Apollo 11 returned safely thanks to a boy

On July 23, 1969, the Apollo 11 returned to earth after the first landing on the moon and a rare incident that only one child could solve.

On July 23, July 22, young Greg Force , 10, stayed home with his mother and three brothers on Guam in the Mariana Islands. His father, Charles Force, is the director of the station that tracks strange objects with radar and radio waves. Guam station plays an important role for Apollo 11 flight. A large capacity antenna at the station helps the US Aerospace Agency (NASA) communicate with the ship during the journey to the face. moon and return. But on the night of July 23, a broken antenna component made it almost useless.

Photo of Greg Force in a newspaper in 1969. (Photo: CNN)

In order to replace the damaged part, one only needed to dismantle the entire antenna, but in the night the Apollo 11 Earth returned to Earth the Force station did not have time to perform that simple operation. So he came up with an idea: the antenna could work normally if he applied industrial grease around the broken part. The problem is that no one at the station owns an arm small enough to be able to thread through a hole more than 6 centimeters in diameter and grease the other part.

Greg was called by his father to the station to save the antenna rig. Force sent an employee to the house to welcome Greg. As soon as he reached the station, he reached into the tiny hole to apply grease. At that time Greg did not think he was able to do the job related to the destiny of the three astronauts. Until now, he was still humble about the action.

' I just stuck my hand through the antenna's hole and greased it on a certain part according to my father's instructions. That's all, 'he said.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong met the Force family during a visit to NASA's station on Guam in 1969. (Photo: CNN)

But if Greg doesn't show up at the antenna when the Apollo 11 falls into the Pacific, NASA won't be able to contact the crew before the ship hits the water and their lives will be in danger.

' As far as I understand, it is not a life-and-death situation. My father just said it was very important and only I could do it , 'Greg said.

Greg's actions attracted the attention of the media and all three astronauts. They thought Greg was only a small part but very important in the story of Apollo 11's historic flight. He even received a letter of thanks from astronaut Neil Armstrong. The two met when Armstrong made a trip to NASA monitoring stations to thank their contribution to the trip.

Like many children born in the era of Apollo, Greg dreamed of becoming an astronaut . He regularly went to his father's office to listen to NASA officials' conversations with astronauts.

Today Greg Force.(Photo: CNN)

Greo still pursues his dream after graduating from college with a bachelor's degree in physics. Unfortunately, he could not pass the vision test when he applied for a place in the space research program because he had color blindness. That failure did not shake Greg's desire to explore the sky. He learned to fly a plane to conquer space in a different way and now has a pilot's license. Now, though busy with running a gym, he still keeps track of NASA's space programs.

' I am proud that I am a small part of the story of Apollo 11's moon subjugation journey ,' he said.