Neil Armstrong

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Neil Armstrong

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For other uses, see Neil Armstrong (disambiguation).
Neil Armstrong
Armstrong posing in his spacesuit
Armstrong in April 1969
Born Neil Alden Armstrong
August 5, 1930
Wapakoneta, Ohio, U.S.
Died August 25, 2012 (aged 82)
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Alma mater
Purdue University (BS, 1955)
University of Southern California (MS, 1970)
Spouse(s)
Janet Shearon

(m. 1956; div. 1994)


Carol Knight (m. 1994)
Children 3
Awards
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Congressional Space Medal of Honor
Congressional Gold Medal
NASA Distinguished Service Medal
NASA Exceptional Service Medal
Air Medal (3)
Space career
USAF / NASA astronaut
Previous occupation Naval aviator, test pilot
Rank US-O2 insignia.svg Lieutenant (junior grade), United States Navy
Time in space 8 days, 14 hours, 12 minutes, and 30 seconds
Selection
1958 USAF Man In Space Soonest
1960 USAF Dyna-Soar
1962 NASA Group 2
Total EVAs 1
Total EVA time 2 hours 31 minutes
Missions Gemini 8, Apollo 11
Mission insignia Gemini 8 logo Apollo 11 logo
Signature
Neil Armstrong Signature.svg
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut
and aeronautical engineer, and the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also a
naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.

A graduate of Purdue University, Armstrong studied aeronautical engineering; his


college tuition was paid for by the U.S. Navy under the Holloway Plan. He became a
midshipman in 1949 and a naval aviator the following year. He saw action in the
Korean War, flying the Grumman F9F Panther from the aircraft carrier USS Essex. In
September 1951, while making a low bombing run, Armstrong's aircraft was damaged
when it collided with an anti-aircraft cable, strung across a valley, which cut off
a large portion of one wing. Armstrong was forced to bail out. After the war, he
completed his bachelor's degree at Purdue and became a test pilot at the National
Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) High-Speed Flight Station at Edwards Air
Force Base in California. He was the project pilot on Century Series fighters and
flew the North American X-15 seven times. He was also a participant in the U.S. Air
Force's Man in Space Soonest and X-20 Dyna-Soar human spaceflight programs.
Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in the second group, which was selected
in 1962. He made his first spaceflight as command pilot of Gemini 8 in March 1966,
becoming NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space. During this mission with
pilot David Scott, he performed the first docking of two spacecraft; the mission
was aborted after Armstrong used some of his re-entry control fuel to stabilize a
dangerous roll caused by a stuck thruster. During training for Armstrong's second
and last spaceflight as commander of Apollo 11, he had to eject from the Lunar
Landing Research Vehicle moments before a crash.

On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Apollo 11 Lunar Module (LM) pilot Buzz Aldrin
became the first people to land on the Moon, and the next day they spent two and a
half hours outside the Lunar Module Eagle spacecraft while Michael Collins remained
in lunar orbit in the Apollo Command Module Columbia. When Armstrong first stepped
onto the lunar surface, he famously said: "That's one small step for [a] man, one
giant leap for mankind." It was broadcast live to an estimated 530 million viewers
worldwide. Apollo 11 effectively proved US victory in the Space Race, by fulfilling
a national goal proposed in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy "of landing a man on
the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" before the end of the decade. Along
with Collins and Aldrin, Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by
President Richard Nixon. President Jimmy Carter presented him with the
Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, and Armstrong and his former crewmates
received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.

After he resigned from NASA in 1971, Armstrong taught in the Department of


Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati until 1979. He served on the
Apollo 13 accident investigation and on the Rogers Commission, which investigated
the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

Contents
1 Early life
2 Navy service
3 College years
4 Test pilot
5 Astronaut career
5.1 Gemini program
5.1.1 Gemini 5
5.1.2 Gemini 8
5.1.3 Gemini 11
5.2 Apollo program
5.2.1 Apollo 11
6 Life after Apollo
6.1 Teaching
6.2 NASA commissions
6.3 Business activities
6.4 North Pole expedition
6.5 Public profile
7 Personal life
8 Illness and death
9 Legacy
10 See also
11 Notes
12 References
13 Further reading
14 External links
Early life
Armstrong was born near Wapakoneta, Ohio,[1] on August 5, 1930, the son of Viola
Louise (née Engel) and Stephen Koenig Armstrong. He was of German, Scots-Irish, and
Scottish descent.[2][3] He had a younger sister, June, and a younger brother, Dean.
His father was an auditor for the Ohio state government,[4] and the family moved
around the state repeatedly, living in 16 towns over the next 14 years.[5]
Armstrong's love for flying grew during this time, having started at the age of two
when his father took him to the Cleveland Air Races. When he was five or six, he
experienced his first airplane flight in Warren, Ohio, when he and his father took
a ride in a Ford Trimotor (also known as the "Tin Goose").[6][7]

The family's last move was in 1944 and took them back to Wapakoneta, where
Armstrong attended Blume High School and took flying lessons at the Wapakoneta
airfield.[1] He earned a student flight certificate on his 16th birthday, then
soloed in August, all before he had a driver's license.[8] He was an active Boy
Scout and earned the rank of Eagle Scout.[9] As an adult, he was recognized by the
Scouts with their Distinguished Eagle Scout Award and Silver Buffalo Award.[10][11]
While flying toward the Moon on July 18, 1969, he sent his regards to attendees at
the National Scout jamboree in Idaho.[12] Among the few personal items that he
carried with him to the Moon and back was a World Scout Badge.[13]

At age 17, in 1947, Armstrong began studying aeronautical engineering at Purdue


University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He was the second person in his family to
attend college. He was also accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT),[14] but he resolved to go to Purdue after watching a football game between
the Purdue Boilermakers and the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Ohio Stadium in 1945, in
which quarterback Bob DeMoss led the Boilermakers to a sound victory over the
highly regarded Buckeyes.[15] An uncle who attended MIT had also advised him that
he could receive a good education without going all the way to Cambridge,
Massachusetts. His college tuition was paid for under the Holloway Plan. Successful
applicants committed to two years of study, followed by two years of flight
training and one year of service as an aviator in the U.S. Navy, then completion of
the final two years of their bachelor's degree.[14] Armstrong did not take courses
in naval science, nor did he join the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps.[16]

Navy service
A black-and-white image of a light-skinned man in his early 20s. He is looking off
to his right. He has mid-colored hair parted to the right. He wears a light-colored
military uniform with an eagle badge on the left chest. His epaulettes are dark and
have a light bar and star. He has a white shirt and a dark necktie.
Ensign Neil Armstrong on May 23, 1952
Armstrong's call-up from the Navy arrived on January 26, 1949, requiring him to
report to Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida for flight training with class 5-
49. After passing the medical examinations, he became a midshipman on February 24,
1949.[17] Flight training was conducted in a North American SNJ trainer, in which
he soloed on September 9, 1949.[18] On March 2, 1950, he made his first aircraft
carrier landing on USS Cabot, an achievement he considered comparable to his first
solo flight.[18] He was then sent to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Texas for
training on the Grumman F8F Bearcat, culminating in a carrier landing on USS
Wright. On August 16, 1950, Armstrong was informed by letter that he was a fully
qualified naval aviator. His mother and sister attended his graduation ceremony on
August 23, 1950.[19]

Armstrong was assigned to Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron 7 (FASRON 7) at NAS San
Diego (now known as NAS North Island). On November 27, 1950, he was assigned to VF-
51, an all-jet squadron, becoming its youngest officer, and made his first flight
in a jet, a Grumman F9F Panther, on January 5, 1951. He was promoted to ensign on
June 5, 1951, and made his first jet carrier landing on USS Essex two days later.
On June 28, 1951, Essex had set sail for Korea, with VF-51 aboard to act as ground-
attack aircraft. VF-51 flew ahead to Naval Air Station Barbers Point in Hawaii,
where it conducted fighter-bomber training before rejoining the ship at the end of
July.[20]
On August 29, 1951, Armstrong saw action in the Korean War as an escort for a photo
reconnaissance plane over Songjin.[21] Five days later, on September 3, he flew
armed reconnaissance over the primary transportation and storage facilities south
of the village of Majon-ni, west of Wonsan. According to Armstrong, he was making a
low bombing run at 350 mph (560 km/h) when 6 feet (1.8 m) of his wing was torn off
after it collided with a cable that was strung across the hills as a booby trap. He
was flying 500 feet (150 m) above the ground when he hit it. While there was heavy
anti-aircraft fire in the area, none hit Armstrong's aircraft.[22] An initial
report to the commanding officer of Essex said that Armstrong's F9F Panther was hit
by anti-aircraft fire. The report indicated he was trying to regain control and
collided with a pole, which sliced off 2 feet (0.61 m) of the Panther's right wing.
Further perversions of the story by different authors added that he was only 20
feet (6.1 m) from the ground and that 3 feet (0.91 m) of his wing was sheared off.
[23]

