Having read the book i can say even if you havent traveled 260,000 miles to the moon you will still be able to relate to the insightful realistic and hopeful wisdom he shares in the book. And while it may have been a coincidence his mothers name was mary andrews upon but his grandfather and father served in the army air force. And then to become enamored and was two years old when his father took him on his first airplane ride and a chronic the when they landed on the moon on july 20th invade the historic moonwalk was also named to the eagle. A was a Fighter Pilot and one on to earn a doctorate from m. I. T. And nasa would turn him down. To secure eight spots out of 6,000 occupants and then to become a Rhodes Scholar applied twice but not accepted. To make a bed dramatically different had enough failed to become a Rhodes Scholar and in the ambitious city that is a vicious. It to be the Guiding Principles to take the apollo o levin mission awarded the president ial medal of freedom as well as the champion for veterans. And then to draw awareness to the cause that says get your ass to mars. [laughter] if a bloody kitschy be possible for impossible tonight and Mission Control director thanks for joining us. Please give a warm welcome. [applause] [applause] thanks for coming tonight to. This is the second house of worship this year. And i was still grateful there is to of them right there. He has the original nt has the limited edition i have been working with buzz eight and a half years and i will say a few years ago people would say how long have you worked together he would say not long enough . He doesnt say that anymore. [laughter] i kind of call myself his mother. My title says manager Mission Control director to buzz aldrin he calls me the Mission Control director but i have no control. [laughter] you will see that shortly. I will try but i guess we have to figure out where to start she told your whole life story so what can i touched on . Should we go back to the beginning . Adam and eve . [laughter] philippines . Earlier than that. My father . He graduated from school at age 15. And then went to clark university. With robert goddard. So he got a masters and networking and a doctorate degree in through world war i. He was writing his thesis. Imbrued bootstrapped his way and the first assignment. And now was to the philippines. And was an aide to billy mitchell. There are a few more old people. But that is the Army Chaplain by the way that he married jessie ross who became jesse moon to have two older daughters and a son and then they come home and come back again. And then they would to work through the pyramids. So finishing up the air corps Engineering School to become right field on the air force base. Between 1920 and 26 with the aviation officers from world war i and those were the big leaders from world war ii. Things were a little slow in getting a job with the oil company and guess where the offices are in new york . Thirty Rockefeller Plaza and somebody comes along to say would you like to play a role or a cameo . Of course,. If you havent seen it you must go watching a. We have a ball. And want to get your life because really have so much time and they have questions when some point it decided to have children that he was first and then baby does came along. People always ask how did you get the name does . They assume from a Fighter Pilot . That came later. So how did you get the name . My sisters could not pronounce the brother. So buzz. That is where it started. Ever since. And just so you know, his legal name is buzz aldrin and he changed in the 80s so i say the legal name to save that is what it says on the internet. [laughter] said he did the first ride at age two in the high end jan model plane propeller. 12 passengers. Painted to look like an eagle with a head in the wings and tail. The name of the spacecraft landed on the moon. I like eagles. [laughter] interestingly his father space to people like the right brothers any space bird really well because he is from that era. We had a basement of the early aviators. There is a producer or something and hollywood by the name of jimmy doolittle, you didnt know that did you . No i did not. He was a boxer. But he was also a test pilot. He was the one who was the first to have a hood over his singleseat seaplane, he cannot see out at all. Just instruments. He took off, flew around, came in and landed. Firstperson to fly an airplane totally on instruments. He also was the first to do an outside loop. Even i have not tried that. Now, an inside loop this way and then you come around, and outside loop is this way. The g forces are this way and you get kind of red. I have not tried that. You still have time. Who has an airplane . [laughter] hes thinking im going to jump ahead for a second. We are at eight airshow thing a couple of years ago and they had the blades flying around and the blades are like the blue angels and theyre like acrobatic. And they take him up in this plane and they show up in lacked inr like buzz, do you want to go up . And that . No well put them in a flight flight suit. They take them up, they go up and once he was up there they started doing about its and said buzz do you want to try one . So they had him do one of those stalls, and install and fall. Its called a falling leap. And you feel like that. So he does that and then they have him do all these loops and other