In Studio 8H (a decade before "Saturday Night Live"), we caught a glimpse of the NBC Space Center being readied for covering the launch a few days later of Gemini 5 astronauts Gordon Cooper and Pete Conrad.

WSJ: Remembering a time before 'Tonight' left New York

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.

CNN: Neil Armstrong, a hero who shunned fame