The first human to set foot on the moon, renowned US
astronaut Neil Armstrong, has died following complications from cardiovascular
surgery. He was 82.
Armstrong underwent cardiac bypass surgery earlier
this month after doctors found blockages in his coronary arteries.
Praising Armstrong as a “reluctant American hero”, his
family said it was heartbroken and noted that the space pioneer had “served his
nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and
astronaut”.
“While we mourn the loss of a very
good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope
that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to
make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and
to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves,” it added.
Armstrong
and fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin landed on the moon’s desolate
surface on July 20, 1969, before the eyes of hundreds of millions of awed
television viewers worldwide.
His first words upon stepping on the lunar
surface have since been etched in history: “That’s one small step for a man, one
giant leap for mankind.”
The 500 million people who watched the grainy
black and white broadcast breathed a sigh of relief when Armstrong told mission
control the module had landed safely, saying: “Houston, Tranquility base here.
The Eagle has landed.”
But the lunar pioneer, who was decorated by 17
countries and received a slew of US honours, was never comfortable with his
worldwide fame, shying away from the limelight.
Armstrong even stopped
signing memorabilia after learning his autographs were being sold at exorbitant
prices.
John Glenn, the first American to to orbit Earth and the third in
space, recalled Armstrong’s legendary humility.
“He didn’t feel that he
should be out huckstering himself,” the former Ohio senator told CNN. “He was a
humble person, and that’s the way he remained after his lunar flight, as well as
before.”
A “deeply saddened” President Barack Obama yesterday hailed
Armstrong as “the greatest of American heroes - not just of his time, but of all
time”.
His “legacy will endure - sparked by a man who taught us the
enormous power of one small step,” said Obama, who was just under eight years
old at the time of the historic Apollo 11 mission.
‘A true hero has returned to the
heavens’Republican House Speaker John Boehner remembered
Armstrong for inspiring generations with his “monumental feat”.
“A true
hero has returned to the heavens to which he once flew,” Boehner said. “Ohio has
lost one of her proudest sons. Humanity has gained a legend.”
Aldrin said
he had hoped that he, Armstrong and Michael Collins would have met up in 2019
for celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. But the occasion
will not come to pass.
“Whenever I look at the moon, it reminds me of the
moment over four decades ago when I realised that even though we were farther
away from Earth than two humans had ever been, we were not alone,” Aldrin
said
Collins, in a statement released by a Nasa spokesperson, said of
Armstrong: “He was the best, and I will miss him terribly.”
Born in
Wapakoneta, Ohio on Aug 5, 1930, Armstrong had an early fascination with
aircraft and worked at a nearby airport when he was a teenager.
He took flying lessons at the age of 15 and received his
pilot’s licence on his 16th birthday.
A US Navy aviator, he flew 78
missions in the Korean War.
Armstrong joined Nasa’s predecessor agency,
the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, in 1955.
As a research
pilot at Nasa’s Flight Research Centre in Edwards, California, he flew on many
pioneering high-speed aircraft, eventually flying over 200 different models,
including helicopters, gliders, jets and rockets.
He reached astronaut
status in 1962, and was assigned as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission,
during which he performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in
space.
After retiring from Nasa in 1971, Armstrong taught aerospace
engineering at the University of Cincinnati for nearly a decade and served on
the boards of several companies, including Lear Jet, United Airlines and
Marathon Oil.
Armstrong also served as deputy associate administrator for
aeronautics at Nasa headquarters, coordinating and managing the space agency’s
aeronautics research and technology work.
His family said they had a
simple request to people in memory of Armstrong’s life.
“Honour his
example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk
outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil
Armstrong and give him a wink,” it said.
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