N e i l a r D e n g o m s t r A r PURDUE STUDIES IN AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS James R. Hansen, Series Editor Purdue Studies in Aeronautics and Astronautics builds on Purdue’s leadership in aeronautic and astronautic engineering, as well as the historic accomplishments of many of its luminary alums. Works in the series will explore cutting-edge topics in aeronautics and astronautics enterprises, tell unique stories from the history of flight and space travel, and contemplate the future of human space exploration and colonization. RECENT BOOKS IN THE SERIES Piercing the Horizon: The Story of Visionary NASA Chief Tom Paine by Sunny Tsiao Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom by George Leopold Spacewalker: My Journey in Space and Faith as NASA’s Record-Setting Frequent Flyer by Jerry Ross e i l N r a e D g n o r s t m r A Letters to the First Man from All Mankind James R. Hansen Purdue University Press West Lafayette, Indiana Copyright 2020 by Purdue University. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file with the Library of Congress. Hardback ISBN: 978-1-55753-874-1 EPUB ISBN: 978-1-61249-603-0 EPDF ISBN: 978-1-61249-602-3 Letters featured in this volume are from the Neil A. Armstrong papers in the Barron Hilton Flight and Space Exploration Archives, Purdue University Archives and Special Collections. To all of the people who wrote letters to Neil — it is to their respect, admiration, and fascination with him that I dedicate this book CONTENTS FOREWORD IX PREFACE XI 1 FIRST WORDS 1 2 CONGRATULATIONS AND WELCOME HOME 19 3 THE SOVIETS 59 4 FOR ALL MANKIND 86 5 FROM ALL AMERICA 154 6 RELUCTANTLY FAMOUS 228 7 THE PRINCIPLED CITIZEN 300 APPENDIX: SECRETARIES, ASSISTANTS, AND ADMINISTRATIVE AIDES FOR NEIL ARMSTRONG, 1969–2012 347 NOTES 353 ABOUT THE EDITOR 357 FOREWORD Throughout history there have been ordinary men and women who accomplished extraordinary things. Neil Armstrong was one of those. As an experimental test pilot for NASA, he flew the X-15 at Edwards Air Force Base, going higher and faster than anyone before him, flying to the edge of space. And then he transferred to the astronaut program so that he could fly in space. I was a member of the fifth selection group of astronauts in 1966 and arrived in Houston in May of that year, just two months after the flight of Gemini 8. Neil had been the commander on that flight, which ran into trouble when the attitude control thrusters fired suddenly, causing the spacecraft to tumble. Both the Gemini 8 and crew could have been lost that day, but a coolheaded Neil got the spacecraft under control. When I arrived that May the talk was all about how Neil had saved the flight. And since I was already excited about being assigned to the Manned Space Center, all that talk about Gemini 8 only served to get my heart going faster. My introduction to Neil was the result of our being on the same floor at the MSC, and I saw him only intermittently in my early days there. Busy with post–Gemini 8 responsibilities, Neil was not in the office much. But he was quick to introduce himself and welcome me, showing friendly support for my new assignment to the Astronaut Office. I felt honored to meet him. There is an old saying that the ultimate test pilot is the one who, when faced with certain death, calmly reads out the instruments before crashing. ix