Talk:Neil Armstrong

"Status"

Is there really a need to list his status as deceased when the date of his death is two lines below? I would suggest deleting the status line altogether.

Jamie (talk) 14:51, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

Mitt Romney

I'm a little surprised that you decided to add Obama's statement, but leave out Romney's. It is raising many red flags for me. Please, to balance the article add a sentence from Romney also! See the statement: http://www.mittromney.com/news/press/2012/08/mitt-romney-neil-armstrong-today-takes-his-place-hall-heroes — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.97.78.136 (talk) 11:11, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

Obama is the current head of state, and as such (whether you like it or not), represents the American people in circumstances like this. Romney isn't. AndyTheGrump (talk) 13:37, 30 August 2012 (UTC)

Sorry, that doesnt change the fact that romney is a notable figure.Lihaas (talk) 09:47, 15 September 2012 (UTC)

Romney is of minor note, as are most presidential candidates. We don't typically remember or care very much about the people who lose the election. Jslist (talk) 13:03, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

Romney is a notable figure in some contexts, like "the history of Bain Capital" or "the Republican party in the 21st century." Regarding Neil Armstrong or the Apollo program, his opinions have no more interest or relevance than mine or yours. He wasn't involved in Apollo, he never knew Armstrong, he doesn't know anything about Armstrong that everybody else doesn't know, etc, etc. ColinClark (talk) 19:25, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

Conversion to Islam Section

There seems to be some controversy surrounding the section. Suggestions are invited. I support inclusion. --Aditya Saxena (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 15:12, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

Here's a suggestion - take your idiotic coatrack somewhere else. The internet is full of vacuous trivia about all sorts of things - we don't engage in WP:OR to make them out as relevant. AndyTheGrump (talk) 15:17, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

This trivial urban myth is not appropriate for an encyclopedia biography. --Anthonyhcole (talk) 15:38, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

With State Department response in 1983 it is not so trivial. I reworded it for encyclopedic style, and used better sources. Binksternet (talk) 16:07, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

You're right. There's more to it than I thought. --Anthonyhcole (talk) 18:05, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

Thanks the inclusion is welcome. --188.29.238.65 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 22:15, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 14 October 2012

Much has been written about Neil Armstrong’s achievements as the “first man on the Moon” but hardly anyone knows that in 1976 he participated in an important scientific expedition to the Amazon rainforests. Back then Erich von Daniken had became a best selling author (similar to Dan Brown) by making sensational claims that aliens from outer space had visited planet Earth. Stanley Hall took very seriously the evidence presented in “Gold of the Gods” and so he set about organising a joint British and Ecuadorian expedition. It so happened that Stanley’s wife was a member of the Armstrong clan and so, after the super star’s visit in 1972 to his ancestral hometown of Langholm, she made contact and was surprised to find that he agreed to become honorary president of this jungle adventure! The expedition members consisted mostly of military and scientific types but when Stanley Hall realised the cave entrance was a 130-foot vertical shaft he wisely decided to recruit six cavers, including myself, so that the cave system could be safely and thoroughly explored. After all the book “Gold of the Gods” claimed that “the caves were part of an immense trans-Andean chain extending as far south as Chile and northwards to Columbia and that they contained evidence of previous occupation by an unknown early civilisation.” When we assembled at Heathrow there was much excitement that the cave might yield such treasures that would make Tutankhamen’s artefacts look like something out of Steptoe’s back yard! We flew via Miami and Bogata into Quito. Next day a military coach transported us through the Andes. The following day we flew again this time in a tiny aircraft to a remote military airstrip on the border with Peru. An advance party set off in a couple of boats fitted with powerful engines only to be swept away by the strong currents (almost a case of “last seen drifting down the Amazon”) until finally a helicopter ferried people and equipment in stages to a big campsite alongside of the cave entrance. If you remember the TV series “Mash” then you’ll have a good idea of living conditions at the campsite for the next six weeks. To cut a long and amusing story short, we found the caves were formed naturally and without the help of aliens carrying laser beams although on the plus side many new species of plants and insects were discovered. However, in the last few days we were fortunate to unearth some seashells and fragments of sophisticated pottery that proved to be of great interest to the archaeologists. News of these finds got back to Neil Armstrong who to our amazement flew straight down from Cincinnati, arrived by helicopter and suddenly wanted to go caving! It fell to me as health & safety officer to attach a safety rope around his waist before descending the 130 foot entrance shaft. The picture shows me (sporting a beard) struggling to tie a bowline knot around the astronaut whilst another caver looks on. I was never very confident about tying a safety rope onto another person when the knot is viewed upside-down and my only consolation was the thought that if I got the knot wrong then the Los Tayos Expedition would go down in history as the place where the first man on the Moon met an untimely death! Mercifully the knot held and Neil Armstrong seemed to enjoy being shown around the massive cave passages; in-fact our group were late getting back to the surface. By then the last helicopter had flown back to base so the few of us that remained had no choice but to sit around the campfire until collapsing into our sleeping bags. First, there was a magical interlude when Neil, who was by nature very reserved, glanced up through the trees and commented “the Moon was just like that when we blasted off in 1969….” For several minutes we were spellbound as he recounted highlights of the Apollo 11 mission. Although I didn’t make it onto Neil Armstrong’s Christmas card list (!) that brief period together in the jungle made a lasting impression. I was sad to learn that he died age 82 on 25th August. For verification I can send you articles written in speleological magazines, colour pictures, testimonials of caving friends who met Neil Armstong; as well as a reference to a British TV documentary about the Los Tayos expedition (VHS). RevdArthur (talk) 21:33, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 3 January 2013

NEIL A. ARMSTRONG NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED)

PERSONAL DATA: Born on August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Married. Two sons. Died on August 25, 2012.

