Buzz Aldrin Popular Books

Buzz Aldrin Biography & Facts

Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eagle pilot on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. He was the second person to walk on the Moon after mission commander Neil Armstrong. Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Aldrin graduated third in the class of 1951 from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was commissioned into the United States Air Force and served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War. He flew 66 combat missions and shot down two MiG-15 aircraft. After earning a Doctor of Science degree in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Aldrin was selected as a member of NASA's Astronaut Group 3, making him the first astronaut with a doctoral degree. His doctoral thesis, Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous, earned him the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous" from fellow astronauts. His first space flight was in 1966 on Gemini 12, during which he spent over five hours on extravehicular activity. Three years later, Aldrin set foot on the Moon at 03:15:16 on July 21, 1969 (UTC), nineteen minutes after Armstrong first touched the surface, while command module pilot Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit. A Presbyterian elder, Aldrin became the first person to hold a religious ceremony on the Moon when he privately took communion. After leaving NASA in 1971, Aldrin became Commandant of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. He retired from the Air Force in 1972 after 21 years of service. His autobiographies Return to Earth (1973) and Magnificent Desolation (2009) recount his struggles with clinical depression and alcoholism in the years after leaving NASA. Aldrin continues to advocate for space exploration, particularly a human mission to Mars. He developed the Aldrin cycler, a special spacecraft trajectory that makes travel to Mars more efficient in terms of time and propellant. He has been accorded numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969. Early life and education Aldrin was born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. on January 20, 1930, at Mountainside Hospital in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. His parents, Edwin Eugene Aldrin Sr. and Marion Aldrin (née Moon), lived in neighboring Montclair. His father was an Army aviator during World War I and the assistant commandant of the Army's test pilot school at McCook Field, Ohio, from 1919 to 1922, but left the Army in 1928 and became an executive at Standard Oil. Aldrin had two sisters: Madeleine, who was four years older, and Fay Ann, who was a year and a half older. His nickname, which became his legal first name in 1988, arose as a result of Fay's mispronouncing "brother" as "buzzer", which was then shortened to "Buzz". He was a Boy Scout, achieving the rank of Tenderfoot Scout. Aldrin did well in school, maintaining an A average. He played football and was the starting center for Montclair High School's undefeated 1946 state champion team. His father wanted him to go to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and enrolled him at nearby Severn School, a preparatory school for Annapolis, and even secured him a Naval Academy appointment from Albert W. Hawkes, one of the United States senators from New Jersey. Aldrin attended Severn School in 1946, but had other ideas about his future career. He suffered from seasickness and considered ships a distraction from flying airplanes. He faced down his father and told him to ask Hawkes to change the nomination to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Aldrin entered West Point in 1947. He did well academically, finishing first in his class his plebe (first) year. Aldrin was also an excellent athlete, competing in pole vault for the academy track and field team. In 1950, he traveled with a group of West Point cadets to Japan and the Philippines to study the military government policies of Douglas MacArthur. During the trip, the Korean War broke out. On June 5, 1951, Aldrin graduated third in the class of 1951 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering. Military career Among the top of his class, Aldrin had his choice of assignments. He chose the United States Air Force, which had become a separate service in 1947 while Aldrin was still at West Point and did not yet have its own academy. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and underwent basic flight training in T-6 Texans at Bartow Air Base in Florida. His classmates included Sam Johnson, who later became a prisoner of war in Vietnam; the two became friends. At one point, Aldrin attempted a double Immelmann turn in a T-28 Trojan and suffered a grayout. He recovered in time to pull out at about 2,000 feet (610 m), averting what would have been a fatal crash. When Aldrin was deciding what sort of aircraft he should fly, his father advised him to choose bombers, because command of a bomber crew gave an opportunity to learn and hone leadership skills, which could open up better prospects for career advancement. Aldrin chose instead to fly fighters. He moved to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, where he learned to fly the F-80 Shooting Star and the F-86 Sabre. Like most jet fighter pilots of the era, he preferred the latter. In December 1952, Aldrin was assigned to the 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was part of the 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing. At the time it was based at Suwon Air Base, about 20 miles (32 km) south of Seoul, and was engaged in combat operations as part of the Korean War. During an acclimatization flight, his main fuel system froze at 100 percent power, which would have soon used up all his fuel. He was able to override the setting manually, but this required holding a button down, which in turn made it impossible to also use his radio. He barely managed to make it back under enforced radio silence. He flew 66 combat missions in F-86 Sabres in Korea and shot down two MiG-15 aircraft. The first MiG-15 he shot down was on May 14, 1953. Aldrin was flying about 5 miles (8.0 km) south of the Yalu River, when he saw two MiG-15 fighters below him. Aldrin opened fire on one of the MiGs, whose pilot may never have seen him coming. The June 8, 1953, issue of Life magazine featured gun camera footage taken by Aldrin of the pilot ejecting from his damaged aircraft. Aldrin's second aerial victory came on June 4, 1953, when he accompanied aircraft from the 39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron in an attack on an airbase in North Korea. Their newer aircraft were faster than his and he had trouble keeping up. He then spotted a MiG approaching from above. This time, Aldrin and his opponent spotted each other at about the same time. They went through a series of scissor maneuvers, attempting to get behind the other. Aldrin was first to do so, but his gun sight jammed. He then manually s.... Discover the Buzz Aldrin popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Buzz Aldrin books.