things. I can see it in the sky and they said so how many times have you done that . And he said i have never done that before. [laughter] tomorrow. Okay lets go back a little bit again, i know you love jimmy do little but lets your life. Lets jump ahead a little bit. He goes through school and graduated he went to west point at 17. Actually he was quite rebellious because his father wanted him to go to the naval academy. And you do not go . Why . Thats thats a long story. Will dont tell the long one. West point teachers leadership. Leadership. [laughter] theres probably navy people in this audience and i dont want to piss anyone off. Where are we . Certain people may have heard of the severance river. I went to severance school. Try to pass the exams and get into west point. Well the reason he usually says he get seasick. And thats why he did not go in the navy, the naval academy. But actually youve rebelled against rebelled against your dad and went to west point. And that was at the age of 17. 17 and a half. Almost the youngest, not quite. See, 1947 and i was born in 1930. 1947 was the unification act, that is when they split up the services and put them under the defensive department. So so the air force became a separate service. They did not have an air force academy, however we knew that when we graduated that one quarter from west point in one quarter fromtown would be granted the great privilege of joining the air force. So that is how that happened people. Okay where are we have. Lets jump jump ahead. We dont have that much time. See became a Fighter Pilot, you went to korea, shut down a couple of be for that is a couple of important things. What happened . Have you heard of oxford, england . Rhodes scholarship, i failed wants at west point and went to Pilot Training just about to go to korea and they were looking for preachers, theology students i think in the east coast, the south. I didnt make it again. I tell you my career what had been a little bit different. You think . If i had gone over there. We went to oxford last year for the reunion and we were meeting some Rhodes Scholars and he was saying to me what you think would have happened if i wouldnt have gone to the moon . I remember there is this one instructor at nellis, the fighter Gunnery School in las vegas. He knew i was going to go and try for this Rhodes Scholar again and he said oh i hope he gets it because hes going to get over there korea and some chinese guy is going to say i have a Rhodes Scholar, bank bank. That reminds me of my favorite story of un johnson. Can you tell it fast . You tell long stories. So the congressman was his wingmen in korea and you know the yalu river. I know that river. I know. Nevermind. The yalu river is the Northern Edge of north korea. And that is who we were working, fighting against. On the other side is manchuria. You are not supposed to fly their but the russian pilots and the North Koreans were over there and occasionally some of our boulder fighter commanders would lead a flight. They were shooting down a couple of megs, north of the river. After about a week the commander got shut down north of the river. It he was a pow. One of the west point guys who is flying on his wing the investigating board comes along and wants to know all of the details. And so he told them the truth of where they were. He messed up the rest of his career for a letter in his file were telling the truth. So you learned a lot of lessons like this in and out of the military. [laughter] okay, well lets get you to space. Can we get you to space . Another so much to tell but i want to give these people and i think they have questions. Im going to tell you right now, do not do not ask them what it felt like to walk on the moon. Unless youre a kid, if your kid is okay. [laughter] i tell the kids it was squishy. [laughter] there, you have your answer. Okay, lets get to space. Before we get to space he was the korea and then he was the air force academy and then he went to germany. He served with ed white who died in the apollo one fire. But they are behind me on west point on the track team and when i got in that squadron we, the two of us represented the squadron in nato gunnery exits. So i knew i could shoot better than he could. [laughter] he called you up and said im going to apply for that astronaut program. But thats not true, he left and went to michigan and then he pulled me up to 1962 and their looking for some more astronauts , they have a mercury seven and they had said i have all this, qualified and so im going to apply. And i said well, i can shoot better than you can. And i am mit and i am working on rendezvous in space. I think that nassau would like to know how to do that. Maybe i could help them out. So i applied. [laughter] but you know you are pretty stubborn so you try to gang, right. If at first you do not succeed, try, try again. Dont sound so excited about it. But you got accepted, third group of astronauts and yet your microphone is going all wonky so just be careful. And then you became an astronaut, we all know that. So lets talk about gemini them. Originally you almost were not going to fly in gemini because will i help to train the guides. Mcdonnell Douglas Built a mercury spacecraft and they belted a little bigger so they could put two people in it and it became the gemini spacecraft. So they had figured out different ways of rendezvous and