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Neil Alden Armstrong (born August 5, 1930) is an American test pilot, astronaut, and the first person to walk on the Moon.
Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio and served in the Korean War as a jet fighter pilot for the U.S. Navy. He attended Purdue University, where he was a member of two fraternities, Phi Delta Theta and Kappa Kappa Psi, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1955. Armstrong then became a civilian test pilot for NASA and piloted the 4,000 mph (6,400 km/h) X-15 rocket plane. Armstrong was selected by NASA as an astronaut in 1962. From 1960 to 1962 he was a pilot involved in the cancelled U.S. Air Force Dyna-Soar orbital glider program.
He commanded Gemini 8, which achieved the first docking of two orbiting spacecraft, in 1966, but aborted shortly after docking, because of malfunctioning maneuvering thrusters. He served as commander of the backup crew for the Apollo 8 lunar orbital mission in 1968.
In 1969, Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 lunar landing mission.
He narrowly escaped death during training in the crash of a lunar landing research vehicle (LLRV) on May 6, 1968 (see List of space disasters.) During the actual mission, he took manual control of the Lunar Module (LM) Eagle and piloted it away from a rocky area to a safe landing. His first words from the Moon were: "Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed." Several hours later he climbed out of the LM and became the first person to walk on the Moon and said:
"That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."
(hear original audio – .wav 260 kb)
The intended article "a" is not heard in the recording, was not included in the quotes by the press at the time and is usually quoted without it. This could have been cut off by the voice activated microphone Armstrong was using.
After retirement from NASA, Armstrong taught engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He also served on the Presidential commission which investigated the Challenger accident.
He formerly lived in Turtlecreek Township, Wapokenata, Ohio, but is currently a resident of Indian Hill, Ohio.
There is a small crater on the Moon near the Apollo 11 landing site that is named in his honor.
As a youth, Neil Armstrong attained the rank of Eagle Scout as a member of the Boy Scouts of America.
He also has a TV star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood and Vine. |
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