Neil Armstrong Signed Photograph of the Apollo 11 Launch.

ARMSTRONG, Neil.

Item Number: 146525

Official NASA lithograph of the Apollo 11 liftoff. Oversized color lithograph of the liftoff of the Apollo 11 mission from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on July 16, 1969, signed in black felt tip by Neil Armstrong. Matted. In fine condition. The piece measures 14 inches by 16.5 inches. Accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity from Beckett Authentication Services Experts.

American astronaut and aeronautical engineer Neil Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962. He made his first spaceflight as command pilot of Gemini 8 in March 1966, becoming NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space. During this mission with pilot David Scott, he performed the first docking of two spacecraft; the mission was aborted after Armstrong used some of his re-entry control fuel to stabilize a dangerous roll caused by a stuck thruster. During training for Armstrong's second and last spaceflight as commander of Apollo 11, he had to eject from the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle moments before a crash. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Apollo 11 Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin became the first people to land on the Moon, and the next day they spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the mission's command module. Along with Collins and Aldrin, Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard Nixon. President Jimmy Carter presented Armstrong with the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, and Armstrong and his former crewmates received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.