some other people were pretty bold and you lift off and go right straight toward him. And neither of these were very good. But mine was better. Well we wont go into all the details but it was a Fighter Pilot type rendezvous. And i worked in training some of them so i went to the boss and i said i would like to really fly in one of these flights and do a rendezvous. And he said nothing. The list comes out in and jim lovell and i are on the backup crew for ten. Okay so when that flies they have a crew for 11 and 12 so the backup crew becomes the prime crew. Im 13 but there wasnt any 13. Thats what you call it deadend assignment. Woe is me. So buzzes the first to train underwater, but when did you do that . My backyard neighbor charlie bassett, really topnotch test pilot in our class, he was on the prime crew and the snowstorm in st. Louis they did not quite make the turn and they crashed into the hangar where the craft was, ironically most of them were killed. So that is the primary crew. The backup crew takes over and now the crew was going to fly does not have a backup crew. Oh, but here is level and aldrin, we became the backup crew. Now that means there is a crew for ten, 11, and we are going to fly on the last one. That is the way things happen sometime. Im going to fix your mike, its making a lot of noise. Okay were running out of time so you have to speeded up. I can call someone with my theory may. [laughter] i know youd guys the Senate Hearing we are at last year and his phone rang and i said no, no actually thought it was some friends of ours calling to get him to wrap the story up. Then i looked i do think it is funny that ted cruz was the guy who is leading it he said let us know if it is from the International Space station. Okay we have to get up to space. So chop, chop. Yes. Will lets just get you up to space. I remember the first time i talk to you said it was so easy my grandma couldve done it. Maybe your grandma. [laughter] but i bet i got something you havent heard. Oh oh, no. On our mission we rendezvoused and docked with the gina spacecraft. We were scheduled to throw a switch which would like the engine and it would take us at much higher. To do what . To get up hires everybody looks smaller. It didnt work. Not everything happens the way but there were several different interesting evas, extra vehicle or activities. The spacewalk, really its floating outside the attempt spacecraft. The spacecraft go in orbit 1700e you. So i did three different spacewalks, 55 and a half hours and set the record the last one no lets go to the first one. I dont know is that where you are citing or were you sightseeing all the time . Know, the first one was taking some night photography of ultraviolet so they would fly the spacecraft up very carefully and by that time i opened the hatch and i was standing in the hatch, i did not have a seatbelt as a matter of fact, but i was hooked up. You had seatbelts right . So anyway he shuts off the thrusters and says if that thruster goes forward trying to take a picture thats not so good. So i reach back, theres a camera mounted between my hatch and his hatch which close cameras here, so id take a 52nd or 102nd exposure and we did that for one night, then we had a free pass during the daytime, nothing really scheduled. I am standing in the hatch with the hatch open, i have this camera and im looking down at the astrodome and other things, i look at this camera and it has this lever, and i wonder what what happened if i click. We took some more pictures, that night that was the first selfie in space. [laughter] and if you havent seen it its right here in the book. It is, its right there in the book while the lighting is not very good. The sun is in the wrong direction to see what that was lovells fault that he was in charge of that. Okay, so lets jump up to apollo no because i want to give people a little time to ask questions. The interesting thing and try to tell this one fast,. Will there is a backpack and an old chicken and they were afraid theyre going to have a not so success and they canceled the thing. I assured them i knew what what i was doing. Training underwater, the first guy, so what were you say next . He wanted to be George Clooney and gravity. While this is november, were still given talks and speeches, they called it in the barrels, youre in the barrel, youre given speeches, but we came back from a flight so into january of 67 we came back from a trip with rt 38, we got outside and the crew chiefs, two of them were very sad. We lost the apollo one crew on the launchpad they had a fire hall, all three of them were killed. Including my very good friend, ed white. That caused a bit to evade delay. Before the next flight could be ready to take place. And that was october of 68, apollo seven, first command module flight neil and i were assigned on the backup crew for a flight and things were switched around because it looked as though the soviets had flown around the moon empty and they did it the second time and everybody thought that they would put cosmonaut and do that. So they shifted the second flight and the foreman as the commander and gail and i were on the backup crew. The one time lovell was with us but then he moved up to take mikes place so it was borman, lovell and andrews that flew to the moon on apollo eight and to read from the bible, genesis, on christmas eve. It is quite a moving