NEILARMSTRONG

ARMSTRONG, Neil Alden

ARMSTRONG, Neil Alden(1930- ),American astronaut, born in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He served as a pilot in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. After graduating (1955) from Purdue University, he joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, then known as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, serving as a civilian test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base, Lancaster, Calif. In 1962 he became the first civilian to enter the astronaut-training program. In March 1966, Armstrong was command pilot of the Gemini 8 mission, which accomplished the first physical joining of two orbiting spacecraft. In July 1969, Armstrong, as commander of the Apollo 11 lunar mission, became the first person to set foot on the moon. His companions on the mission were Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins. In 1971 be became professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Following the fatal explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in January 1986, Armstrong was appointed deputy chief of the presidential commission set up to investigate the disaster.