The Armstrong Air & Space Museum is a museum in

Wapakoneta, Ohio Wapakoneta, (, ) is a city in and the county seat of Auglaize County, Ohio, United States, about north of Dayton and south of Toledo. The population was 9,957 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of and is included in the Wapakonet ...

, the hometown of aviator and astronaut

Neil Armstrong Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor. ...

, the first man to set foot on

the Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

. Opened in 1972, the museum chronicles

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

's contributions to the history of aeronautics and space flight. The museum is home to the original

Gemini 8 Gemini 8 (officially Gemini VIII) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was the sixth crewed spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was launched on March 16, 1966, and was the 14th crewed American fli ...

spacecraft piloted by Armstrong to perform the world's first space docking, two of Armstrong's space suits, multiple items from the Apollo Program missions, a

Moon rock Moon rock or lunar rock is rock originating from Earth's Moon. This includes lunar material collected during the course of human exploration of the Moon, and rock that has been ejected naturally from the Moon's surface and landed on Earth a ...

brought back during the

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...

mission, and an F5D Skylancer. The museum has several main galleries that cover the early beginnings of the

Space Race The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the t ...

, all the way to the end of the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program n ...

Era. In the museum's Astro-theater, multimedia presentations and documentaries are cast upon the interior of the dome. The Armstrong Museum is a member site in a larger network of museums and destinations owned by the

Ohio History Connection Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

. The National Aviation Heritage Area (NAHA) lists the Armstrong Air & Space Museum as one of its partner organizations, citing its preservation of historically relevant material related to the history of aerospace. While the museum bears the name of the famed Apollo 11 astronaut, Armstrong had no formal connection with the museum nor did he benefit from the organization in any way.

Neil Armstrong's early years

Neil Alden Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, on his grandparents' farm, in Washington Township, Auglaize County, near Wapakoneta to Stephen and Viola Armstrong. Neil was the oldest of the Armstrong's three children. Stephen Armstrong was an auditor and was tasked with examining the books from different Ohio counties. The family moved over thirteen times during Neil's childhood, eventually settling back down in Wapakoneta in the mid-1940s. During Armstrong's life in Wapakoneta, he graduated high school and received his pilots license from the now defunct Port Koneta Airfields located on the North end of Wapakoneta. After graduation, Neil went to college at Purdue University to study aeronautical engineering. His schooling was interrupted when the Navy called upon Armstrong to fight in the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

conflict.

Museum history

Armstrong Air and Space Museum 08312012 009

Armstrong Air and Space Museum 08312012 046

At the time of Neil Armstrong's first step onto the Moon, then Ohio Governor James Rhodes proposed to build a museum in Armstrong's hometown of Wapakoneta in his honor. The museum also was to honor "all Ohioans who have attempted to defy gravity."Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum: Ohio's Place in Space, published by the Ohio Historical Society, copyright 2000. Today, exhibits also detail the feats of the Wright Brothers and Ohioan astronaut

John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...

. Through Governor Rhodes, the State of Ohio pledged $500,000 dependent on local matching funds. A total of $528,313.55 was raised by Wapakoneta residents and other interested parties, including school children who held fund-raising drives." Groundbreaking took place in 1970. The design was unique with earth mounded around the steel-reinforced concrete building, giving the building the semblance of being underground." Its distinguishing feature is a large globe dome that houses the Astro Theater. On July 20, 1972, three years after the historic Moon landing, the museum held its grand opening, honored by the attendance of Armstrong and of Tricia Nixon Cox, standing in for her father, Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States." Late at night on July 28, 2017, a solid gold replica of an

Apollo Lunar Module The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed ...

was stolen. In August 2020, the first production

Learjet 28 The Learjet 28 is an American eight-to-ten-seat (two crew and six to eight passengers), twin-engine, high-speed business jet, intended to be the successor to the Learjet 25. The Learjet 29 is identical except for the addition of a long-range fuel t ...

, which was used by Neil Armstrong to set five aerospace records, was donated to the museum.

Museum exhibits

Craft

Douglas F5D Skylancer The Douglas F5D Skylancer is a development of the F4D Skyray jet fighter for the United States Navy. Starting out as the F4D-2N, an all-weather version of the Skyray, the design was soon modified to take full advantage of the extra thrust of the ...

Aeronca Champion The Aeronca Model 7 Champion, commonly known as the "Champ", or "Airknocker",Bellanca Aircraft Corp, " d: "The Champ only $4,995"" ''Flying Annual & Pilots' Guide,'' 1971 ed., pp.36–37 iff-Davis NY is a single-engine light airplane with a ...

, the first plane Neil Armstrong learned how to fly in *

spacecraft, flown by Neil Armstrong and

David Scott David Randolph Scott (born June 6, 1932) is an American retired test pilot and NASA astronaut who was the seventh person to walk on the Moon. Selected as part of the third group of astronauts in 1963, Scott flew to space three times and ...

Longhorn, only aircraft Neil Armstrong set aviation world records in

Suits/garments

Armstrong Air and Space Museum 08312012 036

* Neil Armstrong's Gemini VIII spacesuit * Neil Armstrong's Apollo 11 backup spacesuit * In-flight suit worn by astronaut

Eugene Cernan Eugene Andrew Cernan (; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. During the Apollo 17 mission, Cernan became the eleventh human being t ...

, the last man on the Moon * Constant wear garment worn by astronaut

Jim Lovell James Arthur Lovell Jr. (; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of th ...

* Flight garment worn by Ohio astronaut

Terence T. Henricks Terence Thomas "Tom" Henricks (born July 5, 1952) is a retired Colonel (United States), colonel in the United States Air Force and a former NASA astronaut. He served on four Space Shuttle missions. Personal life and education Henricks was born on ...

on STS-70 * Replica pressure suit worn by Shuttle Program astronauts * A variety of Soviet garments

Aerospace

* United States flag taken on the Apollo 11 mission by Neil Armstrong * Heel restraints on board Columbia during Apollo 11 mission * A lunar sample - the NASA term for a Moon rock *

heat shield fragment * A replica

Sputnik I Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...

* Early space food, hygiene equipment, and sleeping bags * Personal items from Ohio astronaut Judith Resnik * Shuttle tire from the

Space Shuttle Endeavour Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'' ( Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is a retired orbiter from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the fifth and final operational Shuttle built. It embarked on its first mission, STS-49, in May 1992 and its 25th ...

.Discover the Moon brochure passed out on admission to the museum, published by the Ohio Historical Society. The museum is designed for the experiential learner. There are several interactive exhibits, ten audio/visual elements, and two simulators.

References

External links

Official Site

Ohio History Connection page for museum

C-SPAN School Bus visit to the Armstrong Air and Space Museum, November 5, 1998
{{authority control Aerospace museums in Ohio Museums in Auglaize County, Ohio Ohio History Connection

Armstrong Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong, ...

Buildings and structures in Wapakoneta, Ohio National Aviation Heritage Area Science museums in Ohio 1972 establishments in Ohio Air and Space Museum