First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong

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A: I mean, there isn't any way of my knowing. When I listen to the tape, I can't hear the 'a', but that doesn't mean it wasn't there, because that was the fastest VOX ever built. There was no mike-switch — it was a voice-operated key or VOX. In a helmet you find you lose a lot of syllables. Sometimes a short syllable like 'a' might not be transmitted. However, when I listen to it, I can't hear it. But the 'a' is implied, so I'm happy if they just put it in parentheses. While the astronauts flew in space, Mission Control closely monitored from the ground. Coordinating with radio stations in California, Spain and Australia to provide 24-hour communications and telemetry data during the Apollo missions, “Houston”—as the astronauts called Mission Control—is almost as famous as any of the people who flew to the moon, and Gene Kranz was one of the most influential people in that room. The book was later adapted for a biopic, with First Man hitting theaters in 2018. Directed by Damien Chazelle, the film starred Ryan Gosling as Armstrong, with Claire Foy, Jason Clarke and Kyle Chandler in supporting roles. Personal Life Apollo 11 – Day 3, part 2: Entering Eagle – Transcript". NASA. April 11, 2010 . Retrieved February 14, 2022. I'd like to say hello to all my fellow Scouts and Scouters at Farragut State Park in Idaho having a National Jamboree there this week; and Apollo 11 would like to send them best wishes". Capsule communicator Charles Duke replied: "Thank you, Apollo 11. I'm sure that, if they didn't hear that, they'll get the word through the news. Certainly appreciate that. According to Chris Kraft, a March 1969 meeting among Slayton, George Low, Bob Gilruth, and Kraft determined that Armstrong would be the first person on the Moon, in part because NASA management saw him as a person who did not have a large ego. A press conference on April 14, 1969, gave the design of the LM cabin as the reason for Armstrong's being first; the hatch opened inwards and to the right, making it difficult for the LM pilot, on the right-hand side, to exit first. At the time of their meeting, the four men did not know about the hatch consideration. The first knowledge of the meeting outside the small group came when Kraft wrote his book. [113] [114] Methods of circumventing this difficulty existed, but it is not known if these were considered at the time. Slayton added, "Secondly, just on a pure protocol basis, I figured the commander ought to be the first guy out ... I changed it as soon as I found they had the time line that showed that. Bob Gilruth approved my decision." [115] Voyage to the Moon

Apollo 16, 23 April 1972 Charles Duke snaps John Young as he collects moon dust. Photograph: Nasa/JSC/ASU/Andy Saunders Armstrong felt impressed with the style of Hansen's work. In June 2002, Armstrong and Hansen signed a formal agreement. Two months later, Armstrong signed an official letter for Hansen that said Hansen had his full support and encouraged others to provide what he needed to write a book. While numerous publications had described aspects of Armstrong's long career and personal endeavors, to varying degrees, First Man became the first official book to detail the astronaut's life, including much information both before and after the Apollo program. [ citation needed] Neil Armstrong, Hallmark Settle". Chicago Tribune. December 2, 1995. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011 . Retrieved May 19, 2011.Hampton, Olivia (August 25, 2012). "Neil Armstrong a 'reluctant American hero': family". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved July 8, 2018. Armstrong's famous 'one small step' quote — explained". WHYY-FM. July 14, 2019 . Retrieved July 13, 2023. NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations, Deke Slayton, called Armstrong on September 13, 1962, and asked whether he would be interested in joining the NASA Astronaut Corps as part of what the press dubbed "the New Nine"; without hesitation, Armstrong said yes. The selections were kept secret until three days later, although newspaper reports had circulated since earlier that year that he would be selected as the "first civilian astronaut". [68] Armstrong was one of two civilian pilots selected for this group; [69] the other was Elliot See, another former naval aviator. [70] NASA selected the second group that, compared with the Mercury Seven astronauts, were younger, [67] and had more impressive academic credentials. [71] Collins wrote that Armstrong was by far the most experienced test pilot in the Astronaut Corps. [55] Gemini program Gemini 5 Armstrong faced an even bigger challenge in 1969. Along with Michael Collins and Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin, he was part of NASA's first manned mission to the moon. The trio was launched into space on July 16, 1969. Serving as the mission's commander, Armstrong piloted the Lunar Module to the moon's surface on July 20, 1969, with Aldrin aboard. Collins remained on the Command Module.

Armstrong flew light aircraft for pleasure. He enjoyed gliders and before the Moon flight had earned a gold badge with two diamonds from the International Gliding Commission. He continued to fly engineless aircraft well into his 70s. [208] This morning, we're bringing you the celebration of Neil Armstrong's life @WNCathedral at 9:45a Airgood, Glenn (February 16, 1973). "1st Man on the Moon Gets National Eagle Award". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. p.5 – via Newspapers.com.At Cincinnati, Armstrong was University Professor of Aerospace Engineering. He took a heavy teaching load, taught core classes, and created two graduate-level classes: aircraft design and experimental flight mechanics. He was considered a good teacher, and a tough grader. His research activities during this time did not involve his work at NASA, as he did not want to give the appearance of favoritism; he later regretted the decision. After teaching for eight years, Armstrong resigned in 1980. When the university changed from an independent municipal university to a state school, bureaucracy increased. He did not want to be a part of the faculty collective bargaining group, so he decided to teach half-time. According to Armstrong, he had the same amount of work but received half his salary. In 1979, less than 10% of his income came from his university salary. Employees at the university did not know why he left. [174] NASA commissions Baese-Berk, M. M.; Dilley, L. C.; Schmidt, S.; Morrill, T. H.; Pitt, M. A. (2016). "Revisiting Neil Armstrong's Moon-Landing Quote: Implications for Speech Perception, Function Word Reduction, and Acoustic Ambiguity". PLOS ONE. 11 (9): 1–11. Bibcode: 2016PLoSO..1155975B. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155975. PMC 5014323. PMID 27603209. Beaver, David. "First Korean on the moon!". Language Log. University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017 . Retrieved February 28, 2018.

a b c d Mikkelson, Barbara; Mikkelson, David (October 2006). "One Small Misstep: Neil Armstrong's First Words on the Moon". Snopes.com . Retrieved September 19, 2009. The young Armstrong became a naval aviator. Management of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) took an interest in Armstrong's combination of calmness and personal skill, coupled with his above-average intellect. Although contrasting somewhat with many of his colleagues, the Apollo 11 crew wound up as "amiable strangers", he attracted widespread respect. The fact that Armstrong got chosen to be "first down" on the lunar surface was a surprise, with astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. being expected to get priority. The mission itself proceeded spectacularly well, and Armstrong delivered his famous line: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." [1] [2] In all, Armstrong flew 78 missions over Korea for a total of 121 hours in the air, a third of them in January 1952, with the final mission on March 5, 1952. Of 492 U.S. Navy personnel killed in the Korean War, 27 of them were from Essex on this war cruise. Armstrong received the Air Medal for 20 combat missions, two gold stars for the next 40, the Korean Service Medal and Engagement Star, the National Defense Service Medal, and the United Nations Korea Medal. [31]After Armstrong retired from NASA in 1971, he acted as a spokesman for several businesses. The first company to successfully approach him was Chrysler, for whom he appeared in advertising starting in January 1979. Armstrong thought they had a strong engineering division, and they were in financial difficulty. He later acted as a spokesman for other American companies, including General Time Corporation and the Bankers Association of America. [179] He acted as a spokesman for only American companies. [180] Carreau, Mark (September 29, 2006). "High-tech analysis may rewrite space history". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 4, 2006 . Retrieved September 30, 2006.