In the beginning, the Minoans would look at the stars.
A fixed point in space. That’s all they needed to navigate across the vast open waters that swathe this sphere of ours.
Odysseus, imprisoned by that demi goddess Calypso on an island, was finally freed to return to his Penelope after seven years. As they parted, Calypso told him: keep the Bear (Ursa Major) on your left hand side and observe the position of the Pleiades. That way, she said, you’ll find your way home.
And with his fixed point in space, he sailed home to his long-lost love and a life put on hold.
That point: it works for ships on the ocean, but on occasion it has proved useful up there in the heavens.
The Apollo 13 mission has always been dubbed ‘the successful failure’. A masterclass in rising like a phoenix from adversity, the mission was part of the American Apollo Space Program, the third which was to land on the moon. Launched on April 11 1970 from the Kennedy Space Centre, the craft hit critical problems when an oxygen tank exploded, destroying much of the service tank module of the craft.
Apollo 13 would never land on the moon.
When you’re marooned in space, help is far away. Linked by radio waves, the people at Kennedy Space Centre helped the crew solve problem after problem: limited power, a freezing cabin, too much carbon dioxide and more.
They had conquered all of these, and were still a long, long way from home, when they began to consider their re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere. They were in the little lunar module – effectively a lifeboat out in space, and would attempt re-entry with no navigational equipment to speak of.
How could they possibly work out a trajectory which could save the three lives on board?
Sometimes, the answer is not complex. It is monumentally simple.
They had a small window in the module. They opted to keep the earth – a fixed point in space – in the window at all times.
The ride was crazy, but six minutes after the crew lost radio contact they had navigated their way successfully through the earth’s atmosphere and touched down successfully in the South Pacific.
When things seem complex and insurmountable, I remember that story.
There are those who will have you believe that life is a multi-layered and complex set of problems, some which simply cannot be conquered.
I believe otherwise. And the answer is as devastatingly simple as those three astronauts found it. You get your goal.
And like that blue-green sphere suspended in an intricately complex universe, you keep it in the window, dead ahead.
Kate Shrewsday 
Here’s the thing. I’d love to be in space, the emptiness, but in the end the loneliness would crush me, I think
Laurence, I hear you. Space is a long, long way away from home.
Apollo 13… One of those great films where, despite knowing the outcome, it still succeeds in holding you on the edge of your seat! Now I’ll have to pull it out of the dvd cabinet and watch it again! 🙂
Oh, Martin, it’s a classic and Gene Krantz is my total hero.Enjoy the viewing.
Ed Harris did a great job of playing Krantz in the movie – it was as I remember the original TV from the time. The movie has it so right – I almost believe I’m actually watching Krantz for real rather than someone playing him!
I know. That waistcoat. I loved Ed Harris in the part.
I never watch that movie without worrying that they won’t make it. And remarkably, they make it every time.
Apollo 13’s flight and safe return remains one of the most memorable events in my lifetime, an unforgettable example of how even seemingly impossible obstacles can be overcome.
PT, you put it beautifully.My heart is always in my mouth when they go for re-entry. The triumph of the human spirit over insurmountable odds. To me, as incredible in its own way as the first moon landing.
I love watching Apollo 13 too . . . gripping entertainment with a happy ending. Thanks for the share, Kate.
Hi Nancy, yes, it’s a corking story, for sure ! Thank you as always for taking the trouble to come over here and read.
What a lovely post, but then truth usually is; mostly. Thanks for this special post Kate
Hi Brian 😀 Still haven’t dropped you that e mail!! Thank you for reading it, friend.
As you have pointed out, a wonderful lesson in the value of keeping focus on the goal. Had Odysseus not kept that Bearing, life would have become un-Bear-able.
*Grins widely* But he bear-ed up under the strain and got home….
Bravo Kate …so well said. I will carry this story with me as a compass.
Hope , how absolutely brilliant to hear from you 🙂 Hope all is well with you. This story has been a compass for me through a fair amount of turbulence.
Wonderful, Kate. Wonderful.
I remember the real Apollo 13 – and I was riveted by the movie. We know the ending – yet still at the edge of our seats. Finding one’s fixed goal is as hard and easy as that.
That last sentence, Penny – that. For me, it is holding on and not being knocked off course. Suc a feat of physical and mental energy.