Chronology of KSC and KSC Related

Events for 1997

Elaine E. Liston, Sherikon Space Systems, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

NASA/TM-1998-206957 February 1998

FOREWORD

This 1997 Chronology is published to describe and document KSC's role in NASA's progress.

Materials for this Chronology were selected from a number of published sources. The

document records KSC events of interest to historians and other researchers. Arrangement is

by date of occurrence, though the source cited may be dated one or more days after the event.

Materials were researched and prepared for publication by Archivist Elaine E. Liston. For the

added convenience of researchers, each entry has been headlined.

Comment on the Chronology should be directed to the John F. Kennedy Space Center,

Archives, LIBRARY-E, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, 32899. The Archivist may also be

reached by e-mail at Elaine.Liston-l@ksc.nasa.gov, or (407) 867-2407.

Table of Contents

January ................................................ 1

February ............................................... 26

March ................................................. 47

April ................................................. 67

May .................................................. 93

June ................................................. 111

July ................................................. 126

August ............................................... 152

September ............................................. 172

October ............................................... 191

November ............................................. 208

December ............................................. 222

Appendix A ............................................ 240

JANUARY

January 2: NASA LAUNCHES CHOICE FOR KSC CHIEF

NASA wants a retired astronaut and Air Force general to be the next director of

Kennedy Space Center. Maj. Gen. Roy D. Bridges, Jr., who once was in charge of

unmanned launches at the Air Force's Cape Canaveral base, was chosen by NASA's

top managers to be the new KSC director, NASA spokesman Brian Welch said. The

job isn't formally Bridges' yet because intricate bureaucratic rules dictate how to fill

senior executive positions. NASA's selection still has to be approved by the federal

Office of Personnel Management, an agency outside NASA. Bridges, 53, was one of

three finalists for the job. NASA will not reveal the other two, Welch said. He would

replace Jay Honeycutt, who announced his retirement in October after 37 years of

government service. From 1989 to 1990, Bridges was commander of the Eastern

Space and Missile Center at Patrick Air Force Base. He also was pilot of the space

shuttle Challenger (STS 51F) in 1985. If approved, Bridges would become KSC's

seventh center director since the space center opened in 1962. [The Orlando

Sentinel, Jan. 3, 1997, p A-7. Florida Today, Jan. 4, 1997, p 1A.]

January 3: SHU'ITLE BOOSTERS SAFE TO FLY,_ ENGINEERS CONCLUDE

A group of NASA engineers has concluded that shuttle Atlantis' boosters are safe to

fly, which might clear the ship for launch Jan. 12 to the Russian space station Mir

(STS-81). The Solid rocket boosters were under scrutiny after unusual erosion marred

those used on NASA's last two shuttle flight of 1996 -- a September launch of Atlantis

and a November liftoff of Columbia. Although seen on two successive flights, the

booster erosion is not severe and does not endanger the shuttle and its crew, officials

have said repeatedly. [Florida Today., Jan. 3, 1997, p 2A.]

January 4: KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTrLE STATUS REPORT

Status for STS-81/Aflantis, 5th MIR docking and Spacehab DM, is currently on Pad

39B. Holiday outage deconfiguration is in work for all three orbiters at KSC. The

payload bay doors were reopened today to gain access to the airlock C-hatch.

Functional tests on C-hatch, scheduled for today, will conclude the hatch actuator

testing on Atlantis. Main propulsion system tests are scheduled for tonight. STS82/Discovery, Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 2, is located in the Orbiter

Processing Facility bay 2. Preparations to open the payload bay doors are in work.

The ku-band antenna retest and payload testing will continue today. Discovery's aft

compartment close-outs are also in work. In the VAB, preparations are in work to

mate the orbiter to the external tank. STS-g3/Columbia, Microgravity Science

Laboratory 1, is located in the Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1. Preparations are

underway to open Columbia's payload bay doors. STS-83 booster stacking operations

continue in the VAB. The left aft booster has been mated and preparations are
underway for stacking of the left aft center segment. [Bruce Buckingham. (1997).

Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle Status Report [Online]. Available E-mail:

domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [ 1997, January 4].]

January 6: CAPE HAS A NEW CHALLENGER

In the cold shipyards of Scotland and Norway, work is under way on a project to use a

floating launch platform longer than a football field to send rockets and their satellites

into space from sea. The Boeing Co.-led international venture, called the Sea Launch

Co. is the first of its kind and more than a novel way to get payloads into orbit. It

could be a serious threat to Cape Canaveral Air Station, where U.S. companies are

fighting to keep their share of the world's commercial launch business. The new

company was formed in April 1995 when Boeing, the Russian space agency and

private companies in Norway and the Ukraine joined hands. Although military rockets

have been launched from ships since the late 1940s, Sea Launch is the first attempt to

move commercial space missions off land. What makes the venture potentially

attractive to companies, and such a threat to the Cape, is that it will be the only launch

site to be directly on the equator. That's critical because most communication

satellites must be placed into equatorial orbits to do their jobs. By launching from that

spot, satellite manufacturers could get an added benefit not found at the Cape, where

rockets take off 30 degrees north of the equator. A trajectory from the Cape requires

the rockets to use more fuel to get their payload into the right orbit. If all goes

according to plan, the first rocket should take off from the sea platform in June 1998

carrying a Hughes Communications satellite. [Florida Today, Jan. 6, 1997, p 1A -

2A.]

AEROSPACE INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

Strengths are anticipated with a growth spurt in telecommunications industry requiring

scores, perhaps hundreds of new satellites, and those satellites will need commercial

rockets to reach orbit. The Delta and Atlas rockets have solid brand names and

reliable histories, an important selling point when newer rockets keep failing.

Weaknesses are the core design of U.S. commercial rockets, particularly the Delta,

Atlas and Titan, are decades old and not as cost- and personnel-efficient as those of

foreign competitors. Opportunities are newer versions of the Delta, Atlas and Titan

are coming soon. A revamped Launch Complex 46 opens at Cape Canaveral in

February for Lockheed's, Orbital Sciences' and Alliant Technology's smaller rockets.

The new, smaller Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle gets its first Cape launch this year.

Lockheed also is developing Venture Star, a possible replacement for NASA's space

shuttle. And Kennedy Space Center may see more work as the international space

station becomes more of a reality. Threats are competitors to the Cape's launch

business keep popping up -- in Virginia, Alaska, New Mexico, California and even in

Russia, Ukraine, China and Japan. Many other countries, especially those in Europe,

heavily subsidize their launch industry, making it harder for U.S. firms to compete.

2
[The Odando Sentinel, Jan. 6, 1997, p A-12. ]

ASTRONAUT CLIFFORD LEAVES NASA SPACE PROGRAM

Astronaut Michael "Rich" Clifford, a three-time shuttle veteran, departed NASA on

January 6 to join Boeing Company as flight operations manager the International

Space Station. Clifford joined NASA in July 1987 as a Space Shuttle Vehicle

Integration engineer and was subsequently selected as an astronaut in 1990. His three

Shuttle missions are STS-53 in December 1992, STS-59 in April 1994 and STS-76 in

March 1996. [NASA News Release #97-5, Jan. 8, 1997.]

WASHINGTON OUTLOOK- REPRIEVE

A new Fiscal 1998 budget being drawn up at the White House will likely contain

rosier projections. NASA's Fiscal 1998 budget, which had been slated to drop to

$13.1 billion, could come in several hundred million dollars higher, and steep cuts

planned for the following two years will likely be scaled back a good bit. [Aviation

Week & Svaee Teehnolo2v, Jan 6, 1997, p 21.]

WASHINGTON OUTLOOK- SPACE SHUFFLE

With Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.) likely to ascend to the chairmanship

of the House of Representatives Science Committee, the top spot on the panel's space

and aeronautics subcommittee appears to be open, and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (RCalif.) is the odds-on favorite to fill it. If he gets the job, look for Rohrabacher to

push NASA hard to commercialize the international space station. On the Senate side,

Conrad Bums (R.-Mont.) is expected to ditch the chairmanship of the Commerce

Committee's science panel for a more visible subcommittee. Not that a change would

have a huge impact -- the Senate hasn't even passed a NASA authorization bill since

1992. One possible replacement for Bums is Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-Tex.).

Meanwhile, both Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) and Sen. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.), who

chair the House and Senate appropriations panels that fund NASA, are expected to

stay on. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, Jan 6, 1997, p 21.]

IN ORBIT- NASA'S JET PROPULSION LABORATORY

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Spectrum Astro Inc. have drawn up a plan to

launch the first spacecraft to Mercury since 1973. The Hermes Mercury Orbiter was

one of 34 proposals submitted for the latest round of NASA's low-cost Discovery

missions. The proposal calls for Hermes to launch in August, 2002, and begin a polar

elliptical orbit of Mercury in December, 2004. The 1,980-1b (fully fueled) spacecraft

would image all of Mercury at a 1-km. resolution. Mariner 10, the only other

spacecraft to visit Mercury, imaged only 45% of the planet in 1973. [Aviation Week
& Suace Technologw, Jail 6, 1997, p 64.]

IN ORBIT - RUSSIA CONSIDERING REMOVING DOCKING SYSTEM

The Russian Space Agency is considering removing the Kurs automatic docking

system from its manned Soyuz transports, requiring Soyuz pilots to make manual

rendezvous and docking maneuvers with the Mir space station. Soyuz pilots have

always been trained to do manual dockings as a backup to the automatic system and

have used the procedures several times when the Kurs system malfunctioned.

Automatic dockings have been standard procedure in the Russian operations on the six

Salyut stations and Mir. In contrast, U. S. Gemini, Apollo and shuttle mission

dockings have been completely manual. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, Jan 6,

1997, p 64.]

January 7: CLIPPER GRAHAM INCIDENT REPORT RELEASED

An unconnected hose led to the destruction of the Clipper Graham technology

demonstrator last summer. The Clipper Graham (DC-XA) Incident Investigation

Board has released its final report concerning the July 31 post-landing tip-over and fire

which destroyed the 43-foot vertical takeoff and landing vehicle at White Sands

Missile Range, NM. The Board, Chaired by former Astronaut Vance Brand,

concluded "The primary cause of the vehicle mishap was that the brake line on the

helium pneumatic system for landing gear #2 was not connected. This unconnected

brake line prevented the brake mechanism from being pressurized to release the brake

and resulted in landing gear #2 not extending. The vehicle became unstable upon

landing, toppled onto its side, exploded and burned." The rocket, named "Clipper

Graham" for the late Gen. Daniel O. Graham, was part of a program by the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration to develop another generation of reusable

launch vehicles to carry payloads into orbit. [Florida Today, Jan. 8, 1997, p 2A.

NASA News Release #97-3, Jan. 7, 1997.]

January 9: SATURN V CENTER A BLAST FROM PAST FOR ASTRONAUTS

Ten Apollo astronauts returned to KSC to take part in a black tie gala grand opening

of the Apollo-Saturn V Center. The facility houses a 363-foot-long Saturn V rocket

like those that catapulted seven crews on voyages to the moon. In attendance were

Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11), Richard Gordon (Apollo 12), Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14),

Charlie Duke (Apollo 16), Walter Cunningham (Apollo 7), Thomas Stafford (Apollo

10), Rusty Schweickart (Apollo 9), Gene Cernan (Apollo 10 and 17), William Anders

(Apollo 8) and John Young (Apollo 10 and 16). An original lunar lander, the upper

most parts of an Apollo launch gantry and a restored Launch Control Center Firing

Room also are on display at the museum, which is three to four miles west of KSC's

twin launch pads. Two theaters are also featured at the museum, and for the returning

Apollo astronauts, its opening was a reunion and a trip down the proverbial memory

4
lane. Just the sight of the museum's sleek Saturn V rocket, which recently was

restored to near-mint condition as part of a $1.7 million makeover, was enough to

make Gene Ceman and his colleagues marvel. The Saturn V, which rusted in the

rain and corrosive salt air in front of KSC's 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building for

more than 20 years, is the largest space program artifact ever restored. [Florida

Today. Jan. 9, 1997, p 1A - 2A.]

RUSSIA'S DESIGN MAY BE THREAT IN SPACE

Insufficient shielding on sections of the international space station that the Russians

are building nearly triples the risk that the entire station could be pierced by space

debris, said a 50-page report by the National Research Council, part of the private,

non-profit National Academy of Sciences. Because the station is interconnected, the

increased risk affects the entire sm_cmre, the report said. The National Aeronautics

and Space Administration is working with Russia to come up with ways to fortify

Russian parts after they are launched into orbit, said NASA orbital debris program

manager George Levin. NASA engineers believe that even if the station is designed

properly, an object will penetrate the structure once every 48 years. But those odds go

up to once every 17 years because of the vulnerable Russian sections. While the

Russian components represent the biggest problem, the research council came up with

improvements NASA should make, too. The report noted that the space debris is

coming from angles NASA hadn't originally anticipated, so more shielding is needed.

NASA's Levin said those changes will be made. [The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 9, 1997,

p A-7.]

KIDSAT BRINGS SPACE SHUTrI_ EXPERIENCE

TO CLASSROOMS

The Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-81), scheduled for launch Jan. 12, will support the

second flight of KidSat, NASA's pilot education program that uses an electronic still

camera aboard the Shuttle to bring the frontiers of space exploration to 15 U.S. middle

school classrooms via the Interact. The three-year pilot program is a partnership

between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the University of California at San

Diego (USCD), and the Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic

Advancement of Youth (JHU-IAAY). [NASA News Release # 97-6, Jan. 9, 1997.]

SPACE SHUTrLE MISSION WEB PAGE

GETS NEW LOOK FOR 1997

The STS-81 NASA Shuttle Web page goes on-line today with a new look and feel

designed to improve speed and ease navigation. Several new features have been added

to the popular page. The intemet address remains the same for all Shuttle missions at:

http://shuttle.nasa.gov/ Visitors to the remodeled site will find the latest, daily updated

information on the STS-81 mission, and a new menu bar that takes them even more

5
quickly and easily to the features that spark their interest. [NASA Interact Advisory

#I97-1, Jan. 9, 1997.]

January 10: REASSIGNMENT OF KEY PERSONNEL

The following Senior Executive Service assignments are effective immediately. James

L. Jennings is designated Acting Deputy Center Director. He currently serves as

Director, Administration Office. Bobby G. Bruckner is designated Director of Payload

Processing pending final approval by NASA Headquarters. He has served as Director,

Payload Ground Systems in the Payload Processing Directorate since 1994. Sterling

W. Walker is designated Director of Engineering Development pending final approval

by NASA Headquarters. He has served as Director, Mechanical Engineering in the

Engineering Development Directorate since 1991. Warren I. Wiley is designated

Deputy Director of Engineering Development pending final approval by NASA

Headquarters. He is currently Deputy Manager, Launch Integration in the Space

Shuttle Program. [KSC Announcement, Jan. 10, 1997.]

ANN MONTGOMERY ASSIGNED AS ACI'ING

DIRECIDR OF LOGISTICS OPERATIONS

Ms. Ann D. Montgomery is appointed Acting Director of Logistics Operations. Her

assignment is effective immediately and intended to facilitate ongoing operations

pending completion of buyout replacement personnel actions. [KSC Countdown, Jan.

16, 1997. Memoranda, Jan. 10, 1997.]

SMOKE MAY HAVE DAMAGED SHU]WLE LAB

Smoke from a fire in a Kennedy Space Center spacecraft processing building might

have damaged a shuttle laboratory, but its planned launch in April isn't expected to be

delayed, NASA officials said Friday. Set for launch April 3 aboard shuttle Columbia,

the European-built Spacelab module was enveloped in smoke Thursday when a power

supply near the trailer-sized lab short-circuited and caught fire, officials said. The fire

was quickly brought under control, but engineers are concerned that smoke from the

blaze might have contaminated parts of the lab. The lab is to be moved this month

from the KSC Operations and Checkout Building to a shuttle hangar for installation in

Columbia's cargo bay. Seven astronauts will work in two shifts within the lab,

conducting research experiments around the clock during a planned 16-day flight.

[Florida Today, Jan. 11, 1997, p 4A.]

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTI'LE STATUS REPORT

STS-81/Atlanlis, 5th MIR Docking and Spacehab DM, on Pad 39B. The six-member

crew for mission STS-81 arrived at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility last night at 10

p.m. and the countdown for launch began as scheduled at 7 a.m. today at the T-43

hour mark. No technical issues are being worked at this time and Atlantis is on
schedulefor launchat 4:27 a.m.Sunday. At thepad,aft enginecompartmentand

solid rocketboosterclose-outsarecomplete. Today,preparationsareunderway to

load cryogenicreactantsinto the powerreactantstorageanddistribution system

onboardthe orbiter. Thepad will beclearedat midnightand cryogenicloading will

commenceat about3:30a.m.tomorrow. Weatherforecastersarecurrentlyindicating

only a 30percentchanceof weatherviolations on launchday. Theprimary concernis

for possiblelow ceilingsor fog. Thetemperatureat thepad at launchtime is expected

to be about44 degrees;relativehumidity about89 percent;cloudspossiblyaslow as

500feet, thenscatteredat 3,500feet and 10,000feet andbroken at 25,000feet; pad

winds from thenorth at 3-5 knots; andno precipitationis forecast. STS-82/Diseovery,

HubbleSpaceTelescopeServicingMission 2, is locatedin Orbiter ProcessingFacility

bay 2. Final close-outsin the payloadbayarecompleteandthe doorswill be closed

tonight. Airlock and aft engine compartment close-outs are also set to be completed

later today. Roll over to the Vehicle Assembly Building is targeted for late Saturday

afternoon (January 11). In the Vehicle Assembly Building, Discovery will be mated to

the external tank and solid rocket boosters. STS-83/Columbia, Microgravity Science

Laboratory 1, is located in Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1. Preparations continue to

removal of the Space Shuttle main engines this weekend. Pressure checks of fuel cell

No. 2 and payload bay door radiator functional tests are complete. Stacking of the

solid rocket boosters in the Vehicle Assembly Building continues. [Bruce

Buckingham. (1997). Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle Status Report [Online].

Available E-mail: domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [1997, January

10].]

January 11: COLD WEATHER COULD PUT CHILL ON SHUTTLE LAUNCH

NASA officials will halt Sunday's (January 12) scheduled 4:27 a.m. launch if they

detect ice on the external fuel tank. If too much ice is on the shuttle's massive

external fuel tank, Atlantis will not launch toward its fifth meeting with the Russian

space station Mir. The launch will be scrubbed if ice forms on the tip of the shuttle's

tank, which is filled with 500,000 gallons of liquid fuel supercooled to minus 423

degrees. The launch also will be called off if ice is more than 1/16th of an inch thick

on certain other areas of the tank. Even though ice has never caused a shuttle launch

to be scrubbed, the conditions are ripe for too much ice Sunday: a predawn launch,

chilly temperatures, a north wind and high humidity. Besides the ice concerns,

NASA's meteorologists say there's a 30 percent chance that the weather could prevent

the shuttle launch. Meteorologists worry about low clouds and temperatures getting

too cold for the shuttle and its boosters to work safely. [The Orlando Sentinel, Jan.

11, 1997, p A-1 & A-10]

LINENGER TO NASA: NO BAD NEWS, PLEASE

With a pregnant wife, a year-old son and a big extended family, astronaut Jerry

Linenger has made it clear to NASA: Hold the bad news during the 4 1⁄2 months he
will be in space. With spaceflights getting longer and space fliers and their families

getting younger and younger, this is a new area for NASA -- whether and how to

break bad news from home to astronauts in orbit. NASA officials could not recall any

instance in which they had to decide whether to break tragic news to an astronaut in

space. NASA would hesitate to shorten a mission because of a family emergency

unless the astronaut became seriously depressed. Likewise, Linenger has been warned

that if his shuttle flight home is delayed, the space agency won't take any

extraordinary measures to bring him back in time for the birth of his child. [Florida

Today. Jan. 11, 1997, p 4A.]

January 12: RUSSIA'S SPACE PROGRAM FALTERS

Russian and American space officials have been gathering at Kennedy Space Center as

NASA prepared to launch the space shuttle Atlantis early this morning. Atlantis is

supposed to dock with the Russian space station Mir on the fifth of nine meetings, but

the talk at KSC went beyond the shuttle-Mir program. NASA, Russia and other

countries are partners in the $43 billion planned international space station, of which

NASA is paying $29 billion. Much of the talk was not about NASA's money, but

Russia's lack of it. With the Russian government in a financial crisis, the space

agency that used to enjoy lots of cash and success is struggling in many ways. A few

of those problems are: There are no spare Soyuz launch vehicles in case of

emergencies. So NASA's shuttle fleet is supplying 40 percent of Mir's food and

equipment; Russia's launch site hasn't paid its power bills and keeps getting its

electricity shut off; Because contractors weren't getting paid, the Russians axe eight

months behind in building the service module, a crucial component of the international

station. The Russians have had space stations in orbit since 1971. NASA is paying

Russia $471 million for the shuttle-Mir program to tap into that expertise. "We've

learned a great deal from our Russian partners in doing this," said NASA shuttle-Mir

manager Frank Culbertson. [The Orlando Sentinel, Jan 12, 1997, p A-16.]

ATLANTIS EN ROUTE TO RUSSIAN STATION

AFrER PREDAWN LIFrOFF

The countdown for launch of Atlantis on mission STS-81 proceeded smoothly and

launch occurred on time. Launch Director James Harrington joked that the only hitch

in Atlantis' countdown and launch was that the shuttle "was a little bit slow, 42

milliseconds (42 one-thousandths of a second late)." Atlantis is scheduled to remain in

orbit for about 10 days and land back at Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 22. Returning

with Atlantis will be John Blaha, ending his four month stay on the Mir space station.

The crew of STS-81 are: Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Brent Jett, and Mission

Specialists Jeff Wisoff, John Grunsfeld, Marsha Ivins, Jerry Linenger (up), and John

Blaha (down). Blaha has been living on the station with cosmonauts Valery Korzun

and Alexander Kaleri. Soon after Atlantis docks at Mir, Blaha will move his gear to

the shuttle and turn over his post on the station to astronaut Jerry Linenger. Linenger

8
will become the fourth NASA guest on the station, where he will live until another

Atlantis crew returns for him in May with his replacement. [Bruce Buckingham.

(1997). Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle Status Report [Online]. Available Email: domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [1997, January 12]. Florida

Today_, Jan. 13, 1997, p 1A. The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 13, 1997, p A-5.]

THRH_,[Y_ AUTHOR TOM CLANCY PENS

SHU'ITLE LAUNCH ACCOUNT

As soon as the space shuttle Atlantis spiraled into space, novelist Tom Clancy began

to write a 1,500-word piece for Mongo Park, an online magazine on Microsoft's

Internet Web site. Nathan Myhrvold, the computer giant's No. 2 executive and chief

technology officer, was doing the same. To find their work, go to

http://www.msn.com. Microsoft wooed Clarity to do the writing job with such perks

as a VIP tour of Kennedy Space Center, the chance to see a live launch from a prime

viewing spot and some pay. Clancy toured the center Saturday and immediately ran

into an abundance of his fans. NASA employees showed Clancy the inside of the

Vehicle Assembly Building and the launch pad in exchange for autographs. Clancy

confessed to being a space fan for most of his life. He last watched a launch in 1983

from Patrick Air Force Base. [The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 13, 1997, p A-5.]

SPACE CENTER ATI'RACTION IS SOARING SUCCT_SS

Considering that the Satum V attraction at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center

opened in mid-December, executives expected the holidays to be busier than normal.

But even their most optimistic projections didn't compare to the crush of people

packing the attraction in recent weeks. On the busiest day, Dec. 27, 20,000 people

visited the space center. It was a 78 percent increase over the same day last year.-

[The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 13, 1997, p A-5.]

LOCALS MAKE 'CONTACI"

A new film by "Forrest Gump" director Robert Zemeckis is called "Contact" and stars

Jodie Foster as a radio astronomer at Kennedy Space Center who makes contact with

life in outer space. Lure of being in movies draws 2,300 extras which will be used in

a scene to be shot Feb. 1 in which they watch a space shuttle launch from one of

Brevard County's causeways. Which causeway at which the scene will be shot is

being kept a secret so there isn't a mob of spectators that day. The screenplay was

written by Carl Sagan, and the film is scheduled to open in the summer. [Florida

Today_, Jan. 13, 1997, p lB.]
January14: SMOOTH DOCKING AWAITS SHU'ITLE

The space shuttle Atlantis is on a near-perfect flying streak. NASA hopes to stretch

that unusual string of good luck when Atlantis docks tonight with the Russian space

station MIR. The 10:53 p.m. docking, the fifth in 18 months, is Atlantis' main job.

Atlantis weighs 232,761 pounds and Mir weighs 298,189 pounds. Joining the two is a

delicate task that NASA has made routine. Commander Michael Baker, in an

interview from Atlantis, said: "I expect the rendezvous and docking to go very much

like it goes in the simulator, which is normally very smooth." The job begins today at

8:14 p.m., when Baker will fire Atlantis' engines to get in the right position to meet up

with Mir. If everything looks good, Baker will nudge Atlantis up to Mir until the

flowerlike petals on Atlantis' docking ring connect with a similar ring on Mir. ____

Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 14, 1997, A-7.]

ASTRONAUT THAGARD'S SUIT TO SMITHSONIAN

The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum got the space suit astronaut

Norman Thagard wore while heading to the Russian space station Mir for his 4-month

stay. Thagard was joined by astronaut Shannon Lucid and cosmonaut Yuri Usachev in

Washington for the presentation. Thagard was the 1st American to ride aboard a

Russian rocket on March 14, 1995. He was returned to earth onboard the shuttle

Atlantis (STS-71) on July 7, 1995. [The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 15, 1997, A-10.

Space Shuttle Mission Chronology, 1995, Jan. 1996, p 7.]

JAPANESE RECOGNIZE ASTRONAUT WITH POEM

Japan's imperial family honored an astronaut's journey and a city's recovery from a

earthquake in poems read Tuesday at an annual New Year's ceremony. The ceremony

is part of palace tradition dating back about 700 years. Empress Michiko, wearing a

long white dress, read a poem about Japanese astronaut Koiehi Wakata, who flew on

the space shuttle Endeavour (STS-72) last year. As translated by the Imperial

Household Agency, the poem reads: "It was a blue planet, Distinct in darkness,

Bearing signs of life. So describing the earth from afar The astronaut has returned."

[The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 15, 1997, A-10.]

January 15: MIR WELCOME BASH OUT OF THIS WORl,rt

Rife with mechanical noises, the Russian space station Mir is never quiet. And now

it's getting even louder. Mir, which in Russian means peace, has become anything but

peaceful. Early Wednesday, six astronauts from the space shuttle Atlantis arrived to

cheers, applause and a loud "welcome, welcome, welcome" from a boisterous John

Blaha. Blaha, a U.S. astronaut who has been on Mir since September, will hitch a

ride home with Atlantis next week. "You could hear lots of yelling and laughing and

happy noises, and I think that kind of tells it all," NASA shuttle-Mir program director

10
FrankCulbertsonsaid. "TheMar crew had not seen any other humans since the last

time the shuttle was there (Sept. 23, 1996, STS-79). Adding to the commotion will be

a few refrains of "Happy Birthday" for new Mir resident Jerry Linenger, who turns 42

on Jan. 16, 1997. [The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 16, 1997, p A-5.]

January 16: ATLANTIS OVERHAUL TO BE DONE OUT WEST

NASA will ship shuttle Atlantis to California in September for a $50 million overhaul

despite a report from its own inspector general that says millions could be saved by

doing similar work here. Critics say the decision to base the work at Boeing North

America's shuttle manufacturing facility in Palmdale rather than at Kennedy Space

Center is politically motivated. Senior NASA officials said Thursday the agency

doesn't want to pile extra work at KSC as it goes through a difficult and

unprecedented move to turn over day-to-day shuttle operations to a private company.

"We knew that we were going to be going through this transition at the same time,"

said former shuttle astronaut Steve Oswald, who now is director of space shuttle

requirements at NASA headquarters in Washington. "And having Kennedy Space

Center do modifications of a magnitude of which they had never attempted before,

while they were trying to get their ducks in a row with the new single prime

contractor, just didn't make any operational sense -- regardless of price and political

concerns," Oswald said.

Atlantis is to be ferried to the Palmdale shuttle plant in late September for an 11-

month overhaul that will include removing an air lock from its crew cabin and refitting

it in the shuttle's cargo bay. The work is required before Atlantis can be launched on

missions to assemble the agency's planned $40 billion international space station,

which is to be raised in orbit between November 1997 and June 2002. The Atlantis

overhaul also calls for technicians to install fuel lines that would be used to transfer

propellant to the international station if a cash-strapped Russian space program is

unable to deliver spacecraft intended to do the same job. In addition, an extra set of

liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen storage tanks for the system which generates

electricity to power the shuttle also is to be installed during the refurbishment.

NASA routinely sidelines each of its four shuttle orbiters once every three years for

extensive structural inspections and systems modifications. The work has been

performed almost exclusively at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale. The location of

the shuttle overhaul work, which accounts for 486 jobs in Palmdale, has been a

political football for a while. [Florida Today, Jan. 17, 1997, p 1A & 6A.]

SHUTI'LE CALL STUMPS RADIO AUTO MFL'BANICS

"Car Talk" auto repair gurus Tom and Ray Magliozzi got a p,zzler Thursday that they

just couldn't figure out for their show on National Public Radio. Seems a caller

named "John from Houston" was having a problem with his vehicle. "I occasionally

11
drive this government vehicle...and twice it's done a very funny thing, and I thought

maybe you guys could help me with it," the caller told the Magliozzi's, also know to a

nationwide audience as "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers." "When I first start it

up, it starts great. It accelerates really, really well. then it runs incredibly rough,

though, for about two minutes," the caller said. "Then after the first two minutes --

after this really rough ride -- there's kind of a jolt. And then it runs smooth, but only

for about six-and-a-half more minutes. And at that point the engine dies. It stops

completely." What the Magliozzi's didn't know was that the guy on the other end of

the line was NASA astronaut John Grunsfeld, who just happened to be calling from

shuttle Atlantis, which is linked up to Russia's space station Mir some 242 miles

above Earth. The vehicle in question, of course, was Atlantis, which bolted off its

launch pad last Sunday and gave its crew a shake-and-rattle ride for two minutes --

until the shuttle's twin solid rocket boosters were jettisoned into the Atlantic Ocean.

The remainder of the supersonic ride in space was smooth as glass until the shuttle's

three liquid-fueled main engines shut down as scheduled six-and-a-half minutes later.

The radio show hosts finally put the puzzler together when Grunsfeld reminded the

pair that they used to work on his Sunbeam Alpine in their auto repair shop. [Florida

Today. Jan. 17, 1997, p 6A.]

ADMINISTRATOR DAN GOLDIN COMMENDS KSC FOR

STS-81 SUPPORT

In Administrator Dan Goldin's agency-wide teleconference earlier this week, he asked

Center Director Jay Honeycutt to pass on his appreciation to the KSC workforce for

their outstanding performance during the launch of STS-81 this past weekend. Goldin

went on to say that he had received several positive comments from his guests and

particularly wanted to single out the launch team for their flawless handling of a

demanding launch with a very tight window. He also cited the guest services support

team for their professionalism in assisting him and his guests throughout the launch.

[KSC Countdown, Jan. 16, 1997.]

MARS ASSIGNED TO HEAD KSC "ISO" PROJECT OFFICE

Center Director Jay Honeycutt has announced the establishment of the "ISO" Project

Office at KSC and the assignment of Charles B. Mars to head the new organization.

In his new role, Mars will report directly to the deputy center director, with

responsibility for managing KSC preparations for ISO certification. The ISO program,

in effect, describes requirements for an effective quality system. The agency-wide ISO

program requires certification of both technical and administrative program areas.

[KSC Countdown, Jan. 16, 1997.]

January 17: ORGANIZATIONAL REASSIGNMENT

Mr. David A. Wansley is appointed Deputy Director, Procurement Office effective

12
immediately. Mr. Wansleywill serveasActing Chief,Acquisition Management

Office and as Acting Small Business Specialist. [Memoranda, Jan. 17, 1997]

BLAHA TELLS CLINTON TO BUILD STATION

From his home in orbit, astronaut John Blaha recorded a video message Friday to be

played during President Clinton's inaugural ball Monday night (Jan. 20). In the taped

note Blaha -- who is nearing the end of a four-month odyssey on the Russian space

station Mir -- plugged NASA's plan to start building a $40 billion international station

late this year. "We're now embarked on a new program -- a bridge to the 21st century

which President Clinton initiated 3 1/2-years ago -- where we entered a cooperative

agreement to build a new space station together with the Russians," Blaha said. "In

the interim we have been using our space shuttle and the Russian Mir space station,

which is 11 years old, to conduct joint space operations." The Air Force colonel's

remarks are to be played during the president's shindig at the National Air and Space

Museum. [Florida Today, Jan. 18, 1997, p 7A.]

DELTA 2 ROCKET EXPLODES

The Air Force is continuing an investigation into the explosion of a Delta 2 rocket that

showered the ground with flaming debris and sent a toxic cloud over the Brevard

County coast. No injuries were reported as a result of the blast, which destroyed the

$55 million unmanned rocket and its cargo -- a $40 million advanced military

navigation satellite (NAVSTAR Global Positioning System satellite). The cause of

the accident -- which occurred 13 seconds after liftoff as the rocket reached 1,589 feet

above launch pad 17A-- remained unknown late Friday. Possible culprits, however,

include a failure of the rocket's first-stage engine or any of its nine strap-on solid

rocket boosters, officials said. The McDonnell Douglas Delta rocket fleet will remain

grounded until the probe is complete and any necessary repairs are made to the

rockets, which are considered the most reliable in the world. As a result, 16 satellitedelivery missions planned this year from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force

Base in California are on hold. Of 241 Delta launches since 1960, Friday's was only

the 14th failure. The last catastrophic Delta failure was 10 years ago (May 1986), and

the last low-altitude Delta failure, caused by a different type solid motor, was nearly

20 years ago in 1977. Standing 12 stories tall, the Delta blasted off from Cape

Canaveral Air Station at 11:28 a.m. and quickly exploded, sending a hugh fountain of

burning fuel and wreckage through cold, cloud-packed skies. Most of the debris fell

near the launch pad, sparking small fires in the palmetto scrub that burned for more

than an hour. Seventy-three launch team members were safely holed up in a concrete

blockhouse within the length of a football field of the launch pad. But about 150

launch guests were quickly evacuated to an air station hangar from grandstands four

miles from the pad. [Florida Today, Jan. 18, 1997, p 1A & 6A. Florida Today, Jan.

18, 1997, p 7A. The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 18, 1997, p A-1. Aviation Week & Space

Technolo_v, Jan 27, 1997, p 30-33.]

13
CRACK SCARES NASA,_ BUT LAUNCH PLATFORM

FOR SHUTTLE WILL BE OK

The space agency had a scare Friday while moving shuttle Discovery to its launch pad

for a planned Feb. 11 liftoff to service the Hubble Space Telescope. The move was

halted temporarily when technicians heard a loud bang and discovered a 24-foot-long

crack in the surface of the shuttle's mobile launch platform. After studying the crack

for four hours, engineers decided it would not interfere with the launch. The launch

platform is a two-story steel structure 160 feet long and 130 feet wide. After the

shuttle is mated to its fuel tank and two booster rockets, it is connected to the launch

platform, which travels with it from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad. The

shuttle then launches from the platform. NASA has three such platforms. "We're

going to continue studying it, but the assessments from the engineers is that it's just a

superficial crack," said NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham. He said it likely could

be fixed by welding or adding a steel plate on top of the cracked area. ["Blaha tells

Clinton to build station," Florida Today, Jan. 18, 1997, p 7A. The Orlando Sentinel,

Jan. 18, 1997, A-16.]

ASTRONOMER WHO FOUND PLUTO DIES

Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who discovered the planet Pluto, died at the age of

90. Tombaugh discovered Pluto, the ninth planet from the sun, in 1930 when he had

just turned 24. [The Orlando Sentinel, Jan 19, 1997, p A-5.]

GOES-K WEATHER SATEIX,rrE ARRIVES AT KSC

The GOES-K weather satellite, to be launched aboard an Atlas I rocket in late April,

arrived today at KSC by C-5 air cargo plane from the manufacturing plant in Palo

Alto, CA. GOES-K is the third spacecraft to be launched in the new advanced series

of geostationary weather satellites for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration. The launch of the Atlas UGOES-K is currently planned for April 24

at the opening of a launch window extending from 1:56-3:19 a.m. [KSC Countdown,

Jan. 16, 1997.]

MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR STATUS REPORT

Per a recent MGS flight operations report, the Mars Global Surveyor was 14,79

million kilometers from the Earth and moving in an orbit around the sun at a velocity

of 31.32 kilometers per second. The Surveyor's orbit is expected to intercept Mars on

Sep. 12, 1997. [KSC Countdown, Jan. 16, 1997.]

14
January19: MS. SHANNON D. BARTELL APPOINTED DIRECI'OR.,

PAYLOAD FLIGHT SYSTEMS

Effective January 19, 1997, Ms. Shannon D. Bartell was appointed to the Senior

Executive Service position of Director, Payload Flight Systems in the Payload

Processing Directorate. Bartell was assigned as deputy director, International Space

Station Launch Site Support (ISSLSS) in April 1996, and later assumed the duties of

acting director, Payload Flight Systems. Prior to her ISSLSS position, Bartell served

as chief of the Payload Processing Division. [KSC Announcement, Jan. 22, 1997.

KSC Countdown, Jan. 28, 1997.]

PANEL NAMED TO PROBE DELTA EXPLOSION

Col. Ron Haekel, operations group commander of the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg

Air Force Base, will lead the nine-member panel of Air Force officials who will search

for the cause of the explosion of an unmanned Delta rocket. [Florida Today, Jan. 19,

1997, p 1A.]

SECRET SPACE TUG MIGHT START STATION

A space tug like one flown on top-secret Department of Defense missions is being

considered by NASA as an interim control module for the agency's planned $40 billion

international space station, a senior NASA official says. NASA will decide this month

whether to rush into production the Naval Research Laboratory craft, which would be

used to keep early station components in orbit should Russia not be able to deliver a

key command and control center for the outpost. The agency also will consider a plan

to finance and build a Russian control module to do the job, NASA space flight chief

Wil Trafton said. NASA decided to pursue options for an interim control module last

month when it became apparent the Russian Space Agency would not be able to

deliver the station's so-called Service Module on time for an April 1998 launch. The

Service Module, which is expected to be launched in December 1998, is to provide

living quarters for crews during station construction as well as propulsion systems

needed to keep the outpost aloft. The NILL tug would cost less than $100 million to

build, Trafton said. It would be paid for out of financial reserves from NASA's annual

$2.1 billion station budget. [FLORIDA TODAY, Jan. 19, 1997, p 1E.]

ATLANTIS LEAVES MIR., HEADS HOME

John Blaha and five other astronauts started the journey back at 9:15 p.m. Sunday,

when shuttle Atlantis slipped away from the Russian space station Mir and flew twice

around the outpost before settling a course for Earth. The two spacecraft parted about

200 miles above Russia, just southeast of Moscow. Earlier in the day, the Russian and

Atlantis crews embraced and wished each other well before closing the hatches

between their spacecraft. It was the fifth time the shuttle has docked at Mir. Atlantis

15
could returnto Kennedy Space Center as early as Wednesday, but NASA officials will

decide today whether to extend the flight until Thursday so the crew can do more tests

on an experimental piece of exercise equipment. [Florida Today, Jan. 20, 1997, p 1A.]

January 20: CLINTON OUTLINES OPTIMISTIC VISION OF FUTURE

President Bill Clinton was sworn in for his second term Monday outside the U.S.

Capitol in Washington, D. C., by Chief Justice William Rehnquist. [Florida Today.,

Jan. 21, 1997, p 1A.]

January 21: SHUTI'LE HOOK-UP WINS RAVE REVIEWS

They may not have been the first to resupply the Russian space station Mir, but the

current crew of the space shuttle Atlantis did the best job, NASA officials said. The

Atlantis crew was extremely efficient in transferring water, equipment and food

between the shuttle and Mir. Mission Operations Director Bob Castle said last week

that the astronauts probably were so efficient because they were left on their own to

decide how best to handle the job. This is the second mission that NASA has taken

such a hands-off approach to the transfers. Atlantis continued to have remarkably few

problems Monday, when astronauts successfully performed a treadmill experiment that

had failed last week. Because the experiment worked Monday, NASA managers

decided not to extend Atlantis' flight. Landing is set for 7:48 a.m. Wednesday at

Kennedy Space Center. [The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 21, 1997, p A-4.]

CAST-OFF PARTS FROM DAYS OF SPYING

WILL HELP U.S. RUSSIA LINK IN SPACE

Remnants of the once ultra-secret worlds of U.S. and Russian military space

surveillance will literally open up to each other in space next year. NASA will buy a

U.S. Navy-built space vehicle that used to help America spy on the Soviet navy. That

vehicle, called a Titan Launch Dispenser, will temporarily replace a crucial Russian

section of the international space station, a top NASA station official said. Then in

the fall of 1998 that vehicle will attach to a Russian-built part of the space station,

called the Functional Energy Block. That block was once part of Russia's secret

military spy program, experts said. They will fly in space together for about a year.

NASA's decision last week to buy the Titan Launch Dispenser will cost the space

agency less than $100 million for the space vehicle, said Andrew Allen, NASA's

director of space station requirements. But this new vehicle, which NASA calls an

interim control module, will require another space shuttle flight to put it in place --

another $450 million. [The Odando Sentinel, Jan. 22, 1997, p A-8.]

16
OFFICIALS NARROW CAUSES OF DELTA BLAST

Air Force investigators are zeroing in on the cause of Friday's Delta rocket explosion

while tallying damages that left a Cape Canaveral launch complex looking like a

bombarded war zone. Although the exact cause remains unknown, officials say the

rocket's first and second stages might have inadvertently separated, setting off an

automatic destruct system that triggered the blast. Other possible culprits: a rupture of

the rocket's first-stage metal casing or propellant tanks within the stage. Failure of one

of the Delta's nine strap-on solid rocket boosters also is a possibility, officials say.

Falling debris from the 493,000-pound rocket also left gaping craters in the ground at

the complex as well as paved roads leading to it. Four of 20 to 30 administrative

trailers at the site burned to the ground. About 20 of about 30 cars parked at the

complex were damaged or destroyed. "The damage was very fragmented," said Air

Force Maj. Ingrid Bradley, director of public affairs at the 45th Space Wing. Bradley

said neither the rocket's launch pad nor tower, which was built in 1956 for $3.5

million, sustained substantial damage. Minor damage also was done at the nearby Air

Force Space & Missile Museum, but none of the rockets on display was damaged.

[Florida Today, Jan. 22, 1997, p 2A.]

January 22: ATLANTIS BRINGS A WOBBLY BLAHA HOME

Astronaut John Blaha on Wednesday experienced the weighty burden and uplifting joy

of coming home after four months in space. After Atlantis landed smoothly at 9:23

a.m., Blaha tried to stand up but had to sit right back down, said NASA Flight Crew

Operations Chief Dave Leestma. Blaha told workers that he felt like "he weighed

1,000 pounds," Leestma said. Unlike his predecessors Shannon Lucid and Norm

Thagard who walked off the shuttle on their own power, Blaha was carried off. That

was good for scientists who want to study how months in near-zero gravity changes

the body. When astronauts stand up, their bodies start readjusting to gravity. But any

added weight Blaha felt returning to Earth was soon lightened by a surprise that

NASA Administrator Dan Goldin brought up to the shuttle, Blaha's wife, Brenda.

This was the first time a family member has been allowed to come to the shuttle

unloading area after a mission. Blaha underwent several medical tests at Kennedy

Space Center on Wednesday and will return to Houston tomorrow. His 128-day

odyssey is the second-longest spaceflight for a U.S. astronaut. His predecessor on

Mir, Shannon Lucid, holds the American record of 188 days in space. [The Orlando

Sentinel, Jan. 23, 1997, p A-14. Florida Today, Jan. 23, 1997, p 1A & 7A.]

KSC ORDERED TO REPLACE ALL OF ITS OLD NASA LOGOS

During a visit to Kennedy Space Center, NASA Administrator Dan Goldin said too

many worms. The worm Goldin wants eliminated is a NASA logo, one that pre-dates

his ftve-year tenure. Soon after he took over the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration in 1992, Goldin changed the 1970s NASA logo. He ordered the

17
agency to return to the original logo, that NASA workers call the meatball because the

agency's acronym sits on top of a blue ball. Goldin said he wanted the changeover to

be done when regular maintenance work is performed so that there is no extra cost.

But 4 1/2 years later, the old logos remain in obvious places, including on the shuttle.

Goldin has made his displeasure clear. KSC had been changing the worm to the

meatball whenever something needed repainting, following Goldin's original orders.

Now KSC will shuffle its maintenance schedule to make sure worms are eradicated.

"Those that are more visible we're ensuring that they get a priority," KSC Director Jay

Honeycutt said. But when Goldin complained about the old logo on the space shuttle,

Honeycutt said it was out of his hands. KSC launches the shuttles, but the program is

run by the Johnson Space Center in Houston. [The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 23, 1997, p

A-14.]

Janua/y 23: NASA NAMES ACTING SPACE STATION DIRECrOR

NASA's Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight Wilbur C. Trafton

today named Gretchen W. McClain to the position of Acting Director of Space Station

Requirements at the Agency's Washington headquarters. McClain replaces astronaut

Lt. Col. Andrew M. Allen, who is retiring from the U.S. Marine Corps. [NASA News

Release #97-15, Jan. 23, 1997.]

LEARY'S FINAL TRIP ON HOLD

Due to technical difficulties, Timothy Leary's final trip to space has been delayed.

Leary died in May at age 75. At his request, the remains of the LSD prophet were to

be launched into space aboard a commercial satellite last fall. Problems with an

unrelated launch, however, pushed the blastoff back. Leary wanted Celestis Inc. of

Houston to pack his ashes into a small, aluminum capsule for the trip. Joining him

will be the ashes of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry. Relatives are scheduled to

gather Feb. 15 at Vandenberg to watch a plane take off with the rocket in tow. The

plane will land in Spain, where the satellite will be attached to the rocket for a

scheduled March 11 launch. The rocket will soar 300 miles above Earth. Each

family, which paid $4,800, will also get a commemorative video of the launch.

[Florida Today., Jan. 23, 1996, p 7A.]

PROPELLANT LEAK FORCF_.S EVACUATIONS AT KSC

A small fire at a power distribution plant and a near-simultaneous propellant leak at

the shuttle launch pad triggered evacuations Thursday at Kennedy Space Center. No

injuries were reported in the 2:15 p.m. fire or the propellant leak, which came two

minutes later and created a small toxic cloud four miles away at launch pad 39B. The

back-to-back alarms caused the 30-minute evacuation of 200 to 300 people at the KSC

Vehicle Assembly Building, the Launch Control Center and the launch pad. The fire,

which erupted at a power substation near the assembly building, was extinguished

3.8
quickly. The propellant leak occurred while pad workers were purging a nitrogen

tetroxide line with a neutralizing solution. A pressure valve on a 55-gallon drum

being used to collect residual propellant burst and spewed the plume, which dissipated

in about five minutes. [FLORIDA TODAY, Jan. 24, 1997, p 1A.]

January 24: ROY BRIDGES SELECI'ED AS KSC'S

NEW CENTER DIRECTOR

Former shuttle astronaut and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Roy D. Bridges, Jr., has been

named by NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin to be the director of the Kennedy

Space Center (KSC). Bridges, who will become the seventh KSC center director

effective March 2, will succeed Jay F. Honeycutt, who announced his retirement last

October. As director, Bridges will be responsible for managing NASA's only site for

processing and launch of the Space Shuttle vehicle at a rate of seven to eight flights

per year; processing of the payloads flown on both the Shuttle and expendable launch

vehicles; and overseeing of expendable launches carrying NASA payloads. He will

manage a team of about 2,000 NASA civil servants and about 14,000 contractors. As

a NASA astronaut, Bridges served as pilot for the Space Shuttle Challenger on STS

51-F in July and August 1985. Bridges later served as the director of requirements,

Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH,

from June 1993 until his retirement from the Air Force on July 1, 1996. In that

position he served as the command focal point for product management policy,

processes and resources. Prior to his assignment at Wright-Patterson, Bridges was the

commander, Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, CA. He has

served in several key leadership positions in the Air Force, including deputy chief of

staff, test and resources, Headquarters Air Force Systems Command, Andrews Air

Force Base, MD; commander, Eastern Space and Missile Center, Patrick Air Force

Base, FL; and commander, 6510th Test Wing, Edwards Air Force Base, CA.

Bridges was born July 19, 1943, in Atlanta, GA, and graduated from Gainesville High

School, CA, in 1961. He is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy,

Colorado Springs, CO, earning a bachelor's degree in engineering science in 1965. He

received a master of science degree in astronautics from Purdue University, IN, in

1966. [NASA News Release #97-17, Jan. 24, 1997.]

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTI'LE STATUS REPORT

STS-82/Discovery, Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 2. The pad is closed

today for scheduled operations to load hypergolic propellants into the orbiter's reaction

control system. On Sunday, the Rotating Service Structure will be retracted away

from the vehicle for a hot fire test of the three auxiliary power units Sunday evening.

On Monday, the payloads will be delivered to the pad's payload change-out room.

STS-83/Colmnbia, Microgravity Science Laboratory 1. The right hand orbital

maneuvering system pod has been removed from the orbiter. Payload premate tests

and installation of the Ku-band antenna are in work today. Wing-to-fuselage bolt

19
torque checks are continuing. Stacking of the right hand solid rocket booster in the

Vehicle Assembly Building is scheduled for completion this weekend. STSg4/Aflantis, 6th MIR Docking & Spacehab DM. Off-load of residual cryogenic

reactants from the orbiter's power reactant storage and distribution system is complete.

Access to the aft engine compartment is in work and the payload bay doors are

scheduled to be opened on Monday. [Bruce Buckingham. (1997). Kennedy Space

Center Space Shuttle Status Report [Online]. Available E-mail:

domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [1997, January 24].]

MIR A HOME ON THE WANE

A human refuge in the heavens, the Russian space station Mir has dodged all kinds of

perils during its nearly 11 years in orbit. Ever since the communist government that

built it crumbled in 1991, economic troubles have strangled the station's financial

lifeline and fueled recurring rumors that Mir would be sold or abandoned. Things got

so bad in 1992 that Mir's cosmonauts even threatened to strike when their paychecks

shrank to a paltry $6 per month. Through it all, Mir has persevered, providing a home

to 58 cosmonauts and 17 guests. Among them is U.S. astronaut Dr. Jerry Linenger,

who was ferried to Mir last week aboard shuttle Atlantis to replace fellow American

John Blaha. But it is now a near certainty that Mir will not survive much longer.

Russian officials say they will abandon the venerable outpost in three years or less

because of continuing money problems. When Mir's hatches are sealed for good it

will mark the end of a remarkable achievement -- the world's first almost continuously

manned and operated space station. [Florida Today., Jan. 24, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

HOPES DIM FOR CROPS IN SPACE

Two wheat plants grown aboard the Russian space station Mir produced a seedless

crop, dashing scientists' hopes of one day producing a perpetual food supply for long

space voyages. The first crop, grown from seeds planted in August, was harvested in

December and found to be seedless. More seeds were planted on Dec. 6 and those,

too, produced a seedless crop that was harvested 40 days later. Russian and American

scientists plan to study samples of the experiments. [The Orlando Sentinel, Jan. 24,

1997, p A-5.]

January 25: FORMER NASA ENGINEER DIES IN CAR CRASH

Robert L. Jones, co-developer of the space helmet used by Apollo astronauts during

the late 1960s and 1970s was killed in a traffic accident, officials said Saturday. Jones

worked for NASA in the human factors engineering department during the early

Apollo space missions. He headed a team of engineers who designed the space suits

worn by astronauts during the race to land a man on the moon. [The Orlando

Sentinel, Jan. 26, 1997, p A-9.]

2O
January 27: SEVERAL SERVICES TO MARK

ANNIVERSARY OF APOLLO 1

Kennedy Space Center Director Jay Honeycutt will speak about the future of the space

program in Brevard County during Titusville's 1 lth Annual Astronaut Memorial

Ceremony on Tuesday, the anniversary of the 1986 shuttle Challenger accident.

Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Center will have a public ceremony dedicated to the

Apollo 1 crew at the Astronauts Memorial. A private ceremony for family members

will be conducted that evening at the site of the accident. The Apollo 1 (AS-204)

accident occurred on January 27, 1967 at 1831 EST when fire broke out in the

command module during a pre-launch test on Launch Complex 34. The fire resulted

in the deaths of astronauts Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom, Edward H. White, II, and Roger B.

ChatTee. The space shuttle Challenger accident occurred on January 28, 1986, at

11:39 a.m. Seventy-three seconds after liftoff, an explosion claimed the crew and

vehicle. STS-51L crewmembers included Commander Francis R. Scobee, Pilot

Michael J. Smith, Mission Specialists Judith A. Resnick, Ellison S. Onizuka, Ronald

E. McNair, Teacher in Space Sharon Christa McAuliffe and Payload Specialist

Gregory B. Jarvis. [Florida Today., Jan 26, 1997, p 5A. A Summary of Major NASA

Launches, Jul. 1980, p V-17. Space Shuttle Mission Chronology, Mar. 1996, p 9.]

EMERGENCY PLANS BEING DRAWN UP FOR OCT. LAUNCH

While visions of a Delta rocket explosion linger in local memory, Brevard County

officials are moving ahead with emergency plans for the October launch of a rocket

carrying a nuclear-powered NASA probe toward Saturn. Set for liftoff Oct. 6 from

Cape Canaveral Air Station, a Titan rocket is to put the space agency's Cassini probe

on a course that eventually will take it on a tour of Saturn, its rings and its moons.

By the time the rocket begins its 11-minute climb into orbit, county and other officials

will have spent thousands of hours preparing for any accident. Representatives from

NASA and county, state and federal agencies will sit down this week, continuing

meetings that began in 1995. The groups are planning a table-top launch day rehearsal

in June, to be followed by a full-scale practice session in the fall. Their plans include

a worst-case scenario in which a rocket explosion would vaporize the probe's

plutonium pellets and send a radioactive mist over Brevard. Because they have been

preparing for every contingency, nothing new is being done in response to the Air

Force's Delta accident this month, officials said. [Florida Today, Jan 27, 1997, p 1A2A.]

NASA TO CUT 1,600 JOBS

As part of NASA's effort to reduce its budget, officials at the Jet Propulsion

Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said the lab will privatize some operations to eliminate

almost 1,600 jobs during the next three years. The scientific facility, long at the

cutting edge of satellite and deep space research, indicated two years ago that its

21
operations would be scaled back after the federal budget was cut for space exploration

and research. JPL, the largest employer in the Pasadena area, has a work force of

about 6,300 people. Officials want to reduce the agency's work force to 4,800 by

farming out administrative and mission control work to private industry. Companies

with winning bids would be obligated to hire JPL employees whose jobs are being

eliminated by the contract, said JPL Deputy Director Larry Dumas. [Florida Today,

Jan 27, 1997, p 2A.]

APOLI.D 1 CREW REMEMBERED

It happened 30 years ago when a fire consumed the Apollo 1 spacecraft during a

launch pad test. A handful of Apollo 1 family members gathered at the Astronaut

Memorial in Titusville for a ceremony to honor the crew. Called heroes, brave

explorers and "simply the best," the Apollo 1 astronauts were remembered for their

sacrifice as well as their achievement. They were not sad on the anniversary of the

Jan. 27, 1967, accident, just proud. "It's a great feeling to be here -- very positive,"

Ed White Ill said. "It's just good to know that the positive feelings will live on." The

Apollo 1 crew left something beyond dear memories for their families. They left a

legacy of improved safety for the astronauts who followed them and eventually landed

on the moon. Astronaut Pare Melroy, who works on the KSC team that straps shuttle

astronauts into their seats, said she often has visited the site of the Apollo 1 fire at

Launch Complex 34. The abandoned site at Cape Canaveral Air Station is in

disrepair, but the lessons learned from the fire are on her mind every time she helps an

astronaut get ready for a liftoff, Melroy said. "The influence of the Apollo 1 crew

reaches today in my procedures at the pad and in the shuttle. They have directly

affected the safety and success of every subsequent spaceflight." [Florida Today., Jan

28, 1997, p 2A.]

TITUSVIIJ,E FIRM AWARDED PAD FIRE SUPPRESSION

SYSTEM UPGRADE CONTRACT

The HM2 Corporation, Titusville, FL, has been awarded a $3.2 million firm fixed

price contract to upgrade and modernize the Firex fire suppression system at Kennedy

Space Center's Space Shuttle launch pad 39A and 39B. The small business firm began

work under the contract Jan. 27 and is scheduled to complete the work within two

years of the startup date. The work is necessary to modify and replace elements of the

30-year-old system that protects the Space Shuttle, payloads and launch facilities from

fire at the pads. [KSC Countdown, Feb. 6, 1997.]

January 28: KEY PERSONNEL ASSIGNMENT

Effective immediately, Mr. Sterling Smith is designated Acting Director, Payload

Ground Systems in the Payload Processing Directorate. Mr. Smith will continue to

carry out the responsibilities of his present position as Deputy Director of Payload

22
Processing. [KSC Announcement, Jan. 28, 1997.]

ANNIVERSARY OF SPACE SHUTI'LE CHALLENGER

On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff

from Kennedy Space Center, killing all seven crew members; flight commander

Francis R. "Dick" Scobee; pilot Michael J. Smith; Ronald E. McNair; Ellison S.

Onizuka; Judith A. Resnik; Gregory B. Jarvis; and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

[The Orlando Sentinel, Jan 28, 1997, p A-3.]

January 29: BOOSTER PROBLEM WON'T DELAY LAUNCH

NASA's search for answers to a p-r.rJing booster problem is forcing the agency to do

some unexpected work this weekend on shuttle Discovery. But officials said the extra

labor will not delay the shuttle's planned Feb. 11 launch on a mission to service the

Hubble Space Telescope. The work involves replacing the plugs inside both of

Discovery's solid rocket boosters. Meant to protect the boosters from contamination

while the shuttle sits on the launch pad, the plugs are blown out of the rockets during

liftoff. Discovery's original plugs were lodged in place with an adhesive that has

become a suspect in the agency's search for the cause of an unusual booster problem

seen on two flights last year. During a September launch of Atlantis and a November

launch of Columbia, hot gases eroded channels into the insulation that lines at least

one of the shuttles' nozzles. That uncharacteristic erosion is p-r.rling to NASA

engineers, who think the problem is related to distortions on the way insulation is

applied to the nozzle. However, they also suspect that another unknown factor is

contributing to the erosion. This particular batch of adhesive had been used on the

two flights were the problem was seen. "It's coincidental, it's interesting, and it leads

our engineers to say it could be a contributor," said June Malone, spokeswoman at

Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. [Florida Today, Jan 29, 1997, p 1A.]

PILOT WILL BE HONORED ON KSC MEMORIAL

The stroke of a general's pen Wednesday was expected to end a bitter, six-year

controversy and rescue from obscurity a man many consider to be the nation's first

black astronaut. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff G-en. Thomas S. Moorman signed a

letter that awarded astronaut status to Maj. Robert Lawrence, a black pilot who died in

a 1967 crash before completing his astronaut training. The move clears the way for

the Astronaut Memorial Foundation to etch Lawrence's name into the shiny black

granite of the Space Mirror, viewed each year by millions of visitors to Kennedy

Space Center. "Our goal would be to get this done by December, the anniversary of

his accident," said Astronaut Memorial Foundation President Jim DeSantis.

Lawrence's selection won't be official until mid-February, when the AMF board is

expected to vote. A joint AMF-NASA committee is expected to be formed next week

to make the official recommendation. AMF officials have said the foundation -- which

23
has a racially mixed board and has approved women and minority candidates for the

memorial -- did not allow Lawrence's name on the monument because he lacked the

official Air Force designation as an astronaut. [Florida Today, Jan 30, 1997, p 1A.]

January 30: LOGISTICS OPERATIONS ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES

Due to the retirement of Mr. William I. Moore, effective February 3, 1997, Mr.

Timothy R. Bollo is designated Acting Chief, Materials Science Division. Effective

February 3, 1997, Mr. Gregory A. Opresko is designated Acting Chief, On-site

Operations Division, replacing Mr. Bollo. [Memoranda, Jan. 30, 1997.]

TITAN LAUNCH DELAYED

The planned liftoff of an Air Force Titan rocket has been delayed until no earlier than

Feb. 13 because workers have fallen behind launch preparations. The rocket is to

carry a satellite that can spot missile launches anywhere in the world. [Florida Today,

Jan 30, 1997, p 2A.]

1ST ASTRONAUT DOCI'ORATE GIVEN LOCALLY

"Dr. Gus Grissom" is how the late astronaut could have been addressed, 4 1/2 years

before he died in the Apollo 1 fire being memorialized this week. "In June 1962, Gus

Grissom was awarded the first honorary doctorate granted by Florida Tech," writes

Karen Rhine, communications specialist for the university founded in 1958 as Brevard

Engineering College and later renamed Florida Institute of Technology. The award

was also a national "first." Karen quoted the school's founding president, Dr. Jerome

Keuper, as saying the U.S. government "gave Brevard Engineering College the

privilege and distinction of being the first college in the United States to confer an

honorary degree upon an astronaut." Grissom was named a doctor of space science at

the school's second commencement. Only days after the Apollo 1 fire of Jan. 27,

1967, Florida Tech commemorated its tie with Gus Grissom by renaming a building

for him. South Hall, a dormitory, became "Grissom Hall," according to Gordon

Patterson, the university's humanities professor and historian. [Florida Today., Milt

Salamon, Jan 30, 1997, p 12A.]

January 31: NASA MANAGERS SET FEB. 11 AS LAUNCH DATE

FOR SECOND SHUTrLE SERVICING MISSION TO

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

Following completion of a flight readiness review meeting, NASA managers set Feb.

11 as the official launch date for NASA's second Shuttle mission of the year. The

mission, designated STS-82, is the second in a series of planned servicing missions to

the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Following rendezvous with and retrieval

of the HST on the third day of the mission, four space walks on four successive days

24
will take place as the astronauts remove and replace various HST components. Work

performed on the telescope will significantly upgrade the scientific capabilities of the

HST and keep the telescope functioning smoothly until the next scheduled servicing

mission in 1999. A crew of seven astronauts is to make the 10-day journey. The

launch is set between 3:56 a.m. and 5:01 a.m. Discovery would return to Kennedy

Space Center for a night landing Feb. 21.[NASA News Release #97-21, Jan. 31, 1997.

Florida Today, Jan 31, 1997, p 1A.]

MARS PROBE PICKING UP GIBBERISH

Pathfinder's communication unit has a slight malfunction, but the problem shouldn't

hinder its landing. A NASA probe heading to Mars to look for signs of life is pickup

up strange signals, and it hasn't even neared the Red Planet. Luckily, the signals are

gibberish, and the spaceship's computer is ignoring them. So the problem should

hinder NASA's plan to launch the $196 million probe on Mars on July 4, mission

manager Richard Cook said. But the communication device causing the problem is

also acting up on another probe and is the same type that is on the $1 billion Cassini

probe, which will be launched in October for a journey to Saturn. Engineers are

looking at the Command Detector Unit, or CDU, on Cassini to see whether something

can be done. The device was designed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab in California.

"It's just kind of confusing as to why it's happening," Cook said of Pathfinder's

problems. The CDU, a small but critical communication device, is about 4 inches

square and 1 inch thick. It is the second of three pieces of equipment that must work

in sequence to receive command from Earth. Pathfinder's problem may stem from

something inside the detector unit, perhaps even with the unit's coatings, NASA

spokesman Doug Isbell said. A special team of engineers is investigating the issue,

especially because a probe called NEAR, launched a year ago, also has a balky CDU,

Cook said. [The Orlando Sentinel, Jan 31, 1997, p A-5.]

During January: USA CELEBRATES QUALITY CERTIFICATION

United Space Alliance's Integrated logistics Division recently achieved ISO 9001

certification for quality. This achievement, the first for USA or any organization at

Kennedy Space Center, was celebrated in January in ceremonies at the NASA

Logistics Depot In Cape Canaveral. [The Brevanl Technical _umal, Feb 1997, p 6.]

25
FEBRUARY

February 1: HARDWARE FOR TITAN IV ARRIVES

The first vehicle hardware for the Air Force Titan IV rocket that will launch the

Cassini spacecraft has arrived at Cape Canaveral. The Centaur upper stage booster

arrived in Florida aboard an Air Force C-5 cargo plane and was off-loaded on

Saturday (Feb. 1). It is now located in the Vertical Integration Building (VIB) in the

Air Force's Titan complex, where it will undergo processing. [KSC Countdown, Feb.

4, 1997.]

February 2: 5 KSC EMPLOYEES GET SILVER SNOOPY

Five Kennedy Space Center workers have joined the ranks of NASA's Silver Snoopy

award-winners. Winners were Brad R. Bjomstad, Douglass E. Lyons, W. Scott

Cilento, Tommy G. Purer, and Connie J. Stallings. The Silver Snoopy Award was

created by the astronauts to honor people who contribute most tot he safety and

success of human spaceflight. The award is presented to no more than 1 percent of

the Space Center's work force each year. Recipients are given a silver pin depicting

the famous beagle wearing a spacesuit. All the pins have flown on previous shuttle

missions. [Florida Today., Feb 2, 1997, p 7E.]

NASA NAMES ACTING SPACE STATION DIRECI'OR

Gretchen W. McClain will be the acting director of space station requirements at

NASA's Washington, D. C., headquarters, said Wilber Trafton, associate administrator

for spaceflight. McClain replaces Lt. Col. Andrew Allen, who is retiring from the

Marine Corps. He had served as director of space station requirements since 1996.

Before her appointment, McClain served as chief of the space station, headquarters

office. [Florida Today, Feb 2, 1997, p 7E.]

February 3: FINAL PROCESSING

On Monday, Feb. 3, KSC completed the final processing of those civil service

employees who elected to accept the NASA buy-out. Since the buy-out was approved

in November 1996, 218 KSC employees submitted applications. Of these, 168

employees actually left the center's rolls. While smaller numbers of employees left on

several different dates, the largest group of 76 employees left on Jan. 3. An additional

38 employees left on Feb. 3, the final day of the buy-out. In all, there were 127

retirements and 41 resignations from Nov. 30, 1996 to Feb. 3. [KSC Countdown, Feb.

6, 1997.]

