Those of us who can recall the space race of the 1960s can remember the roller coaster ride of preparing for a launch, then only to have it postponed for a mechanical malfunction or bad weather. The nation got its first taste of this feeling during the summer of 1923 as millions watched Lakehurst, N.J. and awaited the launch of the world’s largest flying machine, the ZR-1.

It had been proposed that the launch would quickly be followed by a nonstop flight from New Jersey to the North Pole and…