Biography
Awards & Achievements
Quick Facts
Neil Armstrong was the first man ever to land
on the Moon.
History was created when Armstrong put his left foot on the surface of Moon, thus becoming the first ever man to place his foot on someplace other than the Earth. He was and for centuries to come, will be regarded as the greatest American hero who created a landmark moment in human history. Trained as an aeronautical engineer, he soon took to being a test pilot and served as the same for a number of years before being selected as an astronaut. Interestingly, all his accomplishments would not have happened in the first place had his friend, Dick Day not placed his application for astronaut with the ones that arrived on time; Armstrong’s application had arrived about a week after the deadline. Armstrong’s first mission into the space was as command pilot of Gemini 8 in 1966. With this, he became the first civilian to fly in space. His second and last space flight occurred three years later in 1969 when he joined Aldrin and Collins aboard Apollo 11 for NASA’s first manned mission to moon. Armstrong spent about two hours walking on the moon surface, collecting samples and conducting experiments. His fiery determination coupled with his heroic demeanour and unwavering team spirit made him a man of virtue and honor. To know in details about his life and profile, scroll further.
History was created when Armstrong put his left foot on the surface of Moon, thus becoming the first ever man to place his foot on someplace other than the Earth. He was and for centuries to come, will be regarded as the greatest American hero who created a landmark moment in human history. Trained as an aeronautical engineer, he soon took to being a test pilot and served as the same for a number of years before being selected as an astronaut. Interestingly, all his accomplishments would not have happened in the first place had his friend, Dick Day not placed his application for astronaut with the ones that arrived on time; Armstrong’s application had arrived about a week after the deadline. Armstrong’s first mission into the space was as command pilot of Gemini 8 in 1966. With this, he became the first civilian to fly in space. His second and last space flight occurred three years later in 1969 when he joined Aldrin and Collins aboard Apollo 11 for NASA’s first manned mission to moon. Armstrong spent about two hours walking on the moon surface, collecting samples and conducting experiments. His fiery determination coupled with his heroic demeanour and unwavering team spirit made him a man of virtue and honor. To know in details about his life and profile, scroll further.
Childhood & Early Life
· Neil Armstrong was
the eldest of the three children born to Stephen Koenig Armstrong and Viola
Louise Engel. Since his father was employed as an auditor for the government,
much of his early life was spent travelling from one city to the other.
· At the age of five,
he experienced his first ever airplane flight. This left an indelible mark on
the young lad and set the tone for his life.
· Academically, he
attained his formal education from Blume High School. Alongside, he took flying
lessons and earned his student light certificate at the age of 16. He was an
active member of the Boy Scouts and soon went up the rank to become Eagle
Scout.
· A year later in
1947, he enrolled himself at Purdue University to study aeronautical engineering.
He was sponsored by the Holloway Plan, under which it was customary for him to
serve three years of service in the U.S. Navy,
· He was called for
the service in 1949, wherein he was asked to report to Naval Air Station
Pensacola for flight training. After about 18 months of rigorous training, he
finally was qualified as a Naval Aviator on August 1950.
· After undertaking a
few routine assignments, he saw first action in the Korean War in August 1951,
when he flew as an escort for a photo reconnaissance plane over Songjin.
· In his three years
of Navy career, he flew 78 missions over Korea for a total of 121 hours in the
air. He left the Navy on August 23, 1952, and became a Lieutenant, Junior
Grade, in the U.S. Naval Reserve, where he served for eight years before
resigning in 1960.
· Re-joining
university, he finally attained his graduation degree in 1955. Further in 1970,
he attained a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the
University of Southern California.
Neil Armstrong
Career
· In 1955, with an aim
to become an experimental research test pilot, he applied for National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). However, due to no open positions, his
application was forwarded to the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in
Cleveland, where he began working.
· He moved back to
NACA after a couple of months. His first assignment was to pilot chase planes
during releases of experimental aircraft from modified bombers.
· During his seventeen
years of service for National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA (formerly
known as NACA), he served in various capacities including as an engineer, test
pilot, astronaut and administrator.
· As a research pilot,
he tested numerous high-speed aircraft, including the X-15, which could reach a
top speed of 4,000 miles per hour. Overall, he flew about 200 different models
of aircrafts, including jets, rockets, helicopter and gliders.
· Year 1958, marked
his selection in the U.S. Air Force's Man In Space Soonest program. Two years
later, he was chosen as part of the pilot consultant group for the X-20 Dyna-Soar.
In 1962, he finally made it in the top seven pilot engineers who would fly
space plane.