26
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER IS STAR-STRUCK

More than 2,000 extra workers crowded around Kennedy Space Center this weekend

for a special job, the biggest of its kind here. But it was to film a move, not to launch

a rocket. Entertainment is so important to the Florida space industry that state and

private officials will conduct a special seminar Tuesday in Cocoa Beach to discuss

how to lure more Hollywood and tourist-oriented projects to KSC. In 1996, 27

different entertainment companies came to KSC, producing more than 35 programs or

films. "There is a huge interest [in space movies]. There always is because space has

a mystique for everybody when you're asking about your place in the universe," movie

producer Steve Starkey said. "I don't understand what the relationship is between

renewed interest in cinema and a lack of interest in Washington." Starkey wrapped up

local filming Saturday of the movie Contact staring Jodie Foster. He brought in 150

crew members, three helicopters and scores of television trucks for nearly a week of

filming at KSC. Based on Carl Sagan's novel, the movie's plot brings the world's top

scientists to KSC for a mission toward an alien race. "The politicians are out of touch

with the public," said John Pike, space policy director for the American Federation of

Scientists, a think-tank. With all the cutbacks in the real work at Kennedy, Pike said

he worries tourists will be looking only at space history not at the future. The new

Apollo/Saturn V museum that opened in December drew record crowds of more than

13,000 a day to tour KSC, is only about history.

Playing up space as entertainment could eventually help increase funding in

Washington, Pike said. And that's what KSC Director Jay Honeycutt said he had in

mind when he decided to make it easier to film at Kennedy. "The fact that Hollywood

and the entertainment industry has seen the wisdom of doing shows on space and the

space program is a wonderful thing for us," Honeyeutt said while visiting the set of

Contact. "My objective is to open it up to as many people as are interested." KSC is

becoming increasingly familiar to Hollywood, especially since the success of the

movie Apollo 13, said Space Coast Film Commissioner Bonnie King. But no matter

how much NASA courts the public and Hollywood, the space agency will not launch a

shuttle just for a movie, Honeycutt said, adding: "Unless they want to pay for it. If

they want to pay for it we'd be glad to do it."

Here are some of the higher-profile projects at Kennedy Space Comer. The Cape.

Eleven episodes of the syndicated TV show. Contact. A major movie based on Carl

Sagan's book. Bright Angels Falling. A major movie about an approaching comet.

From Earth to the Moon. An I-IBO docudrama series on the Apollo program. Bill

Nye the Science Guy. A PBS and Disney children's science TV show. Discovery

Channel. The cable network shot three specials. An IMAX movie on the shuttle-Mir

missions. Pioneer. The science television show shot three specials. Sightings. A

syndicated TV show on unusual occurrences. Radio Aabs. The children's radio

network broadcast a show from KSC. [The Orlando Senlinei, Feb 3, 1997, p A-1 &

A-5.]

27
February 4: ASTRONAUTS SPEAK AT vISrI'OR CENTER

The five astronauts who flew an 18-day mission aboard shuttle Columbia in November

will tell visitors about their record-setting journey at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor

Center. The mission, STS-80, the longest shuttle flight to date, involved the release

and retrieval of two scientific satellites. The crew is made up of astronauts Ken

Cockrell, Kent Rominger, Story Musgrave, Tammy Jemigan and Tom Jones. [Hofida

Today. Feb 2, 1997, p 1E.]

TWO PROBES INCH WAY TOWARD MARS

Three months after launch, two NASA probes on their way to explore Mars are in

excellent shape and on target for the Red Planet. Agency officials said Tuesday one

of the spacecraft - Mars Pathfinder - fired its steering thrusters Monday evening,

moving it on a path to drop a small rover July 4 on an ancient Martian flood plain.

Pathfinder will make two more firings in the coming months to perfect its course. The

rover, called Sojourner, will scout for signs of life. The other probe - Mars Global

Surveyor - is scheduled to arrive at Mars in September and begin orbiting the planet to

map its terrain. Scientists say both probes are operating in near-perfect form as they

continue their trek. Surveyor is about 12.5 million miles from Earth, while Pathfinder

is about 11.5 million miles from home. [Florida Today, Feb 5, 1997, p 8A.]

February 6: MORE DELAYS HIT TITAN 4 ROCKET

The Air Force announced more delays Wednesday for an already delay-prone Titan 4

rocket. Officials said the rocket will not leave its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air

Station until the end of the month because workers have fallen behind on routine flight

preparations. The launch was originally set for Saturday. The military won't have a

new launch date until next week. The rocket is to carry a new missile-detection

satellite into orbit. [Florida Today, Feb 6, 1997, p 2A.]

BOOSTER REPAIR WORK BODES WELL

FOR ON-TIME SHUTI'LE LAUNCH

NASA has finished some repair work on shuttle Discovery's solid booster rockets,

keeping the ship on track for a Feb. 11 launch to service the Hubble Space Telescope.

Technicians changed nozzle plugs on both the shuttle's boosters as a precaution against

a problem found during two launches last year. The work wrapped up Sunday,

allowing Kennedy Space Center technicians to get in gear this week for the final

preparations leading up to launch. [Florida Today, Feb 4, 1997, p 6A.]

NASA MAKES DO ON SLIMMER BUDGET

Despite a small spending slip, NASA will have a stable budget in fiscal year 1998 and

28
annually into the next century that should ensure it can carry out ambitious space

exploration plans. That was the message Thursday from the Clinton administration,

which said it wants to trim NASA's budget next year by $200 million, a cut NASA

Administrator Dan Goldin says the agency can accommodate. The president's budget

request sets NASA funding at $13.5 billion for fiscal 1998; $13.4 billion for fiscal

1999, and $13.2 billion for fiscal 2000 through 2002. KSC's budget:

KSC Total budget

KSC human space flight

KSC science, aeronautics and technology

KSC mission support

KSC distribution of work years

KSC construction project; upgrade utility

annex chilled water plant

1997 actual 1998 request

$1.189 million $1.176 million

$ 921,100 $ 904,300

$ 29,439 $ 31,430

$ 239,450 $ 240,600

2,036 work years 1,824 work years

0 $5.9 million

The NASA budget now goes to Congress, where appropriations committees in the

House and Senate will begin the give-and-take process of shaping annual spending

legislation. NASA's most visible missions - the space shuttle and the planned start of

construction late this year of an international space station - would each receive

slightly less than the current year. The shuttle would get $2.97 billion, down from

$3.15 billion. The space station would get $2.12 billion, down from $2.14 billion.

[Florida Today, Feb 7, 1997, p 1A-2A.]

SPACEHAB AGREES TO BUY ASTROTECH

The company that makes modules that fit into NASA's space shuttles for scientific

experiments said Thursday it will buy another firm that prepares commercial satellites

for launch. Spacehab Inc., which does its shuttle module work at Port Canaveral, said

its purchase of Astroteeh Space Operations LP from Northrop Grumman Corp. will

help broaden its shuttle-centered business. Astrotech has facilities in Titusville and at

Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

[Florida Today, Feb 7, 1997, p 10C.]

February 7: KSC STILL WORTH BIG BUNDLE TO FLA. ECONOMY

Despite an unprecedented restructuring and deepening job cuts, Kennedy Space Center

still is worth $1.14 billion to the state's economy. That's the amount that employment

and contracts at KSC contributed to Florida's economic landscape during the 1996

budget year that ended Sept. 30, according to NASA figures released Friday. More

than 98 percent of that amount - about $993 million - was spent in Brevard County,

which continues to make KSC a critical part of the area economy, despite its

downsizing. [Florida Today, Feb 8, 1997, p 1A.]

29
February8: READY TO MAKE A SERVICE CALL

NASA is set to start the countdown today for its 82nd space shuttle flight with the aim

of launching the spaceship Discovery on Tuesday to service the Hubble Space

Telescope. Discovery and its seven astronauts are scheduled to lift off from Kennedy

Space Center during a launch window that will open at 3:56 a.m. and close at 5:01

am. Launch preparations ran into a minor snag Friday (Feb 7) when a pair of vent

doors in the shuttle's rear engine compartment failed three of 13 prelaunch tests. The

doors, which open to equalize pressure with the compartment during launch, did not

respond properly to computer commands during the failed tests. Engineers think the

problem stems from a power drive unit used to open and shut the doors. The unit

probably will be replaced, but NASA officials said the extra work would not delay

Discovery's scheduled launch. The launch will be the second of eight planned shuttle

flights this year. Liftoff Tuesday would lead to a planned Feb. 21 landing at KSC's

three-mile shuttle runway. [Florida Today, Feb 8, 1997, p 2B.]

NATIONAL SPACE CLUB HONORS PIONEERS

Three space pioneers were recognized Friday with Lifetime Achievement Awards for

their contributions to the nation's space program. Those recognized by the National

Space Club's Florida Committee were: Peter Hoffman-Heyden, considered to be the

"Father of Modem Radar;" G. Merritt Preston, director of the first space shuttle

program office at Kennedy Space Center; George L. English, former director of KSC's

executive management office. [Florida Today, Feb 8, 1997, p 2B.]

February 9: KSC PROMOTES NEW DIRECTORS

Warren J. Wiley has been named deputy director of engineering development at

Kennedy Space Center. In his new position as one of KSC's senior executives, Wiley

will be responsible for assisting in the planning, development, design, acquisition,

sustaining engineering, modification and rehabilitation of all KSC facilities, systems

and equipment. In addition, he will serve as the KSC focal point for the X-33 and X34 programs. This will include responsibility for developing infrastructure for launch

and landing facilities at KSC.

Sterling W. Walker has been named director of engineering development at KSC. In

his new position, Walker will be responsible for the planning, design, acquisition,

sustaining engineering, modification and rehabilitation of all KSC facilities, systems

and equipment.

Charles B. Mars has been named director of the ISO project office at KSC. Mars will

be responsible for managing KSC preparations for ISO third-party certification. ISO is

a series of quality standards that have been adopted by more than 80 nations. The

ISO program describes the requirements of an effective quality system that space

30
center organizations will have to develop. [Florida Today, Feb 9, 1997, p 5E.]

RODDENBERRY, LEARY BLAZE NEW TRAILS IN SPACE

The ashes of two pioneers, "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and LSD guru

Timothy Leary, loaded on a rocket strapped to a jet's wing, began the first leg of an

unprecedented journey Sunday. The plane left California for Madrid, Spain, and will

launch the ashes into space over the Canary Islands next month. Their remains were

among those of 24 people, packed in lipstick-sized capsules and loaded into a metal

canister by the newly formed Houston-based Celestis Inc. The other include space

physicist Gerard O'Neill, rocket scientist Krafft Ehricke and a 4-year-old Japanese boy.

The plane was to land at the Torrejon Air Base in Madrid, Spain, where the rocket

was to be loaded with its primary cargo -- a commercial satellite. The capsules will

orbit from 18 months to 10 years before re-entering the atmosphere to bum up like

shooting stars. [Florida Today, Feb 10, 1997, p 2A.]

February 10: HBO DOCKS IN ORLANDO TO LAUNCH APOLLO SERIES

It's a step forward for I-IBO and a potentially giant leap for Central Florida's film

industry. Production begins this week on From the Earth to the Moon, a $50 million

cable TV show about the Apollo space program. The anthology series, which boasts

Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks as executive producer, will be filming for the

next nine months at Disney-MGM Studios, Kennedy Space Center and Central Florida

sites. Local industry observers consider the production the area's most glamorous

project ever. It is estimated to pump $30 million to $35 million into the local

economy and provide about 80 jobs and valuable Hollywood visibility. The series is

based partly on Andrew Chaikin's book A Man on the Moon, which chronicles the

voyages of the astronauts on the 12 manned Apollo missions. Chaikin is a consultant

on the project, which is scheduled to debut on the premium cable network in

December -- the 25th anniversary of the completion of the Apollo program. The first

show to be filmed -- about the Apollo 11 moon mission -- will be the seventh to air.

Shooting at KSC is expected to begin near the end of the month. [The Orlando

Sentinel, Feb 10, 1997, p A-1 & A-4.]

SNAGS NOT EXPECTED TO DELAY DISCOVERY

With the space shuttle Discovery countdown down toward a 3:55 .m. Tuesday launch,

NASA officials think they can overcome to minor problems with a fuel cell and the

possibility of lingering clouds. Now if they can only overcome the Steve Hawley

factor. Astronaut Hawley's job is to use the shuttle's 50-foot robot arm to pluck the

Hubble Space Telescope out of orbit and put it in the payload bay, where other

astronauts can upgrade the $1.6 billion instrument. Hawley, a 45-year-old astronomer,

used the arm to put Hubble into orbit seven years ago. But Hawley has trouble

getting into orbit himself. He is the astronaut with the most shuttle launch delays.

31
Onethreeprevious flights, Hawley has had 10 launch delays. And that reputation

dogs him within NASA. When Hawley went into management at NASA, he would

arrive at Kennedy Space Center's launch control center for a liftoff, and KSC workers

would make him put a paper bag over his head. They didn't want the shuttle to see

him. When Discovery's crew arrived at KSC on Friday, some workers at the landing

strip wore paper bags, said shuttle operations director Bob Sieck. There are two

technical issues that could delay Discovery's launch, but Sieck said that is unlikely.

Both concern fuel cells that make electricity to run the shuttle and produce drinking

water. The chance of weather grounding Discovery is 30 percent, meteorologists said.

Today's clouds and rain should clear by early Tuesday, they said. [The Orlando

Sentinel, Feb 10, 1997, p A-5.]

NASA VETERAN TAKES GOOD CARE OF ASTRONAUTS

The functions of the Astronaut Office at Kennedy Space Center are the responsibility

of Delores Green, a 25-year NASA veteran who is manager. She sees that the

quarters are spotless, the meals are prepared properly and the routines are adhered to.

She started in a summer program with NASA and moved through various offices and

directorates in the program; procurement, administration, the center director's office,

labor relations, mechanical engineering and equal opportunity. Finally, in July 1995,

she moved to the Astronaut office. "We do everything to support the prime crew," she

explains, and adds that she never fails to marvel at just how unflappable her charges

are. "It's amazing to watch them, when they come in here. They're so calm. They

think they have a job to do, an everyday thing. Nothing bothers them." [Fiolida

Today. Feb 10, 1997, p lB.]

SHU'ITLE ASTRONAUT_ 61_ QUITS NASA RATHER

THAN BE GROUNDED

Veteran astronaut Story Musgrave, a six-time space flier who helped mastermind the

first Hubble Space Telescope repair, said Monday he is leaving NASA after being told

he would never fly in space again. NASA officials told the astronaut a year ago that a

November 1996 space shuttle mission would be his last. The space agency told the

61-year-old astronaut last week the decision was final. His departure from NASA later

this year will end a three-decade career with the space agency. Musgrave said

although he would have jumped at the chance of flying again, he was not unhappy

with the decision. "I'm upbeat about it. I accept it," he said. "I've had one beck of a

time of it. I've been able to do this for 30 years." Musgrave turned down an offer of a

desk job helping to train new shuttle crews, saying he wanted to pursue new projects.

"There's five lifetimes of work out there that people want me to do with them," he

said. "Space needs to get turned into art. It needs to be communicated. It needs to

be expressed." Musgrave joined NASA in 1967 during the Apollo program, but it was

1983 before his first shuttle mission. In 1993, Musgrave led a team of astronauts who

fixed the Hubble telescope's flaws. [The Orlando Sentinel, Feb 11, 1997, p A-6.]

32
February 11: DISCOVERY MUST HOOK HUBBLE ON IST TRY

The STS-82 mission began when Discovery lifted off smoothly at 3:55 a.m. Tuesday

with a 7-person crew headed for the Hubble Space Telescope 360 miles above the

Earth. It's a tricky rendezvous. Because of Hubble's high orbit, the shuttle crew has

only enough fuel to make 1 attempt at capturing the telescope. Discovery is set to

catch Hubble at 2:50 a.m. Thursday. Just four days before Discovery's launch, as the

GHRS (Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph) instrument was taking final images of

Mars, one of its two redundant electrical systems had an amperage spike that

automatically shut down the instrument. Although the redundant side could possibly

maintain GHRS operations and primary side possibly revived, the malfunction was a

serious event. Hubble managers believe they are lucky the malfunction occurred just

days before the GHRS replacement. Early Friday, the first of four days of

spacewalking, astronaut Steve Smith will remove the refrigerator-sized device. The

new spectrograph will be 30 times more powerful than the old one, which was

damaged by a sudden surge of electricity, officials said. Astronauts will add three new

infrared cameras, allowing Hubble to peer farther into space than ever before.

Commander Ken Bowersox will maneuver up to Hubble and then inch along as

Discovery comes close. With Discovery 35 feet below Hubble, astronaut Steve

Hawley, who released the telescope into orbit nearly seven years ago, will use the

space shuttle's 50-foot robot arm to snare Hubble by its handles. Hawley will lower

Hubble into the shuttle's cargo bay and then onto a moveable support holder. Two

teams of astronauts will spend four days working on Hubble. If everything goes as

planned they will release the telescope early next Tuesday. After launch, one 136-ft.-

dia. solid rocket booster recovery parachute sank off Cape Canaveral before it could

be retrieved. Each booster uses three chutes. With the launch, 13 people are orbiting

Earth: seven on Discovery and six on the Russian space station Mir. That ties a

record set in 1995. Unless an extra backup EVA is required, Hubble is to be released

by early Feb. 18, followed by Discovery's landing back at Kennedy, scheduled for Feb.

21. [The Orlando Sentinel, Feb 12, 1997, p A-1&A-11. Aviation Week& Space

TechnoloLrv, Feb 17, 1997, p 53-55.]

February 12: RUSSIA HAS 2 WEEKS TO FINANCE SPACE MODULE

Russia, eight months behind schedule in building a key element of the International

Space Station, has until Feb. 28 to provide money for the project or the United States

will make other plans, NASA officials said Wednesday. NASA administrator Daniel

Goldin told a congressional committee that Russia has repeatedly failed to keep its

promises of financing and building a space station service module. Under the

International Space Station agreement, Russia was to build and finance a module that

would provide guidance, navigation, crew quarters and orbital control for the station.

the service module is the third element of the station and is to be launched in April

1998. Work on the service module has stopped because the Russian government has

failed to pay contractors who are building the hardware. [The Orlando Sentinel, Feb

33
13, 1997,p A-5.]

February 13: MAJOR HUBBLE UPGRADES HANG IN BALANCE

The shuttle Mission 82 flight to install major new instruments and other hardware on

Hubble is the second servicing flight to the telescope -- and just like the first in 1993,

it is one of the more difficult shuttle missions ever flown. The shuttle crew retrieved

Hubble at 3:33 a.m. EST Feb. 13. The complex servicing work was to get underway

about 20 hr. after astronaut Steve Hawley used the shuttle's arm to grapple the 24,

500-lb. observatory as the two spacecraft flew 35 ft. apart at 17,500 mph off the

southwest coast of Mexico. The capture of the telescope took place at 320-naut. mi.

altitude in darkness with the scene illuminated by the orbiter's payload bay lights.

Astronauts Mark Lee and Steve Smith left the shuttle at 11:34 p.m. Thursday,

undertaking the biggest task of the mission to replace two of Hubble's most important

pieces of scientific gear with improved versions. The crew had been trying to get

started an hour early, but their preparations were stalled about 10 p.m., when one of

the telescope's solar arrays spun halfway around. NASA officials think the array was

blown out of place by a whoosh of air released from the chamber where the spacesuitclad astronauts exit the shuttle. The air is pumped out of the chamber when the

astronauts depressurize the chamber so they can float outside. The four-story

telescope was secured in the bay early Thursday after it was captured by the shuttle's

robot arm. The spacewalkers were to remove two scientific instruments called

spectrographs and replace them with an advanced spectrograph and a near-infrared

camera. NASA officials were pleased Thursday that the telescope had fared well after

traveling 1 billion miles around the planet. [Florida Today, Feb 14, 1997, p 2A.

Aviation Week & Space Technology, Feb 17, 1997, p 53-54.]

February 14: HUBBLE VISION GETS A BOOST

The Hubble Space Telescope was outfitted Friday with a new set of eyes by shuttle

Discovery astronauts Mark Lee and Steven Smith, who conducted a flawless

spacewalk to install two improved scientific instruments. Astronauts Greg Harbough

and Joe Tanner started the second of four planned spacewalks late Friday night. Their

goal: install a new fine guidance sensor that will allow Hubble to better target stars,

galaxies and black hones. They also were to plug in a new tape recorder so Hubble

can better store reams of celestial data. Two more spacewalks are planned for early

Sunday and early Monday. NASA is using a new type of spacesuit for astronauts

servicing the Hubble. The suit has adjustable brackets and sizing rings so it earl be

resized in orbit. Covering the new suit is a white multilayered outer protective suit.

The STS-82 mission astronauts will leave Hubble with 11 new components worth

$350 million in a tuneup that should keep it operating until the turn of the century.

[Florida Today, Feb 15, 1997, p 1A&SA.]

34
MAJOR HONORED AFFER 30 YEARS

Almost 30 years after his death, the name of Air Force Maj. Robert H. Lawrence will

be added to those of other astronauts on the Space Mirror memorial at Kennedy Space

Center Visitor Center. The Astronauts Memorial Foundation board of directors voted

unanimously Friday to include Lawrence -- a pilot many considered to be the first

black astronaut -- on the memorial. Lawrence died Dec. 8, 1967, when the F-104

Starfighter in which he was flying during his training, crashed at Edwards Air Force

Base, Calif. The decision came after Gen. Thomas S. Mooreman, the Air Force vice

chief of staff, signed a letter last month that awarded Lawrence astronauts status. No

date has been set for the placement of Lawrence's name on the black granite Space

Mirror. [Florida Today., Feb 15, 1997, p 1A.]

ISO PROJECt OFFICE CHIEF

Effective immediately, Ms. Laura N. Gosper is designated as Chief of the ISO Project

Office. This office will lead the Center efforts for all ISO certification and

maintenance activities. Details of this will be included in an official revision to the

Kennedy Organization Manual. [Memoranda, Honeycutt, Feb 14, 1997.]

February 15: ASTRONAUTS AWARD SEVERAL SNOOPYS

Four local EG&G employees recently were presented with NASA's prestigious Silver

Snoopy Award for their contributions to the space program. The awardees were Kevin

Fresa, Rosemary Wright, Larry Jewell, and Steve McGovem. Two United Space

Alliance employees have received Silver Snoopy awards, Dave VanDenBeldt and

Harold Shackelford. Five EG&G Florida employees recently received Silver Snoopy

awards for space program contributions. Doug Can-away, Bob Castlen, Huan Truong,

Bob Browning and Richard Hall. Sherikon Space Systems employee Bob Bums also

received the Silver Snoopy award. [Florida Today, Feb 16, 1997, p 5E.]

ASTRONAUTS FIND TEARS IN HUBBLE'S SKIN

Two spacewalking astronauts who installed souped-up guidance equipment on the

telescope Saturday found something they didn't expect -- Hubble is showing extensive

signs of old age. Astronauts Joe Tanner and Gregory Harbaugh reported that parts of

its skin are tom and tattered, causing NASA officials Saturday to consider adding

more repair work to the list of chores for its spacewalking Hubble team. Nonetheless,

officials say the problems -- which include split insulation -- are not serious and in no

way will hamper the operation of their astronomical champion. The successful work

Saturday by Tanner and Harbaugh made NASA two-for-two in the Hubble spacewalk

department as shuttle Discovery's astronauts continue their job of making $350 million

worth of improvements to the observatory. The tears were discovered by Tanner and

Harbaugh as they sailed through more than seven hours of work to install a new fine

35.
guidance sensor on Hubble. The $8 million unit, which is the size and shape of a

baby grand piano, allows Hubble to lock onto guide stars and pinpoint its targets. The

astronauts then undertook two other chores by swapping out a science data recorder

than had stopped working and installing a cable that controls a mirror on the new

guidance sensor. It was while doing the installation work that the men spotted cracks

on Hubble's skin that were 12 or more inches long, leaving flaps of material fluttering

when the telescope was moved. The trouble spot is limited to a top sheet of

multilayered coveting that shields the telescope's instruments from extreme temperature

swings as it travels in and out of the sun's warmth. Those temperature changes

probably caused the tears by making the silver Teflon material expand and contract

thousands of times during the telescope's almost seven years in orbit, officials said.

Also Saturday, the shuttle side stepped a piece of space junk the size of a book by

moving into a safer, higher orbit. The fragment of an exploded rocket would have

come dangerously close to Discovery had the crew not steered out of the way.

[Florida Today, Feb 16, 1997, p IA & 2A. The Orlando Sentinel, Feb 16, 1997, p A9.]

February 16: JCSAT-4 LAUNCHED

Lockheed Martin placed a $100-million Japanese communications satellite into a

supersynchronous transfer orbit with the first of nine planned Atlas booster launches

this year. The aerospace conglomerate's Atlas 2AS booster, designated AC-127, lifted

off Pad 36B at 8:42 p.m., Feb. 16, with its JCSat-4 payload. The launch was delayed

through most of the 84-min. window by low clouds and high upper-level winds that

were responsible for the scrub of the first planned launch attempt the previous day.

[Aviation Week & Sl)aee Tecimolok_', Feb. 24, 1997, p 25.]

HUBBLE REPAIR KIT MADE OF SPARE PARTS

In an improvised record-tying fifth spacewalk, astronauts tonight will try to patch the

Hubble Space Telescope's peeling outer insulation to keep delicate instruments from

getting burned by the sun. Space shuttle Discovery astronauts Mark Lee and Steve

Smith will take spare insulation blankets and belt them over six ripped thermal

coverings coating the $1.6 billion telescope in an unscheduled four-hour spacewalk

that should start about 11 p.m. The patches will cover about 14 square feet. Despite

the hastily planned patch work, NASA managers said the telescope is not in immediate

danger. But, they said, it's wise to make the repairs before the next Hubble tuneup in

1999. The impromptu repairs over shadowed the work Discovery's astronauts already

have accomplished. In their first three spacewalks, they completed all of the goals

NASA had set to consider it a successful mission. They have vastly improved

Hubble's ability to see more of the universe and replaced 1970s technology with 1990s

parts. Lee and Smith have replaced three balky internal parts of the telescope that

help computers talk to each other, record science data and move Hubble around. [The

Orlando Sentinel, Feb 17, 1997, p A-6.]

36
ASTRONAUT DESIGNATED FREE SPIRIT

Record-setting astronaut Shannon W. Lucid will receive The Freedom Forum's highest

honor, the Free Spirit Award, tonight at a dinner in Satellite Beach. The Free Spirit

Award is given periodically for extraordinary achievement to people who embody the

principles of free spirit, free press or free speech. Lucid has flown five space shuttle

missions. She set the U.S. endurance record of 75.2 million miles in 188 days, four

hours and 14 seconds last year aboard shuttle Atlantis. She orbited on the Russian

Space Station Mir after leaving Atlantis and returned to Earth Sept. 26. A $25,000

contribution to the NASA College Scholarship Fund accompanies the award. The

fund supports education for children of NASA employees. [Florida Today, Feb 17,

1997, p lB.]

February 17: KSC CHEMICAL SPH.L SENDS 8 TO INFIRMARY

A capful of toxic rocket propellant splashed on workers Monday at Kennedy Space

Center, sending eight people to the KSC infirmary. Four technicians and four

firefighters were treated at Kennedy's medical center and released, said NASA

spokesman Bruce Buckingham. The accident is the second fuel leak at KSC in the

past month. Technicians were replacing a valve on a fuel line that they thought was

empty. However, a remnant of the fuel called monomethylydrazine splashed onto the

workers, officials said. The fuel is used in shuttles' thrusters and can bum and be

toxic if inhaled. The workers were wearing special face masks and gloves, but the

chemical burned through one technician's clothing, causing superficial bums, said Bob

Granath, spokesman for the United Space Alliance. There was no shuttle in the

hangar where the incident occurred. The hangar and another nearby were evacuated,

Granath said. Last month, another toxic fuel leaked at an occupied launch pad forcing

dozens of people to evacuate. ['Ihe Orlando Sentinel, Feb 18, 1997, p A-5.]

February 18: ASTRONAUT CADY COLEMAN BEGINS

TRAINING AS BACK-UP FOR STS-83

Astronaut Catherine "Cady" Coleman (Major, USAF) has begun training as a backup

Mission Specialist to Donald Thomas, Ph.D., who suffered a broken right ankle on

January 29 following the conclusion of a routine training exercise. "We are hopeful

that Don will be cleared for flight," said David C. Leestma, director of Flight Crew

Operations. "He is an experienced astronaut with the majority of his required training

for this flight already complete. The decision to assign Cady as backup was made to

protect all available options." Thomas continues to train with his crew mates to

support the more than 25 microgravity science investigations that will be conducted on

Columbia's 16-day flight targeted for an April 3 launch. His training as one of two

astronauts who would perform any required contingency EVA was complete before the

injury occurred. Coleman has begun refresher EVA training and familiarization with

the science investigations to be conducted on STS-83. The STS-83 crew consists of

37
CommanderJim Halsell, Pilot Susan Still, Payload Commander Janice Voss, Mission

Specialist Mike Gernhardt, and Payload Specialists Roger Crouch and Gregory

Linteris. [NASA News Release #97-27, Feb 18, 1997.]

VACUUM INSULATION STUDY AGREEMENT

APPROVED BETWEEN KSC AND MV_ INC.

A Minnesota company and Kennedy Space Center (KSC) are teaming up for a

comparative study of cryogenic vacuum insulation systems. MVE Inc., of New

Prague, Minnesota and NASA-KSC have signed a nonreimbursable Space Act

Agreement. KSC Director Jay F. Honeycutt and MVE Technology and Engineering

Vice President Jon P. Wikstrom signed the Space Act Agreement on February 18,

1997. The agreement, in which no transfer of funds or other financial obligations are

involved, is scheduled to conclude in November 1997. The agreement includes testing

and evaluation of new materials for cryogenic insulation performance. [Teclmovation,

Spring 1997, p 3.]

February 19: HUBBLE MISSION SCRAMBLES

TO MAKE SURPRISE REPAIRS

Controllers at Goddard Space Flight Center this week are checking out the new "Mk.

2" version of the Hubble Space Telescope, which was deployed from the shuttle

Discovery Feb. 19 with nearly a dozen new systems and six emergency bandages to

repair critical insulation damaged by long-term space exposure. "We don't have the

original Hubble Space Telescope any more, we've got a new telescope -- you can call

it Hubble 2/' said Edward Weiler, NASA HST project scientist. The already complex

flight had major unexpected events. What started as a highly choreographed

"servicing" mission to upgrade Hubble systems was forced to shift into an emergency

"repair" mission requiring an unplanned fifth EVA. And for one critical moment the

mission flirted with disaster when an unexpected blast of air from Discovery's air-lock

struck one of Hubble's fragile solar arrays, pitching it violently. The event caused no

apparent damage but could have seriously crippled the unique observatory. When

shuttle Mission 82 pilots Navy Cdr. Kenneth Bowersox and USAF Lt. Col. Scott

Horowitz rendezvoused with the telescope Feb. 13, the observatory was filled with

1970s era technology. But after five extravehicular activities (EVAs), Hubble is now

equipped with 1990s instruments and other systems that should substantially boost its

ability to explore the universe. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, Feb 24, 1997, p

20-23.]

DISCOVERY CREW DROPS HUBBLE INTO ORBIT

The STS-82 mission astronauts released the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit at 1:41

a.m. today, using the shuttle's robot arm to hoist it out of Discovery's cargo bay and

drop it gently over the side 370 miles above Earth. From that point, the machine

38
many call one of the most remarkable of our time soon will be back at work hunting

the elusive truths about the universe. The seven astronauts aboard Discovery,

meanwhile, will have the next few days to relax as they cruise through the home

stretch of their mission and head toward Friday's scheduled 1:48 a.m. landing at

Kennedy Space Center. All told, the spacewalking teams of Joe Tanner, Greg

Harbaugh, Mark Lee and Steve Smith moved more than 4,500 pounds of equipment in

and out of Hubble using more than 200 tools to enhance its vision and performance.

The most important work involved installing two new instruments to better allow

Hubble to scan the heavens in search of black holes, distant galaxies, embryonic

planets and baby stars. The final scorecard showed they performed five spacewalks

and spent 33 hours outside their ship. [Florida Today, Feb 19, 1997, p 1A.]

USA PICKS NEW CEO

The private contractor taking over day-to-day shuttle fleet operations for NASA will

have a new boss as of April 1, officials said Wednesday. Paul Smith, president of

Boeing North American's Rocketdyne Division, will serve as president and chief

executive officer of United Space Alliance, a joint venture partnership between

Lockheed Martin and The Boeing Co. Smith replaces Kent Black, who is retiring. In

his new post, Smith will be responsible for maintaining shuttle flight safety as the

alliance gradually takes on launch work that for almost 40 years has been the

responsibility of NASA. Smith has worked 32 years for Rockwell International, which

sold its space-related divisions to The Boeing Co. in December. Boeing became part

of the United Space Alliance joint venture as part of that deal. [Florida Today., Feb

20, 1997, p 12C.]

DELTA BLAST SPURS CHANGES

The Air Force and Brevard County are putting in place a new emergency broadcast

system in wake of last month's Delta rocket explosion, which triggered alarm along the

Space Coast. That was the word from Air Force officials Wednesday as they gave the

public its first glimpse at an estimated $50 million in damage at Cape Canaveral Air

Station caused when the rocket erupted into a fireball. Investigators still are not sure

what triggered the Jan. 17 explosion 20 seconds after liftoff, sending a plume of toxic

rocket fuel toward the cities of Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach and parts of Merritt

Island. Air Force investigators apparently are focusing on the possible failure of one

of the Delta rocket's nine strap-on solid rocket boosters. But officials Wednesday

declined to comment. "It's a very methodical process going through these

investigations," said Air Force Col. Duane Deal, commander of the 21st Logistics

Group at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. "We're going to keep on proceeding

until we get all the answers that we can, but we may or may not come up with a

cause." In the meantime, the Air Force and local officials are taking swift action to

speed up the system by which the public is notified of possible danger in the event of

a rocket or a NASA space shuttle explosion. The idea is to rapidly spread information

39
aboutpossible toxic fallout from a launch failure, and tell people the actions they

should take to avoid danger. "The definite lessons learned from the Delta accident had

to do with communications," said Peter Taddie of the Range Safety Office at the Air

Force's 45th Space Wing, which oversees launch operations at the Air Station. "Right

after we had the accident, we had difficulty getting access to the phones, and also the

communications between our control center and the county was jammed." To rectify

the problems, the Air Force and Brevard Emergency Management officials are taking

the following steps. First, a county emergency management official will be on hand in

the Air Force Range Operations Control Center for all future launches of Deltas,

Atlases, Titans and space shuttle. Secondly, The Air Force has installed direct audio

and video communications lines from its control center to the Brevard Emergency

Operations Center. Together, the two measures are expected to speed the

dissemination of information. [Florida Today, Feb 20, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

February 20: GLENN ORBITS THE EARTH 35 YEARS AGO TODAY

On this day, 35 years ago, Astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr. completed three historic

orbital flights of the Earth in the Friendship 7 space capsule. [NASA Video Advisory

#V97-12, Feb 20, 1997.]

LAST TASK FOR DISCOVERY CREW:

RARE NIGHTTIME LANDING AT KSC

With their work on the Hubble Space Telescope done, it's time for shuttle Discovery's

crew to try something different -- a nighttime landing at Kennedy Space Center.

That's what NASA has planned for the shuttle, which is scheduled to touchdown at the

spaceport's swamp-lined runway at 1:48 a.m. Friday. Shuttle skipper Ken Bowersox

will have a little extra help keeping Discovery on target during his approach: a string

of 54 halogen lights in the center of the landing strip. With nighttime or near-dawn

landings at KSC becoming more commonplace, the new safety light system was

installed after requests from NASA's astronaut corps. For this night landing at

Kennedy, NASA will have its usual super-powerful Xenon lights on flatbed trailers on

both ends of the landing strip. Each light is 100,000 times brighter than lights used at

Orlando International Airport. But this time, because pilots have complained that they

lose the center line of the runway in this wash of bright lights, NASA installed 52 new

lights down the middle of the strip. Each of those lights, spaced 200 feet apart, are

80-watt Halogen lights, a cross between headlights and lights in a living room. NASA

planned to install these lights before the first shuttle launch in 1981 but couldn't get

the lights to remain flat enough on the runway. Shuttles land at 220 mph, about 100

mph faster than airplanes, and any little bump could shred a tire. Now the space

agency has gotten the lights so small that they only stick one-eighth of an inch above

the runway. Discovery's planned landing will be only the ninth night touchdown in

82 shuttle flights, and the fourth in darkness at KSC. Discovery's landing will cap a

10-day mission to service Hubble. [Florida Today, Feb 20, 1997, p 2A. The Orlando

40
Sentinel, Feb 20, 1997, p A-11.]

GALILEO COMES WITHIN 360 MILES OF EUROPA

America's big Galileo spacecraft Thursday had its closest rendezvous with Europa, a

Jupiter moon that scientists suspect may harbor an ocean's worth of water under its icy

outer shell. On its way toward the rendezvous, and on its way out again, Galileo

snapped photos, took gravity readings and collected other data, all aimed at sorting out

Europa's history, assessing what's going on now, and seeking water, water anywhere.

Galileo's closest approach, 360 miles above Europa's surface, occurred at 12:06 p.m.

EST Thursday. The data it gathers will be radioed back to Earth gradually over the

next few weeks. [Florida Today, Feb 21, 1997, p 6A.]

February 21: CLOUDS DELAY SHUTTLE LANDING

A band of clouds over Kennedy Space Center early today forced NASA to forego its

first oppommity to bring shuttle Discovery and its crew home. NASA scheduled a

second landing attempt at 3:32 a.m. The ship and its crew of seven astronauts had

planned to touch down at 1:48 a.m. in a rare nighttime landing at the spaceport.

[Florida Today, Feb 21, 1997, p 1A.]

SCIENTISTS AWAIT IMPROVED HUBBLE IMAGES

The tuneup's done, but be sure to tune in again this May. That's when NASA will see

the first fruits of the agency's Hubble Space Telescope servicing call, a spacewalking

extravaganza capped early Friday with shuttle Discovery's moonlight landing at

Kennedy Space Center. Now, antsy astronomers have to sit through 10 weeks of tests

on Hubble's newly installed instruments, which promise to peer not only into stellar

nurseries but to the veritable edge of the universe. Discovery's crew - which pulled

off a record-tying five spacewalks - outfitted the observatory not only with two new

science instruments but also a crucial guidance unit, data recorders, and improved

electronics gear. The mission ended under a near-full moon at 3:32 a.m. as Discovery

commander Ken Bowersox weaved the ship to a stop on a three-mile runway lighted

by search lights and 52 new safety lamps in the center of the landing strip. Bowersox,

a Navy commander with more than 300 aircraft cartier landings to his credit, touched

down on the right side of the swamp-surrounded strip and then found the spaceship

drifting further toward the runway's edge. The former test pilot said the diamondlike

string of halogen lights - which were added at the request of the astronaut corps to

make nighttime landings safer - helped him guide the shuttle back to the center of the

runway. "That drift you saw there is exactly why you have those centerline lights,"

the veteran astronaut said. "I was really glad to have them there." With Discovery

safely on the ground and Hubble in an orbit 385 miles above Earth, NASA's plan calls

for ground engineers to put the observatory through a methodical series of tests.

[Florida Today, Feb 22, 1997, p 1A&2A.]

41
ROCKET FUEL FROM DELTA BLAST WASHES ASHORE

Pieces of solid fuel propellant, from a Delta 2 rocket explosion last month, have

started washing up on Cape Canaveral Air Station about 2 1⁄2 miles north of the Port

Canaveral inlet. The propellant -- which has the consistency of a pencil eraser -- is

relatively inert and poses no real threat of bursting into flames or exploding. [Florida

Today. Feb 22, 1997, p 1A.]

February 23: SMALL FIRE EXTINGUISHED ON MIR

A problem with an oxygen-generating device on the Mir space station last night set off

fire alarms and caused minor damage to some hardware on the station. No injuries to

any of the six crewmembers on board were reported. The fire was located in the

Kvant ] module. The fire, which began at 10:35 p.m. Sunday, Moscow time, burned

for about 90 seconds. The crew was exposed to heavy smoke for five to seven

minutes and donned masks in response. After completing physical exams of everyone

on board, U.S. astronaut Jerry Linenger, a physician, reported that all crewmembers

are in good health. Medical personnel have directed them to wear goggles and masks

until an analysis of the Mir atmosphere has been completed. Lithium perchlorate

candles are bumed to generate supplemental oxygen when more than three people are

on board the space station. The oxygen-generating candles usually bum for five to 20

minutes. Russian officials believe the problem began when a crack in the oxygen

generator's shell allowed the contents of the cartridge to leak into the hardware in

which it was located. Crewmembers extinguished the fire with foam from three fire

extinguishers, each containing two liters of a water-based liquid. The damage to some

of Mir's hardware resulted from excessive heat rather than from open flame. It is

reported by Russian flight controllers that all Mir systems continue to operate

normally. In addition to Linenger, the Mir crewmembers include Mir 22 cosmonauts

Valery Korzun and Alexander Kaleri, Mir 23 cosmonauts Vasily Tsibliev and

Alexander Lazutkin, and German researcher Reinhold Ewald, representing the German

space agency, DARA. [NASA News Release #97-30, Feb. 24, 1997.]

SPACE STATION FREEZER ON ORDER

Satellite producer Matra Marconi Space will develop four low-temperature freezers to

be used on NASA's planned international space station, a $40 billion outpost to be

raised in orbit between November and June 2002. Designed to maintain a temperature

of minus 176 degrees Fahrenheit, the freezers will be used to stock experiment

samples in a U.S. built station laboratory module. Three flight models of the freezer

are to be delivered to NASA between 1999 and 2000. A fourth is to be delivered to

the Japanese Space Agency in ] 999. [Florida Today., Feb 23, 1997, p 6E.]

42
February 24: USAF TEAM PROBES DELTA MOTOR FAILURE

U.S. Air Force investigators have determined that the failure of an Alliant Techsystems

solid rocket motor caused the accident that destroyed a Delta 2 and its $40 million

navigation satellite payload last month. USAF investigators have concluded that the

No. 2 motor, one of nine Alliant Techsystems boosters on the Delta 2 (and one of six

firing at the time), began to fail within seconds of the vehicle's launch from Cape

Canaveral's Pad 17A on Jan. 17, according to officials close to the investigation. The

first next-generation spacecraft of the Air Force's Global Positioning System satellite

system was lost in that accident. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, Feb. 24, 1997,

p 24-25.1

U.S. - RUSSIAN SPACE UNION MAY BE ON THE ROCKS

When Russia signed up to help build the international space station, the Clinton

administration hailed the partnership as a triumphant union of post-Cold War foreign

and space policies. Less than four years later, the marriage with Moscow may be

headed for a Capitol Hill divorce. Russia's participation was supposed to lower the

cost and speed delivery of the $40 billion outpost, which is to be a permanently

staffed science institute in low Earth orbit. It hasn't worked out that way. One reason

is Russia cannot meet a deadline to deliver an essential space station component called

the Service Module. That, combined with other failures and delays, has thrown the

project into a state of "technical confusion," according to a recent report from

Congressional Research Service. As a result, NASA Administrator Dan Goldin

recently acknowledged before a congressional committee that the planned November

launch of the first piece of space station hardware might be delayed. If that happens,

construction of the outpost could be pushed back six months or longer, agency

officials say. Goldin said the Russian government has until the end of this week to

make good on its promises regarding the tardy module, or NASA will shift to an

alternate plan. Three Republican congressmen who serve on the House Science

Committee went to Moscow last week to assess where Russia stands on its obligations.

"I support building the international space station, with or without the Russians, " said

Rep. James Sensenbrenner R-Wis., chairman of the Science Committee. NASA

estimated the Russian contribution to the station would save U.S. taxpayers $2 billion

and allow completion of the project a year earlier. Without the Russians, NASA could

be forced to ask Congress for more time and money -- a chancy prospect. [Florida

Feb 24, 1997, p 1A&2A.]

TITAN LIFIS SATELLITE INTO ORBIT

A new version of the world's most powerful unmanned rocket lofted a missile warning

satellite toward orbit on its maiden voyage Sunday, clearing the way for a $3 billion

NASA mission to Saturn later this year. The 17-story Air Force Titan 4B rocket

vaulted off launch complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Station at 3:20 p.m., flying

43
throughthick clouds as it arced out over the Atlantic Ocean toward orbit. The launch

marked the culmination of a decade-long $950 million development program and also

paved the way for the Air Force's next Titan 4B flight: the Oct. 6 launch of NASA's

Cassini spacecraft to Saturn. The rocket is 25 times more powerful than the Titan 4A

rocket it is designed to replace. The Titan 4B rockets are capable of launching

satellites weighing as much as 12,700 pounds into orbits 22,300 miles above the Earth,

which is the operational realm of most communications satellites. [Florida Today, Feb

24, 1997, p 2A.]

February 24: RUSSIA HAS ANOTHER SPACE STATION

DELAY TO WORRY NASA

Just nine months shy of becoming a reality, NASA's 13-year dream of launching an

international space station may have to wait until next year. In another blow to

NASA's so-close, yet so-far, $43 billion planned space station, Russia's space chief

blurted out Monday that the first part of the station will not be launched from Russia

in November, a long-held NASA goal. That $210 million first module -- which

provides early propulsion, power and communications to the station -- won't launch

until June 1998, Russian Space Agency Director Yuri Koptev said in a Moscow news

conference. The problem is not with the American-financed module, which is already

built, but with delays on a more critical third segment that Russia is 7 to 14 months

behind on. That segment is needed to keep the first module -- and a second one

nearly completed by the United States -- in a sustained orbit. If the third section is

launched too late after the first two are put into orbit, the two could fall back to Earth

and bum up in the atmosphere. The third segment, called a service module, is being

built by the Russians and was to have been ready for launch in April 1998. But

Russia is not paying its contractors, delaying the service module by up to 14 months.

NASA has kept congressional support for the program on track the past four years.

But the agency has been extremely sensitive to the political damage that can be done

by talk of further delays. [The Oflmado Sentinel, Feb 25, 1997, p A-I&A-4.]

February 25: CONDITIONS BACK TO NORMAL ON MIR AFFER FIRE

Astronaut Jerry Linenger and his comrades aboard the Russian space station Mir dove

back into their experiments Tuesday, two days after their work was halted by a small

fire. The station residents -- which include Linenger, four cosmonauts and a German

researcher -- were told Tuesday it was safe to remove the goggles and surgical masks

they had been wearing. "The atmosphere is clear, the crew's in good shape and

they've resumed science work," NASA spokesman Rob Navias said. The small blaze

erupted Sunday in the station's Kvant 1 module, sending black smoke billowing

throughout Mir's six trailer-sized rooms before it was doused. NASA officials don't

know where Linenger was when the fire started, but the astronaut and physician later

examined all the crew members and found them to be fine. [Florida Today, Feb 26,

1997, p 3A.]

44
February 27: STATION WORK DELAYS WON'T STALL SHUTTLE

NASA still intends to launch about seven shuttles annually the next two years despite

a likely six to eight-month delay in construction of the international space station, a

senior agency official said Thursday. The seemingly inevitable postponement of

flights for the $40 billion station project, however, is prompting NASA planners to

juggle the agency's shuttle schedule. "Is it causing us some extra work.'? Yes," said

Steve Oswald, NASA's director of shuttle program requirements. "In terms of

rescheduling and replanning some stuff. Does it scramble (the shuttle schedule) and

put it into disarray? No." Oswald said plans for 1998 call for seven flights, including

two missions to Russia's space station Mir, a space science flight and launch of an

advanced X-ray astronomy observatory. The station construction mission scheduled

for launch Dec. 4 likely would be pushed back to July 1998. Two more station

assembly flights then would follow before the end of that year. The 1999 shuttle

schedule probably would include seven station construction flights and another mission

to service the Hubble Space Telescope. [Florida Today,, Feb 28, 1997, p 1A.]

February 28: NASA EXTENDS GALILEO'S MISSION 2 MORE YEARS

NASA's Galileo probe will be touring the moons of Jupiter an extra two years, thanks

to a recent agency decision to extend its mission into 1999, officials say. The

spacecraft was expected to wrap up its work in December, but officials at NASA's Jet

Propulsion Laboratory in California have gotten approval for 10 more flybys of three

tantalizing Jovian moons: Europa, Callisto and Io. The Io tour is to be Galileo's

grand finale before its work is done in December 1999. [Florida Today, Feb 28, 1997,

p 8A.]

ORGANIZATIONAL REASSIGNMENT

Effective immediately, Warren I. Wiley is assigned the duties of Acting Director,

Mechanical Engineering and Acting Director, Electronic Engineering in the

Engineering Development Directorate. He will assume these responsibilities in

addition to his current assignment of Deputy Director of Engineering Development.

[Memoranda, Honeycutt, Feb 28, 1997.]

JAY HONEYCUTT BIDS FAREWELL TO KSC

Jay Honeycutt says he loved almost every minute of his job as Kennedy Space

Center's director, a post he left Friday (February 28) to pursue a career in private

industry. "I'm leaving federal service just because it's my time to," said Honeycutt,

who has worked 37 years for the government. "It's time to go try something different.

But I think without a doubt being director of the Kennedy Space Center is the coolest

job on the face of the Earth. I've enjoyed my watch." His two-year tenure at KSC's

helm included overseeing the start of major changes, such as the reduction of the work

45
force to meet budget cuts and the unprecedented transition of shuttle management from

NASA to a private company. Although some critics worry the restructuring could put

shuttle safety at risk, Honeycutt sees no danger. "I thank that in the long run all these

changes that we're making will be for the better of NASA, KSC and the shuttle

program," Honeycutt said. Honeycutt, 59, is to be replaced Monday by KSC's seventh

director, retired Air Force Gen. Roy Bridges. He is a former astronaut who served as

commander of the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base in 1989 and 1990. That

means Honeycutt, who has no job plans now, will watch the next shuttle launch as an

outsider for the first time. Columbia is next up with a planned April 3 liftoff.

Nevertheless, Honeycutt thinks it unlikely that retiring from NASA will make the

launch any easier on him. The minutes surrounding the start of a shuttle flight always

were tough on him. He said he never felt good until 8 1⁄2 minutes after liftoff, when

the shuttle's engines stop firing and it is safely in orbit. "That is not a fun time for

me. From about T-minus 2 (minutes) to T-plus 8 1⁄2 (minutes), you'll almost give (the

job) to anyone who would take it," Honeycutt said. His easygoing manner and

openness made Honeycutt popular among the KSC work force. For that and many

other reasons, his colleagues say he will be missed. "He fit right in whenever he got

here, and he stayed in that capacity even though he ended up with the top job as

Kennedy Space Center director," said Bob Sieck, KSC's director of shuttle operations.

"Everybody looked at him as _I-Ie's still one of us.'" A racing fan and avid golfer,

Honeycutt was easy to work with yet intently serious about the importance of his job,

Sieck said. "He is calm, cool, collected and businesslike, and he expresses that in his

approach to any kind of issue," he said. "So you bet he'll be missed." [Florida Today,

March 1, 1997, p 2B.]

During February: SCHOOLS DID HOLIDAY SHOPPING AT KSC

NASA has been providing surplus government equipment at KSC to schools under the

Stevenson-Wydler Act for several years, and computer systems always have been at

the top of the lists. In recent months, approximately 1200 systems became available

as a result of computer upgrades at the Space Center, and KSC got the word out to

schools and received over 11,000 requests for computer systems. [The Brevard

Technical Journal, Feb 1997, p 13.]

46
March

March

MARCH

UNVEILING OF NEW SPACE SHUTFLE MOCKUP

Kennedy Space Center will help launch the 1997 spring training season of the Florida

Marlins baseball team with the unveiling of a new Space Shuttle mockup during

opening day ceremonies. The event will take place on Saturday, Mar. 1 at ll:30 a.m.

at Space Coast Stadium in Viera. The mockup is being donated by Kennedy Space

Center to the stadium, home of the Florida Marlins spring training facilities and the

Brevard County Manatees baseball team. Making the presentation to Space Coast

Stadium will be KSC Director Jay Honeycutt. The mockup is 13 feet tall, 5 1⁄2 feet

wide, weighs approximately 350 pounds and is a high fidelity 1/15th scale model

mounted on a conical pedestal. The orbiter is made from fiberglass and the external

tank and solid rocket boosters are made from aluminum. The $15,000 cost of the

Space Shuttle mockup was covered by donations from Lockheed Martin Space

Operations Company, Rockwell International, EG&G Florida, Delaware North Park

Services of Spaceport, the NASA Exchange Council and the multi-contractor Joint

Industry Press Center. [KSC Countdown, Feb. 27, 1997.]

2- PIONEER 10 SPACECRAFY NEARS 25TH ANNIVERSARY

END OF MISSION

A major milestone for humanity's most distant and longest-lived interplanetary explorer

will occur on March 2, 1997, when NASA's hardy Pioneer 10 spacecraft reaches its

25th anniversary in space. "Pioneer 10 exemplifies the American pioneering spirit of

exploration far beyond the frontier," said Dr. Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., Associate

Administrator for Space Science at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D C. "Not only

has it made many major scientific discoveries in the far reaches of space, we're proud

that it has managed to stay alive almost ten times longer than the original mission

called for, a tribute to the designers and builders at TRW, and the operators at NASA's

Ames Research Center. NASA operated the Pioneer 10 mission as long as it had

enough power to return science data about the conditions in space as far from Earth as

possible. We will end the science mission at the end of March because the power has

finally become too weak to do significant science," Huntress said. Launched from

Cape Kennedy on March 2, 1972, aboard an Atlas Centaur rocket for what had been

planned as a two-year mission to Jupiter, Pioneer 10 is now so far away that its radio

signal, traveling at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second), takes nine hours and

ten minutes to reach the Earth. Currently twice as far from the Sun as Pluto, Pioneer

is returning data about the farthest reaches of the Sun's atmosphere. Now 6.2 billion

miles from Earth, the 570-1b. Pioneer 10, built by TRW Space and Electronics Group,

Redondo Beach, CA, was the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt and

explore the outer solar system, the first spacecraft to visit Jupiter, the first to use a

planet's gravity to change its course and to reach solar-system-escape velocity, and the

first spacecraft to pass beyond the known planets. More information on Pioneer l0 is

47
available via the Intemet at URL: http://pyroeis.arc.nasa.gov/pioneer/PM10&ll.html

[NASA News Release #97-31, Feb. 27, 1997]

March

NASA GAMBLES ON AEROSPIKE ENGINE

The experimental engine NASA has selected to power the shuttle's intended

replacement in the 21st century is based on the same concept NASA rejected for the

space shuttle 25 years ago. "I saw the first linear aerospike engine...when we returned

from the moon after April 16," former astronaut T. K. Mattingly said. "They took me

out and poudly showed me this thing as the wave of the future, and I said, 'That's

really neat.'" That was 1972. A design team rejected the aerospike concept as too

risky. But today, with advances in design, lightweight structural materials, heat

shielding and the like, "we're ready to take that next step," said Mattingly, now a

Lockheed Martin Corp. vice president. Last summer, after a three-way competition,

NASA selected a proposal from Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works to develop a

273,000-pound experimental prototype space place -- known as the X-33-powered by

Rocketdyne linear aerospike engines. The objective of the new vehicle is to lower the

cost of space transportation so dramatically that industry will replace government in

building and operating launch vehicles, with the expectation of turning a profit.

[Florida Today, March 2, 1997, p 6E.]

3" MIR CREW SPENT THE NIGHT

IN SOYUZ CAPSULES AFTER FIRE

The six-man Russian/U.S./German crew on the Mir orbital station was prepared to

abandon Mir after a Feb. 23 fire filled the complex with "heavy smoke." The blaze,

triggered when a lithium perchlorate "candle" used to boost atmospheric oxygen

escaped its containment, was quickly doused with foam fire extinguishers. But the

crew sealed off the Kvant-1 module where the blaze occurred and retreated to the two

Soyuz capsules that brought them to orbit while Russian ground crews studied the

situation and prepared emergency landing procedures. Even after the all-clear from the

ground and a clean bill of health from U.S. astronaut/physician Jerry Linenger, the

crew wore filtration masks around the clock for two days. It was the second time one

of the oxygen candles, originally developed for use on submarines, triggered a fire on

Mir. Valery Polyakov, who holds the record for long-duration space flight, smothered

the first one on Oct. 15, 1994, with a crewmate's trousers. [Aerospace Daily, Mar 3,

1997, p 319.]

IBM FLASH CARDS LET SPACE SHU'ITLE

RECORD DATA WHEN GOING GETS ROUGH

The intense gravitational forces experienced inside a space shuttle during launch and

the turbulence of landing have always spelled doom for traditional hard drives, which

48
rely on moving parts to record data. Now NASA is using IBM Corp.'s ATA Flash

Storage Cards to record real-time data during mission critical stages of space

expeditions, said Andrew Klausman, a mission manager with Lockheed Martin's Space

Mission Systems and Services Division, the prime contractor for control and

monitoring of space shuttle systems during missions. Until it began using the flash

cards, NASA could not record positioning data from inside the shuttle during launch,

Klausman said. "A traditional hard drive has to spin to record data," he said. The

shock and vibration during certain phases of shuttle missions -- which sometimes

experience graviatational pulls three times the Earth's -- prevent normal hard drives

from operating. The flash card made its debut on a recent Atlantis shuttle mission, the

STS-81, which ended on Jan. 22. The cards tested during the mission had 40M of

electrically erasable, programmable read-only memory or EEPROM RAM. Shuttle

astronauts used the cards, which have no moving parts, in their IBM ThinkPad 755C

notebooks. The ThinkPads have been used for various tasks aboard the shuttle,

including assisting the crew during rendezvous operations with the Russian Space

Station Mir. Some notebooks also are used to monitor experiments. The flash card

was able to conquer the gravitational forces with no interruptions in data flow,

Klausman said. NASA will continue using the flash cards as its primary storage

medium during the roughest parts of shuttle missions, Klausman said. [Government

Computer News, March 3, 1997, p 14.]

FORMER CHALLENGER PILOT TO DRIVE KSC

Minutes after launch, one of the space shuttle's main engines had just quit. Pilot Roy

D. Bridges Jr. was in a position no one had been in before. Switches had to be

thrown, buttons found and pushed, following a new and intricate sequence of

emergency procedures that at times had not even worked in simulations on the ground.

Throught it all Bridges remained calm, and even though he was a rookie, he "was on

top of everything that was going on," his commander recalled. The 1985 mission

aboard Challenger (STS 5 l-F) was the only time one of the shuttle's three main

engines quit during the climb to orbit. The dangerous shutdown forced the shuttle into

a lower orbit than planned. Nonetheless, the crew successfully finished the mission.

Nearly 12 years later Bridges returns to Kennedy Space Center, this time as the

director. The 53-year-old former Air Force general is arriving at a diffiuclt time as the

space agency continues to go through a restructuring that fundamentally is changing

the way it operates. Jay Honeycutt, who retired Sunday as KSC director, was on the

NASA selection board that picked Bridges to be an astronaut in 1980. "He's a very

bright guy," Honeycutt said. "He's quiet, but he's personable. He gets along well with

everybody." Honeycutt said the biggest challenge for Bridges is to maintain an

orderly transition of the shuttle's operation. NASA is moving to more of an oversight

roll with the shuttle as the private company United Space Alliance takes over the

operation. [The Odando Sentinel, March 3, 1997, p A-6. Florida Today, March 3,

1997, p 1A & 2A.]

49
March 4: SIX-MONTH SLIP SEEN IN FIRST FLIGHT

OF NEW SHUTI'LE FUEL PUMP

Continuing development problems with the advanced Space Shuttle Main Engine

liquid hydrogen turbopump under development at Pratt & Whitney will delay first

flight of the complete SSME Block 2 engine about six months, until the middle of

next year, NASA and company officials say. Originally set for first flight late this

year, the new fuel turbopump has developed cracks in its rotating machinery and

housing that must be addressed first. Although Administrator Daniel S. Goldln has

accused P&W of "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" on the turbopump

development, engineers involved in the project say such problems axe always a risk on

new rocket engine components. [Aerospace Daily, Mar 4, 1997, p 323.]

March 5: GOLDIN SENDING STAFFORD TO AUDIT

RUSSIA'S STATION SPENDING

NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin is sending retired U. S. Air Force Lt. Gen.

Thomas Stafford to Russia with a team of financial experts later this month to

scrutinize Russia's spending on the International Space Station as part of an effort to

plot a course for the project in the face of Russia's seeming inability to pay a partner's

share of it. Goldin drew fire from members of the House Science Space and

Aeronautics Subcommittee yesterday when he said he didn't know how much Russia

plans to spend on Station after 1997. He said he has already started exploring possible

barter arrangements to get the Russian Service Module built, trading U.S. cash for

Russian minerals or other goods, but he conceded the totals involved are still obscure

to NASA planners. Goldin told the panel that Stafford, who flew on the 1975 ApolloSoyuz Test Project, will follow up on promises extracted in Russia by Rep. Dana

Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) and other Science Committee members last month to gain

access to Russia's Space Station books. [Aerospace Daily, Mar 5, 1997, p 331.]

MOVE OF COLUMBIA DELAYED

Tuesday's (March 4) planned move of Columbia from the OPF to the VAB was

delayed as a result of problems encountered during close-outs of the 17-inch

disconnect area on the orbiter. During close-outs, it was discovered that inserts had

been stripped when screws used to secure the 17-inch disconnect umbilical flow liner

were installed. All six inserts were replaced and close-outs were completed Tuesday

evening. First motion occurred at 1:04 p.m. today. Once in the VAB, Columbia will

be lifted to the vertical position and mated to the external tank and solid rocket

boosters in the VAB high bay No. 1. The shuttle interface test will begin this

weekend and roll out to Pad 39A remains set for Monday, March 10. [KSC

Countdown, March 6, 1997.]

5O
March 6: NASA_ USAF AGREE TO COORDINATE SPENDING

ON WIMELY' PROJECIS

NASA and the U. S. Air Force Space Command have agreed to coordinate their

spending on a variety of space-related efforts, including development of civil and

military spaceplanes, measurements of the solar environment in near-Earth space, and

use of launch and tracking facilities. Administrator Daniel S. Goldin and Gen. Howell

M. Estes HI, head of the Air Force Space Command, signed a memorandum of

agreement last Friday setting up a "parmership council" that will meet at least twice a

year for "proactive coordination in areas of mutual interest," according to the

document. One area likely to get attention from the new panel is infrastructure like

the space launch and tracking facilities at Cape Canaveral. "We share a common

facility at Patrick AFB and Kennedy Space Center, the Space Command and NASA,

so we want to make sure we're getting the most productive use out of those facilities."

Goldin said. [Aerospace Daily, Mar 6, 1997, p 342.]

March 7: MIR CREW LOSES MAIN OXYGEN SOURCE

A generator that provides oxygen on Russia's Mir space station has failed, forcing the

two Russians and one American on board to use a backup chemical system similar to

one that sparked a fire two weeks ago, NASA said Friday. The Elektron device,

which uses electricity to generate breathing oxygen from waste water, had been

experiencing problems all week before failing Friday, spokesman Rob Navias said.

An older, seldom-used backup system was activated but was shut down when it also

malfunctioned. Russian flight controllers in Moscow reluctantly instructed the crew to

start using chemicals that generate oxygen when heated. The chemical method is

usually used to supplement the Elektron when there are more than three crew members

aboard. Aboard the station are mission commander Vasily Tsibliev, flight engineer

Alexander Lazutkin and U.S. astronaut Jerry Linenger. The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis

is due to visit the Russian space outpost in May to pick up Linenger and drop off his

replacement. [The Orlando Sentinel, March 8, 1997, p A-3.]

March 8: ATLAS 2A BOOSTER LAUNCHED

A Lockheed Martin/ILS Atlas 2A booster successfully launched the Space

Systems/Loral Tempo direct broadcast satellite Mar. 8 from Cape Canaveral. The

launch was delayed twice by technical problems and a third time by excessive winds

at the launch site. Tempo is the most powerful direct broadcast satellite ever

launched. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, March 17, 1997, p 23.]

March 9: IRISH GOLF MEMENTOS TO FLY ON SPACE SHUTTLE

The coats of arms of some of Ireland's best-known golf courses are to be carried into

51
March

space during a 16-day research mission to be launched in April aboard shuttle

Columbia. When Columbia blasts off from Kennedy Space Center on April 3, its

crew will carry along a pennant of the South West of Ireland Golf Co., courtesy of

mission commander Jim Halsell, an astronaut of irish descent. The pennant features

the heraldic emblems of nine major championship golf courses, including Ballybunion.

Columbia's seven-member crew also will carry a medallion featuring a 19th-century

Irish emigrant ship, the Joanie Johnston. It never lost a passenger in 16 voyages from

Tralee to Baltimore, New York and Quebec during the Irish famine, when more than a

million people left for new lives in the "New World." [Florida Today, March 9, 1997,

p 5E.]

10: MIR LOSES PRIMARY OXYGEN-GENERATING SYSTEM

Russia's Mir orbital station has lost the primary and backup electrolysis units that

produce crew oxygen from waste water, forcing the two Russians and one American

aboard to rely on a supplemental system that is itself on backup because of a recent

fire. A NASA spokesman at Johnson Space Center, Tex., said Friday the crew was in

no immediate danger. After both electrolysis units malfunctioned and were shut down,

the crew shifted to lithium perchlorate canisters designed to supplement crew oxygen

when more than one three-person crew is aboard. [Aerospace Daily, Mar 10, 1997, p

359.]

ITALY WILL BUH.J) STATION NODES

IN BARTER DEALS WITH NASA, ESA

NASA has decided to proceed with a proposal by Italy to build two pressurized nodes

for the Intemational Space Station in a three-way barter deal that will give the

European Space Agency a free ride to space for its Columbus laboratory module and

will allow Italy to make up some of the industrial return deficit it has accumulated

with ESA. Under the deal announced yesterday, Italy will deliver one node to NASA

at the end of 1999 for launch early in 2000, and a second node two years later that

will attach to the Station's habitation module and provide additional docking ports. In

exchange for the two new nodes, a crew refrigerator/freezer unit for the lab module, a

cryogenic freezer for the U.S. lab module, and other "minor hardware." NASA will

launch the Columbus module aboard a Space Shuttle in a launch-offset arrangement.

Such arrangements are in keeping with international cooperation principles developed

for Station that give preference to barter over cash payments for services. [Aerospace

Mar 11, 1997, p 363-364.]

'CAPE' GROUNDED AFFER 1ST SEASON

The syndicated television show "The Cape" has been scrubbed. Despite strong viewer

support in the local market, MTM Productions confirmed Monday the show has not

been renewed for a second season because nationwide ratings did not support the high

52
March

cost of production -- about $1 million an episode. Bonnie King, Space Coast film

commissioner, was disappointed with the news. The production pumped "a healthy

$18 million" into the Brevard County economy last year, King said. "We won't have

that (this year), and it will really hurt us, so we have to hope we get something else."

The program, starring Corbin Bemsen, is about the space program and the personal

and professional lives of astronauts, astronaut candidates and NASA employees. It

made its debut in Central Florida on Sept. 13. It was filmed at Kennedy Space Center

and other Brevard locations, with technical guidance from veteran astronauts Buzz

Aldrin and Bruce Melnick. [Florida Today., March 11, 1997, p 1D.]

