THE FLYING BEDSTEAD
Apr 30, 2019
3 minutes
BY DOUGLAS G. ADLER
n May 6, 1968, NASA astronaut and future first moonwalker Neil Armstrong hovered about 200 feet above the sun-scorched pavement at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston, Texas. Alone in his single-seat craft, peering down toward the ground, Armstrong was simulating a descent to the moon’s surface in a very unusual bird: the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV). At 2:38 p.m., the control thrusters abruptly failed and the LLRV suddenly became about as aerodynamic as a brick. Reacting instantly, Armstrong ejected less than a second before the LLRV crashed in a
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