Canaveral florida july 1 19693 men set off on one of the greatest adventures in Human History their goal of the movie. That the right one travel hundreds of thousands were there to watch. The cold war was in full swing and the competition between the u. S. And the soviet Union Extended even to space. On july 20th 1069 astronaut Neil Armstrong became the 1st human to set foot on earth spoil me permanent satellite. This event would bring armstrong fame that he had never sought and it would also change his life forever. Strong became a Living Legend in the history of space travel like a 20th century christopher columbus. But at the height of his popularity he voluntarily withdrew from public life. Armstrong served as a navy pilot during the korean war in 1955 he signed on with the governments high speed flight station at Edwards Air Force base in california. His 1st job was piloting chase planes during tests of experimental aircraft the flight station was home to some of the countrys best airmen. They had the right stuff a combination of bravery and that drove them to take on Dangerous Missions with aircraft that were still in the development stage. Armstrongs interest in aircraft dates back to his Early Childhood he and his father once took a ride in a ford tri motor known as the tin goose they also attended local air shows together. Armstrong knew from the very start that he wanted to be a pilot later he worked various jobs to earn money for flying lessons and earned a student flight certificate on the day he turned 16. He also made his 1st solo flight later that month. In 1907 armstrong enrolled at Purdue University and studied aeronautical engineering his tuitions was paid for by a federal program in return after graduation he was required to complete 3 years of training and service in the u. S. Navy. Afterward armstrong returned to purdue earning a degree in aeronautical engineering in january 1955. A year later armstrong married janet sharon whom hed met at purdue. He wasnt yet thinking about space travel he was now starting a career as a test pilot. In october 1057 the soviet union shocked the world by launching the 1st satellite called sputnik. At that time many in the west believe that the u. S. S. R. Was technologically backward but the launch of sputnik changed all of that. And the soviet successfully tested their 1st Intercontinental Ballistic Missile 1957 because of concern for the west. Better now not responded by setting up a civilian Space Program the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the right among the agencys missions to put an astronaut into space. Nasa chose a number of experienced test pilots to take part in the program. Meanwhile Neil Armstrong continued his career as a project pilot he flew a wide variety of aircraft including the famous x. 15 series these were experimental rocket powered aircraft that could fly faster than the speed of sound they often reached altitudes of more than 80 kilometers just short of the technical definition of outer space. Armstrong was an excellent pilot but led an unassuming private life he and his family lived in a home in the mountains of Southern California with no electricity. For hot water. His colleagues described him as friendly but reserved he preferred to let his talents as a pilot speak for themselves. In the early 1960 s. Few thought that a manned spacecraft to the moon was possible and the u. S. Space program was about to be outdone again by the soviet union. And april 961. 00 yuri gagarin became the 1st human to journey into outer space the guardians capsule made a single orbit around the earth and then returned. But as the garden was being celebrated worldwide as the 1st man in space the u. S. Was putting the final touches to its own inaugural space flight. The next month former navy aviator and test pilot alan shepard took off from cape canaveral. It was only a 15 minute flight there are now. Shepard did not orbit the earth as the garden had done after the flight the space capsule splashed down as planned off the coast of bermuda. Shepherds successful flight prompted president john f. Kennedy to make a bold proposal. I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. In february 962 the usa launched its 3rd manned space flight the pilot was john glenn an experienced marine corps aviator and a veteran of the advanced aircraft Testing Program washington spared no expense in its competition with moscow to conquer space. Nasa official started making crew assignments for future missions to the moon this program was called apollo among the candidates where james lovell. James mcdevitt. John young. And frank foreman. In june 1902 Neil Armstrong applied to become an astronaut. At this point in his life armstrong was trying to cope with a very serious personal tragedy. His 2 year old daughter karen died of a brain tumor in january 962. 00. Armstrong dealt with his grief by working harder than ever before. On september 17th 1982 armstrong was introduced as one of the 9 new nasa astronauts he was one of 2 civilians in the group the rest were active military pilots these men would take part in the Gemini Program which would feature a 2 manned spacecraft. That same evening armstrongs parents violent and stephen were special guests on a popular t. V. Quiz program i. Wanted to prove. To you astronauts began a rigorous Training Program on board a modified air force jet to try to cope with the effects of weightlessness. The astronauts were pushed to their limits of their endurance because no one knew what dangers they might face in space it was a case of learning by doing. The cure is to go to the dentist then do the other thing not be close they are easy but because they are. To help achieve this goal the u. S. Space program developed the worlds most powerful rocket. And did it without the use of sophisticated computers. For inspiration when i started in 1962 i had an adding machine on my desk just a normal adding machine with a crank used it to calculate trajectories we prepare complex tables and then fill them in like. The engineers who are now in uncharted territory no one had ever attempted a manned flight to the moon before they had to design everything from scratch. The astronauts including Neil Armstrong became americas new heroes armstrong was no stranger to personal bravery. In the spring of 1964 armstrongs house caught fire in the middle of the night but he managed to rescue both his young sons. 400000. 