In technology, failures were the stepping stones for all success.The thousands of prototypes Edison built for the electric bulb to NASA building its lunar module where the engineering philosophy was “There are no random anomalies”. In this Fast Company article Charles Fishman writes about two such amongst 1400 documented failures during development – one related to the the iconic triangle windows shattering and the high pressure helium tank bursting. The second was one of the solved puzzles while the first with the window glass, remains part of 22 that were never solved.
Just so you know how tedious the process is in developing a craft that will not kill the astronauts – or us for that matter when we go for space trips in the next decade – and that it takes one obsessed engineer to go after and find the cause of failure to fix it for good – you need to read this article.
Thoroughly enjoyable read. Sort of opens ones mind to the numerous back stories of vital and all pervasive technologies that we will never figure out.
Where I learnt this # 270
How the space program created a culture of learning from failure
