Neil Armstrong
By: Soham Patel 1R
One Giant Leap by Leon Wagener
Upbringing
Through this exceptional educational performance, Armstrong was able to attend Indiana Purdue University on a U.S. Navy scholarship to major in aeronautical engineering. Armstrong served in the Korean War (1950-53) as the youngest pilot (20 years old) in his squadron; furthermore, he flew 78 successful missions during his service. After this military service, Armstrong went on to graduate with a degree in aeronautical engineering and immediately received a job at the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which was the forerunner of NASA. From this job, Armstrong pursued his aeronautical career through transferring to the NACA High-Speed Station and became a skilled, valuable test pilot for numerous experimental rocket planes: the F-100, F-101, F-102, X-1B (the first plane to break the sound barrier), and X-15 (an early model of the spacecraft). The plethora of test flights on these experimental planes bolstered Armstrong's popularity and contributed to his selection for becoming an astronaut in September 1962. In addition to these test flights, Armstrong's nonchalance during an issue on the Gemini 8 mission appealed to his superiors, contributing to his selection as the commander of the Apollo 11, the first manned mission to land on the moon. Similar to his composed nature in the Gemini 8 mission, Armstrong was forced to manually land the lunar module Eagle due to a computer overload and became the first man to walk on the moon.
Even after the moon landing, Neil Armstrong continued to assist the NASA space program, serving as a deputy associate administrator for aeronautics until 1971 when he joined as a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Furthermore, Armstrong served as Vice Chairman of Presidential Commision on the investigation of the Challenger accident to determine the reason for the accident in 1986.
Despite his esteemed public image and fame, Armstrong avoided media interviews and the public eye due to his introverted and shy nature. Even in his final years, Armstrong served as an ambassador for NASA to express his concerns over the budget cuts and testify against Obama's decision to cancel the Constellation program. Armstrong died of cardiovascular procedures on August 25, 2012, at the age of 82.
Influences
- Armstrong's father contributed to Armstrong's interest in aeronautics due to early exposure to airplanes (i.e. first airplane ride at age 6). Furthermore, due to Armstrong's father's job, Armstrong developed an introverted, determined personality which defined him for the rest of his life.
- Armstrong's neighbor introduced space through his telescope: as a child, Armstrong was captivated by the innumerable amount of stars and planets he observed through this telescope, which induced an interest in space exploration and travel.
Time Period (Cold War/Golden Age of Transporation)
- Because of the Cold War, the technological competition between Russia and the US lead to a demand of test pilots for these rocket planes to perfect ballistic missiles and contain the Communist expansion and promote ideals of democracy
- The Golden Age of Transporation popularized the airplane as Americans were zealous of traveling through these aircrafts and this increased publicity promoted aeronautics to numerous children such as Neil Armstrong.
Motivation
Defining Quote
"The single thing which makes any man happiest is the realization that he has worked up to the limits of his ability, his capacity. It's all the better, of course, if this work has made a contribution to knowledge, or toward moving the human race a little farther forward." - Neil Armstrong
This quote reflects Armstrong's motivation and determination to leave a lasting impact on the world before moving on as he conveys the satisfaction and happiness from establishing a legacy.
Time Period Synthesis (Present)
Compared to Armstrong's impact in the 60s through his moon landing, his impact on the American public for NASA would be just as significant due to his developed skills as an advocate for space exploration. Furthermore, his introverted nature and avoidance of media convey a sense of humility despite Armstrong's fame which in turn brings a high public image.
If I had Armstrong's skills in aeronautical engineering and experience in piloting, I would attempt to further expand America's knowledge of space through the advocacy of the NASA space program as well as assist in the development of better military weapons and technology in order to establish our national security and national power.
