Editing Neil Armstrong (section)

== Life after Apollo ==
[[File:RIAN archive 837790 Valentina Tereshkova and Neil Armstrong.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Valentina Tereshkova]], the first woman in space, presenting a badge to Neil Armstrong, [[Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center|Star City]], Soviet Union, June 1970|alt=A black-and-white image. Armstrong has his left side facing us. He is holding a book and wearing civilian formal dress. A woman with bouffant hair is pinning a badge to his lapel. Two men in Soviet uniform and one in civilian garb are watching. On the wall in the background is a large photo of a cosmonaut. In the foreground on a table is a model of two spacecraft docking.]]

=== Teaching ===
Shortly after Apollo 11, Armstrong stated that he did not plan to fly in space again.<ref>{{cite news |first=Christopher |last=Riley |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/jul/09/apollo-astronauts-walking-moon |title=The Moon Walkers: Twelve Men Who Have Visited Another World |date=July 10, 2009 |access-date=May 3, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204055219/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/jul/09/apollo-astronauts-walking-moon |archive-date=February 4, 2014}}</ref> He was appointed Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics for the Office of Advanced Research and Technology at [[DARPA|ARPA]], served in the position for a year, then resigned from it and NASA in 1971.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=584}} He accepted a teaching position in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the [[University of Cincinnati]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Neil Armstrong Remembered |url=http://ceas.uc.edu/about/neil-armstrong-remembered.html |website=University of Cincinnati |access-date=November 28, 2015 |language=en-US |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208165113/http://ceas.uc.edu/about/neil-armstrong-remembered.html |archive-date=December 8, 2015}}</ref> having chosen Cincinnati over other universities, including his ''alma mater'' Purdue, because Cincinnati had a small aerospace department,{{sfn|Hansen|2012|p=590}} and said he hoped the faculty there would not be annoyed that he came straight into a professorship with only a USC master's degree.<ref>{{cite web |title=Apollo 11 Crew Information |website=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |last1=Jones |first1=Eric M. |publisher=NASA |date=November 1, 2005 |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.crew.html |access-date=August 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828070600/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.crew.html |archive-date=August 28, 2007 }}</ref> He began his master's degree while stationed at Edwards years before, and completed it after Apollo 11 by presenting a report on various aspects of Apollo, instead of a thesis on the simulation of hypersonic flight.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=590–594}}

At Cincinnati, Armstrong was University Professor of Aerospace Engineering. He took a heavy teaching load, taught core classes, and created two graduate-level classes: aircraft design and experimental flight mechanics. He was considered a good teacher, and a tough grader. His research activities during this time did not involve his work at NASA, as he did not want to give the appearance of favoritism; he later regretted the decision. After teaching for eight years, Armstrong resigned in 1980. When the university changed from an independent municipal university to a state school, bureaucracy increased. He did not want to be a part of the faculty collective bargaining group, so he decided to teach half-time. According to Armstrong, he had the same amount of work but received half his salary. In 1979, less than 10% of his income came from his university salary. Employees at the university did not know why he left.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=590–594}}

=== NASA commissions ===
In 1970, after an explosion aboard [[Apollo 13]] aborted its lunar landing, Armstrong was part of [[Edgar Cortright]]'s investigation of the mission. He produced a detailed chronology of the flight. He determined that a 28-volt thermostat switch in an oxygen tank, which was supposed to have been replaced with a 65-volt version, led to the explosion. Cortright's report recommended the entire tank be redesigned at a cost of $40{{nbsp}}million. Many NASA managers, including Armstrong, opposed the recommendation, since only the thermostat switch had caused the problem. They lost the argument, and the tanks were redesigned.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=600–603}}

In 1986, President [[Ronald Reagan]] asked Armstrong to join the [[Rogers Commission Report|Rogers Commission]] investigating the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]]. Armstrong was made vice chairman of the commission and held private interviews with contacts he had developed over the years to help determine the cause of the disaster. He helped limit the committee's recommendations to nine, believing that if there were too many, NASA would not act on them.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=610–616}}

