"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Most Americans know that these lines came from none other than Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. Now, the late astronaut's story leading up to his iconic moon landing will come alive on the big screen thanks to Damien Chazelle, the director who's best known for helming musical projects such as Whiplash and La La Land.
Unlike Chazelle's florid projects from the past, First Man, the name of the biopic, creates a more introspective story. It spotlights Armstrong's relationship with his family as well as the stakes and emotional sacrifices that he endured throughout the course of his risky career trajectory. Basing the film off of James R. Hansen's biography of the space explorer, Chazelle enlists Ryan Gosling to play the lead alongside a supporting cast that includes Claire Foy, Kyle Chandler, and Jason Clarke.
The film captures one of the most momentous events in human history through Armstrong's personal experiences, focusing on his astronaut training, first space flight, and triumphant moon landing. Space historians and documentarians have extensively recorded the events leading up to the moon landing, but to get the nitty-gritty of it all, here are a few major details from the true story behind the movie.
Early Career
Image Source: Getty / Bettmann
Armstrong was born on Aug. 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, OH. He attended college at Purdue University, taking a leave to serve in the US Navy during the Korean War. In 1955, his aircraft career began when he joined the National Advisory Committee For Aeronautics, where he worked as an engineer, test pilot, and astronaut. This organisation would eventually become NASA. His work there included piloting high-speed aircraft, including the X-15.
The year after joining NASA, he married Janet Shearon, with whom he had three children. Personal tragedy occurred simultaneously with Armstrong's professional successes. Around the time he became an astronaut assigned to command the Gemini 8 mission in 1962, his 2-year-old daughter, Karen, passed away from brain cancer.
1 / 3
Gemini 8
Image Source: Getty / Bettman
Armstrong first entered space with pilot David Scott during the Gemini 8 flight. The spacecraft launched on March 16, 1966. It was important in that it was the first successful docking of two vehicles, the Gemini (which the pilots were on) and Atlas-Agena, in space.
However, the launch quickly turned into an emergency situation after the docking due to the Gemini thruster being stuck. After the linkup of the two vehicles in orbit, Scott noticed that they were going in the wrong direction on the Gemini 8. His command pilot used the orbital altitude and maneuver system (OAMS) thrusters to stop the tumbling, but the roll continued.
Armstrong saw that the propellant level dipped below 30 percent and believed that the thruster could be the problem. He turned off the OAMS and used a re-entry control system to regain command of the Gemini 8. John Hodge, the chief flight director, decided to bring the crew home shortly after, as Armstrong had used about 75 percent of the re-entry propellant. Splashdown occurred 10 hours and 41 minutes after the liftoff, with Gemini 8 landing in Japan.
2 / 3
The Moon Landing
Image Source: Getty / NASA Handout
Before the moon landing, tragedy would strike on Jan. 27, 1967, during a preflight test for Apollo 1, which was to be the first Apollo-manned mission to the moon. The crew, astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, all died when a fire spread through the command module of the space vehicle.
Armstrong himself would narrowly escape death a year later. On his 22nd test flight for Apollo 9, the astronaut lost control, ejecting safely by parachute at 200 feet in the air before the vehicle crashed and burned.
In July 1969, the moon landing mission went off without a hitch. Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin would pilot Apollo 11 to the moon, where they spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft as Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit. A year later, Armstrong retired from NASA. This would be his last mission into space, but its impact would leave a mark on his career and the legacy of humankind.
