Pete Conrad the prime crew on the third following mission. If the swap of 8 and 9 had not occurred, Conrad might have commanded Apollo 11, the first mission to land on the Moon. On November 14, 1969, Apollo 12 was launched with Conrad as Commander, Dick Gordon as Command Module Pilot, and Alan Bean as Lunar Module Pilot. The launch was the most harrowing of the Apollo program, as a series of lightning strikes just after liftoff temporarily knocked out power and guidance in the Command Module. Five days later, after stepping onto the lunar surface, Conrad joked about his own
Neil Armstrong Airport Wapakoneta is the birthplace of Neil Armstrong, aviator, astronaut and first person to walk on the moon. Auglaize County Neil Armstrong Airport covers an area of 140 acres (57 ha) at an elevation of 913 feet (278 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways: 8/26 is 5,500 by 100 feet (1,676 x 30 m) with an asphalt surface; 18/36 is 2,631 by 80 feet (802 x 24 m) with a turf surface. For the 12-month period ending August 17, 2009, the airport had 29,456 aircraft operations, an average of 80 per day: 94% general aviation, 6% air taxi,