Quotes for All
There are a lot of people that get interested in something, and they hear about it, and they read about it, and then they watch it happen, and that’s why I had quite an interest in the lottery because you’d interest a lot of people, and then just a few would win a chance to … Read more
As a youngster, I read of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. As a student, I wrote English reports on science fiction. And as a fighter pilot, I observed the selection of the Mercury astronauts. All this was fascinating, but I really didn’t think I would ever be a part of it. It was only when … Read more
My family has always supported my activities, whether it was doing combat in Korea, flying progressively and challenging fighter-jet aircraft in Europe, or studying for a doctor’s degree at MIT. They have been always very supportive and understanding of the challenges and risks involved in my career. A family needs to work as a team, … Read more
I’m sure the most favorite airplane in my career would still be the Sabre F86 cleft wing , which allowed me to be credited with 2 Russian-built Mig-15 destroyed during the Korean War. Where I was in 1953. Buzz Aldrin
There’s a tremendously satisfying freedom associated with weightlessness. It’s challenging in the absence of traction or leverage, and it requires thoughtful readjustment. I found the experience of weightlessness to be one of the most fun and enjoyable, challenging and rewarding, experiences of spaceflight. Returning to Earth brings with it a great sense of heaviness, and … Read more
We really didn’t devote a lot of time to investigating the scariest aspects of our flight. It was more challenging and productive to concentrate on the remedies, and leave things that couldn’t be solved to happen without thinking about them. There is a morbid human curiosity associated with tragic death-producing events. Though naturally, this needs … Read more
Everyone who’s been in space would, I’m sure, welcome the opportunity for a return to the exhilarating experiences there. For me, a flight in a shuttle, though most satisfying, would be anticlimactic after my flight to the moon. Plus, if I pursued a flight myself, people would think that was the reason I am trying … Read more
Dwelling on an engine failure for a pilot as he rolls down the runway is NOT what he should be thinking about – it’s obtaining a smooth liftoff! But in the back of his mind, he knows exactly what to do (or pretty much) and in many cases, if he’s alone in the fighter aircraft, … Read more
On Apollo 11 in route to the Moon, I observed a light out the window that appeared to be moving alongside us. It was either the rocket we had separated from, or the 4 panels that moved away when we extracted the lander from the rocket and we were nose to nose with the two … Read more
Six out of seven times we landed successfully [on the Moon]. I wanted to be a part of that and I was a part of that, so my personal feeling is of great gratefulness for having somehow been in a position to have been given the opportunity to be on that first landing. That’s a … Read more