Eugene Francis Kranz (aka Gene Kranz), a former Air Force fighter pilot, and a reputed Flight Director for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has supervised many Manned and Unmanned space missions launched by the United States of America(USA). He was involved with the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions. He was the flight director for the Apollo 11 mission as well, that successfully landed the lunar module ‘Eagle’ on the surface of the moon July 20 1969. In his Autobiography titled “Failure is not an option”, published by Simon and Schuster in 2000, Kranz recollects the events and missions, both failed and successful, that led to one of mankind’s greatest accomplishments. He provides the reader with a very vivid account
…show more content…
Three years later Gene Kranz left the United States Air Force and joined NASA, an emergent department with a lot of potential and a few motivated men. Kranz then goes ahead and writes about the embarrassing “four inch flight”, one of NASA’s failed attempts back in November 1960(28). The failed Mercury-Redstone 1 was followed by a semi-successful attempt which was written off as successful because the rocket had somehow survived (34). Russia on the other hand sent Yuri Gagarin (1961) in orbit, thereby crowning him as the first human in space. Kranz admits that the American Space Task Group viewed the Russian success with both frustration and admiration (36). The author then brings to light the progress made by the American Space Program by writing about the several missions that he was personally involved with including the Gemini, Apollo 7, Apollo 9,etc. to name a few. The author also writes about one of the darkest/ coldest days for the American Space Program, January 27, 1967. The Apollo 1 mission took the lives of brave men to a really sad and horrifying end. Command Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White II, and Pilot Roger B died gruesome deaths when the cockpit went up in flames (194). The whole nation was mourning for these brave men. The author then goes ahead and talks about “The year of the Apollo” (1969), the fateful …show more content…
One of them is the fact that quite a few individuals are introduced in this book, so the names are a little hard to keep track of. This only goes ahead to prove the point that a program like this requires the skills of many people, and in a way brings to light the grandeur of the Space Program. Another aspect is the fact that the text gets a bit technical sometimes so the “Lay-man” might have some difficulty understanding the whole process involved. In the Author’s defense, Kranz does provide the reader with an extensive Index and a glossary of terms and names.
Failure is not an Option is an account by a veteran Flight director of one of the America’s major accomplishments. He provides the user with a way to experience the tense environment of a Flight Control room from the comforts of their homes. The books reflects on what led to the success of the American Space program and suggests what the nation should be doing in the field of space
Three years later Gene Kranz left the United States Air Force and joined NASA, an emergent department with a lot of potential and a few motivated men. Kranz then goes ahead and writes about the embarrassing “four inch flight”, one of NASA’s failed attempts back in November 1960(28). The failed Mercury-Redstone 1 was followed by a semi-successful attempt which was written off as successful because the rocket had somehow survived (34). Russia on the other hand sent Yuri Gagarin (1961) in orbit, thereby crowning him as the first human in space. Kranz admits that the American Space Task Group viewed the Russian success with both frustration and admiration (36). The author then brings to light the progress made by the American Space Program by writing about the several missions that he was personally involved with including the Gemini, Apollo 7, Apollo 9,etc. to name a few. The author also writes about one of the darkest/ coldest days for the American Space Program, January 27, 1967. The Apollo 1 mission took the lives of brave men to a really sad and horrifying end. Command Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White II, and Pilot Roger B died gruesome deaths when the cockpit went up in flames (194). The whole nation was mourning for these brave men. The author then goes ahead and talks about “The year of the Apollo” (1969), the fateful …show more content…
One of them is the fact that quite a few individuals are introduced in this book, so the names are a little hard to keep track of. This only goes ahead to prove the point that a program like this requires the skills of many people, and in a way brings to light the grandeur of the Space Program. Another aspect is the fact that the text gets a bit technical sometimes so the “Lay-man” might have some difficulty understanding the whole process involved. In the Author’s defense, Kranz does provide the reader with an extensive Index and a glossary of terms and names.
Failure is not an Option is an account by a veteran Flight director of one of the America’s major accomplishments. He provides the user with a way to experience the tense environment of a Flight Control room from the comforts of their homes. The books reflects on what led to the success of the American Space program and suggests what the nation should be doing in the field of space