RIP Neil. A real hero.
I think his ashes should be sent on the next mars mission. MAVEN. Or sent to the moon.
And it's a pity that he won't get a chance to appear on the Big Bang Theory.
Neil Armstrong, who famously took a giant leap for mankind when he descended the ladder of Apollo 11's Eagle lander and set boot on the moon, has died. He was 82. Armstrong was a humble man. He was bemused by the fame that came with his achievement, proclaimed himself no more than a "nerdy engineer" and shunned the spotlight …
If we could do what he did in the 1960's with a computer less powerful than one of today's GCSE calculators why have we not done more?
Sadly, the political will to do more does not exist, the main motivation was not scientific goals, but a political goal to beat the Russians. America went to the moon by sending 0.5% of its national budget at a time when it was spending 7% of it's national making Vietnam looking like the moon. Imagine what mankind could have been achieved if the spending was the other way around.
There now only 8 men left alive of the 12 who have walked on the moon, hopefully mankind will get back to the moon or Mars before that experience passes from living memory.
Like a lot of people here Neil was one of my heroes, as a 10 year old I was allowed to stay up to 3AM to watch him take those famous steps, I remember that we all went outside and looked up at the moon in awe of the fact that there were two men standing on the moon at that very moment. I am sad to hear that he has passed away
It may have been a small step for man, but what big shoes for anyone to fill.
"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Docked with the Agena in orbit around the Earth.
I've watched the Earth glitter in the dark from the Sea of Tranquillity.
All those ... moments will be lost in time, like tears...in rain.
Time to die.
RIP Neil.
"America went to the moon by sending 0.5% of its national budget at a time when it was spending 7% of it's national making Vietnam looking like the moon. "
Incorrect. In the 1960's NASA took 5.5% of the US GDP to get to the Moon in less than 8 years.
*today* NASA receives <0.5% of the US GDP. Things were different back then.
The roughly 9 fold difference in funding *might* explain NASA's rather slow progress through the Constellation programme.
It would be a nice gesture if the first lander from *any* nation to return to the moon was called "Armstrong" in recognition of his achievement but I doubt it will happen.
Seems both of us are wrong according to this:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget_of_NASA,
and this:-
Table 15.1—TOTAL GOVERNMENT RECEIPTS IN ABSOLUTE AMOUNTS AND AS PERCENTAGES OF GDP: 1948–2007
NASA's budget peeked in1966 @4.4%, in 1969 when Aldrin walked on the moon it had reduced to 2.31% of budget while in the 1960's the military budget floated between 8% and 10% of GDP
"He would hate all this attention, he would hate all this fawning over his death, especially all the flowery faux emotional prose written by people who want to get on the 'I will miss you' band wagon."
I have to agree anyone who says they'll miss him and has never even met him, grr, I can imagine my Facebook wall tomorrow is going to be full of that crap.
That said, I'm a firm believer in the greatness of our species, that we're capable of great things and Neil Armstrong is partially responsible for that belief. He proved it (along with everyone else involved.) He is one of 12 people in the history of an entire species to have walked on the Moon. To get there, he sat in a small metal box on top of what was essentially a giant bomb. That took some serious balls, many people won't even ride a roller coaster.
Whether he thought he deserved praise or not, it cannot be denied that he has touched millions and inspired as many more; his death will be felt worldwide.
He would also probably be quick to point out he was at the top of a pyramid of thousands of people who were responsible for getting him to the moon. His humility always endeared him to me.
That said, you have to have mighty big balls to do what he did, knowing you may end up stuck there. He may have been a nerd, but what a nerd he was.
RIP
Simply amazing, he was a guy who just did it. Briefly, he was co-pilot of a B-29 while dropping a D558 Skyrocket, flew a Bell X1B and drove the X-15 to 4,500 mph at 200K+ feet it only seems natural he was the first to plant his boots on the moon. To say he was just doing his job doesn't cut it. It amazes me every time I hear his voice, "it's almost like a powder" as if he is describing the snow at the top of the ski lift on any other Monday morning. There is no cucumber with more cool. He was on the moon and going to work. A master of understatement, he took "one" small step without consideration of his many other small steps that were equally giant leaps for mankind. Cheers.
I have never had the privilege to meet the man, but aged seven I did successfully nag my parents to let me see the fuzzy image of Neil Armstrong stepping off that ladder. It was one of the things that set me off in a career of science (first astronomy, now computer science). I have seen many interviews with the man, and always appreciated his modesty. I will not miss Neil Armstrong at a personal level, because we never met. The personal loss is that of his family and friends. However, at this point it is fitting to express what a role model he was, both professionally, and as a human being. As his family stated to the press:
"The next time you look up and see the Moon smiling down at you,give it a wink and think of Neil".
That is the best monument to a modest, but great man.
