Rangarira ndima iri pasi apa uye ipapo pindura mubvunzo gare gare mumutauro mumwe chetewo sechikamu:  Musi waJanuary 27, 1967, zuva rakaputika ndege yeApollo 1, Armstrong akanga ari muWashington, DC naCooper, Gordon, Lovell naScott Carpenter kuti vasaine Chibvumirano cheUnited Nations cheOuter Space Treaty. Vafambisi vengarava dzomuchadenga vakakurukura navakuru vakaungana kutozosvikira pa 18:45, apo Carpenter akaenda kunhandare yendege, uye vamwe vakadzokera kuGeorgetown Inn, uko mumwe nomumwe akawana mashoko okufonera Manned Spacecraft Center. Mukati mokudana uku, vakadzidza nezvorufu rwaGus Grissom, Ed White naRoger Chaffee mumoto. Armstrong neboka racho vakapedza usiku hwose vachinwa whiskey uye vachikurukura zvakanga zvaitika. Musi waApril 5, 1967, zuva rimwe chetero apo kuongorora kweApollo 1 kwakabudisa mushumo wokupedzisira, Armstrong navamwe vafambisi vengarava 17 vakaungana kuti vasangane naSlayton. Chinhu chokutanga icho Slayton akataura chakanga chiri, "Varume avo vari kuzobhururuka nhume dzomwedzi dzokutanga ndivo varume vari mukamuri rino". Maererano naCernan, Armstrong bedzi ndiye asina kuita chimwe chinhu kuchirevo chacho. Kuna Armstrong zvakanga zvisingashamisi kuti mukamuri racho makanga makazara vakwegura veProject Gemini, vanhu voga vaigona kubhururuka nendege dzinoenda kumwedzi. Slayton akataura nezvemamishinari akarongwa uye akatumidza Armstrong kune vashandi vekuchengetedza veApollo 9, iyo panguva iyoyo yakanga yakarongwa sechirongwa chepasi chepasi chepasi chepakati chepasi chemubatanidzwa wemwedzi uye mutungamiri uye mutungamiri webasa. Basa revashandi rakaziviswa zviri pamutemo musi waNovember 20, 1967. Nokuda kwavashandi pamwe chete, Armstrong akapiwa Lovell naAldrin, vanobva kuGemini 12. Pashure pokunonoka kugadzirwa nokugadzirwa kweLunar Module (LM), Apollo 8 ne9 vakatsinhanisa main and backup crews. Zvichienderana nokuchinjana kwaiitwa vashandi, Armstrong ndiye aizotungamirira Apollo 11, asi pane chimwe chinhu chakachinja: Mike Collins aiva muvashandi veApollo 8 akatanga kuva nezvinetso netsoka dzake. Vanachiremba vakaona kuti dambudziko racho raiva rekukura kwemabhonzo pakati pemutsipa wake wechishanu newechitanhatu, zvaida kuvhiyiwa. Lovell akatora nzvimbo yake muboka raApollo 8, uye, apo Collins akapora, akabatana neboka raArmstrong.  Mubvunzo: Vakadzidza nezvei?
rufu rwaGus Grissom, Ed White naRoger Chaffee