Two dark-blue-painted single-seat military jets flying from left to right in


echelon. They wear the mark of the U.S. military on the nose, and a number. The
nearer plane is 107 and the further is 116. On the fin is the letter 'S' and just
in front the word NAVY. The planes have wingtip drop tanks and bubble canopies.
F9F-2 Panthers over Korea, with Armstrong piloting S-116 (left)
Armstrong flew the plane back to friendly territory, but due to the loss of the
aileron, ejection was his only safe option. He intended to eject over water and
await rescue by Navy helicopters, but his parachute was blown back over land. A
jeep driven by a roommate from flight school picked him up; it is unknown what
happened to the wreckage of his aircraft, F9F-2 BuNo 125122.[24]

In all, Armstrong flew 78 missions over Korea for a total of 121 hours in the air,
a third of them in January 1952, with the final mission on March 5, 1952. Of 492
U.S. Navy personnel killed in the Korean War, 27 of them were from Essex on this
war cruise. Armstrong received the Air Medal for 20 combat missions, two gold stars
for the next 40, the Korean Service Medal and Engagement Star, the National Defense
Service Medal, and the United Nations Korea Medal.[25]

Armstrong's regular commission was terminated on February 25, 1952, and he became
an ensign in the United States Navy Reserve. On completion of his combat tour with
Essex, he was assigned to a transport squadron, VR-32, in May 1952. He was released
from active duty on August 23, 1952, but remained in the reserve, and was promoted
to lieutenant (junior grade) on May 9, 1953.[26] As a reservist, he continued to
fly, with VF-724 at Naval Air Station Glenview in Illinois, and then, after moving
to California, with VF-773 at Naval Air Station Los Alamitos.[27] He remained in
the reserve for eight years, before resigning his commission on October 21, 1960.
[26]

College years
After his service with the Navy, Armstrong returned to Purdue. His previously
earned good but not outstanding grades now improved, lifting his final Grade Point
Average (GPA) to a respectable but not outstanding 4.8 out of 6.0. He pledged the
Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and lived in its fraternity house. He wrote and co-
directed two musicals as part of the all-student revue. The first was a version of
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, co-directed with his girlfriend Joanne Alford from
the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, with songs from the Walt Disney film, including
"Someday My Prince Will Come"; the second was titled The Land of Egelloc ("college"
spelled backwards), with music from Gilbert and Sullivan but new lyrics. He was
chairman of the Purdue Aero Flying Club, and flew the club's aircraft, an Aeronca
and a couple of Pipers, which were kept at nearby Aretz Airport in Lafayette,
Indiana. Flying the Aeronca to Wapakoneta in 1954, he damaged it in a rough landing
in a farmer's field, and it had to be hauled back to Lafayette on a trailer.[28] He
was a baritone player in the Purdue All-American Marching Band.[29] Ten years later
he was made an honorary member of Kappa Kappa Psi national band honorary
fraternity.[30] Armstrong graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in
Aeronautical Engineering in January 1955.[27] In 1970, he completed his Master of
Science degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Southern California
(USC).[31] He would eventually be awarded honorary doctorates by several
universities.[32]

Armstrong met Janet Elizabeth Shearon, who was majoring in home economics, at a
party hosted by Alpha Chi Omega.[33] According to the couple, there was no real
courtship, and neither could remember the exact circumstances of their engagement.
They were married on January 28, 1956, at the Congregational Church in Wilmette,
Illinois. When he moved to Edwards Air Force Base, he lived in the bachelor
quarters of the base, while Janet lived in the Westwood district of Los Angeles.
After one semester, they moved into a house in Antelope Valley, near Edwards AFB.
Janet did not finish her degree, a fact she regretted later in life. The couple had
three children: Eric, Karen, and Mark.[34] In June 1961, Karen was diagnosed with a
diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a malignant tumor of the middle part of her brain
stem.[35] X-ray treatment slowed its growth, but her health deteriorated to the
point where she could no longer walk or talk. She died of pneumonia, related to her
weakened health, on January 28, 1962, aged two.[36]

Test pilot
Following his graduation from Purdue, Armstrong became an experimental research
test pilot. He applied at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)
High-Speed Flight Station at Edwards Air Force Base.[37] NACA had no open
positions, and forwarded his application to the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory
in Cleveland, where Armstrong made his first test flight on March 1, 1955.[37]
Armstrong's stint at Cleveland lasted only a couple of months before a position at
the High-Speed Flight Station became available, and he reported for work there on
July 11, 1955.[38]

A black-and-white photo of a young man with light skin and pale irises. His mid-
colored hair is cut short. He is looking at the camera. He is wearing a barleycorn
sport coat, a white shirt and a dark necktie.
Armstrong, 26, as a test pilot at the NACA High-Speed Flight Station at Edwards
AFB, California
On his first day, Armstrong was tasked with piloting chase planes during releases
of experimental aircraft from modified bombers. He also flew the modified bombers,
and on one of these missions had his first flight incident at Edwards. On March 22,
1956, he was in a Boeing B-29 Superfortress,[39] which was to air-drop a Douglas D-
558-2 Skyrocket. He sat in the right-hand pilot seat while the left-hand seat
commander, Stan Butchart, flew the B-29.[40]

As they climbed to 30,000 feet (9 km), the number-four engine stopped and the
propeller began windmilling (rotating freely) in the airstream. Hitting the switch
that would stop the propeller's spinning, Butchart found it slowed but then started
spinning again, this time even faster than the others; if it spun too fast, it
would break apart. Their aircraft needed to hold an airspeed of 210 mph (338 km/h)
to launch its Skyrocket payload, and the B-29 could not land with the Skyrocket
attached to its belly. Armstrong and Butchart brought the aircraft into a nose-down
attitude to increase speed, then launched the Skyrocket. At the instant of launch,
the number-four engine propeller disintegrated. Pieces of it damaged the number-
three engine and hit the number-two engine. Butchart and Armstrong were forced to
shut down the damaged number-three engine, along with the number-one engine, due to
the torque it created. They made a slow, circling descent from 30,000 ft (9 km)
using only the number-two engine, and landed safely.[41]

Armstrong served as project pilot on Century Series fighters, including the North
American F-100 Super Sabre A and C variants, the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, the
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, the Republic F-105 Thunderchief and the Convair F-106
Delta Dart. He also flew the Douglas DC-3, Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star, North
American F-86 Sabre, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, Douglas F5D-1 Skylancer,
Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker,
and was one of eight elite pilots involved in the Parasev paraglider research
vehicle program.[42] Over his career, he flew more than 200 different models of
aircraft.[31] His first flight in a rocket-powered aircraft was on August 15, 1957,
in the Bell X-1B, to an altitude of 11.4 miles (18.3 km). On landing, the poorly
designed nose landing gear failed, as had happened on about a dozen previous
flights of the Bell X-1B. He flew the North American X-15 seven times,[43]
including the first flight with the Q-ball system, the first flight of the number 3
X-15 airframe, and the first flight of the MH-96 adaptive flight control system.
[44][45] He became an employee of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) when it was established on October 1, 1958, absorbing NACA.[46]

Armstrong was involved in several incidents that went down in Edwards folklore or
were chronicled in the memoirs of colleagues. During his sixth X-15 flight on April
20, 1962, Armstrong was testing the MH-96 control system when he flew to a height
of over 207,000 feet (63 km) (the highest he flew before Gemini 8). He held up the
aircraft nose for too long during its descent to demonstrate the MH-96's g-limiting
performance, and the X-15 ballooned back up to around 140,000 feet (43 km). He flew
past the landing field at Mach 3 at over 100,000 feet (30 km) in altitude, and
ended up 40 miles (64 km) south of Edwards. After sufficient descent, he turned
back toward the landing area, and landed, just missing Joshua trees at the south
end. It was the longest X-15 flight in both flight time and length of the ground
track.[47]

