How does a spacecraft achieve and maintain lift?
Here ya go:
L = CI r V²/2 A
….Got it? Me neither.
How about now?
Lift = coefficient x (density x velocity
squared/2) x wing area
Nope. Still don’t know how to get a rocket into space.
NASA states: “Coefficient (CI) contains all the complex dependencies
and is usually determined experimentally.”
What’s my point? If you want to achieve complex, risky, difficult things you
need to experiment. If you want to lift beyond possible you need to experiment.
Experimentation means failure. Disappointment. Pain. Experimentation is costly.
But is it worth it? Well, that depends on your goal and the return on
investment.
If you work for years to become the next Minute To Win It champion and all
you get out of the deal is 5 minutes of fame and some brief satisfaction, was
it worth it?
I’m gonna guess ‘no.’
However, if you are a U.S. citizen in 1969 and you’ve been paying increased
taxes for the last decade to fund the Apollo space program, and now you are
watching the live broadcast of the lunar landing on July 20, 1969, was it worth
it?
If you are an engineer with NASA and you’ve been putting in countless hours
over the last decade to test, adjust, calculate, re-adjust, and re-test, and
now you are listening to Neil Armstrong say, “That’s one small step for
man, one giant leap for mankind,”… was it worth it?
I think so.
Lift requires vision. To get through the drudgery, the long hours, the impossible
problems; at times, the hopelessness, you must see in your mind’s eye
where you are going.
What did JFK say on May 25th, 1961? Only 20 days after NASA achieved a 15
minute manned flight into space? That the U.S. “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.”
Did the President know how to get a rocket into space? Did the President
even know how to calculate lift?
It didn’t matter. He knew that with enough brains, money, time, and
motivation, NASA could achieve this goal. He believed it.
I would love to help you set and achieve your vision for your small business
or non-profit. To help the creative minds you’ve gathered tap into their full
potential and provide the motivation to lift beyond possible. Please contact me today if you believe I
can help you go further, faster, and be more fulfilled doing it.