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Buzz Aldrin

Buzz Aldrin

Buzz Aldrin (born Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr., January 20, 1930) is an American engineer and former astronaut. As the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, he was one of the first two humans to land on the Moon, and the second person to walk on it. He set foot on the Moon at 03:15:16 on July 21, 1969 (UTC), following mission commander Neil Armstrong. He is a former U.S. Air Force officer with the Command Pilot rating.

Biography

Buzz Aldrin
NASAAstronaut
NationalityAmerican
StatusRetired
BornEdwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.(1930-01-20)January 20, 1930(age 86)Mountainside Hospital,Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.
Other occupation
Fighter pilot
United States Military Academy, B.S.1951Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sc.D. 1963
Rank
Colonel,USAF
Time in space
12 days 1 hour and 52 minutes
Selection1963 NASA Group 3
TotalEVAs
4
Total EVA time
7 hours 52 minutes
MissionsGemini 12,Apollo 11
Mission insignia
RetirementJuly 1, 1971
Awards
Websitewww.buzzaldrin.com
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Early life

Aldrin was born January 20, 1930, in Mountainside Hospital, which straddles both Glen Ridge and Montclair, in Essex County, New Jersey. His birth certificate lists Glen Ridge as his birthplace. [63] His parents were Edwin Eugene Aldrin Sr. (1896–1974), a career military man, and Marion (Moon) Gaddys (1903–1968), who lived in Montclair. [5] [14] He is of Scottish, Swedish, [17] and German ancestry. Aldrin was a Boy Scout and earned the rank of Tenderfoot Scout. [20]

After graduating from Montclair High School in 1947, [63] [666666] Aldrin turned down a full scholarship offer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (which he would later attend for graduate school), and went to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. The nickname "Buzz" originated in childhood: the younger of his two elder sisters mispronounced "brother" as "buzzer", and this was shortened to Buzz. Aldrin made it his legal first name in 1988.

Military career

Aldrin graduated third in his class at West Point in 1951, with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force and served as a jet fighter pilot throughout the Korean War. He flew 66 combat missions in F-86 Sabres and shot down two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 aircraft. The June 8, 1953, issue of Life magazine featured gun camera photos taken by Aldrin of one of the Soviet pilots ejecting from his damaged aircraft. [27]

After the war, Aldrin was assigned as an aerial gunnery instructor at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and next was an aide to the dean of faculty at the United States Air Force Academy, which had recently begun operations in 1955. That same year, he graduated from the Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. He flew F-100 Super Sabres as a flight commander at Bitburg Air Base, West Germany, in the 22d Fighter Squadron. In 1963 Aldrin earned a Doctor of Science degree in Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. [30] His graduate thesis was "Line-of-sight guidance techniques for manned orbital rendezvous", [35] the dedication of which read, "In the hopes that this work might in a few way contribute to their exploration of space, this is dedicated to the crew members of this country’s present and future manned space programs. If only I could join them in their exciting endeavors!"

On completion of his doctorate, he was assigned to the Gemini Target Office of the Air Force Space Systems Division in Los Angeles before his selection as an astronaut. His initial application to join the astronaut corps was rejected on the basis of never having been a test pilot; that prerequisite was lifted when he re-applied and was accepted into the third astronaut class.

NASA career

“

Magnificent desolation.

�

— Aldrin's first impression of the Moon, standing on its surface.[40]

Aldrin was selected as a member of the third group of NASA astronauts in October 1963. Because test pilot experience was no longer a requirement, this was the first selection for which he was eligible. After the deaths of the original Gemini 9 prime crew, Elliot See and Charles Bassett, Aldrin and Jim Lovell were promoted to backup crew for the mission. The main objective of the revised mission (Gemini 9A) was to rendezvous and dock with a target vehicle, but when this failed, Aldrin improvised an effective exercise for the craft to rendezvous with a co-ordinate in space. He was confirmed as pilot on Gemini 12, the last Gemini mission and the last chance to prove methods for extravehicular activity (EVA). He set a record for EVA, demonstrating that astronauts could work outside spacecraft.

