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Neil Armstrong Dies; Tropical Storm Isaac to Hit Florida

Aired August 25, 2012 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

A sad news to pass on to you, the passing of a legend. Eighty-two- year-old Neil Armstrong has died. His family members say he died from complications due from cardiovascular procedures. The family releasing a statement saying that they are heartbroken. This is the man that you all know as the first man who walked on the moon back in 1969. And the first to utter the words, "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Here now is John Zarrella.

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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Neil Armstrong was born at his grandparents' farm in Ohio in 1930 when air travel was still in its infancy and space travel was the stuff of science fiction. But Armstrong says he had the same dream over and over again. He was hovering above the ground by holding his breath.

Armstrong took his first airplane ride when a Ford tri-motor, a plane called the twin goose, came to a local airfield. The bug had taken hold. As a teenager he began taking flying lessons, even before getting his driver's license. Armstrong pursued his passion and earned a degree in aeronautical engineering. He joined the military during the Korean War and flew 78 combat missions in Navy Panther jets.

Later Armstrong became a test pilot for the X-15, the rocket plane that laid the groundwork for space travel. It was some ride, soaring an amazing 40 miles above the earth at 4,000 miles an hour. And then, in 1961 during the height of the Cold War in the midst of the space race with the Soviet Union, President John Kennedy made a dramatic challenge.

JOHN KENNEDY, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.

ZARRELLA: The next year Armstrong joined the enormous undertaking and became an astronaut. Four years later he made his first journey into space as commander of the Gemini 88 mission which nearly ended in disaster. Armstrong kept his cool and brought the spacecraft home safely after a thruster rocket malfunction. The next trip to space was on July 16, 1969. He and astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted off in Apollo 11. On a journey of nearly 250,000 miles, a journey into history, it took them four days to reach their destination. The world watched and waited as the lunar module Eagle separated from the command module and began its descent. Then came the words from Armstrong.

NEIL ARMSTRONG, ASTRONAUT: The Eagle has landed.

ZARRELLA: About six and a half hours later at 10:56 p.m. Eastern Time on July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the moon.

ARMSTRONG: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

ZARRELLA: He was followed by Aldrin. Armstrong was on the surface for two hours and 32 minutes. Aldrin, just 15 minutes less. The two astronauts staked an American flag, scooped up moon rocks and set up scientific experiments before returning to the main spacecraft.

The three crew mates returned home to a hero's welcome, though none of them ever returned to space. Armstrong, seen on the left, was 38 when he made his historic landing. The first man on the moon left the astronaut corps the next year and taught engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He once joked, "I am and ever will be a white sox pocket protected nerdy engineer." He was, of course, much, much more than that. He was also a husband and father of two. And a man who left his footprint forever on the U.S. space program.

John Zarrella, CNN, reporting.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Who didn't remember Neil Armstrong as their hero? Someone who inspired so much about space and American history. Surprisingly, Neil Armstrong himself didn't necessarily embrace that title. He said he was just doing his job and doing what he loved. And that accomplishment of walking on the moon was not an accomplishment that was his but one of many.

Leroy Chow is a shuttle astronaut with NASA and he's joining us from Houston. For a very long time Mr. Chiao very much admired Neil Armstrong. That was one of his heroes. He had the opportunity later on to meet Neil Armstrong and, of course, also had a great opportunity to be on the International Space Station between October 2004 and April 2005. Leroy Chow with us now.

So Mr. Chiao, give us an idea, what are your thoughts about Neil Armstrong. Clearly, you know, he was your idol, someone who inspired you before you became an astronaut yourself.

LEROY CHIAO, COMMANDED 10TH MISSION TO INTL. SPACE STATION: Well, that's right. I remember very clearly being an eight-year-old kid and watching the TV while listening to the transmissions coming back from the moon as the lunar module of Apollo 11 approached the surface and then touched down on the moon. And I remember even as a kid just thinking, wow, the world just changed and then hours later watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin take the very step of any human on another planetary body. I mean that kind of flipped the switch for me in my head so that's what I want to do, I want to be an astronaut.

And so you know, the hero is passing today. It was very saddening. Certainly for the entire nation and even the world. I think the event of Apollo 11 landing on the moon was particularly important for Americans but it was important for all humankind.

WHITFIELD: Was it clear to you by the time you finally met him that he reluctantly embraced this role, you know, this place in history, that he really didn't want to enjoy it alone. He wanted to enjoy it as a collective effort.

CHIAO: Oh, very much so. Neil, I only got to meet him once, and that was in the halls of the astronaut office where he almost never came back to NASA, except for his annual physical, I think. And one time he actually did come up to the astronaut office to make a short presentation to the new astronauts. And I got to meet him very briefly in the hall, but it was just wonderful to meet the person who inspired me to want to go do what he was doing.

