It does suck, and it was after 1964, so they didn't have any excuse.
OTOH, it was practical experience, in that managing all the documentation is as much a part of an engineering project as turning the bolts. You can screw a project by having the information in chaos, and inexperienced people can easily forget that need ...
I started working at Grumman in 1964. I didn't really do much in the way of organizing the blueprints - there was a "blueprint librarian". But I went into the "stacks" and retrieved requested documents, or took newly added ones and filed them in the appropriate places. And I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the diazo printing process, which required a pressurized tank of anhydrous ammonia gas.
Well, my father had already taught me a lot of practical skills, such as soldering, using power tools, and general mechanical know-how. I helped a boyfriend of mine and his buddy by making a custom wiring harness for the engine comparment of their 1957 Chevy BelAire.
It might seem like a small thing, but you still had a bigger part in assisting the moon landing effort than millions of others, and I'd still say it's something to be proud of.
I mean, the closest I ever got was helping a sixth-grade science teacher throw a styrofoam plane model off the classroom roof. :)
ANd if you read my next post, you'll see that I did get into space, in a way!
All the Lunar Modules but two got left behind on the Moon after they were used. The one that saved Apollo 13 got sent into an orbit where it would burn up in the Earth's atmosphere, because they didn't want it to crash on land or water, because it contained a radioactive power source. And there was one other Lunar Module that didn't quite land on the Moon. They were "practicing" for the landing, and they didn't quite set it down on the surface. Eventually they put it into an orbit around the Sun, roughly parallel with the Earth's orbit.
Now, I happen to have touched that Module while it was at the Grumman factory. So there's a trace of my DNA out there in orbit - I achieved my lifelong ambition to go into space!
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Although, it kind of sucks that they stuck you with clerical work instead of actually getting practical experience!
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OTOH, it was practical experience, in that managing all the documentation is as much a part of an engineering project as turning the bolts. You can screw a project by having the information in chaos, and inexperienced people can easily forget that need ...
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I mean, the closest I ever got was helping a sixth-grade science teacher throw a styrofoam plane model off the classroom roof. :)
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All the Lunar Modules but two got left behind on the Moon after they were used. The one that saved Apollo 13 got sent into an orbit where it would burn up in the Earth's atmosphere, because they didn't want it to crash on land or water, because it contained a radioactive power source. And there was one other Lunar Module that didn't quite land on the Moon. They were "practicing" for the landing, and they didn't quite set it down on the surface. Eventually they put it into an orbit around the Sun, roughly parallel with the Earth's orbit.
Now, I happen to have touched that Module while it was at the Grumman factory. So there's a trace of my DNA out there in orbit - I achieved my lifelong ambition to go into space!
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