Only at full speed. Always shining. Luck but always on the move. Played mostly today and in the future. Drive it on t w. The people of the world for information they provide the opinions they want to express t. W. On facebook and twitter up to date and in touch follow us. Canaveral florida july 1990. 3 men set off on one of the greatest adventures in Human History their goal to move. Back the back of the global hundreds of thousands were there to watch. Big. League. 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. 00 astronaut Neil Armstrong became the 1st human to set foot on earth spoke only permanent satellite. Live log file. 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 mochy small that drove them to take on Dangerous Missions with aircraft that were still no 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 1947 armstrong rolled a university and studied Aeronautical Engineering. His tuition 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. Years later armstrong married jenna cierra whom hed met at purdue. He wasnt yet thinking about space travel he was now starting a career as a test pilot. In october 1957 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 than us responded by setting up a civilian Space Program the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 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 or hot water. His colleagues described him as friendly but reserved he preferred to let us 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 his big 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 1962 the usa launched its 3rd manned space flight the pilot was john glenn and. 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. So crucial started making crew assignments for future missions to the moon this program was called apollo among the candidates were james lovell. James mcdevitt. John young. And frank borman. In june 1962 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 1962 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. To go to that same evening armstrongs parents file and stephen were special guests on a popular t. V. Quiz program. The
new 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. We choose to go to the mystic a to do the other thing not be close. 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. And
searched when i started in 1962 i had an adding machine on my desk just a normal adding machine with a crank used to calculate trajectories we prepare a complex tables and then fill them out you dont always get through to. 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 1904 armstrongs house caught fire in the middle of the night but he managed to rescue both his young sons. Of 400000 were now working on the moon project the next step would be to develop the gemini 2 manned spacecraft. Was. The astronauts also practiced for space walks but here too they were playing catch up with the russians a cosmic not made the 1st space walk in march 965. The astronauts worked on Docking Maneuvers involving 2 spacecraft the u. S. Did this successfully for the 1st time in late 1965 half. The Space Program encountered several setbacks but learned from its mistakes. For. Landings proved especially difficult at 1st. In march 1966 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. 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. Than money. 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 to your work back then from a sort of heavy we were very aware of the competition. There but was. Trying to catch. These an opt out that isnt shown we had great my style of it of. Course mistakes. The u. S. Was now preparing for the 1st blood 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 mood. Armstrong took part in flight tests early versions of the lunar module. Armstrong took part in flight tests over earlier versions of the lunar. Module. Some of the astronauts called it the Flying Bedstead the module suffered from a number of technical problems of the star in may 1968 armstrong was at the controls when the craft 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 1968Neil Armstrong was appointed commander of the apollo 11 mission but the lunar lander still needed work. In maine 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. Hes satisfied it was. 1001. 00 so thats a sure thing it would give him a. Headache on. The u. S. S. R. Was also working hard to put a Man On The Moon. Alexei an experienced 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 in the alternate armstrong. Shortly after 7 in the morning the 3 astronauts headed for the launch pad. With. 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. For. 30. 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 liftoff from a friends yacht 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. A 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 of strauss crafts about to start. The theme had recently been featured in the Film 2001 In 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 but its believed to a crashed into a mountain on july 21st. Way back. 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. After they are back. Janet armstrong hoped for the best. Landing gear set for Late Afternoon on July 20th Armstrong and buzz aldrin now entered the Eagle 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. T. V. 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. Strong notice that the lander was headed for a rocky area so we took a piece of action. Armstrong stepped on the genesis and flew the module like a helicopter knowing full well that he was running out of fuel we hold our breath as the reports came in 60 seconds of fuel less than 30 hes going to die. Armstrong kept his nerve and landed the module safely. Back right. On the ground. And again. Armstrong and aldrin were now scheduled to sleep for a few hours but instead they Started Making Preparations for leaving the lander and stepping onto the moon surface. World than anything was possible that its only. Going to step aside to move any i dont feel like hes. Back on earth an estimated 600000000 people were following these events on my t. V. 2
before he left the module armstrong took a bag of garbage that had piled up in the cabin and tossed it out the door. It took 15 minutes for armstrong to climb down the letters 9 steps. Arms. Dongs 1st step on the moon just lasted a few seconds then he jumped back onto the ladder ok i got. It back up and over. There. Right over there are very very bad the quicker beggar. Got to be worth a good product out. Armstrong stepped down again this time with his left foot in Mission Control gave ultram i