Neil Armstrong

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930 in Ohio. He is best known as the first man to walk on the moon. Armstrong was a naval pilot from 1949 to 1952 and joined NACA in 1955. He worked for the NACA Lewis Research Center in Ohio and his primary responsibilities were as an engineer, test pilot, administer and astronaut. He worked for NASA (once NACA) for 17 years. He was the project pilot on many different aircraft and flow over 200 different models.
Armstrong achieved astronaut status in 1962 and was assigned as the commanding pilot for the Gemini 8 missions. Gemini 8 was propelled into space in 1966 and Armstrong completed the first positive docking of two spacecraft. He was a commander on Apollo 11 which was the lunar missions designed to land on the moon. Armstrong was the first man to step on the moon's surface. His words, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" still resonate with space addicts all over the world.
Armstrong served as a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a member of the National Commission on Space (1985) a vice-chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident in 1986). He was also chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Peace Corps from 1971-1973.
Armstrong is the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, The Congressional Gold Medal, and the AIAA Astronautics Award plus many more. He passed away on August 25, 2012 at the age of 82. He was married to Janet Shearon in 1956 and they had three children.