From a Sounding Rocket per Year to an Observatory per Lifetime

When I began my career as an X-ray astronomer/astrophysicist we launched new experiments at a cadence of approximately one per year. The majority of each these projects involved a newly developed instrument, revolutionary for its time. Then, innovation in instrument development could proceed in parallel with friendly competition amongst a number of groups. Thus, I was privileged to help develop and fly X-ray concentrators and telescopes, crystal spectrometers, and two types of X ]ray polarimeters. I have also been privileged to play a central role in design, development, calibration and operation of the Chandra X ]Ray Observatory. I will contrast these phases of my career both from a historical perspective and for the lessons I would pass on for the future.