Aldrin was chosen for the crew of Apollo 11 and made the first lunar landing with commander Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969. The next day, Aldrin became the second person to walk on the Moon, keeping his record total EVA time until that was surpassed on Apollo 14. Aldrin's first words on the Moon were "Beautiful view." Then, in response to Armstrong asking, "Isn't it magnificent?", he responded, "Magnificent desolation." [45] He was additionally the first person to urinate on the moon. [46] [48] [51]

There has been speculation about the extent of Aldrin's desire at the time to be the first astronaut to walk on the Moon and its impact on his pre-flight, in-mission and post-flight actions.

[56] According to different NASA accounts, the Lunar Module Pilot (i.e. Aldrin on Apollo 11) had originally been proposed as the first to step onto the Moon's surface in early versions of the EVA checklist, and when Aldrin became aware that this might be amended, he lobbied within NASA for the original procedure to be followed.

A number of factors seem to have contributed to the final decision, including the physical positioning of the astronauts inside the compact lunar lander, which made it easier for Armstrong to be the first to exit the spacecraft.

Also, Armstrong was the Mission Commander, and additional senior astronauts who would command later Apollo missions (and who might have ended up making the first landing in the event of failure on Apollo 11) weren't sympathetic to Aldrin's views.

Aldrin's pre-flight actions/record and post-flight responses on the issue seem to be adequately summed up by Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot Michael Collins's comment, "I think he resents not being first on the moon more than he appreciates being second."

Aldrin, a Presbyterian, was the first person to hold a religious ceremony on the Moon. After landing on the Moon, he radioed Earth: "I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they might be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in their own way." He took communion on the surface of the Moon, but he kept it secret because of a lawsuit brought by atheist activist Madalyn Murray O'Hair over the reading of Genesis on Apollo 8. Aldrin, a church elder, used a home communion kit given to him, and recited words used by his pastor at Webster Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Dean Woodruff. [61] The communion elements were the first food and liquid consumed on the Moon: in Guideposts , Aldrin stated: "It was interesting to think that the quite first liquid ever poured on the Moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements."[65]

Later Aldrin commented on the event: "Perhaps, if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't choose to celebrate communion.

Although it was a deeply meaningful experience for me, it was a Christian sacrament, and we had come to the Moon in the name of all mankind – be they Christians, Jews, Muslims, animists, agnostics, or atheists.

But at the time I could think of no better way to acknowledge the enormity of the Apollo 11 experience than by giving thanks to God."

[65] Mindful of the controversy caused by the Bible readings made the Apollo 8 crew, the NASA management had warned the Apollo 11 crew against making any explicit religious comments throughout the flight.

Notwithstanding in the final Apollo 11 TV broadcast throughout the return journey to Earth, Aldrin quoted from Psalm 8 (verses 3 and 4) "I’ve been reflecting the events of the past several days and a verse from the Psalms comes to mind to me.

'When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained, what's man that thou art mindful of him?'".

[16] [22] This particular quote seems to have been accepted as a personal observation and didn't precipitate any controversy.

Retirement

After leaving NASA in July 1971, Aldrin was assigned as the Commandant of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In March 1972, Aldrin retired from active duty after 21 years of service, and returned to the Air Force in a managerial role, but his career was blighted by personal problems. His autobiographies Return to Earth, published in 1973, and Magnificent Desolation, published in June 2009, both provide accounts of his struggles with clinical depression and alcoholism in the years following his NASA career. Aldrin's life improved considerably when he recognised and sought treatment for his problems. Since retiring from NASA, he has continued to promote space exploration. In 1987 he founded the Space Studies graduate programme at the University of North Dakota. Later, he produced a computer strategy game called Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space (1993). To further promote space exploration, and to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the first lunar landing, Aldrin teamed up with Snoop Dogg, Quincy Jones, Talib Kweli, and Soulja Boy to create the rap single and video, "Rocket Experience", with proceeds from video and song sales to benefit Aldrin's non-profit foundation, ShareSpace. [29]

He referred to a "Phobos monolith" in a July 22, 2009, interview with C-SPAN: "We should go boldly where man hasn't gone before. Fly by the comets, visit asteroids, visit the moon of Mars. There's a monolith there. A quite unusual structure on this potato shaped object that goes around Mars once in seven hours. When people find out about that they're going to say 'Who put that there? Who put that there?' The universe put it there. If you choose, God put it there…"[5]

Aldrin has voiced parody versions of himself in two of Matt Groening's animated series: The Simpsons episode "Deep Space Homer", in which he accompanies Homer Simpson on a trip into space as part of NASA's plan to improve its public appearance, and the Futurama episode "Cold Warriors". In 2011, Aldrin appeared as himself in the film Transformers: Dark of the Moon , where he explains to Optimus Prime and the Autobots that the Apollo 11 mission additionally discovered a Cybertronian ship on the Moon whose existence was concealed from the public.