11: SHUTI"LE CREW IN TOW TO PRACI'ICE

FOR APRIL 3 LAUNCH

Shuttle Columbia is resting on its launch pad today, but the spaceship is not sitting

idle. It's ready to be put through its paces this week while seven astronauts are in

town practicing for an April 3 launch of a 16-day research flight. Columbia was

moved early Tuesday to its launch pad at KSC in preparation for NASA's third shuttle

mission of the year. "We're on the pad, the crew's in town, and it's going to be a

pretty busy week for us," KSC spokesman Bruce Buckingham said. "But we're on

schedule and we're in good shape for April 3." During the mission, the shuttle is to

serve as a gravity-free laboratory when the astronauts will conduct more than 25

experiments in the area of materials science, protein crystal growth and physics. Its

crew is made up of Commander Jim Halsell, pilot Susan Still, mission specialists

Michael Gernhardt and Donald Thomas, payload commander Janice Voss and payload

specialists Roger Crouch and Greg Linteris. An eighth astronaut, Cady Coleman, is in

town for the dress rehearsal as well. She has been training as a backup for Thomas,

who broke his ankle in January during routine training. NASA officials in Houston

say they expect Thomas to fly next month but Coleman is training just in case.

Meanwhile, officials have set April 24 as the launch date for the nation's newest

weather satellite. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday

that GOES-K satellite will be launched from Cape Canaveral and go into a holding

orbit to replace either of the two current stationary weather satellites. The GOES

satellites orbit at the same rate the Earth turns, allowing them to remain above the

same location on the planet, watching the weather as it changes. GOES stands for

Geostationary Operational Enivommental Satellite. [Florida Today, March 12, 1997, p

4A.]

STS-83 SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA

ROLLED OUT TO PAD 39A

The 3.4 mile rollout of the space shuttle Columbia from the Vehicle Assembly

Building to Pad 39A began at 6:30 a.rn. on Tuesday, Mar. 11, and ended with the

Shuttle hard down at 2:37 p.m. The entire complement of crawler transporter, MLP

53
and Shuttle weighs in excess of 18 million pounds. The transporter moves at an

average rate of less than one mile-per-hour while carrying the Shuttle and uses a laser

docking system to precisely posiiton the MLP on the pad surface. A leveling system

on the crawler transporter keeps the Shuttle stable during the rollout and during the

climb up the 5 percent grade to the launch pad surface. Once at the pad, workers hot

fired auxiliary power unit No. 2 early Wednesday (March 12) morning, and later

placed the Rotating Service Structure around the vehicle. STS-83 will be the 22nd

mission for NASA's first Space Shuttle orbiter. [KSC Countdown, March 13, 1997.]

March 13: NASA SEEKS WAYS TO COMMERCIALIZE STATION_

OTHER LEO SPACEFLIGHT

An internal NASA team has been "thinking out of the box" in an effort to find ways

to commercialize human spaceflight in low Earth orbit, including the International

Space Station, surveying consumer manufacturers for ideas and pondering a high risk,

high payoff "space venture fund" to finance them. The goal from NASA's standpoint,

said June W. Edwards, a NASA lawyer and a member of what is known as the Space

Station Commercialization Team, is that 10 years after completion of the International

Station, "we would simply say to the private sector 'here's our contract for utilization.

Excuse us, we're going to Mars." Its name notwithstanding, the team is working on

changing NASA's approach to commercializing LEO activities and is not restricted to

Station. [Aerospace Daily, Mar 13, 1997, p 379.]

SHUTFLE OPS SHIFF SAID GOING WELI._

BUT FUTURE PROBLEMS LOOM

NASA is doing a good job of handing off day-to-day Space Shuttle operations to the

United Space Alliance (USA) consortium, thanks in large part to the professionalism

of the individual government and industry managers involved in the transition, but

problems could develop when those managers retire, the head of an independent safety

review panel told Congress yesterday. Paul M. Johnstone, chairman of the Aerospace

Safety Advisory Panel, said the entire Shuttle program is plagued by an aging

workforce, with the most junior technician on the shop floors at Kennedy Space

Center typically at least a 10-year veteran of the program and senior managers nearing

retirement age. Johnstone, whose panel of experienced outside experts is responsible

for monitoring the safety of Shuttle and other NASA operations, gave generally high

marks to the performance of NASA and USA in the first six months of the six-year

Space Flight Operations Contract, which merged 12 contracts that were previously

separate. But the panel found that goodwill at the top didn't always extend to the

hands-on level, where contractor workers and NASA overseers didn't always share the

"spirit of cooperation and good feelings" with their superiors, according to Johnstone's

written testimony.

Stephen Oswald, deputy associate NASA administrator for space flight, told the

54
subcommittee that despite a cut of almost 1,000 NASA employees since 1994, the

Shuttle safety record has improved. Astronaut crew are "three times as safe on ascent"

as they were before the Shuttle restructuring started. Since 1993 in-flight anomalies

have been cut more than 50%, from an average of 14.3 in 1993 to the current average

of 6.75. In its first formal award fee review, NASA graded USA "very good," said

Kent M. Black, outgoing USA chief executive. NASA and the consortium have

started discussions for phase two of the Shuttle operations contract restructuring, which

could bring another 16 separate contracts under the USA umbrella, he said.

Under questioning from subcommittee members Oswald said NASA is studying both

the possibility of transferring Shuttle overhaul work from Palmdale, Calif., to KSC,

and of canceling the Spacelab program after the planned STS-90 Neurolab mission in

April 1998. Shifting overhaul to KSC, a move pushed by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.),

who represents the KSC congressional district, might blur the focus on safe launches

and create logistics problems at KSC, Oswald said. Dropping the Spacelab program

managed at Marshall Space Flight Center in the Alabama congressional district

represented by ranking subcommittee Democrat Pep. Bud Cramer would deprive

NASA of an alternative to the privately owned Spacehab module, Oswald conceded.

"But in reducing budgets, none of that's free, and most of it comes out of flexibility,"

Oswald said. [Aerospace Daily, Mar 14, 1997, p 391.]

NASA WILL RETURN TO MOON WITH PROSPEC'I'OR

Twenty-five years after the last group of astornauts walked on its surface, the moon is

going to get a new visitor -- but this one will stay for a year. A small spacecraft

called Lunar Prospector is to head for the moon Sept. 24 aboard a Lockheed Martin

rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Station. The just-completed spacecraft is

undergoing preparations to be shipped here in August, where it will be readied for

flight. Once in orbit around the moon, the craft is to search the lunar poles for water.

It also will scan for minerals, map the moon's surface and chart its gravity and

magnetic fields. Once launched, Prospector will need about five days to reach its

target. Then it will settle into a polar orbit and circle the moon once every 118

minutes. [Florida Today, March 13, 1997, p 4A.]

SHU'ITLE READY IF SPACE STATION DELAYED

Space shuttle managers said Thursday they are bracing for the first ripples in their

flight schedule brought on by problems with the planned internaitonal space station.

They just hope the ripples don't turn into waves of delays that could leave the 100-ton

shuttle orbiters idle. Steve Oswald, the shuttle program director, told the House Space

Subcommittee that his office is looking for ways to plug holes in the shuttle schedule

should future station payloads not be available for launch. "We're actually planning

on building some flexibility into the shuttle schedule," Oswald said. "The shuttle

manifest is at some risk unless we have other payloads that we can throw in if there's

55
a delay in one of the [space station] payloads." He said NASA may let the Pentagon

use the shuttle for follow-up to the Clementine lunar probe and for another defense

mission using space radar to map the Earth's terrain. Those missions would come up

in 1999 or 2000. At the moment, 27 shuttle flights are to be dedicated to ferrying

station parts aloft between this December and June 2002, which the orbiting laboratory

is to be completed. But cash-strapped Russia's delays in building key station parts

likely means nothing will be launched until mid-1998. That throws off the first and

second station-related shuttle flights -- penciled in for this December and for June

1998. But shuttle managers are more concerned about what happens after September

1998, when all but a few shuttle launches for the next four years are to be dedicated to

station payloads. Shuttle planners are used to dealing with delays brought on by leaks,

jammed hatches, O-rings and other problems with the shuttle itself. But the prospect

of having such large chunks of the shuttle schedule held hostage to external forces is

something new. "We're just waiting to see what the space station program wants to

do, and then that will influence our manifest," Oswald said after the hearing. "We're

waiting on some things that are going to be thrown at us by folks that, not only do we

not have control over, but who are outside the borders of this country." [The Orlando

Sentinel, March 14, 1997, p A-5.]

March 17: STARGAZERS ARE HAHJNG HALE-BOPP

It's hard to miss the biggest comet to approach Earth in 420 years. Hale-Bopp's tail is

several million miles long. Ever since the Kohoutek and Halley's comets fizzled in

the 1970s and 1980s, astronomers have been leery of promoting comet-watching

because of the public letdown. But this comet, discovered July 23, 1995, by Alan

Hale in New Mexico and Thomas Bopp in Arizona is different, experts say. The

difference is size. The nucleus of Hale-Bopp, just the icy and dusty core of the head,

is 25 miles across. Last year's Comet Hyakutake, which astronomers marveled at, was

1 mile across. The last comet of this size to come between Earth and the sun was in

1577. In 1811, a similar-sized comet came in this general neck of the solar system but

not between the Earth and the sun like Hale-Bopp. [The Odando Sentinel, March 17,

1997, p A-1.]

March 18: ROMINGER TO REPLACE ASHBY AS STS-85 PILOT

Astronaut Jeffrey S. Ashby (Cmdr., USN), has been replaced as pilot for the STS-85

crew by astronaut Kent Rominger (Cmdr., USN), a two-time Shuttle pilot. Ashby,

who will be reassigned to a later flight, has been named as an assistant to the Director,

Flight Crew Operations. Rominger will join Commander Curt Brown, Payload

Commander Jan Davis, Mission Specialists Robert Curbeam, Jr., and Stephen

Robinson, and Payload Specialist Bjami Tryggvason, on a 11-day mission in July

aboard Discovery to study changes in the Earth's atmosphere. [NASA News Release

#97-42, March 18, 1997.]

56
March 20: NASA MANAGERS SET APRIL 3 AS LAUNCH DATE FOR

THE MICROGRAVITY SCIENCE LABORATORY MISSION

Following completion of the Flight Readiness Review today, NASA managers set

April 3, 1997, as the official launch date for NASA's Microgravity Science Laboratory

(MSL-1) mission. The focus of the upcoming mission, designated STS-83, will

concentrate on NASA's efforts to further understand the subtle and complex

phenomena associated with the influence of gravity in many aspects of daily life. The

STS-83 flight mirrors future work set to take place aboard the Intemaitonal Space

Station. STS-83 will be the 22nd flight of Columbia and the 83rd mission flown since

the start of the Space Shuttle program in April 1981. The crew of mission STS-83

includes: Commander Jim Halsell; Pilot Susan Still; Mission Specialists Janice Voss;

Michael G-ernhardt and Donald Thomas; and Payload Specialists Roger Crouch and

Greg Linteris. Thomas, who suffered a broken ankle following a routine training

exercise on Jan. 29, has officially been cleared to fly as planned. The launch window

for STS-83 on April 2 opens at 2:01 p.m. EST and extends for 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Columbia's mission duration is planned for 15 days, 16 hours. The STS-83 mission

will conclude with Columbia's landing at Kennedy Space Center on April 19 at about

7:30 &m. EDT. [NASA News Release #49-97, March 20, 1997.]

March 21: SPACE JUNK DANGERS RISE WITH TRAFFIC

Thousands of pieces of space junk are orbiting Earth at enormous speeds, threatening

to smash into satellites and manned spaceflights and interfering with astronomical

observations. After a three-day conference on space junk, scientists from 18 countries

said while the probability of such collisions remains small now, the hazard would

increase as the skies become more crowded. The first confirmed collection between a

working satellite and space trash occurred July 24, when a French microsatellite was

damaged by a fragment of the exploded third stage of an Ariane rocket, they said.

Almost 300 new satellites are scheduled to be launched during the next two years, 75

percent more than the previous two years. Since "cleanup in space is neither

technically nor financially feasible, efforts must be directed toward reducing and

avoiding the creation of space debris," the scientists said Wednesday in a statement.

Only 5 percent of the more than 10,000 trackable, man-made objects orbiting the Earth

are operational. The rest is debris from sources such as exploded rocket stages and

old satellites. In addition, an estimated 70,000 to 150,000 orbiting bits -- smaller than

4 inches -- post a bigger risk because of their greater number, the statement said. A

half-inch diameter fragment, traveling at an average of 17,400 mph, can destroy a

$100 million satellite. NASA has had to replace 50 tiles on its space shuttles that

were damaged by tiny debris. [Florida Today, March 21, 1997, p 11A.]

57
FINDINGS OF COUNCIL SURVEY HIGHLIGHT SPACE PROGRAM'S

IMPACr ON THE NATIONA'S OUTLOOK) NASA ADMINISTRATOR SAYS

A national survey released today by the Council for Excellence in Government

highlights the importance of space exploration to the American public, NASA

AdministratorDaniel S. Golding said. The survey,conducted for the Council by the

researchfirms of Peter D. Hart and Robert M. Teeter,indicatesthat "promoting space

exploration"isthe only one of 16 testeditems about which a pluralityof Americans

say the Federal government has been very successful."This survey demonstrates

again the importance Americans place on explorationand discovery,"Goldin said,

"and theirbeliefthatone of the most important rolesof the Federal government isto

help push back the boundaries of knowledge. NASA isnot only a crucialinvestment

in our nationalfuture --itisalso a tangiblesymbol to the American people of the

greatnessto which we aspire.We are gratifiedto learnfrom thissurvey thatNASA

has been successfulin meeting the needs of the American public."Goldin said. "In

recentyears,we have redoubled our effortsto be responsiveto the public and to

describe,in meaningful terms, the value and relevance of space exploration.NASA's

originalchartermandates that the Agency widely disseminatethe resultsof its

activities.Our philosophy isone of openness, of sharingthe triumphs and set-backsof

our cutting-edgeresearch,"Goldin said. "As a result,the public has shared these

experiences and many feela sense of directownership or involvement in NASA's

programs. This ishow itshould be --NASA's programs are,indeed,theirprograms."

[NASA News Release #97-S0, March 21, 1997.]

NASA HOPES RESEARCHERS' SHOWERS

MAKE LAB PLANTS FLOWER

Neil Yorio shed his clothes, turned on a special faucet at a Kennedy Space Center lab

Friday and started a $150,000 NASA experiment. He showered for science.

Researchers collected the used water and added it to the waste water from a load of

laundry that included Yorio's dirty shirts, socks and towels. Then the murky mixture

was fed to 20 potato plants and 400 wheat seedlings with no filtering or treatment. If

the wheat and potato plants survive and grow, the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration may have solved some of the problems that will face future colonies on

Mars and other outposts where resupply ships will make infrequent stops. NASA

needs to fred the best way to deal with used shower and laundry water. At the same

time, scientists need to come up with the most efficient way to provide scarce water

for plants. If astronauts don't have to treat their water, it will save the space, money

and fuel needed for a filtration system, said NASA research manager John Sager. But

first the red Norland potato plants and Yecora Rojo wheat seedlings have to do their

part. Microbes already on the plants' root systems should discard the soap and attack

the human microbes left over from Yorio's skin and shirts, said microbiologist Jay

Garland, another shower volunteer. Cell membranes, especially on wheat, are good

filters, he said. The wheat kernels shouldn't have any remnants of soap or human

58
March

March

microbes because the kernels grow away from the roots that are being watered. The

potatoes are another matter. Mackowiak guesses that the inside of the potato should

not be changed by the waste water, but the skin could need extra scrubbing. If they

thrive, the plants will undergo a month of tests for toxins, proteins and other residues

before they are ready to eat -- probably in June. The project involves 18 researchers

during the next 84 days. The study is part of a $1.5 million research program at KSC

to find ways to grow plants for self-sustaining space colonies. It is one of the few

research projects at KSC. [The Orlando Sentinel, March 22, 1997, p A-3.]

22: ANNIVERSARY MARKS MILESTONE OF

U.S. PRESENCE IN SPACE

March 22 marks the one-year anniversary of a continuous U.S. presence in space,

which began with the launch of astronaut Shannon Lucid abaord Space Shuttle Atlantis

on teh STS-76 mission tot he Mir space station. Since Lucid arrived on Mir,

astronauts John Blaha and Jerry Linenger have followed in her footsteps, conducting

continuous scientific experiments aboard the Russian complex as a precursor to the

development and occupancy of the International Space Station. Linenger will remain

aboard Mir until mid-May, when he will be replaced by astronaut Mike Foale, who, in

turn, will be replaced in September by astronaut Wendy Lawrence. The final U.S.

astronaut seelcted for a tour of duty on the Mir is David Wolf in early 1998. Former

astronaut Norm Thagard was the first U.S. astronaut to live and work on the Mir.

Thagard spent four months on the Russian outpost in 1995. Lucid spent a U.S.-reeord

188 days in space from the time of her launch on March 22, 1996, to her return to

Earth on the STS-79 mission on Sept. 26, 1996. Blaha, who arrived on the STS-79

mission on Sept. 16 last year, spent 128 days in space, returning to Earth aboard

Atlantis at the completion of the STS-81 mission on January 22, 1997. Linenger was

launched on the STS-81 mission on Jan. 12. [NASA News Release #97-45, March 17,

1997.]

23: EG&G FLORIDA FIREFIGHTER COMPETES

AGAINST ASTRONAUT

Firefighter Dawn Tait not only has tested her flame-battling tactics in national

competition, she has matched skills with NASA astronaut Pam Melroy. While EG&G

Florida firefighter Tait was training on the Combat Challenge Team for the

December's World Challenge V in Las Vegas, Melroy became interested in the

regimen Tait followed, such as running the stairs at the Vehicle Assembly Building.

She was challenged to a head-to-head competition with Tait. Although this was Tait's

first year of competition, the Mims resident placed sixth among 23 women competing

at the finals. The contest presented a unique meeting between firefighter and

astronaut. Tait, as a member of the Search and Rescue team, would be required to

rescue Melroy and other astronauts in case of an emergency situation. The high level

of physical fitness the firefighters must be in at all times to enable them to do their

59
jobs was eveident to Melroy as she made her way through the competition against

Tait. The Challenge consists of five tasks firefighters can be called upon to perform at

a fire. Each contestant wears firefighting pants, coat, boosts, helmet and gloves and is

breathing on a self-contained breathing apparatus. This equipment weighs 40 to 50

pounds. The tasks are: carrying a high rise pack of hose weighing 45 pounds to the

fifth floor; pulling up a bundle of hose weighing 45 pounds from the same floor;

descending the stairs and striking a 160-pound iron sled a distance of 5 feet using a

sledgehammer; walking to a 50-foot section of charged hose line and advancing it 75

feet; and picking up and dragging a mannequin weighing 175 pounds a distance of 100

feet. All of these events are done nonstop. An acceptable time for completion is

seven minutes. Tait completed her contest in 3 minutes 40 seconds. While in Las

Vegas, the EG&G Florida firefighters, Melroy and 40 other Florida firefighters made

goodwill visits to the children's wards of two hospitals. As the base operations

contractor to NASA at KSC, EG&G Florida provides a broad range of support services

for the KSC mission, encompassing management, operations, maintenance and

engineering for KSC utilities and facilities, health, fire and security services, and

certain technical and administrative operations. [Florida Today, March 23, 1997, p

2B.]

NASA OFFERS SCHOOLS FREE SURPLUS SOFTWARE

Kennedy Space Center is offering free computer software to educational institutions

through a recently established surplus software loan program. As another component

of KSC's ongoing educational support efforts, this loan program complements the

special one-time computer system donation program that KSC featured last year as

well as an on-going program that allows schools to claim surplus computer hardware.

KSC program coordinator Doug Hendriksen explained that "them is a continuous

turnover of software at the Space Center, and we regularly receive a wide range of

DOS-based and Windows applications for our loan program." Although the inventory

of software changes regularly, there is normally a good selection of word processing,

graphics, spreadsheet, database management and specialized applications available for

all educational levels. "We also have a limited selection of networking and Macintosh

software at hand," he added, as well as other accessories such as keyboards, mouses,

cables and computer plug-in boards. "There is not a lot of red tape involved in this

program," Hendriksen said. "All we ask is that schools have some idea of what they

are looking for before they call. If we have what they want, we will arrange for them

to come out and pick it up." [Florida Today, March 23, 1997, p 2B.]

March 24: A'ITITUDE CONTROL

Russia's creaky Mir space station is back on track after giving its three-man crew and

ground controllers in Moscow several bad moments last week when its attitude control

system failed. The crew had to bum about 10 kilograms of fuel to stabilize the

orbiting laboratory when the onboard computer left it out of control in all three axes

60
while switching to a backup angular rate sensor when the main sensor failed. That left

Mir in a low-power attitude relative to the sun, which forced the crew to shut down

the main gyrodynes and other electrical equipment. Russian officials quickly assured

NASA managers that Mir's structural limits were never approached, but other answers

about the incident were slow in coming. [Aerospace DaiB,, Mar 24, 1997, p 433.]

HEALTH CHECK

Frank Culbertson, NASA program manager for the Shuttle/Mir phase of the

International Space Station program, is in Russia this week for a previously scheduled

meeting with his Russian counterparts. But before he goes home to Houston he'll stop

in Washington for a headquarters review of the state of the aging Russian orbital

platform. Top space flight officials want Culbertson's views on whether Mir is safe

and can handle an extension of its service life under a deal worked out last year that

would keep U.S." astronauts aboard until at least May 1998. Fire and mechanical

failure have left the crew relying on a single backup system for oxygen production,

and Russian controllers are worried about the state of one of Mir's docking ports seals

after an aborted docking maneuver last month left it exposed to the space environment.

[Aerospace Dail.y, Mar 24, 1997, p 433.]

STATION HARDWARE COMING TO KSC IN JUNE

Despite delays in building the International Space Station, NASA will bring the first

U.S.-built piece of the outpost to Kennedy Space Center this summer to prepare for

launch. The first component -- a hallway segment that will be carried into space

aboard shuttle Endeavour -- is due at KSC the first week of June. It was supposed to

be ferried into orbit in December, but Russian delays in building a third component of

the station could delay Endeavour's flight as much as eight months. Successive U.S.

pieces are expected to arrive as originally planned at KSC, where they will be

prepared for flight -- whenever that might be. NASA officials are waiting to see what

the cash-poor Russian Space Agency can do to get back on track with the third station

segment, which would serve as living quarters and keep station parts boosted in orbit.

The delay could benefit NASA, which might be able to test U.S. segments together at

KSC because their time there likely will overlap. Original plans called for the pieces

to be checked out individually. [Florida Today, March 24, 1997, p 1A.]

ENDEAVOUR ALL FIXED UP BUT WITH NO PLACE TO GO

NASA's newest space shuttle, fresh from $40 million worth of refurbishing, returns

this week to Kennedy Space Center, where it may sit for more than a year. Space

shuttle Endeavour's next scheduled flight is to launch part of the international space

station. Whenever that is. Space station construction keeps getting delayed because

the Russian space program is far behind in building a crucial component and has little

money. It's not just the immediate fate of Endeavour, which first flew in 1992 and

61
March

March

last flew in May 1996, that is tied to an ever-changing space station, said Howard

McCurdy, a professor of public policy at American University in Washington. The

entire shuttle program depends heavily on the space station's future. The shuttle

program's long-term future consists mostly of flights to help build and resupply the

$43 billion space station. [The Orlando Sentinel, March 24, 1997, p A-5.]

25: HOUSE SCIENCE BACKS SPACE STATION

WITH OR WITHOUT RUSSIANS

Most members of the House Science Committee have endorsed a panel position paper

that supports completion of the International Space Station even if Russia drops out as

a Station partner, although a perennial Station foe on the committee has signaled his

intention to use Russia's Station problems as an argument against the project this year.

In its annual "views and estimates" statement submitted to the House Budget

Committee, the science panel membership noted that Russia's failure to deliver

promised Station hardware on time has hampered the Station program over the past

year. "We would prefer to continue the program with the Russians, but we support the

Space Station regardless of their participation," stated the panel, whose new chair,

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wis.), has consistently urged caution in bringing

the Russians into the Station project. [Aerospace Daily, Mar 25, 1997, p 441-442.]

NASA WILL USE ROBOTS IN 2001 TO STUDY HUMAN

EXPLORATION OF MARS

NASA will begin scientific studies on the surface of Mars in 2001 designed to aid

planning for human exploration of the Red Planet, the U.S. space agency said

yesterday. With an eye to human exploration, the previously scheduled Mars lander

mission for 2001 will include experiments designed to measure soil properties and the

surface radiation environment, as well as hardware to demonstrate the production of

rocket propellant from the Martian atmosphere. "For the first time since the 1960s,

NASA's space science and human space flight programs are cooperating directly on

the exploration of another planetary body," Wesley T. Huntress Jr., associate

administrator for space science, said in a statement announcing the cooperative

agreement. [Aerospace Daily, Mar 26, 1997, p 450.]

26: KSC CHIEF: AGENCY MUST KEEP ABREAST OF CHANGES

Looking down a very uncertain road, Kennedy Space Center's new boss called

Wednesday for the spaceport to adapt to significant changes in the aerospace world or

become obsolete in a few decades. "We've got to keep our eyes on the ball," KSC

Director Roy Bridges said. "We've either got to stay on top of the latest developments

in the space business or we can easily fall too far behind to take part in its future."

Among the possibilities Bridges suggested was using KSC as a base to launch human

expeditions to Mars. If not, he said, more of the center could become part of the

62
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Bridges, a former astronaut who has been on

the job three weeks, made his remarks to hundreds of Brevard County community and

business leaders gathered at KSC to hear an annual state-of-the center address. He

said KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Station are facing more competition from launch

sites in other sates and nations vying for a lucrative piece of the growing commercial

space market. The proposed development of a revolutionary new vehicle called the X33 -- which would take off and land like an airplane and could replace NASA's shuttle

fleet by 20012 -- also poses a major threat. The reason: It will make most of KSC's

vast infrastructure, built during the mid-1960s, unnecessary. Bridges said KSC already

has lost out on becoming the test site for the X-33, which will be built by Lockheed

Martin. The final version of the X-33 prototype, called VentureStar, is expected to

reduce the time needed for launch from four months with a NASA shuttle to a few

days. The goal also is to reduce the cost of launching the vehicle, from $500 million

for a shuttle mission to $10 million to $20 million for VentureStar. "We need to look

at why we lost that opportunity and learn what we can do in the future not to miss out

on other important opportunities," Bridges said. Among those attending Bridges'

address was Monica Banos-Russo, marketing director for Melbourne Square mall, who

said she was impressed with Bridge's focus on the future. "He's got vision for keeping

the space center going in the coming decades. Of course, that's important to our mall

merchants and the local economy in general," she said. [Florida Today., March 27,

1997, p 1A.]

March 27: SHUTTLE ORBITER ENDEAVOUR RETURNED

The Shuttle Orbiter Endeavour returned to the Kennedy Space Center on Mar. 27,

riding atop NASA's Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft. The homecoming followed an

eight-month modification period at Boeing North American facilities in Palmdale,

Calif. About 100 modifications and upgrades were added and its weight was reduced

by more than a ton under a U.S. Alliance contract. The most significant change

involved removal of Endeavour's original internal airlock and installation of a new

payload bay airlock to enable Endeavour to dock with the new international space

station. In addition, modifications were made to allow future installation of a new

assembly power converter unit to make the orbiter electrically compatible with the

future station. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, April 7, 1997, p 60.]

HOUSE HACKS KSC HANGAR BUDGET PLAN

A proposal to use $5 million in state taxes to build a hangar at Kennedy Space Center

-- touted as crucial to the center's long-term survival -- was alive Thursday, but

walking with a limp. Supporters were scrambling after learning that House leaders

proposed spending only $496,841, money Spaceport Florida Authority would use to

build the multiuse facility near the shuttle landing strip. Proponents say the hangar is

vital to attracting the next generation of spacecraft, including the replacement for the

space shuttle, which is set for retirement in 2005. Dubbed the "Reusable Launch

63
Vehicle," the new spaceship will have exotic engines, and could launch and land from

almost any state. Arizona and New Mexico are vying for the privilege, but politicians

will have little say where it is deployed. Instead, private contractors are supposed to

find the most cost-efficient home base. [Florida Today, March 28, 1997, p 6A.]

March 29: 26 ON KSC TOUR BUSES SLIGHTLY HURT;

THOUSANDS LOSE POWER

A sudden afternoon thunderstorm Saturday in Brevard County uprooted trees, downed

power lines, turned over boats and injured at least 26 people on two tour buses at the

Kennedy Space Center. Most of the poeple received minor injuries when glass on the

double-decker tour buses in which they were tiding was shattered from winds that

gusted upward of 60 mph and flying debris, authorities said. The injured from KSC

were brought to three area hospitals -- Parrish Medical Center in Titusville, Cape

Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach and Wuesthoff Hospital in Roekledge -- where

they were treated and released. Bob Emerson, his wife, Joyce, and their daughters

Rachel, 7, and Megan, 9, of Tarpon Springs were among the injured on the two

damaged tour buses. The buses were near the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC

when a sudden gust of wind whipped up, Emerson siad. [Florida Today, March 30,

1997, p lB.]

March 30: TITUSVII.LE_ KSC CLEAR DEBRIS AFI'F_ SEVERE STORM

Saturday aftemoon's sudden storm left Titusville residents and Kennedy Space Center

workers picking up debris and surveying damage Sunday, but weather officials were

not saying it was a tornado. Winds gusting to 66 mph did more damage and caused

more power outages than typical afternoon storms that blow up around the Space

Coast. At Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, officials reported damage including an

overturned work trailer, 26 dinged and dented vehicles and minor problems at the

Vehicle Assembly Building. A portable access stand, used in working on orbiters, was

blown over at the VAB. The facility's huge doors often are left at least partly open.

No damage was reported to space shuttle Columbia or its boosters and external tank.

the shuttle was on the launch pad Saturday and is scheduled to fly Thursday.

"Considering how large a facility this is and how much is exposed to the elements, the

damage wasn't that bad," NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham said. "Because it was

Saturday, there weren't as many people and cars out here, so that was fortunate."

Three KSC tour buses were damaged by fly debris. Forty people were injured; 26

were treated at area hospitals and released. [Florida Today, March 31, 1997, p lB.]

March 31: MIR STATUS

NASA believes Russia's Mir space station is good for another year and a half or so,

long enough for the last U.S. astronaut scheduled to work there to be collected by the

Space Shuttle on STS-91 late in May 1998. The shuttle Atlantis will carry a new 250-

64
pound oxygen generator to Mir this May, now that the U.S. space agency has

determined it will fit in the Spacehah logistics module. Frank Culbertson, NASA

program manager for the Shuttle/Mir linkups, has returned from talks in Moscow last

week on the status of the aging orbital facility. [Aerospace Daily, Mar 3 l, 1997, p

471.]

NASA CUTS OFF PIONEER I0 DATA

Pioneer 10 will no longer be supplying data to Earth. As of March 31, flat lines

replaced the squiggly ones that had traced the spacecraft's faint radio signals from 6.2

billion miles away. Scientists in the mission control room at NASA's Ames Research

Center stopped listening. They decided the limited information from the spacecraft

wasn't worth the cost of operating it. The shutdown marked the end of the United

States' longest-running space program, which began in 1958 with Pioneer 1 soon after

the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I. "It's an old friend," said Rick Eagle, a flight

operations specialist who has been tracking the craft for 19 years. Pioneer 10 was

launched March 2, 1972 onboard an Atlas Centaur from Launch Complex 36A.

Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to fly beyond the orbit of Mars; to penetrate and

cross the asteroid belt; to provide "in situ" measurements of Jupiter's environment; and

to take close-up pictures of Jupiter. It was also the first NASA spacecraft to use allnuclear electrical power and be capable of operating beyond the influence of the Sun.

Pioneer 10 was the first human-made object to leave this solar system. [Florida

Today. April 6, 1997, p lB. A Summary of Major NASA Launches, July 1980, p 1-

39.]

NASA STILL CUTrlNG JOBS,

BUT HARRIS CORP. IS ON HIRING SPREE

While the nation's space program peels away hundreds of jobs annually, Harris Corp.

is spawning jobs in Brevard County almost as fast as NASA is losing them. The

space agency and its contractors lost almost 750 jobs last year at Kennedy Space

Center as budget cuts and streamlining put a squeeze on the local work force, National

Aeronautics and Space Administration officials say. More job cuts lie ahead for the

space program. NASA plans to eliminate 1,400 jobs at KSC by 2000. Similar

projections are not available for the space program's contractors. Harris' shift from

defense programs to nondefense and commercial contracts has fueled growth. [The

Orlando Sentinel, March 31, 1997, p 10.]

WILHIDE NAMED ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR

FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS

NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin today named Peggy C. Wilhide as the

Associate Administrator for Public Affairs, effective immediately. Wilhide will

replace Laurie Boeder, who joined the Department of Health and Human Services as

65
the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Policy and Plans. [NASA News

Release #97-60, March 3 l, 1997.]

66
APRIL

April 1: COLUMBIA OUT OF STATION LOOP

Call Columbia the odd shuttle out. With sisterships Atlantis, Discovery and

Endeavour all set to fly virtually nothing but space station construction missions for

five years, Columbia will be the only NASA orbiter left to launch any and all other

missions. "It allows us to schedule flights other than space station assembly flights --

like Hubble Space Telescope repair missions and space radar laboratories and other

stand-alone science flights -- on essentially a dedicated vehicle." said former astronaut

Steve Oswald, NASA's director of space shuttle program requirements at the agency's

headquarters in Washington, D.C. Once construction gets under way, Atlantis,

Discovery and Endeavour will divvy up a total of 27 station assembly missions to be

flown by mid to late 2002. Columbia won't be involved because it weighs 7,000

pounds more than its sisterships. That heft, combined with the weight of station

payloads, makes it too heavy for station-assembly work. So the 90-ton shuttle will be

flying what NASA sees as important but less glamorous science missions that will

pave the way for research aboard the station, which will be a 440-ton cluster of labs

and dorms 250 miles above Earth. The station assembly job, meanwhile, has required

NASA to outfit Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour with cargo bay docking devices

that will enable those shuttles to link up with the outpost during and after its

construction. Columbia, as a result, is the only NASA orbiter that can carry cargo that

fills up most of, if not an entire, a 60-foot-long, 15-foot-wide shuttle payload bay.

NASA's prized Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility, which is scheduled for launch

aboard Columbia in August 1998, is one such payload. The orbiter also might be

considered for missions to test advanced shuttle systems being designed to keep the $8

billion fleet in business well into the next century. [Florida Today, April 1, 1997, p

IA & 2A.]

MINOR PROBLEMS WON'r GET IN COLUMBIA'S WAY

The weather looks promising for the space shuttle Columbia's 2:01 p.m. launch

Thursday (April 3, 1997), and even technical problems have been minor. There's an

80 percent chance the skies will be clear for the launch, with showers only a slight

worry. On the technical side, NASA had two small concerns: a faulty overhead

instrument display unit and a malfunctioning sensor on group equipment. The display

unit shows health and flight information and provides data to help Cmdr. Jim Halsell

fly Columbia. The readings on the unit periodically become dim, said NASA Test

Director Doug Lyons. There is another device over the head of pilot Susan Still, but

NASA likes to have both working properly. The faulty unit may be replaced early

this morning. NASA has two ground sensors that detect hazardous gas around the

shuttle's fuel tank. One was not working. However the backup is functioning

properly, and that's all NASA needs, Lyons said. [The Orlando Sentinel, April 2,

1997, p A-13.]

67
COLUMBIA PILOT'S CAREER TAKING OFF

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Susan Still, 35, will pilot the space shuttle Columbia on its 16-day

mission to study how zero gravity changes flames, metals and crystals. It's the same

shuttle she saw launch as a student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in

Daytona Beach. "I really formed my desire to be an astronaut there at Embry-Riddle,"

Still said at a recent news conference in Houston. "My goals and dreams sort of

evolved from there." Still, who got her private pilot license when she was 16, has

spent her career doing things that few women have done before. She is only the

second woman to pilot a shuttle. The pilot of a shuttle is similar to an airline co-pilot,

assisting the commander who does most of the piloting. After graduating summa cum

laude with a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering, Still worked on wind

tunnels for Lockheed Corp. in Marietta, Ga. While there, Dick Scobee, who later died

as commander of the shuttle Challenger, told her if she wanted to be an astronaut she

should joint the military. The young pilot finished first in her class at officer

candidate school in Pensacola. After that, Still finished first in her class at jet school,

became a flight instructor, a Navy Top Gun pilot and mastered the difficult F-14 jet.

At NASA, Still thrived even more. She is the first to fly from a group of 19

astronauts that NASA hired in December 1994. [The Orlando Sentinel, April 1, 1997,

p A-1 & A-4.]

LUNAR LANDING

A meeting of NASA astronauts convened at Orlando's Church Street Station, but the

conversation never got past introductions. That's because the astronauts were actors in

From the Earth to the Moon, the 13-part I-IBO miniseries about the Apollo moon

missions being filmed in Central Florida. The interruptions were courtesy of executive

producer Tom Hanks, who is directing the series' opening installment about the

Mercury and Gemini program, which predated Apollo. Although it will be the first to

air, Hanks' installment is the third film in Central Florida since production began Feb.

12. Originally scheduled to air in December, From the Earth to the Moon is now

slated for early 1998. During a lull, Hanks -- a two-time Academy Award for his

roles in Forrest Gurnp and Philadelphia -- discussed the project with unabashed

enthusiasm that would have better fit the boyish character he played in Big. When

Hanks talked about the Apollo program, his eyes opened wide and he spoke quickly.

"Our desire isn't anything more than anybody else wants to do with a movie," Hanks

said. "We want the audience to be enthralled." Still, producers have scoured every

available documentary and book on the space program to ensure accuracy, Hanks said.

The main source is Andrew Chaikin's A Man On the Moon, about the manned Apollo

missions. Although the plot contains fictional elements, the goal is "five accuracies

for every inaccuracy," Hanks said. "It's not a documentary, but we're always trying to

be authentic to the nature of what was going on." Hanks seemed genuinely thrilled to

be working in the cradle of early space exploration in Central Florida and talking with

NASA experts who are working as consultants on the nine-month project. Sound

68
stages at Disney-MGM Studios are laden with historic artifacts, including a NASA

gantry once used by Apollo astronauts. [The Orlando Sentinel, April 1, 1997, p C-1 &

C-6.1

LYMAN SPrIZEI_ FATHER OF HUBBLE TELESCOPE_ DEAD AT 82

Lyman Spitzer Jr., credited with conceiving the Hubble Space Telescope and launching

research in fusion aimed at developing a cheap, inexhaustible fuel supply, died at his

home in Princeton, N.J., on Apr. 1. The pioneer in astrophysics and plasma physics

was 82. [Florida Today, April 2, 1997, p 2A. Aviation Week & Space Technology,

April 7, 1997, p 29.]

April 2: LAUNCH PREPARATIONS BEGIN FOR

CASSINI/HUYGENS MISSION

With the shipment of the Huygens probe to Cape Canaveral, preparations are

beginning in earnest to launch Cassini/I-Iuygens, a U.S.-European effort to explore

Saturn -- and likely the last of the $2 billion-plus flagship planetary missions. The

six-ton combination of a European Space Agency probe, bound to land on Saturn's

largest moon, Titan, and a NASA orbiter of the ringed planet is to begin its seven-year

cruise to Saturn Oct. 6. The European component of the mission, the Huygens probe,

completed its preshipment review on Mar. 25 and left for the launch site at Kennedy

Space Center on April 2. The main element of the mission, the Cassini orbiter, will

carry Huygens to Saturn and then explore the planet and its rings for four years

starting in July, 2004. It was scheduled to undergo a preshipment review this week,

according to Richard Spehalski, project manager for Cassini at NASA's Jet Propulsion

Laboratory. It all goes according to plan, the orbiter will be shipped to Cape

Canaveral at the end of April, he said. As currently scheduled, the Cassini/Huygens

spacecraft will receive an initial gravitational assist from Venus on April 21, 1998. A

change in trajectory on Dec. 2, 1998, will line up the vehicle for a second assist from

Venus set for June 20, 1999. The spacecraft will then effect a flyby around the Earth

on Aug. 18, 1999, before receiving a final gravitational assist from Jupiter on Dec. 30,

2000. Entry into Saturn's gravitational field is nominally set for July 1, 2004.

Huygens is to be released on Nov. 6, 2004, and is to enter Titan's atmosphere on Nov.

27. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, April 7, 1997, p 44.]

April 3: COLUMBIA MAY HAVE FLOWN 14 YEARS

WITHOUT INSULATED LINES

Shuttle Columbia might have been flying without insulated coolant lines since 1983,

which could have caused an emergency landing if the lines had frozen, NASA officials

said Wednesday (April 2). As a result, shuttle technicians are finishing work today to

wrap the lines in protective thermal blankets so the ship will be ready for a liftoff

attempt Friday afternoon. "The prudent thing to do was to just go and take care of the

69
concern," said NASA shuttle launch operations director Robert Sieck. Columbia had

been scheduled to take off today, but its launch was delayed when engineers noticed

the coolant lines were not covered with multi-layer insulation. Located in the shuttle's

cargo bay, which is exposed to extreme temperatures in space, the metal lines carry

water to keep crucial spaceship electronics from overheating. Engineers scoured

agency records Wednesday to determine how long Columbia has been flying without

insulation on the lines. The shuttle might have flown 15 missions since 1983 without

the protection, Sieck said. No problems with the lines, however, were noted during

any of the flights, he said. Mission managers, meanwhile, are trying to determine

whether engineers at some point decided it was safe to fly without the thermal

blankets. The other possibility is the insulation has been inadvertently left off the

shuttle for 14 years. The finding prompted NASA to delay today's scheduled launch

until 2 p.m. Friday. There is a 90 percent change of favorable weather conditions.

[Florida Today, April 3, 1997, p 1A. The Orlando Sentinel, April 3, 1997, p A-1 &

A-IO.]

KSC ASSUMES NASA'S OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PROGRAM

KSC recently assumed Agency-wide responsibility for NASA's occupational health

program. In keeping with the agency's lead center concept, a memorandum of

understanding calls for a shift of appropriate personnel and funding from NASA

Headquarters to KSC. The focus of the program is to promote a health workforce and

to prevent health hazards in the work place at all of NASA's field centers. To

accomplish that purpose, program managers will evaluate and control health hazards,

prevent occupational injury, provide quality health care and counseling and ensure

agency compliance with related regulations. Though atransfer of at least two civil

service positions to KSC is planned, one senior occupational health physician and one

environmental health officer, officials axe considering the possibility of providing

additional personnel. "KSC was selected as the optimal site as its activities encompass

all aspects of occupational medicine and environmental health that exist at the other

NASA centers," said James D. Collier, M.D., director, Aerospace Medicine Division,

NASA Headquarters. [KSC Countdown, April 3, 1997.]

NASA AND DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

CONTINUE TESTING LASER TEC'HNOLOGY

NASA and Department of Defense continue testing of laser imaging technology during

STS-83 launch. The Space Shuttle Columbia will be used in the testing and

demonstration of new Laser Imaging System being developed by Naval Research and

Development (NRaD). Transportable tracking systems will be located at the KSC

camera site north east of the new Apollo/Saturn V Center, at a CCAS camera site west

at launch complex 40 and at a site west of Pad 39B. Columbia's aft end and the aft

portion of the solid rocket boosters will be illuminated at specific points during

countdown and launch. Previous tests have included expendable launch vehicles, the

7O
Space Shuttle Columbia on mission STS-80 and the Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission

STS-81. [KSC Countdown, April 3, 1997.]

DELTA BLAST CAUSED BY SPLIT BOOSTER

The casing of a solid rocket booster split apart in flight, triggering the Jan. 17 Delta

rocket explosion that showered a Cape Canaveral launch complex with flaming debris,

the Air Force said Thursday. Still unclear, however, is what caused the casing to

crack open, setting off a blast that destroyed the rocket and its cargo -- a $45 million

military navigation satellite. In its first public comment on the cause of the accident,

the Air Force released a one-page statement that said the graphite-epoxy casing of one

of the Delta's nine strap-on, solid-rocket boosters split 7.2 seconds into flight. The

booster casing continued to crack open for another six seconds -- growing to some 203

inches in length -- before the booster "failed catastrophically" and set off the Delta's

automatic destruct system, the statement said. That blast destroyed the rocket's first

stage. The second and third stages held together until the destruct signal was sent to

the rocket 22.3 seconds into flight. The rocket's nose cone, as well as its 4,100-pound

payload, "appears to have remained intact, exploding only on impact with the ground,"

the statement said. The Delta blew up 1,589 feet above its launch pad, raining

burning fuel and car-sized chunks of flaming debris on Complex 17 at Cape Canaveral

Air Station. About $50 million damage was caused as falling wreckage made craters

at the complex and on paved roads leading to it. Several administrative trailers and

dozens of cars at the site were damaged or destroyed. The Air Force is midway

through its investigation into the blast. A safety board, which gathered data and

interviewed launch personnel, has completed its work. A separate accident

investigation board now will attempt to determine the cause of the rocket booster

failure. [Florida Today, April 4, 1997, p 1A.]

April 4: IS SPACE SHUTI'LE A THREAT TO OZONE? TESTS MAY TELL

Space shuttle Columbia will get its own version of an emissions test after it launches.

Twenty minutes after lift-off, scheduled for 2 p.m. today, an Air Force jet will fly

figure-eights through the rocket plume that still will be lingering over Central Florida.

The jet will measure chlorine and aluminum in the exhaust. This $2 million U.S. Air

Force study should help scientists figure out to what degree Earth's protective ozone

layer is affected by rocket and shuttle launches. After years of studying exhaust from

solid-rocket boosters, scientists now think the plume does not play a significant role in

damaging the ozone. But those studies are based only on computer models, not on

actual exhaust measurements, said Martin Ross, an Aerospace Corporation engineer

who is running the three-year Air Force study. As part of the study, the Air Force has

flown through Titan and Delta rocket plumes over the past few months. But this will

be the first time a jet will take measurements of the shuttle's exhaust. Launches

involving solid rocket boosters expel about 725 tons of chlorine into the Earth's

stratosphere each year. By comparison, air conditioners, aerosols and other devices

71
spew about 2.9 million tons of the chemical into the air each year, said NASA

atmospheric scientist Charles Jackman. A sudden tear or dent in the ozone layer

probably occurs after rocket launches, but within a few hours, the ozone layer over the

launch site is back to normal, Ross and others said. [The OflaRdo Sentinel, April 4,

1997, p A-8.]

COLUMBIA SPRINTS INTO ORBIT

Seven astronauts aboard shuttle Columbia are busy with experiments today after their

ship sailed into orbit on NASA's last shuttle laboratory mission before an international

space station is built. With five men and two women strapped inside, Columbia lifted

off from Pad 39A at 2:20 p.m. EST on a 16-day Microgravity Science Laboratory

mission. Launch was delayed 20 minutes, 32 seconds due to an orbiter access hatch

seal that had to be replaced. Initial reports from Pad 39A indicate no significant

damage resulting from the launch. The solid rocket booster retrieval ships are on

station with the boosters and will begin the process of preparing them for tow back to

Cape Canaveral Air Station. The crew of mission STS-83 are: Commander Jim

Halsell; Pilot Susan Still; Mission Specialists Janice Voss, Michael Gernhardt and

Donald Thomas; and Payload Specialists Roger Crouch and Greg Linteris. Halsell and

his crew got down to business soon after they reached orbit, opening a $1 billion

cargo bay laboratory the size of a small school bus. Floating through the hatch the

crew began powering up experiments similar to those that will be carried out on

NASA's planned space station. Built by the European Space Agency, the shuttle lab is

making its 14th flight. It will fly once more in August 1998 before international

crews move research to the new station about midway through construction. [Florida

Today, April 5, 1997, p 1A. Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle Status Report,

April 4, 1997.]

SPACE LEGEND WATCHES SHUTI'LE LAUNCH

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was on hand for Columbia's

liftoff. Delayed 20 minutes because of minor technical problems, Columbia shot

through sunny skies as Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong attended his first shuttle

launch. Armstrong did not give any interviews. Although Armstrong captivated the

public in 1969 with his walk on the moon, the crew he saw go into space will barely

be noticed now that they are up there, NASA officials conceded. "Most of the stuff

we do is boring" to watch, said Ed Gabris, NASA's director of commercial research.

"But we're working on things that help the everyday man." A capacity crowd of

11,000 people jammed into Kennedy Space Center for the launch, which coincided

with college spring break. [The Orlando Sentinel, April 5, 1997, p A-16.]

April 6: MIR'S CREW MAY HAVE TO ABANDON STATION

If the troubled Russian space program cannot launch a resupply rocket today, two

72
cosmonauts and an American astronaut likely will have to evacuate the Mir space

station because its air gradually will become toxic. After emergency repairs failed

Saturday, space officials in both countries focused their hopes on today's scheduled

launch from Kazakstan. The Progress rocket would dock with the crippled Russian

space station on Tuesday (April 8). If Progress doesn't make it, and with their air

supply threatened, the two Russians and American Jerry Linenger would begin

preparations to return to Earth in their escape vehicle, the Soyuz space capsule that

flew the cosmonauts into space. The decision to leave the station probably would be

made within the week. If Progress doesn't launch, "then we'll worry," said Frank

Culbertson, NASA shuttle-Mir program director. "There's no need to worry about

something that hasn't happened yet." Meanwhile, life aboard the creaky space station

has worsened over the past few weeks. Several pieces of equipment that make

oxygen, cool the station and remove carbon dioxide from the air have broken down or

had to be shut down. And Progress is only a partial solution; it simply carries

replacement parts for patchwork repairs. With these problems, NASA will rethink its

plans to send more astronauts to Mir, Culbertson said. [The Orlando Sentinel, April 6,

1997, p A-6.]

COLUMBIA MAY HAVE TO MAKE EMERGENCY LANDING MONDAY

A battery problem could force the space shuttle Columbia to make an emergency

landing Monday (April 7). NASA officials will decide today whether to cut short

Columbia's 16-day mission because of a malfunction in one of three fuel cells that mix

hydrogen and oxygen to make electricity and water. If NASA is forced to shut down

the malfunctioning cell, flight rules require Columbia to land immediately. There are

five landing chances at Kennedy Space Center: ll:15 a.m., 12:51 p.m., 2:27 p.m.,

4:02 p.m. and 5:38 p.m. There are also four chances to land in California. The

second shuttle mission, in 1981, was cut short because of a fuel cell problem, but the

cells are considered reliable. [The Orlando Sentinel, April 6, 1997, p A-6.]

CONTROLLED BURN SLATED ON SPACE CENTER LAND

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be conducting a controlled burn as part of

research aimed at developing tools to predict the spread and intensity of wildfires.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, along with other local, state and federal agencies, will

ignite fires on 600 acres of scrub oak habitat north of KSC's 52-story Vehicle

Assembly Building. Officials say the interagency effort will help develop better

methods for fighting uncontrolled wildfires in areas where fuels such as wood and

scrub have accumulated to hazardous levels. It also is expected to help agencies such

as the Fish and Wildlife Service more effectively conduct controlled bums routinely

done for habitat management. [Florida Today, April 6, 1997, p lB.]

73
REPAIR GEAR HEADS TO MIR

Russia launched a cargo spaceship loaded with crucial oxygen generators and carbondioxide removal canisters to the troubled Russian Space Station Mir. The Progress,

which blasted off from the Baikonur space center shortly after 8 p.m. Moscow time,

contained three fire extinguishers to replace those used to put out a fire aboard Mir in

February. Also among the 2-ton cargo: parts to fix one of Mir's two broken oxygen

generators as well as food and scientific equipment. The Progress-34 ferry is due at

Mir on Tuesday (April 8). [Florida Today, April 7, 1997, p 1A.]

April 8: SHUTTLE CREW WRAPS UP MISSION

Shuttle Columbia's seven astronauts will attempt an early return to Earth today,

guarding against the possibility of a second power generator failure that could cripple

the $2 billion spaceship. Four days after launch, Columbia's crew will cut short their

planned 16-day mission and try to land at Kennedy Space Center at 2:33 p.m. The

$500 million mission is being abbreviated because of an unusual change in voltage

levels within one of Columbia's three fuel cells, which use volatile liquid hydrogen

and liquid oxygen to generate electricity to power all spaceship systems. NASA is

considering two landing opportunities at KSC today, the second at 4:09 p.m. Two

chances at backup runways at Edwards Air Force Base in California also are scheduled

Those will come at 4 p.m. and 5:36 p.m. EDT. The weather outlook for landing is

relatively good, although NASA will keep close tabs on crosswinds that could be

strong enough to push Columbia toward the edge of runways at either site.

Mission managers gave Columbia's crew a "go" for deorbit bum to occur at about

1:31 p.m. EDT, setting the vehicle on a course for landing at KSC's Shuttle Landing

Facility. Landing occurred on the first opportunity at 2:33 p.m. EDT on runway 33.

Columbia may get a chance to fly again -- as early as July, NASA shuttle manager

Tommy Holloway said after the landing. NASA managers will decide within a week

whether to launch Columbia's experiments and crew on a makeup mission. Columbia's

flight was the fourth shortest for a shuttle. Astronauts were only able to conduct 15

percent of their 305 experiments. An attempt to grow nearly 800 plants, disease cells

and crystals during the mission is probably a total loss. [Florida Today, April 8, 1997,

p 1A. Bruce Buckingham. (1997). Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle Status Report

[Online]. Available E-mail: domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [1997,

April 8]. The Odando Sentinel, April 9, 1997, p A-5.]

NASA: STUDY OF SHUTTLE'S FAULTY

FUEL CELL MIGHT YIELD LITTLE

NASA will launch a post-flight investigation into Columbia's fuel cell failure soon

after the shuttle lands, but the agency's best evidence likely was erased in space.

Columbia's faulty fuel cell was shut down in orbit Sunday to avoid the remote chance

74
that anunusualchange in voltage levels might cause it to overheat, sparking a fire or

explosion in space. But in doing so, internal fluids were left to slosh around freely,

likely washing away any evidence of contaminants that might have triggered the

failure. NASA engineers say it will be difficult to duplicate the failure during tests as

a result. "When we shut down the fuel cell in orbit, we probably disturbed the

integrity of the system enough that we won't be able to repeat the failure," said Pat

Simpkins, chief of NASA's fluid systems division at Kennedy Space Center. In a bid

to pinpoint the cause of the failure, NASA will remove a suspect fuel cell from

Atlantis, which is scheduled to launch May 15 on a mission to Russia's space station

Mir. The Atlantis power pant also experienced prelaunch voltage spikes before

launches in January and September 1995. Yet it operated properly on both flights.

Both suspect fuel cells will be shipped to their manufacturer for testing. NASA has

been using this type of fuel cell for more than 25 years. Replacing the Atlantis power

plant is not expected to delay its upcoming flight. [Florida Today, April 8, 1997, p

2A. The Orlando Sentinel, April 8, 1997, p A-1.]

KSC STORM DAMAGE ASSESSMENT COMPLETED

The KSC Emergency Preparedness Office has released a report on the March 28 storm

that struck KSC that reveals a total of $232,340 in damage to facilities, vehicles and

special equipment. In addition, a total of 49 persons were evaluated for injuries on

site, with 23 transported to area hospitals for treatment. [KSC Countdown, April 8,

1997.]

April 9: NASA REVISES INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SCHEDULE

NASA will begin its on-orbit assembly of the International Space Station (ISS) no

later than October 1998, and is looking at options that will allow the Agency to work

around the delay caused by the late arrival of a key station module. The on-orbit

assembly of the International Space Station originally was scheduled to begin in

November 1997 with the launch of the NASA financed/Russian-built and launched

Functional Cargo Block (FGB). Inadequate funding by the Russian government to the

Russian Space Agency (RSA) and its contractors for building another key station

element -- the Service Module (SM) -- has put construction up to eight months behind

schedule. NASA will determine the timing for decisions which need to be made in

the event that Russia is unable to provide its agreed contributions to the ISS program.

These decision points will be selected to allow for the timely provision of an

alternative capability. NASA has begun initial steps at the working level to

accommodate changes to the Space Shuttle manifest. NASA has reassigned the Space

Shuttle Endeavour to fly the September 1997 STS-86 mission to the Mir space station

instead of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. This change will allow Atlantis to begin its

scheduled orbiter maintenance down period several month earlier, which permitting

Endeavour a mission prior to flying the first ISS assembly flight in July 1998.

Additional adjustments to the remainder of the assembly sequence will be worked in

75
consultationwith the other International Partners and research community over the

next several weeks. [NASA News Release #97-65, April 9, 1997.]

AIR FORCE: 4 DAMAGE CLAIMS FROM DELTA BLAST UNFOUNDED

A .45-caliber bullet, not debris from the exploded Delta rocket, tore a thumbnail-sized

hole in a Merritt Island couple's roof, the Air Force said Wednesday. The damage

claim was one of four made by homeowners after the Delta rocket exploded Jan. 17,

seconds after lifting off from Cape Canaveral Air Station. None of the damage claims

was determined to be connected to the blast, the Air Force said in a news release.

Investigators from NASA and the Air Force found the bullet on a cement block in the

roof of the Heatherstone Drive home of Donald Salatka, who lives eight miles from

the air station. The bullet penetrated two layers of shingles and wood underneath.

Pieces of the roof and the bullet were analyzed at the Kennedy Space Center's

Material Science Division laboratory. "It is imperative we take this opportunity to

alleviate any concerns that may have been generated about this claim and publicly

emphasize that we would not be launching if there was even a remote chance of debris

turning up in a populated area outside Cape Canaveral Air Station," said Col. Randy

Starbuck, 45th Space Wing commander. KSC Director Roy Bridges said safety

procedures require any rocket to be destroyed before it is in a position to toss debris

that far. The other three claims alleged a sonic boom caused structural damage to

homes, but those were unfounded. [Florida Today, April 10, 1997, p 1A.]

April 10: NEW CHECKOUT AND LAUNCH CONTROL SYSTEM

UNDER DEVELOPMENT AT KSC

A NASA-let effort is under way at Kennedy Space Center to design, develop and

implement a new Checkout and Launch Control System (CLCS) for the Space Shuttle

with the capability to support future launch vehicles. The first major milestone of this

five-year effort was reached Mar. 28 with the opening of an experimental control room

inside firing room No. 2 in the Launch Control Center. Development of CLCS

incorporates a progressive and innovative approach that involves the user community

to the fullest extent. The CLCS is the successor to the Launch Processing System

(LPS). The shuttle version of LPS dates back to the early 1970s and is the successor

to the LPS developed for the Apollo program. The CLCS will be implemented in

increments and is scheduled to be fully operational by September 2001. [KSC

Countdown, April 10, 1997.]

KSC BEGINS TRANSITION TO LIQUID HELIUM CONVERSION SYSTEM

KSC, the largest federal consumer of helium, has begun a transition from receiving

helium in gaseous form to receiving it in a liquid state and converting it to gas on-site.

KSC uses over 75 million standard cubic feet of helium per year, primarily to safe the

Shuttle and expendable launch vehicles. At present, helium is ordered from a federal

76
supplier and delivered in gaseous form via high-pressure railcars. A new law

mandates that the government must obtain its helium from private industry, prompting

the space center to establish a new means of processing it. It has been determined that

KSC's large requirements can most cost-effectively be met by transporting the gas in

liquid form rather than gaseous. As a result, Sauer, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, has been

awarded a $982,800 contract to modify the Converter/Compressor Facility in KSC's

Launch Complex 39 area. This will provide the capability to accept liquid helium

from tankers, convert the liquid to gas, and compress the gas to interface with the

existing high pressure compressor system. The conversion and compression equipment

is slated for delivery later this year under several separate contracts. [KSC

Countdown, April 10, 1997.]

April 11: STATION FUNDING PROMISED;

CONGRESS FIRES WARNING SHOT

Russian President Boris Yeltsin has made an unconditional pledge of $260 million to

enable contractors to resume long-delayed work on the international space station, as

an impatient U.S. Congress signaled it won't wait for the money much longer. At a

meeting with Russian Space Agency General Director Yuri Koptev on April 11,

Yeltsin promised 800 billion rubles ($139.1 million) this month and another 700

billion rubles ($121.7 million) in May. The money should enable Russian contractors

to resume work on the station's service module, a vital piece of hardware designed to

provide long-term attitude control and initial life support for station crews. Many in

Russian industry had doubted that the Russian government would ever be able to

fulfill its repeated promises to fund the station hardware. But following Yeltsin's

pledge, some Russian contractors were expressing new optimism last week.

In Washington, the House Science Committee showed its frustration with Russia last

week by unanimously approving a bipartisan amendment that bars NASA from

spending U.S. funds on portions of the space station that Moscow is responsible for

building. The amendment requires NASA to draw up contingency plans for replacing

all Russian-built hardware and to make monthly progress reports on Russia's station

work. It also demands that the Clinton Administration decide by Aug. 1 whether U. S.

hardware will have to replace key Russian station components.

NASA officials have said Russia's participation in the project is saving the U.S. $2

billion. But an initial delay in the launch of the service module -- and the resulting

slip of the station's first launch -- will cost the U.S. about $300 million. NASA

announced this month it would have to push back the first launch of station

components by up to 11 months because of the service module delay. The agency

drew up a plan to modify other hardware and use a previously classified U.S. Naval

Research Laboratory module that could substitute for the service module until

December, 1999. [Aviation Week & Space Technoleg3,, April 21, 1997, p 28.]

77
Apdi 12: ROBOTS BATTLE BUT THE STUDENTS WIN

Robots squared off Saturday in a friendly battle combining teenage brainpower and

inner tubes. To win, robots built by students and adult volunteers from across the

nation competed to see which could place more inner tubes on a spinning tower. The

contest, held in a temporary arena near Walt Disney World's Epcot Center, was the

sixth annual FIRST competition designed to tweak student interest in engineering and

to encourage businesses to get involved in schools. It attracted 155 teams from 30

states, including two Central Florida teams -- one each from Seminole and Brevard

counties. The Brevard team of Merritt Island and Satellite High students had NASA

Kennedy Space Center as its main sponsor. The robot made it to the fourth round,

then a cable snapped on its arm. [The Odando Sentinel, April 13, 1997, p A-15.]

April 13: ASTRONAUT SHANNON LUCID WINS

AVIATION CLUB AC'HIEVEMENT AWARD

NASA astronaut Shannon Lucid, who broke world records in 1996 during a six-month

stay aboard Russia's space station Mir, recently received the National Aviation Club's

first Achievement Award. Lucid, 53, was selected "for her technical expertise,

dedicated service and pioneering spirit as a space shuttle astronaut," the club said.

Noting that Lucid set the record for the longest space mission by a U.S. astronaut and

by a woman, the club cited her research work aboard Mir during a 188-day tour of

duty on the Russian station. The trophy Lucid received with the award was to have

been presented to Amelia Earhart upon the completion of her planned around-theworld flight. The trophy now is on permanent display at the National Air and Space

Museum in Washington, D.C. [Florida Today, April 13, 1997, p 5E.]

April 14: SHUTI'LE FAILURE FORCT_ TURNAROUND EFFORT

The failure of the space shuttle to carry out a $500-million Spacelab mission with

experiments from 23 countries will spark changes in shuttle countdowns and accelerate

development of advanced new electrical fuel cells to prevent a repeat of the events

which forced Columbia into a precautionary landing. NASA will this week decide

whether Columbia and its Microgravity Science Laboratory (MSL) payload and crew

can be reflown as early as July to recover the mission. Although expertly managed by

the astronaut crew and controllers at the Johnson and Marshall centers, the flight from

a payload success standpoint was the most damaging in-orbit shuttle failure in the 16-

year history of the program. The malfunction of one of three oxygen/hydrogenpowered electrical fuel cells forced the unit's shutdown to prevent risk of a fire or

explosion. This forced Columbia to land Apr. 8, four days into what had been

planned as a 16-day mission. Orbiter fuel cells are built by International Fuel Cells, a

unit of Hamilton Standard of Windsor Locks, Conn.

The landing was piloted by mission commander USAF Lt. Col. James D. Halsell and

78
Navy Lt. Cdr. Susan Leigh Still and was the heaviest in history of the shuttle program,

with the vehicle at about 236,000 lb. Columbia's weight was about 11.5 tons heavier

than planned for landing because it had to return with about 23,000 lb. of extra oxygen

and hydrogen that otherwise would have been used to power the fuel cells to sustain

high Spacelab electrical power loads during the planned flight. In hindsight, shuttle

managers said the mission should have never been cleared for its 2:20 p.m. launch

here Apr. 4, because fuel cell No. 2, which malfunctioned in orbit, showed unusual

voltage differential characteristics during the shuttle countdown on Launch Pad 39A.

Those characteristics had been seen earlier in a different fuel cell during two

countdowns for the orbiter Atlantis on missions to the Mir space station. But those

characteristics never led to an Atlantis malfunction, and Columbia was cleared to fly

based on this past Atlantis experience, and the fact the unit had flown successfully on

three previous Columbia missions. After Columbia's experience, however, countdown

criteria on fuel cells will be changed here, managers said. The space shuttle's fuel

cells are complex chemical reaction systems, and each has its own electrical

characteristics -- one reason the countdown data failed to halt the launch.

Once the cells have been started and are operating under an electrical load, the

differences between adjoining 16-cell substacks is normally only about 20-50

millivolts. Early in Columbia's countdown that difference was in the 500-millivolt

range in substack 3 of the No. 2 fuel cell. That was enough to spark questions about

the cell among launch managers, but as more electrical loads were applied to the unit

it began to stabilize over time -- behavior consistent with normal operations, according

to Patrick Simpkins, fluid systems division chief for shuttle processing at Kennedy.

The shuttle program several months ago began assessments on how to better

instrument the existing fuel cells and begin development of more robust fuel cell

design that could be retrofitted to the orbiter. Those studies will be intensified as a

result of the Columbia incident.

The early return marked only the third time since shuttle flight operations began in

1981 that an orbiter has been forced to land early, but the other two incidents did not

affect mission success. An unrelated fuel cell water-flooding problem on Columbia

forced Mission 2 to land one day early in 1981, while Atlantis, on Mission 44 in 1991,

had to land three days early after deployment of a missile warning satellite. [Aviation

Week & Space Technolo_v, April 14, 1997, p 71-72.]

April 15: VINTAGE ET TO CALL KSC VISITOR CENTER HOME

One of NASA's original external tanks (ET) will be calling Kennedy Space Center's

Visitor Center home after it arrives from Stennis Space Center, MS, where it has been

on display since 1993. The ET was shipped by barge from Michoud Assembly

Facility, New Orleans, LA, on April 10 and was scheduled to arrive yesterday (April

14) at the turning basin near the KSC Press Site. The tank will remain in the parking

lot until refurbishment and preparations are completed for its permanent display with

79
the solid rocket boosters adjacent to the Shuttle orbiter mock-up, already on display

near the entrance to the Visitor Center. The tank is scheduled to be moved from the

Press Site parking lot to the Visitor Center parking lot on April 19. The move is

scheduled to begin at 6:30 .m. and take about 6-8 hours to complete. [KSC

Countdown, April 15, 1997.]

