“If you’re going to go to the Moon, sooner or later you’ve got to go to the Moon.” Flight Director Glynn Linney, summing up the rationale for the Apollo 8 ‘go’ decision, NASA meetings, 1968. Quoted in the 2019 book Shoot for the Moon. This was a huge decision, a quantum step from Earth orbit flights. Apollo 8 was the …
Tag: space ops
I Just Went Where I was Sent
A wonderful story from Neil Gaiman: Some years ago, I was lucky enough invited to a gathering of great and good people: artists and scientists, writers and discoverers of things. And I felt that at any moment they would realise that I didn’t qualify to be there, among these people who had really done things. On my second or third …
Ed Dwight, Almost Astronaut
“You did not get ‘into’ a fighter, you strapped it onto your ass and it became an extension of your physical body.” Ed Dwight.NY Times article 16 July 2019. Amazing life story of Ed Dwight, almost the first Black astronaut, who could have walked on the Moon: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/16/us/ed-dwight-was-set-to-be-the-first-black-astronaut-heres-why-that-never-happened.html
It Can Happen to You
In 2013 FAA Safety Briefing magazine published a seemingly unremarkable story about a mindless runway incursion in a light piston twin. Human error. Could have been bad, but like most incidents, no big deal. What’s interesting is the author. He was a master pilot. The byline is Gene Cernan, fighter pilot, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, astronaut, Moonwalker, and general aviation …
Put Your Eyes Here
Overheard from in third-grader’s zoom classroom, the teacher telling my son to focus — “Put your eyes here Alex”. Very clear directions from an experienced elementary school teacher. A teacher who knows if you’re not looking at the words, you’re not reading the assignment. So simple. But very powerful for him. And me. Because last night I read in the …
Neil Armstrong Quote
“Pilots take no special joy in walking: pilots like flying. Pilots generally take pride in a good landing, not in getting out of the vehicle.” Neil Armstrong
Gene Kranz on Spacemanship
“An engineer can explain how a system should work (in theory) but an operator has to know what the engineer knows and then has to know how the systems tie together to get the mission accomplished. If the systems break down the operator must make rapid decisions on fixing or working around the problem to keep the mission moving.” Gene …
The Capability of the Human Pilot
The North American X-15 was a hypersonic rocket-powered experimental aircraft flown by the USAF and NASA in the 1960’s. The X-15 holds the official world record for the highest speed ever recorded by a manned aircraft, set in October 1967 when test pilot William J. Knight at 102,100 feet flew Mach 6.70. Clearly it was a hot rod rocket ride, and obviously important to the advancement of high …
Magnifying and Analyzing
Do you fly and say ‘not bad, pretty good‘, or do you fly and then honestly debrief yourself on every action, every decision? Commander Victor Glover became a fighter pilot, test pilot, astronaut by not accepting ‘pretty good’ and going home. (Original photo NASA, at the Houston neutral bounancy tank, 2015. Quote from Mens Health magazine, March 2018)
With the Automagic off, are You Confident?
With autopilot, autothrottles, flight directors, GPS off — are you practised enough? Really ready? Comfortable? Many experts aren’t sure we are. The accident data is worrying. One test-pilot and astronaut with 60-years of flying experience has spoken out about the adverse side effects of automation. He’s noted that Apollo astronauts practised every procedure with and without automation. “We felt comfortable in …