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Neil Armstrong - Astronaut & Explorer
(1930-2012) |
Neil Alden Armstrong is best known for being
the first man on the moon. He served in the
US Navy flying over 70 missions in the Korean
War, and gained a degree in Aeronautical Engineering
at Purdue University. Neil Armstrong began working
for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
where he became a test pilot who flew over 900
flights in more than 200 different types of
aircraft, including the high speed X-15.
This page details facts about Neil Armstrong's
life and the events that shaped his history.
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Neil Armstrong the Explorer
- Fun Facts for Kids ! |
Neil Armstrong Fact
1: |
Neil Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta,
Ohio, USA on 5th August 1930. He was the eldest of three
children born to Stephen Armstrong, an Ohio state government
auditor, and his wife Viola. |
Neil Armstrong Fact
2: |
Neil Armstrong took an interest in flying
at an early age. It was while he was being educated at Blume
High School in Wapakoneta, Ohio, that he began taking flying
lessons. He was flying solo at the age of 16. |
Neil Armstrong Fact
3: |
In 1947 Neil Armstrong attended Purdue
University where he studied aeronautical engineering. He
was sponsored, at university, by the US Navy under a scheme
where he would serve three years with them. His studies
were interrupted when he was called up to serve with them
in January 1949. |
Neil Armstrong Fact
4: |
Neil Armstrong began
his flight training with the US Navy at the Naval Air
Station Pensacola. At the age of 20, Neil Armstrong
had become a Naval Aviator (Officer qualified as a pilot
in the US Navy), and by the end of June 1951 he was
heading for Korea aboard the aircraft carrier ‘USS Essex’.
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Neil Armstrong Fact
5: |
First seeing action
in August 1951, Neil Armstrong went on to fly 78 combat
missions during the Korean War. In 1952 he left the
service and returned to his studies at Purdue University.
he graduated in 1955 having gained a degree in Aeronautical
Engineering.
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Neil Armstrong Fact
6: |
In March 1955 Neil
Armstrong began his career with the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which was to become
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
During this employment he had many roles including Engineer,
Test Pilot and Astronaut.
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Neil Armstrong Fact
7: |
While working as a Test Pilot, Neil Armstrong
flew in excess of 900 flights in over 200 different aircraft.
Included in the various gliders, helicopters, jets and rockets,
was the famous X-15 which reached a speed of 4000mph (miles
per hour). |
Neil Armstrong Fact
8: |
On January 28, 1956 Neil Armstrong married
Janet Shearon in Wilmette Illinois. He met Janet when he
returned to Purdue to resume his studies. Neil Armstrong
and Janet had three children, Eric, Karen and Mark. In January
1962 his daughter Karen died from Pneumonia at the age of
two. Her death followed a six month battle with a brain
tumor. |
Neil Armstrong Fact
9: |
In 1962 Neil Armstrong applied to be,
and was accepted as, an Astronaut. He was selected for the
Gemini 8 Mission as the command pilot. Gemini 8 was launched
on 16th March 1966. During this mission he docked his space
capsule with the Agena Target Vehicle, which was unmanned.
This was the first time that docking between two vehicles
in space had occurred. Although the docking was successful,
a problem meant that he had to break away from the Agena
Target Vehicle and effect re-entry, landing in the Pacific
Ocean approximately 11 hours after the mission began. |
Neil Armstrong Fact 10: |
In December 1968, Neil Armstrong was
offered the opportunity to be commander of the Apollo 11
Mission and, on 16 July 1969, Neil Armstrong, Edwin ‘Buzz’
Aldrin and Michael Collins were the crew on board Apollo
11 as it launched on its mission to the moon. |
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Neil Armstrong
Fact 11: |
Neil Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin were to land on the surface of the
moon in the Apollo Lunar Module while Michael Collins
would remain in the Command Module. On 20 July 1969
Neil Armstrong landed the Lunar Module on the moon.
His confirmation of the landing to Mission Control
included the words ‘The Eagle has landed’.
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Neil Armstrong
Fact 12: |
At 10.56pm Neil
Armstrong placed his left boot on the moon’s surface
and spoke the famous words ‘That’s one small step
for man, one giant leap for mankind’. Approximately
20 minutes later Buzz Aldrin left the Lunar Module
and became the second person to step onto the moon.
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Neil Armstrong
Fact 13: |
Neil Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin spent the next two and a half hours
on the moon. During their time on the moon they
planted a United States flag, conducted experiments,
collected samples and took photographs, including
photographs of their own footprints. They also left
a memorial package containing items commemorating
deceased astronauts and cosmonauts including
Yuri Gagarin. |
Neil Armstrong
Fact 14: |
Neil Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin re-entered the Lunar Module, left
the moon’s surface and docked with ‘Columbia’ the
Command Module. The mission ended on July 24 1969
when they splashed down in the Pacific and were
picked up by the USS Hornet. Neil Armstrong, Buzz
Aldrin and Michael Collins were kept in quarantine
for three weeks. |
Neil Armstrong
Fact 15: |
The American
public lined the streets to honour the astronauts
as they toured the USA. Neil Armstrong was awarded
many honours by 17 countries. Among the awards
were the Medal of Freedom and the Congressional
Space Medal of Honor.
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Neil Armstrong
Fact 16: |
Apollo 11
was to be the last space flight for Neil Armstrong.
He became the Deputy Associate Administrator
for Aeronautics at NASA until he resigned in
1971. His next post was at the University of
Cincinnati as Professor of Aerospace Engineering,
where he stayed until 1979. From 1985 to 1986
Neil Armstrong was a member of the National
Commission on Space, and was Chairman of the
Presidential Advisory Commission on the Space
Shuttle Challenger Accident.
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Picture of Apollo Lunar Module
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Neil
Armstrong Fact 17: |
In 1994, after 38
years of marriage, his first wife Janet
divorced him and Neil Armstrong married
his second wife Carol Knight. |
Neil Armstrong Fact 18: |
On August 7 2012 Neil Armstrong underwent
a vascular bypass operation. Following complications, he
died on 25 August 2012. |
Neil Armstrong the Explorer
(1930 - 2012) Fun Facts Info for Kids ! |
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