Neil Armstrong: Difference between revisions

Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Born	Neil Alden Armstrong August 5, 1930 Ohio, USA
Employer	NASA

Professor Neil Alden Armstrong was born on August 5th 1930 in Ohio and grew up on a farm with his grandparents in the United States. He was an American astronaut, an American aviator and a former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, and United States Naval Aviator and the first person to set foot on the Earth's moon. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in a small spacecraft that had been sent to the moon using the Saturn V rocket. The rocket was called Apollo 11. They both walked on the moon, and millions of people watched and heard this event on live television. He earned a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the Purdue University and a master of science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California. In 1970 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the Purdue University. From 1971 to 1979 he became professor for aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.

His most famous quote is: "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind. "

He spoke those words when he set his foot on the moon. He wanted to say "That's one small step for a man…", but for some reason the "a" was never spoken. Armstrong thought he had said it. He admits that he often forgot syllables when speaking. Listening to the audio shows that the "for" runs on smoothly, giving no time for "a" to be spoken. Armstrong prefers written quotations to include the "a" in parentheses.

In 2005 he received the Honorary Doctorate of letters from the University of Southern California. The Houston Chronicle newspaper reported on October 1, 2006, that Australian computer programmer Peter Shann Ford found the missing "a" from Armstrong's famous first words on the Moon. Ford reported that he downloaded the audio recording from a NASA web site and analyzed it using editing software originally intended for use with hearing disabled people. Armstrong is said to have been pleased with Ford's finding of the missing "a".

Early Life

Neil Armstrong discovered his passion for flying when he was 2 years old. His father used to take him to the Cleveland National Air Races. When he was young he would help his parents around the house like weeding the garden and hanging the laundry, he would do this with his sister June and brother Dean. Neil Armstrong also loved reading books. In the first grade, he read 90 books. Because of this, he skipped the second grade.

Career

Prior to being an astronaut, Armstrong was called to Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida in 1949 before he could complete his degree. There he earned his pilots wings at 20 years of age, making him the youngest flyer in his squadron. While studying for his aeronautical engineering degree, the Korean War broke out in 1950, in which flew 78 combat missions. His plane was shot down once and he was also awarded 3 Air Medals. Later, he became a skilful test pilot, flying right to the atmosphere’s edge, 207,500 feet (63,200 m) at 4,000 miles per hour (6,400 km/h), in the experimental rocket powered aircraft the X-15.

Armstrong went on his first mission into space on the 16th of March 1966, in the spacecraft Gemini 8, as the command pilot. He docked the Gemini 8 successfully with an Agena target craft that was in orbit already. Although the docking was smooth enough, while the spacecrafts orbited together, they started to roll and pitch. Armstrong then managed to undock the Gemini, and regained control of the spacecraft by using the retro rockets. However, this resulted in the astronauts having to make an emergency landing into the Pacific Ocean.

Websites

• http://www.buzzle.com/articles/facts-on-neil-armstrong.html
• http://space.about.com/od/astronautbiographies/a/Biography-of-Neil-Armstrong.htm