I'm certainly no storyteller like franksolich, but I'm prompted by today's events to share a story. The story begins with a singular event that launched a young man on a quest........a quest to be a part of one of mankind's greatest endeavors.
The event occurred in the late 50's when this young man was in high school. The event was the launch by the Soviet Union of the first artificial satellite. When Sputnik was first announced around the world, the race for space exploration was on, and this young man from a tiny midwest town was inspired by both the idea, and his teachers to become a part of this brave new frontier that was unfolding.
Instead of remaining in the small community as did most of his contemporaries, the young man managed to wrangle a partial scholarship to a good engineering school. Although the environment was alien to a young person from a town where everyone knew each other, and the curriculum was demanding, he managed to complete his studies, and tested well enough for admission to grad school. Money was tight, and this person was required to accept a position as a design engineer for a small firm that was engaged in the manufacture of radar equipment, in order to finance his continuing education.
Within a few months, this small firm was gobbled up by a giant corporation. This giant was not engaged in the aerospace field that the young student wished to pursue........however, his small design group became part of a "joint venture" with another giant corporation that had a contract to design and develop radar equipment for a highly classified project at the time. The project was code named "XML-001".
As the project unfolded, the young man's minor and insignificant role was to head a team to design a very unique type of radar unit. The unit had to have the capability to measure, down to a few inches, the altitude of the object that it was mounted on above the surface, and to provide the operator with a constant digital readout of that distance. It was only after the equipment was completed and thoroughly tested that the final use of that equipment was made known to the young engineer and the rest of his team.
The team was flown to an "undisclosed location", and led into a huge aircraft hangar. In that hangar, encased in a large "clean room", the team was shown their equipment, attached to a large insectlike machine. That machine would later be known to the world as the "Apollo Moon Lander". Assembled in the huge room were virtually hundreds of other engineers and technicians who had unknowingly labored for months on their small portions of the project........each working in isolation on what would in a few months become one of man's greatest achievements.
Following the success of the final Apollo mission, every member of the design team was presented with a small "gift" from NASA........it arrived in the mail.......a small box, and inside was an Omega "Speedmaster" chronograph (the same type that each of the Apollo astronauts wore).........accompanying the watch was a letter again thanking the recipient for their contribution to the success of the mission, and advising that the enclosed watch had been to the moon and back in the payload bay of the lunar orbiter. On the back of each watch was engraved the seal of the mission on which it had travelled.
The years passed, priorities changed, career paths returned to more mundane tasks. Raising families, sending children on to their own college careers, and finally to retirement.......but during all that time, the engineer's heart was always drawn to the thunderous roar of the ignition of a huge booster, with its payload bound for some exotic destination.......until today......when the (not so young anymore) engineer watched with sadness as the final United States manned space mission was launched. The end of nearly a half-century of work by countless young engineers, technicians, pilots, assembly workers and support staff.
We are told that manned space flight is "no longer a priority", and that the "benefits don't outweigh the costs", and a hundred other reasons for what is essentially a matter of lack of vision on the part of our leadership. A "leadership" that would rather pander to twenty million illegal immigrants......bear the cost of their health care, educate their offspring, and in many cases pay to incarcerate them, but we can't find the resources to "reach for the stars".........
Godspeed to the crew of the final shuttle mission, and I know that like that "young" engineer, they complete their mission with heavy hearts........it's not a day to rejoice......it's the passing of an era. A day when American leadership takes a giant step backward.
As I sit here and stare at my Apollo watch in its blue velvet case.......and wonder what might have been, had we only had the perseverance to continue to press on.
As I'm certain you've guessed by now.....that young engineer was me.......
doc