ALAMEDA, CA – This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission to the Moon, and the successful recovery of the Mission’s astronauts by the famous aircraft carrier, USS Hornet. This July, the USS Hornet Museum, anchored at historic Alameda Point on San Francisco Bay, is hosting Splashdown 2009, a weekend of special events commemorating the ship’s remarkable place in space and naval history and featuring special guests such as renowned former astronaut and second man on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin.

Forty years ago, the aircraft carrier USS Hornet recovered the first two NASA missions that landed men on the moon – Apollo 11 and Apollo 12. The USS Hornet is the largest surviving artifact from these incredible events, which are among the most important in the history of humankind.

The three-day series of special events will take place from July 24 - July 26, 2009. Activities will include ship tours, special interactive exhibits, static displays such as the Apollo command module CM011A. Visitors will also have opportunities to meet various representatives from NASA, the space industry and the U.S. Navy, including astronauts, key naval officers, recovery pilots and former USS Hornet crew members from the recovery mission. On Saturday July 25th, the featured guest speaker will be former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 11 and the second man to walk on the moon. Splashdown 2009 festivities are open to the public, with many exciting activities scheduled for families with children.

Copyright 2009 USS Hornet Museum. All rights reserved. From http://www.uss-hornet.org.
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