Buzz Aldrin

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**Buzz Eugene Aldrin**
Astronaut
Image:Aldrin.jpg
Nationality	American
Born	January 20 1930 (age 79) Image:Flag of the United States.svg Montclair, New Jersey, USA
Occupation¹	Fighter pilot
Rank	Colonel, USAF
Space time	12d 01h 52m
Selection	1963 NASA Group
Mission(s)	Gemini 12, Apollo 11
Mission insignia	Image:Gemini 12 insignia.png Image:Apollo 11 insignia.png
¹ previous or current

Colonel Buzz Eugene Aldrin, Sc.D (born January 20, 1930 as Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.) is an American pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, the first lunar landing. He became the second human to set foot on the Moon (after Mission Commander Neil Armstrong).

1 Biography
2 Stalking by Bart Sibrel
3 Trivia
4 Aldrin in the movies
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Buzz Aldrin was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He graduated from Montclair High School and attended the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. As a boy, he was given the nickname "Buzz" by his sister—she mispronounced "brother" as "buzzer", and this was shortened to Buzz—and he made it his legal first name in 1988 [1] [2].

[edit] Military career

Image:Buzz Aldrin black and white dress uniform photo portrait.jpg

He graduated third in his class in 1951 with a bachelor of science degree. Aldrin was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and served as a jet fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, where he flew 66 combat missions in F-86 Sabres and shot down two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 aircraft. After leaving Korea, Aldrin was an aerial gunnery instructor at Nellis Air Force Base in southern Nevada, and later an aide to the dean of faculty at the U.S. Air Force Academy. After leaving this assignment, Aldrin flew F-100 Super Sabres as a flight commander at Bitburg, Germany in the 22nd Fighter Squadron.

Aldrin left military service to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, where he earned his doctorate of science in Astronautics. His graduate thesis was Line-of-sight guidance techniques for manned orbital rendezvous. After leaving MIT, he returned to the Air Force and was assigned to the Gemini Target Office of the Air Force Space Systems Division in Los Angeles, and later to Edwards Air Force Base at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School. In March 1972, Aldrin retired from active duty after 21 years of service.

[edit] Time as an astronaut

Image:Aldrin Apollo 11.jpg Aldrin was selected as part of the third group of NASA astronauts in October 1963. His serious and intellectual manner proved invaluable during the planning of the Gemini missions but he was not in line for a flight. The deaths of the prime crew for Gemini 9 meant that Aldrin was promoted to back-up crew for the mission. Gemini 9A's main objective was to rendezvous and dock with a target vehicle but when this failed Aldrin improvised an effective exercise for the craft to rendezvous with a co-ordinate in space. He was confirmed as pilot on Gemini 12, the last Gemini mission and the last chance to prove methods for EVA. He utilized revolutionary techniques during training for that mission, including neutrally-buoyant underwater training. Such techniques are still used today. Aldrin set a record for extra-vehicular activity and proved that astronauts could work outside the spacecraft. It was because of this that Deke Slayton credited Aldrin with 'Saving the space program'.

In 2005, while being interviewed for a documentary entitled "First on the Moon: The Untold Story" (aka Apollo 11: The Untold Story), Buzz relayed to an interviewer that he and the crew of the Apollo 11 witnessed an unidentified flying object (UFO). He claimed that, out of fear of being forced to turn back should someone on the ground fear the possible presence of aliens, they chose to inform Mission Control via a subtle request for the current position of the S-IVB. After the documentary aired, David Morrison, an NAI Senior Scientist, claims to have had a conversation with Buzz in which he explained that the documentary cut out the interview portions in which Buzz told interviewers that the Apollo 11 crew ultimately concluded that they were probably seeing a detached panel from the spacecraft. <ref>NASA Ask an Astrobiologist.</ref> <ref>Daily Record Article.</ref> <ref>Site containing a transcript of the UFO segment of the Untold Story documentary.</ref><ref>A link to The Science Channel scheduling info for cited documentary containing Buzz's UFO comments.</ref>

Aldrin has had a much more public persona than Neil Armstrong, and much has been said about his desire at the time to be the first astronaut out of the Lunar Module, and therefore the first to walk on the moon. The matter was dramatized in the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, based on Andrew Chaikin's book A Man On The Moon.

Buzz is well known for having a spiritual side, being a Freemason, and for having made statements about God -- including celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Communion on the surface of the moon. After landing on the moon, Aldrin radioed earth with these words: "I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way." Aldrin kept his Communion a secret because of the lawsuit regarding the reading of Genesis on Apollo 8.<ref>Chaikin, Andrew. A Man On The Moon.</ref> Using a pastor's home Communion kit given to him by Dean Woodruff and using words used by his pastor at Webster Presbyterian Church, Aldrin celebrated Communion alone, without his colleague Armstrong participating.<ref>("First on the Moon -- A Voyage with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr", written with Gene Farmer and Dora Jane Hamblin, epilogue by Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Joseph Ltd, London (1970), page 251).</ref>

[edit] Retirement

After leaving active duty as an astronaut Aldrin returned to the Air Force in a managerial role but his career was blighted by personal problems. His autobiography Return to Earth provides an account of his struggles with depression and alcoholism in the years following his NASA career. Since retiring from NASA, he has continued to promote space exploration, including producing a unique computer strategy game called "Buzz Aldrin's Race into Space" (1992). He played the role of Reverend Woodruff in the 1996 TV movie Apollo 11.

