Neil Armstrong Dies

Gbear

My dad had the luck to shake his hand once. A true legend. Some names will stick around through the ages - Galileo, Columbus, Darwin - people will remember him for a long time. Hopefully that's a thought that brought a smile to his face.

Sarky

I wish I could have witnessed the moon landings live, but I'm too young for that. I also wish world leaders would stop faffing about and fund something that amazing for this generation to witness. Hell of a man, hell of a loss.

That Onion tribute had it bang on: holy living f*ck, people, he was the first human on the goddamn moon.

pablomakaveli

Im genuinely gutted that this man hs passed on. I know there is often debate about having condolence threads on boards but this man has definitely earned one. He achieved something beyond incredible in his life which is made even more amazing considering how they were mere seconds away from disaster on landing. RIP to a truly great human being.

fergiesfolly

In an era where Richard Branson is about to make space travel about as common as flying into stansted, we should pause to visualize what Armstrong and his crew actually achieved. Stepping into what was little more than a tin can on top of a monstrous fire cracker, to be launched across space to hit a lifeless rock in the blackness of the universe. This was to be mans first step in a journey across the galaxy. Politics and other human frailties have prevented this dream being realised. Hopefully, in time, Armstrongs bravery will be honoured and the journey relaunched. In the meantime, I hope Neil can enjoy his next journey.

marshbaboon

Goodnight sweet prince...

Daemos

"Do you know how many people are watching this [the moon-landing] live on the telly? Half a billion. And that's nothing, because the human race will spread out among the stars—you just watch them fly. Billions and billions of them, for billions and billions of years. And every single one of them at some point in their lives will look back at this man taking that very first step and they will never ever forget" - Doctor Who

Appropriate I thought

seamus

There are many ways to proudly proclaim, "I did that". You could run a marathon, cycle around the world, even risk your life to climb Everest so you could say "I did that".

But few people have the balls and the strength of character to travel a million kilometres at 30 times the speed of sound in a glorified tin can, stand on an alien planet with just a suit to sustain your life, and plant a tiny insignificant flag where no human can see it.
Not to say "I did that", but "WE did that"

Today we have the passing of one of the few people who truly risked everything in the pursuit of nothing more than the advancement of our species. Someone who showed us that our achievements are limited only by our imaginations.

Neil Armstrong, you are forever gone, but never forgotten.

Hooch

Seamus, truly well said sir.

marshbaboon

seamus wrote: »

There are many ways to proudly proclaim, "I did that". You could run a marathon, cycle around the world, even risk your life to climb Everest so you could say "I did that".

But few people have the balls and the strength of character to travel a million kilometres at 30 times the speed of sound in a glorified tin can, stand on an alien planet with just a suit to sustain your life, and plant a tiny insignificant flag where no human can see it.
Not to say "I did that", but "WE did that"

Today we have the passing of one of the few people who truly risked everything in the pursuit of nothing more than the advancement of our species. Someone who showed us that our achievements are limited only by our imaginations.

Neil Armstrong, you are forever gone, but never forgotten.

What planet was that then Ted?

El Weirdo

"Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed"

-Cmdr Neil A. Armstrong.

RIP

El Weirdo

seamus wrote: »

There are many ways to proudly proclaim, "I did that". You could run a marathon, cycle around the world, even risk your life to climb Everest so you could say "I did that".

But few people have the balls and the strength of character to travel a million kilometres at 30 times the speed of sound in a glorified tin can, stand on an alien planet with just a suit to sustain your life, and plant a tiny insignificant flag where no human can see it.
Not to say "I did that", but "WE did that"

Today we have the passing of one of the few people who truly risked everything in the pursuit of nothing more than the advancement of our species. Someone who showed us that our achievements are limited only by our imaginations.

Neil Armstrong, you are forever gone, but never forgotten.

If I could thank that twice, I would.

Pighead was absolutely right.

bmcc10

RIP!!

Goin to sleep a sad person, Truely mind boggled by what Neil and others done inspiring and powerful!!

msg11

RIP .. Such an achievement he set for the human race, sadly we all must go at one stage ..