Political Cartoon
Histography
Additional Requirements
Most Important Contribution
Workflow of the Apollo 11 Mission
Inspiration/Motivation:
The inspiration for the Apollo 11 mission to send men to land on the moon came from the preceding NASA missions such as the previous Apollo and Gemini missions (Gemini Fuel Cells), which served as inspiration for the successful Columbia module design in the Apollo 11 mission. President John F. Kennedy also served as a significant inducer for the American public in order to instigate tenacious support for these missions; furthermore, the space race with the Soviet Union served as a major inspiration due to the American nationalism to establish themselves as superior in space.Obstacles/Failures:
Thus, the Apollo missions began and lasted from 1961-1972; however, these missions, specifically Apollo 11, faced numerous obstacles due to the adversities in designing a safe, efficient, and capable rocket in sending these men to the moon and back. NASA finalized a 3 spacecraft design in order to allow both Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin to land on the moon with the Eagle, a Lunar Module and a Michael Collins to document the lunar surface through the Columbia, which contained the command and service modules. After overcoming the design obstacles, the Apollo 11 crew encountered precarious obstacles through the mission itself. As Armstrong and Aldrin were landing the Eagle on the moon, the computer overloaded at the Houston NASA base, which caused the Eagle to overshoot the specific landing point on the moon; therefore, Armstrong remained composed and adroitly maneuvered the Eagle with Aldrin providing the velocity and positioning of the module to land on the moon with only 25 seconds of fuel left before the Eagle was stranded. Lastly, Armstrong was able to quickly overcome the last obstacle of the damaged Eagle circuit breaker with a felt tip pen in order to allow the current through the circuit to flow. Had there been no wire to allow this current to flow, all of the current would have redirected itself through the engine itself, causing it to fire and release all the energy in the Gemini fuel cell. The Apollo 11 mission experienced numerous minor obstacles throughout the entirety of the mission; however, these were the three major obstacles that could have single-handedly lead to the failure of the mission and death of the Apollo 11 crew.
Materials Used:
The materials used for the Command Module and Service Module consisted of honeycombed aluminum as the exterior in order to minimize the weight of the spacecraft and thus requiring less force to escape Earth's gravitational pull as well as less fuel, which reduced the cost of the mission. Furthermore, the Service Module contained most of the consumables, which include oxygen, water, helium, fuel cells, and fuel, as that was the spacecraft which landed on the moon while the Command module contained the parachutes for reentry and was mostly the cabin for the three crew members to reenter Earth's atmosphere in. The exterior utilized a heat shield from previous missions in order to prevent burning up upon reentry.
Financing/Time allotted:
All of these expensive pieces of materials contributed to a significant price for all the Apollo missions: $25.4 billion dollars to fund all of these missions, which is equivalent to $213 billion dollars in present day. In addition to this significant financial commitment, the time allotted for the design, construction, and completion of the Apollo 11 mission began on May 25, 1961, and the crew returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. In spite of the daunting financial and time commitment for the Apollo 11, the objective of sending a man to the moon and safely returning him was achieved by America before the Soviets, serving as a significant victory in the space race.
Moral Dilemmas/Considerations
- The funding/pursual of space exploration while ignoring the numerous social, economic, and environmental issues that are on Earth itself. The absurdity of advocating the travel millions of miles away from Earth while disregarding the environmental issues such as global warming, lack of natural resources, and the pollution of the air and water.
- Morals of pollution and the environmental drawbacks which come with each of these missions. The detached rocket parts such as engines suspended in Earth's atmosphere could pose severe environmental issues due to the possibility of reentry and striking cities/neighborhoods, causing significant damage. Furthermore, the pollution of the Earth's atmosphere as these parts continue to remain there.
- Overall dangers for the astronauts themselves: the Apollo and Gemini spacecraft contained Gemini Fuels Cells, essentially atomic bombs. If anything were to malfunction or accidentally combust, it would result in the immediate death of the crew members. Are the lives of these brave American men worth the technological advancement as well as the knowledge of what is beyond Earth?
Impact Position Thesis
Although the importance of the NASA space program may seem to be diminishing, the beneficial impact of the moon landing in 1969 on the public’s nationalism and superiority over the Soviet Union justifies the repudiation of these budget cuts which NASA has been assigned from your administration.