But very modest man, like you said. He shunned the limelight, he rarely, rarely gave interviews and was even surprised that later on when he started to do that, later in his life, started talking a little bit more about his experience. I was glad he did that because I would hate for all that history and all that, his perspective to be lost forever, but yes, he didn't crave the limelight and he was kind of considered as something that we all accomplished. You know, all the people working with the program, every American in support of the program.

WHITFIELD: So Mr. Chiao, I wonder if you wouldn't mind if I read a portion of the family's statement tat was released to us for your ears and for the pleasure of everyone listening. The family saying, "As much as Neil cherished his privacy, he always appreciated the expressions of good will from people around the world and from all walks of life. While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves."

And then in italics they say, "For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty. And the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down on you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."

What are your thoughts on that last request? Is that something you think you'll do?

CHIAO: Wow, that was really a powerful statement, especially in the simplicity and you know, that kind of sums up just what we were talking about. My perception of Neil's personality, that's what he would have wanted. And you bet, that's exactly what I'm going to do tonight. I'm going to go out and wink at that moon and think of Neil and those that came after him that inspired me to follow in their footsteps personally. I have young children, I'm going to explain to them what this means and explain how important it is.

WHITFIELD: Leroy Chiao, thanks so much for helping us to honor and remember and incredible icon. Neil Armstrong dead at the age of 82. We'll be right back.

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WHITFIELD: Back now to our coverage of tropical storm Isaac. It is barreling closer to Florida now but it is expected to be a hurricane at some point. Take a look at some new pictures in just from Haiti.

Isaac hit there earlier as a tropical storm today. Flooding is a big worry now that winds have died down. We'll have more on Haiti in a moment and how people are coping. As you can see right there, not so well in Jacmel but first let's bring in CNN's Jim Spellman. He's in Key West, Florida, where this storm is likely to brush by next.

Jim, give me an idea, it looks like it is wet and you've gotten rain there. What else has happened?

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we have seen a few bands of wind and rain come through, Fredricka, but there are still people right here in the (INAUDIBLE) the sort of main drag in Key West but only about 20 percent occupancy here in the hotels at this point, we hear from the mayor. They have been encouraging visitors to get out, but they are not calling an evacuation at this point. They added some flights and the last one is going to take off around 7:00 p.m. tonight. And the airport is going to close and the only way out of here is the two lane road and 120 miles back to the mainland of Florida.

Anybody leaving, they wanted to get out of here as quickly as they can, but, you know what, people come here - they come here to party. Those people undeterred at this point. I caught up with one man who is here visiting from Chicago. Listen.

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SPELLMAN: Are you going to evacuate, Paul?

PAUL CANNELLA, TOURIST FROM CHICAGO: No.

SPELLMAN: How come?

CANNELLA: We came down here to have a good time. I'm not going to let a little hurricane get in the way. So just, one of the lifetime experiences. I hear about hurricane parties so we are going to have some fun with it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SPELLMAN: So the die-hards are going to stay and they're going to party their way through Isaac. They do expect this to be a minimal Cat 1 hurricane when it comes to the keys sometime tomorrow, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness, well, even cat 1 can be pretty serious. Thanks so much. Jim Spellman, appreciate that.

So some of the offshoots of Isaac are still drenching Haiti in the form of lots of rain. Flooding is a big concern right now. Just take a look at these images. Incredible. Officials confirming at least two people have died, but they are concerned the death toll will rise even further as authorities search tent cities in Port-au-Prince adding to the problems of trees down, power lines are down in some of the hardest-hit areas.

Isaac very much brushed past Cuba. Not too long ago, but it did make landfall in the small section of the southern tip of that island nation. Some trees are down. Power lines are down as well in some parts and flooding may pose a problem in some areas, but, for the most part, Isaac hugged Cuba's coastline missing most of the island.

Of course, we're continuing to track the storm and see where it may be heading next, what it is capable of doing. We're going to check in with Jennifer Delgado in a moment, but first now we want to tell you a little bit about our programming tomorrow.

On "The Next List," a man who believes there is no such thing as disabilities, only bad technology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am just in love with, enamored with the design of the human body. Its elegance. Nature has often these very powerful principles that if captured in a technology, in a device, can be very, very extraordinary in their capacity to help people move again. So it's - that's the basic thesis of our work. We steal from the cookie jar of nature. We apply that and we build synthetic constructs that emulates the functionality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk more about tropical storm Isaac and where it may be heading next after its brush with Haiti, Cuba and now potentially the U.S.. Jennifer Delgado in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Jennifer.

JENNIFER DELGADO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Fredricka. Right now tropical storm Isaac hugging the coastline of Cuba. It's kind of hard but this is a very disorganized system, but I want to point out to you, very large. This is the center of circulation, really hugging that coastline of Cuba. Rain still coming down, it's been letting up a little bit for Port-au-Prince as well as the Dominican Republic, but the winds right now, 60 miles per hour. We are expecting it to strengthen.

