Apollo 11: CDR and LMP enter LM for initial inspection, 18 July 1969 4:02 PM CDT
This is the fifth of eleven geocaches being placed in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11. These caches are being scheduled to publish at 50 years after the event each one represents. The city where they are placed has the distinction of sharing its name with the Apollo 11 Command Module, Columbia.
Apollo 11 is the last Apollo mission to fly to the moon on a “free return” trajectory. This approach provides a simple method to abort the mission and return to earth by simply not firing the engines in flight. To continue the mission, the engines must be used to alter course and insert the spacecraft into lunar orbit. An inspection of the Lunar Module is to be carried out prior to orbital insertion to ensure everything is operationally ready for the attempt to land on the moon. Provided everything checks out, the mission will continue toward its date with the lunar surface.
While Armstrong and Aldrin carry out the inspection, let us look at our third member of the crew:
Apollo 11 Mission Commander, Neil Alden Armstrong.
Born on 5 August 1930, near Wapakoneta, Ohio. His father was an auditor for the state of Ohio. Neil grew up with a love of flying and even obtained his pilot’s license before his driver’s license. Armstrong attended Purdue University with his tuition paid by the United States Navy under a program bearing some resemblance to Naval ROTC. The program was structured as two years of study followed by two years of flight training and a year of service as a naval aviator, and then two more years of study. During his service as a naval aviator, Armstrong saw action in the Korean War. Graduating Purdue after the war, he became a civilian test pilot for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the precursor to NASA. Neil was selected as a member of the second group of astronauts in 1962. Armstrong’s first spaceflight was Gemini 8 where he performed the first docking of two spacecraft. His second and final space flight was Apollo 11, where he became the first human to set foot on the moon.
After resigning from NASA in 1971, Armstrong joined the faculty of the University of Cincinnati through 1979. He also acted as a spokesman for several American companies, but otherwise led a remarkably private life. There are several biographies and a major motion picture about his life. Armstrong died 25 August 2012.
This geocache has been placed in accordance with the published guidelines of Columbia Parks & Recreation Department, Lida M. Gochenour, Administrative Supervisor.