In 2012, he made a cameo appearance in Japanese drama film Space Brothers . Aldrin appeared as himself in the Big Bang Theory episode, "The Holographic Excitation", which aired on October 25, 2012. Aldrin additionally lent his voice talents to the 2012 video game Mass Effect 3

Aldrin cycler

In 1985, Aldrin proposed the existence of a special spacecraft trajectory now known as the Aldrin cycler. [5] [5] Aldrin's system of cycling spacecraft makes travel to Mars possible using far less propellant than conventional means, with an expected five and a half month journey from the Earth to Mars, and a return trip to Earth of about the same duration on a twin-cycler. Aldrin is still working on this with engineers from Purdue University. [5]

Bart Sibrel incident

On September 9, 2002, Aldrin was lured to a Beverly Hills hotel on the pretext of being interviewed for a Japanese children's television show on the subject of space. When he arrived, Apollo conspiracy proponent Bart Sibrel accosted him with a film crew and demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landings weren't faked, insisting that Aldrin and others had lied about walking on the Moon. After a brief confrontation, in which Sibrel called him "a coward and a liar", [5] Aldrin punched Sibrel in the jaw, which was caught on camera by Sibrel's film crew. The police determined that Aldrin was provoked and no charges were filed. [57] Aldrin dedicates a chapter to this incident in his autobiography Magnificent Desolation. [5]

Views

Criticism of NASA's 2003 return-to-Moon objectives

In December 2003, Aldrin published an opinion piece in The New York Times criticising NASA's objectives. [62] In it, he voiced concern about NASA's development of a spacecraft"limited to transporting four astronauts at a time with little or no cargo carrying capability" and declared the goal of sending astronauts back to the Moon was "more like reaching for past glory than striving for new triumphs". [62]

Support of a manned mission to Mars

In June 2013, Aldrin wrote an opinion, published in The New York Times, supporting a manned mission to Mars and which viewed the Moon "not as a destination but more a point of departure, one that places humankind on a trajectory to homestead Mars and become a two-planet species." [3] In August 2015, Aldrin, in association with the Florida Institute of Technology, presented a "master plan", for NASA consideration, for astronauts, with a "tour of duty of ten years", to colonise Mars before the year 2040. [13]

Climate change

In 2009, Aldrin commented on climate change by saying: "I think the climate has been changing for billions of years. If it's warming now, it might cool off later. I'm not in favour of just taking short-term isolated situations and depleting our resources to keep our climate just the way it is today. I'm not necessarily of the school that we're causing it all, I think the world is causing it." [19]

Books

Books co-authored by Aldrin include Return to Earth (1973), Men From Earth (1989), Reaching for the Moon (2005), Look to the Stars (2009) and Magnificent Desolation (2009).

He has additionally co-authored with John Barnes the science fiction novels Encounter with Tiber (1996) and The Return (2000). His book Mission to Mars was published in May 2013. In April 2016, he released his latest book, No Dream is Too High.

Personal life

Aldrin has been married three times.

His first marriage was to Joan Archer (1930–2015), the mother of his three children (James, Janice and Andrew).

His second marriage was to Beverly Zile.

His third marriage was to Lois Driggs Cannon, from whom he filed for divorce on June 15, 2011, in Los Angeles, citing "irreconcilable differences". [23] The divorce was finalised on December 28, 2012. [25] He has one grandson, Jeffrey Schuss, born to his daughter, Janice.

His battles against depression and alcoholism, upon returning home from the Apollo 11 mission, have been documented, most recently in Magnificent Desolation.

[31] [33] Aldrin is an active supporter of the Republican Party, headlining fundraisers for GOP members of Congress. [36]

In 2007, Aldrin confirmed to Time magazine that he had recently had a face-lift; [38] he joked that the G-forces he was exposed to in space "caused a sagging jowl that needed a few attention." [38]

Aldrin commented on the death of his Apollo 11 colleague, Neil Armstrong, saying that he was "deeply saddened by the passing.

