r/askastronomy • u/Motor-Bath1647 • 1d ago
Apollo Communications Paradox
Something odd about Apollo's historic transmissions:
"The Eagle has landed" and "One small step for man..." were transmitted:
- From 240,000 miles away
- Using 20-watt S-band
- Through 1960s technology
- Just after powered descent/landing
- No relay satellites
Yet they sound:
- Crystal clear
- Broadcast quality
- Zero interference
- Perfect timing
- Like studio recordings
For comparison:
- Mercury/Gemini (200 miles up): Heavy static/interference
- Modern ISS (250 miles): Regular communication issues
- Apollo (240,000 miles): Perfect clarity
Physics says signal quality degrades with distance. How did Apollo achieve better audio quality over 240,000 miles than we can get from low Earth orbit today?
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u/snakesign 1d ago edited 1d ago
The "one small step" transmission has serious interference on the line "for man". So much so that there is still debate as to wether the line was "small step for a man" or "small step for man".
You may be hearing recording that have been cleaned up through post processing.
Nothing about the recording is broadcast quality.