He flew the X-15 rocket plane to the edge of space - 200, 000 feet up at 4, 000 mph.

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Before being chosen in 1962 as one of the "Group II" astronauts -- which included Apollo 13 commander James Lovell along with such legends as Frank Borman, Pete Conrad and John Young -- Armstrong was one of the elite pilots selected to fly the X-15 rocket plane up to five times the speed of sound and toward the edge of space.

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It marks his first space venture since the partnership with Rutan and his colleagues to build the prize-winning SpaceShipOne rocket plane, which became the first privately developed craft to reach outer space in 2004.

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It took off slung beneath the WhiteKnightTwo aircraft, which does the job of lifting the rocket plane to its launch altitude - some 45, 000ft (14km).

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His first rocket plane flight in the Bell X-1B experienced a nose gear failure on landing.

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Whether the missile was fired by the plane, which locals believe, or was a misfired anti-aircraft rocket, is hard to say.

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