I know I'm joined by millions of others in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew.

I had truly hoped that on July 20th, 2019, Neil, Mike and I would be standing together to commemorate the fiftieth Anniversary of our Moon landing...Regrettably, this isn't to be."

[47] [49]

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Awards and honors

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Air Force Master Astronaut badge

Air Force Distinguished Service Medalwithcluster

Legion of Merit

Distinguished Flying Crosswith cluster

Air Medalwith two clusters

Air Force Commendation Medal

Outstanding Unit Award

Presidential Medal of Freedomwith Distinction

NASA Distinguished Service Medal

NASA Exceptional Service Medal

National Defense Service Medalwith onestar

Korean Service Medalwith two stars

Air Force Longevity Service Awardwith four clusters

Presidential Unit Citation(Korea)

United Nations Korea Medal

Korean War Service Medal

  • Civilian awards and decorations include the Robert J. Collier Trophy, the Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, and the Harmon Trophy.

  • Aldrin and his Apollo 11 crewmates were the 1999 recipients of the Langley Gold Medal from the Smithsonian Institution.

  • The crater Aldrin on the Moon near the Apollo 11 landing site and Asteroid 6470 Aldrin are named in his honor.

  • In 1967, Aldrin received an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Gustavus Adolphus College.

  • In 1985, Aldrin was inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame, a signature event of Norsk Høstfest. [52]

  • In 1994, Aldrin was anonymously honoured on a United States postage stamp. The 29¢ stamp, commemorating the silver anniversary of the landing, was based on a famous photograph of Aldrin, captured by Neil Armstrong, in which Aldrin's face is obscured by his reflective visor. Postal rules at the time prohibited directly featuring living persons on stamps. [17]

  • In 2001, President Bush appointed Aldrin to the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry. [17]

  • Aldrin received the 2003 Humanitarian Award from Variety, the Children's Charity, which, according to the organization, "is given to an individual who has shown unusual understanding, empathy, and devotion to mankind." [17]

  • Aldrin is on the National Space Society's Board of Governors, and has served as the organization's Chairman; an inductee of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, National Aviation Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame; and a member of The Planetary Society, with Aldrin's pre-recorded voice appearing on nearly every episode of the Society's Planetary Radio.

  • In 2006, the Space Foundation awarded Aldrin its highest honor, the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award. [17]

  • For contributions to the television industry, Aldrin was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [6]

  • Inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2008. [17]

  • In 2009, President Obama signed legislation conferring the Congressional Gold Medal upon Aldrin and his Apollo 11 crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins.

  • In a 2010 Space Foundation survey, Aldrin was ranked as the No. 9 (tied with astronauts Gus Grissom and Alan Shepard) most popular space hero. [17]

  • In 2011, Aldrin was nominated for Best Cameo at the 2011 Scream Awards for his role playing himself in Transformers: Dark of the Moon

  • In 2015, Aldrin was named as the Chancellor of the International Space University. [17]

Detached adapter panel sighting

In 2005, while being interviewed for a documentary titled First on the Moon: The Untold Story, Aldrin told an interviewer that they saw an unidentified flying object. Aldrin told David Morrison, a NASA Astrobiology Institute senior scientist, that the documentary cut the crew's conclusion that they were probably seeing one of four detached spacecraft adapter panels. Their S-IVB upper stage was 6,000 miles (9,700Â km) away, but the four panels were jettisoned before the S-IVB made its separation manoeuvre so they would closely follow the Apollo 11 spacecraft until its first midcourse correction. [17] When Aldrin appeared on The Howard Stern Show on August 15, 2007, Stern asked him about the supposed UFO sighting. Aldrin confirmed that there was no such sighting of anything deemed extraterrestrial, and said they were and are "99.9 percent" sure that the object was the detached panel. [17] [20]

Interviewed by the Science Channel, Aldrin mentioned seeing unidentified objects, and according to Aldrin his words were taken out of context; he asked the Science Channel to clarify to viewers he didn't see alien spacecraft, but they refused. [42]

Film and television

Filmography

Film and television roles

Year

Title

Role

Notes

1976

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble

Himself

TV movie

1989

After Dark

Himself

Extended appearance on British discussion program, with amongst othersHeinz Wolff,Jocelyn Bell BurnellandWhitley Strieber

1994

The Simpsons

Himself (voice)