SPACE SCIENCE AND HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT ENTERPRISES

AGREE TO JOINT ROBOTIC MARS LANDER MISSION

In a cooperative activity intended to advance scientific knowledge and help lay the

groundwork for a future decision on whether to send humans to Mars, NASA's Space

Science and Human Exploration and Development of Space enterprises have agreed to

jointly fund and manage two robotic missions to Mars due for launch in 2001. This

marks the first time since the 1960s that NASA's space science and human space flight

programs have directly collaborated on the exploration of another planetary body.

[KSC Countdown, April 15, 1997.]

ATLANTIS' BOLTS GET CLOSE LOOK

NASA is looking for loose bolts in its space shuttle fleet, a search that is delaying

work on the next shuttle launch. NASA officials hope to be able to launch the shuttle

Atlantis as planned on May 15. However, the space agency already is behind schedule

getting Atlantis connected to its external fuel tank and booster rockets, and the delay

could stretch to nearly a week. After finding loose bolts in the rear section of

Discovery and Columbia, officials decided Tuesday to see if a similar problem exists

on Atlantis. NASA engineers should have the answer by Friday. The bolts are on

part of the system that helps disconnect the shuttle from its massive external fuel tank.

However, they are not the critical bolts that connect the shuttle to the tank. If loose

bolts are discovered, NASA doesn't know how long it will take to correct the problem,

or if it will delay the launch. Atlantis is scheduled to bring supplies, including a new

oxygen generator, to the Russian space station Mir. [The Odando Sentinel, April 17,

1997, p A-21.]

April 16: NASA AND AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND

ANNOUNCE COOPERATIVE EFFORTS

NASA and the Air Force Space Command have agreed to work together in several

areas of mutual interest in the hopes of saving both organizations costs and sharing in

new technologies to benefit future spaceflight and spacecraft. Under the terms of the

agreement signed by Goldin and Air Force Space Commander General Howell M.

Estes, HI, NASA and the Air Force will form partnership teams to study seven areas

of potential cooperation. These areas include studying the cost feasibility of launching

Defense Support Program satellites from the Space Shuttle in 1999; possible expanded

use of the Shuttle for Air Force technology payloads; and consolidating plans that

80
outline space transportation needs of NASA and the Air Force. NASA and the Air

Force also will examine their respective infrastructures and common-use facilities;

develop and coordinate an implementation plan to address orbiting space debris; and

possible collaboration on the Clementine II project; and expand cooperation in space

weather environment research and data sharing. [NASA News Release #97-68, April

16, 1997.]

HOUSE WARNS AGAINST FUTURE MIR MISSIONS

The United States shouldn't send any more astronauts to the Russian space station Mir

until NASA certifies the station meets or exceeds U.S. safety standards, the House

Science Committee said Wednesday. The committee also approved legislation to

prohibit NASA from transferring any money to Russia or its contractors for the

international space station elements Russia pledged to build and pay for. "Cooperation

is a two-way street," said committee chairman Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis.

"It can't be all give and no take with the Russians anymore than it can be all take and

no give with Congress." NASA already has been keeping a close watch on repairs

and has said it will continue to send astronauts there as long as it is satisfied the

station is safe. It was not clear Wednesday if such an approach would be enough to

satisfy the committee's requirements. The committee's requirements would make

NASA produce a detailed plan to replace essential Russian hardware. It also would

require NASA's administrator to report to Congress monthly on whether the Russian

government is meeting its station funding obligations. Sensenbrenner said the fact

"that we are now well down the road of relying on the Russians" kept the committee

from expelling the Russians from the program. [Florida Today., April 17, 1997, p 2A.]

GENERATOR READIED FOR LAUNCH TO MIR

A much-needed oxygen generator for the Russian space station Mir was readied for

flight Wednesday by NASA workers who will load it aboard shuttle Atlantis. The

U.S. spaceship is to ferry the 253-pound device to the outpost after its May 15 launch

from Kennedy Space Center. It will serve as a backup to a troublesome unit that is

supplying Mir's crew with air. The generator on Mir failed repeatedly during the past

few weeks, but the station's two Russian cosmonauts got it working again last

weekend. American astronaut Jerry Linenger also is living on the orbit facility.

NASA scrambled to add the generator to its Mir-bound cargo, which will be

transported to the station in a Spacehab module bolted in Atlantis' cargo bay.

Spacehab technicians have been working long hours to figure out how to get the hefty

piece of equipment inside the module. [Florida Today, April 17, 1997, p lB.]

NASA WORKER DRIVES INTO SR 405 DITCH

A NASA employee drove into a water-filled ditch off Route 405 Wednesday morning

and was rescued from his sinking car by two Kennedy Space Center employees,

01
according to KSC officials. The man was driving west on Route 405 past the

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday when his car

veered off the road and splashed into the ditch, KSC spokesman Bruce Buckingham

said. That's when two other KSC workers, Daryl Elder and Jerald Bowman, drove by

and stopped to pull him out of his vehicle. The man, who was driving a governmentowned car, was taken to Parrish Medical Center for treatment. The cause of the

accident is under investigation. Fish and Wildlife officials also were called to the

scene later to remove an alligator from the area before divers could go into the water

to make sure there were no additional passengers in the car. [Florida Today, April

17, 1997, p 2B. Florida Today, Milt Salamon, April 18, 1997, p 16A.]

April 17: TWO NEW TOUR SITES NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT KSC

Construction has begun on two major new tour sites for the visiting public at KSC -- a

60-foot observation gantry located in the heart of Launch Complex 39 and the

International Space Station exhibit facility with will include a viewing gallery

overlooking the actual Space Station processing high bay. The Launch Complex 39

Observation Gantry is being constructed alongside the crawlerway in the intersection

of the turnoff to Launch Pad 39]3. An enclosed, air-conditioned observation deck with

a surrounding open-air walkway, providing a panoramic view of LC 39, will be

located at the top level of the gantry. In the KSC Industrial Area, a facility which

once support Apollo astronaut training and then housed Apollo-era exhibits is being

made-over to an International Space Station exhibit with high fidelity mock-ups of the

station elements that visitors will be able to wander through as they learn about why a

space station is needed, how it will be constructed, how it will be used, and how it

will benefit people. The high bay area of the old Flight Crew Training Facility, now

designated the Engineering Development Lab, will resemble the high bay processing

area of the Space Station Processing Facility across the street. Visitors will be able to

walk across an elevated link between the two facilities and enter a viewing gallery on

the side of the Space Station Processing Facility. Both projects are expected to be

completed by year-end and are coming at a time when the KSC Visitor Center is

experiencing substantial growth in attendance. The KSC Visitor Center is NASA's

largest and best attended visitor facility, attracting nearly 2.5 million visitors in 1996.

[KSC Countdown, April 17, 1997.]

COLUMBIA TRIES AGAIN ON JULY 1

Shuttle Columbia's recently shortened space flight will be flown again in early July, a

move that will cause delays in three other shuttle missions this year, NASA officials

said Thursday. In a cross-country teleconference, agency managers decided to launch

Columbia again on a $500 million flight that was cut short earlier this month after the

failure of a power generator. The new launch date for the mission -- which will have

the same crew and is expected to cost NASA an extra $50 million to $80 million - is

July 1. Launching Columbia 84 days after landing, which returned to Earth on April

82
8 after completing four of 16 planned days in space, would set a turnaround record in

the post-Challenger era. NASA, which has been more cautious about shuttle

preparations since the 1986 Challenger explosion, will keep the science lab inside

Columbia's cargo bay instead of removing it for refurbishment. That has never been

done before. The decision to squeeze Columbia into July changes the rest of the

year's launch schedule. The July 15 launch of Discovery on a 11-day space science

flight until early August. The target date: August 7. The September 18 launch of

shuttle Endeavour on a nine-day mission to the Mir station until late September or

early October. The new target date: September 25. The October 9 launch of

Columbia on a 16-day research flight until mid-November. The new target date:

November 13. [Florida Today,, April 18, 1997, p 1A. The Orlando Sentinel, April 18,

1997, p A-15.]

April 18: COMMANDER, PILOTI FLIGHT ENGINEER

TO ROUND OUT STS-90 CREW

Richard A. Searfoss (Lt. Colonel, USAF) will command a 16-day mission to study the

ability of humans to operate in microgravity environment for an extended period of

time. Joining Searfoss on Columbia's flight deck will be Pilot Scott D. Altman (Lt.

Commander, USN) and Mission Specialist Kathryn "Kay" Hire. STS-90 is scheduled

for a March 1998 launch. They will join Richard M. Linnehan and Dafydd "Dave"

Rhys Williams, MD, (Canadian Space Agency) who were named in August 1996 to

support the STS-90 Neurolab mission and two Payload Specialists who will be

selected closer to flight. Four candidates currently are training for selection as prime

and backup payload specialist positions on STS-90. Dr. Jay C. Buekey, Dr. Alexander

W. Dunlap, Dr. Chiaki Mukai and Dr. James A. Pawelczyk were named in April 1996.

Two will fly on the mission with the remaining two serving as backup or alternate

payload specialists ready to fly on the mission if necessary. Investigations during the

Neurolab mission will focus on the effects of microgravity on the nervous system.

[NASA News Release #97-74, April 18, 1997.]

EX-KSC WORKER SET FOR RIDE OF HER LIFE

For the first time since people began rocketing into orbit from the Space Coast in

1961, a former Kennedy Space Center worker is holding a ticket to ride. Former

Merritt Island resident Kay Hire -- who became the first KSC employee selected for

NASA's elite astronaut corps in 1994 -- got the call Friday to fly on a research mission

aboard shuttle Columbia in March. The former Lockheed Space Operations Co.

engineer was the first woman to serve in a Navy combat air squadron. She will serve

as flight engineer on a planned 16-day flight. Hire, 37, worked for Lockheed at KSC

for about five years before being selected from a pool of 2,962 applicants to join

NASA's astronaut corps. Senior NASA managers said Hire's experience working in

day-to-day shuttle launch operations gave her an edge in the highly competitive

astronaut selection process. After a year of astronaut training at Houston, Hire spent

83
much of 1996 working in the NASA Mission Control Center, where she served as a

capsule communicator. Two other former KSC employees were selected as astronauts

last year. Joan Higginbotham and Frank Caldeiro should be eligible for shuttle flight

assignments by the end of this year. [Florida Today, April 19, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

April 20: 5 HONORED FOR SHUTIT_ MISSION

Five McDonnell Douglas Space & Defense Systems-Kennedy Space Center division

employees were recently named recipients of the prestigious Space Flight Awareness

Honoree Award for STS-82, the space shuttle Discovery mission to repair the Hubble

Space Telescope. Cliff Burket, a senior systems engineer; Wayne Derbyshire, a

principal project engineer; tom Luman, a senior operations analyst; Lynn Pemberton, a

principal contract administrator; Scott Strickland, a senior design engineer. The Space

Flight Awareness Award is NASA's highest tribute to government and industry

workers. [Florida Today, April 20, 1997, p 4B.]

April 21: CASSINI SHIPPED TO KSC FOR LAUNCH TO SATURN

The Cassini spacecraft was delivered from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

here to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on April 21, where it is scheduled for launch

later this year on the start of a 6.7-year journey to Saturn. The 12,470-1b. spacecraft,

designed and developed by JPL, was transported from the laboratory to nearby

Edwards AFB, Calif., where it was loaded on a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport for the

flight to KSC. The spacecraft now will undergo final integration and testing in

preparation for launch on a USAF Titan 4B Centaur booster in October. The launch

window for the program opens Oct. 6 and continues through Oct. 30. The spacecraft

will fly a trajectory which will take it twice around Venus, once around Earth and

once around Jupiter in order to gain the velocity required to reach Saturn. Following

arrival at the planet in 2004, Cassini is scheduled to make 60 orbits of Saturn and its

moons during the primary 4-year orbital mission. The arrival date of July, 2004, was

selected because it presented an opportunity to fly past the moon Phoebe on the way

to Saturn. After the spacecraft arrived from JPL, Cassini science instruments not

currently installed on the orbiter vehicle were to be integrated on the spacecraft. In

addition, a large parabolic high-gain antenna, provided by the Italian Space Agency,

will be added to the spacecraft at KSC. [Aviation Week & Space TechnoloL_v. April

28, 1997, p 66.]

PEGASUS XL LAUNCHES FROM CANARY ISLANDS

In its first mission undertaken outside the U.S., an Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus XL

booster orbited a Spanish scientific satellite last week in an air launch off the Canary

Islands. The Pegasus and its primary payload, the Minisat satellite, were dropped

from Orbital Sciences' L-1011 aircraft at 39,000 ft. over the Atlantic Ocean on April

21. The booster subsequently fired in midair and carried Minisat to its orbit of 570 x

84
577 km., inclined to the equator at 151 deg. The third stage of the Pegasus also

carried a tiny 2-lb. payload bearing the cremated remains of 22 people, including Star

Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, V-2 rocket and Apollo program veteran Krafft

Ehricke, and controversial 1960s figure Timothy Leary. The remains were launched

from Celestis Inc., a Houston venture that charged $4,800 per customer. [Aviation

Week & Space Teclmolo_¢. April 28, 1997, p 67.]

NASA AND THE U.S. AIR FORCE

NASA and the U.S. Air Force Space Command have agreed to form seven teams to

study new areas of NASA/USAF space cooperation, including the launch of TRW

Defense Support Program (DSP) missile warning satellites from the space shuttle in

1999. After the 1986 shuttle Challenger accident, the Air Force transitioned large

military payloads such as the 5,000-lb. DSP off the shuttle onto Titan 4 boosters,

although the shuttle previously launch one DSP. The renewal of defense shuttle

missions could help reduce overall government space costs, NASA and USAF believe.

In addition, USAF will study the launch of more military space technology research

payloads on the shuttle. Under the agreement, NASA and USAF also will coordinate

efforts to study and reduce orbiting space debris, study collaboration on the Clemintine

2 spacecraft project and expand cooperation in space environment research and datasharing. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, April 21, 1997, p 18.]

AN X-33 FOLLOW-ON VEHICLE

An X-33 follow-on vehicle would be developed under the NASA authorization bill

approved last week by the House Science Committee. An amendment to the bill

would authorize spending $750 million during the next two years on the vehicle. Like

the X-33, it would be an experimental single-stage-to-orbit demonstrator, but it would

have a different design and include more advanced technologies. KSC is a member of

the NASA X-33 team. [Aviation Week & Space Tecimolo2v. April 21, 1997, p 18.]

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER TECHNICIANS INSPECTING ATLANTIS

Kennedy Space Center technicians are inspecting the orbiter Atlantis to determine if

the spacecraft has defects in its aft attach points for the external tank. Any defects

found could delay Atlantis' launch May 15 on a critical resupply mission to the Mir

space station. Inspection of the orbiters Columbia and Discovery showed deformation

of bolt holes in the "pyro can" assemblies, and engineers want to see if Atlantis has

the same problem. These pyrocan fixtures cover pyrotechnic devices critical for

separation of the external tank after launch. [Aviation Week & Space Technolo_¢,

April 21, 1997, p 18.]

85
WHO PAYS?

House Science Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner (K-Wis.) is promoting

an alternative to NASA's plan to shift $200 million from the space shuttle to the

international space station program. The funds are required to pay for Russian-caused

delays, but many in Congress are worried that the money grab could affect shuttle

safety. Sensenbrenner's idea is to give NASA a supplemental appropriation for the

station -- paid for out of the U.S. aid budget to Russia, instead of the shuttle budget.

That way, Russia, and not U.S. taxpayers, would pay for Moscow's failure to build

station hardware on time. But Vice President Al Gore and NASA chief Daniel Goldin

rejected the idea outright, insisting the funds transfer won't hurt shuttle safety. NASA

officials also were retreating slightly, saying they might be able to get by with just

$180 million from the shuttle program. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, April

21, 1997, p 21.]

NEW CENTERLINE LIGHTS ON

KENNEDY SPACE CEN'I'EIg_ SHUTFI_ RUNWAY

New centerline lights on Kennedy Space Center's shuttle runway will enable the

orbiter's pilots to better align with the runway late in approach and perceive any drift

off the centerline. The shuttle runway was equipped with centerline lights when it was

built 20 years ago, but they were removed prior to the first flight in 1981, after

concern arose about the damage to the orbiter's tires if they were to strike the lights

during touchdowns of 200-220 mph. New technology that allows the lights to flush

with the runway surface has made reinstallation possible. [Aviation Week & Space

Technology, April 21, 1997, p 60.]

NEW COMMERCIAL LAUNCH PAD

READIED AT CAPE CANAVERAL

On Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral, stacking test are being used to help

Lockheed Martin and Orbital Sciences Corp. verify the new commercial launch facility

for use by LMLV and Taurus boosters. The Florida Spaceport Authority has

converted the old Navy Trident missile pad for commercial use. The first mission will

be launch of the NASA Ames Lunar Prospector spacecraft into orbit around the Moon.

That mission, set for September, will be the first flight of the three-stage LMLV-2

booster, which uses two Castor 120 stages. Missions with the Taurus, which uses a

Castor 120 first stage, could also be flown from the pad. [Aviation Week & Space

Technology, April 21, 1997, p 65.]

SHUTI'LE SURFEIT?.

NASA has $500-600-million surplus in its space shuttle account -- considerably more

than the agency has acknowledged publicly. It's also more than enough to fix the

86
problems in the space station program. However, that bookeeping bonanza won't do

much to help the Clinton Administration get the $180-200 million of shuttle money it

wants to pay for the Interim Control Module and other costs associated with Russia's

schedule slippage on the Service Module. As recently as early this month, NASA's

party line was still that financial reserves in the shuttle program are tight and any

savings from consolidating shuttle contracts should be plowed back into safety

improvements and upgrades. Now NASA supporters on Capitol Hill are livid that the

agency suddenly changed its tune when the station program needed cash, especially in

light of the last shuttle mission being cut short due to a fuel cell problem. "Are they

saving money, or are they cutting comers?" one asked. Look for Republicans to put

the squeeze on Mission to Planet Earth and for the Office of Management and Budget

to propose a separate NASA budget line for "Russian contingencies." [Aviation Week

& Smace Technolo_¢. April 28, 1997, p 19.]

April 22: TODAY IS EARTH DAY

In recognition of Earth Day, the KSC Buy Recycled Expo will be a featured activity at

the KSC Visitor Center. The Expo is intended to acquaint buyers and operations

personnel with those companies which manufacture products from recycled materials.

Product samples available are plastic lumber, clothing, paint, office products, toner

cartridges, floor coverings, recycled tire surface coverings, compostable bags/liners and

spill control products. [KSC Countdown, April 22, 1997.]

NASA CONCURS WITH INDEPENDENT REVIEW

OF BION 11 MISSION

NASA is suspending its participation in primate research on the Bion 12 mission, part

of an international project to study the physiological effects of low gravity and space

radiation. NASA's decision is based on the recommendations of an independent

review board requested by the Agency to look into the post-flight death of a rhesus

monkey following the successful flight and landing of the Bion 11 satellite. The panel

found that there was an unexpected mortality risk associated with anesthesia for

surgical procedures (biopsy of bone and muscle) on the day following return from

space. NASA has determined that this risk is unacceptable and is therefore

discontinuing its participation in the primate experiments on Bion 12. [NASA News

Release #97-77, April 22, 1997.]

April 23: SPACE OI_ICIALS LOBBY FOR NEW ROCKET HANGAR

Florida space officials descended on Tallahassee Wednesday to push the state to spend

up to $5 million to build a hangar for futuristic rockets to keep the space business in

Central Florida. Officials hope to lure NASA to test its $50 million reusable

unmanned rocket, called X-34, at Kennedy Space Center. New Mexico and California

are competitors for the business. After two initial tests in New Mexico, NASA plans

87
25 additional test flights of the X-34. Those flights are worth $250,000 apiece, and

NASA could fly many or most of them out of KSC if the state builds a hangar, said

U.S. Rep Dave Weldon, R-Palm Bay. A hangar can be even more lucrative, said state

Rep. Randy Ball, R-TitusviUe. Like an airport or seaport, it will lure more than just

one tenant, he said. Lockheed Martin is developing in California a privately funded

reusable spaceship that doesn't rely on boosters that have to be jettisoned in flight.

Florida became a launch site because rocket stages could fall harmlessly into the

Atlantic Ocean. Florida officials are worried because the next generation of fully

reusable spaceships -- the X-34 and the Lockheed Martin ship -- don't need to launch

from KSC. New Mexico and California are talking about spending tens of millions of

dollars to lure space business, Ball said. Because Florida has established launch sites,

it will not need to spend that much to compete, he said. [The Orlando Sentinel, April

24, 1997, p A-14.]

April 24: VOTE RALLIES NASA I SPACE STATION PLANS

Despite concerns that Russia won't pay for its share of the international space station,

the House passed legislation Thursday financing NASA for two years while keeping

Moscow in the family. The measure authorizes spending $13.8 billion on NASA

programs in fiscal 1998 and $13.9 billion in fiscal 1999, a slight increase over current

levels. With full financing for the space shuttle fleet and other NASA science and

technology programs, the only point of contention came when Rep. Tim Roemer, DInd., introduced his annual amendment to kill the station. The measure was easily

defeated on a 305-112 vote, extending to 16 the number of kill votes the station has

survived since 1991. The legislation also includes a series of requirements designed to

hold the Clinton administration, NASA and the Russian government more accountable

as work on the space station proceeds. [Florida Today., April 25, 1997, p 1A.]

April 25: NASA SE_ PHASE H SMALL BUSINESS PROJECIS

NASA has selected 14 additional research proposals for negotiation of Phase 11

contract awards for NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program.

The selected projects, which have a total value of approximately $8.4 million, will be

conducted by 13 small, high-technology firms located in nine states. These additional

selections are made possible by a strategic change in the FY1997 SBIR program

funding plan. Selection distribution by NASA field center included one at Kennedy

Space Center: Merritt Systems, Inc., Rockledge, FL, Smart Umbilical Mating System.

[NASA News Release #97-79, April 25, 1997. Small Business Innovation Research

Program [Online]. Available Intemet: http://sbir.hq.nasa.gov/SBIR.html.]

ATLAS 1 ROCKET LAUNCHED

An Atlas 1 rocket carrying a GOES weather satellite lifted off from Cape Canaveral

88
Air Station at 1:49 a.m. Friday. The $220 million satellite will be placed on standby

in space as hurricane season opens in June. The satellite provides forecasters with a

backup unit should one of two weather satellites in use become disabled. [Florida

Today, "Forecasters breathe easier," April 26, 1997, p 1B & 2B.]

REDF__IGNATION OF STS-83R

On Friday, Shuttle managers officially announced that Columbia would refly the

shortened STS-83 mission in early July. The reflight mission will now be called STS94. [Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle Status Report, April 28, 1997.]

April 27: MOUNDS OFFER CLUES TO AIS INDIANS' LIVES

Behind a vacant motel in Palm Bay, a ragged trail winds a course along a shady bluff

overlooking the Indian River Lagoon. Four hundred years ago, the site served as a

strategic lookout for a fierce, self-sufficient people known as the Ais Indians. Today,

the only vestige of this vanished society's encampment are dirt-entombed shell mounds

left by long-dead warriors who feasted on the river's riches as they scouted for enemy

canoes. Archaeologists, historians and community planners are taking new strides to

save the historically rich Ais sites. In simplest terms, shell mounds, otherwise known

as middens, are the garbage biles of antiquity, the cast off remains of oyster and clam

feasts from an extinct population. But within those mounds are shards of pottery,

broken arrowheads and animal bones fashioned into crude tools. As a result, they

offer remnants of an era unrecorded in history. Between 150 and 200 archaeological

sites -- including middens and prehistoric campfire sites -- have been recorded within

the sprawling Kennedy Space Center's 140,000 acres. Another 100 sites are scattered

throughout Canaveral National Seashore. Though shell mounds on federal, county and

public property are protected by state law, there are no laws prohibiting their

destruction on private property. KSC officials are developing a management plan to

protect middens at the spaceport. [Florida Today, April 27, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

April 29: SPACE CONGRESS SETS 34TH EDITION

For people who work in the aerospace industry, Cocoa Beach is the place to be this

week. European rocket makers, U.S. astronauts, military pilots and others are in town

for the 34th Space Congress, an annual event focusing this year on the rise of

international space ventures. In addition to international ventures, conference

speakers will describe a future spaceship that may replace NASA's shuttle fleet,

spinoff benefits from space projects, and new rocket designs. The keynote speaker is

astronaut Story Musgrave, who will talk tonight at a sold-out banquet at Port

Canaveral. The 34th Space Congress begins today and extends through Friday May 2,

1997. [Florida Today, April 29, 1997, p 2A. I_C Cematdown, April 29, 1997.]

89
EX-KSC DIRECIDR HAS NEW CAREER

Former Kennedy Space Center Director Jay Honeycutt will shuttle back to Houston

next week, launching a new corporate career with aerospace industry giant Lockheed

Martin. Honeycutt, who retired from NASA on Feb. 28 after nearly four decades of

government service, will take on a new job Monday, serving as executive vice

president of Lockheed Martin Space Mission Systems & Services in Houston.

Honeycutt, 59, spent much of his NASA career at Johnson Space Center in Houston,

where he worked as a flight operations engineer and shuttle program manager for 20

years. The NASA veteran came to KSC as director of shuttle management and

operations in 1989 and was named center director in 1995. In his new post, Honeycutt

will serve as a deputy to division president Clint Denny. His exact role and

responsibilities, however, axe still to be defined. [Florida Today, April 29, 1997, p

lB.]

AMERICAN_ RUSSIAN TAKE WALK IN SPACE

High above the clouds of Earth, it was a sight never seen before -- an American and

Russian walking, talking and laughing together in space. That's what happened

Tuesday as U.S. astronaut Jerry Linenger and Russian cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev

spent five hours spacewalking outside the Russian space station Mir. The two men

hooked up science experiments and retrieved others. Their work marked the first time

crews from the two nations have ventured together outside a spacecraft. It also was a

precursor to more than 100 spacewalks that will be needed to construct NASA's

international space station. The $40 billion outpost is slated to be built between mid1998 and the end of 2002 with the help of Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan.

[Florida Today,, April 30, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

April 30: MAY 15 SELECI'ED FOR SIXTH

SHUTrLF__MIR MISSION LAUNCH

NASA managers today set May 15 as the official launch date for Space Shuttle

Atlantis' sixth docking with Russia's Space Station Mir following completion of the

Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy Space Center. The STS-84 launch window

opens at about 4:08 a.m. EDT and extends for approximately seven minutes. The

actual opening of the window may vary by a couple of minutes based on the Shuttle's

rendezvous requirements and Mir's precise location in space at the time of launch. An

on-time launch May 15 will result in Atlantis landing at about 7:49 a.m. EDT,

Saturday, May 24 at KSC completing nine days in space. STS-84 is the sixth in a

series of docking missions between the Shuttle and Mir and the third involving the

exchange of American astronauts. Linenger, who has been a Mir crew member since

January 15, will be replaced by Foale who then will spend more than four months on

the station before returning to Earth on the STS-86 Atlantis/Mir docking mission in

September. [NASA News Release #70-97, April 30, 1997.]

90
April 31: FOALE TO REPLACE LINENGER ON MIR;

ATLANTIS CLEARED TO LAUNCH MAY 15

NASA astronaut Michael Foale will spend four months on Russia's Mir despite a

recent rash of problems on the orbiting space station, NASA officials said Wednesday.

Shuttle Atlantis, meanwhile, was cleared to launch Foale and six other astronauts on

May 15 even though NASA has yet to pinpoint the cause of a power plant failure that

cut short a research mission aboard Columbia in April. The Atlantis launch date and

plans for Foale's stay on Mir were firmed up during a senior NASA management

meeting at KSC. [Florida Today, May 1, 1997, p 10A.]

WHO'S IN CONTROL OF SHUTFLE? YOU ARE

Soon you won't have to move to Houston to live the mission-control dream. All you'll

have to do is slide a CD-ROM into your computer. United Space Alliance, the

company that runs the space shuttle for NASA and staffs most of mission control, is

coming out with Space Shuttle Academy, a combination mission-control computer

game and shuttle virtual-reality tour guide. The CD, still in early versions, was

revealed Wednesday at the 34th annual Space Congress in Cocoa Beach but won't hit

the market for two more months. It'll cost $9.95 and benefit a nonprofit space

education organization. [The Orlando Sentinel, May 1, 1997, p 15A.]

MCDONNELL DOUGLAS GETS OK TO LAUNCH TWO DELTAS

The Air Force gave McDonnell Douglas approval Wednesday to launch two Delta

rockets before finishing a government investigation into a January explosion that

grounded the fleet. The first flight will come Friday at Vandenberg Air Force Base in

California. It will be followed by another May 11 at Cape Canaveral Air Station. But

neither Air Force nor company officials would say whether investigators have

determined what caused a Delta solid rocket booster to split apart during a Jan. 17

launch from Cape Canaveral. [Florida Today, May 1, 1997, p 1A.]

During April: WORK ADVANCING ON LAUNCH COMPLEX 46

Work at Cape Canaveral is advancing toward the first commercial launch from Florida

Spaceport Authority's Launch Complex 46. Engineers from Thiokol Corp., Orbital

Sciences and Lockheed Martin have begun practice stacking handling operations and

handling operations with an inert Castor 120 solid rocket motor. The motor is like

that to be used as the first two stages on the Lockheed Martin LMLV-2 booster, set to

launch the Lunar Prospector spacecraft to the Moon from the facility in September.

[Aviation Week & Space Technology, April 7, 1997, p 60.]

91
RUSSIAN MIR GROUND SPARE ACQUIRED BY ATTRACTION

One of the two ground spare Russian Mir core modules has been acquired by

Tommy's Robot World, an entertainment attraction at the Wisconsin Dells. Three Mir

core modules were built, the one now in orbit, a spare used for technical evaluations at

Energia, and the third, which is set to arrive in Wisconsin this spring. [Aviation Week

& Seace Teclmolok-v, April 7, 1997, p 60.]

ASTRONAUTS AVAILABLE ON WEB SITE

Former NASA astronauts now can be booked for speeches or other appearances via

the Astronaut Connection Web site located at http://nauts.com/index.html. A married

couple set up the site, which serves as agent for 33 retired astronauts and a Russian

cosmonaut. Astronaut Connection is the first for-profit booking agency for the

astronauts. [The B_evard Technical Journal, April 1997, p 9.]

92
MAY

May 1: NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYEI L 1997

The United States Congress, by Public Law 100-307, has called our citizens to

reaffirm annually our dependence on Almighty God by recognizing a "National Day of

Prayer." President Clinton has proclaimed May 1, 1997, as a National Day of Prayer.

[Memorandmn, Roy D. Bridges, Jr., April 29, 1997.]

BACKPACK CAUSES BOMB STIR AT KSC

An abandoned backpack caused NASA to bring in bomb-sniffing dogs Thursday and

move employees from the east side of a Kennedy Space Center building for a short

time. The bag was full of dirty gym clothes, but NASA officials took the cautious

approach with the abandoned backpack, said KSC spokeswoman Lisa Malone. "We

have to do this as a precaution just to check things out," Malone said. The backpack

was spotted at 4:08 p.m. inside the six-story Operations and Support Building at KSC.

It was found on the ground floor near the Kennedy Space Center Federal Credit Union

office located inside the building. [Florida Today,, May 2, 1997, p 2B.]

May 2: REPORT: DAMAGED MOTOR LINKED TO CAUSE

OF DELTA ROCKET BLAST

The explosion of a McDonnell Douglas Delta 2 booster in January was triggered

because one of its solid rocket motors was damaged after it was manufactured,

according to a report released Friday. The potential of a ground mishandling incident

or even sabotage by gunfire were cited as "credible failure modes" that could have

caused the rupture of the vehicle's No. 2 Alliant Techsystems solid motor. Air Force

investigators were unable to determine exactly what caused the damage, allowing the

motor to split open seven seconds after launch and destroy a $45 million navigation

satellite. They did say the damage likely occurred sometime between the motor's final

testing in Utah in July 1995, and its attachment to the rocket 17 months later at the

launch pad. The Jan. 17 explosion at Cape Canaveral Air Station grounded the fleet,

destroyed a $43 million defense satellite and caused $22 million in damage to the

Delta's launch complex. [Florida Today., May 3, 1997, p 4A. The Orlando Sentinel,

May 3, 1997, p A-5. Aviation Week & Space Technology, May 12, 1997, p 24.]

May 3: 1ST RUSSIAN WOMAN TO FLY ON U.S. SPACESHIP

Elena Kondakova will become the first Russian woman to rocket into orbit on a U.S.

spaceship this month. Kondakova is to fly aboard shuttle Atlantis on May 15 on the

sixth or nine planned missions to Russia's Mir space station. The flights are designed

to prepare the United States and Russia for building a new international space station

between 1998 and 2002. Kondakova has previously spent 169 days in space aboard

93
Mir in 1994and 1995. [Florida Today, May 3, 1997, p 1A.]

May 3-7: STUDENT WINNERS TO BE HONORED IN WASHINGTON.t DC

Twenty-seven students from public and private schools across the United States have

won national recognition in NASA's 17th annual Space Science Student Involvement

Program competition. The students were honored along with their teachers at the

National Space Science Symposium, May 3-7, at the Marriott Hotel at Metro Center,

Washington, DC. In addition to their recognition in Washington, other awards include

opportunities to intern at a NASA field center for a week during the summer, Space

Camp scholarships, medals, ribbons and certificates. Christine Hwang, Montgomery

Blair H. S., Silver Spring, MD, will intern at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and work

with engineers on launch operations. [NASA News Release #97-84, April 29, 1997.]

May 4: R_YNE WINS AWARD

The maker of space shuttle main engines has captured NASA's highest award for

quality and contractor performance. The Rocketdyne Division of Boeing North

American Inc. won NASA's 1996 George M. Low Award for excellence and

outstanding achievements in quality and performance. Based in Canoga Park, Calif.,

Roeketdyne was.selected from a field of top performing NASA contractors for the

annual award, which is named for George M. Low, former deputy administrator of

NASA during the early development of the space shuttle. [Florida Today, May 4,

1997, p 14C.]

NEW IMAX FILM TO OPEN AT KSC

A new IMAX film about life on the Russian space station Mir and NASA astronaut

stays aboard the outpost will premiere this month at Kennedy Space Center Visitor

Center. Titled "Mission to Mir," the movie will give audiences the opportunity to

experience life aboard the first permanent space station. The production will open

May 20 at the Smithsoniaa Institution's National Air and Space Museum in

Washington, D.C. Simultaneous openings will take place at the KSC Visitor Center as

well as other locations in the United States and Canada. Filmed by NASA astronauts,

the 40-minute giant-screen tour of Russia's Mir station escorts viewers through the

weightless abode that has been occupied by international teams of scientists since

1986. Blending historical footage with live-action shots, the larger-than-life venture

illustrates the personal friendship forged by the former Cold War rivals as they work

together in orbit. [Florida Today, May 4, 1997, p 2B.]

May S: SOME UNEASY WITH CASSINI'S NUCIFAR FU_I.

Before it can embark this fall on a tour of Saturn and its moons, a NASA probe called

Cassini first has to get past Willa Elam and others who are skeptical about the

94
spacecraft. The Palm Bay resident was among about 50 people who came out

Monday night to learn about Cassini, its scientific plans for Saturn and, mostly, the

nuclear-generated power that it will rely upon to do its job. Despite assurance from

NASA that Cassini's plutonium does not pose a threat to Brevard County or the world,

Elam was not feeling any better at the end of the two-hour gathering at the Cape

Canaveral Public Library sponsored by the Cape Canaveral City Council. Opponents

worry that a launch accident could cause the probe's plutonium to be released. NASA

officials described years of safety studies behind Cassini, maintaining first that a

launch accident is unlikely. If one occurs, nonetheless, they say the plutonium is

encased in containers made to withstand the damage. The electricity to power

Cassini's instruments and computers is produced by the decay of plutonium inside

three protective containers - called radioisotope thermoelectric generators. These

generators have a long history of use in U.S. spacecraft, including the lunar modules

used during Apollo landings and other planetary explorers, such as the Viking probes

that landed on Mars in the 1970s. Commonly called RTGs, the canisters are tested

rigorously to make sure they can survive accidents and keep their plutonium encased.

Once it reaches Saturn in 2004, Cassini will take a four-year tour of the giant planet,

studying its atmosphere, its magnetic field, its rings and several of its moons. [Florida

Today, May 6, 1997, p lB.]

DELTA IN THE DAWN

Motorola Inc. began building a satellite network for mobile phone service Monday

when a Delta II rocket was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The Delta II booster blasted off at 7:55 a.m. PDT from the North Vandenberg launch

complex for positioning in polar orbit. The successful launch followed three

consecutive postponements. The launch was worth more than $500 million to

McDonnell Douglas, which builds the Delta. It was the first commercial launch from

Vandenberg and the first Delta launch since one exploded Jan. 17 at Cape Canaveral

Air Force Station. [The Orlando Sentinel, May 6, 1997, p A-1.]

May 6: KSC TEAM HONORED FOR X-33

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT EFFORTS

A team from Kennedy Space Center has been recognized by Marshall Space Flight

Center, Huntsville, AL, for supporting the X-33 environmental impact effort. Mario

Busacca, Gall King, Barbara Naylor and Dave Barker helped prepare the

Environmental Impact Assessment ('EIA) issued in June 1996. They are still

supporting work on the Environmental Impact Statement to be released in June of this

year. Both documents are mandatory federal requirements that must be completed

before NASA makes final selection on the location of the launch site at Edwards Air

Force Base, CA, and landing sites throughout the Western United States. Rebecca C.

McCaleb, director, Environmental Engineering and Management Office, MSFC, called

the KSC team "a model for cooperation in the Agency." KSC and other X-33

95
environmental experts traveled to various sites, studied the area and prepared for 12

public meetings to discuss the X-33 program. KSC was asked to participate because

of its expertise in environmental aspects of launch and landing operations. KSC

expertise is also assisting the X-33 program by engineering and testing specific launch

elements. "KSC is designing the umbilicals and holddown posts for the launch site at

Edwards," said KSC's Deputy Engineering Development Director Warren Wiley. KSC

is also designing vehicle positioning and handling equipment, assisting in the areas of

hazardous gas detection systems, and supporting the X-33 program on the West Coast

in a variety of additional consultant roles. [KSC Countdown, May 6, 1997.]

SPACE STATION IS 'BACK ON TRACK,' GOLDIN SAYS

NASA administrator Dan Goldin assured a panel of senators Tuesday that so far "we're

back on track," with the Russian government appearing to be as committed as ever to

the International Space Station. However, the space agency is proceeding with plans

to build a U.S. module to compensate for a tardy Russian component that would give

the orbiting science platform the ability to maintain a constant orbit and provide a

habitat for astronauts. Goldin also informed the panel that NASA is closely

monitoring the health of the current Russian space station Mir, where U.S. astronauts

have been living and working for more than a year. The aging Russian spaceship has

had a series of mechanical failures, including a fire. [Florida Today, May 7, 1997, p

4A.]

OFFICIALS DELAY DELTA LAUNCH UNTIL MAY 17

The planned launch Sunday of a McDonnell Douglas Delta rocket from Cape

Canaveral Air Station has been postponed until May 17 so engineers can review

unusual fuel consumption on a flight earlier this week. Launched Monday from

Vandenberg Air Force Base, a Delta rocket's second stage engine gu77_led more rocket

fuel than had been expected on the flight, company spokeswoman Christine Nelson

said Tuesday. With data still being returned from rocket tracking stations around the

work, Nelson said the review will not be completed in time to launch another Delta on

a sateUite-delivery mission from Cape Canaveral on Sunday. The rescheduled May 17

launch date could be pushed back if the planned may 15 launch of NASA's shuttle

Atlantis from Kennedy Space Center is delayed, officials said. [Florida Today., May 7,

1997, p 4A.]

May 7: ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND REASSIGNMENTS

Effective immediately, the Checkout and Launch Control System (CLCS) Project

Office will be realigned from the Design Engineering directorate and report directly to

the Center Director. In addition to developing a replacement for the existing Launch

Processing System, this project will also produce an adaptable operations and control

platform that will support future launch vehicle operations. [Memorandum, Roy D.

96
Bridges, Jr., May 7, 1997.]

HEROIC ASTRONAUTS LEFY OUT OF TRIBUTE

For three years Roger Chaffee drew a NASA paycheck as an astronaut. Then in

January 1967, he died with Gus Grissom and Ed White when a fire flashed through

their Apollo 1 capsule during a countdown test. Their names grace the black granite

Astronaut Memorial at Kennedy Space Center. But Chaffee won't be inducted into the

U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, a museum that stands just outside Kennedy Space

Center's fence. The reason: He never flew into space. The issue of who qualifies as

an astronaut sparked angry debate Saturday in Orlando at a meeting of the Astronaut

Scholarship Foundation board. The nonprofit foundation, which helps run the private

Hall of Fame, is adding Apollo astronauts to the museum, and its board invoked a rule

that requires a flight in space to be inducted. The Hall of Fame will add a display

memorializing the Apollo 1 fire and displaying the crew members' spacesuits.

Chaffee's crew mates Grissom and White, who had flown into space before, are in the

Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is run by the scholarship foundation, which was

founded by ex-astronauts, and the nonprofit U.S. Space Camp. The seven-year-old

museum plans a $4 million expansion in October to include Apollo astronauts who

reached space. [The Orlando Sentinel, May 7, 1997, p A-1 & A-14.]

May 8: KSC WORKER EARNS AWARD FOR

TOP TREATMENT OF TOURISTS

Capping a week of local events celebrating National Tourism Week, the Brevard

Tourist Development Council and Brevard Council of Chambers had its annual awards

luncheon at Port Canaveral to honor the best of the county's hotel clerks, waitresses

and other unsung heroes in its efforts to boost tourism in the area. Noah Taylor,

hospitality specialist at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center was the winner of the

1997 Hospitality Specialist of the Year Award. Twelve other hospitality industry

employees were nominated for the award, which this year came with a two-day, allexpenses-paid trip to Key West. [Florida Today, May 9, 1997, p 12C.]

ARMSTRONG RECALLS WALKING ON THE MOON

It was a rare public appearance for 66-year-old Neil Armstrong, the first human to set

foot on the lunar surface. He shared memories, explained space hardware in detail

only a rocket scientist could fully appreciate and displayed a subtle wit during a panel

discussion with four other lunar explorers at the National Museum of Naval Aviation's

annual symposium Thursday. Armstrong elaborated on what it was like nearly 27

years ago to take what he had proclaimed to be "one small step for a man, one giant

leap for mankind" on July 20, 1969. "The first sense of feeling what the moon is like

is immediately after touchdown," Armstrong said. "Now you are in the lunar gravity.

The forces you feel on your feet are those that you will feel all the time when you are

97
on the surface and it's a particularly enjoyable time. You feel very light. It's

wonderful." Armstrong said the most difficult part of the flight was the descent from

lunar orbit to the moon's surface. "The higher the orbit is, the more fuel you'll need to

get down," he said. "The lower the orbit, the more the possibility is you'll make a

new crater and they'll name it after you. So we picked kind of a middle ground."

Armstrong shared credit for being first on the moon with everyone in the space

program. [Florida Today, May 11, 1997, p 6B.]

May 9: 'CAPE' CRUSADERS., NO FREE LAUNCH

After tonight's season finale of "The Cape," the syndicated show will go into rerun

heaven - at least for the summer. Although it has been a hit in the Central Florida

market, MTM Productions did not review the show for a second season. Nationwide

ratings did not support the high cost of production - about $1 million an episode. The

program revolves around the space program at Kennedy Space Center, and the

personal and professional lives of the astronauts, astronaut candidates and NASA

employees. [Florida Today, May 9 1997, p 3D.]

May 11: PILOT ON COURSE TO LAND ANOTHER MILESTONE

The first time Eileen Collins went into space, she got within 37 feet of the Russian

space station Mir when shuttle Discovery rendezvoused with the outpost. The mission

marked a pair of milestones: Collins became the first woman to pilot a shuttle, and

NASA kicked off the start of U.S. flights to the laboratory. Collins is scheduled to fly

to Mir again aboard shuttle Atlantis. The ship is to dock with the station, putting her

closer to another milestone: She'll be in line to become America's first woman shuttle

commander. The honor usually occurs after a shuttle pilot has flown twice. But the

Air Force lieutenant colonel said she is not thinking about the coveted role as she gets

ready for liftoff. "I'm just 100 percent focused on this mission," Collins said.

Although Collins doesn't like to talk about her likely ascension to a commander's spot,

those who know her say she would do an outstanding job. During Atlantis' flight,

Collins will assist Precourt, who will fly the shuttle, by watching over the spaceship's

systems during launch and landing. [Florida Today., May 12, 1997, p 1A-2A.]

LAUNCH COUNTDOWN UNDERWAY FOR STS-84 MISSION

The countdown for launch of the space shuttle Atlantis on the sixth mission to dock

with Russia's space station Mir, began Sunday night, May 11 at 11 p.m. at the T-43

hour mark. The countdown includes 34 hours and seven minutes of built-in hold time

leading to the opening of the launch window at about 4:08 a.m. on Thursday, May 15.

The launch window extends for about 7 minutes. The exact time of launch will be

determined about 90 minutes before liftoff based on the location of the Mir space

station. STS-84 is the fourth space shuttle mission of 1997. This will be the 19th

flight of the orbiter Atlantis and the 84th flight overall in NASA's space shuttle

98
program. Atlantis will carry into orbit a seven member crew including Mission

Specialist Michael Foale who will replace Jerry Linenger on the Mir space station.

Linenger will return to Earth with the rest of the STS-84 crew. Foale will remain on

Mir until Atlantis again docks with the space station in September. The other

members of the multi-national STS-84 crew are: Commander Charles Precourt, Pilot

Eileen Collins, and Mission Specialists Jean-Francois Clervoy, Carlos Noriega, Edward

Lu and Elena Kondakova. [KSC Countdown, May 13, 1997.]

May 13: ASTRONAUT LU TO CARRY OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL

Astronaut Ed Lu, a collegiate wrestler and friend of Olympic wrestler David Schultz,

agreed to take the Olympian's gold medal on the space shuttle Atlantis, which is set to

launch Thursday (May 15). Schultz was killed in January 1996 by chemicals heir

John du Pont. ["Du Pont ordered to serve 13 to 30 years for killing," The Orlando

Sentinel, May 14, 1997, p A-3.]

May 14: SPACE STATION CREW TO BREATHE EASIER

WHEN ATLANTIS BRINGS OXYGEN MACHINE

Although the space shuttle Atlantis has docked with the Russian space station Mir five

times before, this time its deliveries are more urgent. With a launch scheduled for

4:08 a.m. Thursday (May 15), Atlantis is about to haul nearly 2 tons of supplies and

equipment to Mir, including vital oxygen generator. Atlantis is set to dock with Mir

on Friday at 10:38 p.m. Astronaut Michael Foale will move into Mir for four months

and replace Jerry Linenger. Atlantis will bring basic supplies such as air to breathe

and a repairman. Last February, there was a fire on Mir. Then in March, the main

oxygen generating system broke down. A back-up system wasn't working either. The

main system has since been repaired, but Mir still needs a reliable backup. So Russia

shipped a new oxygen generator, which is about the size of a home water-heater, to

Kennedy Space Center so it could be carted to Mir aboard Atlantis. It's this type of

help from the Americans that is keeping the I 1-year-old Mir alive, said Valery

Ryumin, shuttle-Mir director for Russia. "Every single flight is almost critical,"

Ryurnin said. In addition to the oxygen generator, Atlantis will bring repair kits

containing "hoses, clamps, caps and whatever they need to repair tubing," said NASA

shuttle-Mir director Frank Culbertson. The shuttle also will bring air-quality monitors

that will check for carbon monoxide and toxic chemicals leaking from the cooling

system, he said. Foale was especially trained to repair Mir's crotchety life support.

Overall, Atlantis is hauling 3,724 pounds of materials to Mir, a NASA record, and

taking back 2,554 pounds. [The Orlando Sentinel, May 14, 1997, p A-1 & A-4.]

BIENNIAL ASTRONAUT SE_ON PROCESS BEGINS

NASA is accepting applications for mission specialist and pilot astronauts for the

current selection cycle. Interested individuals may apply until the cut-off date of July

99
1, 1997. [NASA News Release #97-97, May 14, 1997.]

SPACE MIRROR CONTRACT RE_

TrrusvKLE FIRM'S SUCCESS

BAMSI, Inc., has been selected to provide maintenance and operational support for the

"Space Mirror" Memorial and all the other state-of-the-art facilities operated by the

Astronauts' Memorial Foundation. [Florida Today,, May 14, 1997, p 10C.]

SHUTTLE COLUMBIA COULD TAKE ADVERTISING

TO NEW HEIGHTS

The space shuttle Columbia soon may go commercial, complete with auto racing-type

ads on the outside and cargo space for rent on the inside. United Space Alliance, the

private company that has run the space shuttle for the past six months, hopes next year

to start marketing space for rent on Columbia, chief operating officer Jim Adamson

told reporters Wednesday. Space alliance officials are looking at future commercial

shuttle opportunities for Columbia, NASA's oldest orbiter. The private flights

envisioned for Columbia could start as early as 1999 or 2000, Adamson said

Wednesday. NASA is trying to find other uses for Columbia, which is too heavy to

reach the orbit necessary to help with the agency's planned international space station.

The other three shuttles will be used almost exclusively to haul people and equipment

to the station during its construction. Adamson hopes to get companies to pay the

space alliance to launch satellites from Columbia, something now prohibited for any

shuttle by a presidential order signed in the wake of the 1986 Challenger explosion.

The company is planning to ask President Clinton to rescind that order. The space

alliance was hired to cut shuttle costs and split the savings with NASA. If the

company earl get per-launch costs low enough then it could attract more private

businesses to use Columbia, Adamson said. It now costs about $442 million per

launch. [The Orlando Sentinel, May 15, 1997, p A-14.]

SCHEDULE RETOOLED FOR SPACE STATION

Top space officials from around the world met at Kennedy Space Center on

Wednesday to smooth out problems with Russian participation in the space station

project and approve a new schedule for the oft-delayed work. Because of financial

problems, Russia is far behind in building a crucial service module. The module will

provide living quarters for astronauts and flight control for the station during initial

assembly. NASA officials would not comment Wednesday on the closed-door Space

Station Control Board meeting. Wednesday's meeting came after one-on-one

meetings earlier this week between NASA, the lead partner in the program, and each

individual space agency: Russia, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency.

NASA is continuing with plans to build a $200 million stopgap module in case Russia

is unable to complete the service module in time, NASA spokesman James Hartsfield

100
said. Sources said the Russian role in building the space station will continue because

Russia has finally found money to build the service module. [The Orlando Sentinel,

May 15, 1997, p A-14.]

NASA TO CUT 150 JOBS AT TWO CENTERS

About 70 jobs will be cut at Kennedy Space Center this year as NASA continues

turning over shuttle operations to a private company, officials said Wednesday. The

reductions will be made within the ranks of the 5,000 United Space Alliance workers

at the spaceport. Another 80 jobs will be cut at the Johnson Space Center in Houston,

said Glynn Lunney, USA program manager. However, few people are expected to be

laid off. Rather, the reductions will be made through attrition and moving workers to

new jobs, said Mike McCulley, USA vice president and ground operations director.

"There's not going to be 70 people going out the door with a pink slip," McCulley

said. Since the unprecedented transition began last October as part of NASA's

restructuring, the company has made significant progress, said Paul Smith, USA

president and chief executive officer. A joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin,

USA eventually will handle day-to-day shuttle operations as NASA backs out of the

work to move to increased efficiency and save money. Also, officials are still

debating where to send shuttles for major overhauls. The work is now done at a

Boeing plant in Palmdale, Calif., but critics contend it would be cheaper to do it at

KSC. A report by NASA's Inspector General has estimated the agency could save $30

million a year if the maintenance was done in Florida. USA plans to make a

recommendation on the issue to NASA in July, said Howard DeCastro, USA deputy

program manager. [Florida Today,, May 15, 1997, p 7A.]

REPORT: RUSSIA CONSIDERS MILITARY USE FOR STATION

Russia is looking into military uses for a new international space station, even though

it is behind schedule in building a module necessary to put the station in orbit, a

newspaper reported Wednesday. The Russian government ordered its negotiators last

month to seek a letter of intent with U.S. officials "on a possibility for Russia and the

United States to use their own modules of the station in the interests of national

security," Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper said in a front-page report. It gave no

further details on the issues of national security, but the paper said Russians and

Americans are planning to hold talks on the station's military uses without consulting

their "junior" parmers from the European Space Agency, Canada and Japan. More

than a dozen countries are participating in the project to build the station, which will

be big enough for six people when completed in 2002. Russian Space Agency

spokesman Anatoly Tkachev refused to comment on the report. [Florida Today, May

15, 1997, p 7A.]

IOI
STS-84 COUNTDOWN STATUS

The countdown for launch of Atlantis on mission STS-84 continues on schedule today.

Launch remains set for Thursday, May 15. Current indications show the 7-minute

window opening at 4:07:48 a.m. EDT and closing at 4:14:47 a.m. EDT. The exact

launch time will be announced about 90 minutes prior to launch following final

computation of the location of the Mir space station. This morning the orbiter's

communication systems and inertial measurement units were activated and safety

personnel performed a debris walkdown at the pad. Also, at about 10 a.m. the rotating

service structure began its move into the park position. Loading of the external tank

with cryogenic propellants is scheduled to begin at about 7 p.m. tonight. Prior to

loading operations, the Mission Management Team will meet at about 6 p.m. today to

discuss tomorrow's launch weather and any technical issues that may arise. Early this

morning, Shuttle test directors indicated possible concerns with data received from a

master events controller (MEC) on the orbiter. The MEC sends electronic commands

to Atlantis' onboard pyrotechnic devices. Further testing revealed the MEC to be in

working order and ready for flight. Also, standard work on the orbiter maneuvering

system thrusters revealed moisture in one of the thruster chambers. Technicians

performed work necessary to dry the chamber and inspections of the other thrusters

showed no moisture. At this time there are no outstanding issues known that would

preclude a launch attempt tomorrow. Weather forecasters are currently indicating a 20

percent probability of weather prohibiting launch on Thursday. The temperature at the

pad at the time of launch is expected to be about 69 degrees; relative humidity about

78 percent; clouds scattered at 5,000 and 25,000 feet; pad winds from the west at 7

knots; and no precipitation is forecasted. The 24-hour delay forecast indicates only a

20 percent chance of violation. [Bruce Buckingham. (1997). Kennedy Space Center

Space Shuttle Status Report [Online]. Available E-mail:

domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [1997, May 14]

May 15: SHUTI'LE HEADING FOR DATE WITH MIR

The countdown for launch of Atlantis on mission STS-84 proceeded smoothly and

launch occurred on time at 4:07:48 a.m. Atlantis is scheduled to remain on orbit for 9

days and land back at KSC on May 24 at about 7:53 a.m. Returning with Atlantis

will be Jerry Linenger, who has been aboard the Russian space station Mir since midJanuary. The solid rocket booster retrieval ships began recovery operations at about 6

a.m. today and are expected to return to Hangar AF with boosters in tow tomorrow

afternoon. The crew of STS-84 are: Commander Charles Precourt, Pilot Eileen

Collins and Mission Specialists Jean-Francois Clervoy, Carlos Noriega, Edward Lu,

Elena Kondakova, Michael Foale (up) and Jerry Linenger (down). [Bruce

Buckingham. (1997). Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle Status Report [Online].

Available E-mail: domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [1997, May 15].]

102
May 17: DELTA LAUNCH RESCHEDULED

The planned Saturday liftoff of a Delta 2 rocket carrying a communications satellite is

postponed to Sunday (May 18) because of delays in ground work. The rocket will

have two opportunities to fly from Cape Canaveral Air Station: 6:36 to 7:23 p.m., and

8:54 to 9:45 p.m. [Florida Today, May 14, 1997, p 2A.]

May 19: ASTRONAUT HALL OF FAME CHANGES INDUCTION RULE

In a swift about-face, a private foundation reversed a policy Monday that would have

barred astronauts who died in the line of duty, but never flew in space, from induction

in the U.S. Astronaut hall of Fame. The switch, which came in the wake of a public

outcry, drew applause from surviving family members of fallen astronauts who would

otherwise have been left out of the hall. A flap erupted earlier this month when the

board of directors of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, a nonprofit organization

that helps run the private Hall of Fame, voted to keep in place a long standing

induction policy. The policy said an astronaut had to have flown in space to be

considered for induction in the Hall of Fame, which is just west Kennedy Space

Center. The new rule, however, specifies that an astronaut may be selected for

induction if he or she "has made a significant contribution to the space program."

With the hey+ rule, astronaut Roger Chaffee, who died in a January 1967 launch pad

blaze in the Apollo 1 spacecraft, will be inducted, along with other Apollo-era

astronauts. [Florida Today, May 20, 1997, p 2A.]

May 20: IMAX TO DOCUMENT SPACE STATION ASSEMBLY IN 3-D

The historic, on-orbit construction of the International Space Station will be

documented in 3-D by the Imax Corporation in a large-format (70-ram) feature film to

be seen around the world. This will be the first 70-mm space film to be captured in

3-D, a breakthrough made possible by Imax's current development of a 3-D movie

camera that will meet the exacting requirements and strict limitations of flying on

spacecraft. The film also will be distributed in Imax's 2-D format. [NASA News

Release #97-104, May 20, 1997.]

DELTA SUCCESSFULLY DROPS THOR H INTO ORBIT

A Delta rocket thundered into space Tuesday, carrying a Norwegian TV satellite into

orbit in the first Florida flight of the launch vehicle since a January accident. The

$150 million mission started with a 6:39 p.m. liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Station,

sending the Delta on a high arc over the Atlantic Ocean. About an hour later, the

rocket dropped the Thor II communications satellite into orbit. The spacecraft will

provide television service for 1 million viewers in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and

Finland. The launch also inaugurated a new $45 million Delta launch control center to

replace the blockhouse abandoned after the Jan. 17 low-altitude explosion. The

103
facility, designated the 1st Space Launch Sqdn. Operations Bldg., is located 2.5 miles

from the pad out of the blast danger area. It was placed in operation for Delta

launches 4-6 months ahead of schedule because of safety concerns raised about the 40

year-old Delta Complex 17 blockhouse. The new building has fiberoptic data lines to

Complex 17 and has been in planning for several years. [Florida Today, May 21,

1997, p 2A. Aviation Week & Smace Teclmolo_, May 26, 1997, p 35-36.]

May 21: 'GREAT ADVENTURE' ENDS FOR ASTRONAUT

Jerry Linenger's "adventure" on the Russian space station Mir is finally over. The

space shuttle Atlantis, with Linenger ensconced inside, inched away from the Russian

outpost late Wednesday. For the sixth straight time, Atlantis was able to safely

separate itself from Mir, Linenger's home for the past four months. During Linenger's

stay on the Russian station, a fire broke out, clogging one room with smoke. Later an

oxygen generator broke down and a cooling system leaked, spraying antifreeze into the

air and causing temperatures to soar. After transferring more than 6,500 pounds of

equipment between the two ships, Atlantis' crew will take a day off today and then

start preparing for Saturday's 7:53 a.m landing at Kennedy Space Center. [The

Orlando Sentinel, May 22, 1997, p A-12.]

AMERICAN ASTRONAUT WILL LEAD

FIRST SPACE STATION CREW IN 99

NASA's planned international space station remains nameless and might be boozeless,

but a flap over whether the first commander of the outpost will be an American or a

Russian has been resolved. That was the word Wednesday from a three-man crew that

is scheduled to open the station for business in January 1999. Veteran U.S. astronaut

William Shepherd will be the first station commander, and that's just fine with his

Russian crewmates, Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko. "We are not working for an

American commander. We are working for the space program. Everyone will have a

job to do," said Krikalev, who has logged 15 months in orbit aboard Russia's space

station Mir and NASA's shuttle Discovery. Shepherd and Kirkalev have been training

for their five-month flight since November 1995. Russian cosmonaut Anatoli

Solovyev was to be the third crew member, but refused to take pan in the flight

because an American was selected as mission commander. A joint project of the

United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and Canada, the $40 billion station is to be raised

during a five-year construction effort that is set to begin in June 1998. The outpost

largely will be of Russian origin when the first crew arrives on a Russian rocket. At

that point, it will consist of a Russian command center, a Russian space tug and a U.S.

docking module. Once complete, the 440-ton station will be a cluster of international

laboratories and dormitories that will cover an area nearly as large as two football

fields. Still up in the air is an official name for the station. [Florida Today., May 22,

1997, p 4A.]

104
PREMIERE OF IMAX FILM "MISSION TO MIR"

Hundreds of Space Coast invitees gathered for the final countdown of "Mission to

Mir," the new IMAX film, at a private reception held to celebrate the film's premiere

at Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Center last Wednesday night. "Mission to Mir"

will provide Earth bound audiences with an opportunity to soar in space and

experience life aboard the first long-term space station. Filmed in space by the

astronauts, the unprecedented 40-minute giant screen tour of Russia's space station Mir

gives viewers a unique look inside the weightless home in space that has been

occupied by teams of scientists since 1986. The new film replaces "Destiny In Space"

in the Galaxy Theater complex at the Visitor Center. [Florida Today, May 27, 1997, p

29.1

May 22: BOPP OF COMET FAME TO BE AT KSC

Thomas Bopp will be at Kennedy Space Center as part of a five-day Space Week

celebration. The events start today, which has been declared Space Day. Bopp will

meet with the public and discuss the comet during three free lectures on Sunday (May

25). He will join a parade of astronauts and scientists at the Visitor Center through

Memorial Day weekend. Former astronaut Norm Thagard will get things started this

afternoon with a discussion of his Mir visit two years ago. He was the first American

to spend time on the outpost. He will give his talk in the Visitor Center's IMAX

Theater following the 1:30 p.m. premiere of a new IMAX move, "Mission to Mir."

Other speakers include: Skylab astronaut Edward Gibson; Scott Carpenter, one of the

original Mercury 7 astronauts; Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon; Wally

Schirra, who flew in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. [Florida Today, May

22, 1997, p lB.]

May 23: ASTRONAUTS HONORED ON SPACE WALK

Astronaut Scott Carpenter slowly rolled back the blue velvet cloth Friday evening to

reveal a granite replica of his mission patch, dated May 24, 1962, which had been

inlaid into the U.S. Space Walk of Fame. Friday marked the opening ceremony for

the second Mercury reunion, organized by the U. S. Space Walk of Fame Foundation

for the workers and contractors who helped launch America's first manned rockets into

space. Carpenter was the only astronaut of the seven Mercury astronauts present to

unveil the mission patches. [Florida Today, May 24, 1997, p lB.]

May 24: SHUTI'LE ATLANTIS RETURNS TO KSC

The space shuttle Atlantis landed safely today at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility on

Runway 33 at 9:28 a.m. Mission managers gave Atlantis' Commander Charles

Precourt the go ahead for deorbit bum about 90 minutes earlier after having waved off

the first KSC landing opportunity due to low clouds. Atlantis traveled 3.6 million

105
miles during its mission that lasted 9 days and 5 hours. Landing occurred on orbit

144. After KSC ground crew complete sating activities and Spacehab personnel

complete their post flight activities, Atlantis will be transported to Orbiter Processing

Facility bay 3. The crew of STS-84: Commander Charles Precourt, Pilot Eileen

Collins and Mission Specialists Jean-Francois Clervoy, Carlos Noriega, Edward Lu,

Elena Kondakoveq Michael Foale (up) and Jerry Linenger (down). [Bruce

Buckingham. (1997). Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle Status Report [Online].

Available E-mail: domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [1997, May 24.]

MIR ASTRONAUT GLAD TO BE DOWN TO EARTH

Jerry Linenger was away for four harrowing months on the rickety Russian space

station Mir, and as he returned to Earth Sunday on space shuttle Atlantis, his 18-monold son, John, was expecting goodies. His wife, Kathryn, was just expecting, she's

due to give birth in three weeks. Linenger was walking around and healthy, probably

in the best condition of any of NASA's four astronauts who have lived on Mir,

officials said. But he still needed help when it came to the age-old question: Daddy,

what did you bring me? "He couldn't go to a store in space," NASA Administrator

Dan Goldin explained. So Linenger e-mailed NASA's top official last week and asked

Goldin to do some personal shopping. That created a strange scene minutes after the

space shuttle Atlantis landed safely at Kennedy Space Center at 9:27 a.m. NASA's

top boss walked to the shuttle area carrying yellow and purple tulips, a teddy bear

(wearing a NASA sweater) and a rattle. Linenger took the presents and gave them to

his wife, son and yet-to-be-born baby. No charge. "This is a special present from me

to him," Goldin said. "He's a man of courage." Linenger weathered a fire, a

breakdown of an oxygen generator and an overheated cooling system on the 11-yearold Mir during his four months, the most problem prone time in the history of the

Russian station. Returning to Earth Saturday morning, Linenger couldn't contain

himself. "He yelled when we did the de-orbit bum (which commits Atlantis to

landing). He yelled a couple times on the way down," crewmate Carlos Noriega

recalled. [The Orlando Sentinel, May 25, 1997, p A-9.]

May 25: PEACE COALITION: STOP CASSINI LAUNCH

On Saturday, New York author and professor Karl Grossman was the keynote speaker

at a statewide meeting of the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice. Nearly 100

members of the group, meeting at International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

union hall in Orlando, spent the day discussing how to prevent the October launch of a

plutonium-powered Cassini space probe to Saturn. Coalition members and Grossman

say the launch is a recipe for disaster. If the Titan IV-B rocket carrying the probe

exploded, or if Cassini disintegrated inside the Earth's atmosphere, the radioactive

element could rain down, harming people and wildlife, members say. Members spent

part of Saturday discussing strategies to prevent the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration from completing the launch. Invading the launch pad on sea kayaks

106
was among the suggestions. Meanwhile, the group has several "Cancel Cassini"

protests planned at Cape Canaveral Air Station. The next is June 14. The coalition

also is fighting the Cassini launch by lobbying Congress and through a postcard

campaign to President Clinton. [The Orlando Sentinel, May 25, 1997, p A-9.]

