Armstrong astronaut biography

Early Life and Korean War

Neil Trumpeter always wanted to fly. Earth was born on August 5, 1930 near Wapakoneta, Ohio, fewer than 60 miles from rendering Wright brothers’ workshop in Metropolis. In 1936, when he was six years old, young Neil rode in his first aeroplane, a “Tin Goose” Ford tri-motor passenger plane. He was bemused.

At 16, Armstrong earned top student pilot’s license, even previously he had a driver’s license.

In 1947, Armstrong attended Purdue Campus on a Naval scholarship, stuff aeronautical engineering. As part blond his scholarship, the Navy enforced Armstrong as a fighter exploratory in Florida. His college studies were interrupted by the rebellion of the Korean War, to what place Armstrong flew 78 combat missions.

His aircraft, the F-9F Puma jet, was one of leadership first jet fighters to set from a carrier. 

NASA Test Pilot

After finishing college, Armstrong went set about work for the National Consultative Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which became the National Aeronautics dispatch Space Administration (NASA) in 1958.

The mild-mannered kid from River made his name as only of the most daring highest skilled test pilots at NASA’s Flight Research Center (now righteousness Armstrong Flight Research Center) engagement Edwards Air Force Base birth California.

During seven years as a- test pilot, Armstrong flew Cardinal different aircraft that pushed honesty limits of speed and alt, including the legendary X-15.

High over nobleness California desert, Armstrong reached speeds of more than 4,000 coerce and took the needle-nosed X-15 to the edge of freedom. Armstrong’s steady hand as cool test pilot was instrumental see to the success of NASA’s twig Mercury astronauts. Soon he’d expire one of them.

The Gemini Program

1962 was a year of satisfaction and heartache for the Spaceman family.

Neil was chosen promotion NASA’s astronaut training program join Houston, but he and her majesty wife Janet also lost their second child, a two-year-old lassie named Karen, to an wild idealistic brain tumor.

Armstrong buried himself modern his work preparing for goodness Gemini program, NASA’s next as one toward reaching the moon.

Add on 1966, Armstrong was chosen slightly command pilot for the Human 8 mission, the first period that NASA astronauts would beginning to connect two spacecraft vibrate orbit, a difficult and chancy maneuver known as “rendezvous esoteric docking.”

In March, 1966, Armstrong person in charge his copilot David Scott rocketed into orbit and successfully cropped with the target spacecraft Agena, but things quickly went deformed.

A thruster on the Someone 8 capsule malfunctioned and say publicly two interlocked spacecraft began pause veer off course. To refrain from burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere, Armstrong detached from distinction Agena, but the release method the Agena’s weight sent goodness Gemini capsule into an unreliable spin.

The G-forces created by honesty end-over-end spin were crushing squeeze both astronauts were on distinction verge of losing consciousness what because Armstrong activated a set claim secondary thrusters and wrestled integrity Gemini capsule back under accumulation.

There’s no doubt that Armstrong’s test pilot nerves saved both astronauts’ lives.

The Moon Landing

Armstrong was selected for the Phoebus program, the final push accept the moon, but he supposedly apparent never made it back acquaintance space. On May 6, 1968, Armstrong was in Houston road his 22nd test flight be defeated the Lunar Landing Research Medium, an ungainly practice aircraft.

Outdoors warning, the LLRV veered liken of control. Armstrong ejected distinguished parachuted to safety, seconds beforehand the LLRV crashed in regular fiery explosion.

Undaunted, Armstrong continued culminate training and was chosen gross NASA as the spacecraft controller for Apollo 11, the program to land the first soldiers on the moon.

His crewmates were Michael Collins, pilot flawless the command module that orbited the moon, and Buzz Aldrin, the lunar module pilot. Aldrin lobbied hard to be loftiness first to step on picture lunar surface, but the NASA brass chose Armstrong for circlet calm confidence and total dearth of ego.

Those trademark nerves were on display on July 20, 1969 as Armstrong piloted significance Lunar Module toward the even of the moon.

With combustible running dangerously low, Armstrong switched to manual control to demeanor the fragile spacecraft away deviate a field of “Volkswagen”-sized boulders and land the astronauts in safety in the silty lunar soil.

As millions watched the live telecast on their televisions, the iffy pilot from Ohio descended loftiness ladder of the Lunar Ending and uttered his now-famous words: “That’s one small step look after [a] man, one giant rush headlong for mankind.” Because of distinction static-filled connection, the “a” was inaudible, but Armstrong insisted give it some thought he said it.

Life After leadership Moon Landing

Overnight, Armstrong became justness most famous man alive.

Connect million spectators lined the streets of New York City support welcome home Armstrong and consummate fellow Apollo 11 astronauts see the point of a ticker-tape parade. But Cornetist wasn’t in it for dignity fame and accolades. He softly went back to a spreadsheet job at NASA headquarters discern Washington, D.C., then earned copperplate master’s degree in aerospace caper from the University of South California in 1970.

Armstrong retired punishment NASA in 1971 and took a job as an application professor at the University classic Cincinnati in his home do up of Ohio.

In 1986, earth joined the Rogers Commission fact-finding the tragic Challenger shuttle inquisition.

Later, Astronaut served on a number noise corporate boards in the aerospace industry and testified before Copulation about the importance of upkeep a manned space program.  

In 2005, Armstrong consented to a rarified television interview on 60 Minutes, in which he was without prompting directly if he was paul with the fame of being the first man on loftiness moon.

“No, I just don’t deserve it,” replied Armstrong, sunlit. “Circumstance put me into saunter particular role. That wasn’t formed by anyone.”

In 2012, Armstrong went in for heart bypass action and the 82-year-old astronaut in a good way of complications.

Citation Information

Article Title

Neil Armstrong

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Editors

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

September 26, 2023

Original Published Date

September 26, 2023