Neil Armstrong - SpeedyLook encyclopedia

Biography

Neil Armstrong, born in the rural Midwest, is the elder one of a family of 3 children. It is interested in the Aviation as of its more young age, initially as a practitioner model making, then while passing its pilot's license during the summer 1946.

As from 1950, Armstrong took part in the Guerre of Korea as pilot of the US Navy, on US Essex. Of return to the United States, it integrated the Purdue university and accepted, in 1955, the diploma of Bachelor off Science in genius Aéronautique.

Armstrong became then civil test pilot on the air base of Edwards (California) for NACA (become NASA in 1958).

It carried out a total of seven flights on North American X-15, reaching an altitude of 63 km (207 500 feet) and a speed of 6.615 km/h (Mach 5,74) on board X-15-1. It left its station with more than 2.450 hours of flight on more than 200 different apparatuses (of which jets, helicopters, sailplanes). From 1960 to 1962 it also took part in the program of orbital sailplane Dyna Soar.

Career of astronaut

In 1962, Armstrong was selected by NASA in its second group of astronauts. In March 1966, it took the command of the capsule Gemini 8, at the sides of David Scott for what was going to be the first mooring of two space engines in orbit. The vehicle targets was a machine not inhabited Agena launched a few minutes before the capsule of Armstrong and Scott. Following a dysfunction on board Gemini, the two vehicles had to separate prematurely to allow a return to earth in urgency of the two men.

Armstrong escaped from little from death, on May 6th, 1968, at the time of the crash landing of the LLRV (experimental lunar undercarriage) which it controlled.

In July 1969, Armstrong ordered the mission Apollo 11, which also included/understood Edwin " Buzz" Aldrin (pilot of the lunar module) and Michael Hakes (pilot of the module of order). The mission Apollo 11 left the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 16th, 1969 to be posed carefully four days later, on July 20th with 20:17 UTC, on the moon, in the “sea of Peace”. A billion human beings follow the exploit in real-time on their TV screens. Lunar module Eagle, Neil Armstrong announces: “Houston, here the base of Peace. The Eagle landed… ”.

Six hours after the LEM had been posed, in the morning of July 21st, 1969, Neil Armstrong goes down from there: with 2:56 min 15 S UTC, it is the first land one to pose the foot on the moon. At this time, it déclare :

“ That' S one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. ” (“It is a small step for the man, but a jump of giant for humanity. ”).

According to the daily newspaper Houston Chronicle dated September 30th, 2006, the sentence pronounced by Armstrong contains the indefinite article “has” before man what would thus give:

“ That' S one small step for has man, one giant leap for mankind. ” (“It is a small step for a man, but a jump of giant for humanity. ”).

The transcription made on the site of NASA of the words of Neil Armstrong, puts as for it “has” has man between brackets.

The astronaut is joined fifteen minutes later by Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and with him plants the spangled banner on the Moon. In the sky, the Apollo capsule continues to it tower of the Moon with on its board the third man of the crew, Michael Collins. Neil Armstrong had been indicated to be the first to be gone on the Moon because he was a civilian and not a soldier like his two companions.

Armstrong could press the lunar ground during 2 hours 31 minutes, lasted during which he traversed approximately 250 Mr. Armstrong and Aldrin deployed several measuring instruments and carried out the collection of 22 kg moon rocks. The departure for the Earth took place the same day and the sea landing in the Pacifique, on July 24th. A little later the international astronomical Union baptized name of Armstrong a small crater located close to the place where Apollo 11 had been posed, as well as the Astéroïde n° 6469.

Later career

Armstrong joined the Université of Cincinnati of 1971 to 1979, as aeronautical genious professor. It was named vice-president of the board of inquiry into the explosion of the Space shuttle Challenger, in 1986. From 1992 to 2002, year of its retirement, he was president of the company of avionics GARLIC Technologies.

The first authorized biography devoted to Armstrong was published (in English only, by James R. Hansen, First Man: The Life off Neil A. Armstrong , Simon editions & Schuster. ISBN 074325631X) in 2005.

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