UPDATE: As a boy of 11 years old, I watched much of this in utter awe as many of you did on that Sunday in July, 1969. It is well worth watching again. I get choked up just watching.
America has just lost its most heroic son. I’m sad. It is doubly sad that America’s manned space program is also dead.
This poem, a favorite of pilots worldwide, seems the most appropriate:
High Flight
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I’ve topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew –
And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
– Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee, No 412 squadron, RCAF, Killed 11 December 1941
Neil Armstrong, the astronaut who became first to walk on the moon as commander of Apollo 11, has died. He was 82 years old.
He was born in the small town of Wapakoneta, Ohio, on Aug. 5, 1930.
On July 20, 1969, half a billion people — a sixth of the world’s population at the time — watched a ghostly black-and-white television image as Armstrong backed down the ladder of the lunar landing ship Eagle, planted his left foot on the moon’s surface, and said, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Twenty minutes later his crewmate, Buzz Aldrin, joined him, and the world watched as the men spent the next two hours bounding around in the moon’s light gravity, taking rock samples, setting up experiments, and taking now-iconic photographs.
more; here: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/neil-armstrong-man-moon-dead/story?id=12325140#.UDkpQqAnBio
UPDATE: Andrew Revkin has an interesting backstory on the space race that I think is worth reading here: http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/25/the-cold-war-push-behind-neil-armstrongs-one-small-step/
Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins–among the great HEROES–Men of courage, character, and discipline.
RIP, Neil Armstrong.
A sad day indeed… I had the privilege of talking to him only six short months ago when he gave a very entertaining presentation on the X-15. Ironically, this was at a conference about the new renaissance in US spaceflight that’s now underway… Ad astra per aspera!
Actually, we do, if it were important enough to do so. The Dragon capsule that berthed with the ISS (exactly) three months ago today could take someone up, in an emergency. It is already pressurized, and could be quickly outfitted with a rudimentary life support system. It would lack an abort system, but that’s just a detail, in terms of what level of risk an astronaut would be willing to take. We aren’t flying into space on American vehicles because of our risk aversion, not because we don’t have the capability.
I think you overestimate (as most do, because NASA has encouraged the notion) what is necessary to put people into space. Fifty years after the first American orbited the earth, it’s not really rocket science any more.
Sic transit gloria mundi, the guys with the right stuff (including the “staff”).
I hope his sad demise will remind many of the time when scientific progress offerred hope rather than doom.
We need a return to the optimism of the 60s that culminated in such an achievement with equipment that we would now regard as totally inadequate.
He and his ilk loved both humanity and the planet. His successors seem to hate humanity and all that has been achieved since everyone had to endure the nasty brutish and short lives of our forebears.
As a six year old i can remember the excitement at turning up to school the day after the moon landing. i remember looking up at the moon and thinking someone is walking about up there.
A real hero if ever there was one.
RIP
quiet, softly spoken, authoritive, tough as nails, a leader
the perfect man
RIP Neil
Rest in peace Neil. You inspired a generation.
I still recall watching the moon landing of Apollo 11. That amazing achievement made anything seem possible.
I watched Neil Armstrong step onto the moon on a B&W TV in Tuy Hoa, Viet Nam, in a hooch with about 30 others. Everyone cheered.
A thousand years from now no one will remember who ran in the 2012 election, but everyone will still remember who Neil Armstrong was. RIP Neil, you done good. You made the human race proud.
When Neil landed the Eagle, he was steering around boulders with a computer overflow alarm sounding and only seconds of fuel remaining. I believe humans have yet to achieve anything greater than the moon landings.
Real heros. Real science.
I would not be surprised if the first Starship is named after him.
Yes I know the physics involved but we weren’t supposed to fly either…
Godspeed, Neil Armstrong…
I knew this day would eventually come, and I was still not ready.
I was born when this began, I saw it grow and flower. It was as much a part of my childhood as riding a mustang bike. I don’t know what to say about such a humble quiet man with nerves of steel. All I can think to say is Thank You for all you did I really got a lot from you.
Rest in peace.
We are getting old.
If only more had followed in his footsteps.
Spacex has an already flown rocket and capsule that could take an astronaut to space and back right now without modification. However it would be better if it had a seat, an escape rocket, and some internal flight controls. NASA has already awarded the contract to complete it. US manned spaceflight is not dead, just on a brief pause.
I signed up for your website four weeks ago and it appears that you sold my address to Republcian candidates and other spammers I am not happy.
REPLY: Frank, no, that’s not possible. I don’t sell email addresses. Here’s why:
1. I don’t manage “signups”, but wordpress.com (which WUWT is hosted on) does
2. I don’t get lists of who signs up to follow stories or get registered as user names
3. Even if I did, I’d never do such a thing
4. I’m not aware that wordpress.com does such a thing either. If they did, I’d be complaining too.
5. Your email address, used in other places, may not have standards about selling it to other lists.
6. If you plug your email address into Google search, you’ll see that it is freely in the open on several web pages, making it a target for email harvesters.
7. In the nearly six years I have been running this blog, your is the first and only such complaint. If I were doing this you can bet there would be others.
8. In your only other comment here as “Pancho”:
Submitted on 2012/07/31 at 5:21 am
[Snip. Posting with the d-word violates site Policy. ~dbs, mod.]
You got snipped, so I doubt your sincerity over this complaint, more likely it is one to create a false accusation that you’ll now spread around in retaliation.
You sure picked an inappropriate thread to complain about this on. We have a contact page and tips and notes page for off topic issues. So, sorry if I don’t believe your complaint, your facts are lacking.
