Special to HEINUS by Samuel Zug SAN FRANCISCO The recent rendezvous in space by two unmanned Chinese spacecraft could could end up having serious repercussions for the American economy. When the probe on the Shenzhou 8 slid into the docking orifice of the Tiangong 1 module, it could be seen as the U.S. lead in technology taking it hard.
The U.S. space program provided a boost to the U.S. economy and it gave me a boost too. Let me explain. Years ago I was a young welder at the steel fabrication firm, American Erection Co., in Woodinair, NY. It was 1964 and AMECo was struggling. Then, Jane Lane, one of our marketing people, said “AMECo should get into the space business.” Lane suggested that we bypass the lengthy NASA bidding process and build our own version of the Apollo lunar lander. Company president Ernie Nazgul okayed the plan and we started welding steel. In a few weeks, we were done. We had a working lunar lander made from 1/2-inch plate, “A 242″ cor-ten steel. Nazgul himself trucked it down to NASA in Houston. Most of us thought American Erection was on the rise. We had a wild party that night and Jane and I ended up in a few docking maneuvers of our own.
That’s the kind of shot in the arm that the space program can provide for a small company. And that’s why the U.S. economy can’t let the Chinese take over space.
By the way, people have asked if I was proud to see the AMECo lunar module land on the moon. Well, NASA rejected our lander, saying 279 tons of steel was too heavy — plus, we forgot to install any hatches. NASA used a flimsy 16-ton lander built by Grumman, instead. Unfortunately, AMECo closed up shop a few weeks later. I followed Jane into the chocolatier business. But that’s another story.
(Space lab image by was טל ענבר at he.wikipedia)
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