A black-and-white photo of Armstrong, with very short hair. He is smiling and is


wearing a pressure suit and tall lace-up boots. Under his left arm he holds a bulky
pressure helmet. He has black gloves on, and his right-hand rests on the nose of a
dark-painted X-15 rocket plane with its canopy open. Armstrong and the plane are
standing on a desert crust, and the plane's skids have left tracks in it.
Armstrong and X-15-1 after a research flight in 1960
Fellow astronaut Michael Collins wrote that of the X-15 pilots Armstrong "had been
considered one of the weaker stick-and-rudder men, but the very best when it came
to understanding the machine's design and how it operated".[48] Many of the test
pilots at Edwards praised Armstrong's engineering ability. Milt Thompson said he
was "the most technically capable of the early X-15 pilots". Bill Dana said
Armstrong "had a mind that absorbed things like a sponge". Those who flew for the
Air Force tended to have a different opinion, especially people like Chuck Yeager
and Pete Knight, who did not have engineering degrees. Knight said that pilot-
engineers flew in a way that was "more mechanical than it is flying", and gave this
as the reason why some pilot-engineers got into trouble: Their flying skills did
not come naturally.[49] Armstrong made seven flights in the X-15 between November
30, 1960, and July 26, 1962.[50] He reached a top speed of Mach 5.74 (3,989 mph,
6,420 km/h) in the X-15-1, and left the Flight Research Center with a total of
2,400 flying hours.[51]

On April 24, 1962, Armstrong flew for the only time with Yeager. Their job, flying
a T-33, was to evaluate Smith Ranch Dry Lake in Nevada for use as an emergency
landing site for the X-15. In his autobiography, Yeager wrote that he knew the lake
bed was unsuitable for landings after recent rains, but Armstrong insisted on
flying out anyway. As they attempted a touch-and-go, the wheels became stuck and
they had to wait for rescue. As Armstrong told the story, Yeager never tried to
talk him out of it and they made a first successful landing on the east side of the
lake. Then Yeager told him to try again, this time a bit slower. On the second
landing, they became stuck, provoking Yeager to fits of laughter.[52]

On May 21, 1962, Armstrong was involved in the "Nellis Affair". He was sent in an
F-104 to inspect Delamar Dry Lake in southern Nevada, again for emergency landings.
He misjudged his altitude and did not realize that the landing gear had not fully
extended. As he touched down, the landing gear began to retract; Armstrong applied
full power to abort the landing, but the ventral fin and landing gear door struck
the ground, damaging the radio and releasing hydraulic fluid. Without radio
communication, Armstrong flew south to Nellis Air Force Base, past the control
tower, and waggled his wings, the signal for a no-radio approach. The loss of
hydraulic fluid caused the tailhook to release, and upon landing, he caught the
arresting wire attached to an anchor chain, and dragged the chain along the runway.
[53]

It took thirty minutes to clear the runway and rig another arresting cable.
Armstrong telephoned Edwards and asked for someone to collect him. Milt Thompson
was sent in an F-104B, the only two-seater available, but a plane Thompson had
never flown. With great difficulty, Thompson made it to Nellis, where a strong
crosswind caused a hard landing and the left main tire suffered a blowout. The
runway was again closed to clear it, and Bill Dana was sent to Nellis in a T-33,
but he almost landed long. The Nellis base operations office then decided that to
avoid any further problems, it would be best to find the three NASA pilots ground
transport back to Edwards.[53]

Astronaut career
Armstrong standing up, wearing an early space suit. It is highly reflective silver
in appearance. He is wearing the helmet, which is white, with the visor raised. A
thick dark hose is connected to one of the two ports on the front abdomen of the
suit.
Armstrong in an early Gemini space suit
In June 1958, Armstrong was selected for the U.S. Air Force's Man In Space Soonest
program, but the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) canceled its funding on
August 1, 1958, and on November 5, 1958, it was superseded by Project Mercury, a
civilian project run by NASA. As a NASA civilian test pilot, Armstrong was
ineligible to become one of its astronauts at this time, as selection was
restricted to military test pilots.[54][55] In November 1960, he was chosen as part
of the pilot consultant group for the X-20 Dyna-Soar, a military space plane under
development by Boeing for the U.S. Air Force, and on March 15, 1962, he was
selected by the U.S. Air Force as one of seven pilot-engineers who would fly the X-
20 when it got off the design board.[56][57]

In April 1962, NASA announced that applications were being sought for the second
group of NASA astronauts for Project Gemini, a proposed two-man spacecraft. This
time, selection was open to qualified civilian test pilots.[58] Armstrong visited
the Seattle World's Fair in May 1962 and attended a conference there on space
exploration that was co-sponsored by NASA. After he returned from Seattle on June
4, he applied to become an astronaut. His application arrived about a week past the
June 1, 1962, deadline, but Dick Day, a flight simulator expert with whom Armstrong
had worked closely at Edwards, saw the late arrival of the application and slipped
it into the pile before anyone noticed.[59] At Brooks Air Force Base at the end of
June, Armstrong underwent a medical exam that many of the applicants described as
painful and at times seemingly pointless.[60]

NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations, Deke Slayton, called Armstrong on


September 13, 1962, and asked whether he would be interested in joining the NASA
Astronaut Corps as part of what the press dubbed "the New Nine"; without
hesitation, Armstrong said yes. The selections were kept secret until three days
later, although newspaper reports had circulated since earlier that year that he
would be selected as the "first civilian astronaut".[61] Armstrong was one of two
civilian pilots selected for this group;[62] the other was Elliot See, another
former naval aviator.[63] NASA announced the selection of the second group at a
press conference on September 17, 1962. Compared with the Mercury Seven astronauts,
they were younger,[60] and had more impressive academic credentials.[64] Collins
wrote that Armstrong was by far the most experienced test pilot in the Astronaut
Corps.[48]

Gemini program
Gemini 5
On February 8, 1965, Armstrong and Elliot See were announced as the backup crew for
Gemini 5, with Armstrong as commander, supporting the prime crew of Gordon Cooper
and Pete Conrad.[65] The mission's purpose was to practice space rendezvous and to
develop procedures and equipment for a seven-day flight, all of which would be
required for a mission to the Moon. With two other flights (Gemini 3 and Gemini 4)
in preparation, six crews were competing for simulator time, so Gemini 5 was
postponed. It finally lifted off on August 21.[66] Armstrong and See watched the
launch at Cape Kennedy, then flew to the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) in Houston.
[67] The mission was generally successful, despite a problem with the fuel cells
that prevented a rendezvous. Cooper and Conrad practiced a "phantom rendezvous",
carrying out the maneuver without a target.[68]

Gemini 8
Main article: Gemini 8
Armstrong, with short hair, partially reclining on a beige chair. He looks very
serious. He is wearing a white space suit without a helmet or gloves. It has the
U.S. flag on the left shoulder. Two hoses are attached. A technician dressed all in
white is bending over him. A dark-haired, darkly dressed man has his back to us. He
may be talking to Armstrong.
Armstrong, 35, suiting up for Gemini 8 in March 1966
The crew assignments for Gemini 8 were announced on September 20, 1965. Under the
normal rotation system, the backup crew for one mission became the prime crew for
the third mission after, but Slayton designated David Scott as the pilot of Gemini
8.[69][70] Scott was the first member of the third group of astronauts, whose
selection was announced on October 18, 1963, to receive a prime crew assignment.
[71] See was designated to command Gemini 9. Henceforth, each Gemini mission was
commanded by a member of Armstrong's group, with a member of Scott's group as the
pilot. Conrad would be Armstrong's backup this time, and Richard F. Gordon Jr. his
pilot.[69][70] Armstrong became the first American civilian in space. (Valentina
Tereshkova of the Soviet Union had become the first civilian—and first woman—nearly
three years earlier aboard Vostok 6 when it launched on June 16, 1963.[72])
Armstrong would also be the last of his group to fly in space, as See died in a T-
38 crash on February 28, 1966, that also took the life of crewmate Charles Bassett.
They were replaced by the backup crew of Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan, while Jim
Lovell and Buzz Aldrin moved up from the backup crew of Gemini 10 to become the
backup for Gemini 9,[73] and would eventually fly Gemini 12.[74]

