Failure Is Not An Option

Bolero writes: "Gene Kranz, the hardboiled flight director during the Gemini, Apollo, and Shuttle eras now has his own Web site here. He recently wrote a book and Mr. Kranz has included a lot of stuff on his site that didn't make it into the book because it was considered too technical." Failure is not an option. Cool.

Comments

I met Edgar Mitchell yesterday

[szyzyg]

He was at the planetarium talking to the public - so as a 'staff member' I took a few mins to chat with him. His opinion of Apollo 13 is that it's a big budget documentary - they got far more right in that film than they got wrong.

And it's a bloody good film.

Edgar was the backup LM pilot for apollo 13 - so he was one of the people on the ground doing simulations to try and figure out how to get them back.

But - Gene Kranz is one of the heroes of the century - he commanded a team of thousands and had the real power to make the missions work.

Kranz represents the best of the hacking ideal

[jht]

Gene Kranz is representative of a breed of engineer that is dying out - and the epitome of the "get it done - period" ethic. The space program of the '60s and '70s was a place where impossible things were done on a daily basis, using incredibly crude equipment, with lives at stake constantly - all resting on the actions and work of a staff of nerds and a handful of ex-fighter jocks who liked to tinker and explore. Wow, that's cool.

The pressures they faced were enormous, and they pulled it off with incredible aplomb, given that the risks were far higher than the chance that stock options may go underwater. The leadership and teamwork principles that came out of NASA's glory days have, unfortunately, not made enough of an impact on everyday business, and NASA themselves lost their way for a long time.

But basically (I'm rambling a bit here, I know), when we think about hacking, great feats of engineering, and doing the Right Thing at all costs, we should be thinking of Kranz and the amazing group of people he worked with at NASA in those years. Getting three men to the Moon and back safely, multiple times, using about as much computing power as a free solar calculator is truly one of the great hacks of all time. Buy the book, and remember them the next time you need to propose a toast.

- -Josh Turiel

Slashdot interview?

[arkham6]

This gentleman seems to be a fairly friendly guy. Would it be possible that someone from /. contact him and see if he's interested in being interviewed? I'd have a fair amount to ask him.

Re:Where to go from here..

[nick357]

When the Europeans set out exploring, they knew that a good percentage were going to die trying. It was the same with those who set off west past the Mississippi -- some were not going to make it.

Nowdays it is unacceptable to loose a single life. If the odds on a successful flight to mars were 50-50, I bet that there wouldn't be any shortage of applicants, and by using equipment with that kind of failure rate we could probably send 5 or 6 flights for what it would cost for 1 flight now. I don't know what the answer is, because I sure don't want my friend or son or daughter to be one of the unlucky 50%, but yet -- our caution seems to be killing our sense of "gee -- I wonder what is beyond those mountains..."

Trained by Yoda

[Helmholtz]

He must have been trained by Yoda .....

Hence the mantra...

"Do or do not, there is no try"

Failure is not an option...

[dkh2]

It comes bundled with every Microsoft product.

Yeah, I know it's old, but it's still true.

Gene Kranz

[David Ham]

i actually had the opportunity to sit down at a dinner with Mr. Kranz and my father a few years ago. we had a good talk about many things, from space shuttles to his hobby of flying planes and whatnot. one thing he related to me (and has turned out to be a good piece of advice) is to fly high and never let go of your dreams. besides being intelligent, he's also an incredibly wise man and very fun to talk to.
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Imagine If Napoleon Had A Website.

[Seumas]

This is a great idea. The site ties in a little too much with the book to be useful on its own, but it is great to see someone who played such a part in history -- even in the background of it, share it on the internet.

I'm not about to compare Kranz to other great people like Genghis Khan or Napoleon or Beethoven or Patton, but could you imagine if all of our great thinkers and leaders had websites where they could share their views and experiences and 'inside stories'? It's too late for the past, but what will it be like 100 years from now when everyone from heads of state to poets and writers, musicians, architects and scientists share what was really behind the scenes.

Christ, imagine what it would be like to have the likes of Leonardo DaVinchi on the web, in his own words, pictures and creations! (I wonder if Leo would have dug Java or PHP3?).

I think we're just breaking the tip of the ice-berg. There are a million stories to be told and with the anonymity of the Internet (or the potential anonymity as the case may be if you take precaution) may encourage even more of them to share.

I'm not sure if these things exist, but I'd love to know more about (and from the mouths of) test pilots, nuclear scientists who were involved with projects in the 50's, officers in the Vietnam war and Word War Two and many other events. The pictures, stories, intricate details... It could be a very impressive thing!

Okay, I know -- this is all a little too utopian, but I've seen a few good sites like these and this one sparked the excitement along a little further...
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