May 26: SPACE CEN'IT_Jt'S 20-YEAR-OLD COMPUTERS

WILL BE LAUNCHED - INTO THE DUST BIN

Kennedy Space Center, usually known for its shuttles and rockets, has launched a

different high-tech project -- the most expensive computer upgrade in its history. The

space center and its contractors recently reached the first milestone of a five-year,

$170 million job to replace the shuttle's checkout and launch system with new

technology. Joining KSC on the project are shuttle operator United Space Alliance,

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s Houston division and I-Net Engineering's KSC division. The

first major step was to set up an experimental control room where new computers can

be installed and personnel trained in the technology, KSC said. KSC expects to adopt

the new shuttle checkout and launch system by September 2001 without interrupting

shuttle missions. The current launch-control computers, which date back to the early

1970s, are lagging the times, KSC officials said. Most new home computers, for

example, have 16 megabytes of random access memory, 250 times more than KSC's

computers. "The current launch processing system is getting old and needs to be

updated," Bruce Buckingham said. "Certainly this is the largest conversion of this

type that we've had at KSC." [The Orlando Sentinel, May 26, 1997, CFB, May 26-

June 1, 1997 p 4.]

KSC TO SHARE 'BREATHTAKING' VIEW

To get a bird's-eye view of Kennedy Space Center's twin space shuttle launch pads or

to watch as workers ready parts of NASA's planned $40 billion international space

station will soon be possible. Residents and tourists will have the opportunity to do

both at two new tour sites under cunstruction at the home port of NASA's four orbiter

shuttle fleet. The attractions, scheduled to be completed by late this year, are part of a

$14 million effort aimed at giving the public an up-close look at the nation's space

shuttle and space station programs. A 60-foot observation tower being raised a halfmile from shuttle launch pad 39A will offer visitors an unprecedented view of the

space center. From a enclosed, air-conditioned observation deck or a surrounding

open-air walkway, visitors will have a panoramic view of pads 39A and 39B, the 52-

story Vehicle Assembly Building and the NASA Launch Control Center. The two

sites are being privately financed by Delaware North Parks Services of Spaceport Inc.,

the concessionaire that operates the Visitor Center. [Florida Today, May 26, 1997, p

lB.]

107
May 28: CREW CONTINUES REPAIRS TO MIR

The crew of Russia's space station Mir is making headway on the last technical

problem that has plagued their home the past few months. The two Russian

cosmonauts and U.S. astronaut Mike Foale were monitoring a patched-up cooling

system Wednesday to fmd out whether leaks have been repaired, NASA spokesman

Rob Navias said. If the fix works, Mir finally will be free of a string of troubles that

have hit the station since a February fire. The crew could then install a new oxygen

generation system that was delivered to Mir last week by the crew of shuttle Atlantis.

[Florida Today, May 29, 1997, p 2A.]

May 29: COMMERCIAL LAUNCH PAD FOR RENT:

$300_000 A POP

Spaceport Florida Authority on Thursday opened a new launch complex that officials

say will strengthen the area's role in the highly competitive world of space

commercialization. The Cape Canaveral Air Station site, called Complex 46, stands

ready to launch small rockets and their satellites. "This is, indeed, a very special day

for America's space program," said Col. Ron Larivee, vice commander of the 45th

Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base. Formerly a dormant Navy test site for Trident

2 missiles, the complex could see four to eight launches a year carrying a variety of

science or commercial spacecraft, including those for cellular phone services. So far,

it has two launches scheduled for its new facility. The first is set for Sept. 24, when a

new, small Lockheed Martin rocket is to carry a NASA probe on a reconnaissance

mission to the moon. Another version of the Lockheed Martin rocket is to carry a

Chinese science satellite into orbit in the spring of 1998. [Florida Today, May 30,

1997, p 1A.]

May 31: NASA OFFERS BUSINESSES HIGH-TECH ASSISTANCE

Economic development gurus from across the state will spend two days in Brevard

County in mid-June to learn how space-age technology can benefit earth-bound

businesses in their districts. At the 1997 NASA-Kennedy Space Center Technology

Outreach Program Workshop on June 18 and 19, representatives from most of Florida's

67 counties will study the program that pairs NASA scientists and engineers with

manufacturing and computer technology companies. Through the free program,

NASA, which arguably has the most expansive research facilities on Earth, attempts to

solve technical problems solicited from Florida businesses. [Florida Today, May 3 l,

1997, p 8C.]

Dining May: KSC SIGNS SPACE ACT AGREEMENT WITH SIKA CORP.

A nonreimbursable Space Act Agreement between Kennedy Space Center and the New

Jersey company Sika Corporation has been signed by KSC Director Jay Honeycutt,

108
with the goal of a better method of inhibiting concrete rebar corrosion. The Sika

Ferrogard Test Program is to determine the company's Concrete Migratory Inhibitor's

ability to "inhibit corrosion of steel rebar placed within two inches of the concrete

surface and to enhance the physical properties of Portland cement." A further purpose,

the agreement states, "is to combine the NASA/UCF electrical injection method of

inhibitors with the Sika Ferrogard properties in order to increase both systems'

abilities." NASA employee Rupert Lee, with the Logistics Operations Directorate

(LO), has been designated as KSC's key official for this test. Urs Hussy will represent

the Lyndhurst, New Jersey-based Sika Corporation. [Teeimovalion, Spring 1997, p 1.]

ROSS AND RUSSIA

The National Air and Space Museum opened a major exhibit last week on the "Space

Race" with Russia. Eleven of the Soviet-era artifacts, including a recon film return

capsule from a Salyut space station in the 1970s, the Soyuz TM-10 descent module

and a Russian space suit for use on the Moon, were purchased at a 1993 auction by an

anonymous collection. That collector revealed himself-- Texas billionaire and twotime presidential candidate Ross Perot. [Aviation Week & Stmce Technolo_. May

19, 1997, p 19.]

KSC AND NAVY SIGN NEW TECHNOLOGy AGREEMENT

A five-year Interagency Agreement involving corrosion technology has been signed by

the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and Kennedy Space Center, according to

Technology Programs and Commercialization Office (DE-TPO) spokesman Bruce

Larsen. The agreement allows NRL's Key West facility and KSC's Materials Science

Division (MSD) to collaborate on technology development and transfer in the areas of

corrosion science and corrosion control. NASA Materials Specialist Louis

MacDowell, Logistics Operations Directorate (LO), is leading the KSC effort.

[Technovalion, Spring 1997, p 1.]

CASSINI SPACECRAFI" ARRIVES AT KSC

FOR LAUNCH PREPARATIONS

NASA's Cassini spacecraft, due for launch toward the planet Saturn in early October,

has arrived at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). It was shipped from Edwards Air Force

Base, CA, aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 air cargo plane. The spacecraft now is

undergoing final integration and testing prior to being taken to Launch Complex 40 for

mating to an Air Force Titan IV launch vehicle. At KSC, integration of the 12 science

instruments not already installed will be finished. The large parabolic high gain

antenna and the propulsion module will be mated to the spacecraft. At that point, an

integrated functional test will be run to verify that all these systems are operating

properly together. [The Brevard Technical Journal, May 1997, p 4.]

109
AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS, INC. TO SUPPLY FUEL

The Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.,liquidhydrogen production facilitynear

Pensacola will supply additionalrocket fuel to NASA under a $78 millioncontract

with the space agency. [The Brevard Technical Journal, May 1997, p 8.]

KSC FACILIYY TO BE MODIFIED BY

JACKSONVILLE FIRM

Sauer, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida, has been awarded a $982,800 contract to modify the

Converter/Compressor Facility in KSC's Launch Complex 39 area. The contract

allows Sauer 306 days from the date of signing to complete modifications to the

existing facility. The modifications will provide the capability to accept liquid helium

from tankers, covert the liquid to gas, and compress the gas to interface with the

existing high pressure compressor system. The conversion and compression equipment

is slated for delivery later this year under several separate contracts. This is KSC's

first step toward transition from existing gaseous helium supply to a liquid conversion

system. Commercial suppliers could only meet KSC's large helium requirement by

transporting it in liquid form to KSC. A follow-on construction contract for the

second phase of the project will provide an on-site storage capacity of 60,000 gallons

of liquid helium. Phase two is scheduled to be complete by May 1999. ['Ihe Bmvard

Technical Journal, May 1997, p 20.]

Ii0
JUNE

June 2: A MAKE-OR-BREAK ROCKET DEAL?

Aerospace giants McDonnell Douglas and Lockheed Martin are in a winner-take-all

battle to build the next generation of U.S. government rockets to launch satellites. The

victor will get a $2 billion contract to build a family of vehicles to launch most

military and civil government satellites in the early 21st century. The winner also will

get a huge, government-subsidized edge in manufacturing cheaper rockets for an

increasingly lucrative and competitive commercial satellite launch market. Up for

grabs is the chance to build the Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle.

The project actually will be a family of small, medium and heavy-lift rockets. The socalled EELV is centerpiece of a $2 billion modernization program to replace the Delta,

Atlas and Titan rockets now used by the Pentagon to loft small, medium and large

military navigation, communications and spy satellites. With a year to go before the

contract is awarded, neither company appears to be a front-runner said Paul Nesbit,

president of JSA Research Inc. of Newport R.I., an investment management company

that keeps tabs on the aerospace industry. [Horida Today, June 2, 1997, p 2A.]

June 3: AGENCY WANTS TO BREAK SPACE JAM

Rockets launch at Cape Canaveral Air Station at Pony Express speed, every several

weeks or sometimes longer. If you want to launch something on an Atlas rocket, for

example, you'll have to wait until the year 2000. A state agency wants to change that

pace to Federal Express speed, launching six hours after a customer calls. The agency

is developing plans to spend $2 million to convert an old 1960s era Titan launch pad

into a new "quick response" launching area for small rockets carrying mini-satellites.

Today Israeli Aircraft Industries officials will tour Cape Canaveral, looking to match

their small Shavit II rocket to local plans for a speedy launching system. These are

small rockets that carry less weight than Atlases, Deltas or Titans but cost much less

to launch. Instead of the larger rockets' $50 million to $200 million launch cost,

Shavits and similar sized rockets cost about $10 million, experts say. [The Orlando

Sentinel, June 3, 1997, p B-1 & B-6.]

June 4: COLUMBIA PASSES MILKSTONE TOWARD QUICK REFLIGHT

NASA's space shuttle program passed a major milestone today on its way to reflying

the orbiter Columbia and the first reflight of the same payload and crew in space

shuttle history. Columbia, which saw an abbreviated mission in April due to

indications of a faulty fuel cell, was transported from Florida's Kennedy Space Center

(KSC) Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) to the Vehicle Assembly Building today

where it will be mated with an external tank and solid rocket boosters in preparation

for roll-out to Launch Pad 39A next week. With the Spacelab payload secure in the

orbiter's cargo bay, NASA remains on track for a targeted July 1 launch date for

iii
reflight of the Microgravity Science Laboratory mission. Columbia launched on April

4 and landed in Florida on April 8 without completing the mission's science objectives.

About two weeks later, shuttle program managers decided to refly the Microgravity

Science Laboratory mission on STS-94 as soon as possible within safety guidelines.

"This decision demonstrated the Shuttle program's confidence in the KSC processing

team," said Bob Sieck, Director of Shuttle Processing. "Special credit goes to the

workers in the Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 1. They produced a quality product in

record time." The ambitious schedule required that all experiment reservicing be done

while the Spacelab remained in the Shuttle's payload bay. Between flights, Spacelab

is normally removed and then transported to KSC's Operations and Checkout Building

for rework in a spacious environment. Payload technicians overcame the Shuttle's

cramped conditions and successfully completed many critical tasks such as

replenishing the flammable fluids of a combustion experiment. "This is the first time

that a payload has remained in an orbiter between flights," said KSC Payload Manager

Scott Higginbotham. "We are excited about having accomplished something that has

never been tried before." With the original STS-83 astronauts slated to fly again on

STS-94, additional time savings were achieved by leaving the crew compartment setup virtually unchanged. The crew equipment interface test and the terminal

countdown demonstration test, both familiarization exercises previously completed by

the crew, were deemed unnecessary for this reflight mission. Columbia is scheduled

to roll out of the Vehicle Assembly Building on June 1 l, bound for launch pad 39A.

The STS-94 launch is currently targeted for July 1 at 2:37 p.m. EDT. [NASA News

Release #97-122, June 4, 1997.]

June 5: SHUTTLE BOOSTERS MAY GET LIQUID FUEL

In what could be the biggest single change to the design of the space shuttle, NASA is

seriously considering replacing the shuttle's solid-rocket boosters with liquid-fueled

rockets that can fly back to Kennedy Space Center after they are jettisoned. Using a

new design probably would be safer and less expensive than the shuttle's current

boosters, which triggered the fatal 1986 Challenger explosion, NASA officials and

outside experts said. Shortly after a shuttle is launched, the boosters' fuel is spent and

they fall into the sea with the aid of parachutes. They are recovered and reused.

NASA this week awarded $1 million contracts each to aerospace giants Lockheed

Martin and Boeing Co. to study and design liquid boosters that can fly back to KSC

on auto-pilot If NASA decides to change boosters, it would happen about 2002, said

NASA spokesman Kyle Herring. In 1992, NASA had to trim $350 million from the

shuttle's development cost. So the agency dropped the liquid fuel concept because

solid rockets axe less expensive to develop. However, liquid-fuel rockets have a

reputation for being less expensive to operate over the long term. Until the shuttle

first launched in 1981, all NASA's manned space flights had used liquid boosters.

['l"ne Odando Sentinel, June 5, 1997, p A-13.]

112
June 6: FAULTY TILES MAY DELAY COLUMBIA

The space shuttle Columbia may not make its July 1 launch date because of problems

with cracked heat-shielding tiles, NASA said Friday. NASA already knew it had a

problem with some of Columbia's tiles and had planned to fix them when the shuttle

moves to the launch pad later this month. But on Friday afternoon technicians

discovered that an additional 16 tiles had to be replaced. Technicians will work this

weekend on the problem. In the next week or two NASA managers will decide if the

tiles can be replaced in time for the July 1 launch. NASA is trying to launch

Columbia less than two months after it landed in what would be a post-Challenger

record for shuttle preparations. The quick re-flight is being attempted because

Columbia's flight last April was cut short by 12 days because of a faulty electrical

generator. [The Odando Sentinel, June 7, 1997, p A-I 1.]

June 9: ANTI-NUKE ACTIVISTS PLOT PEACEFUL WAR

Anti-nuclear activists will stage a series of peaceful protests at the gates of Cape

Canaveral Air Station, protesting NASA's launch in October of a plutonium-powered

spacecraft to explore Saturn. Organizers expect about 100 people to attend a

demonstration Saturday (June 14), said Bruce Gagnon, organizer for the Gainesvillebased Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice. The demonstrators worry an accident

during the Titan rocket launch Oct. 6 or when the Cassini probe makes a flyby of

Earth in 1999 could cause the highly toxic plutonium to be released, endangering

people and the environment. However, NASA officials say the plutonium devices are

safe and have been rigorously tested by the Department of Energy. The units have

been blasted, crushed and exposed to the extreme pressures that would be unleashed

by a rocket explosion. The test were to make sure they would not break open if

something went wrong. Cassini will carry 72.3 pounds of plutonium to provide

electricity for its instruments. "We would not agree to launch these materials if it

wasn't safe to do," said Beverly Cook, who heads the DOE's space nuclear program

division in Washington, D.C. Saturday's protest will be followed by two in July and

October, as well as an around-the-clock vigil at the Cape during the last two weeks

leading up to the launch, Gagnon said. Demonstrators say they plan to try to climb

fences at the air station and attempt to sit on the Titan launch pad to stop the liftoff.

Air Force officials declined to comment on security measures, but Brig. Gen. Randall

Starbuck said demonstrators have the right to express their views lawfully outside the

station's boundaries. Meanwhile, work continues at Kennedy Space Center to

assemble the two-story spacecraft and prepare it for launch. [Florida Today., June 9,

1997, p 1A & 2A. The Orlando Sentinel, June 9, 1997, p A-6.]

NASA NAMF_ MANAGERS

NASA named three top managers to Kennedy Space Center on Monday, including the

spaceport's first black and female senior executives. James Jennings was named

113
deputy director in charge of business operations. He had been acting deputy director

and before that, was director of administration. JoAnn Morgan was named associate

director for advanced development. She had been in charge of shuttle upgrades and

safety. Women and minorities have held similar or higher ranks at other NASA

centers and its headquarters. Also Monday, ex-astronaut Loren Shriver was named

deputy director for launch and payload processing. Shriver, who has been manager of

launch integration for NASA's space shuttle program, will take over the job Aug. 15.

[The Odando Sentinel, June 10, 1997, p A-4. Florida Today., June 10, 1997, p 2A.]

MIR CREW PATCHES UP COOLING SYSTEM

The Russian-American crew of the Mir space station tried Monday to patch a leak in

the cooling system -- one of a string of breakdowns that has raised doubts about safety

aboard the orbiting outpost. The temperature control system began leaking coolant in

early April and briefly raised temperatures on some parts of the station to above 86

degrees. The temperatures came down after the crew plugged two major leaks, but the

location of a third had evaded them for months. The final leak was located over the

weekend, Vera Medvedkova, a spokeswoman for the Mission Control Center near

Moscow, said Monday. The crew was working to fix it, using equipment recently

delivered by the NASA space shuttle Atlantis. Russian space officials said the

quantity of leaking antifreeze was far below levels that would be harmful to the crew.

[The Orlando Sentinel, June 10, 1997, p A-4.]

June 10: SPACE LAB DEEP IN RED_ REPORT SAYS

Boeing Co., hired by NASA to build the $28.6-billion International Space Station, is

causing hundreds of millions of dollars in cost overruns and schedule delays,

according to a federal report released Tuesday. If the problems continue, Congress

may have to throw more money at a venture that has come under increasing assault on

Capitol Hill because of expensive delays caused by financial trouble in Russia, a key

partner in the project. Cost overruns by Boeing have tripled in the past year,

skyrocketing to $291 million, according to the General Accounting Office. In 1995,

by contrast, Boeing was $27 million under budget. If the overruns and Russian

financial woes continue, Congress and the Clinton administration should rethink the

program, GAO associate director Thomas J. Schulz said in the report. It's unlikely,

however, that Congress would sacrifice a project that already has cost taxpayers more

than $10 billion. The station, being built by the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan

and other countries, would be the. biggest man-made construction project in space.

The U.S. share of the cost, $28.6 billion, is by far the largest. [The Orlando Sentinel,

June 11, 1997, p A-1 & A-13.]

June 11: COLUMBIA AWAITS LIFYOFF GO-AHEAD

Shuttle Columbia crept to its launch pad Wednesday at Kennedy Space Center, but

114
technicians will be hard-pressed to complete a tile replacement job in time for its

planned July 1 liftoff. In the midst of what could be a record-setting push to re-launch

Columbia on a mission cut short this year, technicians today will begin replacing 36

heat-resistant tiles on the nose of the shuttle. NASA ordered the replacement work

after routine inspections showed the tiles -- which protect the orbiter and its crew from

temperatures up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit during atmospheric re-entry -- might

crack during thruster firings in orbit. "The plan in place right now shows the work

being done in time for launch, but the schedule is fight," KSC spokesman Joel wells

said. Technicians removed the suspect files, which surround clusters of steering

thrusters on the shuttle's nose, before Columbia made an overnight move from the 52-

story Vehicle Assembly Building to it launch pad. The replacement work is scheduled

to be wrapped up June 28, which is less than 24 hours before a three-day launch

countdown is to begin. If Columbia takes off July 1, NASA would set a postChallenger record for the speediest shuttle turnaround between missions -- 84 calendar

days. The previous post-Challenger record -- 102 calendar days -- was established in

1996. [Florida Today., June 12, 1997, p lB.]

June 13: ASTRONAUTS GO ONUNE

The astronauts assigned to NASA's next mission to the Russian space station Mir have

faced various scenarios in training for a space flight, and now Web crawlers can get a

glimpse of the rigorous regime they face on the crew's own Internet site. The

brainchild of astronaut Scott Parazynski, the site is not to be confused with the dozens

of "official" Internet home pages operated by NASA. "NASA does a fantastic job

with all their various Web sites, and they are some of the most popular on the

Internet," said Parazynski, a medical doctor-turned-astronaut-tumed-cyberspace guru.

"But nowhere on the Internet can you find this story in the words of the folks that

actually go fly in space." Up until now, that is. Check out the following address --

http://www.phoenix.net/-shuttle -- and you'll find the inside scoop on the shuttle-Mir

docking mission, which is set for launch Sept. 18 from Kennedy Space Center.

During the past month, the site has won 18 awards from the likes of USA Today, Cool

Site of The Day, Internet All-Stars and The Supersite For Kids. [Florida Today, June

13, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

ACE SPACF.,C-'RAF'I" ARRIVES AT KSC TO BE

PREPARED FOR LAUNCH

NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), to be launched aboard a McDonnell

Douglas Delta II rocket in August, arrived today at the Kennedy Space Center to begin

prelaunch processing. The spacecraft, built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins

University Applied Physics Laboratory, was shipped by truck from the Goddard Space

Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., yesterday. ACE is a spin-stabilized spacecraft having

a combination of nine sensors and instruments. Spinning at five revolutions per

minute, it will investigate the origin and evolution of solar phenomenon, the formation

115
of the solar corona, solar flares and the acceleration of the solar wind. The spacecraft

will orbit the Libration Point, a location 900,000 miles from Earth where the

gravitational effects of the Sun and Earth are balanced. ACE will be able to give

scientists information about the effect of the Sun on the near-Earth environment, as

well as interplanetary space while also providing clues about the lifestyle of similar

stars. There are also two secondary investigations on the satellite itself. The Real

Time Solar Wind Monitor for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA) will provide continuous "space weather" information that can give limited

advance warning of geomagnetic storms. The Spacecraft Loads and Acoustics Monitor

for the Goddard Space Flight Center is a research and development payload which will

monitor the sound characteristics a spacecraft experiences within the rocket's nose

fairing environment during launch. The ACE spacecraft will undergo final experiment

integration and functional testing at the Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation

Facility-2 located in the KSC Industrial Area. ACE will be transported to Space

Launch Complex 17 and erected atop a Delta II 7920-8, a two-stage rocket

manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The buildup of the Delta vehicle on Pad 17-A

is scheduled to be performed the week of July 21. This will include the erection of

the first and second stages and attachment of the nine strap-on solid rocket boosters.

Atop the launch vehicle, the nose fairing is to be installed around the spacecraft four

days before launch. Launch of Delta H/ACE is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 21 at

the opening of a launch window which extends from 10:53:38 - 11:18:38 a.m. EDT., a

duration of 25 minutes. [NASA News Release #89-97, June 13, 1997.]

ASTRONAUTS MCMONAGLF_ HARBAUGH TAKE ON

NEW ASSIGNMENTS

Astronaut Donald R. McMonagle has been named manager, Space Shuttle Launch

Integration at the Kennedy Space Center, replacing Loren Striver, effective Aug. 15,

following the STS-85 mission. The announcement by Shuttle Program Manager

Tommy Holloway follows the appointment of Shriver earlier this week to the staff of

Kennedy Director Roy D. Bridges, Jr., as deputy director, launch and payload

processing. McMonagle will begin the transition to his new position immediately. He

will be responsible for final Shuttle preparation, mission execution and return of the

orbiter to Kennedy following landings at Edwards Air Force Base, CA.

Gregory J. Harbaugh has been named acting manager of the Extravehicular Activity

Projects Office, replacing McMonagle. That appointment by Johnson Space Center

Director George Abbey is effective immediately to allow a smooth transition between

the two, prior to McMonagle's move to Kennedy. [NASA News Release #97-134,

June 13, 1997.]

June 14: EX-NASA OFFICIAL PROTESTS CASSINI

A retired NASA safety official has switched sides on the issue of launching nuclear

116
material and is telling Brevard County residents to leave town in October when NASA

tries to send a probe with 72 pounds of plutonium into space. The man whose job

was to protect Kennedy Space Center's workers when plutonium-powered space probes

were launched in 1989 and 1990 said he will join a group of anti-nuclear activists

today to protest the planned Oct. 6 launch. Alan Kohn of Casselberry, who as

emergency preparedness operations officer was commended by NASA for his work

during the 1990 Ulysses launch and the 1989 Galileo launch, said Thursday that

NASA is not doing enough to protect nearby residents in case of an accident. But

Joel Reynolds, safety director at Kennedy and the chief emergency planning officer

during the Ulysses and Galileo launches, said the launch is safe for all of Florida.

Reynolds, who commended Kohn in a 1990 letter, said he was surprised by Kohn's

new stance but doesn't think it will hurt NASA's chances to launch Cassini. NASA

estimates the chance that the rocket would explode on launch and release plutonium

into the air at 1 in 1,500. The plutonium is in super-hardened ceramic chunks that

cannot be inhaled. [The Orlando Sentinel, June 14, 1997, p A-6.]

June 16: MARS LANDING JULY 4 MAY BE MORE DAZZLING

THAN FIREWORKS

Snapshots of Mars from the robot explorer will beam into millions of living rooms

Independence Day in the latest in a string of tantalizing revelations that has

rejuvenated NASA. It has been more than 20 years since NASA sent an emissary to

the Martian surface. While the event may not rival the television audience for Neil

Armstrong's walk on the moon, the July 4 landing is shaping up to be a significant

milestone. America returns to the surface of Mars with a robot explorer that will send

pictures of the Red Planet's horizon to untold millions of "virtual visitors" watching

the transmissions back on Earth. NASA expects an Intemet "siege" of 25 million hits

from computer users worldwide. [Florida Today., June 16, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

SHANNON ROBERTS APPOINTED AS KSC

ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR

Kennedy Space Center Director Roy D. Bridges, Jr., has appointed C. Shannon

Roberts to be Director, Administration Office effective June 22, 1997. She succeeds

James L. Jennings, who has been named the Center's Deputy Director for Business

Operations. Roberts will lead many important areas including human resources

programs for civil service personnel, workforce effectiveness and organization,

industrial labor relations, strategic planning, continuous improvement and functional

management reviews. [NASA News Release #90-97, June 16, 1997.]

&me 17: SPACEWALKERS NAMED FOR SPACE STATION

ASSEMBLY FLIGHTS

A cadre of 14 Space Shuttle astronauts has begun intensive training in preparation for

117
spacewalks required for on-orbit construction of the International Space Station. The

first astronauts assigned to train for space station assembly tasks were Jerry L. Ross

(Col., USAF) and James H. Newman, PhD., who were named to the STS-88 crew in

August 1996. Training will now expand to include Leroy Chiao, Ph.D.; Robert L.

Curbeam, Jr., (Lt. Cmdr., USN); Michael L. Gemhardt, Ph.D.; Canadian Astronaut

Chris A. Hadfield (It. Col., CAF), Thomas D. Jones, Ph.D.; Mark C. Lee (Col.,

USAF); Michael Lopez-Alegria (Cmdr., USN); William S. "Bill" McArthur, Jr., (Col.,

USA); Carlos I. Noriega (Major, USMC); James F. Reilly, II, Ph.D., Joseph R.

Tanner; and Peter J. K. "Jeff" Wisoff, Ph.D. [KSC Countdown, June 17, 1997.]

June 18: TEAM AIMS TO KEEP KSC BUSY INTO 21ST CENTURY

A new NASA management team is looking beyond the space shuttle and planned

international space station in a bid to keep Kennedy Space Center's federal work force

in business in the 21 st century. Talking more like corporate executives than

government bureaucrats, the managers on Wednesday presented a faint outline of a

strategic plan that would move KSC government engineers out of shuttle hangars and

into research labs. The radical shift will come gradually as NASA turns over day-today shuttle fleet operations to a private company and completes the $40 billion station,

which is to be raised over a five-year period beginning next summer. In the same

time the KSC civilian work force is expected to drop from 1,950 people today to

1,475 people. "I think we need to be looking further out in the future, deciding what

we think we want to do here at the Kennedy Space Center in years ahead," said Loren

Shriver, who recently was named deputy director of launch and payload operations at

KSC. And rather than wait for one giant anchor project like the shuttle, the strategy

involves aggressively pursuing new business in the form of smaller research projects.

Among them are:

Staging test flights of NASA's X-34, a new reusable launch vehicle that will fly

suborbital missions at eight times the speed of sound. No contract has been

signed with X-34 manufacturer Orbital Sciences Corp., but missions that would

test the craft's ability to fly in bad weather are expected to be launched from

KSC as early as next year.

Design work on proposed liquid-fueled flyback booster rockets for the shuttle.

Considered safer than current solid-fuel shuttle boosters, the new rockets would

fly back to Kennedy's shuttle runway rather than parachute into the ocean.

Research and development of life-support systems for space stations and space

colonies as well as lab work that would pave the way to propellant plants on

Mars.

The hot pursuit of new contracts represents a new way of doing business at KSC, one

spurred by increasingly heated competition in a cutthroat aerospace world. "We have

not done this before," said Joanne Morgan, associate director for advanced

development and shuttle upgrades at KSC. But she added, "there's some very intense

118
economic competition going out there globally, and we intend to be a player."

[Florida Today., June 19, 1997, p 11A.]

June 19: KSC PRINT SHOP GETS NEW LOOK

The KSC Print Shop - now called the Duplicating Facility - has undergone renovations

to better reflect its new capability. Three electronic publishers and one multi-color

printer have replaced 22 pieces of existing equipment. Three Xerox DocuTech 6135

include scanners to convert hardcopy documents to electronic format. The new

equipment can print at a higher rate and the product quality is much improved, noted

Dave Severance, project manager, Information Services, Sherikon Space Systems Inc.,

the subcontractor which operates the Duplicating Facility for Base Operations

Contractor EG&G Florida. Fiscal Year 1997 cost-savings are estimated at about

$224,000, and outyear cost avoidance will be about $240,000 per year. [KSC

Countdown, June 19, 1997.]

JULY 1 SELECTED FOR MICROGRAVrI'Y SCIENCES

LABORATORY REFLIGHT

NASA managers set July 1 as the official launch date for Space Shuttle Columbia and

the reflight of the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 payload following completion of

the STS-94 Flight Readiness Review at the Kennedy Space Center. The original

MSL-1 mission during STS-83 in April was shortened due to the suspect performance

of a fuel cell. The STS-94 launch window opens at 2:37 p.m. EDT and extends for 2

1⁄2 hours. The MSL-1 mission has a planned duration of 16 days. An on-time launch

on July 1 and nominal mission duration will result in Columbia landing at about 7:13

a.m. EDT, on July 17. STS-94 will be the 23rd flight of Columbia and the 85th

mission flown since the start of the Space Shuttle program in April 1981. [NASA

News Release #97N-97, June 19, 1997.]

June 20: GLENN'S SKY-HIGH DREAM: RETURN TO SPACE

John Glenn, who turns 76 next month, is seriously talking with NASA about returning

to space more than 35 years after he was the first American to orbit the Earth. A

second flight for the ex-astronaut and U.S. senator from Ohio is not planned now.

However, it is a possibility because the space agency is interested in increasing

research on how space alters the aging process, a NASA spokesman said. "NASA has

discussed the idea with the senator, and we are giving it further consideration," NASA

spokesman Michael Braukus said Friday. Glenn flew on Mercury 6, circling the Earth

three times on Feb. 20, 1962. He would become the oldest person in space, beating a

record set last year by Story Musgrave, 61. "There are a lot of positives," said Apollo

11 astronaut and National Space Society Chairman B,77 Aldrin. For Glenn to fly

again, NASA would have to change its policy against taking civilians into space. The

policy was established after teacher Christa McAuliffe died on the 1986 Challenger

119
explosion. [The Odamdo Sentinel, June 21, 1997, p A-1.]

June 22: NASA PAYS BIG BUCKS TO DELIVER STATION PART

For 12 years NASA has been planning a space station, designing and redesigning

pieces and spending $18.6 billion in the process. Finally, part of that project is

heading close to the eventual launch site, Kennedy Space Center. The cost of

transporting the part, a 22-foot-long room called Node 1, is three times higher than

originally planned. Instead of shipping the room from Alabama, where it was built, on

a barge as first planned, it's arriving on an Air Force cargo jet. The cost of the flight

is about $1.5 million, compared with $500,000 for the barge, said NASA spokesman

James Hartsfield. Johnson Space Center Director George Abbey, who oversees the

space shuttle and station programs, was worried about potential problems with the

slow barge system. NASA relies on barges to carry the large external fuel tanks for

shuttles to KSC, said Glenn Snyder, payload manager for Node 1. NASA doesn't

want a repeat of a problem that occurred in 1994 when a tank-carrying barge got

stranded during Tropical Storm Gordon. The tank was rescued, but the salvage

company that saved it went to court to claim the fuel tank under maritime salvage

laws. The government paid an undisclosed amount to the rescuers to get the tank

back. In another ease, bad weather delayed the barge for 10 days in the mouth of the

Mississippi River, Hartsfield said. Despite the extra cost, the arrival of Node 1 is

considered a major milestone. [The Orlando Sentinel, June 22, 1997, p A-7.]

June 23: CASSINI COUNTDOWN

Cassini program officials at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) are monitoring

the operation of three inertial reference units 0RUs), two on the spacecraft at Kennedy

Space Center and a spare at JPL, after detecting some slower start-up times than usual

on the two spacecraft units. The two IRUs, on the spacecraft scheduled for an

October launch, have been taking about 20 sec. longer than normal to start up. Each

IRU has four Litton hemispherical resonator gyros (I-IRGs). Program officials sad they

want to determine the cause of the slow down and make sure there will not be

additional start-up variations prior to launch. The start-up process is controlled by

software, but JPL officials believe the problem is in the resonator rather than the

software. The change on Cassini was initially detected last month. The HRGs, which

have no moving parts, were selected for their potential reliability on the long Cassini

mission, which is scheduled for more than 10 years duration. [Aviation Week &

Soace TechnoloRv. June 23, 1997, p 13.]

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION FLIGHT HARDWARE

ARRIVES AT KSC

Node 1 of the International Space Station, arrived at KSC early yesterday morning at

the Shuttle Landing Facility. The Node, which is the first piece of flight hardware to

120
arrive at KSC, was shipped from Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, A.L, and

transported aboard an Air Force C-5 air cargo plane that landed at about 1:30 a.m.

"It's a day we've been waiting for. It's the first time we've seen U.S. space station

hardware here at KSC," center spokesman Bruce Buckingham said. The Node was

scheduled to be offloaded last evening and transported to the Space Station Processing

Facility (SSPF). At the SSPF, the U.S.-manufactured Node will begin processing for

its launch aboard STS-88 in July 1998. About 11 months of testing will follow before

the node is delivered to a KSC launch pad for installation in Endeavour. [KSC

Countdown, June 24, 1997. Florida Today, June 24, 1997, p 2A.]

June 25: NASA LAUNCH MANIFEST IS RELF_ASED

Copies of the NASA Mixed Fleet, Payload Flight Assignments, June 1997 edition, are

available from the NASA news centers or on the Interact at URL:

http://www.osf.hq.nasa.gov/manifest/ This manifest summarizes the missions planned

by NASA for the Space Shuttle Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELVs) as of June 1997.

Space Shuttle and ELV missions are shown through calendar year 2003. Space

Shuttle missions for calendar years 2002-2003 are under review pending the resolution

of details in the assembly sequence of the International Space Station. [NASA News

Release #N97-45, June 25, 1997.]

CARGO SHIP SLAMS MIR

An American and two Russians are struggling with life aboard a darkened, crippled

space station Mir today after a collision with a cargo ship caused a potentially fatal air

leak and serious power outage. Circling 250 miles above the Earth, the three men

were not injured in the accident early Wednesday, and there were no immediate plans

to abandon ship aboard a lifeboat parked at the Russian station. But the wreck

severely damaged one of Mir's six labs and cut station power by 50 percent. It also

punched a dime-sized hole in the lab, sending the crew on a scramble to seal the

module before all the air within Mir was sucked out. Moving quickly to conserve

power, the crew turned off all but essential life-support systems. The men -- U.S.

astronaut Michael Foale, Mir Commander Vasily Tsibliev and flight engineer

Alexander Lazutkin -- have enough food, water and other supplies to survive, officials

said. The drama unfolded about 5:20 a.m. Wednesday as Tsibliev tried to guide an

unmanned cargo craft called Progress to a remote-control docking with the Kvant-1

astrophysics lab. Filled with garbage, the space freighter had been dispatched from

Mir on Tuesday and was being brought back as part of a docking-system test.

However, Tsibliev lost control of the 8-ton cargo ship as it made a final approach to

Mir, and the craft slammed into one of four power-producing solar wings attached to

an adjacent lab called Spektr. The wayward ship then bounced off the Spektr lab

itself before slowly tumbling away from Mir. [Florida Today,, June 26, 1997, p 1A &

9A.]

121
HOUSE SUBCOMMITFEE GIVES NASA'S

SPACE STATION BUDGET THUMBS UP

The space shuttle and the International Space Station program would receive full

funding next year under a bill passed Wednesday by the House subcommittee that

governs NASA's purse strings. Overall, the subcommittee recommended giving NASA

about $13.65 billion in budget year 1998 -- $148 million more than the administration

requested, but $61 million less than the agency's current funding. Human space flight

would get $5.3 billion, as requested by NASA. The subcommittee recommendations

include a new $100 million fund to cover cooperation between NASA and Russia's

space program. NASA could tap into the "U.S.-Russian Cooperation and Program

Assurance Fund" if Russia is unable to meet financial goals for constructing the

International Space Station. The fund also would pay for U.S. astronauts who fly on

Russia's Mir space station. It accounts for most of the $148 million the administration

did not request. The subcommittee also recommended giving NASA the ability to

transfer up to $150 million into the space station program if it can cut money from

other areas of its budget. The full House Appropriations Committee will discuss

NASA funding after Congress returns from its weeklong Fourth of July holiday. The

bill could hit the House floor the week of July 14. [Florida Today, June 26, 1997, p

8A.]

June 27: COSMONAUTS PLAN DARING MANEUVER

TO AID TROUBLED MIR

In a daring plan to restore more power to the crippled Mir space station, Russia

decided Friday that two cosmonauts will go into a dead and depressurized lab to

install a new hatch and restore full electricity to Mir in mid-July. Also Friday, the

power supply on Mir got so low that a computer was unable to control the station's

steering system. The three-man crew had to use the thrusters on the attached Soyuz

escape capsule to turn Mir and face its solar panels toward the sun. The move worked

and steering was re-established a few hours later. Meanwhile, NASA and Russian

officials are just starting to look into why a robot ship went out of control and crashed

into the outpost Wednesday. Outside space experts have two suspects: pilot error by

the accident-prone commander of Mir, who was flying the robot ship by remote

control, or equipment failure in the cut-rate manual guidance system, which has failed

before. At the moment, restoring power to Mir is the main priority of both space

agencies. The damaged lab, called Spektr, has been sealed off, and the rest of the

station is at 50 percent power. Three of the four solar power panels on top of Spektr

are functional. But to seal the lab to prevent the entire station from becoming

depressurized, the Russian and American crew had to disconnect electrical cables

carrying power from Spektr to the rest of Mir. After the repair equipment comes in a

resupply flight, scheduled to launch between Friday and July 8, cosmonauts Vasily

Tsibliev and Alexander Lazuktin will don spacesuits and enter the lab, NASA shuttleMir director Frank Culbertson said. U.S. astronaut Michael Foale will watch from

122
inside the Soyuz escape capsule, the "most conservative" approach. Tsibliev and

Lazutkin will install a new hatch designed to allow up to 22 electrical cables to pass

through without breaking the airtight seal. Officials worry that during the procedure

the cosmonauts could tear their suits on the debris expected to be floating around in

the lab. Meanwhile, the Russian Space Agency and NASA each appointed

investigation boards to determine why the progress resupply ship crashed into Mir

during a docking system test. NASA's board is headed by veteran astronaut Michael

Baker. [The Orlando Sentinel, June 28, 1997, p A-1 & A-7.]

June 28: WEATHER MAY KEEP COLUMBIA ON THE GROUND

NASA started the countdown Saturday for shuttle Columbia's planned launch Tuesday

with some bad news -- a 90 percent chance that thunderstorms will scuttle the liftoff.

Forecasters say the reason is simple: Typical hot summer weather that will mix with a

sea breeze and keep dangerous weather close to the coast Nonetheless, NASA is

pressing on and hoping for a break. Liftoff is set for a 2 1⁄2-hour window that starts at

2:37 p.m. One way NASA could work around the weather is to put the crew aboard

Columbia later in the day, NASA spokesman George Diller said. If that happens, the

ship could fly as late as 8:08 p .m. The seven astronauts arrived Saturday at Kennedy

Space Center. The shuttle's mission is unrelated to the crisis at Russia's Mir space

station. Columbia is not equipped to dock at Mir and is too heavy to even reach the

space station's orbit. [The Orlando Sentinel, June 29, 1997, p A-8. Florida Today,

June 29, 1997, p lB.]

COSMONAUT DOUBTS CREW CAN FIX MIR

The Russian commander of the stricken Mir space station expressed doubt Saturday

that its three-man crew could fix the 11-year-old orbital complex after its worst

accident. Mission Control Center specialists radioed Tsibliyev aboard the powerrationed Mir complex early Saturday to discuss plans for a spacewalk within the

damaged Spektr module that has been sealed off since it was punctured and

depressurized by the wayward supply craft. After another supply ship carrying

equipment for repairs reaches Mir around July 7, Tsibliyev and fellow cosmonaut

Alexander Lazutkin would don spacesuits, empty the air from inside the stillfunctioning components of the space station and squeeze through the 2-foot-wide hatch

connecting Mir with Spektr, where they would attempt to reconnect the marooned

solar panels with Mir's main electrical grid. While the cosmonauts work inside Spektr,

Foale would man the Soyuz TM "lifeboat" capsule in case the operation goes wrong

and the trio has to return to Earth. "I have never done this kind of work. Without

training, it will not be possible to do this job," Tsibliyev told flight coordinator

Vladimir Solovev. Solovev assured the cosmonaut that "we will help you" and

encouraged the Mir crew to begin planning and practicing for the risky rescue work

today. [The Orlando Sentinel, June 29, 1997, p A-8.]

123
LIFE ON MIR 'GE'ITING BACK TO NORMAL'

For American astronaut Michael Foale and his two Russian comrades, the daily grind

on the damaged Mir space station is an exercise in guts, patience and hope. Floating

through the darkened, eerily silent ship, they put flashlights in their mouths to see

where they are going as they press on with their life-on-the-edge existence. The work

includes trying to turn on a primary oxygen generator and heat-regulation system,

checking gyroscopes that keep Mir's position stable and talking to ground controllers

about a dangerous scheme to patch their ship. "Slowly, slowly, we've gotten things

back together, " Foale said Saturday. "So life is getting back to normal for me."

Foale provided that glimpse into the crew's struggles as experts in Russia and the

United States continued working on a plan to send two cosmonauts into a sealed-off

lab that was punctured Wednesday after a collision with a cargo ship. The Russians

want Mir Commander Vasily Tsibliev and flight engineer Alexander Luzutkin to don

spacesuits and venture into the Spektr module to connect power cables to badly needed

solar batteries inside. Foale would monitor the spacewalk from a Soyuz escape

capsule, which is attached to Mir and could bring home the men at any time. [Florida

Today. June 29, 1997, p 1A & 11A.]

During June: UKRAINIAN PAYLOAD SPECIALISTS SELECTED

FOR SHUTrLE MISSION

NASA has announced the selection of Col. Leonid Kadenyuk, the first Ukrainian to fly

on the U. S. space shuttle, as the primary payload specialists for the fourth U.S.

Microgravity Payload flight scheduled for a November 1997 launch on the space

shuttle Columbia as mission STS-87. NASA named another Ukrainian, Dr. Yaroslav

Pustovyi, to serve as an alternate. As an alternate payload specialist, Pustovyi will

undergo the same training as Kadenyuk and will be ready to serve on the mission crew

if necessary. Kadenyuk will conduct the Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment (CUE), a

series of 11 Shuttle middeck experiments focusing on the effects of microgravity on

plant growth and pollination. ['Ihe Brevard Technical Journal, June 1997.]

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER ENGINEER TAKES

CLEANLINESS TO NEW HEIGHTS

The first images from the Hubble Space Telescope's (HST) newly installed instruments

have generated considerable excitement in the scientific community, and Kennedy

Space Center (KSC) played a critical role. KSC contamination control specialist Jean

Abernathy and her contractor counterparts, David Baska and Sally Hill, were

responsible for protecting the instruments from Earthly contamination during the time

they were being readied for flight at KSC. The multi-million dollar scientific

instruments, composed of a series of exceptionally sensitive optics and automated

mechanisms, required a near-pristine environment as pre-launch checkouts were

conducted. While all NASA's payloads require high degrees of cleanliness, this

124
second HST servicing mission demanded extra care and a highly-controlled

environment that exceed that available in the Vertical Processing Facility. Prior to the

arrival of the first piece of flight hardware at KSC last October, Abemathy led a

campaign to sensitize and inform the hundreds of base operations personnel at the

space center as to the special nature of the HST payloads. She also coordinated with

other KSC personnel to schedule the spraying of insecticides, building construction,

controlled bums, asphalt work, and similar operations during times when the payloads

were fully exposed and more sensitive to contamination. [The Brevard Technical

June 1997.]

125
JULY

July 1: COLUMBIA POISED FOR MSL-1 REFLIGHT

A 90 percent probability of bad weather remains the primary concern for today's

scheduled launch of Columbia and the reflight of the Microgravity Science Laboratory.

NASA managers met late yesterday afternoon and decided to move the 2 hour, 30

minute launch window forward 47 minutes, thereby resetting the launch clock for a

proposed 1:50 p.m. liftoff. Although the weather outlook appears to improve

marginally tomorrow, the unpredictability of rapid weather changes is the reason the

decision was made to continue with today's launch attempt. Meanwhile, operations

continue as the shuttle is prepared for lift-off, and no technical issues were being

worked at press time. Loading of the external tank with cryogenic propellants is

scheduled to begin at about 4:45 a.m. today and launch commentary will begin at 8

a.m. Columbia's crew, led by Commander Jim Halsell, will depart crew quarters for

the launch pad at 10:30 a.m. and begin boarding Columbia about a half hour later.

The hatch will be closed and sealed at 12:20 p.m. [KSC Countdown, July 1, 1997.]

COUNTDOWN CHANGE AIJ.X)WS SHUTTLE TO ELUDE STORMS

The space shuttle team here modified its countdown and liftoff timing to successfully

launch the Columbia Microgravity Science laboratory mission earlier than originally

planned to beat developing thunderstorms that could have scrubbed the flight.

Columbia was launched on its 23rd mission at 2:02 p.m. EDT about 35 minutes earlier

than had been planned. Initial science operations in Columbia's Spacelab module were

going smoothly. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, July 7, 1997, p 30.]

WRECK INJURES 2 ASTRONAUTS

Two astronauts suffered minor injuries and a third person was also hurt in a two-car

wreck on Courtenay Parkway, about a half mile north of Crisafulli Road, according to

the Florida Highway Patrol. Troopers cited one of the astronauts for causing the

accident. Astronaut Roger Carl Zwieg, 55, of Houston drove a 1997 Nissan Altima

out of a parking lot and into the path of a 1993 Ford driven by Robert Alan Logsdon,

41, of Cocoa, according to Trooper D. C. O'Neill. Troopers cited Zwieg for violation

of right-of-way. Zwieg's passenger was astronaut Charlie Jusitz, 44, of Seabrook,

Texas. Details of their injuries were not known late Monday, but none of the men

needed to go to the hospital. Zwieg's car sustained heavy damage. Logsdon's car

received moderate damage. [Florida Today., July 1, 1997, p 2A.]

MARRIAGE BUG STRIKF..S CREW

Columbia commander Jim Halsell, 40, proposed marriage to Merritt Island native

Kathy Hampton while visiting the Grand Canyon. The couple met last Labor Day at a

126
holiday get-together. At the time, the veteran NASA flier was in the midst of a tour

of duty as a "Cape Crusader" -- the name given to astronauts assigned to support

shuttle crews from an office at KSC. Hampton, 34, works as a financial analyst with

McDonnell Douglas at Kennedy Space Center. The marriage bug also has struck

another member of Columbia's crew. Payload specialist Roger Crouch and Anne

Novotny, a management analyst in NASA's Mission to Planet Earth program office in

Washington, D. C., got engaged after Columbia's abbreviated flight. Crouch and

Novotny will head off to Las Vegas after the upcoming flight to tie the knot. The

Halsell-Hampton wedding is scheduled for late August in a Merritt Island church,

almost a year to the day after the couple met. With Halsell in command, Columbia is

scheduled to blast off from KSC today during a launch window that will open at 1:50

p.m. and close at 4:20 p.m. [Florida Today., July 1, 1997, p 5A.]

OXYGEN GENERATOR SHUTS OFF ABOARD MIR

The primary oxygen generator on the damaged Mir space station had to be shut down

Tuesday, forcing the three men aboard to rely on a backup system that sparked a

potentially deadly fire in February. U.S. officials, however, said the problem was a

temporary setback and added that the crew is in no immediate danger. The crew --

which includes American astronaut Michael Foale and two Russian cosmonauts -- still

is struggling to cope after a collision one week ago today punctured a laboratory

module and cut the ship's power by half. [Florida Today, July 2, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

KSC CREDIT UNION PLANS TO ADD 5 BRANCHES

Kennedy Space Center Federal Credit Union, with newly acquired permission to serve

anyone who lives or works in Brevard and Volusia counties, announced long-range

plans Tuesday to open five new branches in anticipation of a steady rise in

membership. The 35-year-old Merritt Island-based credit union is in the early

planning stages of the expansion, which targets cities in both counties. Officials will

finalize plans in October, said Levoyce Bethea, credit union president. The credit

union's expansion plans were preceded by a recent grant of a "community charter" by

the National Credit Union Administration, the government body that regulates

federally chartered credit unions. Community charter status allows the credit union,

which originally could extend membership only to Kennedy Space Center employees

and their relatives, to accept anyone who lives or works in Brevard or Volusia

counties. [Florida Today, July 2, 1997, p lB.]

July 2: SCIENCE LAB BUSTLES ABOARD SHUTIT_

The crew of shuttle Columbia on Wednesday powered up its $142 million

microgravity lab, unleashed the first experiments and released a stream of data to

scientists around the world. In what will be NASA's second-longest shuttle mission,

the seven-member Columbia crew readied the lab for the nation's most ambitious

127
July 3:

research project on the effects of zero gravity. Almost three-dozen experiments in

areas such as biotechnology and combustion science are scheduled for the 16-day

mission which was cut short in April because of technical problems with the orbiter.

Though the work can be dull, microgravity research can play a major role in

advancements in medicine, agriculture, transportation and consumer products, NASA

officials say. It enables scientists to more precisely study things such as combustion

flames, medicinal plans and protein crystals, which are affected by gravitational force.

[The Orlando Sentinel, July 3, 1997, p A-4.]

NASA DECIDES NOT TO BRING FOALE HOME

EARLY FROM MIR

NASA has decided there is no need to rush a shuttle to the crippled Russian space

station Mir to rescue its three-man crew, officials said Wednesday. That means U.S.

astronaut Michael Foale will have to wait until late September as originally planned to

return to Earth. If an emergency develops, he can come home in a Soyuz escape

capsule. NASA officials said they were confident in Russia's repair plans. Until

Wednesday, shuttle managers at Kennedy Space Center had been studying how to

move up the launch of Atlantis to mid-August. A decision had to be made this week

because Atlantis would have to use boosters and a fuel tank being readied for

Discovery. Conditions on Mir have stabilized since it was hit last week by a robot

ship during a manual docking test. However, the station is still operating on half

power, and the crew is using a backup oxygen system. On Wednesday, the two

Russian cosmonauts and Foale worked on a faulty cooling system that forced them to

shut off Mir's main oxygen generator. The repair work is expected to be completed

today. Also Wednesday, the crew worked on their spacesuits in preparation for an

"interior spacewalk" into the damaged and airless module that was punctured by the

errant robot ship. The work -- designed to restore more power to the station -- is

tentatively scheduled for July 11. The ship involved in the accident was commanded

to return to Earth and burn up in the atmosphere Wednesday morning. The ships carry

supplies to Mir and then routinely are disposed of after being packed with waste from

the station. [The Orlando Sentinel, July 3, 1997, p A-5.]

KSC AND PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE PREPARE

FOR JOINT BOC CONTRACT

Civilian and military managers who oversee launch operations at the NASA Kennedy

Space Center and the USAF Cape Canaveral Air Station are seeking approval from

their respective headquarters to combine base support contracts for both the facilities.

The objective is to save several million dollars in annual operating costs, with the

hope those savings could be passed on to launch customers. The civilian and military

launch facilities are now supported by different service contractors. Both Kennedy

and the Cape encompass huge areas and extensive facilities. Operations at Patrick

AFB, which supports the Cape, would also be under the plan. The USAF 45th Space

128
Wing is leading the effort on the military side. NASA and the USAF managers here

hope the Pentagon and NASA Headquarters will approve the plan in time for the

solicitation of bids by March, 1998, and the implementation of the new contract by

October, 1998. The initiative is an offshoot of the NASA/Air Force Space Command

(AFSPC) Partnership Council, which was established through a Memorandum of

Agreement (MOA) signed Feb. 28, 1997. A key feature of the agreement is to

identify areas where increased sharing or consolidation of activities can improve

support services to civil, military and commercial customers, while producing cost

savings for both the Air Force and NASA. [NASA News Release #130-97, July 3,

1997. Aviation Week & Space Technology, July 21, 1997, p 59.]

COLUMBIA CREW READY FOR A HOT TIME IN SPACE

The crew aboard shuttle Columbia may be lighting fires today, but don't expect them

to be roasting any hotdogs this Fourth of July. Instead, the ship's seven astronauts will

be spending Independence Day condtlcting a full plate of experiments as their research

mission enters its third day, NASA officials said. All of the nearly three-dozen

experiments in the shuttle's onboard laboratory are up and running, including some that

call for astronauts to light small fires in a sealed chamber to test the product of soot.

In another experiment, a water droplet was released and levitated by sound energy.

Researchers are interested in how to position and manipulate the drop without a

container. Data from the experiment might improve material processes on Earth.

Columbia was reported operating smoothly, good news for a crew that had to return to

Earth in April after only four days due to problems with a faulty fuel cell. [Florida

Today. July 4, 1997, p 2A.]

LOCKHEED TO BUY OUT NORTHROP

Lockheed Martin Corp.announced Thursday that it is buying Northrop Grumman Corp.

for $7.9 billion. That means the new company -- which will retain the Lockheed

Martin name -- will combine Lockheed's current 1,000 local employees with more than

2,000 Northrop workers for a Brevard County work force of more than 3,000 by the

end of the year, if all goes as planned. [Florida Today, July 4, 1997, p 1A.]

July 4: BACK ON MARS!

Against long odds, NASA's Mars Pathfinder spacecraft survived a dive onto the Red

Planet on Friday and began reeling off panoramic pictures of a burnt-orange river

valley full of rockets, boulders and ancient mountains. The breathtaking images of

daylight breaking over the martian horizon were beamed throughout the world, stirring

emotions of awe and wonder that again posed the question: Does Mars now, or did it

once, harbor life? Nestled inside protective air bags, the Pathfinder lander and its sixwheeled rover reached the planet by rebounding like a giant superball off the valley's

floor and taking a 94-second tumble before coming to rest. The high-stakes

129
Independence Day landing kicked off an accelerated hunt for life elsewhere in the

cosmos, sparked by the apparent discovery last August of ancient microfossils in a

Martian meteorite. "What a great way to celebrate America's birthday and celebrate

our country's know-how and ingenuity as we press forward to new heights and new

frontiers," Vice President AI Gore told flight controllers. "It's just a very exciting and

historic moment." To explore the terrain, a $25 million rover dubbed Sojourner was

to creep off its mothership early today -- a few hours later than planned because of a

minor snag with the air bags. [Florida Today, July 5, 1997, p 1A & 7A.]

MARS SCIENTISTS GET BY ON PEANUTS

Minutes before the Mars Pathfinder probe successfully bounced its way to a stop on

Mars, the team that spent five years getting it there pulled out the space engineer's

equivalent of rally caps and rabbit feet: peanuts. Just before the 1:07 p.m. landing, a

jar of Planters was opened up in the second-floor windowless mission control room.

For more than 35 years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab, engineers have relied on the

peanut-eating tradition before space probe launches and landings. The only time the

tradition was broken was 1993 when NASA's Mars Observer was nearing the Red

Planet. The peanut provider, Dick Wallace, was out of town. The probe disappeared.

NASA good-luck rituals usually involve food. Beans are served at Kennedy Space

Center after space shuttle launches. [q[lae Orlando Sentinel, July 5, 1997, p A-12.]

MIR REPAIRS POSTPONED ONE WEEK

Russian engineers Friday postponed repairs aboard the damaged Mir space station one

week to give the crew and ground experts more time to practice the dangerous job.

The attempt will take place July 17 or 18, not July 11 as originally planned. To get

ready, a former Russian cosmonaut put on a spacesuit and plunged into a giant

aquarium Friday to rehearse the work. Russian flight controllers have looked

feverishly for the best way to carry out the work on the damaged Spektr module,

which was punctured June 25 in a collision with a cargo ship. [Florida Today, July 5,

1997, p 7A.]

July 5: U.S. ASTRONAUTS TRAINING IN RUSSIA GET NEW CHIEF

Astronaut Brent W. Jett has been named the new NASA manager of operational

activities at Star City, Russia, near Moscow. The eighth astronaut to serve in this

rotational position, Jett will continue to support the training and preparations of NASA

astronauts at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Start City. The center is the

Russian site of activities for NASA's joint Mir program with the Russians as well as

the future international space station. Jett will be the primary liaison between NASA

and Russian officials. [Florida Today, July 6, 1997, p 5E.]

130
NASA RENAMES LANDER IN HONOR OF CARL SAGAN

In a tribute to the late astronomer who turned on millions around the planet to the

wonders of space, NASA on Saturday renamed the Mars Pathfinder lander the Carl

Sagan Memorial Station. "It's very fitting," said Tony Spear, NASA's Mars Pathfinder

project director. "Not only did Sagan inspire the general public, he inspired all of us

rocket scientists." Spear even wondered if Sagan -- who died in December of cancer -

- is playing the role of guardian angel for the lander, which survived a crash landing

Friday and some minor snags since then. [Florida Today, July 6, 1997, p 6A.]

July 6: SPACE NEWS DIGEST - MORE WEB SITES

NASA's Mars Pathfinder World Wide Web sites have had more than 100 million hits

in less than two days. It is almost the most popular Internet event ever, NASA

officials say. A new, high-speed Web address is now available. The Pathfinder Web

sites include a new 360-degree panoramic black-and-white image from Mars that you

can move around. Here are some addresses:

http://www, entertainment, digital, com/mars/JPL

http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov

http://mars.sig.com/

[The Orlando Sentinel, July 7, 1997, p A-5. ]

ROBOTIC NEIL ARMSTRONG TAKES A SPIN

Like a 2-foot geologist, NASA's Sojourner rover is tooling around a Martian desert in

an attempt to unearth the hidden history of a planet that once might have been warm

and wet enough to harbor life. With temperatures hovering around minus 5 degrees

Fahrenheit and a frigid breeze blowing from the southwest, the first motorized vehicle

ever to drive on another planet set out Sunday in search of rocks nicknamed Barnacle

Bill and Yogi. "She is the robotic equivalent of Neil Armstrong on Mars," rover

scientist Henry Moore said. "She is there with the same sense of gratitude and awe."

Astounded scientists, meanwhile, say the rover's mothership already is beaming back

proof that water -- a key ingredient in the recipe for life -- once gushed across the

freeze-dried plain where the Mars Pathfinder landed Friday. Under dusty salmon-pink

skies, the six-wheeled rover rolled off its mothership early Sunday, creeping out onto

barren Martin badlands known as Ares Vallis. Hours after it rolled down the ramp

from the Mars Pathfinder lander, the tiny rover began a new era of exploration of the

red planet. [Florida Today,, July 7, 1997, p 1A & 4A.]

July 7: REPAIR TOOLS READY TO ROLL INTO AILING MIR

The crew of Russia's space station Mir was to begin unloading precious cargo

overnight from a newly arrived supply ship filled with necessities for the damaged

outpost. It will take about two days to unpack the Progress spacecraft, which docked

131
successfully at Mir early Monday, putting the Russians on the track for the daunting

job of reviving the outpost. The ship also carried personal items for U.S. astronaut

Mike Foale, who will find a toothbrush, toothpaste and shoes among the 800 pounds

of supplies. The Russian spacecraft also delivered tools and equipment needed to

restore some of the electric power lost last month when another Progress supply ship

crashed into the station during a test of a new, manually operated docking system. In

contrast, Monday morning's docking was done with an automatic system that worked

flawlessly. [Florida Today, July 8, 1997, p 1A.]

July 8: HOUSE PANEL OKS $13.6 BHJ.JON FOR NASA

Following in the successful tire tracks of its Mars rover, NASA's budget request for

the next fiscal year cleared its own terrestrial hurdle Tuesday on Capitol Hill. The

House Appropriations Committee approved a fiscal 1998 spending bill providing the

civilian space agency $13.6 billion for operating its fleet of space shuttles, continuing

construction of the International Space Station and other activities. The total is $148

million more than NASA originally requested when the Clinton administration's budget

request officially was announced in February. However, it is a $61 million reduction

from the agency's current-year funding. It provides "full funding" for the shuttle and

space station programs as requested, said Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., chairman of the

VA-HUD appropriations subcommittee. Lewis credited NASA for being an example

of a federal agency that has adapted and thrived under leaner budgets. The measure

now goes to the House floor for approval. The Senate appropriations subcommittee

with jurisdiction over NASA's budget is expected to vote on its recommendations July

15. [Florida Today., July 9, 1997, p 2A.]

July 9: ROVER'S DISCOVERIES THRILL MARS MISSION SCIENTISTS

Now they're getting down to the nitty-gritty science. And for the scientists overseeing

NASA's Mars Pathfinder mission, the feeling is even better than the initial euphoria

that surrounded the probe's Fourth of July landing on the Red Planet. "The science is

just beginning, and day by day, the interpretation is getting more and more

sophisticated," Pathfinder scientist Peter Smith said Wednesday at NASA's Jet

Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. One area of interest is theories about the

origins of the first Martian rock that was studied this week by the tiny rover

dispatched from the Pathfinder lander. Researchers said the rock, which is speckled

with holes like Swiss cheese, likely was spit out by a volcano and carried to the site

by massive ancient floods. Those floods left behind larger boulders and a collection

of rocky treasures the rover, called Sojourner, might visit during its mission. The

surprises have the science team thrilled, project scientist Matthew Golombek said.

[Florida Today., July 10, 1997, p 1A.]

132
STS-94 FLAWLESS AS IT PASSES HALFWAY POINT

Shuttle mission STS-94 passed its halfway point Wednesday and Columbia's astronauts

are continuing around-the-clock efforts with experiments flown as part of the

Microgravity Science Laboratory payload. Commander Jim Halsell and Pilot Susan

Still have collected data with the Wireless Data Acquisition System (WDAS), a risk

mitigation experiment to gather orbiter cargo bay temperatures and monitor if payload

hardware is approaching thermal limits. Such real-time monitoring of thermal

conditions for exterior payloads may be required on the International Space Station,

and a system like WDAS could provide the support needed. [KSC Countdown, July

10, 1997.]

WEAK FLAMES REALLY COOL ON COLUMBIA

Scientists delighted in the uniquely weak flames burning aboard space shuttle

Columbia as the laboratory mission sailed past the halfway point of its 16-day mission

Wednesday. The flames could shed light on how to build more fuel-efficient, cleanerburning automobile engines, said Paul Ronney, a professor of mechanical engineering

at University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Columbia's astronauts are

igniting a variety of gases for Ronney's combustion experiment, including tiny

amounts of hydrogen and oxygen. Such small mixtures would not be flammable on

Earth, but in the weightlessness of space some of them burned for more than eight

minutes, NASA project scientist Karen Weiland said. Because heat does not rise in

weightlessness, it tends to stay around the flame, causing the flame to take the shape

of a ball, she said. [The Orlando Sentinel, July 10, 1997, p A-6.]

WILL THE PEOPLE ON MARS BE MAD

ABOUT REISER'S SONG?

The them song Mad About You, from the television series of the same name, was

transmitted by NASA scientists this week to "wake up" the Sojourner rover. Paul

Reiser, who wrote the song, is "totally bewildered and tickled" that his song made its

way to Mars. "When you're writing a song, you never think, 'Boy, this'll sound great

on Mars!'" Reiser said. [The Orlando Sentinel, July 10, 1997, p A-6.]

MERGING LAUNCH TEAM TRIMS JOBS

The merging of support service contracts at Patrick Air Force Base and Kennedy

Space Center next year could cost jobs in the short term, base officials said. But longterm prospects are far rosier as a result of the consolidation, with both agencies

becoming more competitive in the international commercial space launch race. "The

consolidation will make us more international competitive," said Ed O'Conner,

executive director of Spaceport USA, an independent state agency that promotes

commercial space. "Saving money is the same as increasing capacity." The contract

133
is valued at $250 million a year for 10 years, and covers services such as air

conditioning and ground maintenance and even some launch operations. The two

agencies are hammering out details, but if approved, the contract would be effective

Oct. 1, 1998. The contract would cover KSC, Cape Canaveral Air Station and certain

functions at Patrick. A request for proposals should be issued in March 1998, officials

said. KSC currently employs EG&G Florida for its services, which includes

everything from pulling wires and air conditioning services to launching rockets.

Patrick would eliminate 19 contracts during the next five years under the planned

merging of services. The Air Force pays about $100 million a year for its 19

contracts, while NASA pays a bit more, said Judy Casper of EG&G. Ken Winslette,

director of contract operations at Patrick, said Patrick shells out about $465 million

each year for contractor services overall. Casper said EG&G manages between 2,300

and 2,400 people, while the Air Force employs about 2,500 contracted workers. The

size of the new work force will be determined by the winner of the contract. Lt. Col.

John Martin, a Patrick spokesman, said the firm that wins the contract would make

personnel decisions, not the Air Force or NASA. The expectation is, however, that

some jobs would be lost. "Combining these requirements will almost certainly mean a

decrease in management staffs," he said. "However, it would be sheer speculation to

apply personnel numbers to this initiative at this point." Winslette said that if

government agencies want to remain competitive in the commercial launch market,

this type of consolidation is necessary. [Florida Today, July 10, 1997, p 4A.]

AXAF TELESCOPE_ SPACECRAFF

ON TRACK FOR INTEGRATION IN OCTOBER

TRW spacecraft engineers here are on track to integrate the huge x-ray telescope at the

business end of NASA's Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) with the allgraphite satellite bus that will move it around. Ed Wheeler, AXAF program manager

for TRW said the two large structures will be mated in October, shortly after Ball

Aerospace ships the orbiting observatory's instrument module from Boulder, Colo.

TRW has already reserved a special large-satellite carrier owned by Lockheed Martin

to ship the 10,000-pound, 46-foot spacecraft to Kennedy Space Center. AXAF is

down for launch aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on Aug. 28, 1998, with an inertial

upper stage attached to boost it into the highly elliptical orbit it will occupy to probe

the x-ray spectrum away from the blocking effects of the earth's atmosphere. In its

final, deployed configuration the AXAF will resemble the Hubble telescope, with solar

arrays spanning 64 feet. [Aerospace Daily, July 9, 1997, p 3. Aerospace Daily, July

11, 1997, p 10.]

