A building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where Apollo astronauts once trained, was named in honor of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.
Armstrong passed away two years ago, but friends, family and surviving Apollo 11 crew mates gathered Monday in Florida to pay tribute at the naming ceremony.
"He would not have sought this honor, that was not his style," said Michael Collins, a fellow astronaut who orbited the moon as Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on its cratered surface in 1969. "But I think he would be proud to have his name so closely associated with this, the heart and the soul of the space business."
The building -- where NASA continues to carry out testing and training activities as pay of the agency's Orion mission -- will from now on be known as the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. During Armstrong's time with NASA, the building was used to service the Apollo spacecrafts and prepare them for launch.
The words offered by Jim Lovell, the backup commander for Apollo 11, echoed the sentiments of Collins.
"Neil never capitalized on his celebrity," Lovell said. "He always felt that he was part of a team of thousands of people working together to honor President Kennedy's commitment. So I also think it's very fitting that this Operations and Checkout building be named in the honor of Neil Armstrong."
Copyright 2014 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.
GMT 14:31 2018 Friday ,19 January
Amazon narrows list of 'HQ2' candidates to 20GMT 13:18 2018 Thursday ,18 January
China to step up cryptocurrency crackdownGMT 12:30 2018 Sunday ,14 January
Japan's new crypto-currency crooners sing the bitcoin beatsGMT 13:49 2018 Friday ,12 January
Top European chefs take electric pulse fishing off the menuGMT 11:32 2018 Tuesday ,09 January
Apple urged to shield kids from iPhone addictionGMT 17:27 2017 Tuesday ,19 December
Scientists confirm 3.5 billion-yr-old fossil life in rockGMT 08:31 2017 Friday ,21 July
Samsung heiress ordered to pay $7.6 millionGMT 13:20 2017 Saturday ,29 April
SpaceX to launch classified US govt payload SundayMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor