Computer Analysis Proves Astronaut Armstrong Got His Line Right

It has bugged people from all walks of life if they are of an age to remember July 1969. Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the face of the moon, said as he stepped on the lunar surface, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Yet, it was supposed to be “One small step for a man . . . .” Now, 37 years after the fact, a computer programmer from Australia has found the missing “a,” and he vindicates Mr. Armstrong.

Peter Shann Ford, founder of Control Bionics in Sydney, downloaded the recording from the NASA website and ran it through GoldWave software, which is apparently hot stuff in the editing world. The upshot is that Mr. Armstrong said the “a” that went missing, and that the word was transmitted, and Mr. Ford has proved it.

The Houston Chronicle reported, “On Thursday, Ford and Auburn University historian James R. Hansen, Armstrong's authorized biographer, presented the findings to Armstrong and others in a meeting at the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. They repeated the presentation at NASA's Washington headquarters, which has long backed Armstrong's version of the phrasing.”

“I have reviewed the data and Peter Ford's analysis of it, and I find the technology interesting and useful,” Armstrong said in a statement. “I also find his conclusion persuasive. Persuasive is the appropriate word.” In other words, “I did so say it right!”

Of course, this gives every two-bit politician and “B-List” celebrity a new lease on the words, “I was misquoted.” There is always some collateral damage. Still, one remains glad of the fact that Mr. Armstrong was an honest man who visited the moon when he did. If the voyage were made today, it would be have corporate sponsors all over it, and the first words would probably have been “Coke is the real thing,” unless Pepsi came in with a higher bid. Or given NASA’s abilities these days, he might not have made it at all.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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