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What was different about the Apollo missions that they were so overwhelmingly successful, but similar efforts fail today?
by spaceman_2020 4y ago
What was different about the Apollo missions that they were so overwhelmingly successful, but similar efforts fail today?
- azlev 4y agoTotal Apollo workforce: 400,000. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190617-apollo-in-50-numbers-the-workers https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190617-apollo-in-50-num...
- cubefox 4y agoThe most important difference is probably the budget.
- T-A 4y agoAn unwelcoming view glared at Armstrong. Where the orbital maps indicated a smooth plain, there was instead a vast crater field and collections of truck-sized boulders. Flying manually and low on fuel, Armstrong leveled off and searched for a smooth spot. https://www.space.com/26593-apollo-11-moon-landing-scariest-moments.html https://www.space.com/26593-apollo-11-moon-landing-scariest-...
- 4rt 4y agoI scrolled down far enough to find something mentioning this, dozens of comments above just saying that robot landers must work better just because.
- aflag 4y agoThe budget, for one. It was 2-3% of the GDP at the time. These commercial efforts have nothing remotely close to that. Also failure was seen as a bigger deal for all involved (due to the soviet threat). So, they'd rather waterfall the hell out of that program rather than fail and do things iteratively. I'm sure these commercial projects will eventually succeed. But it takes time.
- spaceman_2020 4y agoWow, 2-3% of the GDP is massive. I didn’t realize it was such a well-funded effort.
- williamDafoe 4y agoI am wondering if 2-3% of GDP is accurate? 2-3% of GDP was spent on 0.2% of the population ... Really?
- pseg134 4y agoWhy do you express the budget as a percentage of GDP instead of inflation adjusted dollars?
- aflag 4y agoTo better represent how big of an effort it was. A non-trivial part of the economy was dedicated to get that project working. I think that is a better representation of the effort.
- xeromal 4y agoOnce numbers are sufficiently large, most humans fail to grasp the amount. Most people can grok a percentage though.
- m4rtink 4y agoCouple dozen Ranger and Surveyor probe craters to get the landing technology right.