Steve Bales
Encyclopedia
Steve Bales is a former NASA
engineer and flight controller
. He is best known for his role during the Apollo 11
lunar landing.
, and grew up in the nearby town of Fremont
. His father was a school janitor and his mother was a beautician. From a young age he had an interest in space and at the age of thirteen he was deeply affected by a Wonderful World of Disney
television show that discussed the future of space travel. "This show," he said later, "probably more than anything else, influenced me to study aerospace engineering. And this wasn't the ordinary thing to do for a boy raised in a small Iowa farming community."
He graduated from Iowa State University
with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering and was hired by NASA in December, 1964.
responsible for determining the location of the spacecraft in space and monitoring the guidance systems
on board. He was a backup controller for Gemini 3
and Gemini 4
but worked his first mission as a flight controller
on Gemini 10
when he was still only twenty-three.
lunar landing when he had the responsibility of dealing with several problems that could have ended the mission. While monitoring the lunar module's position and velocity he came close to calling an abort when it became clear a navigational error had occurred. The spacecraft was moving at 20 feet per second (6 m/s) faster than it should have been and was halfway to its abort limits. However Bales continued to watch the data and the situation remained stable.
The last few minutes of the landing were punctuated by program alarms from the guidance computer
. These alarms signalled an "executive overflow" which meant the computer might not be keeping up with its computing tasks. Bales had to very quickly determine whether or not this was serious. If high-priority computing tasks were indeed not being completed, as guidance officer he would have to call for an abort of the lunar landing. After several seconds had passed he informed flight director Gene Kranz
that the landing could continue despite the alarms.
While Bales is sometimes credited with having made the decision on his own, like all flight controllers he was supported by a team of "backroom" engineers. Twenty-four-year-old computer specialist Jack Garman
first recognized the meaning of the alarm and determined the situation was acceptable. As Bales said later, "Quite frankly, Jack, who had these things memorized said, 'that's okay', before I could even remember which group it was in". The final decision of whether to call an abort (or in JSC jargon, "no go on the alarms") lay wholly with Bales as guidance officer, along with the responsibility if anything went wrong.
Bales' decision as GUIDO to go ahead with the landing was appropriate and Apollo 11
landed safely. When President Richard Nixon
awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
to the three Apollo 11 astronauts, Steve Bales was also honored by being chosen to accept a NASA Group Achievement Award on behalf of the entire mission operations team. Nixon said at the time, "This is the young man, when the computers seemed to be confused and when he could have said Stop, or when he could have said Wait, said, Go."
in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. He was also interviewed in the History Channel documentary Failure Is Not an Option and the NOVA
documentary To the Moon.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
engineer and flight controller
Flight controller
Flight controllers are personnel who aid in the operations of a space flight, working in Mission Control Centers such as NASA's Mission Control Center, or ESA's Operations Center. Flight controllers sit at computer consoles and use telemetry to monitor in real time various technical aspects of a...
. He is best known for his role during the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
lunar landing.
Early life
Bales was born in Ottumwa, IowaOttumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River....
, and grew up in the nearby town of Fremont
Fremont, Iowa
Fremont is a city in Mahaska County, Iowa, United States. The population was 704 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Fremont is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
. His father was a school janitor and his mother was a beautician. From a young age he had an interest in space and at the age of thirteen he was deeply affected by a Wonderful World of Disney
Disney anthology television series
The Walt Disney anthology television series refers to a television series which has been produced by the Walt Disney Company under several different titles from 1955 to 2008...
television show that discussed the future of space travel. "This show," he said later, "probably more than anything else, influenced me to study aerospace engineering. And this wasn't the ordinary thing to do for a boy raised in a small Iowa farming community."
He graduated from Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering and was hired by NASA in December, 1964.
