Neil Armstrong

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.

Apollo 11 was a major U.S. 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.

[18] 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.

[21] 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.

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.

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 1937 Walt Disney film, including "Someday My Prince Will Come"; the second was titled The Land of Egelloc ("college" spelled backward), with music from Gilbert and Sullivan but new lyrics.

[46] 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.

[52][53] 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".

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.

With great difficulty, Thompson made it to Nellis, where a strong crosswind caused a hard landing and the left main tire suffered a blowout.

[65] 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.

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).

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.

[97] 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.

[129] The flight plan called for a crew rest period before leaving the module, but Armstrong asked for this to be moved to earlier in the evening, Houston time.

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.

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.

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.

[166] 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.

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.

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".

"[189] 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.

[189] In 2010, Armstrong voiced the character of Dr. Jack Morrow in Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey,[191] an animated educational sci-fi adventure film initiated by JPL/NASA through a grant from Jet Propulsion Lab.

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.

"[227][228] NASA Administrator Charles Bolden 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".

[229][230] 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.

[234] 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.

[216] The family ultimately settled for $6 million in 2014. Letters included with the 93 pages of documents sent to the Times by an unknown person[235] 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.

[271] 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 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
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)
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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 .
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
Armstrong lands the Lunar Module Eagle on the Moon, July 20, 1969.
Armstrong describes the lunar surface.
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
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 Richard Nixon during the post-mission quarantine period
New York City ticker tape parade, August 13, 1969
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 , Soviet Union, June 1970
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 in 1999
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, six months before his death, on the 50th anniversary of John Glenn 's first spaceflight
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
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 gives an acceptance speech after being inducted into the Naval Aviation Hall of Honor at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida .
The astronauts are all elderly but standing straight. Aldrin wears a dark suit, Collins a dark sport coat and gray 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.
Ohio's state quarter depicts Armstrong and the Wright brothers ' Wright Flyer III .