All Engines Running
Out of the 195 hours of flight time (a little over 8 days) for Apollo 11 and the crew, it was the approximately 13 minutes it took for the Lunar Module or “Eagle” to descend and land on the moon that was the most taxing on the systems, the astronauts and the supporting team.
These 13 minutes were presented by Dr Kevin Fong (@Kevin_Fong), a consultant anesthetist in London who has made many appearances in science programs and published the book Extreme Medicine: How Exploration Transformed Medicine in the Twentieth Century, in the Podcast “13 Minutes to the Moon” (stitcher, apple and soundcloud).
This is a veritable treasure trove of deep dive into the space program with an expert guide who holds a medical degree and a degree in Astrophysics. The recurring theme was the team that focused on this problem and despite the fact (or maybe because of) their average age was 26 they achieved the goal set out by President John F Kennedy on May 25, 1961 to go to the moon
We choose to go to the Moon! We choose to go to the Moon…We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too
Alternative Apollo 7 Patch from Walter Cunningham – Astronaut Apollo 7
Everyone stepped up to the tasks involved. Each episode focuses on a different aspect of the journey and the contributions made by so many. Software was developed, systems for management and development created, fly by wire, computer systems flying the craft monitored by humans, the human sacrifice and rebirth of the Phoenix (with the Apollo 7 patch reimagined) and the infamous 1202 alarm.
Through the course of the 12 Episodes, you will get a sense of the eternity that 13 minutes was to everyone on the ground as they negotiated the flurry of data, activities, alerts, and alarms and come to a new deeper understanding of the amazing contributions made to our world and lives by the huge team of scientists and staff at NASA and beyond
If this had been a book – I would not have been able to put it down
Incremental Learning from Apollo
The Incremental learning points I took away
- We can achieve anything – even when it seems dauntingly impossible
- Setting the Reach Goal Inspires the Team
- Teamwork and resilience are mainstays of progress
- Tough and Competent (Gene Kranz speech to controllers)
Tough and Competent
From this day forward, Flight Control will be known by two words: “Tough” and “Competent”. Tough means we are forever accountable for what we do or what we fail to do. We will never again compromise our responsibilities. Every time we walk into Mission Control we will know what we stand for. Competent means we will never take anything for granted. We will never be found short in our knowledge and in our skills. Mission Control will be perfect. When you leave this meeting today you will go to your office and the first thing you will do there is to write “Tough and Competent” on your blackboards. It will never be erased. Each day when you enter the room these words will remind you of the price paid by Grissom, White, and Chaffee. These words are the price of admission to the ranks of Mission Control.
Listen to the podcast – you won’t be disappointed. And then leave me your thoughts on how we can bring “Tough and Competent thinking to solving the healthcare system bizarro world we find ourselves in
#13MinutestotheMoon