The pioneers of space travel are dying one-by-one and what do we have to show for it... Tawdry celebrity shws and patent battles where both sides are equally culpable.
We have squandered the legacy of great men. Instead of standing on the shoulders of giants we are hunting between the legs of midgets for spare change.
Despite the fact that I rarely drink I too will uncap an ale and raise a glass to a man who was part of an amazing era, when mankind progressed and explored.
So sad that as a society we seem to have lost the sense of vision and adventure that sent brave yet modest men out to explore beyond the natural boundaries of our species in what were really such primitive craft. We now inhabit a world of shallow pleasures and petty squabbles and are far poorer for it.
Farewell Neil Armstrong, you leave behind generations that are not worthy of you. Thank you for helping make my childhood so exciting and awe inspiring - along with your NASA colleagues.
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..are a moron of the highest degree. You are a simple nobody who has done nothing noteworthy to be remembered for. Like most of us, you will die and be forgotten by all but the few who may happen to care about you. Whether you in your complete stupidity believe he didn't go to the moon will make no difference to history for THAT is what he will be remembered for long after your headstone has crumbled back to dust.
You are what is known as a sad pathetic little conspiracy nut... Enjoy your epitaph to your life.
Re; CmdrX3
Perhaps Kparsons84 epitaph should be simply "a man of whom even Winston Churchill said 'Who?'".
For Mr Armstrong, no comment is worthy. A few moments quiet reflection on the passing of another of my childhood heroes and a simple curiosity of why there seem to be no more of them will do for me.
<silence, respectful silence>
Saw this bad news after being out on a job to fix some lady's WiFi woes and bringing up the BBC news site to confirm all was fixed... I was quite upset tbh and the lady seemed to recognise the passing a true pioneer too...
RIP Neil Armstrong, you are my hero and certainly were made of The Right Stuff.
Does anyone else remember a Discovery Channel series featuring Neil back in the day when he'd just jump into any plane and then do all sorts of mental (and it looked, v. dangerous) stuff in it??? What a guy!
How many of my generation (50ish) were influenced by this man and his contemporaries. I remember getting up in the middle of the night to watch the lunar landings in July of 1969, I also know that society at that time was probably more pro science that at any time before or since. It certainly affected my choice of subjects at school and my chosen academic path and ultimately profession. He will be sadly missed, a brave, modest and intelligent man, qualities that are rare let alone to be found in one individual. When asked about his relative lack of exercise when compared to his fellow astronauts Neil Armstrong said, "I believe God gave us all a limited number of heart beats,and I will be damned if I use mine up running up and down the street."
Nothing relating to the "Conquest of Space" in decline or has been lost!
There was a single good reason for "going to the moon" - it was a prestige object. That's why money poured in and the expedition could be performed.
As no independent economic reason exists to perform a repeat performance, repeat performances won't be had.
Meanwhile, we have excellent stuff like the Tevatron and the LHC, Hubble, robots on Mars and generally all over the Solar System (as we are talking about publicly funded projects). Sure, I would like to see more, but notice that 3 trillion dollars have not yet been paid for oilseizing, Israelsaving and welfare programs in the 'tans, and we are already talking about the next, bigger war with Persia, so I'm not getting my hopes up for THAT.
For those of you having melancholy pangs, may I recall that the times of the "moon race" were also the times where the US thought it expedient to kill a few million rice peasants, going so far as to fuck up their DNA forever with hardcore chemical weapons for which other countries would have gotten a nuclear death sentence (and they still give a fuck about that). It was also the time Nixon went off the gold standard because he couldn't pay for the war, thus letting loose the joyride of wealth transfer and MIC growth whose train is now pulling into the station.
if you're going to be a pedantic prick then at least get it right, Neil Armstrong was never in the Air Force, he was in the United States Navy before becoming a test pilot for NACA and then joining NASA. Yes Armstrong himself never saw his first step being anything other than just doing his job, BUT THAT IS ONE OF THE MANY REASONS WHY HE WAS A GREAT MAN. Show some fucking respect.
RIP Neil Armstrong
Huh? I think you have Neil Armstrong confused with Buzz Aldrin. Buzz smacked conspiracy nut Bart Sibrel in the jaw: http://youtu.be/1wcrkxOgzhU . The judge threw the case out when Sibriel had the cheek to try and sue Aldrin.
Funny as it was watching a Sibrel get the shit smacked out of him by a man forty years his senior, Neil Armstrong was however far more diplomatic about idiots like Sibrel. In his last interview he simply said:
"People love conspiracy theories...I mean, they are very attractive. But it was never a concern to me because I know one day, somebody is going to go fly back up there and pick up that camera I left."
Just shows perfectly the humility and humour of the man I think.
I don't think people here are so blinded by the achievement that they are unable to see the downside of the system that put him on the moon.