experience and then were into 69, of march, apollo nine flew the lander in earth orbit, apollo ten in may flew the lander in lunar orbit, sort of a dress rehearsal to the next flight which was apollo 11. Now what you do not know is that back up a couple of years, 1967. This is the story want you to tell quickly. The lunar comes off the assembly line, one, two, three, four, five, they are all over weight. For a landing. Yours was . Well number five was overweight. Accept the manager wanted his wanted to land on the moon so he thought he could adjust the books a little bit and trim a little weight here and there. He went to see the Program Manager george, if if i can reduce the weight will you let it be a lander . Of course i will. And so, because we like to have at least a one more landing opportunity before the end of the decade. So, land five reduce the weight and it became the space craft that apollo 11 had. Had he not reduce the weight, the first land they would have been lunar module six, apollo 12, midseptember. It did not happen that way. My good friend davis,. Hes the one that was dedicated the book too. The dedication i dedicate this this to the dreamers, the outofthebox thinkers and fruit of the pants innovators like me, hugh davis, charlie bassett, ed weight, and stephen hawking. But my dear friends the apollo 11 crewmates Michael Armstrong and. Of unfortunately he passed away about a week before this book came out. He was very innovative. He he was not just a maintenance officer in korea. While i was lying he was taking care of airplanes and different wing and then he did some different test jobs with nasa and ended up being the Program Manager of one of the landing spacecraft did you in korea we really so i tie on a number of things of flying airplanes, using drop tanks, those are always big things in space except when you use such an enormous one as this big shuttle did. Okay lets talk about the shuttle program. Lets get you on the move because your low on time and i want people to ask question. We will not talk about the whole trip to the moon. I want to talk about we know a lot of people assume that neil said the first words on the moon but actually it was you. What were your what were your first words on the moon . Magnificent desolation. That was that your first words on the moon. Contact oh you mean when we touchdown . Of course. But whos trying, oh one upmanship. So neil goes down, hes happen around up there, buz knows he can walk around. Then it was your time to go out and youre going down the ladder, or know youre not quite going up the ladder yet. You come out. Well i had to send the camera down to neil. So we rigged up a close line with a little pulley and when he went down he took the strap that was part of the close line. So he gets down at the bottom and i can hook the camera and send the camera down to him. That is kind of silly, isnt it . But, having done that when we are through with all of this stuff and we get this a big boxes we can put the box there, i am up above, he is down there. We bring up the rock boxes. Now dont say that nasa doesnt think ahead. [laughter] we clearly did think ahead on that one. But you are going out partially will see i had to guide him out the first. He had to go down the ladder and the way these guys go down the ladders. [laughter] well, anyway he kicked up some dust and picked up a contingency sample put it in his by and so i could looked down and see that he was moving around and it wasnt any trouble at all scooping up things. So it was my turn to come out. So i backup, i did not need anybody to guide me out. [laughter] and i remember the checklist. Im going out in the hatches here in the checklist is partially closed the hatch. A lot of people think of Neil Armstrong but that is not Neil Armstrong because as you heard earlier he set the camera down so Neil Armstrong took a teacher so towelette real . Around hollywood they have gettogethers every so often other producers in movies in the thought it would have particular pitchers asking people what makes them so unique as the picture we get to this picture in the say what this is it that made that pitcher so unique . Location and location and location. [laughter] and actually he took a couple of pictures of the men. The most important. You can see it but it is a boot to print. It is so unusual the dustup there you put your foot down and it made their perfect boot printed is very unusual so why did it before and after and it still looked lonely so i put my foot down and moved it over just a little bit so you could see it wasnt a visitor where somebody else it was us with the boot. Actually his son said it isnt fair to take thousands of photos. You literally have taken three photographs your entire life. [laughter] and you took that one . So once you get right quit while youre ahead. After all of the selfie is there is a blueprint there must be something else. I met the head end of the camera. [laughter] we will start off with you. Let it be bars. [laughter] after mars what should be the next . Perhaps. He is pretty mars abscessed. Once we get enough people there to set up a colony are there any scuba divers one of the moons viking go with the ice all over it there is watered down below. Living creatures. Is a little hard to come back up again. I have a special edition in that life put out a couple of weeks before you went to the moon and it