Atlantis Space Shuttle Crew Celebrates Teamwork

After a 13 day journey, the Space Shuttle Atlantis safely landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California on May 24, 2009, at 11:39 a.m. EDT following a successful final flight mission to repair the Hubble Telescope.

Before leaving Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base, Commander Scott Altman made a brief statement regarding how happy all of the astronauts were to be back on earth. Thanking everyone involved in the mission for assisting in getting the crew returned home safely, Altman said, “At last! I didn’t realize it was going to be so hard getting back to the Earth. Landing here just felt great to everybody. We’re all thrilled to have the mission complete and it was a testament to the teamwork and cooperation of folks all across the country,” Altman continued.

Altman was pointing out the exceptional teamwork involved primarily due to the fact that the focus of the mission was to repair and upgrade the Hubble Telescope and expand its range and life for another five years. Many details were covered to ensure that repairing the Hubble was successful which enabled scientists around the world to have a better view of the universe.

Atlantis was originally set to land at Cape Canaveral in Florida, but due to bad weather and cross winds from earlier storms, touchdown of the Space Shuttle was delayed and re-routed to California. Called a successful trip after traveling almost 5.3 million miles at the speed of 18,000 miles per hour at times, the mission was named a success due to exceptional teamwork of all involved.

Teamwork is the essential key to success for any organization or business. But yet, it’s usually at the bottom of the list of business owners and managers when mapping out the road to the company’s success. Most of us realize how much work is required on our behalf to succeed at a particular project, but we tend to forget that there are many components, outside of our own input, for that success to be achieved. There are many ideas, many concepts, many experiments and many failures needed to find triumph in any business venture.

Think about the Atlantis Space Shuttle, from the astronauts, to the engineers at Mission Control, to the people who stocked the tools and supplies on board the Atlantis, all played their part in a successful mission. Imagine how important of a role it is for the person installing the landing gear on the Atlantis to make sure they do their job efficiently and without flaw. What may be almost an oversight for most of us, the opening of the parachutes at touchdown, plays an essential role in the success of the Shuttle’s landing.

No matter what the job or how small the detail may seem to appear, every last job plays an essential role in the success of the mission. Whether you are flying into space or opening a new business, teamwork is essential for success. Everyone has a role to play and everyone must assume the responsibility to completely fulfill their role. One small breakdown in the system, and the mission could be a disaster, or at best a disappointment.

Building  a successful team has three primary components:                      

• 1) Build a strong team foundation
• 2) Create the system by creating the vision
• 3) Implement the system by celebrating the success of the team

The astronauts are the stars of each and every mission, but remember as Commander Altman pointed out, it took the entire team to complete a successful mission. In your business, no matter how large or small the project, the entire team has to be on board for the success of your project.

And remember, once the mission is final, don’t forget to celebrate your successes with your team!