Gemini 8 launched on March 16, 1966. It was the most complex mission yet, with a
rendezvous and docking with an uncrewed Agena target vehicle, and the planned
second American space walk (EVA) by Scott. The mission was planned to last 75 hours
and 55 orbits. After the Agena lifted off at 10:00:00 EST,[75] the Titan II rocket
carrying Armstrong and Scott ignited at 11:41:02 EST, putting them into an orbit
from which they chased the Agena.[76] They achieved the first-ever docking between
two spacecraft.[77] Contact with the crew was intermittent due to the lack of
tracking stations covering their entire orbits. While out of contact with the
ground, the docked spacecraft began to roll, and Armstrong attempted to correct
this with the Gemini's Orbit Attitude and Maneuvering System (OAMS). Following the
earlier advice of Mission Control, they undocked, but the roll increased
dramatically until they were turning about once per second, indicating a problem
with Gemini's attitude control. Armstrong engaged the Reentry Control System (RCS)
and turned off the OAMS. Mission rules dictated that once this system was turned
on, the spacecraft had to reenter at the next possible opportunity. It was later
thought that damaged wiring caused one of the thrusters to stick in the on
position.[78]

A dark gray Gemini capsule floats horizontally in blue water. It is supported by a


yellow flotation collar. The hatches are open and the astronauts are visible
sitting in their places wearing sunglasses. They are being assisted by three
recovery crew in dark gray wetsuits.
Recovery of Gemini 8 from the western Pacific Ocean; Armstrong sitting to the right
A few people in the Astronaut Office, including Walter Cunningham, felt that
Armstrong and Scott "had botched their first mission".[79] There was speculation
that Armstrong could have salvaged the mission if he had turned on only one of the
two RCS rings, saving the other for mission objectives. These criticisms were
unfounded; no malfunction procedures had been written, and it was possible to turn
on only both RCS rings, not one or the other.[80] Gene Kranz wrote, "The crew
reacted as they were trained, and they reacted wrong because we trained them
wrong." The mission planners and controllers had failed to realize that when two
spacecraft were docked, they must be considered one spacecraft. Kranz considered
this the mission's most important lesson.[81] Armstrong was depressed that the
mission was cut short,[82] canceling most mission objectives and robbing Scott of
his EVA. The Agena was later reused as a docking target by Gemini 10.[83] Armstrong
and Scott received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal,[84][85] and the Air Force
awarded Scott the Distinguished Flying Cross as well.[86] Scott was promoted to
lieutenant colonel, and Armstrong received a $678 raise in pay to $21,653 a year
(equivalent to $172,713 in 2020), making him NASA's highest-paid astronaut.[82]

Gemini 11
Main article: Gemini 11
In Armstrong's final assignment in the Gemini program, he was the back-up Command
Pilot for Gemini 11; this was announced two days after the landing of Gemini 8.
Having trained for two flights, Armstrong was quite knowledgeable about the systems
and took on a teaching role for the rookie backup Pilot, William Anders.[87] The
launch was on September 12, 1966,[88] with Conrad and Gordon on board, who
successfully completed the mission objectives, while Armstrong served as a capsule
communicator (CAPCOM).[89]

Following the flight, President Lyndon B. Johnson asked Armstrong and his wife to
take part in a 24-day goodwill tour of South America.[90] Also on the tour, which
took in 11 countries and 14 major cities, were Dick Gordon, George Low, their
wives, and other government officials. In Paraguay, Armstrong greeted dignitaries
in their local language, Guarani; in Brazil he talked about the exploits of the
Brazilian-born aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont.[91]

Apollo program
On January 27, 1967—the day of the Apollo 1 fire—Armstrong was in Washington, D.C.
with Cooper, Gordon, Lovell and Scott Carpenter for the signing of the United
Nations Outer Space Treaty. The astronauts chatted with the assembled dignitaries
until 18:45, when Carpenter went to the airport, and the others returned to the
Georgetown Inn, where they each found messages to phone the MSC. During these
calls, they learned of the deaths of Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee in the
fire. Armstrong and the group spent the rest of the night drinking scotch and
discussing what had happened.[92]

On April 5, 1967, the same day the Apollo 1 investigation released its final
report, Armstrong and 17 other astronauts gathered for a meeting with Slayton. The
first thing Slayton said was, "The guys who are going to fly the first lunar
missions are the guys in this room."[93] According to Cernan, only Armstrong showed
no reaction to the statement. To Armstrong it came as no surprise—the room was full
of veterans of Project Gemini, the only people who could fly the lunar missions.
Slayton talked about the planned missions and named Armstrong to the backup crew
for Apollo 9, which at that stage was planned as a medium Earth orbit test of the
combined lunar module and command and service module.[94]

The crew assignment was officially announced November 20, 1967.[95] For crewmates,
Armstrong was assigned Lovell and Aldrin, from Gemini 12. After design and
manufacturing delays of the lunar module (LM), Apollo 8 and 9 swapped prime and
backup crews. Based on the normal crew rotation, Armstrong would command Apollo 11,
[94] with one change: Collins on the Apollo 8 crew began experiencing trouble with
his legs. Doctors diagnosed the problem as a bony growth between his fifth and
sixth vertebrae, requiring surgery.[96] Lovell took his place on the Apollo 8 crew,
and, when Collins recovered, he joined Armstrong's crew.[97]

An indistinct photo of a smoke trail rising from an area of orange fire in a


recently harvested field. A white and orange parachute is recovering a human figure
above and to the right of the fire.
Armstrong descends to the ground on a parachute after ejecting from Lunar Landing
Research Vehicle 1.
To give the astronauts practice piloting the LM on its descent, NASA commissioned
Bell Aircraft to build two Lunar Landing Research Vehicles (LLRV), later augmented
with three Lunar Landing Training Vehicles (LLTV). Nicknamed the "Flying
Bedsteads", they simulated the Moon's one-sixth gravity using a turbofan engine to
support five-sixths of the craft's weight. On May 6, 1968, 100 feet (30 m) above
the ground, Armstrong's controls started to degrade and the LLRV began rolling.[98]
He ejected safely before the vehicle struck the ground and burst into flames. Later
analysis suggested that if he had ejected half a second later, his parachute would
not have opened in time. His only injury was from biting his tongue. The LLRV was
completely destroyed.[99] Even though he was nearly killed, Armstrong maintained
that without the LLRV and LLTV, the lunar landings would not have been successful,
as they gave commanders essential experience in piloting the lunar landing craft.
[100]

In addition to the LLRV training, NASA began lunar landing simulator training after
Apollo 10 was completed. Aldrin and Armstrong trained for a variety of scenarios
that could develop during a real lunar landing.[101] They also received briefings
from geologists at NASA.[102]

Apollo 11
Main article: Apollo 11
Three astronauts in white space suits. They are holding their helmets. All are
light-skinned. Armstrong is smiling widely and wears his hair parted to the right.
Collins has dark hair and looks the most serious. Aldrin's hair is very short.
Behind them is a large photo of the Moon.
The Apollo 11 crew: Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin.
After Armstrong served as backup commander for Apollo 8, Slayton offered him the
post of commander of Apollo 11 on December 23, 1968, as Apollo 8 orbited the Moon.
[103] According to Armstrong's 2005 biography, Slayton told him that although the
planned crew was Commander Armstrong, Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin, and Command
Module Pilot Michael Collins, he was offering Armstrong the chance to replace
Aldrin with Jim Lovell. After thinking it over for a day, Armstrong told Slayton he
would stick with Aldrin, as he had no difficulty working with him and thought
Lovell deserved his own command. Replacing Aldrin with Lovell would have made
Lovell the lunar module pilot, unofficially the lowest ranked member, and Armstrong
could not justify placing Lovell, the commander of Gemini 12, in the number 3
position of the crew.[104] The crew of Apollo 11 was officially announced on
January 9, 1969, as Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin, with Lovell, Anders, and Fred
Haise as the backup crew.[105]

According to Chris Kraft, a March 1969 meeting among Slayton, George Low, Bob
Gilruth, and Kraft determined that Armstrong would be the first person on the Moon,
in part because NASA management saw him as a person who did not have a large ego. A
press conference on April 14, 1969, gave the design of the LM cabin as the reason
for Armstrong's being first; the hatch opened inwards and to the right, making it
difficult for the LM pilot, on the right-hand side, to exit first. At the time of
their meeting, the four men did not know about the hatch consideration. The first
knowledge of the meeting outside the small group came when Kraft wrote his book.
[106][107] Methods of circumventing this difficulty existed, but it is not known if
these were considered at the time. Slayton added, "Secondly, just on a pure
protocol basis, I figured the commander ought to be the first guy out ... I changed
it as soon as I found they had the time line that showed that. Bob Gilruth approved
my decision."[108]

