The Runner Archives - Page 2 of 2

First Among Equals

Justice Felix Frankfurter said: “The Chief Justice is primus inter pares.” The Latin means “first among equals.” Chief Justice William Rehnquist said that his vote “carries no more weight” than the vote of any other justice.

The chief justice still has real power. He speaks first at the justices’ conference and proposes a vote. When he votes with the majority, he decides who writes the opinion of the Court.

Go or No Go

Before major events such as a launch, the flight director in Mission Control goes “around the room.” Each flight controller is polled in turn and calls out an answer. If everything is good, the call is “go.” If there is a problem that requires a hold or an abort, the call is “no go.”

The procedure is called a launch status check, or a go/no go poll. In the Apollo program, the flight director started it.