00 were now working on the moon project the next step would be to develop the gemini 2 manned spacecraft. The astronauts also practiced for spacewalks but here too they were playing catch up with the russians a cosmonaut made the 1st spacewalk in march 965. 00. There. Are the astronauts worked on docking maneuvers involving 2 spacecraft the u. S. Did this successfully for the 1st time in late 1965. Almost the Space Program encountered several setbacks but learned from its mistakes. Half of her. Landings proved especially difficult at 1st. In march 1906 Neil Armstrong and david scott took off on a mission that was marked by both success and failure the astronauts plan to dock their gemini capsule with an unmanned target vehicle. Their 1st task was to rendezvous with the vehicle. Back. After the astronauts carried out the docking procedure successfully they noticed that one of the capsules thrusters had become stuck in the on position which was causing the spacecraft to rotate at high speed armstrong managed to study the spacecraft and then decided to abort the mission immediately the capsule landed safely in the Pacific Ocean southeast of japan. And. The gemini 8 mission was a major disappointment for the u. S. But nasa was still determined to win the space race. Was there a political aspect do you work back when the from the surround from tybee excess we were very aware of the competition. These. 0 boost. Lightly means that i think at. Least. Is an opt out that isnt bonnie. We had great my style of it. Is cause and effect. The us was now preparing for the 1st flight of the Apollo Program which featured a 3 man crew. But the mission would end with the deaths of 3 astronauts. Gus grissom. And roger chaffee. During a launch test in january 1967 a fire broke out in the capsules cabin and spread quickly all 3 astronauts were killed nasa blamed the fire on deficiencies in capsule design workmanship and quality control. The agency made improvements to the spacecraft and to operational procedures. Meanwhile nasa continued to experiment with using parachutes to return apollo capsule safely to earth. A more difficult challenge was the design and construction of the vehicle that would actually land the astronauts on the surface of the moon. Armstrong took part in flight tests of early versions of the lunar module. Armstrong took part in flight tests of earlier versions of the lunar module. Some of the astronauts called it the flying bedstead the module suffered from a number of technical problems at the start in may 1968 armstrong was at the controls when the crap started to spin out of control. Armstrong ejected safely with just seconds to spare. But time was running out for nasa to meet president kennedys call to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960 s. In december 1968 the apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman Jim Lovell and bill landers took off from the new Kennedy Space center in florida. But 1968 was a turbulent year. The war in vietnam was raging. Young people held antiwar protests across the country. Dr Martin Luther king was assassinated. Then on Christmas Eve 1968 the world heard a voice from space a voice that carried a message of peace and reconciliation. And in december 1968 Neil Armstrong was appointed commander of the apollo 11 mission but the lunar lander still needed work. In may 1969 the crew of apollo 10 took part in a dress rehearsal for the moon mission the astronauts tested all the equipment and procedures that would be involved in an actual landing. The flight that would place astronauts on the surface of the moon apollo 11 was now just 2 months away. Armstrong was under enormous pressure as he revealed in a 2010 interview. These are zealous fun was horrendous yet they thought it was because she was their stencil oneself and others. It a sure thing didnt win here it was given the. Did it because it was so good to go home as well im. Not. The u. S. S. R. Was also working hard to put a man on the moon. Alexei laon no inexperienced cosmonaut was chosen to command the 1st Lunar Landing mission. The soviets had been carrying out tests of the huge and one rocket that would carry the crew into space. But in july 1969 during a test launch the latest version of the rocket exploded shortly after liftoff. Meanwhile in the u. S. Nasa sought to personalize the Space Program by publishing photos of the astronauts with their families. As the scheduled date of the moon launch approached people around the world found a new interest in space. Huge crowds gathered around the launch site the visitors were in a festive mood. On july 16th Neil Armstrong buzz aldrin. And Michael Collins made their final preparations. Perhaps it was appropriate that a reclusive engineer not a dashing air force pilot should be the 1st man to set foot on the moon. His name was neil all didnt armstrong. Shortly after 7 in the morning the 3 astronauts headed for the launch pad. Armstrong the Mission Commander and pilot buzz aldrin will attempt a landing. Michael collins will stay on board the command module as it continues to orbit the moon. Its now been 8 years and 2 months since president kennedy gave the order. Among those doing the launch is former president lyndon johnson. Already. The