[[File:Apollo 11 - Crew at the White House.jpg|thumb|Michael Collins, President [[George W. Bush]], Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin during celebrations of the 35th anniversary of the Apollo 11 flight, July 21, 2004]]
Armstrong was appointed to a fourteen-member commission by President Reagan to develop a plan for American civilian spaceflight in the 21st century. The commission was chaired by former NASA administrator Dr. [[Thomas O. Paine]], with whom Armstrong had worked during the Apollo program. The group published a book titled ''Pioneering the Space Frontier: The Report on the National Commission on Space'', recommending a permanent lunar base by 2006, and sending people to Mars by 2015. The recommendations were largely ignored, overshadowed by the ''Challenger'' disaster.{{sfn|Hansen|2012|pp=609–610}}

Armstrong and his wife attended the memorial service for the victims of the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster]] in 2003, at the invitation of President [[George W. Bush]].{{sfn|Hansen|2012|pp=616–617}}

=== Business activities ===
After Armstrong retired from NASA in 1971, he acted as a spokesman for several businesses. The first company to successfully approach him was [[Chrysler]], for whom he appeared in advertising starting in January 1979. Armstrong thought they had a strong engineering division, and they were in financial difficulty. He later acted as a spokesman for other American companies, including General Time Corporation and the Bankers Association of America.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=595}} He acted as a spokesman for only American companies.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=596}}

In addition to his duties as a spokesman, he also served on the board of directors of several companies. The first company board Armstrong joined was [[Gates Learjet]], chairing their technical committee. He flew their new and experimental jets and even set a climb and altitude record for business jets. Armstrong became a member of [[Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company]]'s board in 1973. They were interested in nuclear power and wanted to increase the company's technical competence. He served on the board of [[Taft Broadcasting]], also based in Cincinnati. Armstrong joined the board of solid rocket booster [[Thiokol]] in 1989, after previously serving on the Rogers Commission which found that the [[Space Shuttle]] ''Challenger'' was destroyed due to a defect in the Thiokol-manufactured solid rocket boosters. When Armstrong left the University of Cincinnati, he became the chairman of Cardwell International Ltd., a company that manufactured drilling rigs. He served on additional aerospace boards, first [[United Airlines]] in 1978, and later [[Eaton Corporation]] in 1980. He was asked to chair the board of directors for a subsidiary of Eaton, AIL Systems. He chaired the board through the company's 2000 merger with [[EDO Corporation]], until his retirement in 2002.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=596–598}}<ref>{{cite press release |title=EDO Corporation CEO James M. Smith to become Chairman upon retirement of Neil A. Armstrong |publisher=EDO Corporation |date=February 8, 2000 |url=http://www.edocorp.com/pr2002/02r0208.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017094755/http://www.edocorp.com/pr2002/02r0208.htm |archive-date=October 17, 2006 |access-date=July 1, 2006}}</ref>

=== North Pole expedition ===
In 1985, professional expedition leader Mike Dunn organized a trip to take men he deemed the "greatest explorers" to the North Pole. The group included Armstrong, [[Edmund Hillary]], [[Peter Hillary|Hillary's son Peter]], [[Steve Fossett]], and [[Patrick Morrow]]. They arrived at the Pole on April 6, 1985. He did not inform the media of the trip, preferring to keep it private.{{sfn|Hansen|2012|p=609}}

