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RIP Neil Armstrong

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Starman, Aug 25, 2012.

  1. Shoeless Joe

    Shoeless Joe Active Member

    RIP to someone who did something truly important for all mankind.

    The funny thing is Armstrong is and will forever be one of the most known names on the planet, and that it was just a stroke of luck for him it worked out that way. The flight assignments weren't handed out with the intention of Armstrong being "the first man" because he was the most worthy. The flight assignments were handed out months or even years in advance. Had the prep missions gone better or worse, Apollo 10 or Apollo 12 could have been the mission to do the first landing.
     
  2. Liut

    Liut Well-Known Member

    RIP to a true hero. Mr. Armstrong was never hesitant to credit the thousands of people that made the first moon landing possible.

    There were those inside NASA that wanted Virgil Grissom to take the first step. As has just been previously stated, who knows how the flight assignments would have turned out. However, any possibility it would be Grissom ended on Jan. 27, 1967.
     
  3. SockPuppet

    SockPuppet Active Member

    I saw an Ed Bradley interview of Armstrong on 60 Minutes. Also had Cronkite as a participant. Interesting tidbit that came up during the interview about which I had never heard.
    The LEM's auto pilot at the lander heading toward a large crater with boulders "the size of cars" (Armstrong). He took control for the landing, basically making an in-flight detour to find a place to set it down. The extra flight time nearly ate up all the fuel for the landing. Cronkite and those in the studio knew of the flight plan and the fuel situation so they were indeed tense. Most people assumed it was simply because of the drama of landing on the moon. Turns out there was more drama than people realized.
     
  4. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    One of my favorite scenes from the series . . .

     
  5. jaydaum

    jaydaum Member

    I know that Armstrong was very reluctant to give interviews about the moon landing but did he EVER talk about it at length?
    Are there any books any of you can recommend? If I'm not mistaken, in the docs From the Earth to the Moon and In the Shadow of the Moon,
    Armstrong is completely absent. I would love any book/doc recommendations if anyone has any... THANKS!
     
  6. Starman

    Starman Well-Known Member

    This interview with, of all things, the Australian CPA association, is the most extensive I have seen of Neil Armstrong actually discussing the landing.


    http://thebottomline.cpaaustralia.com.au/
     
  7. jaydaum

    jaydaum Member

    Thank you for the help Starman!
     
  8. finishthehat

    finishthehat Active Member

    There is an "authorized bio" of Armstrong that came out a few tears ago, bun unfortunately it's a bit of a slog to get through.

    I had a friend who met him at an air show and worked up the nerve to approach him. As soon as Armstrong found out the guy wanted to talk about flying the X-15 and not Apollo, he was happy to chat.
     
  9. Shoeless Joe

    Shoeless Joe Active Member

    From a PR standpoint, it would have been far better for Buzz to have been "first man" than Neil.
     
  10. NoOneLikesUs

    NoOneLikesUs Active Member

    It's strange that the president hasn't ordered flags at half mast in Armstrong's honor. That probably doesn't bode well for a state funeral.
     
  11. Shoeless Joe

    Shoeless Joe Active Member

    Yeah, mine, too. That was one of the great series. I watch it over and over whenever it pops up on OnDemand. Maybe with Armstrong's passing, they'll show it again.
     
  12. Shoeless Joe

    Shoeless Joe Active Member

    If he doesn't get a state funeral, we should storm Washington.

    I've noticed that the "they faked the moon landings" nutjobs are out in force today on the intraweb.
     
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