Technology invades the modern world

Chapter 73 What James Webb Wants to Do

"Professor Lin, you are finally here."

When James Webb at the Redstone Base saw Lin Ran, he first gave him a hug with a very enthusiastic attitude.

There's no way around it.

He was appointed as the director of NASA half a month earlier than Lin Ran. Obviously, in this place where PhDs are everywhere and masters are worse than dogs, it is difficult for him, a former lawyer, to quickly take control of the situation.

The goal given to them by this White House was to complete a manned moon landing during Kennedy's term.

Kennedy had not yet announced the moon landing plan, but everyone in the White House and NASA was well aware of this, and it was their most important mission.

It is difficult for NASA today to give everyone this kind of confidence. Not to mention the outside world, even people within NASA doubt whether they can do it.

"Sir, that's right. I thought Mr. Johnson would give me some time, but he kicked me from Washington DC to Alabama with just one order." Lin Ran joked.

James Webb explained: "That's Johnson's style, simple and direct.

You just get used to it.”

Then he pulled out a stack of documents from the drawer of his oak desk and handed it to Lin Ran:

"Professor Lin, this is NASA's important work this year.

This includes the first space flight in two months. If all goes well, there will be a second suborbital flight in July.

In addition, there are plans to launch the Ranger program this year to send a probe to the moon to take photos.

This is NASA's plan, and the pile of materials below is what I want to do.

Because NASA was only established three years ago, it is more like a loose alliance of multiple research institutions than an institution. It includes Langley, Lewis, Goddard and other research centers. It lacks a unified direction and is extremely loose in management.

I have a rough idea of ​​a plan to restructure the entire NASA.

Finally, our current annual budget is $5 million, which is far from enough. I think this budget must be increased to at least $10 billion before we can complete a manned lunar landing in the late 60s.

That's my rough idea. After you've read it, I hope you can give me a reply as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to your suggestions."

James Webb knew the scope of Lin Ran's authority, and he didn't mind giving the great mathematician a chance if he could really demonstrate his full abilities.

He is responsible for management, and the other party is responsible for research control.

Even if Lin Ran did not exist, James Webb would have given Deputy Director Hugh Dryden similar authority in the original time and space, allowing him to make decisions together with him.

Now that Lin Ran is here, James Webb wants to see what Lin Ran is capable of and whether he can shoulder this important task.

After Lin Ran took the stack of materials from the other party, he nodded and said, "Okay, I will give you an answer as soon as possible."

What followed was a half-month period of silence. During this half-month period, Lin Ran did not take any action except to learn in detail about NASA's upcoming subspace orbital flight.

Of course, Lin Ran has been pulling James Webber along for the past half month instead of going it alone.

"Mr. Weber, I need you to be with me for the next two weeks. I have a general idea, but you have to testify that it's not me who's behind this."

Lin Ran insisted on dragging James Webber along, even though the other party felt that his work was overwhelmed and a mess, and there was too much work to deal with.

James Webb wanted to reform NASA and restructure it from the ground up. Faced with Lin Ran's request, he was confused: "What do you want me to do?"

Lin Ran explained: "Our first manned space mission will begin in May. The Freedom 5 space capsule was transported to Cape Canaveral on December 7th of last year. It will be used as the spacecraft for this manned space mission.

The earliest planned launch date for this project was December of last year, which was the first time it was transported to Cape Canaveral.

Later they discovered that there were still problems with the reaction control system, so it was postponed to March 3, five days later.

However, due to a minor problem with the launch device, its launch has to be postponed and simulation tests and equipment debugging need to be carried out again.

The current schedule is May 5nd, and the reinstallation of the reaction control system is just five days away. I need you to accompany me to see with your own eyes how they do it.

I have some inspirations that I need to see in person.

I also have to prove that the failure of this plan has nothing to do with me and it was not my doing.

Therefore, you must participate in the entire process, and it would be best if the White House sends a trustworthy person to participate in the entire process."

James Webb perked up: "Are you suggesting that this manned space program will fail?"

America simply couldn't afford to fail.

The Soviet Union had already sent Gagarin into space. If they failed again, not only would the newspapers in the opposing camp sneer at them, but American newspapers would also sneer at them.

James Webb came to NASA to make NASA great, not to become a joke again.

Lin Ran explained: "Hasn't NASA experienced enough failures in the past five years?

I even counted the number of NASA's failures at the hearing. I can't even count them on one hand.

Including this manned space flight, hasn’t there been two problems, causing it to be postponed twice from the original October to May this year?

Is it strange that problems arise again?

"Sir, you have to treat this as if problems at NASA are normal and nothing is a rare occurrence."

James Webb was speechless, because what Lin Ran said was indeed true.

He had been working at NASA for over a month and had read countless internal files that mentioned failure.

It is precisely because he has seen so many failures that he wants to adjust the organizational structure.

Lin Ran continued, “Opportunities are often hidden in difficulties.

I vaguely feel that this might be a great opportunity to reverse NASA's image in the public's mind.

It will not only reshape NASA's image in the public's mind, but also make our reorganization of NASA's organizational structure smoother."

After listening to this, James Webb said, "Professor Lin, tell me what you want to do. I will fully cooperate with you."

"Let's go to Cape Canaveral together to witness the reinstallation of the Freedom 7 space capsule's reaction control system."

Lin Ran was well aware that during Alan Shepard's first manned space flight aboard Freedom 7, a critical control system failure occurred. The automatic attitude control system failed to correct the spacecraft's roll, forcing Shepard to intervene manually to stabilize the spacecraft.

This failure is an opportunity for Lin Ran, a great opportunity to further seize the right to speak and influence.

(End of this chapter)