Neil Armstrong (05.08.1930 - 25.08.2012) - American astronaut.
Neil Alden Armstrong was born on 5 August 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. There were three children in a family of Viola Louise Engel and Stephen Koenig Armstrong. His father, Stephen Koenig Armstrong, worked as an auditor for the Ohio state government. Neil had younger brother Dean and younger sister June. Because of Stephen Armstrong’s service the family moved from one town to another and after Neil’s birth they lived in twenty different towns. When Neil was two years old his father took him to the Cleveland Air Races. At that time Neil grew fond of flying. The first airplane flight in Neil’s life was in July 1936 when Neil was six years old. It was in Warren, Ohio, when his father took him to go for a ride in a Ford Trimotor.
The final moving of the family was to Wapakoneta in 1944. Neil Armstrong entered Blume High School there. He started to attend flying lessons at the county airport and received the flight certificate at the age of fifteen. It should be noted that Neil Armstrong earned his driver’s license later than the flight certificate. He also was a member of the Boy Scouts and in the end he received the rank of Eagle Scout. From 1947 to 1955 Neil studied at Purdue University.
Personal life
The first wife of Neil Armstrong was Janet Shearon. He married her on 28 January 1956. They had two children. Son Eric was born in 1957 and daughter Karen was born in 1959, but she died in 1962. In a year son Mark was born. In 1994 their marriage broke down. In 1992 Neil Armstrong met Carol Held Knight who became his second wife. He married her on 12 June 1994 in Ohio.
Career
Neil Armstrong went down in history as an American astronaut, test-pilot and aerospace engineer. He was a United States Navy officer. Neil Armstrong began making a career in aviation and astronautics after serving in the Korean War. Then he served as a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics High-Speed Flight Station where he logged over 900 flights. Neil Armstrong was also university professor.
Neil Armstrong’s first spaceflight was in 1966. He was the command pilot of the NASA Gemini 8 mission. Neil Armstrong and pilot David Scott accomplished the first manned docking of two spacecraft.
The greatest achievement of Neil Armstrong was his second spaceflight in July 1969. On this mission he and Buzz Aldrin descended to the lunar surface where they spent 2.5 hours. Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the Moon.
After his greatest and last spaceflight Neil Armstrong began to work at the University of Cincinnati as a teacher. In 1979 he resigned. In the next years Neil Armstrong took part in different projects and went into business.
Death
Neil Armstrong underwent surgery on August 7, 2012, to relieve blocked coronary arteries. He died on August 25, in Cincinnati, Ohio, following complications resulting from these cardiovascular procedures.
