How Caterpillar Helped Power the 1969 Moon Landing

On July 20, 1969, at roughly 10 PM (CST), the world collectively held its breath watching the crew of Apollo 11 successfully landed on the moon.  As billions tuned in to watch the historic events unfold over the eight-day mission, Caterpillar was more than just another viewer.   

Communications between the Apollo crew and all NASA tracking stations around the world was provided by an 18-foot tracking antenna in North Carolina powered by ten Cat® diesel gen sets. Those stations played a vital role in the mission allowing teams on the ground to keep in contact with the astronauts. Because of this, we heard first hand Neil Armstrong’s historic words “One small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The three man crew arrived home safely on July 28th having accomplished what is still considered one of the greatest achievements in the history of the world.

Following the 1969 moon landing into the early 1970s, ten astronauts followed in their footsteps and Caterpillar was there too – providing critical power that has laid the technological foundation for space exploration for generations to come…