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Memorial Tributes Volume 17 (2013) / Chapter Skim
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NEIL A. ARMSTRONG
Pages 6-17

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From page 7...
... With the world watching, onboard computer alarms sounding, and the fuel extremely low and getting lower, Neil was in his test pilot element. He skimmed over large boulders covering the planned landing site, and softly touched down.
From page 8...
... But Neil's flying skill had allowed human beings to finally reach that longtime symbol of the unreachable. ~ Neil Alden Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, on his grandfather's farm five miles west of the small town of Wapakoneta, Ohio, to Stephen Armstrong and the former Viola Louise Engel.
From page 9...
... Neil recalled that the author James A Michener, fresh off a Pulitzer Prize for Tales of the South Pacific, was an Essex guest in late 1951, and would sit in the VF-51 ready room listening to stories of the guys coming off combat missions.
From page 10...
... One evening during their early years in California, Neil and Jan attended a lecture by Wernher von Braun in Lancaster. They were surrounded by many interested NACA leaders and test pilots, and heard von Braun say that based on his experience, he believed that a rocket could be built to carry the required load for man to explore space.
From page 11...
... The purpose of the planned Gemini VIII 55-orbit mission was severalfold, but directly focused on capabilities needed for the coming Apollo lunar missions. A critical aspect of the mission included demonstrating a rendezvous and docking with an Agena target vehicle and a planned long spacewalk, which his copilot David R
From page 12...
... In January 1967 NASA suffered a crippling setback when a cockpit fire during Apollo launch pad tests killed astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. As a result of the investigation, the Apollo command module was redesigned over the next year.
From page 13...
... Neil flew a total of 27 training missions in them. With training complete, Apollo 11 lifted off for the Moon from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 on July 16, 1969, and splashed down 210 nautical miles south of Johnston Atoll in the Pacific on July 24, where the crew was picked up by USS Hornet (CVS-12)
From page 14...
... The crew later addressed a joint session of the US Congress, and departed in September on a nonstop 45day international tour of 23 nations, on every continent except Antarctica. At the 1969 SETP annual meeting later that year, Neil described the lunar landing to the gathered experimental test pilots.
From page 15...
... Inside," principally devoting himself to the technical accident investigation itself. Throughout his life, Neil remained active in flying organizations like the SETP and the Golden Eagles, a small group of former Navy and Marine carrier pilots whose members are legend in the history of naval aviation.
From page 16...
... Over the horizon and to the west lay the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39, where it all began.
From page 17...
... Several close friends of Neil assisted me with edits. A special thanks to Carol Armstrong, to Jan, Rick, and Mark Armstrong, and to Neil's sister June Armstrong Hoffman for their gracious help.


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