And people believe that they would have attempted to take off from an alien celestial body with such a spacecraft (moon shuttle)… (in front of 500 million TV viewers, live broadcast)
The LLTV was used to simulate a descent over the moon. The operation of the device simulated the last phase above the surface, the last 150 meters, this is how high the LLTV could climb, and its pilots had to demonstrate smooth landings from here. The LLRV/LLTV was not easy to fly, as evidenced by the fact that more than half of the examples built were destroyed in accidents.
On May 6, 1968, it was Armstrong’s turn to practice with the structure when the plane’s main lift engine failed at an altitude of 30 meters. The instruments went crazy, and the plane started to tilt to the side. Armstrong ejected from the structure, which after a few seconds crashed, exploded and burned to the ground, the astronaut descending a short distance on the parachute of the ejection seat. Despite the incident, Armstrong insisted that without the LLRV the landing on the moon could not have taken place, the commanders gained such valuable experience in driving the lunar shuttle. (Wikipedia)
