Ohio's Aviation Heritage Tour: Neil Armstrong

Walk through the Cold War Gallery and stand near the Apollo 15 Command Module at the entrance to the Missile and Space Gallery.

Wapakoneta native Neil Armstrong took his first airplane ride in a Ford Tri-Motor at the age of 6. As a young boy, he developed an interest in aviation and astronomy and earned his private pilot’s license when he was 16, before he learned to drive an automobile. In 1949 the U.S. Navy called him to active duty, and he served during the Korean War, flying 78 combat missions in Navy Panther jets.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1955, he joined NASA’s Lewis Research Center and later transferred to the NASA High Speed Flight Station (now NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center) at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as an aeronautical research pilot. In this capacity, he performed as an X-15 project pilot. Other flight test work included piloting the X-1, F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104, B-47 and others.

Armstrong was selected as the first civilian astronaut by NASA in September 1962. As command pilot for the Gemini XIII mission, launched on March 16, 1966. Armstrong performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space — the Gemini spacecraft and the Agena Target Vehicle.

Armstrong was the commander for Apollo XI from July 16-24, 1969 — the first manned lunar landing mission. He holds the distinction of being the first human to walk on the moon. On July 20, 1969, a Lunar Module camera provided live television coverage of Armstrong setting foot on the lunar surface at 10:56 p.m. Just as he stepped off the Lunar Module, Armstrong proclaimed, “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”