Failure is not an option
by Gene Kranz · first published 1999
78% recommend22% neutral
Why HN recommends it
First-hand memoir from a flight director at Mission Control, Mercury through Apollo 13, with detail on risk management, crisis problem-solving and organizing NASA. Suits space and engineering-management readers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Kranz was flight director for both Apollo 11, the mission in which Neil Armstrong fulfilled President Kennedy's pledge, and Apollo 13. He headed the Tiger Team that had to figure out how to bring the three Apollo 13 astronauts safely back to Earth. (In the film Apollo 13, Kranz was played by the actor Ed Harris, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance.)". "In Failure Is Not an Option, Gene Kranz recounts these historic events and offers new information about the famous flights. What appeared as nearly flawless missions to the Moon were, in fact, a series of hair-raising ne
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2011–2025A Man on the Moon
Andrew Chaikin
Recommended by 15 · mentioned by 1515 recommend · 15 mention15 recommend · 1515 recommend
2012–2019Flight
Christopher Kraft
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 44 recommend · 4 mention4 recommend · 44 recommend
2009–2026Moon lander
Thomas J. Kelly
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 64 recommend · 6 mention4 recommend · 64 recommend
2012–2026How Apollo Flew to the Moon
W. David Woods
Recommended by 10 · mentioned by 1110 recommend · 11 mention10 recommend · 1110 recommend
2012–2022The last man on the moon
Eugene Cernan, Don Davis
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 32 recommend · 3 mention2 recommend · 32 recommend
2009–2025Carrying the Fire
Michael Collins
Recommended by 23 · mentioned by 2723 recommend · 27 mention23 recommend · 2723 recommend
2012–2026Apollo
Charles A. Murray
Recommended by 8 · mentioned by 118 recommend · 11 mention8 recommend · 118 recommend
2013–2026Apollo, the race to the moon
Charles A. Murray
Recommended by 4 · mentioned by 54 recommend · 5 mention4 recommend · 54 recommend
The other classic (and definitely an HN-appropriate book) is "Failure Is Not an Option," which gives an awesome look at the engineering and management challenges they faced from Mercury to Apollo. https://smile.amazon.com/Failure-Not-Option-Mission-Control/...
on “John Glenn has died” ↗…based on that book is also quite excellent. Go find it and watch it. -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_(TV_... If you're still looking for more material after that, I'd go read "Failure is Not an Option" by Gene Kranz.
on “The Apollo 11 Journey in Photographs” ↗…pdfs. I started to read the first one and it's fairly interesting.) There's two books I always recommend re: Apollo: 1) A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts, by Andrew Chaikin. 2) Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond, by Gene Kranz.
on “Apollo 1” ↗You would probably enjoy Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond by Gene Kranz.
on “How the Apollo Fire Propelled NASA to the Moon” ↗…That's not how real work -- of any kind, looks like. What a tremendous lesson for young people everywhere to see Musk share his work -- the successes and failures -- with the world. I loved Gene Kranz's "Failure is not an option," but outside of the specific context in which it was used, it is a terrible slogan. Failure, actually, ought to be the only option, in the sense that if you are never failing you likely are falling short…
on “SpaceX Falcon rocket explodes on landing after delivering satellite to space” ↗And if you like stories like that, "Failure is not an option" by Gene Kranz is a must-read/listen. It seems every single flight of the early American Space Program was a nail-biter.
on “SpaceX Halts Rocket Launch 10 Seconds Before Planned Liftoff” ↗…not surprising at all. Mission Control was forged in the fire (literally for Apollo 1) and they are one of the most visible "incident team" we know about. I highly advise to read Gene Kranz memoirs "Failure is not an Option" if you work in that kind of environment.
on “Google Cloud Networking Incident Postmortem” ↗I really enjoyed Mr. Kranz book "Failure is Not an Option"[1] (which covers a lot more than just the malfunction of Apollo 13), and his subsequent appearances in documentaries. I heard an NPR story[2] a couple of weeks ago re: the reopening of the restored…
on “Gene Kranz Describes His Instrumental Role in the Apollo 11 Mission” ↗Specific to books, "Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13" was pretty good from Gene Kranz and as I recall covered many of the incidents in the US space program. I don't think I ever found a copy of the Chris Kraft…
on “Ask HN: Literature on crisis response?” ↗Here are a few: - Sun Tzu The Art of War - Stephen Ambrose D-Day: June 6, 1944 - Fred Brooks The Mythical Man Month - Kim, Behr, & Spafford The Phoenix Project - Gene Kranz Failure is not an Option - Acemoglu & Robinson Why Nations Fail Some astute HN'ers may note not all of these directly relate to supply chains and logistics: but they all touch on aspects of logistics - especially on underlying…
on “Ask HN: Books on Logistics?” ↗I suggest the book "Failure is not an option" by Gene Kranz, an Apollo flight director (played by Ed Harris in Apollo 13). He describes how the primary work of flight controllers in all missions is risk management. You are constantly balancing mission…
on “Webb flies Ariane 5: watch the launch live on 25 December” ↗"This seems like a weird thing to highlight, to me." Classic NASA. Read Gene Kranz's "Failure is not an option". In rocketry you're usually up against physical limits. You need materials near the limits of physical strength and temperature resistance. You need fuels near the limits of energy density. And still…
on “Musk’s first email to Twitter staff ends remote work” ↗"Failure is Not an Option" by Gene Kranz An awesome look back at the space program in the 1960s. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FC0O7M
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why” ↗Basically it's resource management, both human and materials. I'll leave the human side out, but recommend Gene Kranz book Failure Is Not an Option for more info on why ground controllers are important. It costs a huge amount of money (in fuel) to lift anything up, even just a kilo or two. You're better off lifting only a telemetry system and putting…
on “Russian Physicists Solve Radio Black-Out Problem for Re-Entering Spacecraft” ↗Nice list. I add "Failure Is Not An Option" by Gene Kranz, flight director on both Apollo 11 and 13 and also in flight control from way back to the Mercury program. It's a nice history of manned space flight from the controllers' perspective.…
on “Apollo 17 at Shorty Crater” ↗