Project Apollo, opinion question, Steve Bales or John Aaron?

Question

I would like to get some opinions about which of these two mission controllers had a tougher call/decision to make.

Who do you think made a braver/more difficult call? Steve Bales on Apollo 11 or John Aaron on Apollo 12? If you have a strong opinion, please outline your thought process or give me the reasons behind your choice.

Obviously there is no real right or wrong answer as this is truly an opinion question, but I thank you in advance for your thoughts and input.

Answer 1

Overall in the Apollo 11 incident, Bales had a relatively minor role. The computer error code was indicated, but it was Jack Garman who advised Bales that the code was minor and could be ignored. But even Garman himself gave credit to Gene Kranz. Months before, Kranz asked that every single possible computer alarm that could occur, and the correct reaction to those alarms be written down. Garman made a handwritten list, which he kept under the glass of his desk. So when the "1201" and "1202" alarms (signifying an executive overflow) popped up, he had the answer right there. Granted it was Bales making the final go/no go decision at a very critical time during decent, but in the overall scheme of things, not a major player.

The incident during the launch of Apollo12 though was pretty wild. The spacecraft is struck by lightning shortly after liftoff, causing a power surge. Instruments begin to malfunction, communications drop, and telemetry data is messed up. Aaron happens to remember a test over a year before with similar malfunctions, so he asks for the Signal Conditioning Electronics (S.C.E.) system to be set to auxiliary. Most of the mission controllers have no idea what he's talking about. Both the flight director and the CapCom ask him to repeat the recommendation. Pete Conrad's response to the order is, "What the hell is that?" Luckily Alan Bean found the switch and flipped it. Telemetry is immediately restored, allowing the mission to continue.

Both incidents were definately stressful, but Aaron's singlehanded contibution of remebering the functions of an obscure system while under pressure gets my nod.

Answer 2

Hi. My opinion would be the quick thinking of John Aaron. The flight would have been lost otherwise. Steve Bales has experts to advise him.