Neil Armstrong, the Apollo 11 Astronaut and first person to walk on the surface of the Moon, recently gave an extended interview in which he discusses his role and opinions on the space program. This 40-page interview, with a key figure of what is arguably one of the most important events of the 20th century, appears in the Volume 10 #1 issue of “Quest: The History of Spaceflight”.
The interview team from the JSC Oral History Project was led by Dr. Stephen Ambrose, the world-renowned historian and author of numerous best sellers including “Undaunted Courage: Meriweather Lewis, Thomas Jefferson & the Opening of the American West” and multi-volume biographies on Eisenhower and Nixon.
The extended interview covers most of Mr. Armstrong’s life – from building model aircraft as a kid to his career as a Navy pilot and NASA astronaut. Among the topics discussed were his training to become a fighter pilot, the Gemini 8 mission, the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle, and his reflections on the Apollo 11 mission.
Reflecting on going to the moon, Mr. Armstrong said, “We were really very privileged to live in that thin slice of history where we changed how man looks at himself and what he might become and where he might go. So I’m very thankful that we got to see that and be part of it.”
With respect to his first words on the moon ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’, Mr. Armstrong said, “It…was a pretty simple statement, talking about stepping off something. Why, it wasn’t a very complex thing. It was what it was.”
The balance of the issue contains articles entitled, “Strategic Warning in the Soviet Union” and “Spy Satellites in Film and Reality”. In April, Quest will feature an article provided by Valentina Tereshkova – the first woman in space – on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of her flight.
For more information visit http://www.SpaceBusiness.com/Quest or contact Scott Sacknoff via email at quest@spacebusiness.com or phone at 703-524-2766.
About Quest
“Quest: The History of Spaceflight”, now in its tenth year of publication, is the only journal to focus exclusively on the history of spaceflight. Edited by Prof. Stephen Johnson of the Space Studies Department at University of North Dakota, Quest is renowned worldwide for its content.
