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Neil Armstrong, First Man
George Leopold
8/26/2012 1:12 PM EDT
Solving problems
Like most of the astronauts, Neil Armstrong was born to fly. His awe of flight soon took him to the edge of space as a test pilot flying the X-15 rocket plane. His single-minded focus on advancing the frontiers of flight sharpened following the 1962 death of his infant daughter, Karen, from an inoperable brain tumor. He came to view spaceflight not as a race to the Moon but rather a chance to fly in “a completely new medium.”
His description of the test pilot’s job, taken from an interview last year in Australia, illustrated Neil Armstrong’s precision and his passion for advancing knowledge:
“The test pilot is solving problems,” Armstrong told the interviewer. “He’s looking for inadequacies, or shortcomings, or barriers to substantial safety at increasing performance in flight. And his job is to identify those problems and assist in finding a solution. So it’s a problem-solving job, and you’re always working with the unknowns. I found that a fascinating part of my career path.”
Once accepted into the astronaut corps, Neil Armstrong soon impressed everyone he met with his probing questions about the intricacies of spaceflight. In his book, Engineering the Space Age, Air Force rocketeer Robert Brulle, recalls a telling scene during an early NASA meeting: “We were bombarded by questions from the NASA attendees. Some were obviously trivial and were asked so the person could get his name printed in the conference minutes. However, I noted one individual [who] asked some very deep, understanding questions that required careful thought-out answers.”
Brulle later asked NASA officials who the individual was asking the tough questions. “It was obvious from their answer that they also thought very highly of him. It was Neil Armstrong, and I was introduced to him during the afternoon break. He clearly lived up to my initial appraisal.”
Neil Armstrong with a group of tourists at the Kennedy Space Center museum at Cape Canaveral, Fla., earlier this year.
If he could leave us with just one more thought before passing, Neil Armstrong might have repeated his understated reply to his Apollo 11 crew mate Michael Collins after Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin embarked in their lunar module on the treacherous final 47,000 feet to the Sea of Tranquility. Staring out the window of the command module at the lonely little machine, appearing even more fragile against the blackness of the universe, Collins bid his crew mates a safe trip, ending with, “You guys take care.”
The Apollo 11 commander replied simply, “See you later.”
Neil Armstrong of Wapakoneta, Ohio, was 82.
Like most of the astronauts, Neil Armstrong was born to fly. His awe of flight soon took him to the edge of space as a test pilot flying the X-15 rocket plane. His single-minded focus on advancing the frontiers of flight sharpened following the 1962 death of his infant daughter, Karen, from an inoperable brain tumor. He came to view spaceflight not as a race to the Moon but rather a chance to fly in “a completely new medium.”
His description of the test pilot’s job, taken from an interview last year in Australia, illustrated Neil Armstrong’s precision and his passion for advancing knowledge:
“The test pilot is solving problems,” Armstrong told the interviewer. “He’s looking for inadequacies, or shortcomings, or barriers to substantial safety at increasing performance in flight. And his job is to identify those problems and assist in finding a solution. So it’s a problem-solving job, and you’re always working with the unknowns. I found that a fascinating part of my career path.”
Once accepted into the astronaut corps, Neil Armstrong soon impressed everyone he met with his probing questions about the intricacies of spaceflight. In his book, Engineering the Space Age, Air Force rocketeer Robert Brulle, recalls a telling scene during an early NASA meeting: “We were bombarded by questions from the NASA attendees. Some were obviously trivial and were asked so the person could get his name printed in the conference minutes. However, I noted one individual [who] asked some very deep, understanding questions that required careful thought-out answers.”
Brulle later asked NASA officials who the individual was asking the tough questions. “It was obvious from their answer that they also thought very highly of him. It was Neil Armstrong, and I was introduced to him during the afternoon break. He clearly lived up to my initial appraisal.”
Neil Armstrong with a group of tourists at the Kennedy Space Center museum at Cape Canaveral, Fla., earlier this year.
If he could leave us with just one more thought before passing, Neil Armstrong might have repeated his understated reply to his Apollo 11 crew mate Michael Collins after Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin embarked in their lunar module on the treacherous final 47,000 feet to the Sea of Tranquility. Staring out the window of the command module at the lonely little machine, appearing even more fragile against the blackness of the universe, Collins bid his crew mates a safe trip, ending with, “You guys take care.”
The Apollo 11 commander replied simply, “See you later.”
Neil Armstrong of Wapakoneta, Ohio, was 82.
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junko.yoshida
8/26/2012 5:23 PM EDT
The best orbit I've read on Armstrong so far. Understated; a touch of humanity ( I didn't know about his daughter Karen) but most of all, it speaks of Armstrong's desire to see the moon walk not as a one-time event but as continuim of science and engineering.