Voyage to the Moon


A Saturn V rocket launched Apollo 11 from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space
Center on July 16, 1969, at 13:32:00 UTC (09:32:00 EDT local time).[109]
Armstrong's wife Janet and two sons watched from a yacht moored on the Banana
River.[110] During the launch, Armstrong's heart rate peaked at 110 beats per
minute.[111] He found the first stage the loudest, much noisier than the Gemini 8
Titan II launch. The Apollo command module was relatively roomy compared with the
Gemini spacecraft. None of the Apollo 11 crew suffered space sickness, as some
members of previous crews had. Armstrong was especially glad about this, as he had
been prone to motion sickness as a child and could experience nausea after long
periods of aerobatics.[112]

Armstrong smiling in his space suit with the helmet off. He wears a headset and his
eyes look slightly watery.
Armstrong in the lunar module after the completion of the EVA
Apollo 11's objective was to land safely on the Moon, rather than to touch down at
a precise location. Three minutes into the lunar descent, Armstrong noted that
craters were passing about two seconds too early, which meant the Lunar Module
Eagle would probably touch down several miles (kilometres) beyond the planned
landing zone.[113] As the Eagle's landing radar acquired the surface, several
computer error alarms sounded. The first was a code 1202 alarm, and even with their
extensive training, neither Armstrong nor Aldrin knew what this code meant. They
promptly received word from CAPCOM Charles Duke in Houston that the alarms were not
a concern; the 1202 and 1201 alarms were caused by executive overflows in the lunar
module guidance computer. In 2007, Aldrin said the overflows were caused by his own
counter-checklist choice of leaving the docking radar on during the landing
process, causing the computer to process unnecessary radar data. When it did not
have enough time to execute all tasks, the computer dropped the lower-priority
ones, triggering the alarms. Aldrin said he decided to leave the radar on in case
an abort was necessary when re-docking with the Apollo command module; he did not
realize it would cause the processing overflows.[114]

File:AP11 FINAL APPROACH.ogv


Armstrong lands the Lunar Module Eagle on the Moon, July 20, 1969
When Armstrong noticed they were heading toward a landing area that seemed unsafe,
he took manual control of the LM and attempted to find a safer area. This took
longer than expected, and longer than most simulations had taken.[115] For this
reason, Mission Control was concerned that the LM was running low on fuel.[116] On
landing, Aldrin and Armstrong believed they had 40 seconds of fuel left, including
the 20 seconds' worth which had to be saved in the event of an abort.[117] During
training, Armstrong had, on several occasions, landed with fewer than 15 seconds of
fuel; he was also confident the LM could survive a fall of up to 50 feet (15 m).
Post-mission analysis showed that at touchdown there were 45 to 50 seconds of
propellant burn time left.[118]

The landing on the surface of the Moon occurred several seconds after 20:17:40 UTC
on July 20, 1969.[119] One of three 67-inch (170 cm) probes attached to three of
the LM's four legs made contact with the surface, a panel light in the LM
illuminated, and Aldrin called out, "Contact light." Armstrong shut the engine off
and said, "Shutdown." As the LM settled onto the surface, Aldrin said, "Okay,
engine stop"; then they both called out some post-landing checklist items. After a
10-second pause, Duke acknowledged the landing with, "We copy you down, Eagle."
Armstrong announced the landing to Mission Control and the world with the words,
"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Aldrin and Armstrong
celebrated with a brisk handshake and pat on the back. They then returned to the
checklist of contingency tasks, should an emergency liftoff become necessary.[120]
[121][122] After Armstrong confirmed touch down, Duke re-acknowledged, adding a
comment about the flight crew's relief: "Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the
ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a
lot."[117] During the landing, Armstrong's heart rate ranged from 100 to 150 beats
per minute.[123]

First Moon walk


See also: Apollo 11—Lunar surface operations
File:Apollo 11 Landing - first steps on the moon.ogv
Armstrong describes the lunar surface

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"
MENU0:00
Problems playing this file? See media help.
The flight plan called for a crew rest period before leaving the module, but
Armstrong asked for this be moved to earlier in the evening, Houston time. When he
and Aldrin were ready to go outside, Eagle was depressurized, the hatch was opened,
and Armstrong made his way down the ladder.[124] At the bottom of the ladder
Armstrong said, "I'm going to step off the LM [lunar module] now". He turned and
set his left boot on the lunar surface at 02:56 UTC July 21, 1969,[125] then said,
"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."[126] The exact
timing of Armstrong's first step on the Moon is unclear.[127]

Armstrong prepared his famous epigram on his own.[128] In a post-flight press


conference, he said that he chose the words "just prior to leaving the LM."[129] In
a 1983 interview in Esquire magazine, he explained to George Plimpton: "I always
knew there was a good chance of being able to return to Earth, but I thought the
chances of a successful touch down on the moon surface were about even money—fifty–
fifty ... Most people don't realize how difficult the mission was. So it didn't
seem to me there was much point in thinking of something to say if we'd have to
abort landing."[128] In 2012, his brother Dean Armstrong said that Neil showed him
a draft of the line months before the launch.[130] Historian Andrew Chaikin, who
interviewed Armstrong in 1988 for his book A Man on the Moon, disputed that
Armstrong claimed to have conceived the line during the mission.[131]

Recordings of Armstrong's transmission do not provide evidence for the indefinite


article "a" before "man", though NASA and Armstrong insisted for years that static
obscured it. Armstrong stated he would never make such a mistake, but after
repeated listenings to recordings, he eventually conceded he must have dropped the
"a".[126] He later said he "would hope that history would grant me leeway for
dropping the syllable and understand that it was certainly intended, even if it was
not said—although it might actually have been".[132] There have since been claims
and counter-claims about whether acoustic analysis of the recording reveals the
presence of the missing "a";[126][133] Peter Shann Ford, an Australian computer
programmer, conducted a digital audio analysis and claims that Armstrong did say "a
man", but the "a" was inaudible due to the limitations of communications technology
of the time.[126][134][135] Ford and James R. Hansen, Armstrong's authorized
biographer, presented these findings to Armstrong and NASA representatives, who
conducted their own analysis.[136] Armstrong found Ford's analysis
"persuasive."[137][138] Linguists David Beaver and Mark Liberman wrote of their
skepticism of Ford's claims on the blog Language Log.[139] A 2016 peer-reviewed
study again concluded Armstrong had included the article.[140] NASA's transcript
continues to show the "a" in parentheses.[141]

When Armstrong made his proclamation, Voice of America was rebroadcast live by the
BBC and many other stations worldwide. An estimated 530 million people viewed the
event,[142] 20 percent out of a world population of approximately 3.6 billion.[143]
[144]

Q: Did you misspeak?

A: There isn't any way of knowing.

Q: Several sources say you did.

A: I mean, there isn't any way of my knowing. When I listen to the tape, I can't
hear the 'a', but that doesn't mean it wasn't there, because that was the fastest
VOX ever built. There was no mike-switch — it was a voice-operated key or VOX. In a
helmet you find you lose a lot of syllables. Sometimes a short syllable like 'a'
might not be transmitted. However, when I listen to it, I can't hear it. But the
'a' is implied, so I'm happy if they just put it in parentheses.

