Model Rockets Will Zoom for the Apollo 11 Anniversary

Be at Discovery Cube LA on July 16 to see 50 model rockets go high into the sky; it's all part of a larger Guinness Book of World Records try.

What to Know

  • Tuesday, July 16 at 6:32 a.m.
  • Discovery Cube LA in Sylmar
  • 50 model rockets will be launched

There are some occasions that are pretty down-to-earth, overall, in tone, vibe, and feel.

Which means planning a salute in honor of the celebration, or something special for the occasion, is pretty easy, all told.

But describing the moon landing of July 1969 as "down to earth" doesn't quite fit, given that Apollo 11 went up from Earth, and kept on going, and then stopped only when it finally reached our lunar neighbor.

It's still an incredible notion, a half century later.

And an incredible notion deserves an incredible tribute. And just such a tribute will happen on Tuesday, July 16 when 5,000 model rockets will be launched, at points near and far, all the celebrate the 50th anniversary of the moon landing.

Oh yes, and to go for an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records, for the number of rockets launched simultaneously.

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Here in Los Angeles?

You'll want to head to Discovery Cube LA in Sylmar to see 50 of those model rockets zoom for the clouds. But arrive early, as in very early, if you'd like to be there, for the launch will be timed to the exact minute of the Apollo 11 launch of July 16, 1969 at Cape Kennedy in Florida.

That means, yes, that those 50 rockets'll take off at 6:32 a.m., oh boy.

Rise and, yes, shine.

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama is behind this Guinness push.

And later in the day? There'll be more open-to-the-public model rocket goodness, so read all about what's on tap for July 16.

Are you marking this moon-tastic moment in multiple ways in the coming days? Will you visit Griffith Observatory and the California Science Center, where a new Apollo 11-themed documentary is currently playing in the IMAX cinema?

Consider this early-morning launch another prism in this grand party of an astronomically amazing anniversary.

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