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Neil Armstrong

Personal Profile

Neil Armstrong
  • Birth Name:
    Neil Alden Armstrong
  • Date of Birth:
    August 5, 1930
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Leo
  • Place of Birth:
    Wapakoneta, Ohio, U.S.
  • Height:
    5' 11"
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Nationality:
    American
  • Education:

    Purdue University

    University of Southern California

     

Family

Neil Armstrong
  • Father:
    Stephen Koenig Armstrong
  • Mother:
    Viola Louise Engel
  • Spouse:
    Janet Shearon - divorced
    Carol Held Knight - present
  • Son:
    Eric, Mark
  • Daughter:
    Karen

Career

Neil Armstrong

Trivia

Neil Armstrong
  • In 1962, however, sensing that the days of the projected Dynasoar were numbered (it was canceled in 1963), Armstrong decided to become an astronaut and applied for selection and training.
  • In September 1962 he became America's first civilian astronaut and moved to Houston, Texas, to begin training.
  • Armstrong's first flight assignment as an astronaut was as backup, or alternate, command pilot for Gordon Cooper of the Gemini 5 mission.
  • Armstrong continued his specialized training on the Gemini spacecraft and was selected as the command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission.
  • With copilot David Scott he was launched from Cape Kennedy (now Cape Canaveral), Florida, on March 16, 1966.
  • The Gemini 8 achieved orbit and docked as planned with the Agena vehicle, but shortly afterward the vehicle went out of control.
  • Armstrong detached his craft from the Agena, corrected the malfunction, and brought the Gemini down in the Pacific Ocean only 1.1 nautical miles from the planned landing point.
  • His cool and professional conduct made a strong impression on the officials of the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston.
  • Armstrong continued his intensive training on the Gemini spacecraft and was selected as the backup command pilot for the Gemini 11 mission, which was flown, however, by astronauts Charles Conrad, Jr., and Richard Gordon.
  • As the training for the Apollo program got under way, it was obvious that Armstrong rated high among those being considered for the important role of being the first American on the moon. He undertook his training program with the same cool, analytical, and almost detached approach that had always marked his attitude to flying.

Quotes

Neil Armstrong
  • "Well, I think we tried very hard not to be overconfident, because when you get overconfident, that's when something snaps up and bites you."
  • "We had hundreds of thousands of people all dedicated to doing the perfect job, and I think they did about as well as anyone could ever have expected."
  • "This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
  • "The one thing I regret was that my work required an enormous amount of my time, and a lot of travel."
  • "The Eagle has landed."
  • "Science has not yet mastered prophecy. We predict too much for the next year and yet far too little for the next 10."
  • "Research is creating new knowledge."
  • "Pilots take no special joy in walking. Pilots like flying."
  • "Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand."
  • "It's a brilliant surface in that sunlight. The horizon seems quite close to you because the curvature is so much more pronounced than here on earth. It's an interesting place to be. I recommend it."
View all Quotes: Neil Armstrong

Biography

Neil Armstrong
Last Updated: Monday, September 14, 2009

Neil ArmstrongBorn on August 5, 1930 on his grandparents’ farm in Auglaize County, Ohio, Neil Armstrong was the eldest of three children of Stephen and Viola Engel Armstrong. His family moved several times before they settled in Wapakoneta when Neil was 13. Neil fell in love with airplanes at the age of 6 when he took his first flight, in a Ford Tri-Motor “Tin Goose.” He worked at numerous jobs around town and at the nearby airport so he could start taking flying lessons at the age of 15 and on his 16th birthday he was issued a pilot's license. He hadn't even received his automobile license yet.

Always fascinated by planes and flying, Armstrong built a small wind tunnel in the basement of his home where he performed experiments on model planes he built.  After he graduated from Blume High School in 1947, Neil entered Purdue University with a US Navy scholarship. He began work on an aeronautical engineering degree, but in 1949, he was called to active duty with the Navy. He won his jet wings at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida at the age of 20, the youngest pilot in his squadron.

Neil ArmstrongHe was sent to Korea in 1950 and flew 78 combat missions in Navy Panther jets winning three Air Medals. Before the war was over, Armstrong returned to Purdue to complete his bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1955. Armstrong joined NACA, (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), NASA's predecessor, as a research pilot at the Lewis Laboratory in Cleveland and later transferred to the NACA High Speed Flight Station at Edwards AFB, California. He was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed aircraft, including the 4,000 mph X-15.

As a test pilot, Neil Armstrong made 7 flights in the X-15 aircraft. He was able to attain an altitude of 63,198 meters (207,500 feet).  In 1962, Armstrong was transferred to astronaut status. He served as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission, launched March 16, 1966, and along with David Scott, performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space by mating his Gemini 8 with an uninhabited Agena rocket.

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