78 replies to this topic

[Bloggsworth]

Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On Jupiter and Mars

[arttidesco]

RIP The man who took one giant leap for mankind

[CSquared]

What an amazing life and legacy. Rest in peace, sir.

[Wirra]

I admired him greatly as a pilot/astronaut but even more so as a man by the way he conducted himself post July 1969. RIP

[E1pix]

I was at a Formula 5000 race when they announced the landing. I was 9, and to this day it was the only time I wanted to race away from any race track.

RIP, Neil. And Thanks for being my Hero.

[Manfred Cubenoggin]

Truly shocked at his passing.

My browser opens to the CBC news website and it figured as the top story. I let out a loud, 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!'

RIP, Neil.

[Ray Bell]

Certainly a man among men...

I frequently use his name in an illustration of how quickly technology marches on today. I picked this up in an ABC (Australia) documentary called Out of the Fiery Furnace (subtitled Man's History with Metals) in which they showed that it took longer (about 80 years) to get from the first Newcomen Beam Engine to the first upward development of that, James Watt putting the steam in under pressure, than it took to get from Wilbur and Orville Wright at Kittyhawk to Neil Armstrong walking on the moon (under 66 years). Along with all the attendant inventions, metallurgical development, rocketry, radio, computer etc that it took to make that journey.

I agree with Peter, he's been a great ambassador ever since. He'll long be remembered.

[RonPohl]

Someone please jog my memory. Was not at least one astronaut involved in racing? Thanks. Another one of the good guys is gone.

[Tim Murray]

'Pete' Conrad certainly was:

http://www.racingspo...Conrad-USA.html

and I believe Gordon Cooper did some NASCAR races.

RIP Neil.

[Ralliart]

In the 90's while living in Berlin, I happened to catch Selina Scott's show on BBC-TV. Her guest was Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin said, since Armstrong was the captain of the ship, that the arrangement was, at takeoff, that, upon landing on the moon, Armstrong would remain with the ship (with Collins) while Aldrin would take the first step for mankind. Seems Armstrong got greedy and didn't carry out his orders. Aldrin would seem to be incorruptible source on this.

[watkins]

Someone please jog my memory. Was not at least one astronaut involved in racing? Thanks. Another one of the good guys is gone.

I remember Pete Conrad participating in a celebratory race at Watkins Glen driving a Toyota during (I think) the late 1970's. I took a photo of him leaning against his car.



After watching the Moon landing I've always thought Neil Armstrong should go down in history alongside Christoper Columbus. After all he (Armstrong) went almost a quarter of a million miles to the moon while Columbus traveled an estimated 2,400 miles. They both took a chance I never would, so I shouldn't be one to judge, but, in my opinion, I'll give my vote to Armstrong. After all, the first guy to step physically on a foreign planet from Earth has to be one of the most important accomplishments in human history. I find it sad that many of the general public today doesn't have a clue about the significance of Neil Armstrong's accomplishments...or even know who he is.

R.I.P. Neal, you are appreciated.

[David McKinney]

... the first guy to step physically on a foreign planet from Earth has to be one of the most important accomplishments in human history.

It will be - if it ever happens

[elansprint72]

It will be - if it ever happens

A rather tasteless comment, given the circumstances.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is a release from the Armstrong family:

“We are heartbroken to share the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.
Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend.

Neil Armstrong was also a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job. He served his Nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. He also found success back home in his native Ohio in business and academia, and became a community leader in Cincinnati.

He remained an advocate of aviation and exploration throughout his life and never lost his boyhood wonder of these pursuits.

As much as Neil cherished his privacy, he always appreciated the expressions of good will from people around the world and from all walks of life.

While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves.

For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.”

[ReWind]

A rather tasteless comment, given the circumstances.

I think David's comment was his way to point out that the moon is no foreign PLANET. Therefore not a matter of taste.

BTW: What is the reason for this thread on a motorsports related forum?

[Bloggsworth]

I posted the same message on a writer's forum and from one contributor got the following response:

"The Tour de France will never be the same..."

[Sharman]

I posted the same message on a writer's forum and from one contributor got the following response:

"The Tour de France will never be the same..."

It should be qualified and prefaced by the word "Happily"

[Tim C 27]

I took the comment to mean that we've not been to a foreign planet yet - not that he was questioning whether the moon landings were faked or not.

