A Mission in Control

The “Missile Gap” started in the year 1960, hazing through the presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy. The Soviet Union had a minimum of 500 ballistic missiles waiting to set-off, while America, with its post-war fervor had only about seventy. Although a superpower to the world, and the face of war, the United States was faced with a challenge, in the exploration of a world outside our own. The sixties were “Lost in Space” and set with the backdrop of the solar system.

The “space race” became a competition of politics, and a breeding-ground for political fascination. We pushed to blast-off into a world unknown, leaving behind a small blue planet.

But, the place of Earth we left behind is here again, and now we are back in reach. Mission control, also known as “ground control”, of the infamous Apollo 11 mission has been faithfully restored to its retro glory, as it was left powerless, dark, and ignored for the past fifty years. Leaving behind duct-taped carpet, and exposed wires from walls, now entering its chambers in JOHNSON SPACE CENTER in Houston, is more like a time machine than a rocket ship. As National Public Radio (NPR) reported on June 30th, 2019, each layer of paint was delicately removed, to leave its authentic 1969 coating. Every detail of wall, of ceiling, of floor, and of finish was lovingly matched to the original intent. Even the fixtures of coffee pots, books, and office supplies were added for legitimacy, similar to a “total art style”, in which the architecture embraces the interior design, and even decorative arts. Every detail has been carefully placed to recall a memory, and to inspire a future, now bringing it to a prolific historic remembrance.

As with all restoration, Mission Control for the NASA Apollo missions is a rekindled place, reminding us of our connection to the built environment. We have the film to show us what Apollo 11 felt like, in documentaries and in blockbuster movies. We have prolific music, from then and now, to vibe us in a sensational mood, but place, a physical environment ties us. For the first time in about fifty years, one is able to feel and see the original controls with their still complex screens. The room will forever hold the nerves of many, the smell of apparent cigarettes as their smell still lingers in the air. Time has gone by, but now this place will stand still, to house some some sort of destiny for what American science and technology can bring us, as we continue to seek a generation of algorithmic thinkers.

In the long run, a place is the only thing humanity has ever had. There was no history before it, and there has only been history since. Although we flew to moon and landed safety back, we congratulate our restored control room, bringing us to a time we feel but do not know.

Thank you for the safe return home, and as 80 year-old NASA Flight Director, GENE KRANZ, said,