HANDLING FAILURE (by APJ ABDUL KALAM )

Handling Failure

Question

• What is the one incident in your past that has left an indelible mark upon you?? 

Answer

• Failure of first SLV launch taught me how to face the failures and how to defeat the problems and succeed. That incident reveled the presence of the leader in the organization.

SUCCESS IS YOURS, FAILURE IS MINE-A real leader's attitude.

   I have witnessed several successful flight and a few failures in this range. the first mission was a failure and we recovered fast and we were ready  for the second mission. July 18th is a memorable day for the entire space community of India. This was the day the space scientists put a 40 kg Rohini satellite in a low earth orbit through SLV-3 (Satellite Lunch Vehicle) which took-off at 0805 hrs; within minutes the satellite was in orbit. This was a great accomplishment for our scientists, especially after the unsuccessful earlier mission on August 10th, 1979.

    There was jubilation all around. People were thrilled. They were shouting, hugging and lifting each other and were emotional charged. This was the time Prof. Dhawan took me aside and said that we should go to a silent place. Both of us went to the launch pad and sat on the launcher. We watched the waves of the Bay of Bengal in silence.After a few minutes, Prof  Dhawan said to me: ''Kalam, you know you have been working hard for the last eight years. You encountered a number of problem and failure, You faced them all with utmost courage, patience and perseverance. For all the efforts that you put in, today we have got the result. I want to thank you for your excellent work. I will remember and cherish it.'' I had never come across such a beautiful day till than. In the din of loud external jubilation of the entire space community, Prof. Dhawan and I were enjoying the intrinsic beauty of the mega event.

  Failure Management 

   Two decades ago, while I was working at ISRO, I had the best of education, which could not have been received from any university. 

     I will nature that incident. I was given a task by Prof. Satish Dhawan, the  then Chairman, ISRO, to develop the first satellite launch vehicle SLV-3 to put Rohini satellite in orbit. This was one of the largest high-technology space programmes undertaken in 1973. The whole space technology community, both men and women, were geared up for his task. Thousand of scientists engineer and technicians worked for the realization of the first SLV-3 launch. The first SLV experimental launch was planned to take-off at 1500 hrs. on August 10th, 1979. I as the mission Director, was in the SHAR Control along with a 50 member strong team with six specialists to assist me in critical decision -making before the take-off.

     The automated computer count stopped indicating a possible anomaly in the propulsion system. My specialist team saw on the display that in the second stage of flight, the pressure dropped in tgge reaction control system oxidiser tank that provides the three axis altitude control after the first-stage rocket is separated. The specialist  team advised me to go ahead with the countdown ignoring the pressure drop as they felt that propellant stored was sufficient enough to last for twice the flight duration. I was advised to go ahead with the launch. I concurred and pushed the computer button to the launch sequence.

     At T-O the SLV-3 took off beautifully. The first stage had given predicted trust and altitude and velocity needed at given altitude.

       The second stage initiated as per the tele-date, but within a few seconds, we witnessed the second stage and third  stage, and the satellite got caught into a tumbling motion, and we lost the flight to the Bay of Bengal. It was 7 am in the morning.The whole team, in spite of all its day-and-night hard work prior to the launch, were busy in collecting the date and was trying to establish the reason for the flight failure.

        Meanwhile, I was called by Prof Satish Dhawan to attend a press conference. Before the press conference, Prof. Satish Dhawan told me he was going to handle the situation and I should be present with many of the senior scientists and technologists. And there he announced that he took the responsibility for not achieving the mission, even thought I was the project director and the mission director. The press conference room was full with media. There was gloom, many question were posed, some very powerful, thought also criticisms. Prof. Satish Dhawan announced: ''friend, today  we had our first satellite launch vehicle to put satellite in the orbit, we could not succeed. It was our first mission of proving multiple technologies in satellite launch vehicles. In many technologies we have succeeded and in a few more we have to succeed. Above all realize my team members will have to be given all the technological support. I am going to do that and in the next mission we will succeed.'' Subsequently, a failure analysis board was formed to establish the cause.

         When we launched SLV-3 on July 18th, successfully injection Rohini satellite into the orbit, agin there was conference and Prof  Dhawan put me in the front to share the success story with the press. What  we learn from this event is that a leader take the responsibility of failure but gives the credit of the  success to the team member.

          This is the leadership. The scientific community in India has had the fortune to work with such leaders because of whom so many accomplishments have been possible.

• A Leader takes the responsibility of failure but gives the credit of success to the team members.