OBA Annual Meeting 2009

In 1970 space mission Apollo 13 was to be the third manned flight to land on the moon, but electrical problems two days after liftoff forced the lunar landing to be aborted. The loss of both oxygen tanks and electrical power in the main spacecraft made the return of the three astronauts in the lunar module a risk-filled challenge watched around the world.  Luncheon keynote speaker Gene Kranz was the leader of NASA’s flight directors who guided the crippled spacecraft safely back to Earth. "Failure is Not an Option," the motto that carried him through the Apollo 13 crisis, will be the theme of his presentation. Mr. Kranz will share stories of his NASA mission teams in which many of the flight directors were young engineers and scientists with little work experience -- but their abundant energy and will to succeed made history. This was the story that inspired the movie.