Space Exploration: Real Reasons
Posted: February 27, 2007 11:40 pmFiled under: space
| These recent words from the head of NASA, are well worth your time. Please read and ponder what it means to you … |
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| Comments by Michael Griffin at the Quasar Award Dinner, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership on 19 Jan 2007 “What do you have to do, how do you have to behave, to do space projects? You have to value hard work. You have to live by excellence, or die from the lack of it. You have to understand and practice both leadership and followership, and both are important. You have to build partnerships; leaders need partners and allies, as well as followers. You have to be willing to defer gratification, to spend years doing what we do, and then stand back and see if it works. We learn how to leave a legacy, because we work on things that not all of us will live to see – and we know it. And we learn about accepting the challenge of the unknown, where we might fail, and to do so not without fear or apprehension, but to master it and to control it and to go anyway.” read the full text here. |
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| Check the NASA.gov website for more information about the new Constellation fleet. Of course they have a bunch more of these neat pictures of the Ares rockets, the Orion crew vehicle, and much much more. Thanks for your $0.15 / day … /;^) |
March 1st, 2007 at 9:17 am
Alan,
Thanks for sharing this with me, I found it most compelling and moving,
even on a personal emotional level. A most learned and intuitive person
this man Michael Griffin, the space program is lucky to have him.
When I was only 6 years old I went each Saturday to the movie to watch
“Flash Gordon” as he fought the evil “Dr Ming” or to fly along with the
“Rocket Man”, then later I read all the comic books about space aliens
and space travel. While a Jr High School student I had the goal of
reading every Science Fiction book in the school library, much to the
consternation Of my teachers who wanted my attention in their class instead of reading the Thrilling adventures of space exploration. More than one time I was caught reading when I got so involved in the book I would make noises or start moving around. Ray Bradbury, Author Clark, and many others long lost from my memory, they were always there to take me away to a far off world or galaxy.
I still remember vividly the day I went to sell papers and the dreaded
Russians had launched “Sputnik”, I sold every paper they had, I could
have sold a thousand if I had them, the Type was the biggest they had
and there has never been this big a headline since. It was the beginning of the American space race with Russia and the famous speech quoted by Michael Griffin where John F Kennedy said, “We choose to go to the moon, and to do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” I’ll say it again: “not because they are easy, but because they are hard”.
I could go on about my pictures from Black and White tv on the early
Apollo Flights, or the scrap book I still have that another young boy collected as he dreamed of one day being part of the great human endeavor of putting a man on the Moon. I think I will get that book out of the bookshelf this evening and look it over, I am sure it will bring back
many memories.
I would like to share your blog with those in the club and share this
email, Is it ok to send them a copy? We can all benefit from reading and
reflecting on this timely speech, I will spend the rest of the day thinking about the Real Reasons while I paint doors and windows and make my own Monuments.
Mike
March 2nd, 2007 at 6:48 am
Excellent!
I’m sure he could easily spend his time and effort with his head down on the many important projects he has charge of, but I’m glad to know he’s got competent people doing that and he is focusing on getting us to think about these issues the right way.
I just hope the right people hear his words and do the right thing.
Dave