I never realised how much the news would sadden me.

[Doug Nye]

Certainly a man among men...

I frequently use his name in an illustration of how quickly technology marches on today. I picked this up in an ABC (Australia) documentary called Out of the Fiery Furnace (subtitled Man's History with Metals) in which they showed that it took longer (about 80 years) to get from the first Newcomen Beam Engine to the first upward development of that, James Watt putting the steam in under pressure, than it took to get from Wilbur and Orville Wright at Kittyhawk to Neil Armstrong walking on the moon (under 66 years). Along with all the attendant inventions, metallurgical development, rocketry, radio, computer etc that it took to make that journey.

I agree with Peter, he's been a great ambassador ever since. He'll long be remembered.

A great man, indeed. Enigmatic, private, perhaps the most accomplished civilian pilot of all time... My father was born before the Wright Brothers' first controlled, powered flights at Kitty Hawk. I then sat with him as we watched live TV coverage as Armstrong first set foot upon the moon. So much advance within one lifetime.

RIP - Armstrong's death reminds me of Nuvolari's epitaph, "...you shall travel still faster through the heavens..." etc.

DCN

[Tony Matthews]

I think David's comment was his way to point out that the moon is no foreign PLANET. Therefore not a matter of taste.

BTW: What is the reason for this thread on a motorsports related forum?

The same reason that there is a thread about the DH Mosquito, I suppose.

[Ray Bell]

That's a staggering thought, Doug...

My father was from the early twenties, so much had already happened before he was born. But it reminds me how much I used to love talking to elderly people twenty to thirty years ago, people who remembered when the first car came to town, saw the first plane fly over, watched as the phone lines arrived in their town and saw the transformation of so much more in their lifetimes.

[Wirra]

I know it's so often referred to as man landing on the moon but the highlight for me was the moments leading up to the module's departure. I reckon my heart (and those of the 600 million watching) was beating faster than Mr Armstrong's.

[Glengavel]

I think David's comment was his way to point out that the moon is no foreign PLANET. Therefore not a matter of taste.

The moon's almost large enough, in relation to the earth, that the earth-moon system could be considered a binary planet.

http://en.wikipedia....i/Double_planet

[B Squared]

A portion of the front page from my local newspaper the day after the moon landing. On July 20, 1969 my brother and I raced in our first Soap Box Derby race, ( I made it to the round of 16, he was in the final 8), the whole family was rather tired, but we were re-energized when watching these brave men walk on the moon.

A good friends father went to college with Neil Armstrong and always has had nothing but admiration and respect for him - even before he became Neil Armstrong. I always hoped to meet him, as Mr. Q and he stayed in touch, but unfortunately......RIP to a good, brave and modest man.

[jj2728]

A true American hero and a fellow Ohioan. RIP and Godspeed.

[Bloggsworth]

BTW: What is the reason for this thread on a motorsports related forum?

There's more to life than motor-racing.

Edited by Bloggsworth, 26 August 2012 - 12:40.

[D-Type]

"One small step for a man one giant leap for mankind"

What can we say now he has gone? RIP



Edit: Misquote corrected

Edited by D-Type, 26 August 2012 - 23:26.

[Jack-the-Lad]

If I had had a son I would have liked for him to be like Neil Armstrong...brave, humble, selfless. Now he truly resides in Tranquility Base.

R.I.P.

Jack

[watkins]

QUOTE (watkins @ Aug 26 2012, 06:37)
... the first guy to step physically on a foreign planet from Earth has to be one of the most important accomplishments in human history.

It will be - if it ever happens

Correction:

...the first guy to step physically on a foreign planet from Earth celestial body has to be one of the most important accomplishments in human history.

[ensign14]

In the 90's while living in Berlin, I happened to catch Selina Scott's show on BBC-TV. Her guest was Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin said, since Armstrong was the captain of the ship, that the arrangement was, at takeoff, that, upon landing on the moon, Armstrong would remain with the ship (with Collins) while Aldrin would take the first step for mankind. Seems Armstrong got greedy and didn't carry out his orders. Aldrin would seem to be incorruptible source on this.

Other than the plan was always to have 2 men go to the moon, as they needed 2 to pilot the Eagle, and Armstrong was next to the door. Armstrong was always going to be the one.