Aldrin also teamed up with science fiction author John Barnes to write Encounter With Tiber and The Return.

In 2001, President Bush appointed Aldrin to the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry<ref>Personnel Announcements - August 22, 2001 Whitehouse Press Release naming the Presidential Appointees for the commission.</ref><ref>[3] - This sources states he was appointed in 2001, alhtough according to the August 22, 2001 Press Release, it was 2001</ref>

A small crater on the Moon near the Apollo 11 landing site is named in his honor.

He also has a TV star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood and Vine.

He voiced himself in "Deep Space Homer", an episode of The Simpsons in which he flies into space with Homer Simpson and fictional astronaut Race Banyon. He also appeared in an interview with Ali G in the British comedy series Ali G in da USA, during which Ali G referred to him as Buzz Lightyear and asked him if he thought man would ever walk on the sun.

He currently serves on the National Space Society's [4] Board of Governors, and has served as the organization's Chairman. He is currently a member of The Planetary Society.

In 2005, through small publisher Flatsigned Press, Aldrin released two leather bound signed limited editions, Men From Earth and Encounter With Tiber.

[edit] Stalking by Bart Sibrel

In September, 2002, Bart Sibrel (a vocal proponent of the idea that NASA faked the moon landings) repeated demands (over several years) that Aldrin swear an oath on the Bible that he had walked on the Moon, or admit that it was all a hoax. Aldrin had pointedly ignored Sibrel, refusing to swear an oath, and Sibrel was becoming much more aggressive with Aldrin and several other Apollo astronauts. Sibrel often gained access to the astronauts by lying, claiming to represent organizations that he does not, and assuming false identities. When he approached Aldrin on 9 September 2002, he cornered Aldrin and a young female relative, stood in their way as they tried to leave the area and shoving a Bible towards Aldrin several times, called Aldrin "a coward, a liar, and a thief". Aldrin punched Sibrel in the face, later indicating that he felt forced to defend himself and his companion. Sibrel suffered no permanent injury. Although the Beverly Hills police investigated the incident, charges were never filed.

[edit] Trivia

Image:Buzzaldrindoll.jpg

Aldrin has claimed ownership of the famous photo of him on the moon taken by Neil Armstrong in which Aldrin's right arm is "cocked". Aldrin filed a lawsuit against his former manager Peter F. Paul in 1998 for arranging to have a medallion honoring the thirtieth anniversary of Apollo 11, bearing that sculpted image of that photo, without paying a royalty to Aldrin. Aldrin has claimed royalties from any commercial user of that photo.
Monty Python ran the closing credits of a show over a portrait of the astronaut titled "The Buzz Aldrin Show" while the American national anthem played, following a reference by Graham Chapman's demented constable in the "Chemists Sketch".
Aldrin's 1989 biography Men From Earth was the inspiration for the band of the same name.
Aldrin is a descendent of blacksmiths from Värmland, Sweden.
Aldrin's mother's maiden name was Moon.
In 1996, Aldrin descended to the wreck of the RMS Titanic on the INFRAER submersible. [5]
Aldrin's wristwatch, an Omega Speedmaster Professional was actually the first watch on the moon. Neil Armstrong had left his own Speedmaster in the LM as a backup. The watch was later stolen from Aldrin's personal effects en route to the Smithsonian and has never been recovered.
Aldrin appeared on the British comedy series Trigger Happy TV with Dom Joly, accompanying Dom who posed as a door to door salesman.
Aldrin was disliked by Eugene Cernan. <ref>Cernan, Eugene, Don Davis (1999). The Last Man on the Moon. New York, NY: St. Matin's Griffin.</ref>
Aldrin was given the nickname Doctor Rendezvous by the astronauts in the space program due to his inability to talk about anything other than rendezvous operations. <ref>Cernan, Eugene, Don Davis (1999). The Last Man on the Moon. New York, NY: St. Matin's Griffin.</ref>
Aldrin lobbied very strongly to be the first one out of the lunar module and thus becoming the first man to set foot on the moon on the Apollo 11 mission. <ref>Cernan, Eugene, Don Davis (1999). The Last Man on the Moon. New York, NY: St. Matin's Griffin.</ref>
When shown the launch footage from the movie Apollo 13, he asked Ron Howard what NASA vault they got the footage from. Upon receiving the reply that the footage was computer generated, he reportedly asked if NASA could use it anyway.
Aldrin has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California.
Aldrin took part in the April 15, 2003 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach celebrity car race for charity, where in the race his car collided with that of swimsuit model Angie Everhart.
Aldrin is the model for the MTV Video Music Awards "moonman" statue and was also the model for a 1:6 scale action figure by Dragon Models.
On November 9th, Aldrin was reunited with the Gemini 12 space capsule along with crew member Jim Lovell for the opening of the "Shoot for the Moon" exhibit at the Adler Planetarium.

[edit] Aldrin in the movies

Cliff Robertson played Aldrin in the 1976 TV-movie Return to Earth based on Aldrin's own memoir. Aldrin was portrayed by Larry Williams in the 1995 film Apollo 13. In the 1996 TV movie Apollo 11 he was played by Xander Berkeley, who had previously played the small role of Henry Hurt in Apollo 13. In the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon Aldrin was played by Bryan Cranston.