Omni, June 1982, p. 126


A grainy picture from behind of a human figure in white space suit and backpack
standing in front of the Lunar Module on the surface of the Moon. A landing leg is
visible and the U.S. flag on the descent stage.
Armstrong on the Moon
About 19 minutes after Armstrong's first step, Aldrin joined him on the surface,
becoming the second human to walk on the Moon. They began their tasks of
investigating how easily a person could operate on the lunar surface. Armstrong
unveiled a plaque commemorating the flight, and with Aldrin, planted the flag of
the United States. Although Armstrong had wanted the flag to be draped on the
flagpole,[145] it was decided to use a metal rod to hold it horizontally.[146]
However, the rod did not fully extend, leaving the flag with a slightly wavy
appearance, as if there were a breeze.[147] Shortly after the flag planting,
President Richard Nixon spoke to them by telephone from his office. He spoke for
about a minute, after which Armstrong responded for about thirty seconds.[148] In
the Apollo 11 photographic record, there are only five images of Armstrong partly
shown or reflected. The mission was planned to the minute, with the majority of
photographic tasks performed by Armstrong with the single Hasselblad camera.[149]

After helping to set up the Early Apollo Scientific Experiment Package, Armstrong
went for a walk to what is now known as East Crater, 65 yards (59 m) east of the
LM, the greatest distance traveled from the LM on the mission. His final task was
to remind Aldrin to leave a small package of memorial items to Soviet cosmonauts
Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov, and Apollo 1 astronauts Grissom, White and
Chaffee.[150] The Apollo 11 EVA lasted two and a half hours.[151] Each of the
subsequent five landings was allotted a progressively longer EVA period; the crew
of Apollo 17 spent over 22 hours exploring the lunar surface.[151] In a 2010
interview, Armstrong explained that NASA limited their Moon walk because they were
unsure how the space suits would cope with the Moon's extremely high temperature.
[152]

Return to Earth
The three crew members smiling at the President through the glass window of their
metal quarantine chamber. Below the window is the Presidential Seal, and above it
is stenciled on a wooden board "HORNET + 3". President Nixon is standing at a
microphone, also smiling. He has dark crinkly hair and a light gray suit.
The Apollo 11 crew and President Nixon during the post-mission quarantine period
After they re-entered the LM, the hatch was closed and sealed. While preparing for
liftoff, Armstrong and Aldrin discovered that, in their bulky space suits, they had
broken the ignition switch for the ascent engine; using part of a pen, they pushed
in the circuit breaker to start the launch sequence.[153] The Eagle then continued
to its rendezvous in lunar orbit, where it docked with Columbia, the command and
service module. The three astronauts returned to Earth and splashed down in the
Pacific Ocean, to be picked up by the USS Hornet.[154]

After being released from an 18-day quarantine to ensure that they had not picked
up any infections or diseases from the Moon, the crew was feted across the United
States and around the world as part of a 38-day "Giant Leap" tour.[155]

New York City ticker tape parade, August 13, 1969


The tour began on August 13, when the three astronauts spoke and rode in ticker-
tape parades in their honor in New York and Chicago, with an estimated six million
attendees.[156][157] On the same evening an official state dinner was held in Los
Angeles to celebrate the flight, attended by members of Congress, 44 governors, the
Chief Justice of the United States, and ambassadors from 83 nations. President
Nixon and Vice President Agnew presented each astronaut with a Presidential Medal
of Freedom.[156][158]

After the tour Armstrong took part in Bob Hope's 1969 USO show, primarily to
Vietnam.[159] In May 1970, Armstrong traveled to the Soviet Union to present a talk
at the 13th annual conference of the International Committee on Space Research;
after arriving in Leningrad from Poland, he traveled to Moscow where he met Premier
Alexei Kosygin. Armstrong was the first westerner to see the supersonic Tupolev Tu-
144 and was given a tour of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, which he
described as "a bit Victorian in nature".[160] At the end of the day, he was
surprised to view a delayed video of the launch of Soyuz 9 as it had not occurred
to Armstrong that the mission was taking place, even though Valentina Tereshkova
had been his host and her husband, Andriyan Nikolayev, was on board.[161]

Life after Apollo


A black-and-white image. Armstrong has his left side facing us. He is holding a
book and wearing civilian formal dress. A woman with bouffant hair is pinning a
badge to his lapel. Two men in Soviet uniform and one in civilian garb are
watching. On the wall in the background is a large photo of a cosmonaut. In the
foreground on a table is a model of two spacecraft docking.
Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, presenting a badge to Neil
Armstrong, Star City, USSR, June 1970
Teaching
Shortly after Apollo 11, Armstrong announced that he did not plan to fly in space
again.[162] He was appointed Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics for the
Office of Advanced Research and Technology at ARPA, served in the position for a
year, then resigned from it and NASA in 1971.[163] He accepted a teaching position
in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati,[164]
having chosen Cincinnati over other universities, including his alma mater Purdue,
because Cincinnati had a small aerospace department,[165] and said he hoped the
faculty there would not be annoyed that he came straight into a professorship with
only a USC master's degree.[166] He began his master's degree while stationed at
Edwards years before, and completed it after Apollo 11 by presenting a report on
various aspects of Apollo, instead of a thesis on the simulation of hypersonic
flight.[167]

At Cincinnati, Armstrong was University Professor of Aerospace Engineering. He took


a heavy teaching load, taught core classes, and created two graduate-level classes:
aircraft design and experimental flight mechanics. He was considered a good
teacher, and a tough grader. His research activities during this time did not
involve his work at NASA, as he did not want to give the appearance of favoritism;
he later regretted the decision. After teaching for eight years, Armstrong resigned
in 1980. When the university changed from an independent municipal university to a
state school, bureaucracy increased. He did not want to be a part of the faculty
collective bargaining group, so he decided to teach half-time. According to
Armstrong, he had the same amount of work but received half his salary. In 1979,
less than 10% of his income came from his university salary. Employees at the
university did not know why he left.[167]

NASA commissions
In 1970, after an explosion aboard Apollo 13 aborted its lunar landing, Armstrong
was part of Edgar Cortright's investigation of the mission. He produced a detailed
chronology of the flight. He determined that a 28-volt thermostat switch in an
oxygen tank, which was supposed to have been replaced with a 65-volt version, led
to the explosion. Cortright's report recommended the entire tank be redesigned at a
cost of $40 million. Many NASA managers, including Armstrong, opposed the
recommendation, since only the thermostat switch had caused the problem. They lost
the argument and the tanks were redesigned.[168]

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan asked Armstrong to join the Rogers Commission
investigating the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Armstrong was made
vice chairman of the commission, and held private interviews with contacts he had
developed over the years to help determine the cause of the disaster. He helped
limit the committee's recommendations to nine, believing that if there were too
many, NASA would not act on them.[169]

Michael Collins, President George W. Bush, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin during
celebrations of the 35th anniversary of the Apollo 11 flight, July 21, 2004
Armstrong was appointed to a fourteen-member commission by President Reagan to
develop a plan for American civilian spaceflight in the 21st century. The
commission was chaired by former NASA administrator Dr. Thomas O. Paine, with whom
Armstrong had worked during the Apollo program. The group published a book titled
Pioneering the Space Frontier: The Report on the National Commission on Space,
recommending a permanent lunar base by 2006, and sending people to Mars by 2015.
The recommendations were largely ignored, overshadowed by the Challenger disaster.
[170]

Armstrong and his wife attended the memorial service for the victims of the Space
Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, at the invitation of President George W. Bush.
[171]

Business activities
After Armstrong retired from NASA in 1971, he acted as a spokesman for several
businesses. The first company to successfully approach him was Chrysler, for whom
he appeared in advertising starting in January 1979. Armstrong thought they had a
strong engineering division, and they were in financial difficulty. He later acted
as a spokesman for other American companies, including General Time Corporation and
the Bankers Association of America.[172] He acted as a spokesman for only American
companies.[173]

In addition to his duties as a spokesman, he also served on the board of directors


of several companies. The first company board Armstrong joined was Gates Learjet,
chairing their technical committee. He flew their new and experimental jets and
even set a climb and altitude record for business jets. Armstrong became a member
of Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company's board in 1973. They were interested in
nuclear power and wanted to increase the company's technical competence. He served
on the board of Taft Broadcasting, also based in Cincinnati. Armstrong joined
Thiokol's board in 1989, after he was vice-chair of the Rogers Commission; the
Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed due to a problem with the Thiokol-
manufactured solid rocket boosters. When Armstrong left the University of
Cincinnati, he became the chairman of Cardwell International Ltd., a company that
manufactured drilling rigs. He served on additional aerospace boards, first United
Airlines in 1978, and later Eaton Corporation in 1980. He was asked to chair the
board of directors for a subsidiary of Eaton, AIL Systems. He chaired the board
through the company's 2000 merger with EDO Corporation, until his retirement in
2002.[174] [175]

North Pole expedition


In 1985, professional expedition leader Mike Dunn organized a trip to take men he
deemed the "greatest explorers" to the North Pole. The group included Armstrong,
Edmund Hillary, Hillary's son Peter, Steve Fossett, and Patrick Morrow. They
arrived at the Pole on April 6, 1985. Armstrong said he was curious to see what it
looked like from the ground, as he had seen it only from the Moon.[176] He did not
inform the media of the trip, preferring to keep it private.[177]

