I remember this from "The Earth to the Moon" series.

Technology wasn't all that great back then...to make something spaceworthy all NASA did was wrap it in futuristic aluminum foil.

BALLS..OF..STEEL. It's no wonder there are people suspicious of whether they actually walked on the moon. It was a super human feat. You can't privatize that shit.

Wow.

So I assume he was struggling to get the trainer oriented so he could eject safely?

And what on earth was that thing? Was it dropped from a high altitude? or was it tethered

NASA built LLRV (lunar lander research vehicle) and later the LLTV (lunar landar training vehicle). They were not tethered. They used a jet engine, oriented vertically on a gimbal to lift the vehicle so that it would behave as the actual lander would over the moon. (The moon's gravity is about 1/6 of Earth's.)

Neil Armstrong said that the moon landing would not have been possible without these test vehicles. More info here: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-026-DFRC.html

If you want to see one, I know they have one on display at NASA Dryden in Southern California. I think they only do tours ever other Friday, though.

Oh, and NASA is/was considering building a similar vehicle to prepare for the return to the moon.

I heard that Armstrong casually carried on with his day after this like nothing happened at all.

>> ^Fusionaut:
I heard that Armstrong casually carried on with his day after this like nothing happened at all.


You're correct, they talk about it in "From the Earth to the Moon", as mentioned above. Buzz came into work and everyone was talking about it, and he ran to Neil's office, burst through the door, and there was Neil doing paperwork. Buzz asked him, and Neil just looked up and said "Yeah.", then went back to work.

>> ^Fusionaut:
I heard that Armstrong casually carried on with his day after this like nothing happened at all.


After one biiiig "WHEW!"

this was what he was up to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH0VYi1G6jo

>> ^Fusionaut:
I heard that Armstrong casually carried on with his day after this like nothing happened at all.


But only after he called a worried Chuck Norris to tell him he was ok.