This week the space shuttle Discovery docked with the International Space Station for the very last time. This heralds the end of an era… but how did it start?
Although the Space Race can trace its origins to the 1930s it was in 1961 that US President John F Kennedy presented his vision to a joint session of congress:
"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth."
It was about a week after Russia had sent Gagarin into orbit that he sent a memo to Vice President Lyndon B Johnson, asking him to look into the state of America's space programme, and into programmes which could offer NASA the opportunity to catch up. Johnson replied that the United States needed to do much more to reach a position of leadership, concluding that a piloted moon landing was so far in the future it was likely that the United States could achieve it first.
This bold vision brought many changes, not least the technological advances that trickled into everyday life and the brand new perspective of seeing the Earth from the Moon for the first time – a fragile blue pearl in the blackness of space – which facilitated the environmental movement. There was also a progression from competition to collaboration – with the USA and Russia combining resources to create the International Space Station.
As a leader what is your bold vision for the future? How will you make it happen? What could be the side benefits of striving for your vision? How can you turn competition into collaboration for the benefit of all?
Dave Crisp, Coach & Facilitator, 2011
Comments