25, 2012, after complications in the wake of heart surgery. Goddard Memorial Trophy, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the Harmon International Aviation Trophy.Īrmstrong died at age 82 on Aug. His decorations include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the Explorers Club Medal, the Robert H. In 1986, Armstrong served as vice chairman of the presidential commission that investigated the 1986 Challenger disaster. Shortly after, a jammed rocket thruster on the Gemini spacecraft sent the capsule into a wild tumble and only cool thinking by Armstrong and Scott prevented a disaster.Īfter leaving NASA, Armstrong taught aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati from 1971 to 1979 and then served as chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation Inc., in Charlottesville, Virginia, between 19. He and astronaut David Scott carried out the first orbital docking, linking up with an Agena target satellite. Neil is a classy guy, and I can't offhand think of a better choice to be first man on the moon."Īrmstrong demonstrated that calm under pressure during his flight as commander of the two-man Gemini 8 mission in 1966. Armstrong flew the X-15 rocket plane before joining NASA, soaring to the edge of space at speeds approaching 4,000 mph.Ĭollins described Armstrong as a man who "savors" decisions, "rolling them around on his tongue like a fine wine and swallowing at the very last moment. He flew 78 combat missions for the Navy during the Korean War and then spent seven years as a test pilot, including pioneering flights in the X-15 rocket plane that carried him to the edge of space. He attended Purdue University, earning a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering, and then moved on to the University of Southern California where he earned a master's degree. 5, 1930, Armstrong earned his pilot's license before he was old enough to legally drive a car. Circumstance put me in that particular role."īorn in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on Aug. "I was just chosen to command that flight. "I wasn't chosen to be first," Armstrong said. Given the crush of training, the pressure to pull off a daring mission in the glare of international publicity and the stratospheric fame that came after their return to Earth, it's not surprising, perhaps, that Collins described the trio as "amiable strangers" in his well-regarded memoir "Carrying the Fire." The Apollo 11 crew, left to right: mission commander Neil Armstrong, command module pilot Mike Collins and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin. in orbital mechanics from MIT and helped perfect the rendezvous techniques needed by Apollo crews.Ĭollins, one of the most articulate astronauts, was an equally accomplished pilot who thoughtfully accepted his role as the man who would stay behind in lunar orbit while his more famous crewmates descended to the surface. Aldrin, like Armstrong a Korean War fighter pilot, earned a Ph.D. And they all had very different personalities.Īrmstrong was the consummate test pilot who flew the fabled X-15 rocket plane to the edge of space and cooly overcame in-flight emergencies. All three were accomplished spaceflight veterans, top-notch pilots and experts on Apollo's myriad systems. Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong, lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin and command module pilot Mike Collins were assigned to the first moon-landing mission in January 1969, six months before launch.
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