[archiver]

Posted by ChrisH at 03/13/2001 12:48 PM EST


Engineer on team #330, Beach 'Bots, from Hope Chapel Academy and NASA JPL, J & F Machine, Raytheon, et al.


In Reply to: Actually, I disagree
Posted by s_alaniz on 03/13/2001 11:45 AM EST:




: I'd also like to think we're preparing the kids for
: an Apollo 13 situation where you must solve a problem
: with limited resourses.

I think you're refering to the scene where a guy comes into a meeting and says something to the effect of "We need to hook this square filter up to this round dohickey and this is what you've got to work with" Whereupon he pours a bag of what looks like office supplies on the table.

I have it on reliable authority that that scene or something very like it actually occured and is not just a Hollywood creation. One of my co-workers was on the LEM program at Grumman at the time. While he wasn't actually in the meeting, the occurance was common knowledge in the plant at the time and he knew the people involved.

It was a remarkable performance under pressure. Especially since they had to talk the astronauts through the proceedure they came up with without any visual aids. (No video uplink) So it wasn't only "insert Tab A in Slot B". But "make Tab A like this, then make Slot B here, now insert A into B".

Of course when lives are at stake, especially yours, it does wonderful things for your concentration.

During the team party at San Jose regional the year we played with floppies they showed "Apollo 13". My wife who was there for the whole competition as a spectator thought it was a very appropriate choice.

Christopher H Husmann, PE
Team 330 the Beach'Bots
and Northrop-Grumman employee