DEFTLEFTHAND

I'm seeing a lot of the expected fraudster material posted up online. Now is not the time to try and start that tired debate again. A man has died, a man made history for the human race.

CatFromHue

Real men (the whole Apollo 11 crew right down to the Earth based Engineers) doing unreal things!

The conviction of all involved is breath talking.

LaVail

Have not read this thread but R.I.P moon man.

Misty Chaos

I wasn't born until 17 years after this mission yet I remember as a child being endlessly fascinated by the story of how man first foot on the moon. I was fascinated by space and man exploring the deepest reaches of space.

Needless to say, the fact that humanity seem to only care about right now is what really amounts to petty wars, bickering and the perceived value of pieces of paper and metal kind of saddens me. Truth be told, it kind of always hasn't sat well with me. There is a lot wrong with this world.

I am saddened by the passing of Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon. Maybe with the passing of this man, that people will once again dream of what is beyond the stars, maybe.

Rest In Peace, Spaceman.

J. Marston

He walked on the moon, it's just amazing. Imagine the view he had, unreal.

RIP.

Suceed

First they strip him of his seven titles and now this.

RIP Mr. Armstrong

Lapin

Suceed wrote: »

First they strip him of his seven titles and now this.

RIP Mr. Armstrong

Oh dear.

Suceed has failed in the first rule of trying to be funny.
I.E. Getting your timing right.

FFS did you really think you were the first ?

rugbyman wrote: »

its just to take the heat off his cousin Lance, to whom he gave some of that moon dust,

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

must be the shock of the possibility of losing his 7 tour de france medals

Jesus Shaves wrote: »

Not a good week for the armstrongs,

Pherekydes wrote: »

He didn't win the Tour de France 7 times, but he did win the Tour de la Lune just once...

christ on a bike! wrote: »

Tragic week for Neil Armstrong, first he loses his tour the France medals and now he dies, next thing they will be saying he wasn't a good saxophone player at all....... RIP Mr Armstrong!!! The first man to cycle around the moon while playing the saxophone!!!

Maybe you should have taken this advice and avoided some embarrassment -

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

Could the dumb asses STFU with the Lance Armstrong jokes.

Welcome to Boards, but in order to avoid getting more egg on your face in future, it might be a good idea to read a few of the previous posts in a thread before adding your own original gem of wisdom. :rolleyes:

paddyandy

.And what was gained by it anyway ....bits of technology and non-stick frying pans and velcra and look at the state of the world .America has terrible problems .

brian lamontage

R.I.P

a true gent.

krudler

paddyandy wrote: »

.And what was gained by it anyway ....bits of technology and non-stick frying pans and velcra and look at the state of the world .America has terrible problems .

Can you seriously just fuck off.

Mod:
Banned.

paddyandy

paddyandy wrote: »

.And what was gained by it anyway ....bits of technology and non-stick frying pans and velcra and look at the state of the world .America has terrible problems .

if you dont know, then you will never know.

bits of technology.. .. FFS :rolleyes:

I'm genuinely upset over the passing of Mr. Armstrong, not so much because he is dead--he lived a long life, and a life that was more fulfilling and worthwhile than most of us could hope to achieve--but because his death symbolises something more than the simple passing of a person's life, it symbolises, to me at least, the partial death of the brilliant spirit of human endeavour, the spirit that characterised the Space Race of the 1960s. I'm far too young to remember the Moon landings, but their significance is far from lost on me.

I'm sad because it seems humanity would rather bicker in pointless wars than really try to outdo itself, to do something that would inspire the people of the world. Instead of focusing on a Moon landing moment for our generation, we waste our resources and time and brilliance finding new ways to kill one another. It seems that we're happy with the mundane, when it's the mundane that should be despised.

RIP, Neil. You inspired more people than you'll ever know. Your humility and modesty in your celebrity should be a lesson to us all. You were one of a kind, and the perfect ambassador for all that's good in humanity--how fitting it was that it was you who first stepped foot on another world.

cyrusdvirus

There are all gonna be posters for whom their ignorance or stupidity are going to be a badge of honour.