· He became the first
American civilian to travel in space. His first mission with the Gemini VII was
as Command Pilot, which launched on March 16, 1966. Originally planned to last
for 75 hours and 55 orbits, the spacecraft returned 11 hours after its start
due to technical problems.
· His last assignment
for the Gemini program was for Gemini 11, wherein he worked as a back-up
Command Pilot. The launch was scheduled for September 12, 1966 with Armstrong
as a CAPCOM.
· On December 23,
1968, he was appointed to the post of the commander for Apollo 11. Buzz Aldrin
was lunar module pilot while Michael Collins served as command module pilot.
· The trio landed on
the moon on July 20, 1969, a few seconds after 20:17:40 UTC. Armstrong became
the first to land on the Moon. His first words were, ‘That's one small step for
a man, one giant leap for mankind’.
· After a brief walk
on the Moon which lasted for about two hours, he re-entered the spacecraft and
journeyed back to Earth. They landed in the Pacific Ocean and were picked up by
USS Hornet.
· After spending 18
days in quarantine, he along with the crew moved around the world as part of a
45-day ‘Giant Leap’ tour. Post his Apollo 11 flight, he announced his plan of
not flying in space again.
· In 1970, he was
appointed as the Deputy Associate Administrator for aeronautics for the Office
of Advanced Research and Technology, Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA),
but served the same for a year, resigning from it and NASA.
· He took up a
teaching position at the University of Cincinnati in the Department of
Aerospace Engineering. He remained in the position for about eight years,
resigning in 1979.
· Meanwhile, he acted
as a spokesperson for several US businesses including General Time Corporation
and the Bankers Association of America. Additionally, he was a member of the
board of directors of several companies such as Marathon Oil, Learjet, Cinergy,
Taft Broadcasting, United Airlines, Eaton Corporation, AIL Systems and Thiokol.
NASA Space Station,USA
Major Works
· With his appointment
as an astronaut, he became NASA’s first civilian to fly in space. However, the
most spectacular achievement of his life was undertaking the Apollo 11 mission,
which was the first manned mission to Moon. He became the first man ever to
walk on the Moon surface, which lasted for a little over two hours.
Awards & Achievements
· He was conferred
with many prestigious awards including Presidential Medal of Freedom,
Congressional Space Medal of Honor, Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, Sylvanus
Thayer Award and Collier Trophy from the National Aeronautics Association.
· Furthermore, he
received the Congressional Gold Medal, NASA Distinguished Service Medal,
Langley Gold Medal, American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award and
the John J. Montgomery Award
· He was inducted in
the Aerospace Walk of Honor and the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame.
· An asteroid in space
and a lunar crater has been named after him. Furthermore, several schools,
institutions, streets, buildings, airports and public squares across the globe
have been named after him.
· He received the 2013
General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award from the Space
Foundation.
Album :Neil Armstrong
Personal Life & Legacy
· He walked down the
aisle with Janet Elizabeth Shearon on January 28, 1956, at the Congregational
Church in Wilmette, Illinois. The couple was blessed with three children.
· He underwent a
bypass surgery to relieve blocked coronary arteries on August 7, 2012. A few
days later, on August 25, he breathed his last.
Falderal
· He is the first man
ever to walk on the surface of the Moon.
Quick Facts
ALSO KNOWN AS
Neil Alden Armstrong
NATIONALITY
BORN ON
05 August 1930 AD
BIRTHDAY
CENTURY
DIED AT AGE
82
SUN SIGN
Leo Leo
Men
BORN IN
Wapakoneta
DIED ON
25 August 2012 AD
PLACE OF DEATH
Cincinnati
PERSONALITY TYPE
Charismatic, Courageous, Visionary
CAUSE OF DEATH
Illness
FATHER
Stephen Armstrong
MOTHER
Viola Armstrong
SIBLINGS
Dean Armstrong, June Armstrong
SPOUSES/PARTNERS:
Carol Held Knight, (m. 1994–2012), Janet
Shearon, (m. 1956–1994)
CHILDREN
Eric Armstrong, Karen Armstrong, Mark
Armstrong
EDUCATION
University of Southern California
(1970)
Purdue University
(1947 – 1955)
Blume High School
(1947)
(1970)
Purdue University
(1947 – 1955)
Blume High School
(1947)
AWARDS
1978 - Presidential Medal of Freedom
2009 - Congressional Gold Medal
- Collier Trophy
2009 - Congressional Gold Medal
- Collier Trophy
More
Awards
1971
- Sylvanus Thayer Award
1978 - Congressional Space Medal of Honor
1999 - Langley Gold Medal
1978 - Congressional Space Medal of Honor
1999 - Langley Gold Medal
The Story of Apollo 11 and the First Men on the Moon: the Moon Landing for Kids - FreeSchool