Some bad, sad days, back then. Kids whose fathers worked at the Cape learned to count funny: "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one--Aw, shit."
Lotsa folks learned that Mr. Murphy never goes on vacation--and we lost Grissom, Chaffee and White. Hoist a drink to all those guys, and never forget...
Almost all of those NASA disasters were caused by one OCD machinist in the plant making the LOX pumps.
He was told to not put protectant on the rotors he was responsible for machining, but kept oiling them anyway and wiping them off afterward. He couldn't bring himself to kick this lifelong habit.
Just like putting lube on a welder's O2 regulator, it was a disaster in the making.
Once they caught him doing it, and fired his ass, the pad explosions stopped.
Some bad, sad days, back then. Kids whose fathers worked at the Cape learned to count funny: "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one--Aw, shit."
ReplyDeleteLotsa folks learned that Mr. Murphy never goes on vacation--and we lost Grissom, Chaffee and White. Hoist a drink to all those guys, and never forget...
Art
And bob Hope famously commented "This is the first time that the government has had trouble making money go up in smoke".
ReplyDeletecap'n chumbucket
Reminds me of the videos of the first V2 tests I saw:
ReplyDeleteV2 lifts off a meter, comes down again, tips over, breaks, fuel spills out, BOOOM!!!
Perhaps not a failure, just a conclusive demonstration of an unworkable method.
ReplyDeleteJim
Almost all of those NASA disasters were caused by one OCD machinist in the plant making the LOX pumps.
ReplyDeleteHe was told to not put protectant on the rotors he was responsible for machining, but kept oiling them anyway and wiping them off afterward. He couldn't bring himself to kick this lifelong habit.
Just like putting lube on a welder's O2 regulator, it was a disaster in the making.
Once they caught him doing it, and fired his ass, the pad explosions stopped.
How about this: The Russians won't mention Vanguard if we don't mention the N1s.
ReplyDeleteWell, we established that it works, we just need to work on the range.
ReplyDeleteOne OCD machinist? Sounds plausible, but is it true? Hmm. It's a good story. Does it matter if it's true?
ReplyDeleteThey should put background music like that on the network news today.
ReplyDeleteMight be apocryphal. But its the rumor I heard, so I'm sticking with it.
ReplyDeleteI remember the old joke making the rounds after the series of launch failures.
ReplyDeleteDid you hear that the next satellite launch will be called the Civil Service: won't work - can't fire it.
Rearguard
ReplyDelete"Almost all of those NASA disasters..."
ReplyDeleteVanguard was a Navy project. NASA didn't exist yet when the first one blew up on the pad.