The commission investigated the explosion of the Challenger on January 28, , which took the lives of its crew, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Despite being one of the most famous astronauts in history, Armstrong largely shied away from the public eye.
In a rare interview for the news program 60 Minutes in , he described the moon to interviewer Ed Bradley: "It's a brilliant surface in that sunlight. The horizon seems quite close to you because the curvature is so much more pronounced than here on earth. It's an interesting place to be.
I recommend it. Even in his final years, Armstrong remained committed to space exploration. The press-shy astronaut returned to the spotlight in to express his concerns over changes made to the U.
He testified in Congress against President Barack Obama 's decision to cancel the Constellation program, which included another mission to the moon. Obama also sought to encourage private companies to get involved in the space travel business and to move forward with more unmanned space missions.
Taking this new decision, Armstrong said, would cost the United States its leadership position in space exploration. If the leadership we have acquired through our investment is simply allowed to fade away, other nations will surely step in where we have faltered.
I do not believe that would be in our best interests," he told Congress. Armstrong , was published in It was written by James R. Hansen, who conducted interviews with Armstrong, as well as his family, friends and associates.
The book was later adapted for a biopic, with First Man hitting theaters in Armstrong married Janet Shearon on January 28, The couple soon added to their family. Son Eric arrived in , followed by daughter Karen in Sadly, Karen died of complications related to an inoperable brain tumor in January Ever since the USSR had become the first country to put a man in space, the US wanted to outdo its biggest rival country in the matters of space.
A little over eight years later, they not only managed to send astronauts in space but also made two of them land on the moon. The Apollo 11 mission was commandeered by Neil Armstrong, with pilot Edwin Aldrin and Michael Collins, who never got to set foot on the moon as his job was to keep the command module Columbia into orbit while Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon, safe inside the lunar module Eagle.
The space modules were carried so far into space with the help of the Saturn V rocket, a three-stage foot rocket with 7. When only 30 seconds of fuel remained As per Nasa, when Armstrong made the lunar module land at the surface of the moon, only 30 seconds of fuel remained. From to , he was a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
Armstrong also participated in the Rogers Commission, which was a presidential commission tasked to look at the causes and events of the fatal Challenger shuttle explosion of Jan. Armstrong chose to mostly stay out of the spotlight after leaving NASA, although he did reappear periodically for interviews or for anniversary events concerning Apollo Although his public statements were few, he followed spaceflight news and occasionally made public comments on what was happening.
He remained a vocal supporter of suborbital spaceflight. On the other hand, the former Apollo astronaut was publicly critical of plans to shift crewed spaceflight from NASA to private spacecraft. On Aug. Complications from the surgery resulted in his death on Aug. Tributes poured in from many public figures, including President Barack Obama, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, then-NASA administrator Charles Bolden, Apollo 11 crewmates Aldrin and Collins, and various space representatives in the public, private and nonprofit spheres.
They set out to show the world that the American spirit can see beyond what seems unimaginable — that with enough drive and ingenuity, anything is possible. A private memorial service for Armstrong was held Aug. Two weeks later, a publicly televised memorial service was held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.
Armstrong was buried at sea Sept. Armstrong's family was on board when the ship left port in Mayport, Florida, and they released his ashes somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Obama ordered flags around the United States to fly at half-staff on the day of the funeral. In , the Smithsonian Institution revealed that Armstrong had kept aside a cloth bag full of small parts from the lunar module Eagle, which lay undiscovered for decades until his widow, Carol, found it.
While Armstrong made no mention of this bag in decades of interviews, the bag was discussed a few times during the mission. It is unknown how Armstrong ultimately gained possession of the bag, but it was common during the Apollo years for astronauts to retain souvenirs of their flights. A month after Armstrong's death, Obama made legal a bill to allow Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts to retain legal title to these mementos.
Former "Mythbusters" host Adam Savage subsequently created a carry bag based on the design of Armstrong's "purse"; the design was actually used in several Apollo missions before and after Apollo Along with Michael Collins and Edwin E. The trio were launched into space on July 16, Serving as the mission's commander, Armstrong piloted the Lunar Module to the moon's surface on July 20, , with Buzz Aldrin aboard.
Collins remained on the Command 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. The crew and the craft were picked up by the U. Hornet, and the three astronauts were put into quarantine for three weeks. Before long, the three Apollo 11 astronauts were given a warm welcome home. Crowds lined the streets of New York City to cheer on the famous heroes who were honored in a ticker-tape parade. Armstrong received numerous awards for his efforts, including the Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Armstrong remained with NASA, serving as deputy associate administrator for aeronautics until Armstrong remained at the university for eight years.
Staying active in his field, he served as the chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation, Inc. Helping out at a difficult time, Armstrong served as vice chairman of the Presidential Commission on the space shuttle Challenger accident in The commission investigated the explosion of the Challenger on January 28, , which took the lives of its crew, including school teacher Christa McAuliffe.
Despite being one of the most famous astronauts in history, Armstrong has largely shied away from the public eye. He gave a rare interview to the news program 60 Minutes in He described the moon to interviewer Ed Bradley, saying "It's a brilliant surface in that sunlight.
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