Written by Robert J. Gross
Wow, this headline really caught my attention. After all, Gross Automation is a controls and automation distributorship with the engineering talent to make what we sell work. We have a solid portion of our business in the Aviation and Aerospace marketplace. Is it now time to launch Gross Intergalactic Enterprises?
If you have been paying attention to the non-political news, we have in early November, successfully launched NASA’s Orion capsule. This occurred after three previous attempts onboard the most powerful rocket we have ever built. The technology here is simply awesome and I am still trying to get my head around the future implications of where this will take us in the future. Think about hydrogen fuel cells as the ultimate clean energy.
As you read this, the Artemis mission is just finishing up spending the last week orbiting the moon with three test dummies on board. Not ready for humans yet! There will be another manned flyby of the moon in 2024, hopefully, followed up by a lunar landing in 2025. With Apollo 17 last visiting the moon, it has now been 50 years. We’re back!
Growing up, space and more specifically the moon, was always on our minds. My dad was a project engineer for Delco/AC Electronics, a part of General Motors at the time. When I was three years old, we moved from Milwaukee to the Boston area so that he could be a part of the guidance and control team for the Apollo program. He was a project engineer who managed the interface between the research team at MIT and the local group of engineers from Delco. I have his slide rule proudly mounted on the wall here at Gross Automation, the very one that helped put a man on the moon.
After returning home to Milwaukee, he would leave on Sunday afternoons for Cape Canaveral, returning Friday evening, while the Apollo program was underway. While a lunar mission was in progress, he was part of the 24/7 team that made sure the equipment was both perfect and functioning properly. Then, when it was over, he would bring home a Super 8 film of the mission highlights which we would watch as a family. This was my dad and he was making a difference. He was leaving a legacy!
Dad passed a year ago this month from cancer. To celebrate his life, we went out to his gravesite and toasted him with his favorite drink, a shot of Crown Royal. What I would have given to have him answer the many questions that will not be lost to history. It is on his back that we build our future. I can only imagine how proud he would be that we are once again returning to the moon. And soon, mankind will be raveling beyond to another dream — putting a person on Mars.
“The Moon is Open for Business” may be a bit premature at this point. It definitely is on our radar. What business possibilities exist in the Aviation and Aerospace markets? 2023 will be a great year to think and dream about this. For me and my family, this is a multi-generational passion.
What are you most passionate about and how are you going to address that passion during 2023? Please share that with those that you care about. Perhaps this will lead to a new business or a new direction for you and your family. You never know what the next 50 years will bring.
Have a great 2023 and thanks for being a part of the IBAW!