We could talk forever about stories and their purpose, but I'll leave
that conversation for another day. Thanks for laying out the facts as you've heard them. I remember watching that launch on TV and remember distinctly that the
announcer said that the paint guys (or paint guy in charge) told them to save the paint in order to save weight. That is enough fact to make the story useful, if not totally true. Paint guys told NASA scientists
something that saved the launch.

Even if the facts are iffy, it's a good concept. The story reminds us to not underestimate or disregard non-expert ideas, and that asking a crowd for ideas is sometimes appropriate. Social media mavens will brag about the “democratization” of ideas. They would use the derogatory term “Gatekeepers” to describe experts in power. I'm still a big fan of expertise, though. I prefer to think of experts as leaders. Unfortunately, class systems dictate the separation of experts and crowds, and leadership skills aren't taught along with expert knowledge. Anyway… this story is loved by many who are in the social media crowds because of it's suggestion of those walls breaking down, giving regular people perhaps not expertise, but worth.

Peace!
-PurpleCar Christine Cavalier
http://www.purplecar.net/

The VAB down at KSC couldn't hold everyone who works for NASA. (And it's like, you know, one of the largest buildings in the world?)

“…the mechanic whose job it was to paint the fuel tanks white”? One little guy, right? One little guy with a couple of buckets of paint… Silly question, but, why would you hire a “mechanic” to paint something in the first place? Seriously, one little guy? I'm guessing NASA didn't employ anyone to paint those early fuel tanks. I'm guessing they were originally painted by employees of Lockheed Martin, who assembles the tanks in Louisiana. Where all the employees of Lockheed Martin called into this big assembly room too?

And exactly how many “cans of white paint” does it take to totally coat one of those things?

Nice little story and I actually remember that first launch with an unpainted tank, (They did indeed stop painting the tanks to save weight), but whomever made this one up is playing it fast and loose with the facts and with history.

Nice to see you, man. Send me an email and tell me what is up with you.

-PC

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Thanks for the thumbs up, Thursday and thanks for peeping in.

-PC