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Top 10 Fascinating Facts about Neil Armstrong

A top fascinating fact about Neil A. Armstrong is that as spacecraft commander for Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, Armstrong gained the distinction of being the first man to land a craft on the moon and the first to step on its surface. He was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on August 5, 1930. He began his NASA career in Ohio and after serving as a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952, he joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1955.

His first assignment was with the NACA Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn) in Cleveland. Over the next 17 years, he was an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NACA and its successor agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

As a research pilot at NASA’s Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., he was a project pilot on many pioneering high-speed aircraft, including the well-known, 4000-mph X-15. He has flown over 200 different models of aircraft, including jets, rockets, helicopters and gliders.

Armstrong transferred to astronaut status in 1962. He was assigned as the command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission. Gemini 8 was launched on March 16, 1966, and Armstrong performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space.

Armstrong remained with NASA, serving as deputy associate administrator for aeronautics until 1971. After leaving NASA, he joined the faculty of the University of Cincinnati as a professor of aerospace engineering. This article looks at the top 10 fascinating facts about Neil A. Armstrong.

1. First to Walk Man on the Moon

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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 were launched into space on July 16, 1969. He served as the mission’s commander piloting the Lunar Module to the moon’s surface on July 20, 1969.

Neil Armstrong was the first human to walk on the moon during the NASA Apollo 11 mission and completed the mission alongside co-pilots Edwin E. 鈥淏uzz鈥� Aldrin and Michael Collins. He alighted the module with Buzz Aldrin while Collins remained on the Command Module.

At 10:56 PM, Armstrong exited the Lunar Module. He said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” as he made his famous first step on the moon. For about two and a half hours, Armstrong and Aldrin collected samples and conducted experiments they also took photographs, including their own footprints.

More than half a billion people watched the Moon Landing around the world!

Read more information on the moon landing.

2.  He Learned how to Fly before Learning how to Drive

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Neil grew up in rural America and he loved to learn all about aeroplanes and space. At around age 6, his father took him on a ride in a Ford Trimotor airplane, one of the most popular airplanes in the world. By age 15, he had accumulated enough flying lessons to command a cockpit, reportedly before he ever earned his driver鈥檚 license.

He got his student pilot鈥檚 license when he was just 16 which was before he even learned to drive a car. The famous astronaut first got his student flight certificate on his birthday, he then was able to take his first solo flight within the end of 30 days. Neil Armstrong also applied to get his driver鈥檚 license later in the same year.

During the Korean War, Armstrong flew 78 combat missions before moving on to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the precursor to NASA.

3. Neil Armstrong and Crew were Launched into Space by Saturn V Rocket

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The Saturn V was a rocket NASA built to send people to the moon. A Heavy Lift Vehicle, it was the most powerful rocket that had ever flown successfully. The Saturn V was used in the Apollo program in the 1960s and 1970s and was also used to launch the Skylab space station.

Powering the Apollo missions, including Apollo 11 the one that carried Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the lunar surface in July 1969, was the Saturn V rocket.

The Saturn V rocket that launched Neil and his crew into space was as tall as a 36-storey building! The Launch Control Center which housed the team of people responsible for overseeing the launch from the ground 鈥� was situated 3.5 miles from the launch pad itself.

The Saturn V, developed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center under the direction of Wernher von Braun, was the largest in a family of liquid-propellant rockets that solved the problem of getting to the Moon. A total of thirty-two Saturns of all types were launched; not one failed.

4.  Awards and Recognitions

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Neil won many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969, the Hubbard Medal in 1970, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 and the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award. Sadly, Neil died in 2012, but the progress that he made for space travel and our understanding of the Moon is still remembered today!

To commend the most remarkable astronauts, who have gone above and beyond as they braved the dangers of spaceflight on behalf of their country, US Congress authorized the creation of the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to recognize 鈥渁ny astronaut who in the performance of his duties has distinguished himself by exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the Nation and mankind.鈥� (In later years, the addition of 鈥渙r her/or herself鈥� recognized the addition of women to the astronaut corps.) 

Despite 鈥淐ongressional鈥� being in the title of the award, the NASA Administrator actually nominates the potential recipients, who then receive the award from the sitting president in Congress鈥檚 name. Neil Armstrong, was one of the first six recipients awarded the medal.

Along with Collins and Aldrin, Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon.

President Jimmy Carter presented Armstrong the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978; he and his former crewmates received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.

