Now as dawn breaks over central Florida, hundreds of thousands jam the beaches, roads, hotels and restaurants near the Kennedy Space Center. In the darkness, searchlights played through the night on the mammoth booster - the heaviest Saturn V ever built, and the biggest object ever to be sent off of the Earth. Some 3,000 accredited journalists and 5,000 special guests arrive in the area. Former President Lyndon Baines Johnson and Vice-President Spiro Agnew head up the official U.S. delegation, which includes nearly every member of Congress. Motels in nearby Brevard County have been sold out for months, in some cases more than a year in advance when the launching date was only a guess.
Newspapers report that even a day before launch, some restaurants have already run out of food.
As darkness falls at the Kennedy Space Center, Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins gather around the dinner table for their last evening meal before launch. Among the guests is NASA Administrator Thomas Paine. As dinner ends, Paine takes Armstrong aside and makes an astonishing statement. If anything happens that makes the landing impossible, Paine orders the crew not to take any risks and instead return to Earth. He pledges that for the first time in space history he would insert the crew back into the flight schedule and give them command of Apollo 12.