July 10: SPEEDING ROVER COLLIDES WITH ROCK

The Mars rover hit the rock, named "Yogi" by space scientists, as it was backing up

and maneuvering itself to position its alpha proton X-ray spectrometer against a fiat

surface. It was moving too fast and its left rear wheel rode up on the rock. Its

134
onboaxd computers, sensing the collision, immediately brought it to a stop, said

Richard Cook, Mission Manager. [The Odando Sentinel, July 11, 1997, p A-6.]

CONTRACI'ORS ABANDON 'GYPSY' SITE

The future of the Joint Industry Press Center (abbreviated JIPC and pronounced

"gypsy") at Kennedy Space Center's press site is unknown. It's dosed. Carole Edson,

longtime JIPC manager, cleaned out its storeroom after STS-94's launch on July 1.

The JIPC began in the 60's for Apollo launches. Aerospace public relations reps

dispensed information mostly from Cocoa Beach motels. Janet Bonder, then with

Planning Research Corp., said that with NASA encouragement, "the contractors

decided to rent trailers to go outside the press dome," about three miles from the

Complex 39 launch pads. The first trailer, for STS-3 in March '82, was small. For

STS-5 in November, a double-wide trailer was in place. After the Challenger disaster,

the trailers were removed. In late 1988, the JIPC reopened in a fancy, modular facility

housing 20 contractors. The atmosphere was more formal. David Mandemack, with

Boeing's Rocketdyne Division, is president of the JIPC board. He said, "Our contract

with the management firm of CCI (Communications Concepts Inc.) ends July 17.

We're going to move in with NASA and become true gypsies in the press center.

"We'll change from 'Joint Industry Press Center' to 'Joint Industry Press Corps.' We'll

still call it JIPC. The JIPC is not going away, the building is." [Florida Today.,

Salamon, July 11, 1997, p 9A.]

July 13: SPACE MISSION ENCORES PLAY THIS WEEK

It's hard to top a week that featured a successful exploration of Mars, but this week in

space promises plenty of drama of its own. Sometime late Thursday (July 17), the

crew of the banged-up Russian space station Mir is expected to try a dangerous

spacewalk to repair damage caused during a June 25 collision with a cargo ship. The

Mars Pathfinder mission continues as the probe's rover seeks out rocks that could help

scientists determine whether the planet once could have been home to life. And not to

be forgotten, NASA plans to end shuttle Columbia's 16-day research mission with a

6:53 a.m. landing Thursday at Kennedy Space Center. "This is going to be another

busy week for us," said Bruce Buckingham, a NASA spokesman at Kennedy Space

Center. "Especially as we get to Thursday and have the Mir spacewalk and the

Columbia landing happening on the same day." Although the Mars mission riveted

the world last week, the Mir repairs will move to the center of attention because the

future of the 11-year-old station might hinge on the outcome. Mir lost nearly half of

its electrical power in the accident. NASA officials have said they might not send

more American astronauts to the outpost unless it can be fixed. [Florida Today, July

14, 1997, p 1A & 3A.]

135
July 14: HEART TROUBLE ABOARD MIR

Two cosmonauts are expected to rehearse a risky spacewalk aboard Russia's crippled

Mir space station, but the ship's commander is having heart problems that could stall

the vital repair job. Cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev told flight surgeons Monday that he

experienced an irregular heartbeat during a ride on an exercise bike and while trying to

sleep Friday. Tsibliyev, 43, blamed the problem on stress in the wake of a June 25

cargo ship collision that cut station power by half and severely damaged one of Mir's

six laboratories. "Will I be able to make the trip?" Tsibliyev anxiously asked a

Russian flight surgeon, referring to a spacewalk planned for Friday to try to restore the

station's power. The doctor prescribed more rest and sleep and told Tsibliyev not to

take any medication until his condition was more thoroughly diagnosed. Tsibliyev and

flight engineer Alexander Lazutkin plan to don bulky spacesuits Friday and squeeze

into the Spektr lab, which was punctured and depressurized when an 8-ton cargo ship

crashed into Mir. The two cosmonauts are to install a custom-made hatch that will

enable them to hook up power cables and route electricity from three undamaged

Spektr solar panels to the,rest of the outpost. The power cables were disconnected in

a scramble to seal off the Spektr lab after a breach in its hull threatened to suck all the

air from the aging station. U.S. astronaut Michael Foale will be stationed in a Soyuz

spacecraft during both the practice run and the real spacewalk repair job. [Flo_da

Today. July 15, 1997, p 1A & 6A.]

SHUTrLE EXPERIMENTS ON TRACK

Shuttle Columbia's astronauts spent Monday paving the way to NASA's planned

international space station while colleagues on the ground moved sistership Discovery

to its Kennedy Space Center launch pad. Circling 184 miles above Earth, Columbia's

crew pressed ahead with science experiments aimed at developing advanced metal

alloys and new medicine to flight human disease. A similar array of work is to be

carried out on NASA's $40 billion international station, which is to be raised in orbit

between mid-1998 and the end of 2003. Columbia's crew is carrying out 33 science

experiments in a trailer-sized cargo bay laboratory. Launched July 1 on a rerun of a

research mission cut short by a fuel cell failure in April, the crew is scheduled to land

back at KSC at 6:53 a.m. Thursday. Shuttle Discovery, meanwhile, made a 3.5 mile

move to its launch pad where the spaceship is being readied for a planned Aug. 7

launch on an ll-day space science mission. [Flolida Today., July 15, 1997, p 6A.]

July 15: MARS PATHFINDER WEB SITE

A preliminary analysis of Mars Pathfinder World Wide Web sites indicates a steady

stream of 45 million hits per day following the NASA spacecraft's landing on the Red

Planet July 4. On landing day, the KSC site alone covering the event took

approximately 2.5 million hits and has experienced to date about 14 million hits total

on Mars Pathfinder information. The primary KSC site is located at

136
http:// ww.ksc.nasa.gov/mars/default.html Between the transfer of video, photos, and

text, KSC has released around 228 terabytes of data on the Mars activities. The Mars

Pathfinder Project home page at http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/has 24 mirror sites

around the world to try to provide quick access to information to its global audience.

[KSC Countdown, July 15, 1997.]

NEW CREW MAY TAKE RISKY WALK

Crucial repairs to the Mir space station may be carried out by a fresh crew next month

to avoid saddling a possibly ailing Russian commander with the job. Or U.S.

astronaut Michael Foale could be pressed into service to do the dangerous work, which

will involve spacewalking into an airless laboratory to restore electricity to the power

starved station. That was the word from U.S. and Russian officials Tuesday as a dress

rehearsal for the repair operation abruptly was called off. "There is no date for the

practice and no date for the real thing because the Russians are currently giving

Tsibliyev time to rest," said NASA spokesman Rob Navias at Johnson Space Center in

Houston. [Florida Today, July 16, 1997, p 1A.]

PBS SPECIAL TRACKS SHUTI'LE PREPARATIONS OVER A YEAR

They're all men of science and sage. Experienced pilots, scholarly engineers and a

medical doctor. Now pit all their schooling against a 12-story spaceship that is fully

fueled and ready to carry them into orbit. Watch how science mixes with superstition

every time a U.S. space shuttle waits for its astronauts at Kennedy Space Center. "It's

almost like (the shuttle) is alive when you come out here on launch day," commander

Brian Dully says. Duffy led a five-man crew aboard shuttle Endeavour in 1996 on a

mission to retrieve a Japanese satellite. Before they left Earth, the astronauts led a

PBS crew through their year's worth of training for the flight. The results is

"Astronauts," which premieres today at 9 p.m. on PBS. The hour-long documentary

gives a whirlwind tour of the preparations for flight and a taste of the anxious

excitement that surrounds the mission. It also gives glimpses behind the scenes of

NASA life, where astronauts faithfully follow good-luck traditions on launch day

before getting strapped inside their ship. First there's the card game Possum's Fargo.

The shuttle commander must be dealt a losing hand. Then there's the formal send-off

from the KSC kitchen staff, who must be poised in their doorway to say goodbye

before the crew can leave. Lastly, there are the beans that family members and NASA

friends must eat once the crew is in orbit. No matter if it's 4 o'clock in the morning.

Dig in. But the superstitions aside, the film shows how the crew and their loved ones

put their trust in technology each launch day. Yet the film lets you see -- by sitting in

on wives' conversations -- that anxiety precedes every launch and landing. It also

gives an inkling of why the men and families put up with the risk. As astronaut Cady

Coleman said to rookie flier Koichi Wakata: "I feel like I know a secret. I've been to

a special place. When you ask all the people who've flown before what it was like,

they just get a certain look in their eyes. Now I know what they're thinking."

137
[Florida Today, July 16, 1997, p 1D.]

July 16: RUSSIA SIDELINES MIR COMMANDER

-- AMERICAN TO PREP FOR REPAIR JOB

Russian space officials Wednesday declared the commander of the Mir space station

unfit for a grueling repair job and said a U.S. astronaut would begin training to replace

him. However, NASA officials said it was premature to say astronaut Michael Foale

would participate in the delicate mission into the sealed-off Spektr module that was

punctured last month in a collision with a cargo ship. A decision likely would be

made within a few days. [The Orlando Sentinel, July 17, 1997, p A-1.]

HOUSE VOTES TO KEEP EXTRA MONEY

IN NASA BUDGET FOR STATION

House members agreed Wednesday to protect NASA from further financial setbacks

caused by Russia's inability to deliver crucial parts for the International Space Station.

By a vote of 227 to 200, lawmakers defeated an amendment to eliminate a $100

million contingency fund the space agency had requested as a financial fall-safe

against future Russian-caused delays to the $17.4 billion, multinational space station

project. The additional money will protect the fragile international partnership

involved in the space station's construction, said Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., chairman

of the Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies

appropriations subcommittee. For the first time since 1993, Rep. Tim Roemer, DInd., did not offer an amendment to cancel space station funding. [Florida Today, July

17, 1997, p 4A.]

LAUNCH OF NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE

OFFICE SATELLITE DELAYED

The launch of a National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite has been delayed

indefinitely after nitrogen tetroxide leaked from the Titan 4A booster that was to orbit

it. The U.S. Air Force said about 230 gal. of the fuel oxidizer leaked from the Titan 4

into holding tanks on July 16, forcing the evacuation of more than 40 people working

near Space Launch Complex 4 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The launch of the

reconnaissance payload, believed to be an imaging-type satellite, had already been

delayed a day due to a Titan inertial measurement unit (IMU) problem. The mission

is now on hold pending an investigation into the cause of the leak. Meanwhile, an

IMU problem has also delayed the Titan 4A launch of an NRO sigint/elint-type

satellite from Cape Canaveral until late-August. [Aviation Week & Space Technology,

July 28, 1997, p 48.]

138
July 17: SPACE SHUTrLE COLUMBIA LANDS

Space shuttle Columbia and its crew of seven returned to Earth in quiet triumph today

with a bounty of laboratory research on fire, metals and plants. NASA's oldest shuttle

soared through a clear, flushed sky and touched down just after sunrise at Kennedy

Space Center following a mission lasting 15 days and 16 hours. "Congratulations on a

perfect mission," Mission Control said after Columbia rolled to a safe stop. A crowd

of a few hundred gathered at the runway. The space shuttle landed on orbit 251

having traveled 6.2 million statute miles. After KSC ground crews complete sating

and post flight activities, Columbia will be transported to Orbiter Processing Facility

bay 2 later today. NASA mission manager Teresa Vanhooser said she wasn't

disappointed that the research was beaten in the news by the Mars Pathfinder and the

crippled Mir. "I'm sure that when the papers come out in all the scientific journals

that they'll get their due respect," she said. NASA's next shuttle flight: a research

mission by Discovery in August. [Marcia Dunn. (1997). Washington Past [Online].

Available: washingtonpost.com [1997, July 17]. Bruce Buckingham. (1997). Kennedy

Space Center Space Shutlle Status Report [Online]. Available E-mail:

domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [1997, July 17].]

ANOTEIER ERROR SPARKS SCARY DAY FOR MIR CREW

The crew of the hobbled Mir deepened their own trouble Thursday with a very downto-earth error, pulling the wrong plug and shutting down most of the space station's

already disabled power system. The mistake sent the Mir askew and on a dark,

twisting ride through space for hours, initially cut off from contact with Earth. Its

crew was forced to use the Soyuz escape capsule to steer the station until they could

begin to unravel the foul-up. The Mir is expected to be back in normal operation

today. [The Orlando Sentinel, July 18, 1997, p A-I&A-9.]

PATHFINDER ENGINEERS SOLVE SOFI'WARE PROBLEM

NASA engineers have solved the software problem that caused several resets of the

overloaded Mars Pathfinder computer and slowed transmission of pictures and other

data to Earth. The engineers will radio up the software change on Saturday, project

manager Brian Muirhead said Thursday. In the interim, they'll continue to have the

computer perform tasks one at a time, which so far has averted resets like those that

slowed down the project on July 10 and 11 and again early Monday, July 14. [Florida

July 18, 1997, p 2A.]

July 18: REPLICA BUILDER SPACF_ OUT

Years before astronauts live and work on the international space station, visitors to the

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center will walk through space-station replicas built by

a Central Florida company. Guard-Lee Inc., based north of Orlando near Apopka,

139
builds aviation replicas and has been awarded a nearly $1 million contract to

construction replicas of parts of the space station. Andy Hunold, exhibit coordinator

for NASA's Kennedy Space Center, said Friday that the exhibits will join other

displays at the visitor complex. "We certainly hope to have it by the end of the year,"

Hunold said. Guard-Lee earlier built a full-size replica of a space shuttle orbiter and

other displays for the NASA visitor center. It recently completed an Apollo capsule

for the HBO series From the Earth to the Moon, being filmed at Disney MGM-Studios

in Orlando. Construction on the real international space station, originally scheduled

to start this year, recently was postponed until 1998 as concems about Russia's ability

to pay its share increased. If the orbiting laboratory is completed around 2003 as

planned, it will stretch about the length of two football fields. Total cost is estimated

at $40 billion, with the United States contributing about $29 billion. More than a

dozen nations are participating. Delaware North Parks Services of Spaceport Inc.,

which operates the visitor center under contract with NASA, is paying for the replicas

as part of an expansion of the center. No NASA money is involved in building the

replicas. Delaware North consultant Hal Row said some of the replicas will be fullscale -- to show where astronauts will live, for example. The 10 replicas -- four of

them full-scale -- will be part of the Space Station and Future Enterprises exhibit, said

Tom Wilkes, vice president for operations for Guard-Lee. The exhibit will be

connected by a walkway to a building where components of the real space station will

be stored and worked on before being flown into space. [The Orlando Sentinel, July

19, 1997. p C-9.]

NASA STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF GENE SHOEMAKER

Planetary scientist Dr. Eugene ("Gone") Shoemaker, 69, was killed in a two-car

accident near Alice Springs, Australia, on the afternoon of July 18. His wife Carolyn

Shoemaker suffered broken bones and reportedly is hospitalized in stable condition. A

geologist by training Shoemaker is best know for discovering, with his Wife Carolyn

and colleague David Levy, a comet near Jupiter. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 was

broken up by tidal forces from Jupiter, and its fragments collided with the planet in

July 1994. Together, the Shoemakers were the leading discoverers of comets this

century. [NASA News Release #97-156, July 19, 1997.]

July 19: MIR CREW GETS DISAPPOINTING NEWS:

NEXT CREW TO DO REPAIRS

Mir's crew members got disappointing news from Earth on Saturday: They won't get a

chance to repair the seemingly jinxed Russian space station. Instead, the tricky fix-it

job will be left to a fresh Russian crew set to blast off next month, leaving the aging

Mir to creak along at half-power until then, Russian space officials said. [Florida

Today. July 20, 1997, p 6A.]

140
CASSINI CAMP EDUCATES PROTESTERS

With the launch date approaching, opponents of a plutonium-laden NASA probe will

descend on Brevard County this week to distribute information and demonstrate

against the Cassini mission to Saturn. Organizers estimate 100 people will take part in

the weeklong "Cassini Camp," which will culminate Saturday with a demonstration at

Cape Canaveral Air Station. During the week, activists will protest at the air station,

Kennedy Space Center and Patrick Air Force Base. They also plan to distribute

information door to door in the Port Canaveral and Cape Canaveral areas. The

opponents believe the flight is dangerous because the probe will carry 72 pounds of

plutonium inside protective canisters. Through the natural process of decay, the

plutonium generates heat that is converted into electricity to run Cassini's science

instruments during a four-year study of Saturn and its moons. Critics fear the

radioactive plutonium could be released in a launch accident or when Cassini zooms

by earth in August 1999, using the planet's gravity to help slingshot it toward its

distant target. NASA puts the chances at 1 in 1,490 that an accident could release the

plutonium during liftoff. Chances are less than 1 in 1 million that such an accident

could occur during the Earth flyby. [Florida Today, July 20, 1997, p 1B&2B.]

July 20: TALK ABOUT A SATELLITE CAMPUS...

The Astronaut Memorial Foundation -- A Kennedy Space Center-based education

facility -- is embarking on building a $1.2 million hands-on lab that will be a practical

prototype of future education. The classroom, which will include 150 interactive work

stations, will re-create space environments -- including Mars -- for students, teachers

and tourists visiting the center, said James DeSantis, foundation president. Preliminary

designs of the classroom in space show that students of varied ages will learn in podlike computer stations. The 150 stations will allow visitors to work on science, space

and math-related problems. It also will allow participants to access resources

throughout the world via the Internet. Plans to create "Classroom in Space" software

also would allow students at Kennedy Space Center to interact with others around the

world. [Florida Toda.y, July 21, 1997, p 1A.]

BUILDING LOVE NESTS FOR STORKS

Biologists are making a serious pitch to lure endangered wood storks to nest at the

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Biologists have built 25 artificial nests

around a restricted area of Moore Creek, hoping the refuge -- already a stork hangout -

- will become a viable rookery to help the birds recover from the brink of extinction.

The project is part of a more concerted effort biologists in the Southeast are making to

protect the birds, which were put on the federal endangered species list in 1984 and

are showing only limited signs of recovery. The threat of human interaction is a big

reason why Merritt Island Refuge officials want the birds to nest at secluded Moore

Creek -- which annually produced about 150 nests during the 1970s and much of the

141
1980s. In 1977, the site had 325 nests and 880 chicks, but there hasn't been a viable

rookery anywhere in the refuge since 1990. To lure the storks, they've stuck 25, 12-

foot wooden poles into the creekbeds and adorned the top of each with a 4-foot-wide

nest made of sticks -- more than big enough to hold two, 6-pound adults and their

young. In two of the nests, they've placed a pair of wooden decoys and planted six in

the shallows to represent feeding storks. Biologists say they think that if one pair

returns, a second, third and fourth will certainly follow, because the birds nest in

groups. [Florida Today, July 21, 1997, p 1A&2A.]

July 21: PATHFINDER TALKING TO NASA AGAIN

Communications between the Mars Pathfinder and NASA were restored Monday,

clearing the way for scientists to begin receiving data from the Red Planet for the first

time in two days. Relieved mission controllers replied to the lander's transmissions by

ordering it to begin sending the information with its low-gain antenna. A session

using the high-gain, or high-speed, antenna was to follow. Scientists had last received

a signal from the probe at 4 a.m. Sunday, and it was weaker than expected and

provided no science data. Then no signal was heard during a session scheduled for

three hours later. Both the lander and its rover, Sojourner, were believed to be healthy

said project Manager Brian Muirhead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in

Pasadena. The rover is still safely parked at a whitish rock nicknamed Scooby Doo.

[Florida Today, July 22, 1997, p 4A.]

CANAVERAL SEASHORE LOSES CHIEF

The Canaveral National Seashore superintendent will leave his post in September,

prompting U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon to accuse the Clinton administration of forcing out

Wendell Simpson for his stance against nudity at Playalinda Beach. National Park

Service officials announced Monday that Simpson applied for and was selected to

become the new superintendent at Natchez Trace Parkway, within the states of

Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. No replacement has been named. [Florida

Todd. July 22, 1997, p 1A.]

MOVIE EXTRAS THINK THEY MADE 'CONTACT

Nearly 230 people spilled into the Atlantic Cinema to catch a glimpse of much less

than 15 minutes of fame at the "contact" extras cast party. More than 1,000

Brevardians appeared as extras in the summer blockbuster starring Jodie Foster, said

Brevard Talent Group owner Tracey Danielle. Danielle was responsible for supplying

the movie's Kennedy Space Center backdrop with most of the extra talent. The movie,

which lasts 2 1⁄2 hours and opened July 1 l, was filmed partly on location at Kennedy

Space Center. However, the segments in which KSC appears are brief. [Florida

TodaY. July 22, 1997, p 1D.]

142
July 22: NUDISTS FEAR PLAYALINDA BAN ONLY THE START

Federal park rangers patrolling Brevard County's Playalinda Beach soon won't be able

to look the other way when nude sunbathers hit the shore. The Senate Appropriations

committee today is expected to approve a measure that prevents the U.S. Parks Service

from setting aside part of the Canaveral National Seashore for nude sunbathing. The

House last week overwhelmingly approved the measure, proposed by U.S. Rep. Dave

Weldon, R-Palm Bay, who said he merely wants the federal government to respect

Brevard County's anti-nudity ordinance. [The Orlando Sentinel, July 22, 1997, p A1.]

SHUTrLE HAS OUTLIVED USEFULNESS;

TIME TO REPLACE IT, OFFICIAL SAYS

NASA's workhorse space shuttle have served the country well, but now it's time to

replace them, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., said at a space symposium Tuesday.

The congressman, addressing a variety of space issues, also told the group NASA

should step back from planning a manned mission to Mars. "The shuttle is something

we can be proud of," the chairman of the House Space subcommittee said. "But it is

not a space transforation system we can afford. It is old technology, and it is time we

move on." NASA should invest more in fostering replacements, Rohrabacher said.

One such effort -- the X-33 "Venture Star" -- is being developed by Lockheed-Martin.

In fact, many want NASA out of the launch business, buying its launch services from

future private providers. But that is unlikely to happen soon. The agency's timeline

calls for the shuttle to remain NASA's primary delivery system through 20]2, officials

said. [Florida Today, July 23, 1997, p 4A.]

LOCKHEED MARTIN LAUNCHES FIRST GPS HR SATELLITE

The first Global Positioning System satellite built to the class IIR configuration was

launched late Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Air Station on a McDonnell Douglas

Delta II rocket. Liftoff came at 11:43 p.m. EDT, putting the satellite into its proper

orbit. [Aerospace Daily, July 24, 1997, p 5.]

July 23: MIR'S POWER COULD DECIDE U.S. PRESENCE

A decision on whether to send another American to the troubled Mir space station

hinges on whether the craft's damaged electrical system can be repaired, President

Clinton's top science adviser said Wednesday. Mir lost half its power after its Spektr

module was punctured in a collision with a cargo ship June 25. A new Russian crew

is being sent up to the station Aug. 5 to repair the damage. American astronaut

Michael Foale is expected to stay on Mir until mid-September when he is scheduled to

be picked up by shuttle Atlantis. His replacement, astronaut Wendy Lawrence, is to

be dropped off on that flight. A decision will be made by NASA after repairs are

143
made late next month whether to replace Foale or to simply bring him back to Earth.

[Florida Today, July 24, 1997, p 8A.]

July 24: KSC VISITOR COMPLEX GE-WS NEW NAME AND LOGO

The KSC Visitor Complex (KSCVC) recently unveiled a new logo as well as a name

change. "We've been calling ourselves the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center,"

says Rick Abramson, President and Chief Operating Office, Delaware North, "but we

didn't think the words 'visitor center' properly communicated the breadth of the

experience here. With the new logo came an opportunity to make a change. The new

logo has a crisp, modem and lively look that reflects the changes taking place at the

Visitor Complex." The Visitor Complex opened the $37 million Apollo/Saturn V

Center last December, and is currently constructing two new attractions slated for

openings in December 1997 -- the International Space Station Center and the Launch

Complex 39 Observation Gantry. The KSCVC is one of Florida's five most visited

attractions. [KSC Countdown, July 24, 1997.]

AUGUST 7 SELECTED FOR STS-85

SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION LAUNCH

Space Shuttle Program managers today set August 7 as the launch date for the next

Shuttle mission, to deploy and retrieve a science satellite and test a small robotic arm

identical to one that will be used on the International Space Station's Japanese

Experiment Module. The launch window for Space Shuttle Discovery extends for one

hour, 39 minutes from 10:41 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. EDT. Nominal flight duration is 10

days, 20 hours, 24 minutes, putting the landing on Monday, August 18, at 7:05 a.m.

EDT. Discovery's crew, made up of Commander Curt Brown, Pilot Kent Rominger,

Mission Specialists Jan Davis, Robert Curbeam and Steve Robinson and Canadian

Payload Specialist Bjami Tryggvason, will deploy the CRISTA-SPAS spacecraft for

nine days of free-flying atmospheric studies and demonstrate the operational capability

of the Japanese Remote Manipulator System and its Small Fine Arm. [NASA News

Release #97-159, July 24, 1997.]

SPACE STATION'S COST OVERRUNS AT $307 MIIJJON

NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin on Thursday tried to assuage skeptics concerned

with problems at both the crippled Mir space station and the International Space

Station that is under construction. Goldin conceded at a Senate hearing that $291

million in cost overruns at the new station had grown to $307 million in the month

since he last testified before Congress. And the red ink likely will continue to

increase for the next three to six months. But Goldin defended sending U.S.

astronauts to the beleaguered Mir. He said he will decide two days before the next

launch whether to send a U.S. astronaut aboard Mir, a Russian-owned orbiting sky lab

beset by technical problems lately. Goldin said the decision will be based on astronaut

144
safety and how much can be learned that will be applied to the International Space

Station. [The Orlando Sentinel, July 25, 1997, p A-4.]

July 25: SECOND U.S. SPACE STATION COMPONENT

BEGINS LAUNCH PREPARATIONS

The first of two pressurized mating adapters for the International Space Station arrived

today at the Kennedy Space Center from manufacturer McDonnell Douglas in

Huntington Beach, CA. A pressurized mating adapter is a cone-shaped connector that

will be attached to Node-l, the space station's structural building block, during ground

processing in Kennedy's Space Station Processing Facility. Node-1 with the adapter

attached will be the first element of the Station to be launched aboard the Space

Shuttle in July 1998. The mating adapter will be the connection point between Node -

1 and the U.S. financed, Russian-built Functional Cargo Block, which will be launched

from Russia as the first Station element to be placed into orbit, the adapter will house

Space Station computers and various electrical support equipment and eventually will

serve as the passageway for astronauts between the node and the cargo block. "PMA1 brings with it the computers that are the intelligence for the node," said Glenn

Snyder, Space Shuttle mission STS-88 payload manager. "We're looking forward to

testing with those computers." For processing at Kennedy, the adapter will undergo

initial acceptance testing. Then, in early September, it will be mated to Node-1 and a

series of integrated tests will be conducted. The second adapter, the final element of

the STS-88 mission, is expected to arrive at Kennedy this October. It also will be

attached to Node-1 in the processing facility. This second adapter will serve as a

Space Shuttle docking port during the construction and resupply of the Space Station.

The asymmetrical open-ended cone-shaped pressurized mating adapters are about

seven feet long, five feet in diameter at one end and nine feet in diameter at the other.

Each adapter consists of five individually machined and welded aluminum ring

forgings, thermal insulation blankets and 52 fittings for electrical connections. The

outer covering is a double-walled aluminum sheet to protect the adapters from strikes

by space particles. Space Shuttle Endeavour, carrying Node-1 with the two attached

adapters, is targeted for launch in July 1998, approximately two weeks after the

Functional Cargo Block is launched from Russia. [NASA News Release #97-160, July

25, 1997.]

ATLAS 2A LAUNCH SCRUBBED AFTER TECHNICAL GLITCH

A Lockheed Martin Atlas 2A rocket scheduled for liftoff Friday night was scrubbed

after a technical problem stymied mission controllers. They will try again tomorrow

(July 26). The launch window is 8:54 p.m. to 9:34 p.m. The rocket will carry a $100

million Japanese communication satellite into orbit. The problem involved the holddown release system, the part of the launcher which the rocket sits on top of. [Florida

Today. July 26, 1997, p 2A.]

145
July 26: 200 PROTEST CASSINI MISSION AT CAPE CANAVERAL

Their fear is that radioactive plutonium could be released when the Cassini mission to

Saturn is launched Oct. 6, either in a launch accident or when Cassini zooms by Earth

in August 1999, using the planet's gravity to help slingshot it toward its distant target.

About 200 protesters who camped out Saturday in front of Cape Canaveral Air Station,

first in searing heat and then under the shadow of a looming thunderstorm, hope to

rally public support for canceling the mission. While many of the demonstrators said

they do not oppose space exploration, they say they do resent being placed at risk.

[Florida Today, July 27, 1997, p 2B.]

ATLAS LAUNCH DELAYED AGAIN

The launch of an Atlas 2A rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Station was scrubbed

Saturday for the second time in as many nights. Thunderstorms were the culprit this

time, following Friday's scrub for a technical problem. The next attempt has been

scheduled for July 27, with a launch window of 8:53 p.m. to 9:34 p.m. The Lockheed

Martin Atlas 2A rocket is scheduled to lift the $100 million Superbird-C

communications satellite into orbit for Space Communications Corp. of Japan.

[Florida Today., July 27, 1997, p 4A.]

EAGLF_ SOON MAY COME OFF ENDANGERED LIST

The number of bald eagles nesting in Brevard County and Florida continued to rise

this spring. And that's part of the reason biologists for the first time are considering

taking the bird off the federal endangered species list. That would be a monumental

step for the bird, which faced extinction 30 years ago. The bald eagle became a

symbol for wildlife preservation when it was one of the first animals to be protected

under the federal act in 1973. This spring, 873 nests in Florida produced a record

1,216 fledglings. Brevard had a record 37 nests for the second consecutive year,

producing a record 49 fledglings. Although Florida's birds were not in as bad shape as

those in other states, they benefited from the protection. [Florida Today, July 27,

1997, p 1A.]

OFFICIAL: SEASHORE CHIEF WAS PROMOTED

Wendell Simpson, Canaveral National Seashore superintendent, is leaving the park

because he was promoted, not because of any back room political deal brought on by

controversy over nude sunbathing, a National Park Service spokesman said. A week

after the House passed legislation banning clothing-optional signs at Playalinda Beach,

the park Service announced last week that Simpson would be transferred to Natchez

Trace Parkway in Mississippi. The move is a promotion and nothing more, said Paul

Winegar, a spokesman for the National Park Service's Southeast Region. [Florida

Today. July 27, 1997, p 1A.]

146
July 27: ATLAS HAS L[FIS SUPERBIRD-C TO

SUPERSYNCHRONOUS TRANSFER ORBIT

A Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS booster launched Japan's Superbird-C communications

satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Station Sunday night after two earlier attempts over

the weekend were scrubbed, once for ground equipment problems and once for

weather. Liftoff came at 9:15 p.m. EDT, from Complex 36B, and the spacecraft

separated from the launch vehicle as planned 33 minutes later. Weighing 6,902

pounds at launch, it will join Superbirds A and B providing broadcast and business

communication across Asia. [Aerospace Daily, July 29, 1997, p 7. Aviation Week &

Svace Technolou, v, August 4, 1997, p 23.]

July 28: RUSSIANS THINKING ABOUT MIR'S RETURN TO EARTH

Even it is fixed next month, the crippled space station Mir eventually will fall back to

Earth. Russian officials are planning for that day and think they can keep people from

being hit by the remnants of the 154-ton station that will not bum up in the

atmosphere. But the Russians and NASA don't have a good track record controlling

space equipment that's coming down to Earth. In the past that has meant scares for

Australia, South America and Canada. Mir, which has a dead lab and has been

running on half-power since a June 25 collision with a resupply ship, is expected to be

abandoned in about two years when NASA gears up its international space station.

Once it is abandoned, Mir will run out of fuel and succumb to Earth's gravity. But

that day could happen much sooner if problems continue on the 11-year-old station.

Russia looked at dismantling the station while in orbit but decided it was easier to

guide it to Earth in one piece. Even though the planned international space station

isn't in orbit yet, NASA will be watching what happens with Mir. NASA will have to

deal with a similar problem decades from now when it will be the new station's turn to

fall back to Earth. "It will be a version of the same thing that's planned for Mir,"

NASA spokesman James Hartsfield said. [The Orlando Sentinel, July 29, 1997, p A4.]

RUSSIAN SPACE OFFICIALS GIVE MIR

COMMANDER MEDICAL OK

Russia's Mission Control lifted all medical restrictions Monday on the commander of

the Mir space station, whose heart problems helped delay needed repairs aboard the

orbiting spaceship. Commander Vasily Tsibliyev will continue to take some

medication, but is no longer restricted to low-stress physical activity, said Valery

Lyndin, a spokesman for the Russian Space Agency. The two Russian cosmonauts

aboard Mir prepared Monday for their Aug. 14 homecoming, while American

astronaut Michael Foale worked on scientific experiments. [Florida Today, July 29,

1997, p 6A.]

147
190 JOBS ELIMINATED AT KSC

EG&G Florida will lay of 190 workers at Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 5, company

officials said Monday. EG&G, which holds the base operations contract at Kennedy

Space Center, employs 1,700 workers and 500 sub-contract employees. The job cuts,

which are expected to affect both groups of workers, will be determined within the

next few weeks. Some reductions will be made through voluntary resignations, jobsharing and retirements. EG&G is making the reduction because of NASA budget

cuts. "During the past three fiscal years -- including fiscal 1998, which begins Oct. 1

-- our budget has been reduced by in excess of $20 million," company spokeswoman

Judy Casper said. "We were able to avoid layoffs during the past two years through

attrition and other means, but we can't do that for the coming year." The reduction is

unrelated to the planned merger of support service contracts at KSC and Patrick Air

Force Base next year, Casper said. That merger is expected to cause additional

layoffs. [Florida Today,, July 29, 1997, p 1A.]

July 30: WOLF REPLACES LAWRENCE ON NEXT MIR CREW

NASA pulled Astronaut Wendy Lawrence from her upcoming long-duration mission to

Mir because she cannot wear the Russian "Orlan" spacesuit that would allow her to

backstop her cosmonaut crewrnates on spacewalks to repair the crippled space station.

Astronaut David Wolf, Lawrence's backup, will take her place. Because Wolf has not

completed extravehicular activity (EVA) training at the Star City cosmonaut center

near Moscow, launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis mission 86 on its next trip to Mir

may be delayed about 10 days from its Sept. 18 target, NASA said. The Orlan suit

does not fit Lawrence, who was certified by her Russian trainers just yesterday for a

four-month stay on Mir. Frank Culbertson, head of the Shuttle/Mir portion of the

International Space Station program, said the shift was made because the June 25

collision between Mir and a supply capsule changed the mission requirements.

Culbertson, who is in Russia, told Lawrence of the "joint decision." The 38-year-old

Navy commander will make the September Shuttle flight to Mir with Wolf, and will

continue to train as his backup "in the unlikely event that she is needed," NASA said.

Wolf, a physician, was to have been launched to Mir in January as the station's final

U.S. crewmember. Pending further review, NASA still plans to exchange Wolf in

January with another astronaut, possibly Andrew Thomas. [Aerospace Daily, July 31,

1997, p 6. Aviation Week & Space Technology, August 4, 1997, p 17.]

BRUCE WILLIS TO FILM AT KSC

Bruce Willis is headed to Kennedy Space Center for filming his latest movie,

A rmageddon, sometime before the end of the year. In Armageddon, Willis plays an

oil driller blasted into space aboard a shuttle to blow up an asteroid before it smashes

into Earth and destroys humanity. The film's executive producer, Jim Van Wyck,

wowed NASA staffers Wednesday with a trailer for the film, featuring footage of

148
recent shuttle launches. He says they're trying to sign Sling Blade's Billy Bob

Thornton to play a retired NASA exec who comes back to help save the world.

Od_mdo Sentinel, July 31, 1997, p A-2.]

rThe

CANADARM DESTINED FOR KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

Spar technicians shipped Canadarm 303 to NASA's Kennedy Space Center July 30

from Spar's robotics facility. Arm 303, recently upgraded to handle heavier payloads

to support International Space Station assembly flights, was critical to the retrieval and

repair of Hubble Space Telescope in December 1993. Once received at NASA,

Canadarm will be installed on the Space Shuttle Columbia for its next mission, STS87 planned for November 19, 1997 where, among other experiments, it will be used to

deploy the Spartan 201, a Solar Physics Spacecraft designed to investigate the

behavior of the Sun's outer atmosphere (the corona) and the solar winds emanating

from it. [The Brevant Technical Journal, August 1997, p 16.]

July 31: ADVANCED COMPOSITION EXPLORER UPDATE

Stacking of the Delta II launch vehicle began earlier this week at Launch Complex 17,

as operations continue for the scheduled launch of the Advanced Composition Explorer

(ACE) spacecraft atop the rocket on Aug. 25. Stacking of the Delta first stage was

completed Tuesday (July 29), with the erection of the nine strap-on SRBs slated for

completion on Friday (August 1). Current plans are for the rocket's second stage to be

hoisted into the gantry and mated to the first stage on Saturday, Aug. 2. The scientific

goal of the 1,730 pound ACE observatory is to accurately measure the composition of

several different types of matter that come near the Earth from the Sun, from between

the planets and from the Milky Way galaxy beyond our solar system. Many of the

ACE instruments are at least 100 times more sensitive than any previously flown.

[KSC Countdown, July 31, 1997.]

MIR PREREQUISITE: SPACEWALKING

Only trained NASA spacewalkers capable of doing tricky repair work in a pinch are

likely to be considered for future U.S. missions aboard Russia's battered space station

Mir, officials said Thursday. That means astronaut Wendy Lawrence, who was

bumped this week from NASA's next Mir research mission, also stands to be shut out

of the agency's seventh and final tour of duty on the out-post in early 1998.

Lawrence, the 5-foot-3-inch Navy commander, was abruptly replaced Wednesday by

astronaut David Wolf because she had never trained for space-walking work and is too

short to wear bulky Russian spacesuits. The next Mir crew, which will arrive at the

crippled station Thursday, faces a series of six spacewalks, half of which will be

devoted to repairing the lab ruptured in a June 25 cargo ship crash and restoring power

lost in the collision. Wolf, 40, a medical doctor, has tallied 150 hours of spacewalk

training in the United States. The veteran astronaut also will be put through an

149
accelerated training program in Russia during the next month. The switch marked the

second time Lawrence has been removed from a Mir flight. In 1995, she was yanked

from training after she was deemed too short to fit into seats aboard the Soyuz

spacecraft parked at the station for emergency returns to Earth. [Florida Today.,

August 1, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

During July: NASA'S WORKHORSE REACHES OLD AGE

The key to successful use and exploitation of the low earth orbit area lies in keeping

the Space Shuttle system -- both the orbiting craft and the ground infrastructure which

supports them -- operational through the year 2012 and possibly a good deal longer.

And that is proving to be a job requiting a lot of planning and effort. The shuttle

orbiter were designed for an operational lifetime of 100 flights each. As of July 1,

1997, the high-time shuttles -- Discovery and Columbia -- each have flown 22

missions. Atlantis has flown 19, Endeavour 11 and Challenger 10, for a total of 84

orbital missions. With only six to seven flights now scheduled each year, it would

appear that there is a lot of life left in the shuttle. But appearances can be deceiving.

First, the number of missions planned per year is going to increase dramatically as the

International Space Station (ISS) development, construction and use grow. The first

ISS components now are scheduled to be launched in June, 1998, less than a year

away. Seven of the first 10 space flights in support of the ISS are to be made by the

shuttle orbiters. The number of flights by the shuttle orbiters, which totaled as few as

four or five per year as late as 1984, now is approaching seven flights per year. The

number of flights is expected to climb to eight to 10 per year by 2002 and on up to 15

per year by 2012. Since costs and the rate of launches of the shuttle orbiters are

linked, this will have a beneficial effect in reducing the cost of each flight. But it will

also begin to eat up the shuttle's design lives quickly. More importantly, much of the

equipment in the shuttle system -- both the orbiters and the ground infrastructure

which supports the flying portion -- is growing obsolescent, if not obsolete. Finally,

the Space Shuttle system is going to have new requirements imposed on it which will

require major changes as the new century gets underway. To prepare for this future,

which is expected to be both demanding and fast-paced, NASA has created the Office

of Space Shuttle Development, which is aimed at focusing attention on the future

needs of the space transportation system. William F. Readdy, manager of the new

office, said that major hardware upgrades will be needed on both the orbiters and the

support infrastructure, in order to ensure a man-rated space transportation system

which is safe, reliable and affordable. "The space shuttle system is the foundation of

human space flight right now," he said. "It is what allows us to build and utilize the

ISS and if we don't maintain a safe, reliable and affordable space shuttle system, then

we won't be able to do any of these other things. We are going to invest in the future

of the space shuttle. We expect to leverage the technology developed by the X-series

of research vehicles." [Launchspace Magazine, August/September 1997, p 28-31.]

150
X-38 MAKES FIRST CAPTIVE FLIGHT

NASA's first X-38 advanced technology demonstrator for the planned crew return

vehicle (CRV) has made its first captive carry flight on the space agency's B-52 carrier

aircraft. The test vehicle is designed to validate technologies required for future

emergency crew return capability from the International Space Station. Captive carry

research flight from Edwards AFB, Calif., are scheduled to be followed by unpiloted

free-flights of the X-38 from the B-52 beginning this fall. The X-38 is modeled after

the 1969-vintage Martin Marietta X-24A lifting body and built from fiberglass.

[Aviation Week & Space Technolo_(, August 4, 1997, p 16.]

151
AUGUST

August 1: AKERS TO RETURN TO U.S. AIR FORCE

Astronaut Tom Akers (Col., USAF) a four-time shuttle veteran and currently Assistant

Director (Technical) for the Johnson Space Center, has returned to the Air Force after

a 10-year career with NASA. Selected as an astronaut in 1987, Akers has

accumulated more than 800 hours of space flight, including 29 hours performing

extravehicular activities, or spacewalks. [NASA News Release #97-167, August 1,

1997.]

ROCKET PLANT DECISION ON HOLD

Brevard County and three other communities vying to be the home of McDonnell

Douglas' proposed Delta 4 rocket plant are entering another month of suspense. And

the waiting may not be over soon. When the four areas were selected in May as

finalists for the plant site, McDonnell Douglas officials said a decision would be made

by the end of July. But the aerospace company, which officially becomes part of The

Boeing Co. on Monday, still is poring over information about the four locations, trying

to determine which one will provide the most cost-effective rocket. Company officials

say they are not committing themselves to a specific timeline for an announcement.

[Florida Today, August 1, 1997, p 1A.]

LOST IN SPACE FOR 30 YEARS

If you've been to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex recently, you've probably

marveled at the sights of John Glenn's spacesuit, the take-you-breath-away IMAX

movies and the view of the space shuttle on the pad. That's a far cry from more than

30 years ago when the then-Cape Kennedy was only open to visitors for three hours

on Sunday and the tour consisted of driving around the Cape with a self-guided tour

book. Today, the Visitor Complex has grown into the Space Coast's premiere

attraction, with over 2.4 million visitors annually. To mark the complex's 30th

anniversary, the public is invited to two free concerts featuring country star Clay

Walker and Diamond Rio. The Visitor Complex began its history in 1964 when

NASA announced plans for the information center to be built on a 70-acre site on

spaceport property. The $1.2 million center began to take shape in 1965 with hopes

that three million tourists would visit each year. The first official bus tour got under

way on July 22, 1966, before construction on the center was complete. On Aug. 1,

1967, the visitor information center opened its door to the public, 14 months before

the first Apollo launch. Within a year, attendance reached 834,000. Since it opened

30 years ago, 50 million visitors have toured the site. [Florida Today, TGIF, July 25,

1997, p 16. Florida Today., August 1, 1997, p 4B.]

152
August 2: PATHFINDER AMBLES; PUBLIC AWED

Scientists estimated the Pathfinder lander and rover would remain operable for about

30 days on Mars, but no one really knows when the machines will stop working.

Scientists say eventually the extreme fluctuations of temperatures should cause

mechanical breakdowns. Temperatures range from highs of 80 degrees Fahrenheit to

lows of-199 degrees. Next up in NASA's interplanetary invasion force: the Mars

Global Surveyor spacecraft, which is scheduled to dip into orbit around the Red Planet

at 9:39 p.m. Sept. 11. Carrying replacements for six of eight instnunents lost with

NASA's Mars Observer in 1993, the $155 million global Surveyor is to map 99

percent of the planet's surface over two-years. Circling 235 miles above Mars, the

probe then will be converted into an orbital relay station, beaming back data from a

brigade of landers and rovers NASA plans to send to the Red Planet over the next 10

years. [Florida Today, August 2, 1997, p 2A.]

ANATOMY OF A SPACESUIT

Like a giant 250-pound jigsaw p,r.7.1e, the U.S. spacesuit is assembled from

components tailor-made for it by workers who do not see the final product except in

images broadcast from space. Eighty firms contribute to the $10.4 million suit,

officially called an extravehicular mobility unit, making parts as tiny as a one-eighthinch washer and as big as a 30-inch-long water tank. The extravehicular mobility unit

is used only when astronauts leave the shuttle for space walks and is not to be

confused with the flight suit, the orange jumper that astronauts wear in the shuttle

during missions. Even the company that oversees the subcontractors and assembly of

the suit, Hamilton Standard, does not see the pieces come together -- that happens at

NASA headquarters in Houston. NASA now has 17 complete spacesuits. Minus lifesupport systems, about 50 suits have been made. The white suit weighs 250 pounds

on earth and takes 15 minutes to don. It is equipped with a drink bag in the helmet, a

visor in case the sun is too bright and a camera to record the extravehicular activity.

Because space work and walks can last seven hours, the suit is also equipped with a

urine collection device to allow for a bathroom break. All parts are American made.

[Florida Today, August 3, 1997, p 5E & 6E.]

KSC VISITOR COMPLEX THROWS A PARTY

Some 15,000 people visited the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Saturday

as the center celebrated its 30th anniversary. As part of its community appreciation

celebration, the center sponsored a free concert Saturday by the nationally known

country and western band Diamond Rio. Music fans relaxed in front of the Rocket

Garden as Diamond Rio performed. Dan LeBlanc, director of marketing for the

Visitor Complex, said they were pleased with the turnout. Most of the concertgoers

began arriving about the time most tourists were leaving, so there was no need to go

into overflow parking, he said. [Florida Today, August 3, 1997, p 1A.]

153
August 4: NASA SE_ ISO 9001 REGISTRAR

NASA has selected a third-party registrar, Det Norske Veritas Certification, Inc. (DNV

Inc.) located in Houston, TX, to provide detailed compliance audits of NASA's Ames

Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet

Propulsion Laboratory, Kennedy Space Center, Langley Research Center, Lewis

Research Center, Stennis Space Center and NASA Headquarters. This selection is a

key milestone in moving towards NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin's challenge to

have the Agency ISO 9001-certified by September 1999. ISO 9001, "Quality Systems

- Model for Quality Assurance in Design, Development, Production, Installation, and

Servicing," is an international standard for quality management systems that has been

accepted by over 100 countries around the world. NASA is the first federal agency to

commit to ISO 9001 certification. Once certified, NASA will demonstrate its

commitment to excellence in aeronautics and spaceflight technology, as well as in

internationally accepted quality management practices. [NASA News Release #97-

168, August 4, 1997.]

NEW BOEING MARKS FIRST DAY OF OPERATION

Boeing Co., having completed its acquisition of McDonnell Douglas Corp. on Friday,

today marked its first day of operation as a single, $16 billion company of 220,000

employees. [Aerospace Daily, August 5, 1997, p 2.]

INAUGURAL "QUALITY DOLLAR AWARD"

PRESENTED TO EG&G/NASA TEAM

KSC Director Roy Bridges unveiled and presented his first Quality Dollar Award -- a

gold coin and framed certificate -- to the EG&G/NASA Maintenance Management

Team. The "gold dollar" award is presented to individuals or teams that make

significant contributions to continual process improvement, demonstrate model

behavior or use innovative approaches to ensure customer satisfaction. At the

presentation, Mr. Bridges said "I hope you will be a model for others to follow both in

teamwork and in the thought you have put into the project." The 18 member

EG&G/NASA Maintenance Management Team worked toward sustaining the

availability and reliability of facilities and utilities in a cost effective manner through

the use of Reliability Centered Maintenance. The team employed a new process to

transition from a reactive maintenance culture to one that promotes proactive

maintenance based upon facility condition tending. Since the program began, the team

estimates a $250,000 cost savings and $1 million cost avoidance. Mr. Bridges also

announced a silver dollar award that directors will have the authority to present. [KSC

Countdown, August 5, 1997.]

154
STS-85 LAUNCH COUNTDOWN BEGINS

The countdown for launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on the Cryogenic Infrared

Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA-SPAS) mission began

yesterday at 3 p.m. at the T-43 hour mark. The KSC launch team will conduct the

countdown from Firing Room 3 of the Launch Control Center. The countdown

includes 24 hours and 41 minutes of built-in hold time leading to the opening of the

launch window at 10:41 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 7. At press time there was a 60%

chance of favorable weather conditions at the opening of the 1 hour, 39 minute launch

window. The STS-85 crew are: Commander Curtis Brown, Pilot Kent Rominger,

Mission Specialists Jan Davis, Robert Curbeam and Stephen Robinson, and Payload

Specialist Bjarni Tryggvason of the Canadian Space Agency. [KSC Countdown,

August 5, 1997.]

WALLOPS LAUNCHING BALLOONS AND ROCKETS

TO SUPPORT SPACE SHUTI'LE PAYLOAD

A flurry of launch activity will occur on the Eastern Shore of Virginia over the next

two weeks as personnel from the NASA Goddard Space Flight center's Wallops Flight

Facility, Wallops Island, VA, launch a total of 67 balloons and rockets taking

atmospheric measurements in support of the STS-85 Space Shuttle Mission.

Beginning August 4 and concluding August 22, Wallops' personnel will launch 33

each meteorological balloons and rockets and one solid rocket in support of the

primary payload on mission STS-85, the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and

Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite-2 (CRISTA-SPAS-2). Space

Shuttle Discovery and a 6-person crew are scheduled to begin a 10-day mission with a

planned launch from the Kennedy Space Center, FL, on August 7 at 10:41 a.m. EDT.

[NASA News Release #97-12, August 6, 1997.]

August 5: PARKER NAMED NEW DIRECTOR OF

JPL MANAGEMENT OFFICE

Dr. Robert Parker has been selected as the new director of the NASA Management

Office at the Jet propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA, NASA's Associate

Administrator for Space Science, Dr. Wesley T. Huntress Jr., announced today.

Currently director of Space Operations and Utilization in the Office of Space Flight at

NASA Headquarters, Parker, 60, is a former astronaut who flew aboard Space Shuttle

mission STS-35 in December 1990 and STS-9 in November 1983. [NASA News

Release #97-169, August 5, 1997.]

MIR 23/NASA 5 STATUS REPORT

Two Russian cosmonauts comprising the Mir 24 crew headed for a six-month stay on

the Russian space station Mir today, blasting off on time from the Baikonur

155
cosmodrome in Kazakstan in their Soyuz TM-26 capsule. Veteran Commander

Anatoly Solovyev and Flight Engineer Pavel Vinogradov were launched at 11:36 a.m.

EDT, twilight at the Central Asian desert spaceport. [NASA Phase 1 Status, August 5,

1997.]

August 7: SHUTTLE CREW WASTES NO TIME

GZITING EXPERIMENTS STARTED

Space shuttle Discovery blasted off from Kennedy Space Center at 10:41 a.m. Launch

went smoothly with only weather worrying launch officials. It was a record 10th

straight time NASA has launched a shuttle on the first try, a streak going back to May

1996. The STS-85 crew released the German CRISTA-SPAS free-flyer satellite

deployed from the shuttle's cargo bay at 6:27 p.m. EDT. Deploy of the satellite was

delayed by approximately 30 minutes due to a problem in the command link buffer for

uploading commands to switch on the spacecraft. Mission controllers solved the

buffer problem and deployed the spacecraft 7 hours and 46 minutes after the shuttle's

launch from Kennedy Space Center. CRISTA-SPAS has been activated and both

primary instruments on the spacecraft have begun taking science. CRISTA will study

how chemicals react in the atmosphere to affect the ozone layer, which protects Earth

from harmful ultra-violet rays. The satellite will be recaptured August 16. The flight

is scheduled to last for 11 days. [The Orlando Sentinel, August 8, 1997, p A-1 & A12. NASA SPAS Status Report No. 1, August 8, 1997.]

ICELAND RALLIES AROUND NATIVE SON

Shuttle Discovery payload specialist Bjarni Tryggvason was only a tot when he and

his family left their native Iceland for Canada. Though Tryggvason, 51, has long

since become a Canadian citizen and astronaut, that has hardly dampened the pride of

the remote Scandanavian nation's 270,000 residents. "We don't claim him as our own

-- we share him with Canada -- but the icelandic settlement in Canada has always been

very strong," said Iceland's president, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, who made the trip to

Kennedy Space Center on Thursday morning to see Tryggvason off. "It's very big.

It's the story in Iceland," Grimsson said. "We are a nation of discoverers and settlers,

and we see it as a continuation of the great Viking tradition." The first current or

former Icelander in space, Tryggvason's journey comes almost 1,000 years after Leif

Ericson's journey to the North American continent. The nation of Iceland was created

by Vikings who sailed in search of new land. [Florida Today, August 8, 1997, p

IOA.]

TINY LEAKS MAY DELAY SPACE PROBE

Several tiny leaks have sprung up in the rocket that is supposed to launch NASA's

controversial plutonium-carrying Cassini space probe in October. The discovery could

delay the Cape Canaveral launch until 1999. In a test Thursday, the U.S. Air Force

156
discovered several leaks when the rocket's upper-stage booster was loaded with fuel.

Engineers will spend the next several days trying to find and seal the leaks, Air Force

spokesman Lt. Col. John Martin said Thursday. He said the rocket still may be ready

for its Oct. 6 launch date. NASA would like to launch the Titan rocket carrying

Cassini by Nov. 5. But the $1.2 billion-dollar probe, which will head to Saturn, could

be launched on a longer and slower route to Saturn between Dec. 1 and next Jan. 4.

The next opportunity to launch toward Saturn isn't until March 1999, said NASA

spokeswoman Mary Beth Murrill. [The Orlando Sentinel, August 8, 1997, p A-12.]

August 8: MIR REPAIR CREW LOOKS THINGS OVER

Two newly arrived cosmonauts checked out the banged-up Mir on Friday, knowing

that the future of the Russian space station depends on the success of their risky repair

mission. Russia's troubled space program, meanwhile, got a boost when President

Boris Yeltsin ordered the government to borrow nearly $100 million from foreign

banks for the national space agency. Mir's replacement crew, whose Soyuz TM-26

capsule docked Thursday (Aug. 7) night, will try to salvage the breakdown-prone 11-

year-old station, running on half power and with one of its six modules sealed off.

The outgoing Russian crew -- Vasily Tsibliyev and Alexander Lazutkin -- showed new

arrivals Anatoly Solovyov and Pavel Vinogradov around the space station Friday in

preparation for handing over control. The crews will overlap a week. Also on board

is U.S. astronaut Michael Foale, who is scheduled to return home in the fall.

Thursday's docking, though successful, did not go according to plan. Solovyov, a

veteran of four Mir missions, was forced to override the automated docking procedure

and bring the Soyuz in manually for the final 42 feet. [Florida Today, August 9,

1997, p 7A.]

MARS MISSION '100 PERCENT SUCCESS_' NASA SAYS

Wrapping up Pathfinder's primary 30-day mission, National Aeronautics and Space

Administration scientists Friday declared the space agency's return to the Red Planet

after 20 years a "100 percent success." Pathfinder's success "proves that future rovers

don't have to be pickup trucks to do good science," Mars program manager Donna

Shirley said after a news briefing at pasadena's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. During the

past 30 days, Pathfinder has taken nearly 10,000 images of the Red Planet, covered

more than 50 yards of territory -- including a complete circumnavigation of the lander

-- and sent back millions of weather readings. With more than 566 million hits on the

World Wide Web, the mission also became "the largest internet event in the history of

the world," project scientist Matthew Golombek said. [Florida Today, August 9, 1997,

p 7A.]

ROBOT ARM HAS BUMPY FIRST TEST

The five-foot-long Japanese robot arm similar to one destined for the proposed

157
International Space Station got off to a rocky debut Friday when astronauts Steve

Robinson and Jan Davis put it through initial tests. "As with any first-time flier on the

shuttle, it's a learning experience every step of the way," mission flight commentator

Ed Campion said. At different times Friday, systems on the arm that were supposed

to work together would get into a conflict, causing the arm to move improperly.

NASA officials were forced to delay until later in the mission its primary tests:

Loosening and tightening a pair of bolts and opening and closing a door. [Florida

Today. August 9, 1997, p 7A.]

SPACE PROBE BACK ON TRACK

The launch of NASA's plutonium-carrying Cassini space probe is back on schedule.

Air Force engineers isolated two small leaks in an upper stage booster of the rocket

that will carry Cassini. The leaks should be fixed quickly and easily, Lt. Col. John

Martin said Friday. The leaks turned out to be routine trouble with a poorly fitting

seal. The Titan rocket is scheduled to launch the $1.2 billion Cassini toward Saturn

on Oct. 6. [The Orlando Sentinel, August 9, 1997, p A-21.]

August 10: ARE COMETS BOMBARDING THE EARTH?

Early results from the ozone-watching satellite released by space shuttle Discovery

appear to support a theory that Earth is being bombarded daily by thousands of housesize comets, a scientist said Sunday. The free-flying, German-built satellite released

Thursday has detected much more water vapor in the upper atmosphere at northern

latitudes than current theories predicted, Robert Conway of the Naval Research

Laboratory said. One possible explanation is that the Earth is being pelted by snowball-like mini-comets that release large clouds of water vapor into the atmosphere.

Louis Frank, a space physicist at the University of Iowa, was ridiculed by the

scientific community when he first proposed the controversial comet theory in a

scientific journal in 1986. Frank's theory was backed up this May by new data from a

NASA satellite, which appears to show the Earth is being bombarded by between five

and 30 small comets every minute. [Orlando Sentinel, August 11, 1997, p A-5.]

August 12: AMERICAN EXPRESS AWARDED

TRAVEL SERVICES CONTRACT

American Express Government Services has been awarded NASA's Travel Services

Contract and will assume their new responsibilities effective Aug. 30. [KSC

Countdown, August 12, 1997.]

STS-85 KSC CRISTA-SPAS STATUS REPORT

The ASTRO-SPAS carrier continues to perform well and today passed the 1,000-hour

mark of cumulative time logged in space for all the missions it has flown. The

158
CRISTA and MAHRSI instruments continue to record high quality data of the Earth's

atmosphere. [NASA SPAS Status Report No. 4, August 12, 1997.]

SATELLITE SIDESTEPS COLLISION WITH JUNK

A satellite dropped into orbit by shuttle Discovery dodged a 500-pound piece of space

junk that came close to the craft and could have destroyed it, NASA officials said

Tuesday. The near miss involved an ozone-monitoring satellite and an old rocket

motor, which passed within 1 1⁄2 miles of each other. The German built satellite was

trailing Discovery by 51 miles at the time of the Monday night incident, and the

rocket motor came no closer to the shuttle than 50 miles, officials said. The old motor

was used in the unsuccessful launch of a communication satellite that was carried up

on the shuttle Challenger in 1984. Discovery's astronauts plan to retrieve the satellite

Saturday and bring it home when the shuttle lands Monday. [Florida Today, August

13, 1997, p 2A.]

August 13: DESPITE HIGHER FEES_ VISITORS FLOCK

TO U,S. NATIONAL PARKS

At Canaveral National Seashore, the number of visitors through the first six months of

the year was down 4.3 percent from last year. Last year, 784,623 people had visited

the seashore through June 30, compared with 751,096 so far this year. The seashore

started collecting an entrance fee April 26. [Florida Today, August 14, 1997, p 5A.]

AFTER ROUGH DUTY_ COSMONAUTS

CAN ENJOY BIG PAY DAY

The Russian space program has an elaborate bonus system than includes not only

general hazardous-duty pay, but specific payments for such tasks as spacewalks and

manual dockings. By switching from the automated docking system to manual,

cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyov should pocket an extra $1,000 when he returns to Earth

in 6 1⁄2 months, according to the Russian daily Kommersant, one of several Russian

news outlets that have reported specific amounts. The average pay for cosmonauts is

about $3,000 per month in orbit. The new Russian crew, Solovyov and Pavel

Vinogradov, could earn as much again in bonuses and finish their mission with a

$40,000 paycheck, media reports say. The bonus money is in performing up to six

spacewalks and vital repair work on Mir's damaged Spektr module. NASA astronauts,

who are considered U.S. government employees, earn between $48,000 and $103,000 a

year, depending on their years with the government and past promotions. Astronauts

on Mir receive only their regular 40-hour-a-week pay -- no overtime, eomp time or

bonuses, according to NASA spokeswoman Eileen Hawley. [Florida Today, August

14, 1997, p 6A.]

159
ROBOTIC ARM CONTINUES TO HAVE PROBLEMS

Taking over from astronauts, ground controllers Wednesday put a small robotic arm

aboard shuttle Discovery through a series of movements even though problems again

plagued the $100 million instrument. The problem is thought to reside not in the arm

itself, but in a system of laptop computers aboard Discovery that links the arm with

the ground commands. Similar hang-ups happened during earlier tests. Scientists are

flying the arm in hopes of working out glitches before a similar model goes to work

aboard the $40 billion international space station. [Florida Today, August 14, 1997, p

6A.]

August 14: FORMER NASA OFFICIAL RECEIVES

GUGGENHEIM MEDAL

Abe Silverstein, a leading figure in 20th century aerospace engineering and a former

NASA center director, was presented today the prestigious Guggenheim Medal by

representatives from the Guggerdaeim Medal Fund and the American Institute of

Aeronautics and Astronautics. Silverstein's citation praises his "technical contributions

and visionary leadership in advancing technology of aircraft and propulsion

performance, and foresight in establishing the Mercury and Gemini manned space

flight activities." He was Director of NASA's Lewis Research Center from 1961-1969.

[NASA News Release #97-177, August 14, 1997.]

RUSSIANS BACK FROM DIFFICULT MIR STINT

Two Russian cosmonauts who spent six months on the Mir space station landed safely

in the steppes of Kazakstan on Thursday after one of the toughest missions in the

history of manned space flight. The blackened Soyuz capsule, dangling beneath a

huge white and yellow brake parachute, floated smoothly down to the barren Kazak

steppe land about 4:20 p.m. Moscow time (8:20 a.m. EDT), slightly behind schedule.

[The Orlando Sentinel, August 15, 1997, p A-16.]

DISCOVERY CREW GETS READY TO

RETRIEVE GERMAN SATELLITE

Shuttle Discovery's astronauts will begin chasing down a German science satellite

today while ground engineers investigate minor damage to the rocket boosters that

helped propel the ship into space. Speeding along about 17,500 mph, Discovery

commander Curt Brown will fire onboard thrusters and begin closing a 40-mile gap

between the shuttle and the 7,700-pound atmospheric research satellite. The 180-milehigh maneuvers will set the stage for the planned Saturday retrieval of the satellite,

which has been flying in formation with Discovery since the crew deployed it seven

hours after an Aug. 7 launch. Back on Earth, engineers reported that hot gasses

carved seven to 10 shallow trenches in insulation lining the inside of the bell-shaped

160
nozzle of one of the two solid rocket boosters that helped propel Discovery into orbit.

NASA officials said the damage didn't endanger Discovery's crew and isn't expected to

delay the planned late September launch of Atlantis to Russia's space station Mir. The

damage "is so slight in that it's hardly noticeable," said June Malone, a spokeswoman

for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. [Florida Today, August

15, 1997, p 2A.]

August 16: SPACEWALK A GAMBLE NASA_ BETTING ON

Two months after the worst orbital collision ever, the most monumental repair job in

the history of space exploration is about to begin. And for Russia's once-vaunted

manned space program, the stakes are high. The future of Mir, the world's only space

station and a crucial money-maker for the cash-strapped former Soviet Union, is on the

line. Veteran Mir commander Anatoly Solovyov and first-time flyer Pavel Vinogradov

must restore enough electricity to make foreign research trips worth the investment.

And they're also being asked to tackle an unprecedented job: finding and sealing holes

in the Spektr science module, which houses 50 percent of U.S. experiments on Mir, so

the battered lab can be reopened for business. The repair effort is to begin at 5:25

a.m. EDT Wednesday (August 20) as Solovyov, who is the world's most experienced

spacewalker, and Vinogradov don spacesuits and open the sealed hatch to the now

airless and darkened spektr module. Solovyov, 49, will act as an orbital electrician on

his 10th spacewalk. Vinogradov, 43, will shine the flashlight over his partner's

shoulder. The idea is to hook up power cables that had to be disconnected after the

crash so the lab's hatch could be sealed before all breathing air on Mir was lost. The

cables are to be routed to a new hatch equipped with electrical connectors. Extension

cords then will be put in place so power can be relayed to the rest of Mir. U.S.

astronaut Michael Foale will be inside a Soyuz spacecraft that would be used to

abandon ship and return to Earth if something went badly wrong. The job is expected

to take four hours to complete. [Florida Today, August 17, 1997, p 8A.]

August 17: SHUTTLE CREW PACKS FOR RETURN HOME

With their experiments nearly completed and an environmental satellite safely back in

the cargo bay, the crew of space shuttle Discovery will spend today preparing the

orbiter for its Monday morning return home. NASA spokesman James Hartsfield said

weather conditions are favorable for Monday's landing at Kennedy Space Center,

scheduled for 7:14 a.m. [Florida Today, August 17, 1997, p 1A.]

PATHFINDER STOPS COMMUNICATING

Communication between Earth and Mars Pathfinder was cut off after only three

minutes of data downloading with no immediately know cause. NASA, which lost

communication with the Pathfinder late Saturday (Aug. 16), hoped to learn what

caused the disconnection during a four-hour download session scheduled for late

161
Sunday, said flight director Rob Manning at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The crew

communicates with Pathfinder and the rover through the Deep Space Network

antennas on Earth. [Florida Today, August 18, 1997, p 3A.]

COMPUTER ERROR DELAYS MIR DOCKING

A new misfortune befell the battered Mir space station Sunday when officials put off

its planned docking with the Progress supply ship for a day, citing a malfunction in an

on-board computer. NASA quoted Russian flight controllers as saying the computer

on Progress shut itself down as a safety precaution when it received conflicting

commands from the ground. Officials at the Mission Control Center outside Moscow

said the latest trouble posed no danger to those aboard Mir, two cosmonauts and

American astronaut Michael Foale. [The Orlando Sentinel, August 18, 1997, p A-4.]