– Anthony Watts
I’m not finding any contact info. I’d looked before and didn’t see any. I’m getting mail from “Watchdog,” “Virginia Watchdog,” “Pete Sessions,” “News Alert,” and auto parts site, supposedly lonely women, etc. I’ve been registered with Word Press for years and this has never happened before.
[Look harder for contact info. It’s in the ‘About’ menu. And don’t be so quick to assign blame. Anthony does not sell your personal information. ~dbs, mod.]
If you’ve never read it— do yourself a favor and read it before you die:
“The Right Stuff ”
by Tom Wolfe
Neil Armstrong defined “The Right Stuff.”
In re manned spaceflight reliability requirements; so nothing came of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board recommendations about changing NASA corporate culture and acknowledging USN SUBSAFE and NR reliability/quality control programs?
Does that pre-Columbian corporate culture still persist? Or do I mis-remember?
It is my opinion that the Super Conducting Super Collider would have given more real science than the technology demonstrator for which it was traded, knowledge that could not have been traded away as a politico-economic poker chip. Let us hope that commercial spaceflight can soon catch up to where it should be.
In the years since, it would seem the giant leap mankind took, was off the precipice, like the lemmings, rather than in the footsteps of men like Armstrong, who walked so extraordinarily tall. That James Hansen should also be the product of his age, and the likes of Al Gore also his legacy, is to brightly highlight the true heros such as Armstrong, quietly amongst us. Godspeed to him and all of his compatriots.
An era is ending. From now on we can look forward to more and more death notices as more and more of these towering men soar higher than they could in life. RIP Neil Armstrong. We are diminished by your loss.
The first time I stayed up late, with my father, at 12 years old, was to watch the Apollo 11 landing. Amazing! My condolences to friends, family and all who knew Neil Armstrong. I can’t find a place on the NASA site to send a message!
[trimmed, Robt]
A Good man.
NBC “accidently” calls an American hero the wrong name:
http://www.jammiewf.com/2012/nbc-news-reports-the-death-of-astronaut-neil-young/
You’re right. Neil Young is a Canadian hero.
simberg8 says:
August 25, 2012 at 1:45 pm
“I think you overestimate (as most do, because NASA has encouraged the notion) what is necessary to put people into space. Fifty years after the first American orbited the earth, it’s not really rocket science any more.”
=============
Umm, they went the moon.
Here is how the trip started, per Wiki:
A gas-generator was used to drive a turbine which in turn drove separate fuel and oxygen pumps, each feeding the thrust chamber assembly. The turbine was driven at 5,500 RPM by the gas generator, producing 55,000 brake horsepower (41 MW). The fuel pump produced 15,471 gallons (58,564 litres) of RP-1 per minute while the oxidizer pump delivered 24,811 gal (93,920 l) of liquid oxygen per minute. Environmentally, the turbopump was required to withstand temperatures ranging from input gas at 1,500 °F (816 °C), to liquid oxygen at −300 °F (−184 °C). Structurally, fuel was used to lubricate and cool the turbine bearings.
Test Firing of an F-1 Engine at Edwards Air Force Base.
Installation of F-1 engines to the Saturn V S-IC Stage. The nozzle extension is absent from the engine being fitted.
Below the thrust chamber was the nozzle extension, roughly half the length of the engine. This extension increased the expansion ratio of the engine from 10:1 to 16:1. The exhaust from the turbopump was fed into the nozzle extension by a large, tapered manifold; this relatively cool gas formed a film which protected the nozzle extension from the hot (5,800 °F, 3,200 °C) exhaust gas.[4]
The F-1 burned 3,945 pounds (1,789 kg) of liquid oxygen and 1,738 pounds (788 kg) of RP-1 each second, generating 1,500,000 pounds-force (6.7 MN) of thrust. This equated to a flow rate of 413.5 US gallons (1,565 l) of LOX and 257.9 US gallons (976 l) RP-1 per second. During their two and a half minutes of operation, the five F-1s propelled the Saturn V vehicle to a height of 42 miles (68 km) and a speed of 6,164 miles per hour (9,920 km/h). The combined propellant flow rate of the five F-1s in the Saturn V was 3,357 US gallons (12,710 l) per second.[4] Each F-1 engine had more thrust than three Space Shuttle Main Engines combined.[5]
———–
I personally would prefer a rocket scientist to light the fuse, if I was sitting on the top of the stack.
I have no idea what the point of your post is. That was then, this is now. There is no such thing as a “rocket scientist,” but Space Exploration Technologies has many very competent rocket engineers.
I had recently graduated from high school when the moon landing occurred. It was scheduled during the county fair, which I was actively involved in, so one of my friends brought a small B&W TV to the fairgrounds so we could watch it. When Neil Armstrong climbed down the ladder, a whole group of us gathered around a picnic table trying to both see and hear what was going on. Just as Armstrong started down the ladder, a group of horsemen rode by, the horses hooves clip-clopping on the pavement. We were all struck by the coincidence and I thought how iconic of the 20th century for that to happen at that moment. Then when the words “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” were spoken, it brought tears to my eyes. My Dad worked for a sub-contractor for the space program, so it meant a lot to my family whenever a rocket was launched and we watched each one. My dad rarely talked about what he was working on, but one time he did. It wasn’t the Apollo 11 mission, but on another launch, after the first and second stage booster rockets fell off, as the ship turned into it’s final projectory, my dad watched intently, then stood up straight, smiled and said “Oh, good, it worked”.
Condolences to the Armstrong family, and to the larger family of America, who all lost a hero today.