Science

Moon landing bombshell: The daring move Neil Armstrong performed after emergency alarm


NASA’s Apollo 11 mission famously landed on the Moon just shy of 50 years ago with Neil Armstrong becoming the first man to walk on the Lunar surface, shortly followed by Buzz Aldrin. The monumental event of July 20, 1969, brought the world to a standstill as millions watched anxiously on live TV, before Armstrong delivered his legendary “one small step” speech that marked the end of the Space Race with the Soviet Union. However, what many do not know about, is the tense moments leading up to the monumental event and the drastic measures Armstrong was forced to take.

All is revealed during Altitude Film’s upcoming release “Armstrong”, which reveals why Mission Control was put on red alert.

Charlie Duke, who was present in Houston that day, said: “They lit the engine and the wheels came off the thing (Eagle).

“We started having communication dropouts, many radar problems, we were off trajectory – so we were going to land short.

“We couldn’t understand why this was happening.

“In Mission Control it got very, very quiet.”

Then things got worse, Armstrong reported a “programme alarm 1202”, meaning an “excessive overload” for the computer on board.

However, the veteran US Navy pilot decided to ignore the emergency alarms, acting on his instinct that everything was okay fundamentality.

Voiced by Harrison Ford, Armstrong’s memoirs reveal: “You’re always concerned when any kind of alarm comes on. 

“I didn’t understand the nature of this particular alarm.

“The computer had a lot of complaints, but my own feeling was that as long as the engine was operating right i had control.

“I would be in favour of continuing no matter what the computer was complaining about.”

However, following the distraction of the on board panic over the alarm, the team had failed to notice the Eagle module was heading to land in a crater.

As a result, Armstrong took matters into his own hands. 

He added: “The autopilot was taking us into a very large crater about the size of a football stadium with steep slopes covered in rocks the size of watermelons.

“Not a good place to land at all, so I took over manually and flew it like a helicopter to the west.”

Directed by David Fairhead, “Armstrong” will be in UK and Irish cinemas on July 9, to celebrate 50 years since the first Moon landing.

The film was made with the full support of Mr Armstrong’s family after his death in August 2012 and includes previously unseen footage of history’s most famous astronaut. 

It also features his own words based on interviews, writings and speeches as well as interviews with his first wife and two sons.



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