They are the same people who posted 'jokes' about Tour De France titles in this thread.

The same people will post jokes about some 2 bit celebrity who never achieved anything remotely as noteworthy as Armstrong.

My advice? Leave them be and add them to the ignore lists.

Sonics2k

paddyandy wrote: »

.And what was gained by it anyway ....bits of technology and non-stick frying pans and velcra and look at the state of the world .America has terrible problems .

Nice computer. :rolleyes:

El Siglo

gvn wrote: »

I'm genuinely upset over the passing of Mr. Armstrong, not so much because he is dead--he lived a long life, and a life that was more fulfilling and worthwhile than most of us could hope to achieve--but because his death symbolises something more than the simple passing of a person's life, it symbolises, to me at least, the partial death of the brilliant spirit of human endeavour, the spirit that characterised the Space Race of the 1960s. I'm far too young to remember the Moon landings, but their significance is far from lost on me.

I'm sad because it seems humanity would rather bicker in pointless wars than really try to outdo itself, to do something that would inspire the people of the world. Instead of focusing on a Moon landing moment for our generation, we waste our resources and time and brilliance finding new ways to kill one another. It seems that we're happy with the mundane, when it's the mundane that should be despised.

RIP, Neil. You inspired more people than you'll ever know. Your humility and modesty in your celebrity should be a lesson to us all. You were one of a kind, and the perfect ambassador for all that's good in humanity--how fitting it was that it was you who first stepped foot on another world.

"You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, "Look at that, you son of a bitch."

— Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut, People magazine, 8 April 1974.

Such a tremendous loss that even words can somewhat fail to convey. Armstrong was an inspiration to us all and proof of what happens when you possess intellect, dedication, humility and endeavour. He was and is probably one of the greatest role models for a generation. I think the statement released from his family is something we should bear in mind at this time:

"For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor 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."

RIP Neil Armstrong (1930-2012).

BigBrownBear

In a hundred or two hundred years, when people get history lessons at schools, Neil Armstrong's name will be spoke along with Christoper Columbus, Charles Darwin etc.
Anyone over 43 years old shared this planet with a historical hero.
Gone but never forgotten

paddyandy

Tough facing reality is'nt it ? Well think about it and NASA did not develop the
Computer ..He brought Hollywood Sci-fi to reality but apart from a few gadgets
and keeping the kudos away from the Russians .He did nothing .Tough innit ?

krudler

paddyandy wrote: »

Tough facing reality is'nt it ? Well think about it and NASA did not develop the
Computer ..He brought Hollywood Sci-fi to reality but apart from a few gadgets
and keeping the kudos away from the Russians .He did nothing .Tough innit ?

except walk on the moon. only 12 people in human history have done it.

Cienciano

If walking on the moon is "nothing", I'd love a read of Paddyandys CV. Must be spectacular

paddyandy

paddyandy wrote: »

Tough facing reality is'nt it ? Well think about it and NASA did not develop the
Computer ..He brought Hollywood Sci-fi to reality but apart from a few gadgets
and keeping the kudos away from the Russians .He did nothing .Tough innit ?

He's had a greater affect on the world and its people than you or I could ever dream of having. If you're unable or unwilling to see what he's done then that's your problem, but it's certainly not a reason to berate the man.

Lapin

paddyandy wrote: »

Tough facing reality is'nt it ? Well think about it and NASA did not develop the
Computer ..He brought Hollywood Sci-fi to reality but apart from a few gadgets
and keeping the kudos away from the Russians .He did nothing .Tough innit ?

Your memory span mustn't be the best. Let me refresh it for you.

This post was addressed to you earlier.

krudler wrote: »

Can you seriously just fuck off.

Please take heed.

paddyandy

krudler wrote: »

except walk on the moon. only 12 people in human history have done it.

