One reason why Neil Armstrong got the job
An evening pause: This short clip from the Discovery Science series Rocket Science illustrates one reason Neil Armstrong got the job to land the first spacecraft on the Moon, even though it shows Armstrong crashing his test vehicle!
The man was cool-headed. Not only did Armstrong not panic when a thruster failed, he kept trying to regain control of the craft until the last moment, ejecting less than a second before impact. Then, he was calm about it afterward, hardly mentioning the incident to others.
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We sure lost a great man, a true American hero, in Neil Armstrong. I was always impressed at how low-key he was, never sought the limelight. This video really shows what a cool customer he was – seems nothing rattled him. Of course, we know that to be true of all the astronauts, especially the original 7, who were all test pilots. Anyone who has never read “The Right Stuff” or seen the movie (which captured the feel of the book & the times perfectly) should do so. Ironically, I was just a few miles away from the KSC in Cocoa Beach when the news came about Armstrong’s death…
yeh he was badass