They took a 45-day "Giant Leap" tour of 25 countries. They spoke to a joint session of Congress. Good night from Apollo 11."Īfter safely returning to Earth, the astronauts rode in parades in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. To those people tonight, we give a special thank you, and to all the other people that are listening and watching tonight, God bless you. On the trip back to Earth, Armstrong ackowledged “…the giants of science who have preceded this effort,” the American people, elected officials from four administrations and “…to all those Americans who built the spacecraft who did the construction, design, the tests and put their hearts and all their abilities into those craft. How one Texas mom launched the political movement against Gov.Texas TikTok star lands role on George Lopez's new show 'Lopez Vs.Tiger cub found in Texas rapper's home didn't actually escape Dallas Zoo.Tacos y Más: Eating at this Houston taqueria after mass is a sacred Sunday ritual.Brash Brewing reopening delayed because taproom was never permitted.Heavy winds blow semi truck off Houston overpass as severe weather rocks region.New Texas law requires schools to display 'In God We Trust' signs.Neil Armstrong’s pioneering efforts helped catapult America as a global leader,” said Congressman Pete Olson, a Clear Lake High School graduate.Īrmstrong, Aldrin and Collins regularly recognized the team effort which made their achievements possible. That historic moment changed America forever. “I still remember watching the grainy images of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Sea of Tranquility. In 1969, as the world held its’ breath, the Apollo 11 crew of Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins fulfilled the Kennedy challenge with Armstrong becoming the first man to land a craft on the moon and then, the first to make a footprint on its’ surface. He was selected as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission (March 1966) during which he performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard…”Īrmstrong and thousands of others trained to do the hard things. At Rice University, Kennedy elaborated upon his earlier lunar challenge, “We choose to go to the moon. That brought him to Houston, where President Kennedy also came in September of ’62. He flew fast and high, making him an easy choice for NASA’s second group of astronauts in 1962. She survives.Īfter Purdue and his first marriage, Armstrong became a test pilot in California. The couple divorced in 1994.įive years later, he married Carol Knight and they lived near Cincinnati. He married Janet Elizabeth Shearon in January 1956. He left Purdue to fly 78 combat missions for the Navy during the Korean War, then returned and graduated. Armstrong wondered if aviation history was passing him by. While Armstrong was studying engineering at Purdue University, (James Hansen wrote in a biography) Armstrong learned Chuck Yeager had broken the sound barrier. When he was 15, before he got his driver’s license, he had learned to fly. Year’s earlier in Ohio when he was 6-years-old, Armstrong rode in an airplane for the first time. The viability of Armstrong’s legacy was confirmed Saturday (August 25) after his family announced that he had passed away at age 82, following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.Īrmstrong could have allowed his life to be defined entirely by the “One small step for (a) man…,” followed by 151 minutes on the lunar surface, but didn’t.