I remember watching the movie October Sky about Astronaut Homer Hickam. It is exciting to watch a rocket launch. There is a thunderous sound when the rocket ignites and begins to move upward. There is also so much power and acceleration after the initial explosion! We are warned not to be too close in case anything should go wrong and the rocket veers off course or explodes. For this reason we have to keep a safe distance.
As you watch the rocket ascend into space, you may wonder, “How do they start the rocket launch?” It’s not done with a match, but with a remote control. In the early days of our American rocket program, our rockets were very simple. A huge pipe was filled with a fuel and ignited by a heavy battery. But how did the battery know when to send the spark to start the rocket? A transmitting device would send the “go” signal to the battery, which would start the rocket with a big spark. When the button was pressed, the first stage of the rocket was launched high into the air. Then a second button was pushed to ignite the second stage of the rocket to carry it further upwards.
On the day of our launch, everyone was ready. The first button was pushed and a huge spark ignited the first stage and the rocket lifted off. Everyone was thrilled. After several seconds, the second button was pressed to ignite the second stage. Unfortunately nothing happened and since the second stage did not ignite, the rocket stalled and began to fall back toward the ground. Since the rocket only used half of its fuel payload, it exploded upon impact and was destroyed when it hit the ground. What happened? Was it the rocket? Was it the fuel? No, it was a problem with the transmitter, which did not send the signal because its small battery had quit working. Imagine this huge rocket was destroyed because a tiny battery failed to work.
Our lodge is dependent on every little part to function correctly at each one of our events. We rely on every member, no matter how new or young, to participate to make our program a success. Each one of us is important to the welfare of our lodge. Thank you for what you do to make our lodge successful.