August 18: FAULTY FORF_AST EXTENDS MISSION

The space shuttle Discovery's landing plans were lost in the non-existent fog Monday.

So NASA will try again today at 7:08 a.m. The weather at Kennedy Space Center

looked good Monday morning. Astronaut Ken Cockrell flew a plane over the landing

strip several times and found virtually no clouds or fog. He told mission control it

was clear enough for a shuttle to land. But at Johnson Space Center in Houston, more

than 1,000 miles away from KSC, meteorologists forecasted that ground fog would

develop. About 75 minutes before the shuttle was supposed to land, mission control

told Discovery Commander Curt Brown to stay up in space another day. Officials at

KSC, which has its own weather forecasters, went outside at the scheduled 7:14 a.m.

landing time and looked for fog. They couldn't find any. It was crystal clear. "There

was a chance that ground fog was going to build," Johnson spokeswoman Eileen

Hawley said. She said meteorologists had to make a call more than an hour in

advance. It was the first time this year that a shuttle didn't land on the day it was

scheduled. [The Orlando Sentinel, August 19, 1997, p A-9.]

IT HAPPENED: THINGS GOT WORSE ON MIR

Just when it seemed impossible for conditions to get any worse on Mir, the Russian

space station's main computer failed Monday, leaving the crippled outpost tumbling for

three hours with many of its systems shut down to save power. The problem will

delay a crucial internal spacewalk to restore most of the power lost during a June 25

crash with a robot supply ship. The spacewalk into the dead Spektr module was

scheduled for Wednesday but will happen no earlier than Friday, NASA spokesman

Rob Navias said. It will take at least a day or two to restore power to the minimal

level that Mir was operating on before the computer failed, NASA officials said. The

station was stabilized later in the day and is orientated to the sun. The three-man crew

is safe, NASA and Russian officials said. [The Orlando Senfnei, August 19, 1997, p

A-1 & A-9.]

162
ATLANTIS ROLLS OUT TO PAD 39A

The Space Shuttle Atlantis rolled out to launch pad 39A at about 2 a.m. today and was

hard down at 8:30 a.m. The Rotating Service Structure was rolled around Atlantis at

about 11 a.m. Main engine flight readiness testing begins tomorrow. The Spacehab

payload is slated to join the orbiter at the pad Aug. 28. [Bruce Buckingham. (1997).

Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle Status Report [Online]. Available E-mail:

domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscfibe shuttle-status [1997, August 18].]

August 19: DISCOVERY RETURNS HOME AT DAWN

The shuttle orbiter Discovery lands at dawn at the Kennedy Space Center Aug. 19

after a forecast of fog kept the shuttle Mission 85 crew aloft for an extra day. Mission

commander USAF Lt. Col. Curt Brown, Jr., and copilot Navy Cdr. Kent Rominger

piloted Discovery on a reentry ground track from a 138-naut.-mi., 57-deg. orbit

northward up the South Pacific across Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula to a landing on

Kennedy's Runway 33. During the last half of the 12-day mission, the flight obtained

an extra day of ground command tests with a new Japanese robotic arm. During

retrieval of the flight's German Crista-Spas satellite, the crew piloted the orbiter on

rendezvous simulating an approach to the new International Space Station. The

Mission 85 crew also used the Spas on the arm to simulate procedures that will be

used to grapple and maneuver the Russian FGB spacecraft during the first

shuttle/station assembly flight planned for launch in mid 1998. [Aviation Week &

Smace Teehnolo2v, August 25, 1997, p 16.]

ADVANCED COMPOSITION EXPLORER

TO BE LAUNCHED AUG. 24

The launch of NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) aboard a Boeing Delta

II rocket is scheduled for Aug. 24. Lifioff is targeted to occur at the opening of a

launch window which extends from 10:41 - 11:06 a.m. EDT, a duration of 25 minutes.

Launch will occur from Pad A at Complex 17 on Cape Canaveral Air Station. ACE,

built for NASA by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, is a

spin-stabilized spacecraft having a combination of nine sensors and instruments. The

spacecraft will orbit the Libration Point, a location 900,000 miles from Earth where

the gravitational effects of the Sun and Earth are balanced. ACE will give scientists

information about the formation of solar corona, solar flares, the acceleration of the

solar wind and the Sun's effect on the near-Earth environment. [NASA News Release

#143-97, August 19, 1997.]

NASA/INDUSTRY TEAM SCORES BIG WITH

DUAL-USE TECHNOLOGY

A partnership between Kennedy Space Center, the State of Florida and manufacturer

163
L-3 Communications Telemetry & Instrumentation will deliver a new system that

enhances Shuttle launch preparations and promises commercial applications as well.

On Aug. 22 at the KSC Visitor Complex, L-3 Communications will present the

finished product to KSC Director Roy Bridges and other managers. The new

Automated Data Acquisition System (ADAS) will save up to 20,000 man-hours per

year while monitoring temperature, pressure and vibration measurements at KSC's

Shuttle launch pads. Before ADAS, when test engineers needed to reset Shuttle

sensors they also had to manually re-adjust hundreds of transducers. The new system

reduces that effort from hours to seconds. "Sharing NASA expertise while improving

Shuttle safety is directly inline with KSC's goal to build productive partnerships with

industry," said Dr. Gale Allen, chief of KSC's Technology Programs and

Commercialization Office. Jointly funded by NASA and the State of Florida's

Technological Research Development Authority (TRDA), a development team

comprised of NASA, I-NET and L-3 engineers pooled their expertise to achieve this

technology breakthrough -- the Universal Signal Conditioning Amplifier (USCA).

USCA has a continuous calibration feature which allows it to recognize and

automatically match itself to any type of transducer. [NASA News Release #144-97,

August 19, 1997.]

August 20: CASSINI LAUNCH REMAINS ON SCHEDULE

The Terminal Countdown Demonstration of the Air Force Titan IV rocket for NASA's

Cassini mission has been successfully completed. Today's Terminal Countdown

Demonstration was a retest after leaks were repaired on the Centaur upper stage

identified during the initial demonstration on Aug. 5. "The success of the Titan test

today keeps the launch of Cassini on target for Oct. 6," said Richard Spehalski,

Cassini Program Manager. "The processing of the spacecraft here at KSC has gone

well and we are also on schedule." The Cassini spacecraft is scheduled for liftoff

from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Space Launch Complex 40, on Oct. 6 at 5:38 a_m.

EDT. This will begin Cassini's 6.7 year journey to explore the planet Saturn. [NASA

News Release #145-20, August 20, 1997.]

EG&G CHOSEN TO PROVIDE CENTER OPERATIONS

SUPPORT SERVICES 11) NASAtS MARSHALL CENTER

EG&G Alabama, Inc., a division of EG&G, Inc., of Cocoa, FL, has been awarded a

contract by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL, to provide center

operations support services for a period of up to five years, beginning Sept. 1, 1997.

Services to be provided under the contract include operations, maintenance,

renovations, modifications, construction, and environmental support services at the

center. [NASA Cenlract Announcement #C-97-j, August 20, 1997.]

164
ALL SYSTEMS ON GO FOR MIR SPACEWALK

U. S. and Russian officials declared victory Wednesday in the latest crisis on the space

station Mir and gave two spacewalking cosmonauts the go-ahead for a critical repair

job Friday. U.S. astronaut Michael Foale also was cleared to prepare for spacewalking

inspection work that will take place next month outside a Mir laboratory that was

punctured in a June 25 cargo ship crash. NASA officials said a final decision on

whether Foale actually will be pressed into service for the planned Sept. 3 spacewalk

won't be made before Labor Day. [Florida Today, August 21, 1997, p 1A.]

COSMONAUT TOUTS MILK IN COMMERCIAL

FOR ISRAELI VIEWERS

One small drop of milk; one giant leap for TV commercials. When he wasn't

scrambling to fix his accident-prone space station, Mir cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev

was busy making a television commercial for an Israeli brand of long-life milk. The

commercial -- broadcast Wednesday on Israel's Channel Two television-- shows

Tsibliyev swallowing a floating blob of Tnuva milk. Powered milk has flown in space

since the Apollo missions but the real thing apparently has never made it aboard a

U.S. flight, NASA said. The 90-second spot was filmed July 25 on Mir -- a month

after the space station's collision with a cargo ship. [Florida Today, August 21, 1997,

p 8A.]

August 21: NASA TRIES TO GET SOJOURNER BACK ON TRACK

The Sojourner rover tried but failed to move from its awkward position straddling a

Martian rock named Wedge, Mars Pathfinder controllers said Thursday. The rover

executed the commands to move it away from the 11⁄2-foot rock, but a malfunctioning

gyroscope kept it from following the orders precisely, said flight director Rob

Manning at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "The gyro on board is drifting a little

bit too much," project manager Brian Muirhead said. "We're finding it has a tendency

to turn left, it has a bit of a hook. We're having to compensate for that." Two of

Sojourner's wheels will remain on the rock until at least today, when officials will

have another opportunity to send commands. [The Orlando Sentinel, August 22, 1997,

p A-16.]

August 22: MIR CREW CONNECIS LAB CABLES

A simple whirring vibration stirred in what minutes before had been a soundless, airless and motionless lab. That spinning fan heralded a possible resurrection of life in

the dead Spektr lab, a likely boost in power to the crippled Mir space station and

success for Russian spacewalkers Friday. The daring five-hour internal spacewalk

went as well as NASA and Russia had hoped. Using their hands and just one

screwdriver, two spacewalkers connected crucial power cables with unexpected speed.

165
The retrieved equipment from the dead lab. They searched for holes in Spektr's

damaged hull but found none. "This is a super day. We carried out everything that

we set out to do and more," said U.S. astronaut Michael Foale, who waited in the

Soyuz escape capsule. "Well done, everybody." Space officials may not learn until

Monday whether the spacewalk has resulted in restoring more power to Mir. The

cosmonauts -- who were up for 22 hours Friday -- are getting the weekend off to rest.

They are not expected to test whether power has been restored until Monday. [The

Odando Sentinel, August 23, 1997, p A-1 & A-12.]

PIECF_ OF LIFE ON BOARD CASSINI

The digital disk that was placed on the Cassini spacecraft Friday, includes 616,400

signatures from people all over the world. "It's a nice opportunity to have something

of yourself go into space," said Wendy Johnson, who works for NASA at Kennedy

Space Center. "It's a chance to leave the planet." At rest for now at KSC, Cassini is

to begin its 61⁄2-year journey Oct. 6 aboard a Titan rocket from Cape Canaveral Air

Station. NASA has been sending signatures on its planetary probes since the 1960s,

but Cassini will be the first to carry John Hancocks of people who didn't work on the

project. After NASA sent out the call, thousands of postcards and letters began

arriving at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., where Cassini was

designed and built. "We weren't expecting such an upswell," said Charley Kohlhase,

Cassini's science and mission design manager. In all, people from 81 countries

participated. Tough-guy actor Chuck Norris was among them. So was fellow actor

Patrick Stewart, who played Capt. Jean Luc Picard on the TV show "Star Trek: The

Next Generation." Not all those who signed are still among us. Among the dead are

the signatures of 17th-century astronomers Jean Dominique Cassini and Christian

Huygens -- whose names were given to the spacecraft and the probe that it carries to

drop on the Saturn moon Titan. Cassini is to arrive at Saturn in 2004, exploring its

rings, moons and atmosphere through the year 2008. [Florida Today., August 23,

1997, p 4A.]

EG&G FLORIDA LAYS OFF NEARLY 190

EG&G Florida sent pink slips to nearly 190 workers Friday, finalizing plans to reduce

its work force by about 9 percent. The electronics giant, which owns the $1.7 billion

base operations contract for Kennedy Space Center, announced the job cuts July 28,

but didn't specify where the layoffs would occur. EG&G officials said $20 million in

NASA budget cuts over the past three fiscal years forced their hand. Layoffs will take

effect Sept. 5. [Florida Today, August 23, 1997, p lB.]

August 24: ACE POSTPONED 24-HOURS

RESCHEDULED FOR 10".39 A.M. AUG. 25

The launch of a Boeing Delta II rocket with NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer

166
(ACE) has been rescheduled for Monday, Aug. 25 at 10:39 a-m. EDT at the opening

of a 25 minute window. Launch was scrubbed today by Air Force range safety

personnel due to two commercial fishing vessels located about 23 nautical miles

offshore from launch pad 17A. The boats were within the Delta's launch danger area,

a location where the solid rocket motors would drop into the sea after being jettisoned

from the Delta's first stage. Air Force weather forecasters indicate a 20 percent chance

of weather violating launch weather criteria tomorrow due to a chance of clouds and

showers in the launch area. The spacecraft will spend the next 2-5 years measuring

solar particles and other solar phenomena and provide early warnings of solar storms.

[NASA News Release #146-97, August 24, 1997.]

August 25: OXYGEN SYSTEMS BREAK DOWN ON MIR

The three men aboard Russia's run-down Mir space station were left without any way

to generate oxygen Monday after both their primary and backup systems failed, at

least temporarily, NASA reported. After a quick attempt to fix the problem failed

Monday night, cosmonauts planned to try again early today. NASA expects either the

main or backup oxygen system to be operational soon. Cosmonauts were trying to use

the back-up oxygen system, a candle that bums and creates oxygen like on jetliners.

But that didn't work, NASA officials said. So cosmonauts turned on the main

machine, which makes oxygen out of wastewater. That system shut down after seven

minutes. [The Orlando Sentinel, August 26, 1997, p A-1 & A-6.]

'ACE' SPEEDS TOWARD ORBIT TO STUDY SUN

One of NASA's cheapest spacecraft rocketed toward the sun Monday at 10:39 a.m. on

a five-year mission to study atomic particles and provide advance warning of solar

storms. The $110 million solar observatory, called Ace, was hoisted by an unmanned

Delta II rocket from launch pad 17A. On-board cameras provided spectacular views

of Earth and the burning boosters as the rocket sped out over the Atlantic Ocean.

Ace, short for Advanced Composition Explorer, will spend the next four months

hurtling toward a point 1 million miles from Earth and 92 million miles from the Sun,

a spot where the gravity of Earth and the gravity of the sun balance each other. It is

the fourth NASA spacecraft to be launched to that spot. [The Orlando Sentinel,

August 26, 1997, p A-6. KSC Countdown, August 26, 1997.]

SURVEYOR ON TRACK FOR MARS ORBIT

The flight path of the Mars Global Surveyor, a spacecraft that will spend nearly two

years mapping the Red Planet, was adjusted Monday to prepare for an orbit that

begins next month. The spacecraft fired its rockets for 11 seconds, which puts the

spacecraft "on target for its arrival at Mars on Sept. 11," said Pasquale Esposito, Mars

Global Surveyor navigation team chief at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The

spacecraft was launched Nov. 7, 1996, from Kennedy Space Center. [Florida Today,

167
August 26, 1997, p 2A.]

LEWIS SPACECRAFT ENCOUNTERS DIFFICULTIES

NASA's Earth=orbiting Lewis spacecraft has entered a spin that has disrupted the

spacecraft's power-generating capability, raising the potential of the loss of the

mission. Lewis was launched successfully on Aug. 22 at 11:51 p.m. PDT from

Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA, about a Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle (LMLV1). Built by TRW Space & Electronics Group, Redondo Beach, CA, Lewis is part of

NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative. Initial operations and check-out of

Lewis were proceeding satisfactorily until telemetry received at 6 a.m. EDT today at

the mission's Chantilly, VA, control center indicated that the spacecraft was spinning

at approximately two revolutions per minute. Preliminary indications are that

excessive thruster firing had occurred on one side of the spacecraft, causing it to spin

when it should be stable on all three axes. The solar arrays on Lewis were unable to

generate full power due to the spinning motion, and the batteries were discharged

below operational levels. Four subsequent attempts to contact the spacecraft was

unsuccessful. [NASA News Release #97-182, August 26, 1997.]

NATIONAL SPACE CLUB EVENT DRAWS

STELLAR CROWD TO KSC

A stellar crowd turned out to hear Jet Propulsion Lab Director Dr. Ed Stone talk about

the Mars Pathfinder mission at the National Space Club -- Florida Committee's annual

meeting Thursday evening. About 365 community "stars" had an opportunity to

mingle and meet the National Medal of Science recipient at a reception in the Galaxy

Center at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex before Dr. Stone presented a

travelogue of slides taken of Pathfinder's trip to the frigid red planet. [Florida Today,

August 26, 1997, p 1D.]

August 26: COUNTY READY FOR CASSINI PROTESTERS

A force of 121 state and county police officers will stand guard outside Cape

Canaveral on Oct. 4, when 5,000 peace activists are expected to protest the launch of

NASA's Cassini spacecraft. The officers will help the U.S. Air Force keep protesters

from entering the launch pad area, while marine and air units from the state and

Brevard County will help the U.S. Coast Guard watch the restricted area at sea. Peace

activists have vowed to use any means to stop the launch of the $3.2 billion rocket --

including walking through swampland and parachuting onto the site -- because it will

be carrying 72 pounds of radioactive plutonium. Police and protesters anticipate

arrests during the nonviolent demonstration. The Cassini launch is not the first time

NASA launches have been targeted by protesters. In 1987, 4,000 people demonstrated

against an unarmed test flight of a Trident 2 nuclear missile. There were 138 arrests

of people trying to climb the Air Station's gate. [Fle_ida Today., August 27, 1997, p

168
1A.]

CREW BREATHES EASIER ON MIR

The crew on Russia's electrically sapped space station Mir charged ahead with a

crucial power-restoration job Tuesday after quickly fixing two balky air supply

systems on the ailing outpost. With both oxygen generation systems on Mir working

again, the crew continued to restart systems that were shut down to conserve

electricity after a June 25 cargo ship crash cut station power in half. The swift fix-it

job ended an overnight scare in the United States and left Russian officials wondering

why their NASA counterparts told Western media outlets the Mir crew, which includes

U.S. astronaut Michael Foale, might have to abandon ship. The apparent

communications problem pointed up the difficulties NASA and its Russian partners

face in trying to work together in time zones that are eight hours apart. [Florida

Today. August 27, 1997, p 2A.]

GENESIS PERFORMANCE

Atlantic recording group "Genesis" launched their new album entitled "Calling All

Stations" live from the Apollo/Saturn V Center on Thursday. The radio performance

was highlighted by an exclusive Genesis interview and a special, in person, acoustic

performance by the group. [KSC Countdown, August 21, 1997.]

August 27: NASA IS TESTING ROBOT FOR RISKY JOB

It might be the most dangerous job at Kennedy Space Center -- and it's not flying into

space. Workers go into a place nearly as dark: the ocean. After every space shuttle

launch, divers retrieve the two massive, reusable solid-rocket boosters that drop into

the Atlantic. Four or five of them have to grapple a 1,100-pound, 22-foot plug and

shove it in the open end of each booster. All this happens while the 149-foot boosters

bob up and down on the surface and lurch from side to side. They can shift suddenly

and smack a diver. The plugs have to be twisted into the boosters to keep them from

filling with water and sinking. After they are plugged, air is pumped into the boosters

so they will flat and can be towed back to KSC. NASA is considering eventually

replacing or supplementing the divers with robots. This week they are testing an 8-

foot robotic submarine that was built by a Massachusetts company for commercial

underwater exploration. The robot has its shortcomings. "It doesn't have the

reasoning. It can't plan; it can only execute," said John Fischbeck, booster recovery

chief for the United Space Alliance, which also runs shuttle operations for NASA.

But NASA and the space alliance are worried about safety. "In our meetings, they say

it is the single most dangerous job at KSC," said Tom Lippitt, section leader for

NASA's advanced systems lab. [The Orlando Sentinel, August 28, 1997, p C-6.]

169
August 28: MIR CREW FLIPS ON POWER IN DORMANT MODULE

The crew of the Mir space station flipped on power in a long-dormant module

Thursday and made plans to begin training in their spacesuits for an upcoming

spacewalk. The training schedule and remarks by Russian officials made it seem

increasingly likely that U.S. astronaut Michael Foale will be allowed to participate in

the spacewalk, tentatively set for Wednesday. NASA has not given formal approval

for Foale to take part in the spacewalk, in which he and Mir Commander Anatoly

Solovyov are expected to look for holes in the side of a damaged module. But

Russian officials seem to have accepted it as a done deal. Today, Solovyov and Pavel

Vinogradov made a trip into Spektr, which was depressurized in the collection, and

managed to reconnect three of its solar panels to Mir's power system. That should

bring Mir up to 90 percent of its original power. The shuttle Atlantis is expected to

dock with Mir around the end of September, bringing U.S. astronaut David Wolf to

replace Foale and delivering some repair gear. [Florida Today, August 29, 1997, p

2A.]

August 29: MIR REPAIRS FORCE DELAY IN SPACEWALK

Slow progress in repairing the ailing Russian space station Mir has prompted the

postponement of a spacewalk planned for next Wednesday by two or three days,

officials said Friday. The delay in the spacewalk to find holes in the space station

also will give American astronaut Michael Foale more time to train. Foale and Mir

Commander Anatoly Solovyov are supposed to inspect the outside of Mir's Spektr

module, damaged in a crash with a cargo vehicle in June, and patch any holes they

find in its hull. Foale has only taken a spacewalk once, in February 1995, and never

before in a Russian spacesuit. [The Orlando Sentinel, August 30, 1997, p A-11.]

August 30: AMONG MARS DISCOVERIT.g: MORE PUZTJ,t'S

After collecting hundreds of floppy disks' worth of data and snapping more than

10,000 pictures, the Mars Pathfinder mission has achieved its primary goal, doing

everything its designers could have wished. But for scientists, the mission has raised

more questions than it has answered about the planet of pink sky and blue sunsets,

where tilted rocks stand testament to a billion-year-old flood that mysteriously bubbled

up from the ground. This first look at Mars in 20 years was intended primarily as an

engineering mission, but the stripped-down payload of scientific instruments made

some surprising -- and p-7.TJing -- findings. Thermometers on the lander measured

temperature swings of more than 40 degrees Fahrenheit from minute to minute, and,

stranger still, the temperature near the ground got up to 70 in some spots but remained

below 15 degrees 5 feet up. Less surprising were the water-swept arrangements of

rocks, confirming evidence of a flood, the aftermath of which was first seen in shorts

from the Viking orbiter in 1976. But mystery still surrounds the cause of this flood,

which carried the equivalent of the Mediterranean Sea through the area and swept in a

170
hodgepodge of rocks. Perhaps some of these p-77]es will clear up as future missions

go beyond the floodplain called Ares Vallis and into more of Mars' varied landscapes.

[The Orlando Sentinel, August 31, 1997, p A-13.]

During August: KSC MAKF_ PRESTIGIOUS CIO 100 LIST

KSC has made it to the Chief Information Office 100 (CIO 100) list published by CIO

magazine. The 100 winners will be listed in the August 1997 issue. The KSC CIO

office is headed by Jimmy Aiken. [Spaceport News, August 25, 1997, p 2.]

BOEING IS BEING OFFERED $37 MILLION IN TAX CREDITS

Boeing is being offered $37 million in tax credits by Brevard County, Fla., to locate

the production line for new Delta 4 launch vehicles in the county if the company wins

the U.S. Air Force contract for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV).

Lockheed Martin, the other EELV finalist, would base its production in Colorado.

Boeing, which gained control of the Delta program in its merger with McDonnell

Douglas, is also considering EELV plant sites in Bay St. Louis, Miss., and Huntington

Beach, Calif., which are offering their own incentive packages. The Air Force plans

to pick an EELV winner next year. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, August 25,

1997, p 65.]

U.S. AIR FORCE AND NASA TIGHTENING SECURrrY

The U.S. Air Force and NASA are tightening security at both Cape Canaveral Air

Station and the Kennedy Space center to guard against any attempts by nuclear

protesters to sabotage or disrupt the planned Oct. 6 launch of the nuclear-powered

NASA Cassini spacecraft to Saturn on board a Titan 4B booster. More stringent

identification badge checks, car inspections, and personnel controls are being

exercised. Security patrols are being increased, new razor wire is being added to

fences, and additional motion detectors are being installed around the Titan launch pad

complex. [Aviation Week & Space Technology, August 25, 1997, p 65.]

171
SEFFEMBER

September 1: SPACEWALKERS TO SEARCH FOR MIR'S

HARD-TO-FIND LEAKS

Finding leaks in pipes isn't easy. Now take that plumbing challenge and move it to

the crippled and leaky space station Mir. In space, hull leaks are deadly. And they

are much harder to find than cracks in pipes underneath a toilet because there are more

places to hide. In a task that some experts doubt will succeed, two spacewalkers, a

Russian and probably American Michael Foale, will scour Mir's exterior for six hours

looking for holes. They will also install a new valve on Mir. When a garbarge-toting

cargo ship crashed into Mir's Spektr lab on June 25, it punctured the 11-year-old

station's newest room. Spektr was sealed and now is dark and airless. But if Russia

ever hopes to revive Spektr, where half of the U.S. projects are conducted, the leaks

must be found. If the leaks can be located, an attempt will be made this fall to patch

them. [The Orlando Sentinel, September 1, 1997, p A-12.]

September 2: ASTRONAUT STORY MUSGRAVE

RgFIRF.S FROM NASA

Veteran astronaut F. Story Musgrave retired from NASA today to pursue private

interests in the communications industry. Musgrave's NASA career spanned the

Apollo era to the Space Shuttle program into initial development of spacewalk

strategies for the International Space Station. Musgrave, 62, joined NASA in 1967

and is a veteran of six Space Shuttle flights. [NASA News Release #97-188,

September 2, 1997.]

TWO VOYAGER SPACECRAFT STILL GOING

STRONG AFTER 20 YEARS

Twenty years after their launch and long after their planetary reconnaissance flybys

have been completed, both Voyager spacecraft are now gaining on another milestone --

crossing the invisible boundary that separates our solar system from interstellar space,

the heliopause. Voyager 2 was launched first on Aug. 20, 1977, and Voyager 1 was

launched a few weeks later on a faster trajectory on Sept. 5. Initially, both spacecraft

were only supposed to explore two planets -- Jupiter and Saturn. But the incredible

success of those two first encounters and the good health of the spacecraft prompted

NASA to extend Voyager 2's mission to Uranus and Neptune. Both spacecraft have

enough electrical power and attitude control propellant to continue operating until

about 2020 when the available electrical power will no longer support science

instrument operation. Voyager 1 is currently 6.3 billion miles (10.1 billion kilometers)

from Earth, having traveled 7.4 billion miles (11.9 billion kilometers) since its launch.

Voyager 2 is currently 4.9 billion miles (7.9 billion kilometers) from Earth, having

traveled 6.9 billion miles (11.3 billion kilometers) since its launch. [NASA News

172
Release #97-189, September 2, 1997.]

September 3: MAJ. LAWRENCE'S NAME TO BE ADDED

TO SPACE MIRROR

Ceremonies will be Dec. 8 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to mark

adding the name of the first African-American astronaut, Maj. Robert Lawrence, to the

Space Mirror. Lawrence was flying a training mission on Dec. 8, 1967, when his P104 Starfighter jet crashed. At the time of his death, he was an astronaut-in-training

for the Manned Orbital Laboratory Program. His name was not included in the

Astronaut Memorial Foundation Space Mirror when it was dedicated in 1991 because

in 1967 Manned Orbital Lab trainees were not officially considered astronauts. A

national campaign to have Lawrence's name added to the list of astronauts culminated

in January with the Air Force officially designating Lawrence an astronaut. After that,

the Astronaut Memorial Foundation unanimously voted to add Lawrence's name to the

monument. [Florida Today, September 3, 1997, p 3B.]

NASA TAKES PROBE OFF PAD FOR REPAIRS

A cooling system that pumped air three times stronger than intended tore insulation in

a mini-probe inside Cassini. The damage forced NASA to remove Cassini from its

perch atop a Titan IV-B rocket for a quick patch job, officials said Wednesday. The

$3.3 billion project was scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Station on Oct.

6 but probably will be delayed until mid-October, NASA officials said. But if there is

more damage than expected, it could force NASA to miss its main launch opportunity,

which ends Nov. 4. If that happens, it would take 27 more months for Cassini to

reach Saturn and its moons and cost NASA about $120 million more, program

manager Richard Spehalski said. Cassini was placed on its rocket Aug. 28. The next

ay NASA noticed the air conditioner that cools 34 radioactive heaters inside the

miniprobe was pumping air at more than 400 mph. That probe separates from Cassini

and plummets to Saturn's moon Titan. On Tuesday, officials realized the blasting air

caused a 2-inch rip in the foam-and-foil insulation. Technicians will try to fix the rip

with spare insulation. [The Orlando Sentinel, September 4, 1997, p A-4.]

COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE FAILS TO

MAKE IT OFF GROUND

Fuel-pressure problems in an Atlas IIAS rocket delayed a Wednesday launch of a

communications satellite. Lockheed Martin an the U.S. Air Force will try to launch

the rocket again today at Cape Canaveral Air Station at 8:03 a.m. The rocket carries a

6,272-pound satellite for GE American Communications Inc. to provide television and

data services to the United States. [The Orlando Sentinel, September 4, 1997, p A-5.]

RUSSIANS WILL JUNK MIR BY 1999

173
Russia will end activities on the orbiting Mir space station toward the end of next year

and send it crashing down into the Pacific Ocean in early 1999. Boris Ostroumov,

deputy director of the Russian Space Agency, said in an interview Wednesday that

Mir's demise will come shortly after cosmonauts take up residence in the new

international space station in January 1999. "There might be some period when both

are in orbit, but it won't last long," he said, providing the first detailed timetable for

Mir's death. "We just can't support two programs." [The Orlando Sentinel, September

4, 1997, p A-5.]

September 4: GE-3 SATELIATE SUCCF__SFULLY PUT INTO ORBIT

A communications satellite that will be used by public television and several cable

networks was successfully launched Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Station. The

GE Americom satellite, dubbed GE-3, streaked into orbit aboard a Lockheed Martin

Arias 2AS rocket right on time at 8:03 a.m. After a 30-day period for positioning and

testing, the satellite is scheduled to join two sister spacecraft in beaming broadcast and

data signals across the United States and Caribbean for the next 17 years. Thursday's

Atlas launch is the fifth of nine Lockheed Martin has scheduled this year from the air

station. The next launch is scheduled for Sept. 29, when an Atlas 2AS will carry an

EchoStar satellite into orbit. [Florida Today, September 5, 1997, p 7A.]

NASA DELAYS CASSINI LAUNCH TO MID-OCIDBER

NASA is now aiming for a mid-October launch of its Cassini mission to Saturn as

technicians make repairs to the spacecraft, officials said Thursday. Agency managers

would not offer a specific launch date, saying it will depend on how quickly a small

hole can be patched in the insulation of a probe that Cassini is to drop on the Saturn

moon Titan. The mission was to start Oct. 6 with liftoff aboard a Titan rocket from

Cape Canaveral Air Station. [Florida Today, September 5, 1997, p 7A.]

September 5: SPACEWALKERS LOOK AT MIRES BATI'ERED HULL

In a six-hour mission expected to be completed today, American Michael Foale and

Russian Anatoly Solovyev shimmied along a 50-foot boom through space toward the

dented and punctured Spektr lab. They left Mir at 9:07 p.m., but shortly afterward the

space station got out of communication range with Earth. Foale was the first to

venture outside, followed by Solovgyev, who has walked in space a record 10 times.

When Foale went outside he became the first person to have spacewalked in American

and Russian spacesuits. He walked outside of a shuttle in 1995. [The Orlando

Sentinel, September 6, 1997, p A-1 & A-7.]

September 6: SPACE WALKERS FAIL TO FIND MIR_ FLAWS

A U.S.-Russian spacewalking team failed to find holes in the damaged space station

174
Mir on Saturday, stalling an even more improbable job: repairing a lab many have

given up for dead. But the orbital mechanics did manage to point two powerproducing solar panels toward the sun -- a pivotal move in an ongoing bid to restore

electricity lost in a potentially deadly June 25 cargo ship crash into Mir. "We could

not find the exact location where the leak happened," admitted Russian chief flight

director Vladimir Solovyov. "Not pinpointing it make it impossible to repair," added

NASA shuttle-Mir project manager Frank Culbertson. Nonetheless, officials said the

work done by U.S. astronaut Michael Foale and Mir commander Anatoly Solovyov --

who is no relation to the Russian flight director -- will lead to the restoration of 85

percent to 90 percent of full power at the station. [Florida Today, September 7, 1997,

p 1A.]

September 7: MIR CREW PREPARES

FOR SHUTTLE ATLANTIS' ARRIVAL

As power steadily grows aboard the Russian space station Mir, the three crewmen will

test life-support equipment this week to prepare for the planned Sept. 28 arrival of

shuttle Atlantis. Mir commander Anatoly Solovyev, flight engineer Pavel Vinogradov

and NASA astronaut Michael Foale were to rest today after the grueling six-hour

spacewalk Saturday. Atlantis is scheduled to be launched Sept. 25 from Kennedy

Space Center. Among Atlantis' six crew members will be Foale's replacement,

astronaut David Wolf. [Florida Today, September 8, 1997, p 2A.]

MARS SKY CAM WILL BE ROVER'S SIDEKICK

After two months of tooling about the martian surface, Pathfinder's tiny but determined

rover, Sojourner, has given Earth a new ground-level perspective on its neighbor.

Now the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is about to get an altogether

different view of Mars -- from high above. On Thursday night (September 11), a $155

million probe called Mars Global Surveyor will reach the Red Planet on a two-year

mission to take pictures and map the planet. Launched from Cape Canaveral a month

apart in 1996, the two NASA probes are nearly mirror images of each other.

Although Pathfinder has produced science data, it was built to test new technology.

Global Surveyor is science oriented. [The Orlando Sentinel, September 8, 1997, p A9.]

September 8: COMPUTER CRASH HOBBLES MIR AGAIN

The Mir's onboard computer, which seems to have a mind of its own, broke down

again Monday and forced the crew to shut down most of the space station's equipment.

Russian and U.S. space officials downplayed the seriousness of the computer crash,

the third aboard Mir since mid-July. The station maintained its orientation toward the

sun, and its power supplies were in much better shape than during the previous

breakdowns. Ground controllers said they hoped to repair and restart the computer

175
today. Meanwhile, they said, the crew was in no danger. [Florida Today, September

9, 1997, p 2A.]

CASSINI STUDY FLAWED_ ACTIVISTS CONTEND

NASA isn't telling the truth about the health risks posed by radioactive plutonium fuel

aboard its Cassini probe set for launch next month, a coalition of scientists,

environmentalists and peace activists said Monday. If there is a launch pad explosion

or if the craft re-enters Earth's atmosphere during a flyby, the nuclear fuel could rain

down on populated areas with deadly consequences, said Bruce G-agnon, coordinator of

the Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice, an advocacy group opposed to nuclear fuel

and weapons in space. NASA officials disputed the group's claims that the space

agency's risk analysis is flawed. "We are leveling with the American people," said

Brian Welch, director of news and information at NASA headquarters. "We wouldn't

proceed if we thought it was unsafe." The $3.4 billion Cassini mission is scheduled

for launch in mid-October from Cape Canaveral Air Station aboard an Air Force Titan

4 rocket, the largest unmanned launch vehicle in the U.S. fleet. [Florida Today,

September 9, 1997, p 2A.]

4 ARRESTED AT RALLY AGAINST

NUCLEAR-POWERED SPACE PROBE

Scientists and opponents of the nuclear-powered Cassini Saturn probe on Monday got

the attention they've been looking for as they protested outside the White House. The

group, including a former NASA emergency preparedness expert, drew about 15

cameras and dozens of reports -- including some from other countries -- to a news

conference. Members said the probe could rain deadly plutonium on Florida or other

parts of the world. But the protesters may not have attracted the attention of one

person they needed -- President Clinton. They want Clinton to scrub next month's

launch, but the White House passed off questions to NASA, which defended the safety

of the nuclear probe. Four people were arrested by U.S. Park Police when they

refused to move from in front of the White House. They were charged with

demonstrating without a permit. The Cassini probe, carrying 72.3 pounds of

plutonium, is scheduled to launch on or after Oct. 6. Previous space probes have

carried plutonium and have raised similar concerns. But the Cassini probe would be

the largest amount of plutonium sent into space. [The Orlando Sentinel, September 9,

1997, p A-6.]

September 9: lVIIR CREW MEMBERS REPLACE

BALKY COMPUTER

The space station Mir's crew replaced its worn-out computer and restored all systems

to normal Tuesday, a day after the computer mysteriously shut down for the third time

in as many months. Vladimir Solovyov, chief of Russia's Mission Control, said the

176
repair effort was handled smoothly and the Russian-American crew was never in any

peril. The repair effort required the crew to replace the central block of the main

computer and then install the software, officials said. Unlike previous breakdowns, the

station was able to maintain its orientation toward the sun, and its power supplies were

in much better shape this time. [Florida Today., September 10, 1997, p 2A.]

September 10: LAUNCH OF LUNAR PROSPECI'OR

RESCHEDULED FOR LATE NOVEMBER

Launch of NASA's Lunar Prospector mission to explore the Moon has been

rescheduled from late September to Nov. 23, 1997. The schedule change occurred

because additional time is needed to complete testing and preparation of the new

Lockheed Martin LMLV2 launch vehicle. Lunar Prospector is the first competitively

selected venture in NASA's Discovery Program series of "faster, better, cheaper" space

science exploration missions. The entire mission, including the 660-pound spacecraft,

its launch vehicle, science instruments and data operations and delivery, has been

developed at a total cost of $62.8 million. Following its launch and cruise to the

Moon, Lunar Prospector will orbit above the Moon's surface at an altitude of

approximately 63 miles during a one-year mapping mission. [NASA News Release

#97-193, September 10, 1997.]

September U: NASA_ DOD AND FAA SIGN JOINT AGREEMENT

ON SPACEPORTS LAUNCH GUIDANCE

The NASA Administrator, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and

Technology (DOD) and the Federal Aviation Adminstration (FAA) Administrator have

signed a joint Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that provides guidance for federal

interaction with commercial launch site operators on spaceports. A "spaceport" will be

similar to an airport for rockets and will be managed by a launch site operator.

Operation of a launch site consists of operations and maintenance of launch property,

which must include at least one launch pad. These operators may be state government

agencies, state-chartered or -sponsored entities, or commercial organizations. The

primary objective of the MOA is to facilitate and encourage access by the private

sector and state and local governments to excess federal launch property and services.

The MOA explains the respective roles and responsibilities of federal agencies in

general and specifically NASA, DOD and FAA, in their interactions with launch site

operators. The intent is to minimize the regulatory burden on the U.S. commercial

space sector by clearly delineating federal agency requirements and oversight

responsibilities, eliminating overlap and duplication. The guidance applies to current

and prospective FAA-licensed launch site operators on, or outside, federal installations.

It does not apply to operation of a launch site performed as part of a federal space

activity carried out by, or for, the federal government. [NASA News Release #97-194,

September 11, 1997.]

177
THINGS MOVING PERFECI'LY FOR

SURVEYOR_3 MARS ORBIT

The Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft was in "picture-perfect shape" Wednesday as it

prepared to rendezvous with the Red Planet, officials said. Surveyor, designed to

circle Mars for two years looking for landing sites for future manned mission, is

expected to go into orbit tonight after a 10-month journey. The tiny robotic craft will

offer scientists a view of the planet's climate and weather patterns not available to the

Pathfinder rover, which has been beaming back data since July 4. Surveyor will not

start it primary mission of mapping the planet for at least four months. [The Orlando

Sentinel, September 11, 1997, p A-10.]

September 11: NASA AIDE SAYS MIR_3 PROBLEMS

THREATEN SAFETY OF ASTRONAUTS

Just two weeks before the next shuttle flight to Mir, NASA's Inspector General is

raising concern over "serious problems" with Russia's space station that threaten

astronaut safety. The letter from Inspector General Roberta Gross to the chairman of

the House Science Committee, Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Republican

of Wisconsin, provides a troubling and frightening glimpse at life aboard the aging

Mir over the past two years, as seen through the eyes of its first four American

occupants. A NASA spokeswoman, Debra Rahn, said the space agency would have

no comment about Ms. Gross's letter until later. In her 13-page letter, Ms. Gross

referred to the Feb. 23 fire and the June 25 collisison with a cargo ship as "obvious

red flags" and noted "there are other serious problems associated with the Russians'

aging space station which pose risks to the Mir crew." [The New York Times,

September 12, 1997, p A10.]

ORBITING CRAFF IS ON TRACK

TO MAP THE TERRAIN OF MARS

Putting on the brakes with a steady blast of rocket exhaust, an American spacecraft

eased into a wide orbit of Mars to spend two years mapping the planet's mountains

and cayons, icy polar caps and windswept flood plains. The Mars Global Surveyor

became the first spacecraft in 21 years to orbit the neighboring planet successfully. Its

arrival was greeted with joy and relief because the last attempt, by Mars Observer in

1993, failed just three days before it was to reach orbit. After a journey of 10 months

and 435 million miles, the 1,700-pound Surveyor sped with true aim toward a point

186 miles above the Martian north pole. Surveyor achieved orbit shortly before 7 p.m.

Pacific time (10 p.m. Eastern time). Further maneuvers over the next four months axe

planned to lower and circularize Surveyor's orbit in preparation for photographing the

entire planet over the course of one complete Martian year, the equivalent of nearly

two Earth years. [The New York Times, September 12, 1997, p A11.]

178
NASA WORKER SUSPENDED FOR 2 DAYS

A NASA employee who has publicly protested the space agency's controversial

Cassini mission to Saturn was suspended this week for an unrelated work infraction.

James Ream, 56, of Mims was suspended without pay Thursday and Friday. He is

scheduled to return to work Monday as a facilities engineer at Kennedy Space Center.

NASA officials say the punishment has nothing to do with his opposition to Cassini, a

$3.3 billion mission that will use radioactive plutonium fuel to power the probe's

instruments. "He had some work to carry out, and he was not doing that work," said

Ken Aguilar, KSC's director of personnel. Ream is appealing the suspension, which

NASA says centered on his failure to obey directions to order $45,000 worth of office

partitions. Ream says he did not carry out the request because the partitions were not

going to be used in accordance with government regulations. He was told to order

them anyway on July 15, but refused. [Florida Today., September 13, 1997, p 2A.]

September 12: VETERAN SHUTTLE COMMANDER RETIRF_

Shuttle astronaut and Russian space station Mir veteran, John Blaha (Col., USAF

Ret.), will retire from NASA on Sept. 26 to become the Assistant Vice President,

Integration Engineering, for USAA Corporation in San Antonio, TX. [NASA News

Release #97-196, September 12, 1997.]

REPAIR WORK ON CASSINI HUYGENS

PROBE COMP_ SUCCESSFULLY

Engineers at Kennedy Space Center have completed repairs to damaged thermal

insulation on the European Space Agency's Huygens probe, a part of the Cassirti

mission to Saturn. Based on the amount of time needed to return the spacecraft to the

pad from a spacecraft checkout facility and complete the work necessary to be ready

for launch, NASA managements have set a tentative launch date of no earlier than

Oct. 13. The launch date will be confirmed by the Air Force after the spacecraft has

been mated to the Titan IV/Centaur next week. [NASA News Release #97-198,

September 12, 1997.]

ATLANTIS' SEVENTH MISSION TO MIR

SET FOR SEPTEMBER 25

Space Shuttle Program managers today unanimously approved plans for a September

25 launch of the seventh shuttle mission to rendezvous and dock with Russia's Mir

Space Station to deliver supplies and return Mike Foale from the outpost following his

four month stay. Astronaut Dave Wolf has completed training and is scheduled to

replace Michael Foale for a four-month stay on Mir to continue the permanent U.S.

presence on the station that began with Shannon Lucid on the STS-76 mission in

1996. The launch window opens at 10:34 p.m. EDT and closes about 7 minutes later

179
at 10:41 p.m. Following a nominal flight duration of 9 days, 20 hours, 24 minutes,

Atlantis is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center at about 6:58 p.m. EDT,

October 5. [NASA News Release #97-199, September 12, 1997.]

OFFICIALS BOOST PENALTY FOR

LAUNCH PROTEST TACTIC

With the launch of a plutonium-powered Saturn probe now perhaps a month away,

security officers are contemplating tough charges against any protesters who try to stop

the mission with children in tow. Brevard County deputy sheriffs warned this week

that cassini protestors who help children over the gates at Cape Canaveral Air Station

could be charged with felony child abuse. Children have figured in other local

protests. "I would do anything I could to prevent someone from putting a child in a

situation where they could be harmed," said Bob Sarver, sheriffs chief of operations.

Bruce Gagnon, leader of the protests, said he expects some of Cassini's opponents to

try to enter restricted areas of the Air Force facilitity between the planned Oct. 4

demonstration and the launch date. But he scoffed at the idea that Cassini's opponents

would place children in any harmful position. "We love our people and would never

do anything to hurt them. The danger is in the plutonium, not us," Gagnon said. [The

Orlando Sentinel, September 13, 1997, p A-13.]

PUBLICLY_ NASA SAYS MIR SAFE;

PRIVATELY_ THERE ARE WORRIES

Despite public pronouncements of safety and confidence in space station Mir, NASA

privately has told Russia that conditions on the troubled outpost violate safety

agreements. In an Aug. 11 letter obtained by The Orlando Sentinel through the federal

Freedom of Information Act, NASA shuttle-Mir program manager Frank Culbertson

said the Mir program is "in a precarious position." Culbertson's unusual letter to his

Russian counterpart highlights NASA worries that Mir's drinking water supplies are

getting too low and that the potential exists for a repeat of the February fire on Mir.

Culbertson also questioned the way Russia operates the station. NASA must take a

larger role in Mir's operations in the future, Culbertson concluded in his letter. [The

Orlando Sentinel, September 13, 1997, p A-1 & A-13.]

September 15: MIR'S LATEST POWER LOSS COMF__

AT BAD TIME

For the fourth time in about two months, space station Mir's main computer failed.

The computer failure forced Mir's three-man crew to shut down power to much of the

station because the outpost temporarily lost its ability to point its solar power panels

toward the sun. NASA expects the power situation to be resolved today. An

upgraded computer will be sent on a cargo ship, scheduled for launch in October, and

a remodeled one may be brought up by space shuttle Atlantis on Sept. 25. [The

180
Orlando Sentinel, September 16, 1997, p A-4.]

September 16: SATELLITE GIVES MIR RESIDENTS A SCARE

A U.S. satellite came within 500 yards of crashing into the space station Mir, forcing

its three occupants into an escape capsule because they feared a collision, Russian

officials said Tuesday. Vera Medvedkova, spokeswoman at Russia's Mission Control,

said it was Mir's closest brush with an unrelated spacecraft in its 11 years in orbit. It

was a 370-pound research satellite traveling on a perpendicular orbit -- inoperative

since shortly after its 1994 launch by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, an

arm of the U.S. Defense Department. The U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs,

Colo., had informed NASA of the close approach about 30 hours beforehand, and

NASA in turn informed the Russians. The Russian-American crew spent 30 minutes

in the Soyuz until the danger passed, Medvedkova said. [Florida Today., September

17, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

September 17: MIR REGAINS LIGHTS_ POWEIL OXYGEN SYSTEM

After a crippling computer breakdown and a near-miss with a satellite, the embattled

Mir space station returned to near-normal Wednesday as lights, oxygen and more

power came back on line. the Russian-American crew which had to bum oxygen

"candles" for three days to save power, turned the main oxygen supply system back on

Wednesday. The space station's orientation system also returned on line, keeping the

station pointed toward the sun and recharging solar batteries drained during the

computer mishap. Six of 10 gyroscopes that orient the station were working by

evening, and the rest were to be put into operation overnight. After several days of

repair work, the two Russian cosmonauts also were able to resume scientific

experiments, the Inteffax news agency reported. American astronaut Michael Foale

worked on his "greenhouse" experiment and packed equipment he'll take home on the

U.S. space shuttle Atlantis, set to blast off one week from today carrying supplied, a

backup computer and Foale's replacement, David Wolf. [Florida Today., September

18, 1997, p 9A.]

MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR DETECIS MARTIAN

MAGNETIC FIELD AS AEROBRAKING BEGINS

Scientists have confirmed the existence of a planet wide magnetic field at Mars using

an instrument on-board NASA's Mars Global Surveyor orbiter, as the spacecraft began

to circle and study the planet from a highly elliptical orbit. The existence of a

planetary magnetic field has important implications for the geological history of Mars

and for the possible development and continued existence of life on Mars. [NASA

News Release #97-204, September 17, 1997.]

September 18: PANEL TO NASA: STAY OFF MIR

181
Congressional leaders made their feelings unmistakably clear: Russia's battered space

station Mir is no longer safe, and no more American should be sent there. That was

the message Thursday from the House Science Committee, whose members held a

hearing on Mir safety that examined two near-fatal accidents this year. But top NASA

officials disagreed and said they were pushing ahead with next Thursday's planned

launch of shuttle Atlantis to dock with Mir. The ship is to pick up astronaut Mike

Foale and drop off his replacement, David Wolf. "There has been sufficient evidence

put before this hearing to raise doubts about the safety of continued American longterm presence on the Mir," said Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the

committee. If Wolf does go, he said, NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin will have

"some explaining to do, and I will give him the opportunity." Added Rep. George E.

Brown Jr., D-Calif.: "The administrator has been forewarned that he makes that

decision at his own risk." NASA spokeswoman Peggy Wilhide said Goldin believes

Mir's safety has been thoroughly evaluated by an experienced NASA flight operations

team, and there was "no technical rationale to believe the Mir is unsafe." [Florida

Today,, September 19, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

COST OF SPACE STATION FLIES HIGHER

The price tag for the international space station continues to grow despite an annual

spending cap imposed by Congress, a Senate panel was told Thursday. NASA

Administrator Dan Goldin told senators that work on the new station likely will cost

U.S. taxpayers an additional $430 million in the next fiscal year. He attributed the

increase to two factors -- cost overruns by the project's prime contractor, Boeing, and

uncertainty whether Russian will deliver a key component on time next year. Boeing

experienced unexpected delays in developing hardware as well as software for the

planned orbiting outpost. Additionally, the company may have been overly optimistic

in its initial planned estimates, Goldin said. As for the Russians, NASA plans to set

aside $100 million in case the Russian Space Agency defaults on delivery of the

service module. If that happens, NASA will move ahead with a plan to build an

interim service module, Goldin said. [Florida Today, September 19, 1997, p 2A.]

THERE'S LrITLE CHANCE CONGRESS WILL

STOP SPACE STATION WORK

NASA's international space station will almost assuredly get built, despite hundreds of

millions of dollars in growing cost overruns. That's because of one thing that rests in

a Kennedy Space Center hangar. It's a piece of the station. Actual metal with six

miles of wire. Something you can touch. "They've got bent metal," said American

University professor Howard McCurdy, who has written books about space station

management. "They've laid the foundation. Once they laid the foundation, Congress

will never make them pull it up." The United States has manufactured 200,000

pounds of the station. The first American-built part, a connecting passageway that

measures 22 feet long, is at the KSC being prepared for a launch in the summer of

182
1998. [The Orlando Sentinel, September 19, 1997, p A-12.]

September 19: CASSINI LAUNCH RF_CHEDULED FOR OCT. 13

The launch of NASA's Cassini spacecraft aboard a U.S. Air Force Titan IVB rocket

has officially been rescheduled on the Eastern Range for Monday, Oct. 13. The

payload is now back at Complex 40 atop the Titan IV Centaur. The launch window

for Cassini extends from 4:55 to 7:15 a.m. EDT. Cassini is a joint NASA-European

Space Agency (ESA) mission to Saturn, which is scheduled to arrive at the ringed

planet in 2004 after more than six years of interplanetary travel. After arrival, the

spacecraft will orbit Saturn for four years studying the gas giant planet, its rings and

moons, and the ESA-built Huygens probe will descent to the surface of the giant moon

Titan. [NASA News Release #97-207, September 19, 1997.]

AITEM]rIS TO CONTACT LEWIS SPACECRAFF

UNSUCCESSFUL; RE-ENTRY LIKELY NEXT WEEK

Repeated attempts to re-establish radio contact with NASA's Earth-orbiting Lewis

spacecraft since it entered a slow spin on Aug. 26 have been unsuccessful. Due to

increasing atmospheric drag, the spacecraft's orbit is deteriorating. Unless contact is

regained early next week, it is expected to re-enter and burn up between Sept. 23-30,

with Sept. 27 as the current most likely re-entry date, according to program officials.

Lewis was launched on Aug. 22 (Aug. 23 EDT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base,

CA. aboard a Lockheed Martin Launch Vehicle (LMLV-1). Built by TRW Space &

Electronics Group, Redondo Beach, CA, the 890-pound Lewis satellite is part of

NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Initiative. [NASA News Release #97-208,

September 19, 1997.]

YELTSIN AWARDS ASTRONAUTS FOR MIR DUTIF__

Russian President Boris Yeltsin honored two American astronauts Friday for their

experience aboard the Mir. Yeltsin issued a decree giving the Friendship Award to

Jerry Linenger and John Blaha for "their contribution to the development of the

Russian-U.S. cooperation in space exploration." Russian space officials hope to keep

Mir in orbit at least through 1999. An international space station, which involves

contributions from the United States, Russia, Japan and European nations, is expected

to go into orbit next year, though it won't be completed until 2002. The U.S. space

shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to blast off Thursday (Sept. 25) for a rendezvous with

Mir. American Michael Foale, who has been on Mir since May, is to be replaced by

David Wolf. [Florida Today, September 20, 1997, p 9A.]

LAUNCH COMPLEX 40 RAIL FIXED

Lufti "Lou" Mized, project engiener for AJT & Associates of Cape Canaveral,

183
addressed the American Society of Civil Engineers in Clearwater on the successful

repair of the Launch Complex 40 rail transportation system at Cape Canaveral Air

Station. Mized explained Sept. 19 how the troubled rail system for the mobile service

tower was fixed for the Air Force's Titan 4 program. The rails were sinking so deeply

into the sand that a girder of the mobile tower scraped a manhole cover. The problem

threatened the use of the complex, ATT officials said. AJT engineers found that while

the settlement of the rails could not be stopped, it could be slowed enough for the

sytem to last the lifetime of the Titan 4 program. The company replaced existing

foundations with more substantial footers. [Florida Today, September 21, 1997, p IE.]

ARE SPACE JOBS AT RISK?

Cape Canaveral provided the perfect setting for a key topic of the state's economic

summit on Friday: bolstering Florida's aerospace industry, in which Brevard County

plays such a critical role. "The launch sector is very competitive, and it is coveted by

a lot of others," said Jim Bodine, a vice president at Lockheed Martin and chairman of

the Florida Aviation/Aerospace Alliance. "They'd like to move the Space Coast.

We're going to decide the competitions largely in the cost margins." Bodine was

sounding the same alarm bells that others have: Even with Brevard's rich history of

aerospace, there is no guarantee the industry won't pack up and leave it it becomes

cheaper and easier to do business elsewhere. "We're going to have to make these

companies more competitive," Bodine said. "We're going to have to help them reduce

their burden rate." [Florida Today, September 20, 1997, p 14C & 13C.]

September 21: HE'S GOT NO FEAR OF MIR

David Wolf was an astronaut who wasn't flying. Since his rookie flight in 1993, he

had watched friends go into space, once, sometimes twice. Wolf had the taint of

scandal on him. He had a prominent role in a 1993 FBI sting of NASA. He accepted

a limo ride, a gourmet dinner and a trip to a topless bar from FBI agents posing as

merchants peddling phony equipment to NASA. Wolf was never charged or arrested,

but his astornaut career was pretty much grounded. Now it is about to soar again,

thanks to something that is almost as tattered as Wolf's career has been: space station

Mir. Wolf is about to spend four months on the aging station -= which has had a

dangerous fire, countless breakdowns of its life=support equipment and a near=fatal

crash. He will ride to Mir on the space shuttle Atlantis, set to launch Thursday (Sept.

25) at 10:34 p.m. Wolf was the only astronaut named in the Operation Lightning

Strike sting that resulted in 11 people pleading guilty to federal charges. Wolf -- an

inventor, medical doctor and engineer -= is not worried about the mostly daily

catastrophes on Mir. [Tne Orlando Sentinel, September 22, 1997, p A=I & A-4.]

September 22: EG&G FLORIDA & JOHNSON CONTROLS

184
EG&G Florida and Johnson Controls, leading a partnership, together with Lockheed

Martin and ITT will bid on the base operations contract to combine Kennedy Space

Center and USAF's 45th Space Wing. [Florida Today, September 22, 1997, 5A.]

MIR'S COMPUTER CRASHES AGAIN

The Mils central computer went down again today and a mysterious brown cloud

appeared outside the Russian space station, just days before the U.S. space shuttle is to

deliver new computer equipment to the aging orbiter. The two Russians and one

American aboard Mir were not in any danger, space officials said. But Mir's long list

of woes keeps growing. The carbon dioxide removal system failed and a brown cloud

appeared outside the station -- a possible indication of a fuel leak. Neither problem

appeared serious, deputy Mission Control chief Viktor Blagov said. For the third time

in three weeks and the fifth time since July, Mir's computer malfunctioned, shutting

down shortly before dawn. The crew replaced a faulty computer block and started

tests needed to prepare it for operation. A new computer and a back-up unit are to be

delivered to the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis and on the Russian cargo ship Progress, but

the Americans want the computer working for the dockings. The Russians do not

want to postpone Thursday's shuttle launch because of the latest breakdown, but

Blagov acknowledged that it is "difficult to forecast how the computer will behave in

the future." At Cape Canaveral, the countdown for Thursday's launch was to begin

this afternoon as planned. A new computer for Mir arrived at Cape Canaveral from

Moscow this morning, and is to be loaded onto Atlantis on Wednesday. Vladimir

Isachenkov. (1997). "Pne Washington Post [Online]. Available WWW:

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/mir/mir.htm [1997, September 22].]

KSC AWARDS CONTRACT FOR

ENGINEERING DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT

KSC awarded a contract valued at over $160 million to Dynacs Engineering Company,

Inc. of Clearwater, FL, to provide engineering support to KSC's Engineering

Development organization. The contractor will provide high technology and research

services as well as engineering design and technician support. A variety of KSC

laboratories will be operated and maintained by Dynacs technicians and their engineers

will manage complex research and technology projects. Dynacs will also assist in the

transfer of NASA technology to the private sector as part of KSC's Technology

Transfer and Commercialization Program. "This year NASA named Dynacs Small

Disadvantaged Business contractor of the year and we look forward to a very positive

relationship here at Kennedy Space Center," said KSC Director Roy Bridges. The cost

plus award fee contract begins Oct. 1, 1997 and, including the four one-year options to

extend, potentially continues through Sept. 30, 2002. Dynacs is classified by the

Small Business Administration as a small disadvantaged business. The incumbent

engineering support contractor is I-Net, Inc., of Bethesda, MD. I-Net is now classified

as a large business and was ineligible for the competition. A total of 13 companies

185
competed for the contract. [KSC Countdown, September 25, 1997.]

September 23: MIR GL1TCHF_ MIGHT KEEP ATLANTIS AWAY

NASA managers today should decide whether the latest computer breakdown on Mir

will delay another trip to the crippled outpost by space shuttle Atlantis. Meanwhile, a

member of a special panel set up to look over NASA's shoulder on safety issues said

Monday that he is worried about general deterioration on the Russian space station.

Atlantis is supposed to launch at 10:34 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 25) and deliver a new

computer to Mir. Mir's computer failure, the third in three weeks, occurred Monday.

NASA officials expect it to be fixed today and do not anticipate having to delay

Atlantis' launch. However, the shuttle cannot dock with Mir on Saturday unless the

computer is working because it keeps the station from drifting out of proper position.

Still, the countdown to Atlantis' launch started Monday, hours after Mir's new

computer arrived at Kennedy Space Center. The new computer, a 59-pound device

about the size of a microwave oven, arrived from Europe during the weekend as a lastminute addition to Atlantis' cargo list. [The Orlando Sentinel, September 23, 1997, p

A-1 & A-4.]

NASA BOSS TO DECIDE IF WOLF FI.IEq TO MIR

Under increasing political pressure to stop sending Americans to the Mir space station,

NASA officials today will reconsider leaving astronaut Dave Wolf on the outpost for

four months. NASA administrator Dan Goldin will get new safety reports today on

the beleaguered station from two independent experts while the countdown continues

to Thursday night's launch of shuttle Atlantis to Mir. Under intense pressure from

Congress and NASA's own inspector general, and in a break from standard NASA

practice, Goldin himself will make the final call on whether astronaut Dave Wolf will

move into Mir. A decision might not be made until launch day, so Goldin -- who has

been traveling in Russia with Vice President A1 Gore -- has time to weigh the

information. One of the reports is from retired Air Force Gen. Thomas Stafford, a

veteran of the Gemini and Apollo programs. Stafford commanded the first link-up of

U.S. and Russian spacecraft in the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz project. [Hofida Today.,

September 24, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

September 25: PANELS GIVE ASTRONAUT A "GO"

FOR LAUNCH TO MIR

NASA has received concurrence from the final panels reviewing the safety of the

Russian Mir space station to proceed with its plans to exchange U.S. astronauts on the

orbiting outpost. An independent task force, chaired by Lt. Gen. Thomas P. Stafford,

USAF (Ret.), a former Gemini and Apollo astronaut, has reaffirmed NASA's internal

reviews to proceed with the Sept. 25 Space Shuttle mission to replace Dr. Michael

Foale with Dr. David Wolf on Mir. "This careful and through review of the Shuttle186
Mir mission analyzed risk, readiness and, foremost, safety," said NASA Administrator

Daniel S. Goldin. "We move forward not only because it is safe, but for the important

scientific and human experience we can gain only from Mir. As we prepare for the

June 1998 launch of the first element of the International Space Station, nothing can

beat the hands-on, real-time training aboard Mir." NASA also asked Mr. A. Thomas

Young to conduct an additional external assessment. Mr. Young is a member of the

National Academy of Engineering and recently retired Executive Vice President of

Lockheed Martin and President and Chief Operating Officer of Martin Marietta Corp.

Mr. Young's assessment also endorsed the safety process. [NASA News Release #97-

214, September 25, 1997.]

UP AND AWAY --' ATLANTIS IS MIR-BOUND

After a flawless launch, space shuttle Atlantis and astronaut Dave Wolf are now in

orbit closing in on Mir, the Russian space station that has been anything but flawless.

If the rickety station can keep its balky main computer from failing, the two ships will

connect Saturday evening. As lightning flashed in the sky 60 miles away, Atlantis

sliced through the night in a 10:34 p.m. liftoff Thursday after a computer software

problem on the ground delayed fueling of the shuttle nearly two hours. The launch

was made possible when NASA Administrator Dan Goldin decided Thursday morning

that Mir was safe enough for Wolf, 41, to live there for the next four months. Wolf

will replace Michael Foale, who has been on Mir since May. For the shuttle to dock

with Mir, the station has to remain stable in its orbit. Mir's main computer normally

handles that task, but it has failed three times in the past three weeks. When the

computer fails, Mir slowly drifts. Atlantis can dock with Mir if a failure occurs when

the shuttle is no more than 30 feet away. The drift is so slow it would not affect the

docking in that amount of time. If the computer fails when the shuttle is farther away,

Atlantis commander Jim Wetherbee will have to stop and wait for instructions from

Mission Control. Atlantis is carrying a new computer that should solve Mir's ongoing

problems. The shuttle also will deliver 5,367 pounds of water and supplies, including

a cover for the base of a damaged solar power panel. [The Orlando Sentinel,

September 26, 1997, p A-1 & A-4.]

COPS: WOMAN STALKING EX-ASTRONAUT

A Connecticut woman who stalked TV star David Letterman for five years was

arrested Thursday after showing up at the Osceola County home of retired NASA

astronaut Story Musgrave. Margaret Mary Ray was charged with stalking, a

misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. [Florida Today., September 26,

1997, p 1A.]

September 26: CLCS REDSTONE HARDWARE

ARRIVES ON SCHEDULE

187
The second Checkout and Launch Control System (CLCS) "shipment" is up and

running in the Launch Control Center (LCC). Called Redstone, the Sept. 26 hardware

"delivery" is actually four prototype consoles set up in the bubble area of Firing Room

2. Each console is configured differently to allow members of the user community to

determine which features they like best. Different software products also are featured.

CLCS, the next generation processing and launch system, is already yielding concrete

benefits. The ice team that goes to the pad after the external tank is loaded, now uses

a graphical display developed for CLCS. The display features color graphics of

temperature variations on the tank, allowing the ice team to determine quickly and

easily where ice formation would be most likely to occur. Over the next six months,

the CLCS development team hopes will pin down the final console configuration,

which could be a combination of features from the four options. [KSC Countdown,

October 2, 1997.]

September 27: CASSINI PROBE REPAIRED_ SET FOR SATURN TRIP

NASA's Cassini spacecraft is back on top of the rocket that is scheduled to carry it

into space in October to begin its long journey to study Saturn. The space agency

made some repairs to the probe earlier this month after a small tear was discovered in

the insulation needed to protect the spacecraft on its seven-year flight. NASA officials

say they are ready to launch the Titan rocket with Cassini between 4:55 and 7:15 a.m.

on Oct. 13. Named for a 17-century Italian astronomer, Cassini is to arrive at Saturn

in 2004 and conduct a four-year tour of its icy rings and mysterious moons, while also

studying the gaseous planet itself. Scientists around the world say the mission is an

unprecedented opportunity to learn more about the evolution of the solar system and

with it, Earth's place in the cosmos.[Florida Today, September 28, 1997, p 1E.]

MIR GETS GIFFS_ NEW RESIDENT

Atlantis arrived with a computer, drinking water and astronaut Dave Wolf, who will

stay on the station for four months. As the door opened to Mir, Atlantis commander

Jim Wetherbee shook hands with Mir commander Anatoly Solovyev using his right

hand. With his left hand Wetherbeee grasped a present, a much-needed one. "That is

the computer, yeah? asked Solovyev with a laugh. It was. The station's main

computer -- needed to keep Mir stable in space for maneuvers such as Saturday's 3:58

p.m. docking -- broke down three times in three weeks. The new computer, which is

12 years old, was a late addition to Atlantis. "There's supposed to be some more

presents, too," Wetherbee said, laughing as a bag of drinking water floated into Mir.

The 11.5-year-old Mir had less than a 30-day supply of water -- a violation of shuttleMir safety rules. Over the next five days, Atlantis will deliver 1,500 pounds of water

to Mir. Astronaut Dave Wolf is scheduled to live on the crippled space station for

four months, replacing Michael Foale. The two ships docked so late -- in Mir time --

that NASA decided that Wolf won't replace Foale until 11:49 a.m. tomorrow. Foale,

who has a second longest flight for a U.S. astronaut, will then move into Atlantis. He

188
has been on mir since May 18 and will come home with the shuttle on Oct. 5.

Orlando Sentinel, September 28, 1997, p A-8.]

