Buzz Aldrin shot down two MiG-15 aircraft. After earning a Sc.D. degree in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Aldrin was selected as a member of NASA's Astronaut Group 3, making him the first astronaut with a doctoral degree. His doctoral thesis was "Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous", earning him the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous" from fellow astronauts. His first space flight was Gemini 12 during which he spent over five hours on extravehicular activity (EVA) outside the spacecraft. Aldrin set foot on the Moon at 03:15:16 on July 21, 1969 (UTC), nine minutes after Armstrong first touched the surface,
Buzz Aldrin to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Aldrin entered West Point in 1947. He did well academically, finishing first in his class his plebe year. He was a member of the academy track and field team. In his final year he travelled with a group of West Point cadets to Japan and the Philippines to study the military government policies of Douglas MacArthur. On June 5, 1951, he graduated third in the class in 1951, with a Bachelor of Science degree. As one of the highest-ranking members of the class, Aldrin had his choice of assignments.