We've learned a lot by building the International Space Station

Hearken to the words of Gene Kranz, a commander of men in the crucible of the heavens: “We’ve learned a lot by building the International Space Station, the good, the bad. But, the fact is that working together as a team, unity aboard that space station, we can accomplish great things.” This saying is more than a reflection upon steel, circuits, and orbiting halls; it is a testimony of the ancient truth that no man, however skilled, may reach the stars alone. To bind together in unity, to labor with one heart and many hands, is the foundation of every great endeavor.

The International Space Station stands as a monument not of one nation, nor of one people, but of many. Russians, Americans, Japanese, Europeans, and others—once divided by oceans and by history—cast their gaze upward and chose to build together what none could accomplish alone. In the fragile vacuum where a single mistake can bring death, they found that survival and progress are born of trust, discipline, and cooperation. Thus, the ISS is not merely a station of science, but a temple of human solidarity.

Consider the story of Apollo 13, a tale where Gene Kranz himself stood in the center of crisis. When explosion crippled the ship and death loomed for three astronauts adrift in space, it was not one man’s brilliance that saved them, but the combined force of many minds. Engineers, flight directors, astronauts, and technicians—all worked in desperate unison, casting aside pride and rivalry. The phrase “Failure is not an option” was not mere defiance but a vow to unity. And through that vow, they brought their brothers safely home. In this, we see the living truth of Kranz’s words: when men unite, even calamity may be turned into triumph.

The ancients too bore witness to this eternal law. The builders of the Pyramids, the shapers of Rome’s aqueducts, the voyagers who manned a hundred oars upon a single galley—each achieved wonders not by the strength of one, but by the disciplined effort of many. Where selfishness reigned, kingdoms fell. Where teamwork endured, legacies were carved into stone and sky. So too with the ISS, where unity keeps fragile life aloft above the Earth, circling endlessly like a reminder of what humanity may achieve together.

Kranz speaks also of the good and the bad, for unity is not born in ease alone. Conflicts, mistakes, and failures test the bonds of men. Yet from those trials comes wisdom. In the cold corridors of space, international crews learned not only science but patience, compromise, and the art of endurance. These lessons are as valuable as any experiment, for they show that the true measure of achievement is not how high we fly, but how faithfully we stand by one another.

For us who dwell not among the stars but upon the ground, the lesson is clear. To labor alone is to stumble; to labor in unity is to rise. In families, in communities, in nations, the same law holds true. The task may change—whether it is raising children, building cities, or protecting the weak—but the strength lies always in the weaving together of many hands and many hearts.

Practical wisdom follows: seek not to hoard credit but to share it. When trials come, do not cast blame but offer aid. In your daily labors, ask not “What do I gain?” but “What can we achieve together?” For the fruits of such unity are enduring, and the works of such teams outlast the lives of their makers.

Thus let Kranz’s words echo as a command for generations: “Working together as a team, we can accomplish great things.” It is not merely the creed of astronauts but the song of humanity itself. Let it be said of you, as it is of the builders of the ISS, that you bore with others in patience, that you labored with them in strength, and that through your unity you achieved what once seemed impossible.