QUALITY ASSURANCE ON THE LAUNCH PAD

By

Placide D. Nicaise

Our competition with the Soviets to develop missiles during the cold war years of the early 1960's got pretty intense. I was a young engineer working at Cape Canaveral, Florida in those days when the space race was at its peak and the Cape was the shrine of launch operations. We were under great pressure to close the so-called "missile gap" by launching one rocket after the other. Under those circumstances, things sometimes got a little crazy.

In the narrow, specialized world of the launch crew, there was little time for anything except working or thinking about work. Our lives revolved around one sequence of pre-launch tests after the other. We often worked midnight shifts or double shifts until launch day. After launch there was a frenzy to evaluate the flight data and see how the equipment had performed. Changes had to be introduced quickly before the next rocket was moved out to the pad. Any spare time was spent in modifying the test consoles, studying our drawings and improving procedures, then it was on to testing the next "bird." This constant pressure, intense dedication and very limited time for relaxation produced some unexpected emotions and behavior, not unlike battle fatigue. People began to get so wrapped up in their work that they lost contact with reality. A man's duty, or what he thought was his duty, began to take precedence over common sense. The cool professionals of the launch team would sometimes lapse into unpredictable behavior. These humorous situations broke the monotony, and gave us something different to talk about for a few days.

A team of Quality Assurance (QA) inspectors worked among the test engineers to make sure everyone was following procedure. They observed each phase of the operation and gave their stamp of approval before we could proceed. By the nature of their work, they served in a confrontational role with the test engineers. These QA men did not have the specialized knowledge of the engineers, so they usually stayed pretty much in the background, occasionally getting the engineers to explain their activities or test results. It must have been frustrating for them and sometimes they would delay a normal operation out of irritation, or an attempt to show the extent of their authority. The engineering supervisor often overruled these actions, just adding to their level of frustration of the inspectors.

During the countdown for one launch, there was an enthusiastic QA man who decided to make a point about his responsibility. The countdown had proceeded to the point where the explosive charges were being installed that would destroy the rocket in case it went out of control during flight. This operation was considered so hazardous that the entire pad was cleared except for the two technicians who installed the ordnance. It was late at night and everyone was sitting around his consoles waiting for the task to be completed so we could proceed. The test conductor initiated each procedure over the loudspeaker system that provided communications between the launch pad and our blockhouse.

"Everyone clear the pad. Ordnance men to the second level"

In a few minutes one of the ordnance men called in to the test conductor. "Test Conductor, we can't proceed out here because there is still a man on the gantry."

The test conductor got back on the loud speakers and sent a booming command out to the pad, "All unauthorized people clear the pad immediately! You are holding up the countdown."

In a minute a call came in to the blockhouse, "Test Conductor, we still have a man on the gantry."

By this time we were all beginning to perk up and listen to the little drama that was unfolding around us. The test conductor grabbed his microphone and shouted, "What in the hell is going on out there! Tell that man to get his ass off that gantry this minute!"

"He’s a QA man and he refuses to leave."

"Put him on this goddamn headset! I want to talk to him right now!"

"He won't take the headset. He doesn't want to talk. He insists that we go ahead with the installation while he is here."

"We'll see about that! I'm going to call the guards to drag his ass off that gantry, If he is not off there in fifteen seconds!"

"Test conductor, he is still here."

The test conductor switched communications to the security guard headquarters that was located a short distance from our blockhouse.

"Security, this is Frank Horner, Pershing test conductor. Send a guard to pad 30, right away. There is a man here which refuses to come off the tower."

"What do you mean? Why won't he come down?"

"Hell! I don't know and I haven't got time to find out. We are in the middle of a count. Just get somebody out here, right away."

"Sure, we'll have a guard out there in a few minutes."

By this time all the engineers were highly amused about the situation and were discussing the QA man. "He is a hardheaded bastard. I've had to work with him one time. He was completely unreasonable."

"He probably thinks he has more authority than the test conductor."

"He'll be lucky if he doesn't get fired for this."

We could hear the siren as the guard drove by the blockhouse, then on to the pad. He didn’t bother to close his car door as hurried up the gantry. In a few minutes we could see him come back down the gantry steps—alone. The guard ran back to his vehicle and got on the radio. While the guard was talking, the ordnance man called back in.

"Test conductor?"

"Yes, what the hell is going on out there now!"

"Well sir, the QA man has wrapped his arms around the structure up here and still refuses to leave."

"What happened to the guard?"

"I guess he didn't know what else to do, so he must have gone back to contact headquarters."

"God! Why has something like this got to happen on my shift! I'm going to quit this damn job and start a chicken farm."

The guard finally got off the radio and headed back for the gantry at a dead run, drawing his pistol as he went up the steps two at a time.

"Test conductor?"

"Yes."

"The QA man is going down with the guard now. We should have the ordnance installed in a few minutes."