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Buzz Aldrin (/ ˈ ɔː l d r ɪ n /; 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.
- Buzz Aldrin's Early Life
- Buzz Aldrin: Military Career
- Buzz Aldrin: Space Flight
- Gemini 12 and An Eva Breakthrough
- To The Moon and Back
- Post-Apollo 11 Career
- Sources
“Buzz” wasn’t Aldrin’s given name. He was born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. in Montclair, New Jersey, in 1930, but his nickname was established early. Aldrin’s older sister Fay Ann pronounced “brother” like “buzzer,” and it stuck. The former fighter pilot and astronaut legally changed his name to Buzz in 1988. Aldrin’s path in life was practically writt...
After graduating third in his class at West Point, Aldrin joined the Air Force and shipped off to Korea. He flew 66 combat missions in the Korean Warbehind the controls of a F-86 Sabre jet, with two confirmed kills. Aldrin was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, an honor reserved for “heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in ...
But Aldrin wasn’t deterred. A mechanical engineer by training, he was closely following the progress toward manned space flight and knew the challenges. One of the biggest unknowns was how to dock or connect two orbiting spacecraft racing thousands of miles per hour through space, so that’s exactly what Aldrin decided to figure out. In 1963, Aldrin...
At NASA, Aldrin went to work on the Gemini program and made his name as the resident rendezvous and docking expert. Aldrin may never have made it into space himself if not for a tragic accident. In 1966, the primary crew of Gemini 9 was killed in a plane crash, bumping Aldrin and his co-pilot James Lovell up the list and securing them a spot on Gem...
Because of Aldrin’s stellar performance during the Gemini 12 mission and his unique qualifications as an engineer and pilot, Buzz earned a spot on the historic three-man Apollo 11 mission that finally landed humans on the moon on July 20, 1969. As mission commander, Neil Armstrong had the honor of being the first human to step foot on the moon. Ald...
For the next few years, Aldrin struggled to return to normal life. He sank into an alcohol-fueled depression and his marriage dissolved, a dark period that Aldrin detailed in his memoir, Return to Earth. Thankfully, Aldrin found sobriety and rekindled his passion for space flight. After retiring from NASA and the Air Force in the early 1970s, Buzz ...
“Aldrin, Buzz,” Purdue University “Almost Blind and Completely Exhausted: Gene Cernan’s Disastrous Gemini Spacewalk,” National Air and Space Museum “Buzz Aldrin, Ph.D.,” NASA “Buzz Aldrin: The second man on the Moon,” Space.com “Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.,” New Mexico Museum of Space History “FAQs - What You Always Wanted to Know,” BuzzAldrin.com “Inventi...
Jun 14, 2024 · Buzz Aldrin is an American astronaut who was the second person to walk on the Moon, a feat he accomplished during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Three years earlier he had been one of the crew on Gemini 12.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Oct 12, 2023 · An engineer and fighter pilot in the Korean War, Dr. Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin was selected in NASA’s third astronaut class and went to space on Gemini XII before becoming the lunar module pilot for Apollo 11 and landing on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
Jul 20, 2009 · It’s been 40 years since Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. became the second human in history to set foot on the moon. Though he retired from NASA not long after the Apollo 11 mission, he’s still awfully...
- Mary Anne Potts
The pilot of the Apollo 11 lunar lander Eagle, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin was one of the three Apollo 11 astronauts and the second person to set foot on the Moon.
Buzz Aldrin, original name Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr., (born January 20, 1930, Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.), American astronaut who was the second person to set foot on the Moon. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York (1951), Aldrin became an air force pilot.
