being a few months away). Its main presenter was Cliff Michelmore, with James Burke and Patrick Moore concentrating on scientific and technical explanations and analysis. In America, Michael Charlton reported live from Cape Kennedy and Mission Control in Houston. There had been a big build up to the coverage. The Radio Times had a cover with a rocket shooting off and the caption "Target Moon".

The London studio set of Apollo 11 consisted of "a long, angled desk, large models of the moon and the Earth, and a large picture of a rocket against a dark, "cosmic"-type background. On the front of the desk was a digital clock which counted down the time to lift-off etc. Film animations and models of various parts of the spacecraft helped explain certain stages of the journey".

Every day of the mission had broadcasts from the space studio. These would vary between long programmes at important points in the mission, such as launching and undocking. But also shorter progress reports, and special moon-centric contributions to news bulletins, children's television and Twenty-Four Hours, a current affairs show. Programmes in between Apollo 11 reports included "So what if it's just Green Cheese?"., an Omnibus anthology broadcast on the night of the moon landing. Rock group Pink Floyd provided an exclusive instrumental piece called "Moonhead"; there is an audio recording of the track, which occasionally appears on Pink Floyd bootleg albums. Featured alongside them were distinguished actors including Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, Michael Hordern and Roy Dotrice, all reading quotes and poetry about the moon. The show also featured Dudley Moore with The Dudley Moore Trio and jazz singer Marion Montgomery.David Bowie's song "Space Oddity" was also included in the coverage.