NASA career
At NASA he was assigned to work in the Flight Dynamics branch as a guidance officer, a flight controllerFlight controller
Flight controllers are personnel who aid in the operations of a space flight, working in Mission Control Centers such as NASA's Mission Control Center, or ESA's Operations Center. Flight controllers sit at computer consoles and use telemetry to monitor in real time various technical aspects of a...
responsible for determining the location of the spacecraft in space and monitoring the guidance systems
Apollo PGNCS
The Apollo Primary Guidance, Navigation and Control System was a self-contained inertial guidance system that allowed Apollo spacecraft to carry out their missions when communications with Earth were interrupted, either as expected, when the spacecraft were behind the moon, or in case of a...
on board. He was a backup controller for Gemini 3
Gemini 3
Gemini 3 was the first manned mission in NASA's Gemini program, the second American manned space program. On March 23, 1965, the spacecraft, nicknamed The Molly Brown, performed the seventh manned US spaceflight, and the 17th manned spaceflight overall...
and Gemini 4
Gemini 4
Gemini 4 was the second manned space flight in NASA's Project Gemini, occurring in June 1965. It was the tenth manned American spaceflight . Astronauts James McDivitt and Edward H. White, II circled the Earth 66 times in four days, making it the first US flight to approach the five-day flight of...
but worked his first mission as a flight controller
Flight controller
Flight controllers are personnel who aid in the operations of a space flight, working in Mission Control Centers such as NASA's Mission Control Center, or ESA's Operations Center. Flight controllers sit at computer consoles and use telemetry to monitor in real time various technical aspects of a...
on Gemini 10
Gemini 10
-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 28.87°*Period: 88.79 min-Docking:*Docked: July 19, 1966 - 04:15:00 UTC*Undocked: July 20, 1966 - 19:00:00 UTC-Space walk:...
when he was still only twenty-three.
Apollo 11
Steve Bales is best known for having been guidance officer (or GUIDO) during the Apollo 11Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
lunar landing when he had the responsibility of dealing with several problems that could have ended the mission. While monitoring the lunar module's position and velocity he came close to calling an abort when it became clear a navigational error had occurred. The spacecraft was moving at 20 feet per second (6 m/s) faster than it should have been and was halfway to its abort limits. However Bales continued to watch the data and the situation remained stable.
The last few minutes of the landing were punctuated by program alarms from the guidance computer
Apollo Guidance Computer
The Apollo Guidance Computer provided onboard computation and control for guidance, navigation, and control of the Command Module and Lunar Module spacecraft of the Apollo program...
. These alarms signalled an "executive overflow" which meant the computer might not be keeping up with its computing tasks. Bales had to very quickly determine whether or not this was serious. If high-priority computing tasks were indeed not being completed, as guidance officer he would have to call for an abort of the lunar landing. After several seconds had passed he informed flight director Gene Kranz
Gene Kranz
Kranz's book, titled Failure Is Not an Option, published five years after the movie, stated, "...a creed that we all lived by: "Failure is not an option."" . The book has three index references for the phrase, but none of those give any indication of the phrase being apocryphal...
that the landing could continue despite the alarms.
While Bales is sometimes credited with having made the decision on his own, like all flight controllers he was supported by a team of "backroom" engineers. Twenty-four-year-old computer specialist Jack Garman
Jack Garman
John R. "Jack" Garman is a computer engineer, former senior NASA executive and a noted key figure of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. As a young specialist on duty during the final descent stage on 20 July 1969 he dealt with a series of computer alarms which could have caused the mission to be...
first recognized the meaning of the alarm and determined the situation was acceptable. As Bales said later, "Quite frankly, Jack, who had these things memorized said, 'that's okay', before I could even remember which group it was in". The final decision of whether to call an abort (or in JSC jargon, "no go on the alarms") lay wholly with Bales as guidance officer, along with the responsibility if anything went wrong.
Bales' decision as GUIDO to go ahead with the landing was appropriate and Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
landed safely. When President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
to the three Apollo 11 astronauts, Steve Bales was also honored by being chosen to accept a NASA Group Achievement Award on behalf of the entire mission operations team. Nixon said at the time, "This is the young man, when the computers seemed to be confused and when he could have said Stop, or when he could have said Wait, said, Go."
Later career
Bales had a long subsequent career at NASA and eventually became Deputy Director of Operations at Johnson Space Center. In 1996 he left the space agency and took a position at Amspec Chemical in New Jersey.In films
Bales was played by Andy MilderAndy Milder
Andy Milder is an American actor and voice actor. He has appeared in such films as Apollo 13, Armageddon, Rumor Has It…, Frost/Nixon, Transformers and Domino...
in the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon. He was also interviewed in the History Channel documentary Failure Is Not an Option and the NOVA
NOVA (TV series)
Nova is a popular science television series from the U.S. produced by WGBH Boston. It can be seen on the Public Broadcasting Service in the United States, and in more than 100 other countries...
documentary To the Moon.