said you had the best Scientific Minds they had ever seen in space. [laughter] [applause] the most practical mind. I know if you read that before. What was your astronauts friends . Dr. Rendezvoused. [laughter] so who do you think . President astronauts . I dont know any of them. [laughter] that talk about the retrograde orbit he had a phrase and he said no. Any astronauts he said we have three Mad Scientist like here right now. I have been planning some Nice Missions into the future. Called on. To say i am looking for some female astronauts because men are from mars women are from venus. [laughter] i have wanted to tell you this a long time conspiracy theories and a few years ago they said you were a liar and a van that towered. If that second decision. Dash with my dad said i heard you beat somebody at . He said it was like no one punch. I had a bunch of others that were dismayed at me. Trying to show us what to do. And then my stature went up. [laughter] in the video you really put your arm into a. If you played it over with developing . Satellite to 84 Years Service to the country into humanitys. [applause] are you familiar with the term overview refect . As you can look back to see the earth. Overview, an interview. Side view. I dont know what theyre talking about. For real. Pretty much the way you thought it would be. When hes a Fighter Pilots have isis in their veins. You leave the earth did get smaller. Big deal. Said you know, that. Not too many people know this but there is a short film made in this said delayed a shadow of the moon now i have to think a little bit about that and how we leave the earth and then we will win this way so in order to do that then the moon covers up the sun is a beautiful corona view it as one of the most spectacular sights. Were all in the shadow of the moon. I am not even sure i understood half of that. I know they want to get to mars had to get the country back to the point where were focusing on exploration . We think about the past quite frequently and having gatherings talking about that until we have a new administration. [laughter] subsidies in the white house whoever is there will be my friend because i have to explain a few things to him or her. But to be honest he is out every day tirelessly at 86 years old talking into people to do these kinds of things to get to the public there is a point we first started working together he said no there on board you have to get them on board it is the public on board they have become very blase see you have to get excited again that is why he is out here trying to remind the world of what we did we need everybody to do that. Death friend of mine has written some articles and was the death trap for the space program. And afraid that sometimes it pretty well sums it up page 35 unless there is something sensational or another billion dollars to this program. We travel all over the world one thing that has become a problem is americans take for granted but they did in when we leave the country you should see the people from other countries are crying and shaking and so on and all of what the other guys did. So we just taken for granted that there just beside themselves saw almost feel like the americans need to be reminded because theyll is tough to tell them where they were. Some with a kid say my dad told me he was in the field and he was supposed to watch the moon landing but said no you have to work in the field but those of the texas stories that we hear and we need to remind people there are things like that like the iranian navy said rigo have tvs in our village but they broadcast on the radio but they came to the town square and we felt like we did that to. I tried to tell people it is though one event with Human History and the positive event that we cave in peace for all mankind that is pretty much the way all of us felt about the entire Apollo Program and i took an oath to serve my country and that is exactly what i have been doing and will continue for all the good things that have come my way and i have been able to and will continue to do that. But i think were headed most propitious time today. We are worse off in space then we were two weeks before kennedys beecher before congress. Speech over before congress. They had ever reprogram. To you have to vote with all of that. Were almost out of time i see a yell lady that is eager. You talk too much. [laughter] thank you for your service to the country ted your continuing influence. I was reading a book where do you scuba dive with crocodiles . It isnt anymore. With the tank on my back i got out of though water their crocodile runs much faster. [laughter] he said i didnt want to lose day he and. What would you have done differently in your career . I would have told nasa dont cancel that maneuvering backpack. Just because of what little failure. [applause]. What did vice for the ted yearold that wants to go to mars . [applause] get her doctorate degree at age 25 then joined the astronaut corps. They will send you to the moon we will assemble to make up the moon base. Then you will land on the moon and you will come back. That is just trading because that is exactly what you will do when you are 38 or 37 than you will go to the moon of mars them put together a base that looks just like the one. That we have a space kraft in and get off the site claras it goes by. What does that look like . You dont have time