It is quite rare in the course of human events- and the brief life spans granted our species- to say we've all shared time and space with an individual who will truly be remembered centuries after all the trials and tribulations of our times have long faded into footnoted oblivion. Neil Alden Armstrong was one of those individuals.
Armstrong was first and foremost an aviator-engineer; a test pilot, in the best sense of the terms. And he was articulate. When Armstrong spoke, particularly on aviation and space matters, people listened. Whether they heard is another matter. He always placed his Apollo flight in the context of the evolution of aviation and much of his professional history with the Navy, the X-15, the NACA, NASA and post Apollo accomplishments can be easily researched. His authorized biography, 'First Man' is an absorbing read as well.
It's common knowledge that Armstrong shunned the glare of the public spotlight. And has always said he didn't deserve the celebrity status today's modern media tried to press upon him. Rather, he credited circumstances as affording him the opportunity to command Apollo 11 and carry the responsibility of being the first man on the moon. A 'reluctant hereo' to be sure. (Although recent memoirs by Apollo era brass note he was essentially chosen to be first out by crew assignment managers.) Nevertheless, the burden was real and the Lindbergh experience was a loose model for managing it.
Whenever asked, Armstrong always credited the general support of the American people as well as the 400,000 dedicated employees in government, industry and academia with making Apollo a success. And although it was spawned as another battlefront of the Cold War, Apollo remains one of the rare occurrences where a government project was accomplished ahead of schedule and under budget- albeit a big budget- roughly $25 billion in 1970 dollars' all of it spent right here on Earth. And it was not by accident that their Apollo 11 flight patch did not carry the names of the crew. Apollo 11 was, in part, for all mankind.
Most everyone has heard audio fragments of Eagle's final descent to the moon from July 20, 1969. It's a taut, tense stream of real time data relayed in a staccato style by Buzz Aldrin as Neil busied himself taking control away from an overloaded computer and manually steering the Lunar Module past craters and boulder fields to a safe landing. Fewer have heard the onboard audio loop, which is similar to an aircraft cockpit voice recorder. On that tape, Armstrong calmly describes his actions, flying past the danger, stating he sees a good looking area and with just seconds of fuel to spare, cooly guides the Eagle to touchdown. It is the quintessential Right Stuff at work. And it was the challenge of this descent to the lunar surface, as Armstrong said repeatedly over the years, which was the high point of the flight for him. The moonwalk itself- not much more than two and a half hours long- televised by a simple b/w TV camera, may seem primitive by today's stadards- but it is still a wonder to watch, particularly to those who remember a time when a voyage to the moon was thought impossible.
Myself and family were quite fortunate to have met the Apollo 11 crew at a reception in the United States Embassy in London back in October, 1969, less than 90 days after Apollo 11's moon landing, when the crew was in the midst of their world tour. An affable and reserved Armstrong, dressed in a classic, 'Mad Men-era' business suit and narrow tie, had just arrived along with fellow crewmen Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and their wives, from a meet and greet w/Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. It remains a high point of my life. The reserved and affable Armstrong dutifully shook hands with all, accept a plaque, chatted, presented a short NASA film about the flight to the assembled group and took the time to sign a photo for us. That photo still hangs in my home today. And I am sadden by Neil's passing. but so very, very proud of his legacy for our country and how he managed the burden of being the first human in the history of everything to st foot on another world. To date, twelve men in the whole history of everything have walked on the moon. All Americans. Yesterday there were nine left alive. Today, that number drops to eight; the first of them to walk there has left us.
Condolences to the Armstrong family, of course. And to the broader NASA family as well. The Armstrong family has asked that to honor Neil's memory, go outside, take a look at the moon, and give it a wink. But before hand, take a look at this below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo11-LRO-March2012.jpg
Those trails in that image are full of Neil's footprints. And Buzz's footprints. And they will be there for millions of years. Representing all our footprints, from generations past and for generations to come who have and will look up at Luna, and wonder if only for a moment, what it's like to go there.
Ad Astra, Neil. Ad Astra. =wink=
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