Public profile

Armstrong in 1999
Armstrong's family described him as a "reluctant American hero".[178][179][180] He
kept a low profile later in his life, leading to the belief that he was a recluse.
[181][182] Recalling Armstrong's humility, John Glenn, the first American to orbit
Earth, told CNN: "[Armstrong] didn't feel that he should be out huckstering
himself. He was a humble person, and that's the way he remained after his lunar
flight, as well as before."[183] Armstrong turned down most requests for interviews
and public appearances. Michael Collins said in his book Carrying the Fire that
when Armstrong moved to a dairy farm to become a college professor, it was like he
"retreated to his castle and pulled up the drawbridge". Armstrong found this
amusing, and said, "... those of us that live out in the hinterlands think that
people that live inside the Beltway are the ones that have the problems."[184]

Andrew Chaikin says in A Man on the Moon that Armstrong kept a low profile but was
not a recluse, citing his participation in interviews, advertisements for Chrysler,
and hosting a cable television series.[185] Between 1991 and 1993, he hosted First
Flights with Neil Armstrong, an aviation history documentary series on A&E.[184] In
2010, Armstrong voiced the character of Dr. Jack Morrow in Quantum Quest: A Cassini
Space Odyssey,[186] an animated educational sci-fi adventure film initiated by
JPL/NASA through a grant from Jet Propulsion Lab.[187]

Armstrong guarded the use of his name, image, and famous quote. When it was
launched in 1981, MTV wanted to use his quote in its station identification, with
the American flag replaced with the MTV logo, but he refused the use of his voice
and likeness.[188] He sued Hallmark Cards in 1994, when they used his name, and a
recording of the "one small step" quote, in a Christmas ornament without his
permission. The lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, which
Armstrong donated to Purdue.[189][190]

For many years, he wrote letters congratulating new Eagle Scouts on their
accomplishment, but decided to quit the practice in the 1990s because he felt the
letters should be written by people who knew the scout. (In 2003, he received 950
congratulation requests.) This contributed to the myth of his reclusiveness.[191]
Armstrong used to autograph everything except first day covers. Around 1993, he
found out his signatures were being sold online, and that most of them were
forgeries, and stopped giving autographs.[182]

Personal life
An elderly but fit-looking Armstrong in mid-speech. He is wearing a dark suit, a
white shirt and a pale blue tie. He holds up his left hand and touches the thumb to
the middle finger.
Armstrong speaking in February 2012 on the 50th anniversary of John Glenn's first
spaceflight
Some former astronauts, including Glenn and Harrison Schmitt, sought political
careers after leaving NASA. Armstrong was approached by groups from both the
Democratic and Republican parties, but declined the offers. He supported states'
rights and opposed the U.S. acting as the "world's policeman".[192]

When Armstrong applied at a local Methodist church to lead a Boy Scout troop in the
late 1950s, he gave his religious affiliation as "deist".[193] His mother later
said that his religious views caused her grief and distress in later life, as she
was more religious.[194] Upon his return from the Moon, Armstrong gave a speech in
front of the U.S. Congress in which he thanked them for giving him the opportunity
to see some of the "grandest views of the Creator".[195][196] In the early 1980s,
he was the subject of a hoax claiming that he converted to Islam after hearing the
call to prayer while walking on the Moon. Indonesian singer Suhaemi wrote a song
called "Gema Suara Adzan di Bulan" ("The Resonant Sound of the Call to Prayer on
the Moon") which described Armstrong's supposed conversion, and the song was widely
discussed by Jakarta news outlets in 1983.[197] Similar hoax stories were seen in
Egypt and Malaysia. In March 1983, the U.S. State Department responded by issuing a
message to embassies and consulates in Muslim countries saying that Armstrong had
not converted to Islam.[198] The hoax surfaced occasionally for the next three
decades. Part of the confusion arose from the similarity between the names of the
country of Lebanon, which has a majority Muslim population, and Armstrong's
longtime residence in Lebanon, Ohio.[198]

In 1972, Armstrong visited the Scottish town of Langholm, the traditional seat of
Clan Armstrong. He was made the first freeman of the burgh, and happily declared
the town his home.[199] To entertain the crowd, the Justice of the Peace read from
an unrepealed archaic 400-year-old law that required him to hang any Armstrong
found in the town.[200]

Armstrong flew light aircraft for pleasure. He enjoyed gliders and before the moon
flight had earned a gold badge with two diamonds from the International Gliding
Commission. He continued to fly engineless aircraft well into his 70's.[201]

While working on his farm in November 1978, Armstrong jumped off the back of his
grain truck and caught his wedding ring in its wheel, tearing the tip off his left
ring finger. He collected the severed tip, packed it in ice, and had surgeons
reattach it at the Jewish Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky.[202] In February 1991,
he suffered a mild heart attack while skiing with friends at Aspen, Colorado.[203]

Armstrong and his first wife, Janet, separated in 1990 and divorced in 1994 after
38 years of marriage.[204][205] He met his second wife, Carol Held Knight, at a
golf tournament in 1992, when they were seated together at breakfast. She said
little to Armstrong, but he called her two weeks later to ask what she was doing.
She replied that she was cutting down a cherry tree, and he arrived at her house 35
minutes later to help. They were married in Ohio on June 12, 1994, and had a second
ceremony at San Ysidro Ranch in California. They lived in Indian Hill, Ohio.[206]
[207] Through his marriage to Carol, he was the father-in-law of future New York
Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen.

In May 2005, Armstrong became involved in a legal dispute with Mark Sizemore, his
barber of 20 years. After cutting Armstrong's hair, Sizemore sold some of it to a
collector for $3,000 without Armstrong's knowledge.[208] Armstrong threatened legal
action against Sizemore unless he returned the hair or donated the proceeds to a
charity of Armstrong's choosing. Sizemore, unable to retrieve the hair, donated the
proceeds to charity.[209][210]

Illness and death


A color image showing a black-and-white photo of a young boy. The picture stands on
a small round table beside a vase of flowers containing a U.S. flag.
Photograph of Armstrong as a boy at his family memorial service in Indian Hill,
Ohio, near Cincinnati, on August 31, 2012
Armstrong underwent bypass surgery on August 7, 2012, to relieve coronary artery
disease.[211] Although he was reportedly recovering well,[212] he developed
complications in the hospital and died on August 25, in Cincinnati, Ohio, aged 82.
[213][214] The White House released a statement in which President Obama described
Armstrong as "among the greatest of American heroes—not just of his time, but of
all time".[215][216] It went on to say that Armstrong had carried the aspirations
of the United States' citizens and had delivered "a moment of human achievement
that will never be forgotten."[217]

A squad of eight U.S. Navy personnel dressed in all-white uniforms hold a U.S. flag
over a casket on the deck of a ship. The casket is carried on a dark wood plinth
with several gold-colored badges. Much of the foreground is obscured by a senior
officer with his back to us. Beyond is the sea.
Armstrong's burial at sea on September 14, 2012
Armstrong's family released a statement describing him as a "reluctant American
hero [who had] served his nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and
astronaut ... While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his
remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the
world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and
push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves. For those
who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his
example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside
on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and
give him a wink."[218] It prompted many responses, including the Twitter hashtag
"#WinkAtTheMoon".[219]

Buzz Aldrin called Armstrong "a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew",
and said he was disappointed that they would not be able to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the Moon landing together in 2019.[220][221] Michael Collins said,
"He was the best, and I will miss him terribly."[222][223] NASA Administrator
Charles F. Bolden, Jr. said, "As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong
will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a
world beyond our own".[224][225]

External video
video icon Memorial service for Armstrong, Washington National Cathedral, September
13, 2012, C-SPAN
A tribute was held for Armstrong on September 13, at Washington National Cathedral,
whose Space Window depicts the Apollo 11 mission and holds a sliver of Moon rock
amid its stained-glass panels.[226] In attendance were Armstrong's Apollo 11
crewmates, Collins and Aldrin; Gene Cernan, the Apollo 17 mission commander and
last man to walk on the Moon; and former senator and astronaut John Glenn, the
first American to orbit the Earth. In his eulogy, Charles Bolden praised
Armstrong's "courage, grace, and humility". Cernan recalled Armstrong's low-fuel
approach to the Moon: "When the gauge says empty, we all know there's a gallon or
two left in the tank!" Diana Krall sang the song "Fly Me to the Moon". Collins led
prayers. David Scott spoke, possibly for the first time, about an incident during
their Gemini 8 mission: minutes before the hatch was to be sealed, a small chip of
dried glue fell into the latch of his harness and prevented it from being buckled,
threatening to abort the mission. Armstrong then called on Conrad to solve the
problem, which he did, and the mission proceeded. "That happened because Neil
Armstrong was a team player—he always worked on behalf of the team."[226]
Congressman Bill Johnson from Armstrong's home state of Ohio led calls for
President Barack Obama to authorize a state funeral in Washington D.C. Throughout
his lifetime, Armstrong shunned publicity and rarely gave interviews. Mindful that
Armstrong would have objected to a state funeral, his family opted to have a
private funeral in Cincinnati.[227] On September 14, Armstrong's cremated remains
were scattered in the Atlantic Ocean from the USS Philippine Sea.[228] Flags were
flown at half-staff on the day of Armstrong's funeral.[229]

