Spain and Apollo 11 Moon Landing

Over 51 years ago, a handful of technicians from Spain were recruited by NASA to assist the Apollo 11 astronauts on their historic mission to the Moon.

The Spanish technicians who assisted with the Moon landing

Spain had a big influence on the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon. The Spaniards who were there for the Moon landing: engineers, technicians, waiters, cooks, and documentary makers witnessed history being made at an unlikely time for Spain, which was still under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.


Picture showing Carlos González (right) in the Fresnedillas monitoring station in 1969. Credit: Ministerio De Defensa.
Picture showing Carlos González (right) in the Fresnedillas monitoring station in 1969. Credit: Ministerio De Defensa.

The Spanish people that were involved in the Apollo 11 mission operated at NASA’s space monitoring stations in Fresnedillas de la Oliva and Robledo de Chavela. Two villages strategically located amid a mountain, but close enough to Madrid and the Madrid-Barajas airport.

Together with the satellite dishes in Maspalomas in the Canary Islands and Cebreros (Ávila) and two more in the United States, and Australia these stations were the connecting links between the Earth and the astronauts.

Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”

The Apollo 11 astronauts landed on the Moon for the first time, over 51 years ago. And Sitting in front of one of the communication consoles was then a 22-year-old Carlos González, the son of farmers who had moved from the northern region of Asturias to Madrid. At that moment, Madrid was the only station that had direct contact with the astronauts.


Picture showing José Manuel Grandela (first left), and Carlos González (right) with colleagues from the Fresnedillas base in 1983. Credit: J.M.G.
Picture showing José Manuel Grandela (first left), and Carlos González (right) with colleagues from the Fresnedillas base in 1983. Credit: J.M.G.

The technician’s attention was all on the equipment that received the signal from Michael Collin’s orbital module and the Eagle of with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, who were going to land on the Moon.

They prayed silently for communications not to fail. Because if they did, the Moon mission would be stopped,” according to González. The engineer above had the privilege of being one of the first people on Earth to hear the famous words: “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”


Picture of Madrid - Campo del Moro - Entrada. Credit: Wikimedia.
Picture of Madrid – Campo del Moro – Entrada. Credit: Wikimedia.

It was 9.17 pm in the capital of Spain, Madrid, and humankind had just set foot on the lunar surface. The famous words of Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong arrived first at Fresnedillas. And half a second later, they were transferred to other monitoring stations. Carlos knew the mission had succeeded even before American President Richard Nixon did.

“Roger, Tranquility. We copy you. You got a bunch of guys down here about to turn blue”

And a few hours later, the Moon dropped behind the horizon, and the Honeysuckle Creek satellite dish in Australia took over. Grandela had been working only a few months at the NASA base when Apollo 11 landed on the lunar surface.

The Lunar Lander Eagle’s autopilot was guiding the two Apollo 11 astronauts to a rocky area, which was dangerous for such a delicate spacecraft. Neil Armstrong took hold of the Eagle’s manual controls and was able to guide it to a smooth area, just six kilometers from the primary landing site.

They saw that their pulse rate was very high. And Charlie Duke, who was the only person allowed to directly address the astronauts from the Houston mission control center, said: “Roger, Tranquility. We copy you. You got a bunch of guys down here about to turn blue,” recounts Grandela, who operated as a radio operator at the station for decades.


Lunar Lander Module Apollo 11
Lunar Lander Module Apollo 11

Ten million Spaniards were watching the Moon landing on television.

Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface on July 21 at 3.56 am local time in Madrid. Ten million Spaniards were watching the Moon landing on television. The NASA team at Fresnedillas took over again a few hours later when the Apollo 11 astronauts started up the lunar lander’s engine to return to the orbital module managed by Michael Collins and prepare to return to Earth.


Picture showing Jose Manuel Grandela (l) and Carlos González in the deep space monitoring station in Robledo de Chavela, Madrid. Credit: Victor Sainz/El Pais.
Picture showing Jose Manuel Grandela (l) and Carlos González in the deep space monitoring station in Robledo de Chavela, Madrid. Credit: Victor Sainz/El Pais.

When Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, everyone was an American, but for me inside the special Apollo operations building,” remembers González. But this situation gradually changes with each new mission.

They increasingly let more Spaniards go inside, and when one Apollo arrived, there were only Spaniards on some teams,” says José Antonio Perea, a former radio operator.

Everything received by the station was recorded on magnetic tapes that were stored in tagged cans and sent as quickly as possible to Barajas airport, where an airplane was taking them to the United States. Only copies remain at the station.


Picture showing Sunday paella at the Fresnedillas station in 1974. Credit: Collecion J.M. Grandela.
Picture showing Sunday paella at the Fresnedillas station in 1974. Credit: Collecion J.M. Grandela.

Apollo 11 crew visit Prince Juan Carlos outside the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Spain.

Four years after the success of the lunar landing, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins visit Spain. The Franco regime planned a full schedule in Madrid’s capital. First, a meeting with Franco in El Pardo. Then a victory parade in the central Gran Vía thoroughfare in a convertible car. And finally a press conference. 


Picture showing Apollo 11 crew with Prince Juan Carlos outside the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Spain. Credit: NASA.
Picture showing Apollo 11 crew with Prince Juan Carlos outside the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Spain. Credit: NASA.

While there was time to give the Apollo 11 astronauts a matador costume and even asked them to put on a matador hat or a montera, in front of the cameras, which they did hesitantly, there was not time to visit either the Robledo or Fresnedillas stations and meet the Spaniards. The latter that had helped ensure the success of their Moon landing mission. 

Well, that’s it. Thanks for reading this article. If you want to know more about Apollo 11’s world tour, then head over to this article named; Apollo 11 Astronauts World Tour.

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