Days after reminiscing about his friend Neil Armstrong, Senator Rob Portman announced his plan to rename NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky after him.
Plum Brook is part of the NASA Glenn Research Center that conducts critical and innovative ground tests for the international aerospace community. Portman shared stories and memories of his friendship with Armstrong and his ideas about Plum Brook just three days prior to making the announcement.
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"Since you raised [the question], I might have to start thinking about it again whether we should initiate another effort," Portman said. Days later, he did just that.
In a press release, Portman shared his reasoning behind the plan to rename the facility.
“From his service as a Navy fighter pilot, to his courageous experiments as a test pilot, to his space exploration and first step on the surface of the Moon, Neil Armstrong left an indelible mark in mankind’s history of flight. In all his accomplishments, he considered himself first and foremost a test pilot who pushed the boundaries of what was possible in the air and in space,” Portman said in the press release. “I believe it is precisely because of his humility coupled with his unparalleled accomplishments that the renaming is appropriate.”
Senator Sherrod Brown is also involved in the plan to introduce legislation to rename the Plum Brook facility.
“Neil embodied the best in our country – service, sacrifice, a sense of adventure, and a passion for serving the common good – and while he’s been showered with no shortage of accolades, it’s a fitting tribute to rename Plum Brook Station in his honor as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of his giant leap for humankind,” Brown said.
Portman and Brown's plan comes just a day before the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing that made Armstrong a national treasure and an American hero.
