INTRODUCTION
Was it Only the
Three Men?
During the days that followed, and during a tour of 21 nations, they were hailed for their part in the opening of a new era in human exploration of the universe.
The Apollo 11 lunar landing mission crew, consisted of Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot.
THE SELECTION
any crew could fly any mission since mission objectives changed often.
The crew of Apollo 11 wasn’t chosen explicitly for the first Moon landing attempt. The selector, Deke Slayton, was firmly against specific crew for specific missions. He was responsible for NASA crew assignments.
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and James Lovell were initially the backup crew for Apollo 9 and therefore supposed to fly on Apollo 12. However, the team of Apollo 8 and 9 were swapped. Otherwise, all things being equal, an astronaut named Pete Conrad would have been first on the Moon.
Neil ARMSTRONG
BORN:
DIED:
KNOWN FOR:
25-08-2012
05-08-1930
Korean War, Apollo 11
His studies in aeronautical engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, were interrupted in 1950 by his service in the Korean War, during which he was shot down once and was awarded three Air Medals. He completed his degree in 1955 and immediately became a civilian research pilot for NASA. He flew more than 1,100 hours, testing various supersonic fighters.
In 1962 Armstrong joined the space programme with its second group of astronauts. Armstrong resigned from NASA in 1971.
After Apollo 11 he shied away from being a public figure and confined himself to academic and professional endeavours.
Buzz ALDRIN
BORN:
LOCATION:
KNOWN FOR:
New Jersey
20-01-1930
Korean War, Apollo 11
Buzz ALDRIN
BORN:
LOCATION:
New Jersey
Korean War, Apollo 11
20-01-1930
ROLE IN:
A was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Aldrin became an air force pilot. He flew 66 combat missions during the Korean War, and later served in West Germany. In 1963 he wrote a dissertation on orbital mechanics to earn a Ph.D. and later that year he was chosen as an astronaut.
Aldrin retired in 1971 to become commandant of the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In March 1972 he retired from the air force to enter private business.
In 1988 he legally changed his name to Buzz Aldrin. (“Buzz” was his lifelong nickname.) In 1998 he founded the ShareSpace Foundation to promote the expansion of crewed space exploration.
A was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Aldrin became an air force pilot. He flew 66 combat missions during the Korean War, and later served in West Germany. In 1963 he wrote a dissertation on orbital mechanics to earn a Ph.D. and later that year he was chosen as an astronaut.
Aldrin retired in 1971 to become commandant of the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In March 1972 he retired from the air force to enter private business.
In 1988 he legally changed his name to Buzz Aldrin. (“Buzz” was his lifelong nickname.) In 1998 he founded the ShareSpace Foundation to promote the expansion of crewed space exploration.
Michael COLLINS
BORN:
DIED:
KNOWN FOR:
28-04-2021
31-10-1930
Apollo 11
Michael Collins was a U.S. astronaut who was the command module pilot of Apollo 11. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, Collins transferred to the air force, becoming a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He joined the space program in 1963.
Apollo 11 was his last space mission; later in 1969 Collins was appointed assistant secretary of state for public affairs. In 1971 he became the first director of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., and in 1978 he became undersecretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
From 1980 to 1985 he was vice president for field operations for Vought Corporation, an American aerospace firm.
ALdrin: It’s a little on the chilly side in the cabin. would you like... Armstrong: feels comfortable to me. Aldrin: ...would you like it a little warmer, anybody? armstrong: i don’t think so. i think it’s a little on the... aldrin: the manual one. armstrong: it sure doesn’t look, sure doesn’t feel like- actually, it may be a little, it may be a little warm. aldrin: well, my, my feet are a little chilly.
Conversation between Armstrong and Aldrin
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Behind the Scenes
The people of Mission Control oversaw the journey to the Moon from a windowless room. From the instant Apollo 11 cleared the tower until it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, the windowless mission control at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, and its 30 controllers were in overall charge of the spacecraft and its crew.
In the years leading up to the eventually launch and
mission success of the Apollo 11 moon landing...
400,000
people had been working
behind the scenes
Within the control room, teams of mission experts
worked round the clock during missions, overlapping
with each other in four eight-hour shifts codenamed
green, white, black and maroon. These controllers’
average age was only 32, and most had degrees in
engineering, mathematics or physics.
