Lift-off for the Saturn V, and Apollo 11 was on its way to the Moon, on this day 40 years ago. Taken from the ground, the top picture shows a condensation cloud around the rocket as it thrusts through the sultry Florida air. And just minutes later the next pic was taken in mid-air, from a Boeing EC-135 tracking plane that supplied information to NASA flight controllers down below.
The Saturn was huge, far bigger than any rocket launcher used today. Fully stacked with three stages, plus the Command and Service modules and Lunar Module, Saturn V topped out at a height of 110.6 m (363 ft). Fuelled up for launch, the mighty launcher weighed some 3350 tonnes.
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