Space Medal Of Honor A Neil Armstrong

Image Credit: NASA

L'immagine (cliccare qui per ingrandirla) mostra l'astronauta Neil Armstrong mentre riceve la prima Congressional Space Medal of Honor dal presidente Jimmy Carter, assistito dal capitano Robert Peterson.
Si tratta di un'onorificenza riconosciuta dal Congresso degli Stati Uniti nel 1969 per decorare gli astronauti che si sono distinti per meriti eccezionali ("exceptionally meritorious efforts and contributions to the welfare of the Nation and mankind"). La medaglia è assegnata dal Presidente degli Stati Uniti su proposta del direttore della NASA.
Armstrong è stato premiato, il 1 ottobre 1978, per la sua performance durante la missione Gemini 8 e la missione Apollo 11, quando è diventato il primo uomo a mettere piede sulla luna.

Neil Armstrong è morto ieri, 25 agosto 2012, all'età di 82 anni.

Di seguito la dichiarazione dell'amministratore della NASA sulla morte del grande astronauta:


"On behalf of the entire NASA family, I would like to express my deepest condolences to Carol and the rest of the Armstrong family on the passing of Neil Armstrong. As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own.

"Besides being one of America's greatest explorers, Neil carried himself with a grace and humility that was an example to us all. When President Kennedy challenged the nation to send a human to the moon, Neil Armstrong accepted without reservation.

"As we enter this next era of space exploration, we do so standing on the shoulders of Neil Armstrong. We mourn the passing of a friend, fellow astronaut and true American hero."

La dichiarazione della famiglia:


“We are heartbroken to share the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. 

Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. 

Neil Armstrong was also a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job. He served his Nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. He also found success back home in his native Ohio in business and academia, and became a community leader in Cincinnati.  

He remained an advocate of aviation and exploration throughout his life and never lost his boyhood wonder of these pursuits.  

As much as Neil cherished his privacy, he always appreciated the expressions of good will from people around the world and from all walks of life.  

While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves.  

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.” 

Cito una frase di Armstrong, pronunciata durante un'intervista rilasciata a Ed Bradley all'interno del popolare programma 60 Minutes della CBS e trasmessa nel novembre del 2005:


“A tutti noi piace essere riconosciuti non per un breve fuoco d'artificio,
ma per il bilancio del nostro lavoro quotidiano”.

Ad un certo punto, durante l'intervista, Bradley chiede ad Armstrong come gli sia venuta l'idea della celeberrima frase "Quello che è piccolo passo per un uomo, è un grande balzo per l'umanità".

Risposta: “I thought, ‘Well, when I step off, it's just gonna be a little step, from there down to there.’ But then I thought about all those 400,000 people that had given me the opportunity to make that step and thought ‘It's going to be a big something for all those folks and, indeed, a lot of others that even weren't even involved in the project.’ So it was a kind of a simple correlation of thoughts.”

E ancora, alla domanda dell'intervistatore, che chiedeva se davvero fosse tornato in ufficio a sbrigare delle carte, come se niente fosse accaduto (nel 1968, Armstrong aveva sfiorato la morte durante un volo a bordo del veicolo addestratore lunare, riuscendo a lanciarsi fuori a poco più di 30 metri da terra), questa la sua risposta:  “I did. There was work to be done.”

Bradley osserva che era quasi morto nell'incidente.
Armstrong risponde: “Well, but I wasn't.”

Riporto il filmato dell'intera intervista.



A questo link tutti i dettagli della citata intervista, da cui emerge con chiarezza la bellissima persona che è stato Neil Armstrong.


Le sue parole, alla morte, per un tumore al cervello, della piccola Karen, la figlia di due anni, nel lontano 1962, anno in cui fu scelto come astronauta:

 “I thought the best thing for me to do in that situation was to continue with my work, keep things as normal as I could. And try as hard as I could not to have it affect my ability to do useful things... At the time I thought the family was handling it well. And I was doing the best I could.”

La NASA gli ha dedicato la home del suo sito web, evento mai accaduto prima, e un bellissimo video: