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How Did Neil Armstrong Influence The Space Race

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Neil Armstrong was born August 5, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He played a very important role in the space race which was important because it would show the world which country had the best science, technology, and economic system. On July 20, 1969 Neil made history becoming the first person to walk on the moon. Armstrong was not only an astronaut he was also an aerospace engineer, naval aviator, test pilot and university professor.
Armstrong was attracted to flying as a young boy. He assembled model aircrafts and read books about flying. His dad was an auditor for the state of Ohio, so they moved around quite frequently. Neil worked numerous jobs to earn money, so he could take flying lessons. At age 16 he earned his student pilot’s license even before he had his driver’s license. Armstrong graduated from high school in 1947 (Ollhoff).
He enlisted in the United States Navy, which gave him a college scholarship in return for later service. Armstrong then went to Purdue University in Indiana and majored in aeronautical engineering. In 1949 he conveyed to Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida as part of his scholarship and trained as a military pilot, at age 20 he became the youngest pilot in his squadron. The Navy sent Ensign Neil Armstrong to South Korea in 1951, stationed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Essex. He flew 78 combat missions …show more content…

The Apollo 11 mission had a crew of three men: Neil Armstrong, the commander, Buzz Aldrin, the lunar module pilot, and Michael Collins, the command module pilot. Apollo 11 blasted off in July 1969 and four days later, on July 20, the lunar module Eagle touched down on the lunar surface. During a television broadcast of an estimated six hundred million people in thirty-three countries on six continents, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on another world

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