What this thread is about is expressing admiration for someone who had the balls to step out into the cold where no-one had gone before, and who had the humility to treat it as just'a day at the office'. That humility probably undercut any desire to use the moon landings as proof of the glory and dominance of the American Way.
So, I can think of no finer accolade than the immortal words quoted by others here : What a guy!
I was one of many who were glued to their TV, watching the almost unbelievable spectacle of a somewhat primitive craft (although we didn't know it at the time) taking a 240,000 mile trip to the moon and actually making a successful landing. Quite amazing what us humans can do if pushed and it's obvious that Neil Armstrong was definitely made of "the right stuff". How that man could have remained so modest is beyond me. A true hero and an adventurer to the final frontier. My sympathies to his family.
One of my personal heroes, a man who truly had courage running through his veins.
I am sorry that we have not built upon the great foundations he and his ilk laid for us,
Mankind appears to have stumbled upon taking the giant leap, and is now scrabbling around in the dust instead of striding confidently toward the stars.
It's a shame that we're now so dumbed-down that raising generations inspired by "X-Factor" instead of "The Right Stuff" is the future.
It's a shame that we're now so dumbed-down that raising generations inspired by "X-Factor" instead of "The Right Stuff" is the future.
I don't think things have changed that much. Millions were glued to Opportunity Knocks or The Gong Show back then. And people still voted for crap.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgYYEGcySHg
He won 6 weeks in a row FFS.
Paris, because there will always be dumb people.
My parents knew that seeing a man on the moon was an historic event. I was 4 and they woke me up to see it happen live. A never to be forgotten moment in my life.
Reading about his several hair-raising adventures when his cool nerve and skills saved the mission and/or his life makes it clear that he was a really really good pilot. It was luck of the draw that he happened to be First Man, but his skill made the Apollo 11 landing happen.
Regarding the hoaxers, about 30% of the population are crazy. Nothing we can solve here.
I remember watching the landing of Apollo 11 live. I was 5 years old but I still remember the images vividly. I watched every televised rocket and shuttle launch, until the TV networks couldn't be bothered to carry real historical events live, unless it was a tragedy or something. I felt a sense of pride when our Astronauts made the headlines and I cheered the Soviet Cosmonauts when they launched and safely launded.
As Mr. Armstrong said on that day, "... a giant leap for mankind". Every journy into space, no matter what country or countries are involved, is another leap for mankind. Who would have guessed that only 66 years after powered flight, we would be launching animals, men and women into the heavens, thousands of miles above us.
After my father, Neil Armstrong was a hero of mine. Also like my late father, you will be missed but never forgotten by any who knew you or of your accomplishments. God speed and good tailwinds
He was one of those people who had greatness thrust upon them. From what I understand, be was never comfortable with that greatness, and only really wanted to be allowed to be a man. It's probably worth remembering at this point that not only will a world remember his passing, but he'll be mourned personally by his family and friends. My sympathies to them, and I hope their personal tragedy won't become some media circus.
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Will those who have experience on the moon (a previous post indicated that there are 8 of the 12 left) die off before we return?
Right now the experience dying off is ahead in the battle, which is a real shame.
Me? I consider myself lucky to have at least shaken the hand of the third man who landed on the moon. Pete Conrad was a VERY interesting guy. A little more flamboyant than Neil, but still an interesting guy!
I had great respect for the man. He was a true engineer, a problem solver. We don't seem to have so many of them these days.
As for the idiots dissing the team, they are not even worth the effort of clicking the downvote button.
"What shall we do with the mean, sniping, shadows of men? Why, we shall do nothing; for they are as straw in the wind. Unremembered."
R.I.P. Neil. You'll be fondly remembered for a long, long time.
I wasn't born until after Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. I have seen footage of the walk when the BBC had their programmes on the moon a few years back. It is amazing to think that only about 70 years after achieving the first flight, people were able to go on the moon and come back.
Imagine what would have happened if governments did not spend much of our tax money on wars. Instead spend it on helping others and advancing the exploration of space and science. Neil would have been around to see people on Mars. I watched the programme on Neil Armstrong on the BBC and it was rather fascinating to see just how much he wanted to live a normal life, despite being the first human on the moon. Nowadays people will just milk the fact that they slept with a footballer and other ridiculous claims to fame.
Most people all over the world can't remember the names of the Egyptian and Greek Gods etc. But they all know Neil. In 4000 years AD they'll still know Neil. I wonder how many people will know that guy Jesus that so many worship today, even though the year is linked to his death, I think.
Neil was a very special man. It should have been me, but they wouldn't send 2 year olds.
Why are people all up about this? the man did nothing of importance. The moon landings lead to nothing and all he did was sit on top of a rocket to the moon and then leave it. A monkey could have done it. He did nothing and achieved nothing. No matter how much people want the moon landings to be something huge it wasent. It could have been but that never happened.