A lot of Americans can't afford a doctor or a lawyer and many are destitute and were then .Walking on the Moon did nothing for the Moon except litter it
and nothing for the earth either BUT pride was the primary force and the challenge was there and they can't be blamed for a relatively useless stunt like that .The Moon could have waited but the world was watching the two biggest boys on the block .We did'nt need to go there so soon anyway .What has the world benefited ????? Gadgets,Non-stick frying pans ,Velcra but look at America ?????

paddyandy

gvn wrote: »

He's had a greater affect on the world and its people than you or I could ever dream of having. If you're unable or unwilling to see what he's done then that's your problem, but it's certainly not a reason to berate the man.

I did not berate the Man a very gifted and talented person .

paddyandy

Lapin wrote: »

Your memory span mustn't be the best. Let me refresh it for you.

This post was addressed to you earlier.




Please take heed.

No .it was a small step for mankind !!!!

IvySlayer

Legend. When I switched on the news the only family was in shock that he died, only people like him can have that effect. Anyone and everyone respected his achievements, unless you're an idiot and believe the landings were fake.

El Siglo

paddyandy wrote: »

Tough facing reality is'nt it ? Well think about it and NASA did not develop the
Computer ..He brought Hollywood Sci-fi to reality but apart from a few gadgets
and keeping the kudos away from the Russians .He did nothing .Tough innit ?

paddyandy wrote:

A lot of Americans can't afford a doctor or a lawyer and many are destitute and were then .Walking on the Moon did nothing for the Moon except litter it
and nothing for the earth either BUT pride was the primary force and the challenge was there and they can't be blamed for a relatively useless stunt like that .The Moon could have waited but the world was watching the two biggest boys on the block .We did'nt need to go there so soon anyway .What has the world benefited ????? Gadgets,Non-stick frying pans ,Velcra but look at America ?????

paddyandy wrote:

I did not berate the Man a very gifted and talented person .

paddyandy wrote:

No .it was a small step for mankind !!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1orMXD_Ijbs

paddyandy

Cienciano wrote: »

If walking on the moon is "nothing", I'd love a read of Paddyandys CV. Must be spectacular

i never said it was nothing i said it was a relatively useless stunt .....and my cv is modesty prohibits me from saying ....

KeithM89_old

paddyandy wrote: »

.And what was gained by it anyway ....bits of technology and non-stick frying pans and velcra and look at the state of the world .America has terrible problems .

paddyandy wrote: »

A lot of Americans can't afford a doctor or a lawyer and many are destitute and were then .Walking on the Moon did nothing for the Moon except litter it
and nothing for the earth either BUT pride was the primary force and the challenge was there and they can't be blamed for a relatively useless stunt like that .The Moon could have waited but the world was watching the two biggest boys on the block .We did'nt need to go there so soon anyway .What has the world benefited ????? Gadgets,Non-stick frying pans ,Velcra but look at America ?????

Dont post here again

krudler wrote: »

Can you seriously just fuck off.

Banned.

Jimmy Iovine

Here's a rare interview that he did in 2005 with CBS. The quality is poor but Armstrong is incredibly interesting. You really get a sense of what kind of person it takes to lead a mission like that from listening to him.

The story about him crashing and then going straight back to his office to fill out paper work is amazing. He also explains his famous quote.

Not only was he very intelligent but he was, along with the other pioneering astronauts, incredibly courageous. He truly was one of the greatest men to have ever lived.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnb7sjrB0HM

I hope that I get to witness another person walking on the moon or, even better, to see someone walk on Mars. It probably won't be as significant a moment in history as Armstrong's small step but it'll be pretty big all the same.

mr kr0nik

paddyandy wrote: »

krudler wrote: »

except walk on the moon. only 12 people in human history have done it.

A lot of Americans can't afford a doctor or a lawyer and many are destitute and were then .Walking on the Moon did nothing for the Moon except litter it
and nothing for the earth either BUT pride was the primary force and the challenge was there and they can't be blamed for a relatively useless stunt like that .The Moon could have waited but the world was watching the two biggest boys on the block .We did'nt need to go there so soon anyway .What has the world benefited ????? Gadgets,Non-stick frying pans ,Velcra but look at America ?????

