Neil Armstrong
NYSSPE’s Engineer of the Week features Neil Armstrong, born on August 5, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He was an engineer, a test pilot, astronaut, and administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Armstrong has the great distinction of being the first man to land a space craft on the moon and the first to step foot on its surface.
Armstrong’s career started at NASA while in living Ohio. Right away, he took on many assignments with NASA’s research centers and quickly advanced in his career to astronaut status in 1962. It was the spacecraft, Apollo 11 that Armstrong successfully commanded to land on the moon. This was an incredible moment in history. Shortly after the Apollo 11 mission, Armstrong held the position of Deputy Associate Administrator of Aeronautics at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Neil Armstrong received many honors in his lifetime before passing at the age of 82 in 2012. He was decorated by 17 different countries and won many medals such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal.