In July 2019, after observations of the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing, The
New York Times reported on details of a medical malpractice suit Armstrong's family
had filed against Mercy Health–Fairfield Hospital, where he died. When Armstrong
appeared to be recovering from his bypass surgery, nurses removed the wires
connected to his temporary pacemaker. He began to bleed internally and his blood
pressure dropped. Doctors took him to the hospital's catheterization laboratory,
and only later began operating. Two of the three physicians who reviewed the
medical files during the lawsuit called this a serious error, saying surgery should
have begun immediately; experts the Times talked to, while qualifying their
judgement by noting that they were unable to review the specific records in the
case, said that taking a patient in those circumstances to the operating room
generally gave them the highest chance of survival.[230]

The family ultimately settled for $6 million in 2014. Letters included with the 93
pages of documents sent to the Times by an unknown individual[231] show that his
sons intimated to the hospital, through their lawyers, that they might discuss what
happened to their father publicly at the 45th anniversary observances in 2014. The
hospital, fearing the bad publicity that would result from being accused of
negligently causing the death of a revered figure such as Armstrong, agreed to pay
as long as the family never spoke about the suit or the settlement.[230]
Armstrong's wife, Carol, was not a party to the lawsuit. She reportedly felt that
her husband would have been opposed to taking legal action.[232]

Legacy

Armstrong gives an acceptance speech after being inducted into the Naval Aviation
Hall of Honor at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida
When Pete Conrad of Apollo 12 became the third man to walk on the Moon, on November
19, 1969, his first words referenced Armstrong. The shorter of the two, when Conrad
stepped from the LM onto the surface he proclaimed "Whoopie! Man, that may have
been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me."[233]

Armstrong received many honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of
Freedom (with distinction) from President Nixon,[156][234] the Cullum Geographical
Medal from the American Geographical Society,[235] and the Collier Trophy from the
National Aeronautic Association (1969);[236] the NASA Distinguished Service
Medal[237] and the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy (1970);[238] the Sylvanus
Thayer Award by the United States Military Academy (1971);[239] the Congressional
Space Medal of Honor from President Jimmy Carter (1978);[84] the Wright Brothers
Memorial Trophy from the National Aeronautic Association (2001);[240] and a
Congressional Gold Medal (2011).[241]

Armstrong was elected as member into the National Academy of Engineering in 1978
for contributions to aerospace engineering, scientific knowledge, and exploration
of the universe as an experimental test pilot and astronaut.[242]

Armstrong and his Apollo 11 crewmates were the 1999 recipients of the Langley Gold
Medal from the Smithsonian Institution.[243] On April 18, 2006, he received NASA's
Ambassador of Exploration Award.[244] The Space Foundation named Armstrong as a
recipient of its 2013 General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award.[245]
Armstrong was also inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor,[246][247] the
International Space Hall of Fame,[248] National Aviation Hall of Fame, and the
United States Astronaut Hall of Fame.[249][250] He was awarded his Naval Astronaut
badge in a ceremony on board the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower on March
10, 2010, in a ceremony attended by Lovell and Cernan.[251]

The astronauts are all elderly but standing straight. Aldrin wears a dark suit,
Collins a dark sport coat and grey pants, and Armstrong a beige suit. The President
is at the right. He wears a dark suit. He has medium-dark skin and is talking to
Armstrong and raising his left hand. Armstrong is smiling.
President Barack Obama poses with the Apollo 11 crew on the 40th anniversary of the
Apollo 11 lunar landing, July 20, 2009: Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil
Armstrong
The lunar crater Armstrong, 31 miles (50 km) from the Apollo 11 landing site, and
asteroid 6469 Armstrong are named in his honor.[252] There are more than a dozen
elementary, middle and high schools named for Armstrong in the United States,[253]
and many places around the world have streets, buildings, schools, and other places
named for him and/or Apollo.[254] The Armstrong Air and Space Museum, in
Armstrong's hometown of Wapakoneta,[255] and the Neil Armstrong Airport in New
Knoxville, Ohio, are named after him.[256]

Purdue University announced in October 2004 that its new engineering building would
be named Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering;[257] the building was dedicated on
October 27, 2007, during a ceremony at which Armstrong was joined by fourteen other
Purdue astronauts.[258] The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center was renamed the NASA
Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center in 2014.[259] In September 2012, the U.S.
Navy announced that the first Armstrong-class vessel would be named RV Neil
Armstrong. Delivered to the Navy on September 23, 2015, it is a modern
oceanographic research platform supporting a wide range of activities by academic
groups.[260] In 2019, the College of Engineering at Purdue University celebrated
the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's walk on the Moon by launching the Neil
Armstrong Distinguished Visiting Fellows Program, which brings highly accomplished
scholars and practitioners to the college to catalyze collaborations with faculty
and students.[261]

External video
video icon Presentation by James Hansen on First Man, November 9, 2005, C-SPAN
Armstrong's authorized biography, First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong, was
published in 2005. For many years, he turned down biography offers from authors
such as Stephen Ambrose and James A. Michener, but agreed to work with James R.
Hansen after reading one of Hansen's other biographies.[262] He recalled his
initial concerns about the Apollo 11 mission, when he had believed there was only a
50% chance of landing on the Moon. "I was elated, ecstatic and extremely surprised
that we were successful".[263] A film adaptation of the book, starring Ryan Gosling
and directed by Damien Chazelle, was released in October 2018.[264]

In July 2018, Armstrong's sons put his collection of memorabilia up for sale,
including his Boy Scout cap, and various flags and medals flown on his space
missions. A series of auctions was held on November 1 to 3, 2018, that realized
$5,276,320. As of July 2019, the auction sales have totaled $16.7 million.[232] Two
fragments of wood from the propeller and four pieces of fabric from the wing of the
1903 Wright Flyer that Armstrong took to the Moon fetched between $112,500 and
$275,000 each.[265][266] Armstrong's wife, Carol, has not put any of his
memorabilia up for sale.[232]

Armstrong donated his papers to Purdue. Along with posthumous donations by his
widow Carol, the collection consists of over 450 boxes of material. In May 2019,
she donated two 25-by-24-inch (640 by 610 mm) pieces of fabric from the Wright
Flyer, along with his correspondence related to them.[267]

Ohio's 50 State quarter depicts Armstrong and the Wright brothers' Wright Flyer III
In a 2010 Space Foundation survey, Armstrong was ranked as the #1 most popular
space hero;[268] and in 2013, Flying magazine ranked him #1 on its list of 51
Heroes of Aviation.[269] The press often asked Armstrong for his views on the
future of spaceflight. In 2005, he said that a human mission to Mars would be
easier than the lunar challenge of the 1960s. In 2010, he made a rare public
criticism of the decision to cancel the Ares I launch vehicle and the Constellation
Moon landing program.[270] In an open letter also signed by fellow Apollo veterans
Lovell and Cernan, he noted, "For The United States, the leading space faring
nation for nearly half a century, to be without carriage to low Earth orbit and
with no human exploration capability to go beyond Earth orbit for an indeterminate
time into the future, destines our nation to become one of second or even third
rate stature".[271] On November 18, 2010, aged 80, he said in a speech during the
Science & Technology Summit in the Hague, Netherlands, that he would offer his
services as commander on a mission to Mars if he were asked.[272]

The planetarium at Altoona Area High School in Altoona, Pennsylvania is named after
Neil Armstrong and is home to a Space Race museum.[273]

Armstrong was named the class exemplar for the Class of 2019 at the U.S. Air Force
Academy.[274]

See also
Apollo 11 in popular culture
Cueva de los Tayos
History of aviation
List of spaceflight records
Society of Experimental Test Pilots
The Astronaut Monument
Notes
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