finding aid to the neil a. armstrong papers, 1671-2012

363 Pages·2017·4.32 MB·English

by  Sammie Morris

FINDING AID TO
THE NEIL A. ARMSTRONG PAPERS,
1671-2012

Purdue University Libraries
Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections
Research Center
504 West State Street
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2058
[phone]

http://www.lib.purdue.edu/spcol

© 2014 Purdue University Libraries. All rights reserved.
Revised by: Tracy Grimm, November 18, 2014
Processed by: Tracy Grimm, Donovan Irven, and Mary Sego, November 18, 2014
Descriptive Summary

Creator Information Armstrong, Neil A., 1930-2012

Title Neil A. Armstrong papers

Collection Identifier MSA 5

Date Span 1671-2012, predominant 1960-2012

Abstract This collection includes documents, coursework, working
papers and subject files, correspondence, writings,
speeches, photographs, and newspaper clippings related
to Neil A. Armstrong's education, Navy career, training and
career as a test pilot and astronaut, his career as a
professor of engineering, and roles as advisor and
participant for various commissions.

Extent 221.3 cubic feet (466 mss, cubic feet, flat boxes, and OS
items)

Finding Aid Author Tracy Grimm, Donovan Irven, and Mary Sego

Languages English and Russian

Repository Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections
Research Center, Purdue University Libraries

Administrative Information

Location ASC
Information:

Access Collection is open for scholarly research. A 48 hours notice and
Restrictions: consultation with the Flight Archivist is required to access the
collection. Portions of the collection are restricted per donor
restrictions and third party privacy.

Acquisition Donated by Neil A. Armstrong and Carol Armstrong, with the majority
Information: of the papers donated by Carol Armstrong and family in 2012.

Accession 20080923
Numbers: 20081007
20081111
20081217
20090114
8/15/2017 2
20090218
20120922
20121016
20121102
20130412
20151106
20160627
20170608

Preferred MSA 5, Neil A. Armstrong papers, Karnes Archives and Special
Citation: Collections, Purdue University Libraries

Copyright Purdue University per deed of gift.
Notice:

Related Purdue’s Place in Space: From the Midwest to the Moon:
Materials http://collections.lib.purdue.edu/moon
Information:
James R. Hansen papers on Neil Armstrong:
https://apps.lib.purdue.edu/archon/index.php?p=accessions/accession&id=470&q=armstrong

8/15/2017 3
Subjects and Genres

Persons
Armstrong, Neil A., 1930-2012
Armstrong, Viola L., 1907-1990
Armstrong, Stephen Koenig, 1907-1990

Organizations
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (U.S.)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)
United States. Navy--1910-1950
Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Edwards Air Force Base (California). Aerospace Research Pilot School
National Commission on Space (U.S.)
NASA Advisory Council
Purdue University
Purdue University. School of Aeronautical Engineering
University of Southern California. School of Aerospace Engineering
University of Cincinnati. School of Aerospace Engineering
Flight Archives at Purdue University
Boy Scouts
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity
Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco
President’s Advisory Council on the Peace Corps
Commonwealth Club of Cincinnati
Commercial Club of Cincinnati

Topics
Astronautics--Study and teaching.
Astronauts--Training of.
Astronauts--1960-1970.
Apollo 11 (Spacecraft)
Moon--Landing of space vehicles
Apollo
Gemini VIII (Spacecraft)
Gemini
Mercury
Dyna-Soar (Space glider)
X-15 (Rocket aircraft)
NASA SPACE PROGRAMS
Astronautical research
Military service--1940-1950
Korean War
Space exploration
Space flight
Lunar module
8/15/2017 4
Lunar Landing Training Vehicle
Lunar surface
Air pilots--Military
Aircraft
Moon rocks
Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (U.S.)
Purdue University--Alumni and alumnae
“First Flights” documentary

Form and Genre Types
Aerospace engineering--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Aerospace engineering--Periodicals.
Aerospace engineering--Textbooks.
Artifacts
Astronautical charts
Astronautics--Periodicals.
Aviation--Periodicals.
Awards
Books
Cassettes, Audio
Clippings
Correspondence
Coursework
Diagrams
Diplomas
Documents
DVD
Fan mail
Films
Handbooks
Lunar photography
Magnetic tapes
Manuals
Maps
NASA publications
Notebooks
Papers
Photographs
Postcards
Publications
Recordings, Sound
Reference Material.
Report cards
Scrapbooks
Slides
Space photography
8/15/2017 5
Speeches
Subject files
Textbooks
Transcripts
VHS
Working papers
Writings

