Daily                 News
Wednesday, November 4, 1992  24-hour audio service at 202/755-1788

 % Administrator Goldin names Pellerin to Strategic Planning position;
 % Goldin elevates Disadvantaged Business office, names new head;
 % Kennedy technicians put Discovery through electrical tests, plan roll out;
 % 40-year veteran Langley research pilot honored by Michigan aviators' hall.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin yesterday named three individuals to
fill high level positions, two of them after a nationwide search and
review.  Named as Associate Deputy Administrator for Strategic Planning
was Charles Pellerin, named as Associate Deputy Administrator was John
Dailey, and named as Assistant Administrator for Small and
Disadvantaged Business Utilization was Ralph Thomas.

Pellerin, who will be responsible for creating a strategic plan to
implement the agency's vision, mission and values, was most recently
the Deputy Associate Administrator for Safety and Mission Quality and
previously had been director of the Astrophysics Division.  Dailey will
plan, direct and manage the institutional operations of NASA.  He was
most recently the Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Thomas, who was most recently the Executive Director of the National
Association of Minority Contractors, will be the first administrator of
what only recently was a division.  Administrator Goldin said the new
office will ensure that NASA reflects the full diversity of America and
said that Thomas will "spearhead a determined effort to see that small
and minority-owned businesses play a significant role in America's
civil space and aeronautics programs."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Technicians at the Kennedy Space Center are today mating the electrical
connections between the orbiter Discovery and the other elements of its
launch stack, which were physically mated yesterday.  Tomorrow,
technicians begin the shuttle interface test.  The STS-53 stack is
presently set for roll out to Launch Pad 39-A on Sunday, November 8, at
just past midnight.  The terminal countdown demonstration test, the
full-up dress rehearsal for launch, is scheduled for next Thursday and
Friday, Nov. 12 and 13.

The mission is scheduled as a four-day flight to deploy the last
scheduled DOD payload of the shuttle program.  The mission commander is
David Walker and mission pilot is Robert Cabana.  Guy Bluford, James
Voss, and  Michael Clifford are mission specialists for the flight.
Walker has flown twice previously and Cabana once.  Bluford will be
making his fourth flight, Voss his second and Clifford his first.  This
will be shuttle fleet leader Discovery's 15th flight and the 51st for
the shuttle program.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Langley Research Center engineer and research pilot John Reeder will be
honored this Saturday, November 7, by the Michigan Aviation Hall of
Fame for contributions he has made during his 40-year career.  Reeder
has flown over 200 different types of aircraft including the pivotal P-51
World War II fighter plane, which he helped to develop.  Reeder also
was one of the test pilots for the British-developed Harrier vertical
lift fighter.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



  
Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select
TV.  Note that all events and times may change without notice, and that
all times listed are Eastern.  Live indicates a program is transmitted
live.

Wednesday, November 4, 1992
       11:00 am  Taped replay of American Indian Heritage program from Nov. 3.
Live   12:00 pm  NASA Today news program, today 
                 featuring a report on the Marshall Space Flight Center's 
                 Von Braun forum program held recently in Huntsville; a 
                 report on recent observations of phytoplankton taken by 
                 the Wallops Flight Facility's P-3B aircraft as it flew 
                 over the equatorial Pacific; a look into the conditions 
                 which await researchers of a NASA-sponsored expedition to 
                 the Antarctic; and a look back at this date in NASA History.
       12:15 pm  Aeronautics & Space Report.
       12:30 pm  We Deliver.
       1:00 pm  Journey through the Solar System.
       1:30 pm  Revealing Venus.
       2:00 pm  Starfinder program #2.
       2:30 pm  Life in the Universe.
       3:00 pm  Total Quality Management program #62 from 
                   the University of New Mexico series.
       4:00 pm  8:00 pm & 12:00 midnight - NASA Today and 
                   subsequent programming repeats.
  
This report is filed daily at noon, Monday through Friday.  It is a
service of NASA's Office of Public Affairs.  The editor is Charles
Redmond, 202/453-8425 or CREDMOND on NASAmail.  NASA Select TV is
carried on GE Satcom F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees West
Longitude, transponder frequency is 3960 MegaHertz, audio subcarrier is
6.8 MHz, polarization is vertical.