Saturday, August 25, 2012

Neil Armstrong, First man to set foot on the moon, dies at 82

From BBC:

US astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon, has died at the age of 82.

Earlier this month he had surgery to relieve blocked coronary arteries, reports the BBC.

He walked on the Moon on July 20, 1969, famously describing the event as "one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind".

Last November Armstrong, along with three other astronauts, received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest US civilian award.

He was the commander of the Apollo 11 spacecraft. He and fellow astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin spent nearly three hours walking on the moon.

A statement from Armstrong's family says he died following complications resulting from his heart surgery, the Associated Press news agency says.

Armstrong took his first flight aged six with his father, and formed a lifelong passion for flying.

He flew Navy fighter jets during the Korean War in the 1950s, and joined the US space programme in 1962.

Correspondents say Armstrong remained modest and never allowed himself to be caught up in the glamour of space exploration.

"I am, and ever will be, a white-socks, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer," he said in February 2000, in a rare public appearance.