saturn 5 was the 1st u. S. Rocket that was designed and built exclusively for space flights even though it was originally proposed as a launch vehicle for military satellites. Janet armstrong and her 2 sons watched the lift off from a frenzy got its now 1032 on the morning of july 16th. The crew reached orbit around 12 minutes after launch here they fly over the Canary Islands on an altitude of 190 kilometers. Now the crew had to make a key flight decision once they did there would be no turning back. Nearly 3 hours after liftoff the 3rd stage of the saturn 5 rocket was fired which pushed the apollo capsule into a trajectory toward the moon. About 30 minutes later the crew separated the command module from the spent 3rd stage of the rocket and docked with the eagle lunar module that was still attached to it the docking maneuver worked perfectly the apollo astronauts were now well on their way to making the dream of a moon landing come true. The crew played a cassette tape which tosses crofts about to stick on. The theme had recently been featured in the film 2000. In a space odyssey the u. S. Mission to put a man on the moon was about to become reality. But the flight controllers on the ground were concerned that an unmanned soviet spacecraft was orbiting the moon at this time the probe was to land on the lunar surface and gather soil samples whats believed to a crashed into a mountain on july 21st. We got. On the afternoon of july 19th apollo 11 swung into lunar orbit and the crew started making preparations for their descent to the moon surface. Genet armstrong hoped for the best. Landing except for the Late Afternoon on july 20th armstrong and buzz aldrin now entered the lunar lander and separated from the columbia command module. Armstrong steered the lunar module standing up the vehicle had no seats to cut down on wait. The astronauts families followed the flight on t. V. Ready suddenly the modules guidance computer set off several alarms but it turned out to be nothing serious. We all feared the worst but a Mission Control technician whod seen this problem before told the crew to ignore the computer and keep going or ignore we had been called. Armstrong noticed that the lander was headed for a rocky area so we took a piece of action. Armstrong stepped on the gas and flew the module like a helicopter knowing full well that he was running out of fuel we told our breath as the reports came in 60 seconds if you will level 1030. 00 hes going to. Armstrong kept his nerve and landed the module safely. Back right. Ok and im. Going to ground out of my garden about. Armstrong and aldrin who are now scheduled to sleep for a few hours but instead they started making preparations for leaving the lander and stepping onto the moon surface. War than anything was possible. Because i could not see in its deficit if i didnt move any i dont feel its a monkey. Back on earth an estimated 600000000 people were following these events on my t. V. Before he left the module armstrong took a bag of garbage that had piled up in the cabin and tossed it out the door. Ok were going for a ride. And i havent a camera it took 15 minutes for armstrong to climb down the letters 9 steps. Goodale we can see it coming down the ladder now. Armstrongs 1st step on the moon just an act of a few seconds then he jumped back onto the ladder ok ive got to. Get back up in that 1st. Part of a collapse of our life or panic with the kit bag a. Regular because he wanted to provoke out. Armstrong step down again this time with his left foot in Mission Control gave aldrin instructions on how to use the camera. By the pew center and soon i will i want to go back and break out all the guys at the on the big one that might. Have at. Our back as a part of the latter plan birthday as are only. The bad. Ones are granted although they have a very. Very very minor and he didnt blow directed by the pilot or. Madman. Armstrong stepped away from the ladder and turned toward the camera. After them on the lam out. Then he spoke the words that would go down in history. The scene was filmed by a camera attached to the outside of the lander. While he was climbing down and pulled the lever that open the storage banner which contained a black and white t. V. Cameras caught up the store for you know thats how we got to see him climbing down the ladder so thats one of the needs. Of the light to have done so. Armstrong was now the star of the 1st live global t. V. Broadcast. The whole world was watching. That. Picked up. The moon landing was not broadcast in the u. S. S. R. In 2010 cosmonaut alexei leon off described his reaction to armstrongs historic achievement. Eikenberry di di crossed my fingers and wished him all the best it was dangerous and i knew what could have gone wrong but he did his job brilliantly yes. 20 minutes after armstrong and buzz aldrin climbed down the ladder. Armstrong took photos of his colleagues at this turning point in the history of space travel. Ive never met. Armstrong and aldrin then examine the lunar lander for possible damage they also set up equipment to measure the moons exact distance from the earth and to study lunar earthquakes. I am right back at the astronauts climb back into the lunar module close the hatch and sealed it and while they were moving around inside buzz aldrin created a serious technical problem. There i know a foot in his back and if bumped into the ignition switch for the use santanas and i did fall and broke it off. Too for n. C. Should have been called to. Buzz aldrin used a felt tip in to activate the mechanism. Before they reentered the lunar module armstrong and aldrin left behind a commemorative plaque. On the barrier. During their 2 and a half hours on the moon surface the astronauts put up an American Flag. Oh my girl your. President Richard Nixon phoned the crew with a special mes