The system had detected an umbilical tail plug that had prematurely fallen out of the rocket. In 1965, the Martin Company’s Malfunction Detection System shut down the launch of Gemini VI-A just before liftoff, ensuring the safety of crew members and the mission itself. The Zero Defects approach did not just apply to the production process. With Zero Defects reducing plant rejections by 25 percent and scrap costs by 30 percent, a system was in place to produce better products more efficiently than ever before. Zero Defects meant getting it right the first time. But as Vanguard had proven, multi-stage rockets did not allow any room for error. During World War II–era aircraft production, minor defects were tolerated and could sometimes be addressed during maintenance. It was there that a far-reaching and influential program developed that affected not only America’s space program, but nearly every quality control program in the world: Zero Defects. The Martin Company’s Orlando plant was built in 1957 in anticipation of increased activity at the rocket launch site at Cape Canaveral, on the Florida coast. Although the effort remained highly experimental, the government and the Martin team pressed on. The space race was on.Īmerica’s hopes to place a satellite in orbit were put on Project Vanguard. Americans stood outdoors at night to watch for the artificial satellite as it passed overhead. The race to space took on a new sense of urgency on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union placed Sputnik I in orbit around the Earth. Soon, the Martin Company was announced as the prime contractor for Project Vanguard, pursuing President Eisenhower’s goal of placing a man-made satellite in orbit. In 1954, the Viking 11 reached a record-setting 158 miles above the Earth’s surface and took the first photographs of Earth from space. The United States contracted the Martin Company to design and build the first Viking sounding rocket in 1949. The first step in reaching for the stars was to soar to the skies.
In the space race, there was more at stake than an ideological victory. In 1946, a leading think tank issued a report stating, “The achievement of a satellite craft by the United States would inflame the imagination of mankind.” Such an accomplishment would keep America ahead of the rival Soviet Union. In the aftermath of World War II, the United States looked to their next great challenge: conquering space.
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