
Andy Aldrin, son of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, introduces Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, during the Apollo 50th Gala, presented by Northrop Grumman. The event was held inside the Apollo/Saturn V Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on July 16, 2019.

Michael Collins; right; Apollo 11 astronaut; presents the Innovation Award to David Thompson; left; founder; president and CEO of Orbital Sciences Corp (later known as Orbital ATK); during the Apollo 50th Gala on July 16; 2019. The event; presented by Northrop Grumman; was held inside the Apollo/Saturn V Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Comples in Florida. In the center at the podium is Andy Aldrin; son of Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials and Apollo astronauts visiting Launch Pad 39B with their families and friends take a moment to enjoy the view. From left are Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell, Center Director Bob Cabana, Apollo 11 command module pilot Mike Collins, and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin's son Andy Aldrin. The group is at Kennedy for a ceremony renaming the Operations and Checkout Building for Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon. The pad is being modified to support the agency's new Orion spacecraft which will lift off atop the Space Launch System rocket. Orion is designed to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before, serving as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronauts to deep space and sustain the crew during travel to destinations such as an asteroid or Mars. The visit of the former astronauts was part of NASA's 45th anniversary celebration of the Apollo 11 moon landing. As the world watched, Neil Armstrong and Neil Aldrin landed in the moon's Sea of Tranquility aboard the lunar module Eagle on July 20, 1969. Meanwhile, crewmate Michael Collins orbited above in the command module Columbia. For more, visit http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/july/nasa-honors-historic-first-moon-landing-eyes-first-mars-mission. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials and Apollo astronauts visiting Launch Pad 39B with their families and friends preserve the moment with a group portrait. The group was at Kennedy for a ceremony renaming the Operations and Checkout Building for Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon. From left are NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell, Buzz Aldrin's grandson Jeffrey Schuss, Jeffrey's wife April Schuss, Neil's former wife Janet Armstrong, Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, Buzz's son-in-law Bruce Hanifan, Buzz's daughter Jan Aldrin, Buzz's son Andy Aldrin, Apollo 11 command module pilot Mike Collins, and Center Director Bob Cabana. The pad is being modified to support the agency's new Orion spacecraft which will lift off atop the Space Launch System rocket. Orion is designed to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before, serving as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronauts to deep space and sustain the crew during travel to destinations such as an asteroid or Mars. The visit of the former astronauts was part of NASA's 45th anniversary celebration of the Apollo 11 moon landing. As the world watched, Neil Armstrong and Neil Aldrin landed in the moon's Sea of Tranquility aboard the lunar module Eagle on July 20, 1969. Meanwhile, crewmate Michael Collins orbited above in the command module Columbia. For more, visit http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/july/nasa-honors-historic-first-moon-landing-eyes-first-mars-mission. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA officials and Apollo astronauts visiting Launch Pad 39B with their families and friends preserve the moment with a group portrait. The group was at Kennedy for a ceremony renaming the Operations and Checkout Building for Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first person to set foot on the moon. From left are NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Neil's granddaughter Lily Armstrong, Neil's grandson Bryce Armstrong, Neil's son Mark Armstrong, Neil's former wife Janet Armstrong, Neil's son Rick Armstrong, Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, Buzz's friend Judy Rice, Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell, Mike Collins' daughter Ann Starr, Apollo 11 command module pilot Mike Collins, Buzz's grandson Jeffrey Schuss, Jeffrey's wife April Schuss, Buzz's son-in-law Bruce Hanifan, Buzz's daughter Jan Aldrin, Buzz's son Andy Aldrin, and Center Director Bob Cabana. The pad is being modified to support the agency's new Orion spacecraft which will lift off atop the Space Launch System rocket. Orion is designed to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before, serving as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronauts to deep space and sustain the crew during travel to destinations such as an asteroid or Mars. The visit of the former astronauts was part of NASA's 45th anniversary celebration of the Apollo 11 moon landing. As the world watched, Neil Armstrong and Neil Aldrin landed in the moon's Sea of Tranquility aboard the lunar module Eagle on July 20, 1969. Meanwhile, crewmate Michael Collins orbited above in the command module Columbia. For more, visit http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/july/nasa-honors-historic-first-moon-landing-eyes-first-mars-mission. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Andy Aldrin, director of business development for United Launch Alliance (ULA), talks to media about plans to launch NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center (ASOC) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. ULA is working to make its Atlas V rocket safe for humans for NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) under the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) activities. Part of those plans will be to design and test an emergency detection system and crew access capabilities. ULA also is working with other aerospace system providers developing spacecraft that would launch atop the company's Atlas V rocket, such as Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada and The Boeing Co. CCP, which is based at the adjacent NASA's Kennedy Space Center, is partnering with industry to take crews to the station or other low Earth orbit destinations. Aldrin explained that the goal of ULA will be to develop a human spaceflight capability without altering rocket's proven design and successful track record. It's the freedom to develop innovative solutions such as this that CCP hopes will drive down the cost of space travel as well as open up space to more people than ever before. Seven aerospace companies are maturing launch vehicle and spacecraft designs under CCDev2, including Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) of Promontory, Utah, Blue Origin of Kent, Wash., The Boeing Co., of Houston, Excalibur Almaz Inc. of Houston, Sierra Nevada Corp. of Louisville, Colo., Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, Calif., and United Launch Alliance (ULA) of Centennial, Colo. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial Photo credit: Jim Grossmann