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Break from the Grind July 19, 2011
TRIVIAL PURSUITS: What was "the Eagle" First Called?
July 19, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Perhaps one of the most famous phrases in human history is “The Eagle has landed."
Reported by Nevin E. Adams
Those were the words spoken by Neil Armstrong when the Apollo 11 craft landed on the moon in 1969. “Eagle”, however, was not the LEM’s (lunar excursion module) first call sign. Do you know what it was?
Answer: Haystack
Backup Apollo 11 commander Jim Lovell (who went on to command Apollo 13) recommended the name Eagle for the lunar module. Oh, and the original call sign for the Command Module was no better: Snowcone.”
You can read for yourself at http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19700011707_1970011707.pdf