Portal:Space exploration/Biography/Week 41 2006
Neil Alden Armstrong (born August 5, 1930) is a former American astronaut, test pilot, and Naval Aviator who is widely known for being the first human ever to set foot on the Moon. Armstrong's first space flight was as command pilot of Gemini 8 in 1966. On this mission, he performed the first manned docking of two spacecraft together with pilot David Scott. Armstrong's second and last space flight was as mission commander of the Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969. On this famous "giant leap for mankind", Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the lunar surface and spent 2.5 hours exploring, while Michael Collins orbited above.
Before becoming an astronaut, he was an aviator for the United States Navy, seeing action in the Korean War. Following this he became a test pilot at the NACA High-Speed Flight Station, now known as the Dryden Flight Research Center, where he flew over 900 flights in a variety of aircraft. As a research pilot, Armstrong served as project pilot on the F-100 Super Sabre A and C aircraft, F-101 Voodoo, and the Lockheed F-104A Starfighter. He also flew the Bell X-1B, Bell X-5, North American X-15, F-105 Thunderchief, F-106 Delta Dart, B-47 Stratojet, KC-135 Stratotanker and Paresev.
The lunar crater, Armstrong, located 50 km away from the Apollo 11 landing site, was named in his honor.