A race between two superpowers locked in mutual distrust. The age of technology had begun. Man made a small jump from his home to a new world. I am of course talking about man landing on the moon.
Consider this impressiveness of this feat. Computers were the size of your living room. Communications technology had not yet spawned cell phones or GPS. The precursor networks to the internet were about to be created. No email. No computer aided design stations. No Excel spreadsheets to calculate numbers. Radar had just been invented 29 yrs previous. Air flight was only 66 years old.
What drove it was determined men and women. Astronauts who had the cojones to climb on top of a skyscraper filled with liquid explosive and trust the designers and craftsmen had done their job right. Each rocket was designed with drafting boards and t squares. Calculations were performed with slide rules. No battery powered lithium tools. Each space vehicle was hand crafted, tested and retested until it exceeded the spec.
This point in time was the nexus of our world, politically, spiritually, technologically. It drove the optimism of the USA. We were first. At the time, it was all about chest thumping and propaganda for the cold war. Now looking back, think of the dividends that this effort has paid. Most of our modern technology has roots in the race to the moon. What a boon for all mankind.
My hat is off to anyone that contributed in this effort. It was an amazing feat and will continue to be unequaled until we strike out for Mars. What would the effect from that trip be?
No comments:
Post a Comment