EDUCATION: Armstrong received a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California. He held honorary doctorates from multiple universities.

SPECIAL HONORS: Armstrong was a Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and the Royal Aeronautical Society and an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the International Astronautics Federation.

Armstrong was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. He served as a member of the National Commission on Space (1985 to 1986), as Vice-Chairman of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (1986) and as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Peace Corps (1971 to 1973).

Armstrong was decorated by 17 countries. He was the recipient of many special honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the Explorers Club Medal, the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the Harmon International Aviation Trophy, the Royal Geographic Society's Gold Medal, the Federation Aeronautique Internationale's Gold Space Medal, the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award, the Robert J. Collier Trophy, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Astronautics Award, the Octave Chanute Award and the John J. Montgomery Award.

EXPERIENCE: After serving as a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1955. His first assignment was with the NACA Lewis Research Center (now NASA Glenn Research Center) in Cleveland. Over the next 17 years, he was an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NACA and its successor agency, NASA.

He was Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati between 1971 and 1979. During the years 1982 to 1992, Armstrong was chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation, Inc., Charlottesville, Virginia.

NASA EXPERIENCE: As a research pilot at NASA’s Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, Armstrong was a project pilot on many pioneering high speed aircraft, including the well known, 4000-mph X-15. He flew more than 200 different models of aircraft, including jets, rockets, helicopters and gliders.

Armstrong transferred to astronaut status in 1962. He was assigned as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission. Gemini 8 was launched on March 16, 1966, and Armstrong performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space.

As spacecraft commander for Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission, Armstrong gained the distinction of being the first man to land a craft on the moon and first to step on its surface.

Armstrong subsequently held the position of Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. In this position, he was responsible for the coordination and management of overall NASA research and technology work related to aeronautics.

He resigned from NASA in 1971.

AUGUST 2012

Aaronjpizza1234 (talk) 21:54, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

DECLINED Template:Persondata is already used in the article, and has a narrowly defined scope that apparently doesn't support this level of detail, which again should also be covered in the article. Not sure exactly what you're asking for. JustinTime55 (talk) 22:20, 3 January 2013 (UTC)

"A small step for man..." contoversy

Another Matt if you want to include this controversial statement, then do it in the proper manner. Also, please include a citation that actually leads to the quoted material. Pretty easy I should think. Revmqo (talk) 01:28, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

Even if the statement is properly sourced, in my opinion it's not really interesting or important enough to be in the article. The important bit is that it was Armstrong's phrase that he came up with himself, and his brother isn't contradicting that. ColinClark (talk) 19:14, 13 January 2013 (UTC)

The documentary is the citation. In the documentary, his brother explained, on camera, in some detail, the circumstances in which Neil Armstrong showed him the line and asked him his opinion about it, prior to launch. Maybe the brother's memory is faulty; maybe Neil Armstrong's was faulty when he said he made it up during the flight. We will never know now. However, this is a relevant matter for the article, and a plausible reason to question the version of events that was previously stated as fact by the article. Another Matt (talk) 03:00, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Matt, you don't seem to get that the citation as you wrote it is not sufficient for a reliable source to establish verifiability. All you say to identify it is "TV documentary, 2012". Who produced it, and how was it broadcast? Exceptional claims require exceptional sources. Otherwise, as you say it is just a "he said, he said". It could also be a WP:notability issue; if it's a significant deal, why no other media coverage of it? JustinTime55 (talk) 17:02, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Agree with JT. This info doesn't belong on the page. Revmqo (talk) 19:00, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

The documentary at issue appears to be the BBC production Neil Armstrong - First Man on the Moon, see [1]. Dean Armstrong's claim in the documentary is discussed in a Collectspace article here. Based on how it is presented, I don't think it rates inclusion. Dean's said nothing for 40+ years; his claim is self-serving, getting him special attention; the circumstances of his waiting until his brother's death are suspicious; his claim contradicts Neil's; and Armstrong's biographer James Hansen dismisses it. Based on this, it's not worth including. It is WP:FRINGE or close to it and just a tiny speck with respect to the topic of the article; its inclusion violates WP:UNDUE.

If there were an article solely about the phrase, it would be worth including. In such an article, about the words and not about the man, I would not have any issue about WP:UNDUE, and while it would still be close to WP:FRINGE, it would be worth documenting in an article so focused. But not here. TJRC (talk) 21:58, 15 January 2013 (UTC)