[kayemod]

It probably comes as a surprise to most of you that our very own Jeremy Clarkson has been mistaken for Neil. Jeremy is an excellent after-dinner speaker, and one of the tales he sometimes tells concerns meeting Nelson Mandela. Top Gear were filming in South Africa, which is how this came about. I've no idea how many marbles Nelson possessed in his heyday, but apparently he has many fewer these days. During his conversation with JC, Mandela kept asking him what it had been like to walk on the Moon, apparently quite convinced that Jeremy Clarkson was Neil Armstrong.

[E1pix]

Great story kayemod, and not a personality mixup one would think possible.

[Geoff E]

"A large One small step for a man a giant leap for mankind"

[pete53]

I am not sure how much travelling to the Moon has benefitted mankind on a material level, but following the Apollo manned missions as a youngster was very exciting. A lot of people questioned whether it was worth the money, but sometimes the value of things can't simply be equated with their monetary worth. Bizarrely Neil Armstrong's first step on to the surface of the moon will for be forever associated by me with Butlins Skegness - I was there with two mates enjoying our first ever holiday without parents.

It is strange to think that it is nearly 40 years since man last set foot on the Moon. For youngsters today the technological achievements of 40 years ago may often seem tame, but not as far as space travel is concerned as those Apollo missions remain the pinnacle of manned space travel to date.

[Nick Planas]

Other than the plan was always to have 2 men go to the moon, as they needed 2 to pilot the Eagle, and Armstrong was next to the door. Armstrong was always going to be the one.

Indeed, and it was decided several weeks beforehand exactly who would be first and that was the reason given. I have several astronaut and apollo flight controller biographies, autobiographies and observer's books. This sort of thing was choreographed, rehearsed, simulated, etc for weeks leading up to the mission. What was notable was that Armstrong had a reputation for landing aircraft that were crippled, rather than baling out, and so he was the ideal man to command the first mission. Not many people know that the Lunar Module's computer started overloading on the approach, throwing up alarms unexpectedly. Fortunately, the crew had simulated this in the last few days and did not need to abort, but many people are fairly sure that Neil would have flown it down anyway! As it was he to take over control and manually fly the thing to avoid the computer landing them half inside a crater in a boulder field!

Aldrin admits in his autobiography that he had assumed that as Lunar Module Pilot he would naturally be the first on the moon. He was annoyed to find out that Armstrong appeared to have decided that HE would be first, however Aldrin soon grew to realise that this was a decision made much higher up the command chain in NASA, rightly or wrongly, and he claims he learned to live with it. Any one of those astromauts was capable of doing the job, but when you read other people's opinions you begin to understand that Aldrin tended to rub people up the wrong way - NASA's chiefs would clearly have had a say in who was the first, once the crew was chosen. When you look at how each man dealt with life after the mission, you realise they made the right choice - Armstrong became fairly reclusive (he liked to talk about flying and spaceflight, and even his role in it, as long as he wasn't to be glorified as a hero). Aldrin suffered serious depression, lost his marriage, battled alcoholism, etc etc. Some people put it down to his having a father who was never satisfied with his career unless he was the best, always.

I do feel for Aldrin, but it was not a case of arriving at the surface and Armstrong saying "Right, I'm in charge, move over buddy, I'm gonna be first" - it was already decided.

All of these guys operated on another level - can't say I'd happily strap myself onto the top of a ballistic missile 363 feet up...

[Bloggsworth]

I am not sure how much travelling to the Moon has benefitted mankind on a material level, but following the Apollo manned missions as a youngster was very exciting. A lot of people questioned whether it was worth the money, but sometimes the value of things can't simply be equated with their monetary worth. Bizarrely Neil Armstrong's first step on to the surface of the moon will for be forever associated by me with Butlins Skegness - I was there with two mates enjoying our first ever holiday without parents.

It is strange to think that it is nearly 40 years since man last set foot on the Moon. For youngsters today the technological achievements of 40 years ago may often seem tame, but not as far as space travel is concerned as those Apollo missions remain the pinnacle of manned space travel to date.

