Procrustes Stretched
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NASA - Appolo 11 - Science and Tecnology - Scientific Consensus
NASA really does rely on a scientific consensus. It is often more than just a simple belief, it is a strong belief backed up by -- the overwhelming scientific evidence available. Sometimes we must go with the scientific consensus or be held back. Imagine if NASA didn't go with the scientific consensus back in 1969?
Yet at the time, worries that the mission would end in disaster consumed nearly all of those involved in the programme - despite their apparent calm. And no one was more stressed than Collins, it appears.
In his case, the astronaut was obsessed with the reliability of the ascent engine of Armstrong and Aldrin's lander, Eagle. It had never been fired on the Moon's surface before and many astronauts had serious doubts about its reliability. Should the engine fail to ignite, Armstrong and Aldrin would be stranded on the Moon - where they would die when their oxygen ran out. Or if it failed to burn for at least seven minutes, then the two astronauts would either crash back on to the Moon or be stranded in low orbit around it, beyond the reach of Collins in his mothership, Columbia.
How Michael Collins became the forgotten astronaut of Apollo 11 Science The Guardian
NASA really does rely on a scientific consensus. It is often more than just a simple belief, it is a strong belief backed up by -- the overwhelming scientific evidence available. Sometimes we must go with the scientific consensus or be held back. Imagine if NASA didn't go with the scientific consensus back in 1969?
Yet at the time, worries that the mission would end in disaster consumed nearly all of those involved in the programme - despite their apparent calm. And no one was more stressed than Collins, it appears.
In his case, the astronaut was obsessed with the reliability of the ascent engine of Armstrong and Aldrin's lander, Eagle. It had never been fired on the Moon's surface before and many astronauts had serious doubts about its reliability. Should the engine fail to ignite, Armstrong and Aldrin would be stranded on the Moon - where they would die when their oxygen ran out. Or if it failed to burn for at least seven minutes, then the two astronauts would either crash back on to the Moon or be stranded in low orbit around it, beyond the reach of Collins in his mothership, Columbia.
How Michael Collins became the forgotten astronaut of Apollo 11 Science The Guardian