And that's why we do have a hurricane warning in place anywhere you're seeing in pink. And then a hurricane watch and that includes Miami, but as we open this up for you, weather conditions are going to be deteriorating, especially as we start tomorrow morning. We expect tropical storm conditions for parts of south Florida as well as in the Key West. And that's why we do have tropical storm watches in place as well as some warnings anywhere you're seeing in yellow and blue.

So as I said to you, conditions getting worse. Saturday or Sunday morning we're going to start with the tropical storm conditions and then hurricane conditions arrive Sunday afternoon. And then notice as it moves through the Florida Strait, it's really going to be strengthening. By Sunday, 8:00, 75. Yes, a weak category 1, but the problem is we're going to be dealing with a lot of warm water. And we are talking with some of these areas where the sea surface temperatures are very close to 90 degrees.

So we're going to see strengthening and that's why now they are forecasting potentially for this to become a category 2. This is Tuesday, 8:00 a.m. - I want to point out to you, here's Tampa. And of course, we look at the Florida panhandle, and this potentially takes that system up towards the north. But I want to point out to you, this is the cone of air. So anywhere say from New Orleans all the way over to that western coastline of Florida needs to be prepared for the possibility of that storm to possibly deviate from that track. It is not an exact science, but I want to help you a little bit more kind of visualize when you see start to see some of those stronger winds.

We start the clock Sunday at 7:00 p.m. notice for Key West, in the late day, we'll start to see some of those hurricane winds being felt across the region. Then as we go much further into the day, Monday, 8:00 a.m., here's Tampa. Notice on Monday right at the start of the Republican Convention, we certainly could see some tropical storm conditions across the region.

Fredericka, we will be following this with an update at 5:00 coming in from the National Hurricane Center.

WHITFIELD: All right. We look forward that. Thanks so much, Jennifer. Appreciate that.

And much more on the life and legacy of Neil Armstrong, dead at the age of 82. His colleague astronaut John Glenn joins us.

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WHITFIELD: More now on the death of 82-year-old Neil Armstrong. The first man to walk on the moon. His family confirming he died from complications from cardiovascular procedures.

Helping to underscore the memory and legacy of Neil Armstrong is an icon in his own right, Senator John Glenn, astronaut, the first American to orbit the earth and the third American in space, Senator Glenn, your thoughts on the passing of Neil Armstrong.

FORMER SENATOR JOHN GLENN, ASTRONAUT: Well, when I think of Neil, he was a good friend, of course. But when I think of Neil, I think that for our nation, he truly was a person who dared greatly. He got bitten by the aviation bug as a kid and actually had his pilot's license before he had his automobile license. He went on flying and was in the Navy and was in Korea. He was an outstanding combat pilot. I think he had 78 missions. He went on to experimental aircraft, the best we and the best in the world. The space program, of course, for which he is better known. He was a very skilled person. He was dedicated and he was a good friend and he'll be missed.

WHITFIELD: We talked to a number of people who are inspired by him, who had and encounter or two with him, no one has known him as closely as you. What was about his reluctance to take on the role of being such an inspiration, such an icon, that he would try to remind people that that accomplishment was not mine, it was an accomplishment that represents so many.

GLENN: Well, I think he felt that and believed that. And I think it was true. There were so many people involved in the huge projects that he was involved with, that we were involved with, and you do have that feeling. And Neil had that. And he didn't feel that he should be out by (INAUDIBLE) himself or anything like that. And he just remained true to the principles he grew up with and he was a humble person. That's the way he remained after his lunar flight as well as before.

WHITFIELD: In a family statement released to CNN, the family says for those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil. "We have a simple request, honor his example and service, accomplishment and modesty and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink." That statement coming from the family. So poignant and so beautiful. How will you remember him?

GLENN: I think that is a very good statement.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it really is beautiful. How will you try to remember Neil Armstrong? Will you be giving that moon a wink?

GLENN: Oh, yes. Sure will. I think about that almost every time that I look at the moon any way. We had people up there and Neil was the first one up there, of course. You know, Neil had a lot of close escapes that he was dedicated to flying and so on. He had to bail out once in Korea after his plane was hit and was damaged. He had to bail out of a trainer at Houston, it was a training for the lunar landing and then the actual landing on the moon. They were down to the, he was down to the last, I think they estimated between 15 and 35 seconds of fuel when they actually set down on the moon. So that was a very close one also. So he was dedicated to what he was doing and otherwise remembering, I think what I said earlier here, that he was willing to dare greatly for his country and he was proud to do that. And yet remained the same humble person he's always been.

WHITFIELD: Senator John Glenn, thank you so much for your memories of Neil Armstrong.

GLENN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Dead at the age of 82. We'll have much more on the life and legacy of Neil Armstrong and other news as we continue to watch that tropical storm as well. My colleague, Don Lemon, will be back in about 30 minutes at the top of the hour.

Right now, time for "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D."