Going to the moon pushed development forward, if man didn't push development in this way we would still be, metaphorically, dragging our knuckles on the ground. Progress advances in both small and large steps, but always because someone said "I wonder if..." I wonder if I can make the steam lifting the lid of that kettle do some work; I wonder if by hanging this piece of material from a pole in the middle of that boat I can make the boat move; I wonder if I can make that stuff explode slowly and use it to fly to the moon...

[Glengavel]

Aldrin admits in his autobiography that he had assumed that as Lunar Module Pilot he would naturally be the first on the moon.

There's a thing - Aldrin was the LM Pilot, but it was Armstrong who landed it?

[PCC]

This sort of thing was choreographed, rehearsed, simulated, etc for weeks leading up to the mission.

Thanks for that information. I have to say it didn't make much sense to me that in something requiring as much planning and discipline as a moonshot, they'd land on the surface and start improvising.

[Emery0323]

There's a thing - Aldrin was the LM Pilot, but it was Armstrong who landed it?

The "official job titles" for this mission were:

Armstrong: Mission Commander
Aldrin: Lunar Module Pilot
Collins: Command Module Pilot (i.e., the one left orbiting the moon while the other two landed)

Armstrong, as mission commander, effectively outranked the other two, and that's how he was designated to walk on the moon first.
He was very highly regarded within the Astronaut corps for making good decisions in dicey circumstances.

If I remember correctly, for all the Apollo Moon-Landing missions, it was the mission commander who left the LM first, and the LM pilot was second.

However self-serving Aldrin's version of events might or might not be, it's complete and utter rubbish that he was designated to land on the moon alone, and that Armstrong invited himself along while the mission was in progress. That version of events is so inaccurate and counter-factual that it strains credulity that Aldrin would have said that publicly. The Lunar Module was a two-man craft and all the Apollo missions were designed as two-man landings from the outset - check any of NASA's own literature on the Apollo program.

[snert]

For anyone who's interested this is probably the definitive site for the moon missions

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/frame.html

RIP Neil you were an inspiration

[JacnGille]

Another hero gone.

[paulsenna1]

Amazing to think that the Wright brothers and Armstrong could have met one another.

[E1pix]

What a thought that is!

[wagons46]

Amazing to think that the Wright brothers and Armstrong could have met one another.

Only Orville as Wilbur died in 1912. Orville made it to 1948 and yes that is an amazing thing to think about.

[cm50]

RIP Neil Armstrong.

Where do you think where we would be without those two world wars that greatly accelerated the technology battles of materials, aviation, rocketry and computing.......much more that the 66 years I imagine

[Ray Bell]

The speed of sound was achieved during Orville's lifetime, too...

Just 44 years between those events.

[roger.daltrey]

On the subject of Aldrin, first to descend to the surface and sour grapes - indeed Armstrong was in hindsight the right man to be given the task of first one down.

But, you may not be aware that Buzz did get his own back and there are NO photographs of Armstrong on the surface of the moon.

All photos from Apollo 11 feature Aldrin !!

How about that - score draw in that competition

[ensign14]

But, you may not be aware that Buzz did get his own back and there are NO photographs of Armstrong on the surface of the moon.

Other than those of Armstrong in Buzz' visor...

[Gary C]

what utter rubbish that Armstrong 'barged in' and told Aldrin 'I'm coming along for the ride and I'll be first out of the hatch, too.' It was all decided by the higher-ups at NASA months before departure. I'm also finding it hard to believe that Aldrin would have said that at all, either.
But, am I right in thinking that the Apollo 11 crew had their evening meal before launch with none other than Charles Lindbergh??

[CSquared]

But, you may not be aware that Buzz did get his own back and there are NO photographs of Armstrong on the surface of the moon.

All photos from Apollo 11 feature Aldrin !!

Thanks to those who have already refuted the nonsense about Armstrong "not following orders." It's also not true that there are no photos of Armstrong during the EVA. See 110:31:47 at http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/ Be warned, you may end up spending hours on that site.

[E1pix]

what utter rubbish that Armstrong 'barged in' and told Aldrin 'I'm coming along for the ride and I'll be first out of the hatch, too.' It was all decided by the higher-ups at NASA months before departure. I'm also finding it hard to believe that Aldrin would have said that at all, either.

I, too believe that was an unsubstantiated rumor.

One thing I do think is true is that Armstrong slightly changed the scripted words of his first step... perhaps by accident, perhaps not. Whatever, I loved the guy.