My Favoutite Book

"Failure Is Not An Option"

by Gene Kranz

 

The autobiography of former mission control boss, Gene Kranz, is my favourite book. Mr. Kranz is the man portrayed by Ed Harris in the film "Apollo 13."

Having grown up in the sixties and seventies, the space programme was part of my childhood. Space travel has always held a fascination for me and as a boy I watched as man and machine fought to survive in the most dangerous and inhospitable environment. During my childhood, the space race, as it was known, was at its height. My bedroom walls had rock stars on one wall and astronauts and spacecraft on the others. The two protagonists in the space race, the Soviet Union and the Americans, battled to be first to put a man on the moon. Technology was pushed to the limit as were the men of the space programme and the technicians back at mission control. One of these controllers was Gene Kranz, who was Flight Director on the Apollo programme which would ultimately land Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the moon. Subsequent missions landed a total of twelve men, each crew exploring the moon's surface further, including the use of a small "Lunar Rover" to cover longer excursions.

This was a wonderful adventure that almost turned sour as a near fatal disaster befell Apollo 13. The now famous words "Houston we have a problem," announced to the world that Apollo 13 was in big trouble. An explosion in the Service Module, located behind the small capsule carrying the astronauts, crippled the small craft. Mission control guided the stricken crew back to Earth and many believe this was NASA's finest hour. The Flight Director on Apollo 13 was Gene Kranz, a crew cut, all American, no nonsense man. It took several days to get the astronauts back to Earth and the world held its breath as people prayed that all would be well. Against all the odds the men survived using skill, courage and make-shift devices cobbled together from various bits and pieces from the capsule's contents.

 

Mission controllers cheer as Apollo 13 safely splashes down. Gene Kranz is second from the left.

 

Gene Kranz wept with joy as the astronauts splashed down in the Pacific and the whole world cheered with relief. The Apollo 13 crew, Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and Jack Swigert, did indeed owe a lot to Gene Kranz and his men in mission control. Without them the crew would have been lost. The spirit with which they overcame problem after problem was indeed a most amazing story. Gene Kranz's story is equally inspiring and wonderfully told in his own words in the book "Failure Is Not An Option." Its message is that one should never give up, no matter how impossible life seems and no matter what the odds.

This is truly a remarkable story about a truly remarkable man.

List of Astronauts