HRVST, Ch.15: Moving Forward Despite Uncertainty and Unknowns Has A Price
When a promise outweighs the unknowns, the price paid is not in vain.
1967 Cape Canaveral, Florida
The mission to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade was near out of time.
In just a few years so much had been achieved to make a moon landing possible. One of the most dramatic leaps in technology took the U.S. from 10 minute ballistic test flights to lunar capable spacecraft in less than 5 years. Apollo.
The first version was ready for a test in Earth orbit.
Delivered in late 1966 to Kennedy Space Center, there were signs of problems.
Warning signs are in the details, but haste belittles them.
As great as the technological progress achieved, there were also over a 100 incomplete engineering changes, and 600 more change orders post-delivery.
A training simulator could not be updated as fast as the changes. A week before the contractor delivered the ship, the crew was worried about the flammable material used to hold gear in zero g. The astronauts, trained men with engineering backgrounds who did not volunteer to become passive passengers, were worried.
They went ahead with a power system test on January 27, 1967.
The decision-makers were not worried, since there was no fuel in the ships, and all explosive components were switched off.
The test began at 1:00:00 PM, with annoying things like a strange smell, then the frustration of bad communications between mission control's buildings and the ship.
It all went wrong, at 6:31:04 PM. A fire.
By the time the ground crew could get to them, it was too late.
Mission Commander, and Mercury 7 veteran, Gus Grissom managed to get out of his seat but the fire overcame him. Senior pilot Ed White was on his side. The muscular White tried to open the hatch but air pressure sealed the cabin shut. Pilot Roger Chaffee was still strapped in his seat.
Melted nylon fused the crew to the ship's interior.
After it was over, it took 90 minutes to remove their bodies.
All Apollo flights were on hold. There was a long investigation. A price paid for haste.
Apollo 8, a ship incorporating all the engineering lessons of Apollo 1, was the first manned Apollo flight in October 1968.
In July 1969, Neil Armstrong of Apollo 11 left an Apollo 1 mission patch on the surface of the Moon.
Uncertainty was the reality of one of the most complicated missions in history.
The unknowns piled up even faster than the questions. They moved ahead despite the uncertainty. When a promise outweighs the unknowns, the price paid is not in vain.
Luna, Aitken Basin, Outer Boros, Grissom Hall
“I made it up to the mechanical room.”
-static-
“There’s a door leading to a hallway to maintenance, offices. All clear, they’re moving to the stairwell that leads to the deck.”
“Do you see the kid? Has to be inside one of these heat blobs.”
“They did a sweep, I don’t think the kid would have hidden from them in time.”
“Keep looking.”
The captain checked his visor one more time and moved down the hallway.
“Unlocking a door that leads into the main floor of the hall, it’s all clear.”
“Good news, any bad news?”
“We found the kid.”
-static-
“Where?”
“They have him. Must have been playing or got lost in the Hall somehow when we got everyone else down to the Depot, got left behind.”
“Where is he? Please don’t tell me inside the stairwell.”
“No, outside the doors leading to it.”
“Let me guess, someone stayed behind with the kid.”
“Yes. One hostile, one kid. Outside of the stairwell.”
The captain had to get the kid back without drawing attention.
“How much time do we have left?”
“Ship inbound ETA less than 15 minutes.”
-static-
“I’m going for it. If I don’t make it back, TwoTwo, you get those people to Armstrong. Tommy, you take the other train with the others, straight to Shackleton.
In 15 minutes, we’re about to drop a ship on this building.”
NOTE: For those who feel like they’ve been dropped in the middle of things
You don’t need to know it but in case you’re wondering, there is a story being written on the fly, day by day, for 30 days. This is now the mid-way point.
This chapter is from the POV of the “good guys” who hope to pull off a rescue plan of a group of civilians as revealed in Chapter 11.
In Chapter 10, the same events are told from the POV of the “bad guys” want to kidnap that same group of civilians.
You are reading the last few chapters for a book I began writing a few months ago. We’re very close to the end the book, days away.
Art Notes
1
A portrait of a 2001 Space Odyssey Astronaut, face, intricate, elegant, highly detailed, digital painting, artstation, concept art, smooth, sharp focus, illustration, art by Krenz Cushart and Artem Demura and alphonse mucha
2
Zaha Hadid city with dome and mosque by Hassan Fatahy in a Fantasy world and photo inspired by Where weird things happen by Daniele Gay on art station , le corbusier model on the ground inspired by Mining by Risa lin on art station