Early life

Neil Alden Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He became interested in airplanes at a young age. He went on his first airplane ride at the age of 6. He received his pilot's license on his 16th birthday. After high school Armstrong became an air cadet, or trainee, in the U.S. Navy. He also studied flight engineering at Purdue University and later at the University of Southern California.

Career

Beginning in 1950 Armstrong was a pilot in the Korean War. Armstrong flew jets from ships at sea. His airplane was shot down once, but he survived. His bravery earned him several medals.

In 1955 Armstrong joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as a test pilot. NASA chose Armstrong to test a rocket airplane known as the X-15. The X-15 could fly as fast as 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) an hour.

In 1962 NASA chose Armstrong to be an astronaut. Armstrong led the flight of the spacecraft Gemini 8, launched on March 16, 1966. During that flight Armstrong became the first person to connect his spacecraft to a rocket in space.

On July 16, 1969, Armstrong, Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins left for the moon in the Apollo 11 spacecraft. Four days later Armstrong and Aldrin separated from Collins in a landing module known as the “Eagle.” They landed safely on the moon's surface. Armstrong was the first person to step out of the module. For more than two hours Armstrong and Aldrin collected samples of moon soil, made measurements, and took photographs. After they rejoined Collins the astronauts began their trip back to Earth. They splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969.

Retirement

Armstrong left the space program in 1971. He returned to Ohio, where he taught at the University of Cincinnati until 1979. He later worked as a businessman and on committees about the space program. (See also space exploration.)