One of the greatest astronauts of all time may never have been allowed into the space program. And it would have been because of something as a simple as being late.
Neil Armstrong, whom passed away August 25th, 2012, was forever enamored with outer space. Being an aerospace engineer, naval aviator, university professor, and test pilot, nothing captivated him more than becoming an astronaut. He was involved in the Air Force’s Man In Space Soonest program and flew a military space plane.
But once he heard that spots were open to become the second group of NASA astronauts, he just knew he had to apply. The would-be space explorer was thrilled at the prospect of being apart of the Apollo program and also getting the chance to explore a new aeronautical environment.
But Armstrong failed at submitting his application on time. In fact, he was a week past the deadline. But thankfully, one of his old friends that worked at the NASA’s Manned Spacecraft center saw his application and slipped it in before anyone could notice. His tardiness could have given us a different man to walk the moon. Instead, this failure still led to success!