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