True the moon landings weren't down to him, there were 100s of navy or airforce pilots who could have flown the mission sucessfully - but it was a long way from being a payload on a rocket. Read "how apollo flew to the moon" for a detailed technical account.
The only thing that could be said against the generation of apollo pilots is that it left a legacy of astronaut=hero which meant that later crews were still being chosen from the ranks of combat/test pilots instead of scientists. And biased Nasa in favour of projects like the space shuttle which could be flown by 'real' pilots
Armstrong calmly piloted that mission out of certain disaster. That, I understand is why they chose him for Apollo 11. He could keep his head. Even the Apollo 11 mission was precarious - manually landing with 20 sec. of fuel left, because the (computer-controlled) chosen landing site wasn't suitable - boulders - or having the ingenuity after their mission on the moon was complete, to simply stick a pen into the switch to fire the exit motor, as one of them had knocked the switch's dolly off when exiting Eagle?*
I really, really wish I had met the man. There aren't many of those giants left nowadays.
*They could've reprogrammed the switches, I understand, but Collins would have to have gone round again, timing, etc.
If there was ever anyone who was the prototype for having the right stuff, it was Neil Armstrong. He survived a malfunction in gemini 8 - a thruster got stuck open right after docking with an Agena booster, throwing the whole spacecraft into a 60rpm spin, and he did the only possible thing that could have saved the spacecraft, totally on his own, while any lesser "nerdy engineer" would have crapped their pants and passed out.
And then a lunar lander simulator tried VERY hard to kill him, and he survived that too.
And then during the actual landing, the landing coordinates would have put the LEM on top of a boulder, and with Aldrin's help, he found a perfect landing spot with almost no fuel remaining.
Armstrong is a hero of all humanity. It will be a long time before we see his like again. Rest in Peace.
Personally I also have a great deal of respect for The Other Dozen; the twelve that went all the way to the Moon but didn't land. People like Mike Collins for example.
Background for those interested:
9 manned flights to the Moon: Apollo 8, 10 to 17
Apollo 8 was Xmas orbit of Moon
Apollo 9 was Earth orbit test of LM
Apollo 10 was dress rehearsal down to 50,000 feet
3 seats per flight, 27 seats to the Moon (incl CM)
3 repeats: Lovel (8,13), Young (10,16), Cernan (10,17)
Lovel went to Moon twice never landed
Lovel probably furthest human from Earth ever (other two pressed against near window)
24 humans visited the Moon (in orbit or walking)
12 humans walked on the Moon
Young and Cernan had the best deal - 2 trips, long duration, rovers
Both Young and Cernan are very cool cats.
Moon project in ten years now impossible, due to modern "Project Management" techniques.
Some of those PM techniques came from Apollo, but now stupified.
We'll not be on Mars for about 25 years from now. Hopeless.
You are right.
The Armstrong family has requested that anyone who wants to Honour Neil Armstrong do so by following his example, which can be summarised as doing your best and not being selfish. Neil was just an ordinary man doing an extraordinary job to the best of his ability without seeking glory or fame. That in itself makes him rare. Let's not cheapen his legacy with a fifty foot marble statue on Ganymede and a burger chain named after him on Pluto.
Quite so - a statement from his family concludes:
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.
because I never met him. My own feelings about this (even now) are mostly a mix of admiration and envy. He lived longer than most humans on this planet can expect to and in that life he did things none of us will ever do. And he did some of those things riding a several-ton bomb, while many people are still afraid of flying.
If you never met him personally, please don't tell the world about how you miss him. The more honest thing to do would be to drink to him.
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RIP Neil
He was a great mean, and will be remembered for the amazing achievement of being the first man on the moon, it may have been the luck of the draw that put him in the pilot seat, but his is the name we all remember when we think of the moon landings.
I think its also the right occasion to say RIP to all the unmentioned heroes who made Apollo a success, the engineers and the scientists that built the thing!
I will be having a few pints later in honour of Neil & all those involved in Apollo who have passed away unmentioned.
but definitely inspirational.
(Ok for the bit for the neg's. When I first heard the the chatter, (back in the day), between mission control and the 'team', I envisioned tech people who spoke English with just slightly different accents. Listening to the re-broadcasts during this sad event, they all sound like mid west farmers chatting over the mechanics of a combine harvester. Weird.)
Beer anyway.
As with the assassination of Kennedy, anyone old enough to remember Armstrong and buddies on the moon knows exactly where they were at the time.
As with most students, I took the afternoon off from university and went home to my grandmother's place where I was living at the time and I watched the landing transfixed on an old HMV B&W 21" TV set.
Events like this are never forgotten.
For us baby boomers, this sad event makes us feel very old.