I admit it. I'm a space buff.
As a kid growing up in the 60's, I wanted to be an astronaut. I watched every moon shot and lunar landing, even when it took place at 3 a.m. I even remember exactly where I was -- pulling into the A&W Root Beer stand in Mosinee, Wisconsin -- when Apollo 11 landed on the moon with those famous words: "Houston. Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."
So it was with great excitement that I watched A&E's presentation of 'Failure Is Not An Option', which provides an historical account of Mission Control from Mercury program through Apollo program. We have glorified our astronauts, and rightfully so. But there were heros on the ground as well: young men in there early 20s who worked 16 hour days, six days a week to make President Kennedy's challenge of putting a man on the moon before the end of the decade a reality. As mission controllers, these same young men also made on-the-fly life-or-death decisions during the Apollo 11, 12 and 13 missions.
'Failure Is Not An Option' gave me a sense of the grit and hard work required to enjoy the wonders of the moon and the joy of witnessing the earthrise for the first time.
I highly recommend 'Failure Is Not An Option'. If you are not able to catch the program on the History Channel, you can order 'Failure Is Not An Option' DVD with companion book from the A&E / History Channel web site.
-Tim
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