Lift Off

Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin was born in Montclair, New Jersey, on January 20, 1930. After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelors of Science in mechanical engineering, he completed U.S. Air Force pilot training in 1952 and flew over 60 combat missions during the Korean War. He received a Doctorate of Science in Astronautics from MIT. In 1963 NASA selected him as an astronaut. He served as backup pilot of the Gemini IX and as pilot for Gemini XII in 1966. He was made backup command module pilot for Apollo VIII and lunar module pilot for Apollo XI, the most famous flight in space history, which landed on the moon July 20, 1969.

Aldrin was the second man to walk on the moon; Neil Armstrong, the first man, beat Aldrin by just 15 minutes. He completed his Air Force career as commandant of the Aerospace Research Pilot School, retiring from the Air Force in 1972. Since then he has served as a consultant and has written several books including Reaching for the Moon, Look to the Stars, The Return, Encounter with Tiber, Men from Earth, and Return to Earth.

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