I think youll find that the largely civilian (in the us anyway) space race prevented a full scale arms race from occurring. The us and ussr needed to demonstrate their prowess and the advancement in space allowed them to do this peacefully.

I would recommend reading rocket men by Craig nelson(on my bedside locker at the moment) it's a great book on the Apollo program

tigger123

I read a book recently, "Packing for Mars", it was about the idea of a manned mission to Mars and all it would entail, it's really a fascinating read, well worth it if you're fascinated by stuff like that.

But the author was talking a bit about Neil Armstrong, and described him as a fantastic pilot first and foremost, which is what got him the moon landing job in the first place. The walking on the moon part was a relatively small task compared to flying the shuttle there and back again. An amazing individual, and an incredible achievement by all involved, RIP.

Duggy747

Quite, reserved, technical, cool under pressure, walked on the moon, was humble about it and always gave credit to others though there was a high chance that it wouldn't have been successful without him, didn't take to the celebrity lifestyle despite being one of the most famous people to have ever existed, and lived to his 80's.

Yeah, I think that's a model human if I ever saw one.

He was the 1st of only 12 people in the history of our existence to have done something so monumentally huge as to walk on another surface that wasn't of this planet. I don't know how anyone could shrug their shoulders and say "So what?" to that. Yea, the planet has problems but would you really rather the money was spent buying another fighter jet, pumped into weapons research or putting a man up into the sky to advance our space exploration?

Every time I have a smoke outside I always stare into the sky and if it's a particular night where the moon is bright and full I always liked to remind myself that somebody actually did the impossible, walked on that rock up there, and have felt and seen something that us average Joes will never experience..........not in our lifetime, anyways.

After thousands and thousands of years of humans looking up at it, he finally got to be that person to walk on it.

One of the greatest humans to have ever existed both on & off this planet.

I highly, highly recommend In The Shadow Of The Moon. He doesn't appear in it along with other astronauts but there's plenty of talk about him and how he avoided a major catastrophe when landing Apollo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wt49I7Cijk

cyrusdvirus

Andrew Chaikin's book, A Man on the Moon is a good read too.

Just restarted it myself.

wendell borton

paddyandy wrote: »

A lot of Americans can't afford a doctor or a lawyer and many are destitute and were then .Walking on the Moon did nothing for the Moon except litter it
and nothing for the earth either BUT pride was the primary force and the challenge was there and they can't be blamed for a relatively useless stunt like that .The Moon could have waited but the world was watching the two biggest boys on the block .We did'nt need to go there so soon anyway .What has the world benefited ????? Gadgets,Non-stick frying pans ,Velcra but look at America ?????

Yes, look at america.

A study of history shows that civilizations that abandon the quest for knowledge are doomed to disintegration.
Bernard Lovell

Wibbs

Plus if people were to read a book or three, they'd see that going to the moon did a lot more than the obvious. On the science front we were able to work out what happened in the early history of the earth(the moon came out of a massive collision when another planetoid struck the earth). We brought back a large amount of rock samples. Now people will say "ah sure a robot could have done that", but nowhere near as effectively as the Mark 1 Human on the ground and certainly not back then. The various rovers on the Martian surface have and continue to do great science over the past years, however stick a human in a suit on the surface and chances are good they'd spot more in an afternoon walking about.

The other thing Apollo did for us was in going we looked back and considered the Earth more. The images brought back really helped kick off the environmental movement in the popular mind. It also joined us as a species together. I remember reading an interview with one of the moonwalkers and he noted wherever they went on publicity tours from African villages to Paris to Tokyo people would say "WE went". The whole world gasped when Apollo 13 got into difficulties. There were even crowds in Moscow wishing them well.

smash

To infinity, and beyond....

Lollers

God, this guy was cool under pressure, I start to panic when my petrol light comes on. This is from Wikipedia.

While moving in the cabin, Aldrin accidently broke the circuit breaker that would arm the main engine for lift off from the Moon. There was concern that this would prevent firing the engine, stranding them on the Moon. Fortunately a felt-tip pen was sufficient to activate the switch.