Neil
A. Armstrong commanded the Gemini 8 mission and became the first human to
walk on the moon as commander of Apollo 11.
He was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on August 5, 1930. He received a Bachelor
of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University and a
Master of Science degree from the University of Southern California.
Armstrong joined the Navy and flew as a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952. In
1955 he joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics' Lewis Flight
Propulsion Laboratory and later transferred to the High Speed Flight Station
at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as a civilian aeronautical test research
pilot for NACA and NASA. Among the aircraft he tested was the X-15 rocket
plane.
He was selected as an astronaut by NASA in 1962. On March 16, 1966, Armstrong
and Dave Scott were launched in Gemini 8 to conduct the first linkup in space,
docking with an Agena target satellite. The linkup was successful, but after
a short time, the astronauts reported their craft was spinning out of control.
They disengaged from the Agena, but the tumbling continued. One of 16 Gemini
jet thrusters was stuck open and was spewing fuel into space, imparting the
roll motion. Unable to stop the spinning with the main thrusters the astronauts
activated a second set of 16 jets intended for use on reentry and after 30
minutes stabilized the spacecraft. Mission Control ordered Armstrong and Scott
to cut the flight short and splashed down in a contingency recovery area in
the western Pacific. Missed was a planned space walk by Scott.
On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Mike Collins
departed for the moon. Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin landed their
Lunar Module in the moon's Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong, and then Aldrin,
stepped onto the surface and became the first humans to leave their footprints
in the lunar dust. They explored the surface and gathered moon rocks for over
two hours. The next day they fired off the surface and rejoined Collins in
the orbiting mother ship.
Armstrong left NASA in 1971 and became a professor of aeronautical engineering
at the University of Cincinnati, where he taught until 1981. He has since
been in the business world and he currently is chairman of CTA, Inc.
Neil Armstrong was inducted into the Astronaut Hall
of Fame on March 19, 1993.
