Remarkable set of three ballpoint signatures and inscriptions, "To Beverly—Best Wishes, Neil Armstrong," "To Linda—Good Luck, Neil Armstrong," and "To Debra—Good Luck from Gemini VIII, Neil Armstrong," on an off-white 8.5 x 11 notebook page. In fine condition. Accompanied by a letter of provenance from the original recipient, who affirms that he obtained the signatures while at Houston's Hobby International Airport in 1968, in part: "While walking with me along the concourse to my flight's gate, Gail [the consignor's sister] turned to me and said 'Look! There is Neil Armstrong.' He was standing to the side of the concourse talking with another gentleman…We were both quite up to speed on the space program. We had a short conversation with him about his experience on the Gemini 8 space capsule in March of 1966. He was very polite and was not bothered by us approaching him. Gail ask[ed] if he would write and sign greetings to each of her three daughters. I had my ever present notepad folder with me, so I opened it and he wrote a brief note to each daughter and signed his name to each."
Armstrong became a household name when he served as the Command Pilot for the Gemini 8 mission on March 16, 1966. It was during this mission that Armstrong, along with Pilot Dave Scott, successfully docked with the unmanned Agena Target Vehicle, the first time two in-orbit spacecraft had ever done so. Moreover, Armstrong further proved both his mettle and formidable genius when he quickly diagnosed a misfiring thruster and avoided a near perilous end to the Gemini 8 mission. Roughly a year after signing this sheet, Armstrong would begin training for what many still consider to be man’s greatest achievement. A remarkable thrice-signed item from a most notable period.
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