Occupations
Astronaut
Aerospace engineers
Pilots (Aeronautics)
Naval aviator
Test pilots
NASA--Deputy Administrator of Aeronautics
Professor
Corporate Chairman
Businessman
8/15/2017 6
Biography of Neil A. Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong was born near Wapakoneta, Ohio on August 5, 1930 to Viola
Louise Engel Armstrong and Stephen Koenig Armstrong. He was an active member
of the Boy Scouts of America and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. At the age of 16,
in 1946, he earned his student pilot certificate. He graduated from Blume High School
in Wapakoneta, Ohio and having been accepted to the Navy’s Naval Aviation College
Program, attended college at Purdue University beginning the fall of 1947. His
studies in aeronautical engineering were interrupted in the spring of 1949 when he
was called to military duty. His active military service spanned 1949 – 1952. He
served as a naval aviator in the Korean War during which he flew 78 combat
missions. In 1952 he resumed his studies at Purdue University and received a
Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1955. In 1955 he
accepted a position as an Aeronautical Test Pilot at the National Advisory Committee
for Aeronautics’ (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio.
Later in 1955 he would join NACA’s aeronautical research pilots at the High-Speed
Flight Station at Edwards Air Force Base, in California. From 1955 until 1962 he flew
a number of experimental aircraft including the X-1B, the F-100C, and the X-15. He
authored and co-authored a number of research papers during this period and also
conducted research as a pilot-engineer on the developing Dyna-Soar project.
In 1962 Armstrong transferred NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston as one
of the nine astronaut trainees of the astronaut class of 1962. Along with astronaut
training activities, he was given the responsibilities for operations and training under
Alan Shepard, chief of the astronauts. One of his tasks was to calculate how many
crews were needed at any one point in time to meet the requirements of the
program’s goals. He served in supporting roles for Mercury 9, his first flight crew
assignment was as backup commander to Gordon Cooper on Gemini V. Throughout
this period his work responsibilities were divided between general training, planning
and calculations of the best “trajectories and sequences of events,” and in lab
spacecraft systems tests and simulations. (see Hansen, 235) He served in a
supporting role for Gemini III, command pilot for Gemini VIII that launched in March
1966. He served as commander of Apollo 11 that launched in July 1969 and became
the first human to walk on the moon. Following the Apollo 11 mission, he embarked
on the “Giant Step” world tour and later a Bob Hope USO Tour. He received
numerous awards, achievement medals, and honors following the Apollo 11 mission.
In 1970 he earned his Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University
of Southern California. From 1970 -1971 he served as Deputy Associate
Administrator for Aerospace in NASA’s Office of Advanced Research and
Technology. From 1971 through 1979 he taught and conducted research as
Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Armstrong served
on several corporate boards including Cardwell International, Gates Learjet
Corporation, Marathon Oil Company, United Airlines, U.S. Steel Corporation, and
Space Industries International. He also consulted on issues of management as well
as on aerospace. He served on commissions including the Presidential Advisory
8/15/2017 7
Committee for the Peace Corps, the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle
Challenger Accident, the National Commission on Space, and the NASA Advisory
Council. He was also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the
Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco. He wrote and delivered hundreds of speeches
throughout his professional career and into his retirement. He continued to receive
fan mail until his death in 2012. He was married to Janet Shearon from 1956-1994,
and to Carol Held Knight from 1994 to 2012. Neil Armstrong died on August 25, 2012
following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.

Sources:

Neil A. Armstrong Papers, 1671 – 2012. The Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and
Special Collections Research Center, Purdue University Libraries, West Lafayette.

Neil Armstrong: Engineer, Pilot, Astronaut, Teacher Commemorative Website.
University of Cincinnati. Website. Accessed 18 November 2014.
http://digitalprojects.libraries.uc.edu/armstrong/index.html

Hansen, James R. First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 2005.

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Biographical Data Website. The National
Aeronautics and Space Administration. Website. Accessed 18 November 2014.
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/armstrong-na.html

8/15/2017 8
Collection Description
Scope
The Neil A. Armstrong papers (1671-2012; 221.3 cubic feet) document the military,
aeronautics, astronautics, teaching and corporate business career of Neil A.
Armstrong. The papers also feature items from Armstrong's youth and education.

The collection includes but is not limited to documents, coursework, working papers,
subject files, correspondence, writings, speeches, recordings, photographs and
newspaper clippings.

