"New Normal" Times

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Life is now a “New Normal”

 

By Phil Pressel

 

Think of all of the changes: technological, medical social, climate and scientific that have occurred in the last 50 years and much less time in many cases. Now here we are in 2020 and all of us in the world face a major crisis. 

 

So many people are now unemployed and in trouble financially because of the Covid-19 virus. Businesses will go out of operation and our health is in jeopardy. 

 

So many people now work from home. So many are confined at home. As far as I am concerned life for everyone is now a “new normal” and is likely to remain so for a long time or at least until a cure and/or a vaccine is developed.

 

This brings to my mind whether we, those of us who worked on the classified Hexagon program could have done our jobs and successfully delivered our product under today’s virus situation? The two biggest problems would be meeting the present virus health rules of separation (no groups of people could gather together in person) and maintaining security. There certainly would have been severe challenges.

 

Assuming we had (and we did not) today’s modern computer APPs and skills such as CAD, Web-n-r, Zoom, Face-time, and all of the new Finite Element Analyses programs, I think we could have done it and overcome the many obstacles. We, non-hands-on desk workers, all would have had to have a Top Secret compartment in our homes or in a proper segregated secure facility where there would be proper separation between us.

 

We would have had secured conferences by phone or on computer screens to discuss with others various designs and to have design reviews or to see testing on actual hardware. We would have transmitted CAD drawings to others for their review and inputs and discuss them online. 

 

As far as hands-on technicians, test people, inspectors and quality control personnel they would have had to have special clothing (bunny suits and PPE equipment) and adequate separation to do their work and communicate results. Special tooling would have had to be available to avoid closeness of people to handle hardware. One advantage is that they would be working in already existing class 10,000 or 100.000 clean rooms and thus better shielded that the rest of us in the general air environment. 

 

It would not have been easy but considering all of the technical challenges that we solved, but I think we could have done it. Of course if we had today’s technology and without the virus situation we could have done more quickly and economically. 

 

I would like to hear from other Hexagon alumni their thoughts on creating as a successful Hexagon camera system under today’s health restrictions. Let me know at: phil.pressel@gmail.com or to the newsletter editor Joel Askinazi at:   bsyrm0264@gmail.com. 

 

Also I would encourage anyone to submit any Hexagon related stories or experiences you had on the program that were amusing, interesting, controversial, etc.