Going to the Moon Uncloaking the human spirit the Apollo Project

[Music]

we choose to go to the moon

in this decade and do the other things

not because it’s easy but because it’s

hard

because that goal will serve to organize

the best of our energies and skills

when president kennedy spoke those words

little did i realize that for the next

eight years i will be deeply involved

in that project when he set the goal of

landing men on the moon

and returning them safely to earth he

set in motion

a sense of national pride and for the

people that worked on the project

it instilled a sense of pride and

enthusiasm

just knowing they were part of this

historical adventure

we were employed by grumman aircraft

engineering corporation

tom kelly engineer 32 years old

responsible for the design of the lunar

module

me 25 years old high school graduate

responsible for coordinating engineering

and manufacturing

to build the ascent stage of the lunar

module

neither one of us knew the adventure

that we were about to undertake

the construction of the lunar module

tested the human spirit

when facing impossible seemingly

impossible tasks

to accomplish the building of the

perfect machine and although

the landing on the moon is what is

recorded in history

the real story is of the people that

built it

who were they where did they come from

what drove them to work difficult work

work schedules

and accomplish the construction of the

lunar module

while at the same time in the process

discovering the hidden talents and

abilities

that they possessed were young

18 to 30 years old for the most part

blue collar workers on the aircraft

assembly line

and by today’s standards working for

less than minimum wage

little did we realize that the skills

that they possessed

would be just the beginning of their

journey

they were going to build a spacecraft by

hand

one rivet hole at a time well okay

why rivet holes the holes for the rivets

needed to be drilled

to plus or minus two thousandths of an

inch

about the thickness of a coke can

without the proper rivet hole

the rivet is useless and although

this was similar to aircraft

construction

the main difference was that they never

knew the pilot that was going to

fly the airplane that they built but

they were going to know the astronauts

their names their families their careers

this was the first step in making this a

very

personal endeavor the slogan became

there were no repair stations on the way

to the moon

this needs to be perfect well okay

how do you convince people that they

have a responsibility

and that the lives of the astronauts are

virtually in their hands

that they’re not just there for a

paycheck

if i can think of one word to use as a

catalyst

to accomplish this it would be family

family is defined as one or more parents

and their children

living together as a unit okay

how does this get us to the moon the

definition of family over the years

has changed and it’s expanded to mean

other things

for instance in grumman we considered

ourselves

part of the grumman family because of

the togetherness that existed in the

company

since its inception we were a team of

people

building great airplanes for instance

producing 600 warplanes per month during

world war ii

a well-functioning family will allow its

members

to grow and accomplish great things as a

result of their support but sadly

in today’s workplace

this support structure workplace and our

culture this support structure has all

but vanished

as human beings we can we sometimes

fail to realize that we need each other

to succeed

so in the context of this talk i would

use the word family

to mean a national family composed of

the engineers

the the the workers the american public

the workers families all working

together

supporting each other

personally and technically and sharing

their knowledge

and their pride and their skill

to make this national goal a success

the world was watching where do we start

personnel were selected from the

aircraft departments

and they were assigned to the lunar

module department

there was a job for everyone but the job

had to be the right job

placing a person in a position that

overwhelms their ability

does nothing for that person or for the

project

they needed to be confident of their

skills

there were no instruction manuals each

had to figure out how they were going to

accomplish the task at hand

and this is where teamwork came in where

they all helped each other

cleanliness and safety were just as

important as building the vehicle

and those that did not possess the

mechanical ability

or were handicapped were placed in

charge of

cleanliness and safety now notice i said

placed in charge of

this was not just sweep the floor they

understood

that they were just as important as that

mechanic

that could drill a close tolerance rivet

hole they would be responsible to be

sure the work area was clean

and clutter free and when the vehicle

was ready to be shipped to the clean

rooms for system

installation that it was free of dust

and debris

and on occasion that wayward tool that

might have been left behind

slowly construction started for small

assemblies

then larger assemblies and finally the

vehicle

through quality control and inspection

they learned their weaknesses

errors were made but each became a

learning experience

corrective action was a team effort

the rule was if you make a mistake

admit it and we will figure out how to

fix it

but if you make it the hard fast rule

was if you make a mistake

and cover it up you are off the program

it wasn’t long before each was helping

the other

challenges and development of procedures

became a team effort

the family the work family was starting

to function as a team

the personal visits from the astronauts

brought the personal message home

over time schedules became more intense

long work hours were the norm workers

were spending less time at home with

their families

without the family support

not only the workers performance but

family relationships could suffer

the families needed to understand that

they were an important part

of the effort so club apollo was formed

so workers could socialize with their

friends they raised money for picnics

and outings and bus

trips so they could spend quality time

with their family

through club apollo the

the families understood there was the

responsibilities that their spouses had

and that their support was a critical

part of the success

of the project through the years i

watched our lunar module family

accomplish unbelievable tasks and i can

honestly say

that i have never been prouder of the

people that i worked with

and we maintained those relationships to

this day

so with your permission i would like to

take you on a short journey of how the

lunar module was constructed

and explained some of these stories

early on in the program we realized that

square pegs

do not fit in round holes

the front face of the vehicle was

originally designed with a round hatch

until we realized that the backpack that

the astronauts wore

was square so the hatch was changed to

square

the midsection housed

the ascent engine and the docking tunnel

this the thin material used in this

component

was the first challenge for the

mechanics

on how on how to handle this did a

material where dropping a pencil could

penetrate the material

to their skill and knowledge they were

able to

established different procedures to

build this component with virtually

little to no damage to the material

this component also almost cost me my

job

we were removing it from the fixture and

some safety

bars were not engaged

the whole thing collapsed like a pancake

of course i had to report the corporate

headquarters and i was sure

my career was over instead they told me

to

go back take corrective action so it

doesn’t happen again

and get us back on schedule that was the

kind of place grumman was

the cabin crew was responsible for

joining the front face

the cabin skins and the midsection into

one

pressure tight vessel riveted and sealed

with minimum to zero leakage

within the engineering tolerances

on the apollo 11 launch this is the crew

watching

the launch from the shop that’s me

uh you can imagine what was going

through their mind

the years of work and dedication

was on display for all the world to see

this was a very solemn moment

this was a different time a different

generation

the programs and procedures and projects

that created this exceptional group of

people has

all has vanished has been lost

the pride and dedication that existed

then

is rare in today’s workplace so what

does this mean for the future

if we are to accomplish technical

greatness

and expose the invisible future that is

out there

we must begin with education and instill

not only personal pride

but national pride in our younger

workforce

we have built machines that will do

almost everything for us

but for mankind to truly accomplish

great things

the glow of the invisible human spirit

must be reignited

it’s been my pleasure to present this

glimpse of the past

in the hope that it will spark a

resurgence

in promoting and developing individual

creativity and

pride in the workplace thank you