A California senator has introduced legislation to rename NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center after the late astronaut Neil Armstrong. S. 1636, introduced last week by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), would rename Dryden the “NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center,” while the Western Aeronautical Test Range would become the “NASA Hugh L. Dryden Aeronautical Test Range.” News about the bill was first reported by SpacePolicyOnline.com.
The bill is identical to HR 667, a bill introduced in the House in February, where it passed on a 394-0 vote on February 25. A similar bill passed in the House in the final days of the previous Congress last December, but the Senate failed to take action on it then.
This again! Nothing better to do. Leave it alone, Dryden is a fine testament to the man and far more appropriate.
Armstrong himself had no interest in personal fame. I doubt he would have wanted this.
I’d rather rename Reagan Airport back to National Airport.
And Congress wonders why the American public hold it/them in the lowest esteem/approval ratings of any organizational body (government or corporate) in the history of mankind.
Sheesh
Lets rename the Capital Building the “Zoo” while we’re at it.
You cannot chisel the name of Neil Armstrong, man of the millennium, into enough monuments in this great country.
Oh come on. Man of the millennium? He occupied a very brief period of time that is important to a few space nerds (myself included) but in the scheme of things, of little importance to the rest of the world nowadays and mostly forgotten.
amightywind said:
“…Neil Armstrong, man of the millennium…”
Oh come on. He didn’t inspire, design, or pay for the equipment he flew, and he certainly wasn’t the only qualified person to “be first”.
In fact he was a government employee, so if you think we should start chiseling the names of government employees all over the country, fine, but I disagree.
For a few terrifying minutes above the boulder fields of the Sea of Tranquility, Armstrong safely piloted his tiny craft to a safe landing under more pressure than a man will ever know again. Man of the Millennium, indeed.
Neil Armstrong was a humble man who really didn’t want to bask in the limelight. I’m not sure he would have approved of this move, especially replacing Hugh Dryden on the name of a NASA center. If they are insistent on doing something, it might be better to name the test range after Armstrong because it’s more directly connected to his actual work as an X-15 pilot.
But, I can’t imagine my protests here will affect anything back East in Washington. Just have to get used to writing NASA Armstrong in future blog posts.