Episode: "Deep Space Homer"

1997

Space Ghost Coast to Coast

Himself

2 episodes

1999

Disney's Recess

Himself (voice)

Episode: "Space Cadet"

2003

Da Ali G Show

Himself

2 episodes

2006

Numb3rs

Himself

Episode: "Killer Chat"

2007

In the Shadow of the Moon

Himself

Documentary

2008

Fly Me to the Moon

Himself

Â

2010

30 Rock

Himself

Episode: "The Moms"

2010

Dancing with the Stars

Himself/contestant

2nd eliminated inseason 10

2011

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Himself

Â

2011

Futurama

Himself (voice)

Episode: "Cold Warriors"

2012

Space Brothers

Himself

Â

2012

The Big Bang Theory

Himself

Episode: "The Holographic Excitation"

2012

Mass Effect 3

The Stargazer (voice)

Video Game

2015

Jorden runt på 6 steg

Himself

Successfully testedsix degrees of separation

Portrayed by others

Aldrin has been portrayed by:

  • Cliff Robertson in Return to Earth (1976)

  • Larry Williams in Apollo 13

  • Xander Berkeley in Apollo 11

  • Bryan Cranston in From the Earth to the Moon (1998) and Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D

  • James Marsters in Moonshot

  • Cory Tucker as a younger Buzz Aldrin of 1969 in Transformers: Dark of the Moon

  • The name of the Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear was inspired by Buzz Aldrin. Aldrin acknowledged the tribute when he pulled a Buzz Lightyear doll out throughout a speech at NASA, to rapturous cheer, a clip of which can be found on the Toy Story tenth Anniversary DVD.

References

[1]
Citation Linken.wikipedia.orgThe original version of this page is from Wikipedia, you can edit the page right here on Everipedia.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Additional terms may apply.See everipedia.org/everipedia-termsfor further details.Images/media credited individually (click the icon for details).
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[2]
Citation Linken.wikipedia.orgThe original version of this page is from Wikipedia, you can edit the page right here on Everipedia.Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Additional terms may apply.See everipedia.org/everipedia-terms for further details.Images/media credited individually (click the icon for details).
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[3]
Citation Linknytimes.com"The Call of Mars"
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[4]
Citation Linkywqaugeunhowzrcj.public.blob.vercel-storage.comAldrin's lunar footprint in a photo taken by him on July 21, 1969
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Citation Linkweb.archive.orgArchived
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[6]
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Citation Linkupload.wikimedia.orgVideo from the Apollo 11mission
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Citation Linkywqaugeunhowzrcj.public.blob.vercel-storage.comAldrin as Commandant of the Air Force Test Pilot School
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Citation Linkywqaugeunhowzrcj.public.blob.vercel-storage.comAldrin in Mission Control with NASA spokesman Josh Byerlyand Flight Director Ron Spencer in 2009
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[10]
Citation Linkywqaugeunhowzrcj.public.blob.vercel-storage.comBuzz Aldrin speaking at an event in Phoenix, Arizona to promote his book, No Dream is Too High, in April 2016.
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Citation Linknj.comFrank, Bruce and Buzz among first inducted into NJ hall of fame
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[12]
Citation Linkywqaugeunhowzrcj.public.blob.vercel-storage.comBuzz Aldrin speaking at an event in April 2016.
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Citation Linkapnews.excite.com"Buzz Aldrin joins university, forming 'master plan' for Mars"
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[14]
Citation Linknytimes.com"Questions for Buzz Aldrin: The Man on the Moon"
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[15]
Citation Linkspacefoundation.org"Space Foundation Survey Reveals Broad Range of Space Heroes"
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[16]
Citation Link4thdayalliance.com"4th Day Alliance - Creationism, Creation Science, and Creation Astronomy - Apollo Space Program Bible Quotations"
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[17]
Citation Linkweb.archive.orgFrom The Dollar To The Moon.Chapter 7 – That "giant leap for mankind"
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[18]
Citation Linktwitter.com"I am so honored to be the new Chancellor of ISU at the #IAC2015 following in Arthur C Clarke's footsteps."
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[19]
Citation Linktelegraph.co.uk"Buzz Aldrin calls for manned flight to Mars to overcome global problems"
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[20]
Citation Linkscouting.org"Scouting and Space Exploration"
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