Parallel Paths

Stars plot course across desert and space

Separated at birth?

Astronaut Pete Conrad and Thomas Edward Lawrence, also known as Lawrence of Arabia, may be considered brothers in a parallel world. Both lived a lifestyle of determined bravery and irrepressible spirit. Yet, in a strange twist of fate, both ended their young lives in high speed motorcycle accidents on remote country roads.

The two engineers were dreamers, visionaries, wildly insightful intellectuals with the stars in mind. The same stars that guided Lawrence in the desert guided Conrad in Space. The same intrinsic destiny of adventure and determined fortitude put one on the moon and another in the Mesopotamian desert of 1918. They both closed the distance between thought and action and had the will to live life to the fullest for the betterment of mankind.

After seeing an early military sea plane crash in a remote English lake, Captain Lawrence watched helplessly as the rescue boat lumbered out to the crash site so slowly that the crew was drowned. Lawrence was immediately inspired toward invention. He designed a heavy craned speed boat that was adept at both high speed rescue and heavy weight salvage. This same boat was to be mass produced in WWII and saved thousands of lives.

In the same free-spirited fashion, Astronaut Pete Conrad was not only a passionate problem-solver, holding a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering from Princeton University in 1953, but one of the greatest explorers of the 20th Century. His high spirits were immortalized in 1969 when he shouted "Whoopee!" after setting foot on the dusty surface of the moon as part of the Apollo 12 NASA mission. Just recently, Conrad smiled and said,

The seasoned test pilot also commanded NASA's first space station, Skylab, in 1973.

For Pete Conrad, having a good time gave birth to the creativity inherent in engineering. Upon retirement he started a company aimed at sending the masses into space for a floating vacation rather than the beaches of Florida. Going into space was just plain fun and he wanted others to share in the experience.

It is this same can do free thinking that can run through the backbone of all design engineers. For some, the possibilities are witnessed through failures. The darkness of the unknown is illuminated by unbridled enthusiasm for having fun and trying something new. For Pete Conrad and Lawrence of Arabia, they left this world as they lived it: going fast, living free and having a smashing good time all the while.

-- Kirby C. Linck