The personal life of the second man to walk on the Moon is an interesting one. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Aldrin went on to graduate from both the US Military Academy at West Point and the University of Michigan, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Aeronautical Engineering. It was during his time at the US Air Force Institute of Technology that Aldrin met Neil Armstrong, and the two became close friends. After graduating from the academy, Aldrin became an astronaut, and he spent 601 happy days aboard the space shuttle Columbia as it orbited the Earth. Soon after, he became the first person to fly to the Moon, on July 20th, 1969, with Armstrong.
Net income
Buzz Aldrin is an American engineer, fighter pilot and former astronaut with a $12 million fortune. Buzz Aldrin is famous for being one of the first two men to land on the moon, a feat he accomplished along with Neil Armstrong in 1969. Before that, he flew combat missions during the Korean War and went into space three times in 1966 as pilot of the space probe Gemini 12. After leaving NASA in 1971, Aldrin became commander of the US Air Force Test Pilot School. The nickname Buzz comes from the fact that the younger of his two older sisters mispronounced his brother’s name Buzzkill, which was shortened to Buzz. Aldrin made it his legal name in 1988. He was technically the second man to visit the moon and the Apollo 11 lunar module pilot on the first manned moon landing. He set foot on the moon on July 21, 1969 at 03:15:16 (UTC), following Commander Neil Armstrong. Aldrin’s first words about the moon were Beautiful sight. A beautiful desolation.
Early life and education
Buzz Aldrin was born Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr. in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, in 1930. His parents were Edwin Sr, a director of Standard Oil and former military pilot in World War I, and Marion. He had two older sisters, Madeleine and Faye Ann. In his youth, Aldrin was a Boy Scout and played football at Montclair High School. Encouraged by his father to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, Aldrin enrolled at nearby Severn High School to prepare for the academy. However, because of his seasickness, he decided to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 1951, Aldrin graduated third in his class with a degree in mechanical engineering.
Military career
After graduation, Aldrin joined the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant. He moved to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas and learned to fly fighter planes. In 1952, he became the 16th president of the United States. Interceptor Squadron and fought in the Korean War. It flew a total of 66 combat missions in Korea, shooting down two MiG-15s. For his services, he received two Distinguished Flying Crosses and three Air Medals of Merit. In the years following the war, Aldrin became an instructor air gunner at Nellis and graduated from Squadron Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. From 1956 to 1959 he flew several F-100 Super Sabres as an aircraft commander stationed in West Germany. After returning to the United States, Aldrin enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a doctorate in aerospace engineering in 1963. He was then assigned to the Gemini Target Office of the Air Force Space Systems Division.
Career at NASA and Apollo 11
In 1963, Aldrin was selected as one of 14 members of NASA’s Astronaut Team 3, making him the first astronaut to earn a doctorate. He was then selected as a member of the reserve crew of Gemini 10. Aldrin’s first space flight was in 1966 aboard the Gemini 12 spacecraft, during which he performed extraterrestrial activities for more than five hours. Three years later, at 16. In July 1969, Aldrin was aboard as pilot of the Apollo 11 lunar module when the spacecraft took off from the Kennedy Space Center. On the 21st. Juli Aldrin and spacecraft commander Neil Armstrong were the first two people to set foot on the moon. A Presbyterian, Aldrin was also the first to perform a religious ceremony on the moon, taking communion in private. Upon their return to Earth, the crew was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Aldrin later gave numerous public lectures and speeches and participated in the development of the space shuttle. But seeing few prospects at NASA, he eventually left the organization in 1971 with the intention of returning to the Air Force. Aldrin ended his NASA career with 289 hours in space.
Career after NASA
After leaving NASA, Aldrin was appointed commander of the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Exploration Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. During his service, he comes into conflict with his superior, Brigadier General Robert M. White, and receives unwanted attention due to his celebrity status. Aldrin then showed signs of depression, exacerbated by the suicide of his mother and grandfather; as a result, he was hospitalized for four weeks. He retired in 1972 with the rank of colonel in the Air Force.
Although he continued to struggle with depression and addiction problems after leaving NASA and the Air Force, Aldrin remained committed to space exploration. In 1985, he transferred to the College of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota and helped develop the space exploration program. Later, in 1998, Aldrin founded ShareSpace, a nonprofit educational foundation that promotes the benefits of STEAM. In 2013 he supported the idea of a manned mission to Mars, and in 2015 he and the Florida Institute of Technology presented NASA with a blueprint for colonizing the planet with astronauts by 2040.
Personal life
In 1954, Aldrin married his first wife, Joan Archer; they had three children, Janice, James and Andrew, and divorced in 1974. Aldrin was also married to Beverly Van Zyl from 1975 to 1978. He married his third wife, Lois Driggs Cannon, in 1988; they divorced in 2012. During his lifetime, Aldrin lived primarily in Los Angeles and Orange County, including Beverly Hills, Westwood, Emerald Bay and Laguna Beach. He also lived in Satellite Beach, Fla.
Awards
Among his many honors, Aldrin was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal in 1969 for his participation in the Apollo 11 project. He also received the Legion of Merit for the Gemini and Apollo missions, as well as the NASA Distinguished Service Medal and the Collier Trophy, which was awarded to the entire Apollo 11 crew. In 1982, he was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame as one of the ten astronauts of the Gemini program. He was later inducted into the American Astronaut Hall of Fame, the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Other awards include the Smithsonian Institution’s Langley Gold Medal, the Harmon Trophy, the General James E. Hill Space Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a number of honorary doctorates from colleges and universities.
Buzz Aldrin is an American engineer, a former astronaut, and a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel. He was the second person to walk on the Moon, accomplishing that feat on July 21, 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission. Aldrin is on the United States Air Force Board of Astronautics. He has a Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering from the University of Michigan and a Master of Science degree in astronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