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http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/poconoarmchairreview
8/26/2012 6:05 PM EDT
He was much too young to pass on, for such a trim-looking, athletic man. Shows you what complications from surgery can do.
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Patk0317
8/26/2012 11:57 PM EDT
I remember watching the event live on a black and white TV. It was an all too brief respite from Vietnam and other political issues of the day.
It was an event that likely inspired a lot of engineers to be.
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rick.merritt
8/27/2012 2:01 AM EDT
I too remember watching that moment as a kid on a B&W TV.
One of the great things about working for EE Times is you sometimes get to meet or interview people who have shaped some such historic moment.
Thanks for bringing back a realistic and vivid portrait of the real Neil.
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Sheetal.Pandey
8/27/2012 6:46 AM EDT
I guess Neil's is the one of the well known personalities across globe. Its sad that he passed away unexpectedly.
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Robotics Developer
8/27/2012 8:55 AM EDT
I too remember watching on B&W TV the grainy video of the first lunar walk and the subsequent excursions, what struck me was: the expansion of the possibilities for mankind that this represented. I can not imagine keeping my perspective if that had been me and not Neil, he must have been truly humble. He and his generation will be missed!
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george.leopold
8/27/2012 9:11 AM EDT
While he shunned the limelight, Neil Armstrong often said that he was pleased to hear that he had inspired so many. Many of those inspired were surely engineers.
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Sanjib.Acharya
8/27/2012 12:52 PM EDT
He is a hero and will remain as a hero in the hearts of many around the world. The first news I read in today's newspaper in India was this. Not a good news to start the day with. I recalled my childhood days, when I learned about him that he was the first person to walk on the moon much before I was born! As I had a childhood dream to be a pilot and to fly to space, it used to fascinate me.
If I recall correctly, what I read in the newspaper about him was: he learned to fly at the age of 15, much before he got his driving license!
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Brian Fuller2
8/27/2012 2:33 PM EDT
Fabulous tribute, George. (And BTW, a great lead on that 2000 story!). Armstrong shares with most engineers what really is a key to success: a humility. The problems and challenges are always there, always bigger than we are, and we can only hope to string together a series of successes in a lifelong effort at technological improvement.
In 1969, my parents called me inside from whatever diversion I was doing outside. We sat on the couch and stared at our black-and-white Magnavox as Armstrong descended to the moon. Today, we're about to launch the era of private space flight and exploration, which we can watch live on our cellphones.
Here's to Armstrong and an army of engineers who keep pushing the rock downfield.
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krh
8/28/2012 12:54 AM EDT
Makes me think of the song "Rocket Man".
But Mr. Armstrong, I would change one lyric of that song...we all know the man you were...RIP
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SteveD_Aus
8/28/2012 8:06 PM EDT
...and it was never 'just a job' like the song portrays. One of the outstanding impressions of that select group of people is of their drive, daring and determination in opening up whole realms of science and technological achievement, perhaps the ultimate expression of the society that created the environment where such progress can occur.
While I'm here, I'll second the recommendation of the recent CPA interview with Armstrong at http://thebottomline.cpaaustralia.com.au/ to add to your memory of the man.
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george.leopold
8/28/2012 11:27 AM EDT
To remember Neil Armstrong and all the engineers of Apollo, we are preparing a a slideshow for later this week that will serve as a kind of reprise of our 2009 Apollo digital edition. That edition marked the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Below is a link to the Apollo digital edition:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cmp/eetimes_apollo_20090720/#/1/OnePage
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peralta_mike
8/28/2012 12:35 PM EDT
I hope to see Neil Armstrong in heaven someday.
And to shake his hand for living an exemplary life. - Mike Peralta (hell3.weebly.com)
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dylan.mcgrath
8/28/2012 2:14 PM EDT
Neil Armstrong was a truly remarkable individual. He will be remembered of course as the first person to walk on the Moon, but clearly his life was much fuller and richer than just this one accomplishment.
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cshore
8/28/2012 11:08 PM EDT
For so many people my age, and I am one, the moon landing was the first thing we can remember watching on television. We lived in Uganda then and didn't have a television so went round to a friend's house in the middle of the night to watch it. The memory has never left me. The world changed that night.
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jigsaw
8/29/2012 1:38 AM EDT
Neil was, and will continue to be a source of motivation to advance technology for the benefit of mankind. He will be remembered across the globe for ages to come.
nmahmodti
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Neo1
8/30/2012 1:59 AM EDT
Lets say, "to Neil"
He became the face of the progress of science in 20th century, many might not remember his face but who can forget that footprint on the dusty surface of Moon.
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palf
8/30/2012 3:45 AM EDT
I was on summer vacation from a British university looking after a bunk of 10 year olds at a summer camp (I read them Bradbury at bedtime :). The whole camp stayed up until 4am EST watching the landing. Absolutely unforgettable, that summer of '69. RIP Neil Armstrong.
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