[1] Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced on September 24, 2012, that the research vessel was to be named after Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon and a former naval aviator who served in the Korean War.

[4] It was launched on 29 March 2014, christened by Carol Armstrong,[5] passed sea trials 7 August 2015 and delivered to the Navy on 23 September 2015.

A sister ship, RV Sally Ride (AGOR-28), was launched 9 August 2014 to be operated by Scripps Institution of Oceanography under a renewable charter-party agreement.

The ship is powered by a multi-drive low-voltage diesel electric propulsion system for efficiency and lower maintenance and fuel costs.

[7] Neil Armstrong has more than 130 square meters of adjustable lab space, supplied by a flash evaporation desalination system.