The Collins Story: Live From The Moon & Moon Talk

Live from the Moon

On July 20, 1969, citizens of Earth gathered around televisions to witness the first man to step onto the moon’s surface and hear him say, “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.” 

The people of Collins Radio – based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – played a key role in convincing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that a live television signal could be sent from the surface of the moon to Earth. Archival film footage shows how a painted moonscape and a replica of the Apollo capsule in a Cedar Rapids laboratory provided the backdrop for engineers to conduct television research, as Dr. Roger Pierce explains in the documentary. 

Moon Talk

On December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 became the first manned space flight to leave Earth’s orbit and fly to the moon. For the next six days, the only link astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders would have to Earth was through equipment and a pioneering communication system developed by Collins Radio – based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa – and its subcontractors.

The documentary “Moon Talk" celebrates the men and women of the Collins Radio Company who had the vision, beyond the technology available in the 1960s, to create and manufacture a communication system to reach the moon. The documentary features rare 16-millimeter film footage and photos, and interviews with employees who recall working on the Apollo program.