Gene Krantz Failure Equation

Ryan Sen

Prof. Charles McCoy

HIST-1302 6013

27 April 2017

Reading Review #2: Failure Is Not an Option by Gene Krantz

Few moments in American history have captivated the imagination and awe of the American public such as the lunar landing achieved by NASA back in 1969, signifying that they had finally beat the Soviets in what was later called “the space race.” In particular, Gene Kranz stands out as a notably important witness to such a monumental event, having been a former mission controller responsible for directing the flight which eventually had put men on the moon. As a matter of course, in his book, Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond, Kranz mainly argues that the space race with the Soviets

In the beginning, Kranz describes the situation where the Soviets actually had started out on top and the Americans were trailing them by a significant degree, as the Soviets were the first to get artificial satellites and even people into outer space (Kranz 13, 15-16, 36-38, 46-47). For one thing, since the Soviet Union had a centrally planned economy, it therefore permitted them to possess an initial edge over the Americans in terms of governmental priorities and funding towards the Soviets’ space program. Furthermore, even though the Soviets essentially employed less advanced technology than did the Americans later in the “space race,” they could more easily bear the cost of undertaking such risky endeavors due to having a totalitarian regime which heavily suppressed dissent. Even so, in spite of these initial shortcoming on the part of the Americans, he notes that the Americans’ determination to outcompete the Soviets had only increased, especially when it came to being the first to land a man on the moon (Kranz 56-57, 78, 82, 92-93). Although the Soviets had managed to put live humans into space well before the Americans even attempted to do so, it inevitably only caused the Americans to become only more committed to their seemingly untenable goal of putting men on the moon before them. Moreover, the Americans had already figured by that point that much

utterly consumed in trying the win the “space race” against the U.S.S.R., ensuing changes in the space program during the course of the twentieth century, and much of American society wholeheartedly rejoicing after having finally “won” the “race,” Kranz’s experience working at NASA during this period led him to become a valuable eyewitness to one of the most pivotal moments in modern American history. As such, via pushing himself to do his role in fighting the Soviets in the “space race” in order to land a man on the moon first, rethinking his perspective of the space program after numerous initial setbacks, and celebrating with the rest of America their victory over the Soviets, Kranz positions himself as one of the most authoritative and most enduring authors to write on the subject of the moon landing. Throughout his book, Kranz consistently hammers one basic, yet rather substantial idea home: that in spite of all the early letdowns, the sheer perseverance of NASA to try as best as they could to outdo the Soviets was what ultimately allowed them to succeed in the