[APOLLO 11]. NEIL ARMSTRONG'S NEARLY FATAL ACCIDENT BEFORE HIS APOLLO 11 FLIGHT

A series of three color photographs in sequence enlarged from a 16mm motion picture camera, all 8 by 10 inches with blue NASA text on verso. All having a watermark of: “This Paper Manufactured by Kodak” on verso. The sequence shows Armstrong ejecting from the LLRV moments before impact and floating to the ground via parachute. Any injury from this crash could have cost him from being the commander of Apollo 11 and unable to be the first man to step upon the Moon.

Neil Armstrong was simulating a lunar landing using the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) on May 6, 1968 at Ellington Air Force Base near the Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas. It was his 22nd flight of the LLRV. After flying for some 5 minutes there was a sudden loss of vehicle control. At around 200 feet altitude, he wisely chose to eject from the vehicle and landed safely with a parachute. A crash investigation showed a helium pressure loss caused depletion of the hydrogen peroxide used for the reserve attitude thrusters. The LLRV instrumentation did not warn Armstrong of the pending danger. This problem was corrected before flights resumed in October 1968.