+ 1970 News Releases (7.6 Mb PDF file) - NASA

Add 1
HSC 70-52
A_r,strong, a civilian astronaut_ has more than 20 years experience
as an engineer and pilot. He was a Naval aviator from 1949 to 1952
and flew 78 combat missions during the Korean action.
He joined NASA's Lewis Research Center in 1955 (then NACA Lewis
Flight Propulsion Laboratory) and later transferred to the NASA High
Speed Flight Station (now Flight Research Center) at Edwards Air
Force Base, Calif._ as an aeronautical research pilot for NACA and
N_SA. He was an X-15 project pilot, and flew that aircraft to
altitudes above 200_000 feet and approximately 4_000 miles per hour.
Other flight test work included piloting the X-1 rocket airplane,
the F-iO0_ F-lO1, F-102_ F-104_ FSD, B-47_ the paraglider, and others.
As pilot of the B-29 "drop" aircraft_ he participated in the launches
of over 100 rocket airplane flights.
Armstrong's aircraft test pilot flights covered the areas of
icing research and de-icer tests_ gust research, varying leadingedge
slat configurations_ supersonic compressor stall, boundary
layer determination, roll coupling alleviation using pitch transition,
and heat _ransfer researeh_ min_n_Lm aircraft controllability_ sussonie
boundary layer noise research, and catapult and arrested landings.
Armstrong became a NASA astronaut in September 1962 and he was
command pilot for the Gemini $ mission March 16_ 1966. During that
mission he was successful in achieving the first space docking of two
vehicles. Shortly after docking a malfunctioning thruster caused the
spacecraft to gyrate wildly but exceptional piloting skill by Armstrong
and his fellow cre_an_ Astronaut David R. Scott, overc_r_e the problem
and resulted in a successful reccvery.
Armstrong and Astronaut Edwin E. A!drin_ Jr., on July 20, 1969
accomplished man's first landing on the Moon. Armstrong and then
Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon as they conducted a
two hour and 40 minute exploration of the lunar surface_ deployed
experiments and collected Moon material for return to Earth.
-more-