SCOUTS IN SPACE

Amongst the treasured items that Crew Commander, Neil Armstrong, carried with him to the Moon and back was a World Scout Badge!

The former member of Boy Scouts of America presented this unique momento of his now legendary mission to World Scouting. The signed citation reads, “I certify that this World Scout Badge was carried to the moon on man’s first lunar landing, Apollo XI, July 20, 1969.”

The Scout emblem which features in the badge was created by Baden-Powell. The fleur-de-lys, which indicated ‘north’ on old maps, is a reminder that Scouts must be as reliable as a compass; they must respect Scouting’s ideals and help show others the way. A singularly appropriate symbol then to be carried by the first man to set foot on the Moon!

This historically important badge is kept on permanent display at the World Scout Bureau’s central office in Geneva, Switzerland.

Of the 294 men and women selected to be astronauts since 1959 to 2005, more than 180 have been Scouts. Baden-Powell wrote in the first volume of his autobiography about those “clear frosty nights under the dark, overhead vault with its stars big and brilliant, twinkling humorously and watching you”. He could not have imagined that just 35 years later we would be up amongst them, exploring outer space.

Astonishingly, 11 of the 12 men to have walked on the moon were Scouts. Even more remarkably perhaps, two thirds of all the astronauts ever to have gone into space were involved in Scouting. When NASA began its astronaut selection process, they were looking for people who were not only fit and technically proficient, but who had an even temperament and above all, a thirst for adventure. It was no coincidence that the majority of those who were handed “tickets to the moon” were former Scouts.

Despite the huge resources ploughed into the first manned space flights, the astronauts were still taking enormous risks. It was vital that those who spent days in the cramped conditions could keep calm under pressure and cope with being thousands of miles from Earth. Of course, many were former test pilots, but the confidence and initiative of the young men who had come from Scouting also impressed NASA.

One Giant Leap

Surely the most famous of all the “Space Scouts” was Neil Armstrong. Born in Ohio in the US on 5 August 1930, his interest in flight began early, when as a Scout he built and flew model planes. By the age of 16, he had earned his student’s pilot licence.

When Armstrong become the commander of the Apollo XI mission to the moon in 1969, he was to lead “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins in one of the most daring exploits of the 20^th century. On 20 July 1969, from the surface of the moon, Armstrong famously proclaimed: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.

In 1971, Armstrong resigned from NASA and moved back to Ohio. As well as being honoured by his country, he also received the Boy Scouts of America’s highest honour: the Silver Buffalo Award. What’s more, Armstrong had carried the World Scout Badge with him on his historic mission.

There is a curious addition to Armstrong’s Scouting story. When 17 year old American Scout, Ken Dayton, was working towards his Space Exploration Badge, he was disappointed to learn that there were no certified adjudicators available to sign it off. Jokingly, his leader suggested he should ask an astronaut. Dayton drove 150 miles directly to Armstrong’s farm in Ohio and gave his presentation on the driveway. Armstrong’s testimony read: “I am not a certified instructor, however in my opinion; Ken has completed all requirements satisfactorily!”

As a side note, popular British sci-fi comedy of the 90’s Red Dwarf had a character that was a hologram called Arnold J Rimmer who was in the Space Scouts along with his brothers, Frank, John and Howard!

This article originally appeared in the August/September 2005 edition of the UK magazine called Scouting and is written by Chris James. It is copyright 2006 The UK Scout Association and is used by permission.

Scouts Australia is currently investigating whether Australian astronaut Andrew Thomas, originally from Adelaide, is a former Scout.

article:http://www.scouts.com.au/main.asp?iStoryID=9836332

Top photo: M.I (Mohamed Ibrahim's collected scouting materials)