=== Public profile ===
[[File:Neil Armstrong, 1999.jpg|thumb|upright|Armstrong in 1999]]
Armstrong's family described him as a "reluctant American hero".<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]] |title=Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon, dead at 82 |date=August 26, 2012 |url=https://www.thenational.ae/uae/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-the-moon-dead-at-82-1.607011 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304172524/https://www.thenational.ae/uae/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-the-moon-dead-at-82-1.607011 |archive-date=March 4, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/content/neil-armstrong-praised-as-a-reluctant-american-hero |date=August 30, 2012 |title=Neil Armstrong Praised as a Reluctant American Hero |first=Bob |last=Granath |publisher=NASA |access-date=July 8, 2018 |archive-date=September 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902042741/https://www.nasa.gov/content/neil-armstrong-praised-as-a-reluctant-american-hero/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Neil Armstrong a 'reluctant American hero': family |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=August 25, 2012 |first=Olivia |last=Hampton |access-date=July 8, 2018 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/neil-armstrong-a-reluctant-american-hero-family/article4499479/}}</ref> He kept a low profile later in his life, leading to the belief that he was a recluse.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/08/26/opinion/seymour-armstrong-appreciation/index.html |title=Neil Armstrong, a hero who shunned fame |last1=Seymour |first1=Gene |publisher=CNN|date=August 27, 2012|access-date=June 9, 2018}}</ref><ref name="wapo1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071901771.html |title=Neil Armstrong Took One Small Step, Then Made a Giant Retreat Into Private Life |last1=Farhi |first1=Paul |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=July 20, 2009|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref> Recalling Armstrong's humility, [[John Glenn]], the first American to orbit Earth, told CNN: "[Armstrong] didn't feel that he should be out huckstering himself. He was a humble person, and that's the way he remained after his lunar flight, as well as before."<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |title=Tributes paid to Neil Armstrong, the humblest of American heroes |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/9500380/Tributes-paid-to-Neil-Armstrong-the-humblest-of-American-heroes.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/9500380/Tributes-paid-to-Neil-Armstrong-the-humblest-of-American-heroes.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |date=August 26, 2013 |access-date=July 8, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Armstrong turned down most requests for interviews and public appearances. Michael Collins said in his book ''Carrying the Fire'' that when Armstrong moved to a dairy farm to become a college professor, it was like he "retreated to his castle and pulled up the drawbridge". Armstrong found this amusing, and said, "...{{nbsp}}those of us that live out in the hinterlands think that people that live inside the [[Capital Beltway|Beltway]] are the ones that have the problems."{{sfn|Shapiro|2012|pp=9, 267, 268}}

Andrew Chaikin says in ''A Man on the Moon'' that Armstrong kept a low profile but was not a recluse, citing his participation in interviews, advertisements for Chrysler, and hosting a cable television series.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|pp=568–570}} Between 1991 and 1993, he hosted ''[[First Flights with Neil Armstrong]]'', an [[aviation history]] documentary series on [[A&E (TV channel)|A&E]].{{sfn|Shapiro|2012|pp=9, 267, 268}} In 2010, Armstrong voiced the character of Dr. Jack Morrow in ''[[Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey]]'',<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/09/quantum-quest/ |title=NASA Footage Sets Scene for Quantum Quest Movie |magazine=Wired |first=Hugh |last=Hart |date=March 9, 2010 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301224818/https://www.wired.com/2010/09/quantum-quest/ |archive-date=March 1, 2018}}</ref> an animated educational sci-fi adventure film initiated by JPL/NASA through a grant from Jet Propulsion Lab.<ref>{{cite web |title=Quantum Quest |publisher=jupiter9productions.com |url=http://jupiter9productions.com/news.aspx |access-date=October 8, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130108191010/http://jupiter9productions.com/News.aspx |archive-date=January 8, 2013}}</ref>

Armstrong guarded the use of his name, image, and famous quote. When it was launched in 1981, [[MTV]] wanted to use his quote in its [[station identification]], with the American flag replaced with the MTV logo, but he refused the use of his voice and likeness.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Anson |first=Robert Sam |title=Birth of an MTV Nation |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=November 2000 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/11/mtv200011?printable=true&currentPage=allPittman |access-date=March 4, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227164327/http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/11/mtv200011?printable=true&currentPage=allPittman |archive-date=December 27, 2014}}</ref> He sued [[Hallmark Cards]] in 1994, when they used his name, and a recording of the "one small step" quote, in a Christmas ornament without his permission. The lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, which Armstrong donated to Purdue.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=628}}<ref>{{Cite news |title=Neil Armstrong, Hallmark Settle |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=December 2, 1995 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1995/12/02/neil-armstrong-hallmark-settle/ |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110103194725/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-12-02/business/9512020040_1_neil-armstrong-hallmark-cards-ornament |archive-date=January 3, 2011}}</ref>

For many years, he wrote letters congratulating new Eagle Scouts on their accomplishment, but decided to quit the practice in the 1990s because he felt the letters should be written by people who knew the scout. (In 2003, he received 950{{nbsp}}congratulation requests.) This contributed to the myth of his reclusiveness.{{sfn|Hansen|2012|pp=622–623}} Armstrong used to autograph everything except [[first day cover]]s. Around 1993, he found out his signatures were being sold online, and that most of them were forgeries, and stopped giving autographs.<ref name="wapo1" />