5.  Armstrong鈥檚 one Small Misstep

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Theories abound as to why it was Armstrong and not Buzz Aldrin who first set foot on the Moon. (On the Gemini missions, the co-pilot did the spacewalks, while the commander stayed in the craft. For Apollo 11, Armstrong was the commander.)
When it came to one of the greatest moments in the history of humankind, a time when someone set foot on the surface of a place other than Earth, it wasn’t seniority that dictated who went first. The thing that determined who went first out of Apollo 11 onto the lunar surface was a mere door hinge, according to NBC News.

The answer may have been the simple logistics of getting out of their lunar module. The exit had a right hinge that opened inwardly, with the man sitting on the left (Armstrong) having the most unobstructed path to the outside. Aldrin would have essentially had to climb over Armstrong to get out first with the potential of damaging his space suit.

So it was a design decision that led to Neil Armstrong stepping onto the ladder and uttering the famous “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” quote before then setting foot on the moon.

6. Neil Armstrong  sued Hallmark Card Company

Hallmark Cards Inc. and former astronaut Neil Armstrong settled Armstrong’s claim that the greeting-card company misappropriated his likeness. Armstrong also alleged an invasion of privacy after the Kansas City-based firm made and sold an ornament called “The Eagle Has Landed.” The ornament marked the 25th anniversary of the first moon landing, when Armstrong walked on the moon.

Terms of the settlement were withheld, but the amount was described as “substantial.” Armstrong will donate the money, minus legal fees, to his alma mater, Purdue University.

While he had not trained in business Armstrong knew the value of his brand. He was extremely savvy about his worth that he refused to let MTV channel use his famous slogan on its launch. The astronaut also sued Hallmark Cards in 1994 for using his name and a recording of his well-known phrase in one of its products. He even started legal proceedings against his hairdresser for selling a few Armstrong locks to a collector.

7. He is a Korean War Vet

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While studying at university, Armstrong was called to fight in the Korean War for the US as a Navy pilot. Armstrong’s career started in the Navy in 1949 when he reported to his first duty station: Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, where he learned to fly. Beginning in August 1951, He flew 78 missions over Korea for a total of 121 hours in the air.

Beginning in August 1951, Armstrong saw action in the Korean War, flying an F-9F Panther jet. While he was making a low bombing run, his jet became disabled and he safely parachuted out and was rescued. As a naval aviator, Armstrong flew 78 combat missions over Korea. His final mission was March 5, 1952.

Armstrong’s first foray into space was as command pilot of Gemini 8 in March 1966. He became the first civilian to fly into space. Armstrong, along with astronauts Jim Lovell and Gene Cernan, visited service members at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, in 2010. The spaceflight pioneers shared their groundbreaking aerospace experiences. The visit was part of the “Legends of Aerospace Tour,” sponsored by the USO and Armed Forces Entertainment.

8. His Footprint is Still Visible on the Moon鈥檚 Surface 50 Years on

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NASA, on the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, shared footage from the time Neil Armstrong became the first person to step on the moon. Armstrong’s footprints are still visible on the moon’s surface. Astronauts Edwin 鈥淏uzz鈥� Aldrin and Michael Collins were also a part of the mission.

An astronaut’s footprint can last a million years on the surface of the moon. It may have been decades since we last set foot on the moon, but its surface is still marked with the historic footprints of the 12 astronauts who stomped across it. That’s because the moon has no atmosphere

The footprints made by Armstrong and Aldrin are still on the Moon. The dust is thick and there isn鈥檛 any wind to remove them.

Learn more about the moon.

9. Armstrong first journeyed into space on the Gemini 8 mission

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On the Gemini 8 mission, which launched on 16 March 1966, Armstrong became the first American civilian in space; Valentina Tereshkova, from the Soviet Union, had become the first civilian and woman in space 3 years before.

The Gemini mission was the most complex yet but achieved the first-ever docking between 2 spacecraft. The goals of Gemini VIII included docking with a target vehicle and conducting a lengthy spacewalk during a three-day flight. The actual flight did demonstrate the first docking, but a stuck thruster resulted in an early emergency return.

However, during the docking procedure, the ship started spinning so fast that it was turning once a second.

Armstrong reluctantly engaged the Reentry Control System, signaling that the astronauts had to abort their mission and make a swift return to Earth.

Additional information on Neil Armstrong.

10.  Neil Armstrong Cheated Death Death in 1968

To allow the astronauts to practice landing the Lunar Module, NASA commissioned a pair of Lunar Landing Research Vehicles. The practice vehicles, nicknamed 鈥楩lying Bedsteads鈥�, were built to replicate the reduced gravity the astronauts would experience on the Moon.

On 6 May 1968, while some 30 metres above the ground, Armstrong鈥檚 vehicle started rolling. He quickly ejected and watched as the vehicle plummeted to the ground and exploded.

Analysis showed that if Armstrong had ejected just half a second later, his parachute would not have opened in time to save his life.