The papers are divided into eighteen series, and further information on the scope and
content of the collection is located at the series level:
Arrangement
Series 1. NASA Career, 1951-2008 (42.6 cubic feet). Housed in this series are the
documents and other materials generated during Neil Armstrong’s NASA career,
from his days as an experimental test pilot through his assignment as the Deputy
Administrator of Aeronautics. Early materials of note are documents related to the X-
15 program and Armstrong’s engineering work as part of the Dyna-Soar team before
his transfer into the astronaut program. A central piece of this series is the inclusion
of Armstrong’s application to the NASA astronaut program, as well as his letter of
acceptance from Robert Gilruth. Although he was not assigned to any crew during
the Mercury program, Armstrong nevertheless acquired key Mercury program
materials from his astronaut training and preserved them as part of his personal
collection.

The Gemini program is much more fully represented, Gemini 8 in particular, for which
Armstrong served as command pilot. In addition to an array of technical documents
detailing all Gemini spacecraft, including the Agena docking vehicle with which
Armstrong completed the first docking of two vehicles in space, the Gemini sub-
series contains items flown during that historic mission.

The largest sub-series presented here contains the materials from the Apollo
program. Comprising over 50 manuscript boxes, these materials cover every part of
the Apollo program manned missions, from technical documents for each spacecraft,
to training materials, to the details of mission planning, through the public relations
campaign associated with the world’s first manned lunar landing. Several items in the
Apollo sub-series are of historic significance; see the sub-series description for more
detail. Armstrong continued his NASA career after Apollo as the Deputy Administrator
of Aeronautics. The materials from this part of Armstrong’s career offer unique insight
into NASA’s vision of the future in the early 1970s, as well as the difficulties it faced
moving space exploration forward after the success of the lunar landing.

8/15/2017 9
After leaving NASA to teach at the University of Cincinnati, Armstrong kept in touch
with many of his NASA colleagues, continued to research the developing
technologies of space flight and exploration, and participated in several programs
associated with NASA. These documents, although extraneous to Armstrong’s official
NASA career, are preserved here as a reminder of Armstrong’s lifelong commitment
to the organization’s goals in the exploration of space, as well as his irreplaceable
status among NASA astronauts as the commander of Apollo 11. The series
concludes with Armstrong’s collection of documents published by NASA during the
manned space program of the 1960s, including the published findings of those
missions.

Series 2. Family Papers, 1934-2007 (2.20 cubic feet). The Family Papers series
contains materials collected or created by Neil Armstrong’s family members,
collected genealogy materials, and Boy Scouts of America items. Of particular note,
is a scrapbook compiled by his mother, Viola L. Armstrong which contains items
related to Armstrong’s youth such as his grade school report cards, academic
awards, and homework assignments. The series also includes letters from his father,
Stephen K. Armstrong, clippings, photographs, and papers his parents compiled as
Armstrong’s NASA career progressed and he became a public figure. Also included
are materials from Armstrong’s participation in the Boy Scouts of America. These
papers were in Armstrong’s possession at the time of his death and were transferred
as part of his bequest. The Family Papers series is comprised of 4 sub-series; Viola
L. Armstrong, Stephen Koenig Armstrong, [Armstrong] Genealogy, and Boy Scouts.

Series 3. Education, 1947-1970 (5.20 cubic feet). This series contains some
coursework, notebooks, grade reports, and textbooks from Neil Armstrong's
undergraduate aeronautical engineering studies at Purdue University. Armstrong
was a student at Purdue from 1947-1949 and then was called to active service in the
Navy. He returned to Purdue in 1952 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science
degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1955. Also included in the Education Series
are materials from his master’s degree work at the University of Southern California.
Armstrong began research for his master’s in 1960, but due to other aspects of his
career, he did not receive his master’s degree until 1970. The series is divided into
two sub-series, Purdue University and the University of Southern California. Of note
in the Purdue University series are papers related to Armstrong's participation in the
Purdue musical, "Varsity Varieties". One can find his diplomas at the end of each
respective series. For papers related to Armstrong's elementary and high school
education, please see Series 3. Family Papers. To respect original order, they were
left as found among his mother Viola’s scrapbook.

Series 4. Military Records, 1946-2009 (1 cubic foot). This series contains Neil
Armstrong’s United States Navy Officer Service Record, and includes everything
from his “Orders; chargeable against appropriation ‘Officer Candidate Training,’ April
18, 1949” through “Certificate, Honorable Discharge from the Armed Forces of the
United States of America, United States Navy, October 21, 1960.” The material has
been removed from the original file for preservation purposes, but the order has been
8/15/2017 10