Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park.
As noted in an earlier post, the United States Information Agency (USIA) undertook a major effort relating to the Apollo 11 mission. USIA established the “Apollo 11 Task Force” and the “Apollo 11 Operations Office” to handle those matters.
The three Apollo 11 astronauts – Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins – splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969, successfully completing the mission to land a person on the Moon and return safely to Earth. Shortly after completion of the Apollo 11 mission, the Apollo Operations Office prepared the following summation of the agency’s activities.
A couple of months later, the management office in the USIA Office of Administration prepared the following analysis and evaluation of the “Apollo 11 Task Force” and the “Apollo 11 Operations Office.”
Source: Both documents come from File INF 7-6 Apollo 11 (NAID 4706078), Office of Policy and Plans, Program Coordination Staff, Subject Files, 1966-71, Entry P-12, RG 306: Records of the United States Information Agency.