SPACE BECKONS JOHN GLENN 'I'M READY TO GO'

In" his cavernous office in Washington, U.S. Sen. John Glenn likes to fiddle with his

desktop computer. Most of the time, he browses NASA's site on the Internet, clicking

the cursor toward the dates of upcoming shuttle launches. He imagines the one that

could return him to space. Through his prodding, NASA has begun entertaining the

notion of retying one of its most famous astronauts. Glenn, who is 76, last flew in

space 35 years ago. Another federal agency has come up with a rationale for the trip -

- to study how space travel affects the elderly. Even President Clinton supports the

idea. Some scientists believe only astronauts should be aboard the spaceship. [Florida

Today. September 28, 1997, p 1A & 10A.]

September 27: WOLF MAKES HIMSELF AT HOME ON MIR

Astronaut Dave Wolf claimed a room on the outpost Sunday while the crews of shuttle

Atlantis and Mir lugged water, science equipment and materials onto the station that

will be the new arrival's home until January. With dazzling views in every direction

and a slowly spinning Earth below, a content Wolf said he was in the four-star

equivalent of a space station suite. The physician-engineer arrived at Mir on Saturday

aboard shuttle Atlantis, which is to remain docked at the outpost until Friday while

more than two tons of supplies are unloaded. The docking also allowed Wolf's

predecessor on Mir, astronaut Mike Foale, to relinquish his post and join the shuttle

crew that will return him to Florida on Oct. 5. The British-born astrophysicist has

been in orbit since mid-May. Foale and Wolf are the fifth and sixth Americans to live

aboard Mir as part of NASA's plan to gain experience for running the future

international space station. [Florida Today, September 28, 1997, p 1A.]

September 28: LEWIS SATELLITE REENTERS

OVER SOUTH ATLANTIC

NASA's Lewis Earth-sensing satellite apparently reentered the atmosphere Sunday and

was lost over the South Atlantic, U.S. Space Command reported. Space trackers said

the satellite, launched last month in the first successful flight of the Lockheed Martin

Launch Vehicle, was confirmed down when it did not appear in three subsequent

orbital tracks. Built by TRW as an early example of the faster-better-cheaper

approach to spacecraft development, the Lewis satellite went into an uncontrolled spin

four days after launch and was never recontacted. [Aerospace Daily, September 30,

1997, p 7.]

September 30: RUSSIA CHANGES MIR CRASH STORIES

189
Russian officials appeared to back away Tuesday from an earlier finding that human

error caused an overloaded, unmanned cargo ship to crash into the Mir space station --

the worst-ever collision in space. In a final report on the June 25 crash, officials said

it was caused by "an unfavorable combination of factors." Only a short summary of

the report was made public, however. Preliminary reports pointedly blamed the crew

and ground controllers. But the summary released Tuesday did not mention human

error and suggested that some questions about the crash might never be answered.

The f'mal government report based on a review by an independent team of American

and Russian experts. The panel, headed by former U.S. astronaut Thomas Stafford

and Vladimir Utkin, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said mistakes

were made by both the crew and ground controllers. [The Orlando Sentinel, October

1, 1997, p A-12.]

ROCKEr DEAL LOST

Brevard County's bid to land Boeing Co.'s Delta 4 rocket plant came to a bitter end

Tuesday when the aerospace giant announced it had selected a site in Decatur, Ala.,

instead. Brevard, which had been one of four finalists for the rocket plant, lost out on

a facility that would have employed as many as 3,000 people and dramatically boosted

the region's economy. Boeing officials did say, though, that the company will

construct a $250 million launch facility at Cape Canaveral Air Station for the rockets,

creating more than 900 jobs. [Florida Today., October l, 1997, p 1A & 5A.]

During September:. ATM NETWORK WILL LET

SPACE COMMAND TRACK ROCKEIS

The Air Force Space Command is building its first asynchronous transfer mode

network to track rockets it launches at Cape Canaveral, Fla. The ATM network is part

of the Range Standardization and Automation (RSA) program that will update 30-yearold technology used in Air Force space missions. The multiphase RSA program will

boost launch range capacity in anticipation of NASA's development of the

Experimental Expendable Launch Vehicle, Space Command officials said. ATM

bandwidth can handle the large amounts of telemetry data generated as rockets and

payloads shoot into orbit. Each launch vehicle and each payload has different

requirements. Reconfiguring the networks after a launch can take as long as several

days and creates a high risk of launch-delaying failures. NASA's new expendable

vehicle likely will increase traffic early in the next century. [Government Computer

News. September 8, 1997, p 10g.]

190
OCTOBER

October 1: CONTROL BOARD REPORTS INTERNATIONAL SPACE

STATION LAUNCH ON TARGET_ FINALIZES ASSEMBLY SEQUENCE

With the first launch nine months away, representatives of the 15 nations building the

International Space Station gathered in Houston this week to finalize the station's

assembly sequence and confirm that construction remains on target. The first station

element, the U.S.-funded, Russian-built Functional Cargo Block, is on track for a

launch in June 1998 from Baikonur. The first U.S.-built station element, Node 1, was

shipped from its Alabama factory to the Kennedy Space Center in June to begin

preparations for launch on the first Space Shuttle assembly mission, STS-88, set for

July 1998. The second of two conical-shaped pressurized mating adapters that will be

attached to either end of the node is being shipped from its California factory to

Kennedy this week. During the next nine months leading to the start of the

International Space Station's five-year, 45-flight orbital assembly sequence, the first

truss structure, a third mating adapter and the first solar arrays, batteries and radiators

for the station will be shipped from factories nationwide to Florida to be readied for

launches in early 1999. Less than a year from now, in August 1998, the first station

laboratory, the U.S. Laboratory Module, will be shipped from a Huntsville, AL,

factory to Kennedy to begin final testing and launch preparations. [NASA News

Release #97-222, October 1, 1997.]

NASA DEFENDS CASH SHUFFLES

A top NASA official Wednesday faced down angry lawmakers and said he will keep

drawing money from the space shuttle budget, if necessary, to keep the cash-strapped

space station program on track. The money transferred from the shuttle comes from a

contingency fund that is carried over from year to year. The fund now has a balance

of about $400 million, according to the General Accounting Office. A GAO official

who testified Wednesday supported NASA space flight chief Wilbur Trafton

contention that the cash transfers so far have not affected spending on shuttle safety

and upgrades. Besides Russian delays, the space station program is plagued by $610

million in projected cost overruns at Boeing Co., the prime U.S. contractor. NASA is

scrambling to avoid further delays that would push launch of the station's first part

beyond June. [The Orlando Sentinel, October 2, 1997, p A-8.]

SPACEWALK WHE THRILL OF A LIFETIME'

An American-Russian spacewalking team delivered a specially designed hole-plugger

to the battered space station Mir on Wednesday as cosmonauts inside the outpost

replaced a crucial but balky computer. The five-hour foray marked the first U.S.-

Russian spacewalk from an American shuttle, setting the stage for the joint

construction of a $40 billion international space station that will replace the

191
increasingly decrepit Mir. [Florida Today, October 2, 1997, p 1A & 6A.]

CEREMONY TO HONOR ASTRONAUTS

Thirty of America's space heroes -- astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo

eras -- are gathering in Timsville Saturday (Oct. 4) for a ceremony to induct 24 Apollo

astronauts into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Walter Cronkite, longtime CBS news

anchor who reported on early space history, including man's landing on the moon, will

serve as master of ceremonies. Among the 24 inductees, all 18 astronauts who are

living are expected to attend the ceremony. They include: Astronauts who first flew

in space on Apollo missions: Fred W. Haise Jr., Thomas K. Mattingly II, William A.

Anders, Edgar D. Mitchell, Alfred M. Worden, Russell L. Schweickart, Harrison H.

Sehmitt, Charles M. Duke Jr., Alan L. Bean and Walter Cunningham. Astronauts who

first flew on the Apollo-Soyuz project or on Skylab: Vance D. Brand, Gerald P. Carr,

Owen K. Garriott, Edward G. Gibson, William R. Pogue, Dr. Joseph P. Kerwin, Jack

R. Lousma and Paul J. Weitz. The following Apollo astronauts are being inducted

into the Hall of Fame posthumously: Roger B. Chaffee, Stuart A. Roosa, Donn F.

Eisele, Ronald E. Evans, James B. Irwin and John L. Swigert Jr. Chaffee is the only

inductee who died in the line of duty. In addition to the inductees, 12 astronauts who

already are in the Hall of Fame as inductees under the Mercury and Gemini projects

are expected to attend: Alan Shepherd, John Glenn, Wally Schirra, Buzz Aldrin, Jim

Lovell, Pete Conrad, Gene Ceman, Dick Gordon, Gordon Cooper, Jim McDivitt, John

Young and Scott Carpenter. The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame and U.S. Space Camp

exist on a single campus and are the cooperative effort of two nonprofit foundations:

the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, established in 1984 by the Mercury astronauts,

and the U.S. Space Camp Foundation. [Florida Today., October 2, 1997, p 1B & 2B.]

October 2: POLICE READY FOR CASSINI PROTESTERS

The protesters are ready, and so are the police. Saturday's Cassini protest rally will

draw both in large numbers. Up to 150 people are expected to scale the Cape

Canaveral Air Station's fence and ground themselves on restricted federal property,

then wait patiently for Brevard County Sheriffs deputies to arrest them. The 1987

march against the Trident 2 nuclear missile program resulted in 138 of the 5,000

protesters being arrested. [Florida Today, October 3, 1997, 6A.]

PATHFINDER TEAM PLANS NEW COMMUNICATIONS

EFFORTS WITH SPA_FF

The Mars Pathfinder is still operating, but NASA is struggling to find ways to

communicate with the spaceship that has now outlived its original minimum design

life by nearly two months. After three days of problems communicating with the

spacecraft, controllers were able to reestablish enough contact with the lander through

an auxiliary transmitter to determine it's still operational, NASA officials say. The

192
brief communication session Tuesday night marked the first time the Pathfinder's

engineers and scientists heard from the spacecraft since downloading data in a session

that ended early Saturday, the 83rd day of the mission. [Florida Today, October 3,

1997, p 6A.]

FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACI" STATEMENT RELEASED

NASA has released the Final Environmental Impact Statement on the development and

flight testing of the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator. Per the report, the X33's preferred launch site is located at Edwards Air Force Base, CA, and the three

preferred landing sites identified are a dry lake bed near Baker, CA, Michael Army

Air Field, Dungway Proving Ground, UT, and Malmstrom Air Force Base near Great

Falls, MT. NASA will issue the final Record of Decision on the report within the

next 30 days. [KSC Countdown, October 2, 1997.]

October 3: CASSINI/HUYGENS SCHEDULED FOR

LAUNCH TO SATURN OCT. 13

The launch of NASA's Cassini spacecraft and the European Space Agency's Huygens

probe is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 13, at 4:55 a.m. EDT. Liftoff will occur aboard

an Air Force Titan IV-B/Centaur rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape

Canaveral Air Station, FL. The launch window extends for 140 minutes until 7:15

a.m. EDT. The primary launch opportunity extends through Nov. 15. [NASA News

Release #176-97, October 3, 1997.]

LONG SHOT HITS: ATLANTIS MAY

HAVE FOUND MIRES LEAK

Shuttle Atlantis left one parting gift for space station Mir as it pulled away Friday:

the probable location of the punctured outpost's mystery leak. As the shuttle circled

Mir, hit by an unmanned ship June 25, cosmonauts in the station shot two bursts of air

into the dead Spektr lab to see if something would spray out, pinpointing the source of

the leak. Looking through video and still cameras, astronauts and cosmonauts saw

particles shoot out from the base of Mir's damaged solar panel, which took the brunt

of June's crash. It could have been ice inside the cold Spektr lab, forced out by the

air. Or it could have been debris, such as insulation or paper, that had been floating

inside Spektr, NASA officials said. Whatever it was, it was a welcome sight. The

photographic evidence has to be examined, and its too early to say it's the definite

leak. But the finding is "a major step forward," said Charles Vick, a Russian space

analyst for the Federation of American Scientists, a Washington think tank. Atlantis,

scheduled to land at 6:58 p.m. Sunday, already has left Mir in better shape than it was

when the two ships docked a week ago. The shuttle delivered a new main computer

shortly after docking and transferred more than 5 tons of equipment to and from Mir,

including more than 1,500 gallons of water to boost Mir's dwindling water supply.

193
[The Odando Sentinel, October 4, 1997, p A-4.]

October 4: SOVIET'S FIRST SALVO

Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite was successfully launched 40 years ago today by

the then Soviet Union, an event which signaled the beginning of the "space race." The

satellite was an aluminum sphere, 23 inches in diameter weighing 184 pounds with

four steel antennae emitting radio signals. Sputnik was launched on Oct. 4, 1957 and

stayed in orbit 92 days until Jan. 4, 1958. [Florida Today, October 4, 1997, p 1D.]

PROTESTERS SET TO GO

While anti-Cassini protesters made preparations for today's rally at the entrance to

Cape Canaveral Air Station, President Clinton gave final approval Friday (Oct. 3) to

the space probe's Oct. 13 launch. The decision marked the last political hurdle for the

$3.3 billion mission. Cassini will carry 72 pounds of radioactive plutonium to

generate electricity for its science instruments during its four-year study of Saturn and

the planet's rings and moons. Opponents, however, were not daunted by the approval

-- which was granted by President Clinton's science adviser, John H. Gibbons. As

with all launches involving plutonium, the White House has f'mal authority. Activities

planning to attend today's protests started arriving Friday. Estimates of the crowd's

size varied wildly from a few hundred to more than 10,000. [Florida Today, October

4, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

27 ARRESTED AT PROTEST OF CASSINI

Facing certain arrest, 27 protesters crossed the chain-link security gate at Cape

Canaveral Air Station on Saturday to dramatize their opposition to next week's launch

of plutonium-powered Cassini Saturn probe. All, including a group of nine calling

itself Grandmothers for peace, were taken into custody as about 800 others who

marched to the gate cheered and chanted. It was a tightly choreographed

demonstration. The marchers, many waving signs, marched nearly a mile down

sweltering State Road 401, following a kilted bagpiper and several women carrying

poles decorated with white origami doves. Behind the gate, a long, thin line of

Brevard County deputy sheriffs waited in riot helmets. It turned out they were overly

prepared. "It was outright friendly out there," said Sheriffs Office spokeswoman Joan

Heller. "Everybody went along peacefully and without resistance." The Grandmothers

contingent was the first in, led by 87-year-old Peggy McIntire. The deputies opened

the gates and escorted the women into custody as the placard-waving crowd chanted,

"Go Grandmothers." The next wave scaled the barricade with a ladder. One after

another, they waved, flashed peace signs, raised fists and paused to give short

speeches before dropping over into the arms of deputies. The demonstration and its

carefully orchestrated acts of civil disobedience were the final event in a series of

protests since March outside the base, where Cassini is to be launched Oct. 13 aboard

194
a Titan rocket. Only three local activists were arrested Willa Elam, Palm Bay; Leslie

Telesca, Satellite Beach; and Theresa Beasley, Rockledge. [The Orlando Sentinel,

October 5, 1997, p B-1 & B-7. Florida Today., October 5, 1997, p 1A & 11A.]

October 5: CLOUDS KEEP ATLANTIS WAITING

Michael Foale's long-desired return to Earth aboard the space shuttle Atlantis has been

delayed a day because the sky over Kennedy Space Center were too cloudy. Only a

quarter of the sky was clear. NASA officials had planned to land Atlantis just before

sunset, but the clouds were sticking around. Meteorologists thought the clouds would

move away in time to try landing at 8:36 p.m. But the clouds didn't budge. Atlantis

has two landing opportunities at KSC tomorrow, at 5:55 p.m. and 7:31 p.m. But

unlike today, NASA will have a team ready for Atlantis at Edwards Air Force Base in

California. [The Orlando Sentinel, October 6, 1997, p A-5.]

ROCKET LAUNCH TAKES CENTER STAGE

In what originally was billed as the undercard to Sunday's landing of space shuttle

Atlantis, a Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket launched into orbit a

telecommunications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Station. The Atlantis flew right

on time at 5:01 p.m. from Complex 36B and deployed the EchoStar 3 satellite about

30 minutes after launch. The 8,100-pound satellite will orbit about 22, 300 miles

above Earth. The launch was the sixth of nine planned Atlas missions from the Cape

this year. The possibility of a space coast first -- a 10 minute gap between the shuttle

landing and Atlas launch -- was erased with Atlas launch managers decided to do

away with the later launch time. [Florida Today, October 6, 1997, p 1A.]

October 6: FOALE RETURNS TO EARTH

Space shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center Monday evening, returning its

original crew of seven and U.S. astronaut Michael Foale to Earth after a tumultuous

four-and-a-half months aboard Mir. Foale was reunited with his wife Rhonda and his

two children two hours after landing, and received a phone call from NASA

Administrator Daniel Goldin, who congratulated him on a "wonderful job." The

spaceship and its crew cruised to a 225 mph touchdown at 5:55 p.m. capping an 11-

day mission. A British-born astrophysicist, Foale spent 145 days in space. On the 11-

year-old Mir station, he survived a June 25 cargo ship crash, along with repeated

power outages, computer crashes and temporary shutdowns of life-support systems.

Foale's mission was the second-longest U.S. spaceflight ever. Astronaut Shannon

Lucid was in space for 188 days during a trip to Mir in 1996. The Atlantis mission

was the seventh of nine planned shuttle-Mir dockings, flight aimed at paving the way

for the joint U.S.-Russian construction of a new $40 billion international space station.

Foale's replacement on Mir is the sixth of seven astronauts who will be carrying out

research tours on Mir as part of the $472 million program. Wolf, a 41-year-old

195
physician, was launched to Mir despite objections from several congressmen who say

the increasingly decrepit Mir is unsafe. During the six days Atlantis was docked at

Mir, a record 10,440 pounds of cargo was hauled between the two craft as they circled

250 miles above Earth at 17,500 mph. [Terence Nelan. (1997). ABC News [Online].

Available WWW: www.abcnews.com/sections/scitech/mirl06/index.html [1997,

September 22]. Florida Today, October 7, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

AIR FORCE REMAINS ON SECURITY ALERT

Air Force installations in Brevard County will remain on a heightened security alert

this week until NASA's Cassini probe is launched, even though protests against the

mission have ended. The lowest level alert - Threat-corn Alpha - remains in effect

because of a "perceived threat to facilities and personnel" from anti-Cassini activists,

said Ken Warren, spokesman for 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base. The

plutonium-fueled Cassini spacecraft is set for liftoff at 4:55 a.m. Monday from Cape

Canaveral Air Station atop a Titan rocket, embarking on a 11-year journey to study

Saturn. [Florida Today, October 7, 1997, p lB.]

October 7: MIR READIES FOR ANOTHER CARGO SHIP

A day later than planned, the Mir space station jettisoned a garbage-laden supply ship

Tuesday, making way for the arrival of a vessel hauling a back-up computer and fuel.

The progress M-35 cargo ship left the station after the crew repaired a clamp that had

been preventing the maneuver, said Vera Medvedkova, a spokeswoman for Russian

Mission Control. The discarded ship, carrying trash from the station, will bum up as

it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere. [Florida Today, October 8, 1997, p 2A.]

HUBBLE DETEC_ MOST POWERFUL STAR EVER

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a glimpse of what is believed to be the

most powerful star ever detected - a colossus that pumps out 10 million times more

energy than the sun and yet can't be seen with the naked eye. [Tne Orlando Sentinel,

October 8, 1997, p A-6.]

October 8: COCKRELL NAMED CHIEF ASTRONAUT

Three-time shuttle veteran Kenneth D. Cockrell has assumed the role of Chief of the

Astronaut office, replacing Robert D. Cabana (Col., USMC). Cabana, who served as

Chief Astronaut since mid-1994, is training for shuttle mission STS-88, the first United

States assembly flight to build the International Space Station. STS-88 is scheduled

for a July 1998 launch. [NASA News Release #97-230, October 8, 1997.]

196
PATRICK OVERHAUL POSSIBLE

The way the military conducts launch business on the Space Coast could change

radically under a plan being considered by senior Air Force officials. Written by the

commander of the 45th Space Wing, the plan calls for Patrick Air Force Base - the

current wing headquarters - to be converted into an Air Force Reserve Command base.

The plan would move the space wing to Cape Canaveral Air Station and significantly

reduce Patrick's longstanding lead role in the military launch business. It also calls for

military launch support work to be handed over to either Air Force reservists or

private companies, much in the same way that NASA has been turning over operations

of its space shuttle fleet to contractors. The plan reflects a cash-strapped Air Force

struggling to redefine its space launch role in an era of declining budgets. [Florida

Today. October 9, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

HOUSE VOTES TO GIVE NASA $13.6 BH_JAON

The House voted Wednesday to give NASA $13.6 billion for the fiscal year already

under way, breaking a spending cap on the international space station but denying the

space agency the authority to shift even more money to the planned outpost. The

money was included in the final version of a $90.7 billion annual spending bill for the

Department of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and 17 independent

agencies. The bill passed by a vote of 405 to 21. NASA's allocation is approximately

$100 million below the 1997 fiscal year's appropriation and marks the fourth year in a

row its overall budget has declined. Crafted by House and Senate appropriators, the

bill allows NASA to spend a little more than $2.3 billion on the international space

station, breaking the $2.1 billion annual cap Congress had set for the project. The

additional $230 million for the station came from several sources: shifting $50 million

from the shuttle account, $80 million from mission support and then simply adding

$100 million not previously approved. With the first piece of station hardware - built

in Russia under a NASA contract with Boeing - scheduled for launch next June, 1998

is a pivotal year for the station. [Florida Today,, October 9, 1997, p 10A.]

CARGO SHIP LINKS WITH MIR STATION

A Russian cargo ship ferrying crucial supplies achieved a problem-free docking with

Mir on Wednesday, bolstering Russian Mission Control as it tries to put the space

station's troubles behind it. The unmanned Progress M-36, carrying a back-up

computer, docked on automatic pilot a few minutes ahead of schedule. Shuttle

Atlantis, which left Mir last week, delivered a new computer and other important

equipment, including a sealant for holes punched when a cargo ship slammed into

Mir's Spektr module during a practice docking in June. Atlantis also brought up U.S.

astronaut David wolf, who will spend four months on Mir. [Florida Today., October 9,

1997, p 10A.]

197
PATHFINDER FINDS EVIDENCE MARS MAY

HAVE BEEN HOSPITABLE TO LIFE

The Mars Pathfinder has yielded what scientists said Wednesday is the strongest

evidence yet that Mars, like Earth, has a crust, a mantle and an iron core - lending

support to the theory that the Red Planet might once have been hospitable to life. The

evidence that the planet is not merely a solid ball of rock came from analyzing radio

signals from Pathfinder as Mars spins on its axis. Having enough heat to create these

distinct layers gives weight to the theory that Mars once may have been warm and wet

enough for life to evolve, as it did on Earth. Mars formed 4 billion years ago.

[Florida Today., October 9, 1997, p 10A.]

ASTRONAUT'S NAME ADDED TO MIRROR

Astronaut Robert Lawrence's name was put up on the space mirror at the Astronauts

Memorial at Kennedy Space Center's Visitors Center on Wednesday morning. [Florida

Toda_ October 10, 1997, p lB.]

October 9: NASA WAITS FOR RAINY DAY TO TRY

EXPERIMENTAL ROCKEr

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's reusable rocket, the X-34, will

get its initial test flights in New Mexico next year. Then the rocket will fly about l0

times at Kennedy Space Center starting in July 1999. The rocket is carried into the air

by an L-1011 jet. Then it is dropped, where it fires and flies on its own. Unlike all

other unmanned rockets, the X-34 will return to its launch site and land autonomously

like an airplane with wings and wheels. The main reason this rocket is coming to

Florida is "adverse weather," said NASA X-34 project manager Jack Levine. The

New Mexico tests will make sure the rocket works. But NASA wants to fly the

rocket in rain, wind and fog. The Sunshine State fits the bill. So KSC officials, who

hate bad weather for shuttle launches, will wish for rain to fly X-34. Launches could

be scrubbed because of good weather, said Warren Wiley, Kennedy Space Center's

future vehicle program manager. X-34 is built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Virginia

for NASA in a $60 million program that is about to expand. The rocket is 27 feet, 7

inches from wing to wing and 60 feet long. The jet will release the rocket at about

38,000 feet. The rocket will reach a speed of Mach 8, travel almost 700 miles over

the Atlantic Ocean and return in 15 minutes. Because it's an experimental rocket, it

won't go into space or carry cargo. Its maximum altitude is about 50 miles. X-34 is

what space experts call a single-stage-to-orbit rocket, which means no boosters of

external tanks fall off. Those type rockets don't need coastal launch pads, such as

KSC. KSC officials said they realized they had to attract this type of rocket to

Kennedy, by touting existing facilities, or lose some of the space business in the

future. "The shuttle probably is going to phase out," KSC's Wiley said. "So it's

important for us to get in on the new vehicles...We still think KSC-Cape Canaveral,

198
Florida, is the gateway to the universe, and we want to see it stay that way." [The

Orlando Sentinel, October 10, 1997, p A-4.]

ANTI-CASSINI GROUP PLANS TWO MORE

RALLIES BEFORE L1FTOFF

Anti-Cassini activists plan two more mini-protests near the gates of the Cape

Canaveral Air Station as the clock ticks down to the launch of the plutonium-powered

space probe. Anti-Cassini picketers have been at the gates of the air station each day

this week after 800 activists rallied last Saturday. Of those, 27 were arrested for

illegally entering the base. On Thursday, protesters also rallied at the Jet Propulsion

Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. Anti-Cassini activists are concerned that a launch

disaster could expose millions of people to dangerous radioactive material. [Florida

Todd. October 10, 1997, p 5A.]

October 10: THOMAS WILL CONTINUE AMERICAN

PRESENCE ON MIR

Astronaut Andrew S. W. Thomas, Ph.D., has been named as the final U.S. crew

member to live and work aboard Russia's Mir space station. Thomas will launch

aboard Endeavour as a member of the STS-89 crew in January 1998 to begin a four

month stay on Mir. He has been training in Russia since January of this year as the

backup to Dr. David Wolf, who began his tour aboard Mir on September 28. Thomas'

scheduled departure from Mir next May will conclude more than two years of

continuous American presence on Mir, which began in March 1996 with the arrival of

astronaut Shannon Lucid. Thomas will come home aboard Discovery with the crew of

STS-91 in May 1998. [NASA News Release #97-231, October 10, 1997.]

October 11: TITAN IV/CASSINI-HUYGENS STATUS REPORT

The launch of NASA's Cassini spacecraft aboard an Air Force Titan IV rocket from

Complex 40 remains on schedule for 4:55 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 13. [Titan

IV/Cassini-Hu3,geas Status Report, October 11, 1997.]

October 12: NASA LOOKS AT LIFE AFFER THE SHUaWLE

While its vintage shuttle fleet continues to perform nearly flawlessly, NASA is facing

difficult choices as it looks to the next century, should the workhorse spaceplane

continue receiving periodic upgrades to keep its 1970s technology in orbit beyond

20137 Or should the agency put is boosters in another basket? That is, build a

spacecraft that can carry humans to space faster and cheaper but with one important

caveat - no one knows yet if it can be built. At the direction of the White House

Office of Management and Budget, NASA has prepared a comprehensive space

transportation strategy that attempts to define the future of access to space without

199
committing to it. Most visible among the future-looking projects are those designed to

test whether an efficient, practical and reusable launch vehicle can be developed.

Leading the crop now is the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator being built by

Lockheed Martin in partnership with NASA. The sub-scale, pilotless, suborbital

model will take off vertically and land horizontally. The X-33 won't feature costly,

throwaway external booster rockets and can be turned around for reuse in a matter of

days, not several months like the shuttle. Other vehicles designed to demonstrate

various aspects of advanced space transportation also are in the works through

different NASA contracts. Once the space transportation strategy is released, it will

assuredly attract close congressional scrutiny. [FIo6da Today, October 13, 1997, p

2A.]

October 13: TITAN/CASSINI-HUYGENS STATUS REPORT

The launch of NASA's Cassini spacecraft aboard an Air Force Titan IV/Centaur rocket

has been postponed until Wednesday, October 15. The primary issue was upper level

wind conditions which had the potential of blowing debris outside safe impact limit

lines. The recycle involves moving the mobile service tower back into position around

the rocket, detanking the Centaur upper stage, and restarting launch processing.

[Titan/Cassini-Huygens Status Report, October 13, 1997.]

October 14: 50 YEARS AGO_

MAN FLEW FASTER THAN SOUND

On October 14, 1947, 50 years ago Tuesday, Capt. Charles E. Yeager (USAF) at

Muroc, Calif., broke the sound barrier in a rocket-powered NACA-USAF research

plane, Bell XS-1, later the X-1. [The Orlando Sentinel, October 13, 1997, p A-4.

Aeronautics and Astronauts 1915-60, p 58.]

SHUTFLE LANDING SIMULATIONS TO

IMPROVE WITH SMART SOFINVARE

To assist future Shuttle pilots, NASA will install new, intelligent software in the

training aircraft that simulates the Space Shuttle Orbiter. The new software will make

the training aircraft 'feel' more like a Shuttle landing. "Tests of the smart software in

simulators on the ground with the Shuttle Training Aircraft hardware are extremely

successful, proving that the trainer airplane using new computer coding will seem a lot

more like a Shuttle as it comes in and lands. Landing an orbiter for the first time will

seem a lot more familiar to astronauts," said Dr. Hamid Berenji, software project

manager at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA. Berenji says the new

software is closer to human thinking than previous software, and computers equipped

with neuro fuzzy logic can accurately be called rudimentary mechanical brains.

[NASA News Release #97-229, October 14, 1997.]

2OO
October 15: COSMONAUT ROUNDS OUT STS-89 CREW

Cosmonaut Salizhan Shakirovich Sharipov, a first-time space flyer, has joined the crew

of STS-89, the eighth Shuttle/Mir docking mission. STS-89 is targeted for a January

1998 launch to dock with Russia's Mir space station. Sharipov will be assisting the

Mir and Shuttle crews in the transfer of logistical supplies between the two vehicles.

[NASA News Release #97-234, October 15, 1997.]

SATURN_ MYSTERIES BECKON CASSINI

The Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn, the largest, most complex and expensive

planetary flight ever undertaken by the U.S. and Europe, is outbound on what promises

to be one of the great explorations of the early 21st century. The predawn launch at

4:43 a.m. EDT on board a U.S. Air Force/Lockheed martin Titan 4B/Centaur propelled

Cassini at 7 mi./sec, on the initial leg of its seven-year journey. "The accuracy of this

launch was the definition of 'phenomenal,'" said Richard J. Spehalski, Cassini program

manager. The Earth escape velocity imparted to the spacecraft by the Centaur upper

stage was accurate to within one part in 5,000, and the angular deviation from the

planned trajectory was less than 0.004 deg. At $3.3 billion and 12,600 lb., Cassini is

the heaviest, most expensive planetary mission ever flown by NASA. The 22 x 13-ft.

spacecraft weighs more than the earlier Voyager and Galileo vehicle designs

combined. Cassini could also have a project life that spans nearly 30 years, from its

conception in 1982. [Aviation Week & Space Technolou_v, October 20, 1997, p 22.]

WORKERS ADMIT CHEATING ON NASA EQUIPMENT TESTS

A research company, five of its executives and a government inspector were indicted

Wednesday on charges they falsified critical tests of military and aerospace equipment

used by NASA in space shuttles, missile systems and the Hubble Space Telescope.

The microelectronic devices tested by Oneida Research Services Inc. were also for use

in aircraft, submarines, space shuttle and satellites. The tests were designed to detect

excessive moisture, which can cause corrosion in circuitry and lead to malfunctions.

The company, one of six labs worldwide involved in such research, had its

government testing license permanently revoked in March 1996, said Donald V.

McNamara, agent in charge of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service in Syracuse.

Because the government's investigation is ongoing, McNamara declined to say whether

any of the questionable parts tested by the company were ever used. [Florida Today.,

October 16, 1997, p 2A.]

October 18: SPACEPORT IS SEEKING 2ND LAUNCH COMPLEX

In another important move to boost local space commercialization efforts, Spaceport

Florida Authority plans to acquire a second launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air

Station. The agency is asking the Air Force to let it convert Launch Complex 20 - a

201
deactivated military facility - into a home for small rockets heading off on orbital and

suborbital missions. The site is a few miles north of Launch Complex 46, which

Spaceport completed earlier this year. The agency expects to launch its first rocket

from that pad Nov. 23. The inaugural flight will be NASA's Lunar Prospector, which

will spend a year mapping the moon and looking for signs of water that could be

utilized by future lunar colonies. Spaceport's plans call for Complex 20 to have three

launch pads, a launch control blockhouse and a facility that will prepare and store

small payloads. The new complex will cost about $2.5 million compared with the $8

million spent to build Complex 46. "Complex 20 was originally a Titan 2 facility," AI

Thomas, technical director at Spaceport Florida Authority said. "It supported both the

Air Force and NASA back in the '60s." Abandoned late in that decade, Complex 20

was reactivated during the late 1980s by the Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense

Office, which used the pad for rail-launched vehicles such as Starbird and Red Tigress.

The agency abandoned the pad 1994. [Florida Today, October 19, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

October 20: MIR CREW CONN_WS CABLES

The Mir's two cosmonauts cleared away floating space debris and connected several

new cables Monday during an internal spacewalk that should boost power on the

damaged space station. The cosmonauts found a roomful of surprises when they

entered the darkened and airless Spektr module. "Seven bags are flying around - and

a refrigerator door," said Anatoly Solovyov, the most experienced spacewalker in

history. The bags, which contained scientific equipment and personal belongings,

were taped to the walls and a safe place was found for the door. The cosmonauts then

proceeded with their main task - installing cables that will link three solar panels on

the Spektr module to a computer on the undamaged Kxistall module. The two

Russians and American astronaut David Wolf will need another day or two of testing

to determine the success of the project. [Florida Today, October 21, 1997, p 2A.]

LASER SHOT NAH-_ ORBITING SATI?JJJTE

A high-powered Army laser trained its invisible beam on a U.S. satellite, 260 miles

above the Earth, as it emerged from over the horizon to the north. The test, conducted

Friday (Oct. 17) at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., and announced Monday at the

Pentagon, went off successfully, pointing to a possible new direction in warfare. The

Pentagon views the test as concrete proof of a long-held concern: that its own

satellites, as well as intelligence, civilian or commercial satellites, are vulnerable to

laser weapons. [Florida Today, October 21, 1997, p 2A.]

October 21: COOPER TO RETIRE FROM NASA

Benita A. Cooper, Associate Administrator for Management Systems and Facilities,

has announced her retirement from NASA effective Oct. 31, 1997. Cooper was

responsible for Agency oversight of facilities and maintenance, logistics, aircraft

202
management, security, environmental management, information systems, internal

controls and audit liaison. [NASA News Release #97-241, October 21, 1997.]

October 22: HOLCOMB NAMED

NASA CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

Lee B. Holcomb has been named Chief Information Officer (CIO) at NASA

Headquarters, Washington, DC, effective immediately. Holcomb will succeed Ronald

S. West, who retired earlier this year. [NASA News Release #97-243, October 22,

1997.]

LAUNCH OF LUNAR PROSPECTOR

RESCHEDULED FOR EARLY JANUARY

The launch of the Lunar Prospector mission to explore the Moon has been rescheduled

for Jan. 5, 1998, NASA officials announced today. The schedule adjustment is

necessary to allow adequate time to complete the rigorous testing, review and

preparation of the new Lockheed Martin Athena II launch vehicle (formerly known as

the LMLV-2). The previous launch date was Nov. 23, 1997. [NASA News Release

#97-242, October 22, 1997.]

MISSILE CRISIS 35 YEARS OGO

The Cuban missile crisis came to a head Oct. 22, 1962, when President Kennedy

established an air and sea quarantine to prevent Russian nuclear missiles from being

delivered to Cuba. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev ultimately agreed to dismantle the

missile sites. [John Kennedy Jr. in Cuba years after missile crisis, Florida Today.,

October 25, 1997, p 2A.]

October 24: SCIENTISTS FEAR ITS GOODBYE TO MARS FOR NOW

With a dead battery and subfreezing temperatures, Mars Pathfinder may have sent its

last spectacular pictures from the red planet. NASA has been unable to contact the

Martian lander and its rover since Oct. 7 and is running out of ways to communicate

with the $196 million probe. It doesn't look like NASA will be able to talk with

Pathfinder again, officials said Friday. The longer it takes to contact Pathfinder, the

worse the chances are of re-establishing communication. NASA will spend the next

two weeks trying new ways of talking to the lander. If nothing works by early

November, engineers will have to give up regular attempts at contact, Mars Pathfinder

Project Manager Brian Muirhead said in an interview Friday. While Pathfinder's

mission appears to be ending, Mars Global Surveyor's mission is threatened just as it

is beginning. The $148 million mapping probe arrived at its egg-shaped orbit of Mars

in September and was supposed to dip into the Martian atmosphere to slow itself down

and attain the proper orbit by March 1999. But a broken hinge appears to have

203
interfered with the mission. Two weeks ago, NASA stopped its braking technique

because the hinge has become stuck on one of the probe's two solar power panels.

When the problem was discovered last year after the launch, NASA said it wasn't

serious. But when the probe dipped into the atmosphere this month, the solar panel

started to flap dramatically, global surveyor manager Glenn Cunningham said.

Officials will decide Monday which of two options to try: Find a way to ease into the

atmosphere without damaging the solar panel or forget about that method and get to

the best possible orbit. NASA hopes to launch another Martian probe next year. [The

Orlando Sentinel, October 25, 1997, p A-1 & A-14.]

ATLAS LIFIS SATELLITE INTO ORBIT

A Lockheed Martin Arias 2A lifted of from Cape Canaveral Air Station at 8:46 p.m.

carrying a military telecommunications satellite. Weather and technical problems

delayed the launch by more than an hour. The launch marked the first Air Force flight

of the Atlas 2A launch vehicle and the 10th flight of a Defense Satellite

Communications System 3 spacecraft. The spacecraft joins nine other DSCS 3

satellites and two DSCS 2 satellites in orbit. [Florida Today, October 25, 1997, p 2A.]

October 28: MARSHALL CENTER DIREC'WOR

WAYNE LITFLES ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Marshall Center Director Dr. Wayne Littles announced his plans to retire on Jan. 3.

No decision has been made as to who will replace him. [KSC Countdown, October

28, 1997.]

MIR ASTRONAUT WILL CAST ABSENTEE

BALLOT FROM AFAR

For the first time in history, an American astronaut is about to exercise his right to

vote while in orbit. A ballot has been sent to David Wolf aboard the Russian space

station Mir, thanks to a new Texas law. Under the old law, an absentee ballot had to

bemailed. But in June, Gov. George W. Bush signed a bill saying astronauts

registered to vote in Texas - where most of them live - can cast ballots from space.

Using new software, a ballot was sent last week to U.S. flight controllers in Moscow,

and they transmitted it to Wolf. The 41-year-old doctor and engineer will open the email on a laptop computer. [Florida Today, October 29, 1997, p 1A.]

CONTRACI" MEANS 60 NEW JOBS HEADED FOR KSC

About 60 new jobs will be added to Kennedy Space Center's payroll next year when

the spaceport takes over the job of purchasing rockets that will launch NASA probes

on their missions. The change will consolidate work already done at KSC and two

other NASA sites: Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and Lewis

204
Research Center in Cleveland. By moving the work to KSC, the agency plans to

eliminate about 60 jobs at the other centers in an effort to save money, said Karen

Poniatowski, director of expendable launch vehicle program at NASA headquarters in

Washington, D.C. About 60 KSC employees already work in the program, and

another 60 are expected to be added. However, only about 40 of the new workers will

relocate to Florida. [Florida Today, October 29, 1997, p 2A.]

'ARMAGEDDON' STARS POP INTO TOWN

Billy Bob Thornton and Bruce Willis are in town for the filming of "Armageddon" at

Kennedy Space Center. Set for July 1998 release, "Armageddon" features an asteroid

on a collision course with Earth. Willis plays an oil driller who - with help from

Thornton - gets astronauted into action against the apocalyptic projectile before it turns

the Blue Planet into Mars. Also getting major face-time in this Touchstone Pictures

production are actors Will Patton and Liv Tyler. "The Rock" director Michael Bay

will be calling the shots at KSC, which has enjoyed a banner year with filmmakers.

The Space Center accommodated Jodie Foster's summer hit "Contact," as well as Tom

Hanks' series "From The Earth to The Moon" for HBO. [Florida Today., October 29,

1997, p 1D.]

October 30: KSC ASSUMES LEAD FOR ACQUISITION AND

MANAGEMENT OF ELV LAUNCH SERVICES

NASA has assigned KSC lead center responsibility for the agency's acquisition and

management of expendable launch vehicle launch services. This assignment will

eliminate redundancy in the procurement, management, fiscal and administrative

functions of expendable launch vehicles. It also will enable concentration of launch

operations expertise at Kennedy. Atlas management will transition to Kennedy from

Lewis after the next Atlas mission which is currently planned for June, 1998 from

Vandenberg Air Force Base. Delta and Pegasus management will transition from

Goddard to Kennedy by FY 1999. Kennedy will also issue and award the launch

services contract(s) for the follow-on small expendable launch vehicle contract with

support from Goddard and the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL. The

Kennedy assignment complements and does not alter NASA's assignment to Marshall

for the lead in vehicle engineering and insight for development vehicles which lack a

flight history. [KSC Countdown, October 30, 1997.]

l_qC EXTENDS CURRENT BASE OPERATIONS CONTRACT

NASA procurement officials plan to exercise an option to extend the performance

period of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), FL, Base Operations Contract (BOC).

The action is effective Nov. 1, 1997 through Sept. 30, 1998, with an estimated value

of $147 million. The option's original performance period was for two years through

Oct. 31, 1999, but, in order to accommodate the anticipated award of the Joint Base

205
Operations Support Contract (JBOSC) slated for award by Oct. 1, 1998, it will be

shortened to eleven months. The YBOSC is a joint procurement effort between NASA

and the Air Force 45th Space Wing to provide unified base support services for KSC,

Cape Canaveral Air Station, and Patrick Air Force Base. EG&G Florida, Inc. of Cape

Canaveral, FL, has been KSC's base operations contractor since 1983, providing

management, operation, maintenance and engineering for KSC utilities, facilities,

health, fire, security services and some technical operations. Their current contract

was effective Nov. 1, 1993, and has a base period of performance through Oct. 31,

1997. The exercising of this option is within the provisions of the existing contract.

[NASA Contract Announcement #C97-s, October 30, 1997.]

October 31: LINEAR AEROSPIKE SR-71 EXPERIMENT

COMPLWI_ SUCCESSFUL FIRST FLIGHT

A NASA SR-71 today successfully completed its first flight as part of the

NASA/Rocketdyne/Lockheed Martin Linear Aerospike SR-71 Experiment (LASRE) at

NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA. The SR-71 took off at 11:31

a.m. EST. The aircraft flew for one hour and fifty minutes, reaching a maximum

speed of March 1.2 before landing at Edwards at 1:21 a.m. EST, successfully

validating the SR-71flinear aerospike configuration. Linear Aerospike rocket engines

are going to power the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator, scheduled to fly in

1999. [NASA News Release #97-251, October 31, 1997.]

TWO MORE MOONS OF URANUS FOUND

Astronomers have discovered two small moons orbiting Uranus, bringing to 17 the

number of moons circling the seventh planet. The larger moon measures only 100

miles across, the smaller only 50 miles. Unlike the planet's other moons, they orbit

Uranus at a crazy angle, alternately rising high above and then plunging far below the

plane occupied by most solar system objects. The discovery was announced by the

International Astronomical Union. The moons are yet to be named. Tradition dictates

that, like Uranus' other 15 moons, they receive names from Shakespeare or Alexander

Pope. [Florida Today, November 1, 1997, p 2A.]

X-33 RECEIVlrN OK TO PROCEED

NASA admitted Friday that the X-33 space plane will probably not go as fast as

planned, but gave Lockheed Martin Corp. clearance for final construction of the $1

billion craft. Engineers at Lockheed Martin's fabled Skunk Works design shop in

California have struggled all year with the weight of the plane, which will be asked to

perform unlike anything ever made. The X-33 is the small-scale prototype of a craft

that will take off like a rocket, fly into space and return to Earth like an airplane - all

without the external fuel tanks or disposable parts that help make the space shuttle so

expensive. In testing the concept with the X-33, the National Aeronautics and Space

206
Administration originally wanted Lockheed Martin to make a craft that could go 15

times the speed of sound, or Math 15. Now the space agency has decided that it can

get by with Math 134. Even that speed, roughly 8,700 mph, would be four times

faster than the official airplane record of 2,193 mph set by an SR-71 Blackbird in

1976. [Florida Today., November 1, 1997, p 7A.]

During October:. LAUNCH COMPUTER TRIALS

Kennedy Space Center has begun testing two new Infinity R/T computer systems on

space shuttle mobile launch platforms. The systems are procured from Encore

originally by McDonnell Douglas before its merger with Boeing and will now be used

to support shuttle payload data acquisition and monitoring operations at Launch

Complex 39. The systems have been customized to withstand acoustic and vibration

loads during shuttle ignition and liftoff. Kennedy may order as many as six additional

Infinity R/T systems, once the initial two complete launch trials. [Aviation Week &

Space Technolo_¢, October 6, 1997, p 19.]

207
NOVEMBER

November 1: TITAN ROCKE'q" SPY CRAFT READY TO FLY

After a delay caused by lightning and leaking fuel, a Titan 4 rocket is scheduled to

carry a spy satellite in space. The $350 million rocket is carrying classified cargo for

the super-secret National Reconnaissance Office. The launch is to occur tonight

between 7:45 and 9:45 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Station. Trade publications

have identified the cargo as TRUMPET, a high-technology satellite worth nearly $1

billion. The launch had been set for Friday, but a lightning strike near the launch pad

earlier last week forced Air Force officials to recheck the rocket's electrical circuits.

Workers also had discovered a small leak in a solid-fuel rocket motor. The leaky part

was replaced. [The Orlando Sentinel, November 2, 1997, p A-16.]

SEATFLE COMPANY TAKING RESERVATIONS FOR SPACE TRAVEL

Zegrahm Expeditions is taking reservations for trips on a rocket-powered cruiser that

would fly 62 miles above Earth - far enough from the planet's gravitational pull to

achieve weightlessness for about two minutes. The Seattle company started taking

reservations last month and says it has at least 15 people who have put down a $5,000

deposit on the $98,000 trip. Plans call for the voyages to start in 2001, when Zegrahrn

plans to schedule two departures a week, with six passengers along on each "space

experience," said Scott Fitzsimmons, vice president of subsidiary Zegrahm Space

Voyages. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is wary of carrying

civilians since the 1986 Challenger explosion that killed seven astronauts - one of

them teacher Christa McAuliffe. But there's a burgeoning private industry - and a

cash incentive. The St. Louis-based X Prize Foundation is offering a $10 million prize

for the first privately financed operation that will ferry people into space. [Florida

Today. November 2, 1997, p 1E.]

November 2: OCTOBER WAS A GOOD MONTH FOR _ CREW

One month into his stay on the Russian space station Mir, David Wolf is doing fulltime science work, something other American astronauts have not been able to do this

year. Mir's crew has enjoyed a trouble-free October, allowing Wolf to devote himself

to experiments while his two cosmonaut roommates, Anatoly Solovyev and Pavel

Vinogradov, are carrying out repairs and doing routine work. [Florida Today,

November 3, 1997, p 1A & 4A.]

November 4: SCIENTISTS BID FAREWELL TODAY TO PATHFINDER

NASA scientists will announce today that the remarkable journey of the Mars

Pathfinder spacecraft and its tough little rover, Sojourner, is finally over. Controllers

at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have not been able to talk to

208
the duo since Oct. 7. They think Mars' sub-zero temperatures have frozen the radio

transmitters. A final attempt to establish contact was made last weekend to no avail,

leaving nothing to do but officially sign off. The team now will focus its attention on

studying the wealth of data the probes returned, a job that should last through August.

By any measure, the Mars Pathfinder was an enormous success. It was the first U.S.

probe to land on Mars in more than 20 years, and the first of a new generation of

inexpensive NASA robot explorers designed to go from the drawing board to outer

space in a few years. It also proved a risky, unorthodox landing method that had the

probe encased in giant air bags, which allowed it to bounce to a stop on the cusp of an

ancient Martian valley. Pathfinder's July 4 landing captivated the world when it sent

back dramatic pictures of the rocky, mountainous surface. The images immediately

were placed on the Intemet, which made them available to millions of computer users.

[Florida Today., November 4, 1997, p 4A.]

STS-87 CREW AT KSC THIS WEEK

The crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-87 are at KSC this week for the Terminal

Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT). The TCDT is held at KSC prior to each

Space Shuttle flight providing the crew of each mission opportunities to participate in

simulated countdown activities. Tomorrow, the crew will take part in simulated

launch day events and enter the orbiter Columbia fully suited for simulated shuttle

main engine ignition and cut-off sequences. Following TCDT, the crew is scheduled

to depart KSC for their homes in Houston for final flight preparations. Columbia is

now targeted for launch on Nov. 19 at 2:46 p.m. [KSC Countdown, November 4,

1997.1

November 5: WAYWARD BOATS CANCEL LAUNCH

The Air Force will try again tonight to launch a Delta 2 rocket with a military

navigation satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Station. Wayward boats in the launch

impact area off the coast thwarted a launch attempt Tuesday. The window for the

rocket and its $65 million satellite runs from 7:08 to 7:29 p.m. The Navstar Global

Positioning System spacecraft - commonly called GPS - will take the place of an aging

satellite. The new GPS will join a constellation of two dozen such spacecraft that

provide navigation and tracking information for military and civilian users. [Florida

Today_, November 5, 1997, p 2A.]

NASA SEEKS MORE MONEY FOR STATION

The first component of the international space station won't be launched until June but

project costs are rising at regular intervals, a congressional panel was told Wednesday.

Two weeks ago, President Clinton signed legislation giving NASA $2.3 billion for

space station construction in fiscal 1998. But the nation's civilian space agency needs

$200 million more to keep the multinational project from falling even farther behind

209
and racking up even more unexpected costs, said Wilbur Trafton, NASA's associate

administrator for space flight. "We don't want to slip the schedule," Trafton said. "If

we (do), the out-year costs will go through the roof," he said. Already aware of the

station's precarious budget and schedule, lawmakers on the House Science

subcommittee were not pleased to listen - once again - as a contrite NASA manager

asked for more money and time. The space agency now estimates the total bill for

work being done by The Boeing Co., the station's prime contractor, will be $817

million more than expected. [Florida Today, November 6, 1997, p 6A. The Orlando

Sentinel, November 6, 1997, p A-12.]

NAVIGATION SATELLITE HEADS TOWARD ORBIT

A new military navigation satellite is heading toward its destination in space today

after a successful liftoff Wednesday night aboard a Delta 2 rocket. The U.S. Air

Force/Boeing Navstar Global Positioning System spacecraft - commonly called GPS -

was launched at 7:30 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Station into a 10,993 X 100-naut.-

mi. transfer orbit inclined 35 deg on Nov. 5 by a Boeing Delta 2 booster. The launch

marked the first "all-Boeing" space mission ever flown. It will take about two weeks

to reach its orbit 11,000 miles above Earth. After extending its solar panels and

charging its batteries, the $55 million spacecraft is expected to start working in about

20 days. The flight marked the 28th and final launch of the GPS 2A type spacecraft

developed originally by Rockwell International. [Florida Today, November 6, 1997, p

6A. Aviation Week & Space Technology, November 10, 1997, p 29.]

November 6: SCIENCE TEAM AND INSTRUMENTS SELECFED

FOR MARS SURVEYOR 2001 MISSIONS

Two robotic spacecraft scheduled for launch in mid-2001 to orbit and land on Mars

will carry a descent camera, a multispectral imager, and a robotic rover capable of

traversing tens of miles across the red planet's rocky highlands. The Mars Surveyor

2001 missions will follow two other robotic Mars missions to be launched in late 1998

and early 1999. All are part of NASA's long-term, systematic exploration of Mars in

which two missions are launched to the planet approximately every 26 months.

NASA's Office of Space Science has selected the following investigations for the Mars

2001 Orbiter, due for launch in March of that year, and the Mars 2001 Lander/Rover,

due for launch in April. [NASA News Release #97-260, November 6, 1997.]

MORE POWER TO THEM - MIR INSTALLS NEW SOLAR PANEL

The Mir space station was back to nearly full power Thursday for the first time in

months after cosmonauts carried out a tricky, six-hour spacewalk to install a new solar

panel. The successful mission gave Russian space officials a measure of vindication

over critics who doubted their ability to bounce back from a series of mishaps that

have dogged Mir all year. The new solar panel brought Mir's power supply almost to

210
what it was before the space station was rammed by a cargo ship during a practice

docking in June. [The Orlando Sentinel, November 7, 1997, p A-10.]

November 7: TITAN ROCKET LIGHTS UP SKY

A Titan 4A rocket rumbled into the night sky Friday following its 9:05 p.m. liftoff

from Cape Canaveral Air Station. The launch was delayed for nearly an hour as crews

remedied a technical problem aboard the rocket. The rocket carried into orbit a

military spy satellite designed to help America keep track of Russia's nuclear arsenal.

The $1 billion spy satellite is called Trumpet and has an antenna the size of two

football fields. The Centaur flew an unusual three-bum profile to place the spacecraft

into an initial 55-deg. parking orbit and then a final 63.5-deg. orbit, where it was

released. Once in orbit, the nearly 6-ton craft will join two other advanced eavesdropping satellites already on the job. Its orbit, which extends to about 23,000 mi.,

will allow the spacecraft to monitor communications over high northern latitudes. The

launch was originally scheduled for Sunday, but a faulty valve inside one of the solid

rocket booster nozzles had to be replaced. [Florida Today, November 8, 1997, p 2A.

Aviation Week & Space Teeimolo27_, November 17, 1997, p 27.]

'GEMINI PROGRAM LED THE WAY'

Space pioneers - astronauts and workers involved with the Gemini program - were

honored Friday with the unveiling of a monument at the U.S. Space Walk of Fame in

Titusville. The monument - a black granite base engraved with the names of many of

those involved in the missions and topped with a 12-foot stainless steel Gemini

emblem - was dedicated before a crowd of more than 150. The Gemini program was

one of many important steps that helped to propel the space program to where it is

today. "The Gemini program led the way," former astronaut John Young told the

crowd before officially dedicating the monument. The program operated in 1965 and

1966 as a bridge between the original manned mercury launches and the Apollo

missions to the moon. Young flew on Gemini 3. [Florida Today, November 8, 1997,

p lB.]

November 8: SPACE MEMORIAL DAMAGED

Astronaut Memorial Foundation officials are trying to determine the amount of damage

to the memorial Space Mirror at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

Normally the mirror, which honors fallen astronauts, flits at 52 degrees. On Saturday

morning, it was at 42 degrees. "The mirror flits and rotates, and it basically tilted

further down than it was supposed to," said Jim DeSantis, president of the foundation.

"We think it might be fatigue to the metal, but we don't know exactly what happened,

so we have to bring in the experts to find out what went wrong. "We don't know how

serious the damage is. We know one set of three mirrors that reflect the sun's rays are

broken, an area about 4-by-5-feet." The granite slab stands 421⁄2 feet high, is 50 feet

211
wide and weighs 70,400 pounds, including some 50,000 pounds that move. Its

supporting steel work, some of which apparently failed, weighs an additional 250,000

pounds. The monument, which cost $6.2 million has been stabilized with braces to

prevent further damage, DeSantis said. Seen by millions of people every year, the

mirror has been roped off until officials can fix the problem. [Florida Today,

November 9, 1997, p 2B.]

November 9: KSC LIAISON IS LINK BETWEEN SPACF__

BUSINESS COMMUNITY

Christine Rodgers is NASA-Kennedy Space Center's business liaison in the Office of

Engineering Development, Technology Programs and Commercialization, which means

she is the link between the space community and the business community. It also

means she has quickly become one of Brevard's better-known executives, with an

enthusiasm for the job that's matched only by her enthusiasm for her new home. "I'm

here only a year," said Rodgers, who transferred last September from NASA's national

headquarters in Washington D.C. "But I really like what I'm doing and I like the area

in which I'm doing it." In little more than a year, she has become a member of the

executive committee of the board of directors of the Economic Development

Commission of Florida's Space Coast; a member of the Space Coast Development

Commission, and a member of the Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and its

Small Business and Industry Council, was well being active in the Space Business

Roundtable, the Spaceport Florida Authority, the Canaveral Port Authority and

Enterprise Florida. She says she wants to make Kennedy Space Center "more

accessible, more personal," to the community at large. "It's very important for

Kennedy Space Center to be regarded as a partner in the community." [Florida Today.,

November 10, 1997, p 1D.]

SOARING SECOND CAREER

Former Kennedy Space Center Director Jay Honeycutt is rising fast through the ranks

of aerospace giant Lockheed Martin. Honeycutt, who retired in March, was hired in

May as executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Mission Systems and

Services in Houston. Late last month he was promoted to president of the 5,000-

employee division, which provides engineering work to NASA. It took Honeycutt 29

years at NASA to become KSC director, but only five months to get an equivalent job

at Lockheed Martin. [The Orlando Sentinel, November 10, 1997, p A-7.]

30TH ANNIVERSARY OF SATURN V

Nov. 9 was the 30th anniversary of the first launch of a Saturn V rocket. At lift-off

the vehicle produced more than 7.5 million lbs. of thrust, stood more than 360 feet tall

and weighed more than 6 million lbs. [NASA Countdown, November 13, 1997.]

212
November 10: MARS MAPPING DELAYED 1 YEAR

After a month's delay because of problems with a solar-power panel, Mars Global

Surveyor has resumed maneuvers to descend to a mapping orbit of the planet. The

spacecraft now is not expected to be in position for its primary mapping operations

until March 1999, a year later than planned. Soon after launching, one of the

Surveyor's two solar-power wings failed to deploy properly. [The Orlando Sentinel,

November 11, 1997, p A-5.]

'SPACE MIRROR' OUT OF COMMISSION FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS

A monument to fallen astronauts will remain closed until workers can determine how

much damage was caused late Saturday when 25 tons of granite slipped out of place.

The "Space Mirror," which sits outside the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center, is

likely to be out of commission for at least two weeks. During that time, visitors will

not be allowed within 30 yards of the monument, said Jim DeSantis, president of the

Astronauts Memorial Foundation. The 50-by-42-foot mirror is designed to illuminate

the names of dead astronauts by reflecting sunlight through 93 granite panels. The

mirror uses a computer program to track the sun across the sky. The structure's

troubles started early Saturday when the giant mirror tilted 12 degrees beyond its

normal position. The unexpected shift heavily damaged one set of mirrors used to

reflect light. Beyond that, there does not appear to be any major damage to the

memorial. "But it's so complex. We don't know what the damage is underneath,"

DeSantis said Monday. For now, the Space Mirror will be braced with steel beams

until an expert can assess the damage. A meeting is scheduled for today to select a

company for the task, DeSantis said. The $6.2 million Space Mirror opened in 1991.

It was built with money generated from a license plate commemorating the crew of the

space shuttle Challenger, which exploded shortly after launch in 1986. This is the

second time there has been a problem with the monument. In 1991, the two engines

that tilt the memorial started moving a different speeds, creating enormous stress on

the monument. To solve that problem, the computer program was altered so that the

system now shuts down if the engines lose synchronization. [The Orlando Sentinel,

November 11, 1997, p D-3.]

November 11: FERRY FLIGHT TO PAIzMDALE_ CA FOR OMDP

Atlantis, riding atop the modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), departed

Kennedy Space Center at 1:53 p.m. today en route to Palmdale, CA, for the planned

Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP). Following a minor problem getting the

orbiter mated to the SCA, Atlantis departed KSC from the Shuttle Landing Facility

runway 33. Atlantis is scheduled to arrive at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City,

at about 6 p.m. today and remain overnight. Tomorrow, weather permitting, Atlantis

will continue on to Palmdale's Orbiter Assembly Facility where it will remain until

August 1998. At Palmdale, modifications and structural inspections will be conducted

213
in preparation for Atlantis' future missions to support International Space Station

assembly activities. Atlantis' next flight into space is scheduled to be Space Shuttle

mission STS-92, targeted for launch from KSC in January 1999. [Bruce Buckingham.

(1997). Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle Status Report [Online]. Available Email: domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [ 1997, November 11].]

November 12: NEW PATHFINDER STAMP

Mars Pathfinder, whose mission to the Red Planet riveted Americans' attention this

summer, will be commemorated on a postage stamp. Pathfinder attracted a worldwide

television audience as it parachuted to the surface of Mars on July 4. The rover

provided thousands of pictures and other data until it sent its last set of scientific

findings Sept. 27. The lander sent out its last signal Oct 7. The $3 stamp will be

issued Dec. l0 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. [Florida

Today. November 13, 1997, p 6A.]

CASSINI PROTESTERS FACE JUDGE TODAY

A preliminary hearing on the Cassini protesters arrested in early October will be heard

today in the Brevard County Courthouse in Titusville. Assistant State Attorney Mark

McQuagge is expected to file a motion asking County Judge Kenneth Friedland to

limit defense options in the case. The protesters were arrested when they trespassed

on Cape Canaveral Air Station in opposition to the launch of the Cassini probe. The

state's motion will ask Friedland to put something called "a defense of necessity" off

limits, said Mark Tietig, defense attorney for some of the protesters. If granted, the

protesters would not be able to use this defense: They had to trespass on federal

property to prevent danger. Tietig said he and his wife, Lisa Kuhlman Tietig who will

argue the case, will ask Friedland to deny the motion. [Florida Today., November 13,

1997, p 3B.]

November 13: TRAFFON ANNOUNCES HIS DEPARTURE FROM NASA

Wilbur C. Trafton, Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight at NASA

Headquarters, has announced his intention to leave NASA, effective next month.

NASA is proceeding with the search for a successor. Trafton has been the space

agency's top official for human space flight since March 1996. [NASA News Release

#97-264, November 13, 1997.]

November 14: X-33 LAUNCH FACILITY GROUNDBREAKING HELD

Representatives from NASA, the U.S. Air Force and industry broke ground Friday,

Nov. 14, at the launch site for the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator during a

ceremony at Edwards Air Force Base, CA. The 25-acre launch site is located on the

eastern portion of Edwards, a few hundred yards north of what is known as Haystack

214
Butte. [KSC Countdown, November 18, 1997.]

November 15: MARS MISSIONS TO CARRY

HIGH-TECH EQUIPMENT

Two robotic spacecraft scheduled for launch in mid-2001 to orbit and land on Mars

will carry a descent camera, a multispectral imager and a rover capable of traveling

miles across the planet's rocky highlands. The Mars Surveyor 2001 missions will

follow two other Mars missions - one launch late next year, the other in early 1999.

All are part of NASA's plan to explore Mars with new missions launched to the planet

about every 26 months. The Mars 2001 Orbiter is scheduled for launch in March of

that year, followed a month later by the Mars 2001 Lander and Rover. [Florida

Today, November 26, 1997, p 1E.]

STS-87 FLIGHT CREW ARRIVES

The STS-87 flight crew arrived at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at about 3:15

p.m yesterday and will undergo routine pre-flight medical exams and final mission

familiarization briefings in the days leading up to launch. Commander Kevin Kregel

and Pilot Steven Lindsey practiced SLF approaches in the Shuttle Training Aircraft

(STA) this afternoon and have an additional STA flight planned for tomorrow evening.

[Bruce Buckingham. (1997). Kennedy Space Center Space Shutde Status Report

[Online]. Available E-maih domo@news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [1997,

November 17].]

November 16: STS-87 MISSION OVERVIEW

The countdown for mission STS-87 began Sunday at 3 p.m. from Firing Room 3 of

the Launch Control Center. STS-87 is the eighth and final space shuttle mission of

1997. This will be the 24th flight of the orbiter Columbia and the 88th flight overall

in NASA's space shuttle program. Launch is set for 2:46 p.m. tomorrow. The mission

is scheduled to last 15 days, 16 hours, 34 minutes and end with a planned KSC

landing at about 7:20 a.m. on Dec. 5. On mission STS-87, Columbia will carry into

orbit a six member crew. Once on orbit the U.S. Microgravity Payload experiments

will be activated and the Spartan 201 satellite will be deployed on the second day of

the mission. Spartan retrieval is slated for flight day four and two days later Mission

Specialists Winston Scott and Takao Doi will conduct a six-hour space walk to

demonstrate techniques to be used in the assembly of the International Space Station.

There is a 60 percent chance of favorable weather, with a chance of showers and

clouds in the area at launch time. [KSC Countdown, November 18, 1997.]

215
November 17: U.S.I RUSSIA NAME INTERNATIONAL

SPA(_'E STATION CREWS

The first four crews to live and work onboard the International Space Station (ISS)

were named today by both the U.S. and Russian space agencies. The first increment

crew consists of American astronaut William M. Shepherd (Capt., USN), the

expedition commander; Yuri Gidzenko (Col., Russian Air Force), the Soyuz vehicle

commander; and cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, the flight engineer. All three have

previous space flight experience. The crew is training for an early 1999 launch on a

Soyuz vehicle for a planned five-month mission on the ISS. Shepherd, Gidzenko and

Krikalev will be relieved in the summer of 1999, when the second incremental crew is

scheduled to arrive aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis. That crew will be commanded by

Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Usachev. He will be joined by American astronauts James

S. Voss (Col., USA) and Susan J. Helms (Lt. Col., USA.F). All three also have flown

in space before. [NASA News Release #97-269, November 17, 1997.]

November 18: ATLANTIS IMPROPERLY ATTACHED TO CARRIER

Shuttle Atlantis rode atop a jet last week to California with washers missing from two

crucial bolts used to hold it in place, NASA officials said Tuesday. The washers were

left off bolts used to secure the spaceship to the back of the modified Boeing 747

jumbo jet that flew the shuttle to California for improvements and safety inspections.

"That kit, which is associated with holding the orbiter onto the 747, has to be installed

correctly to ensure a safe ferry flight," said George Diller, a Kennedy Space Center

spokesman. "In this case, some of that apparatus was left out." The bolts, which

require two sets of washers, did have one washer each but were missing the second

pair. As a result, officials say the bolts suffered minor damage during flight but

structurally were sound upon arrival. Nevertheless, United Space Alliance, the NASA

contractor that is assuming control over the shuttle fleet operations, is investigating the

mistake. Workers for the company were responsible for attaching Atlantis to the plane

before it left KSC on Nov. 11. The problem was discovered last weekend when

technicians at the Boeing plant in Palmdale, Calif., unloaded Atlantis from the airplane

to begin nine months of work on it. During its stay, Atlantis will undergo more than

120 improvements, including an enhanced navigation system that will more accurately

pinpoint the vehicle's location in flight. [Florida Today, November 19, 1997, p 1A.]

DOING THE TWIT: COLUMRIA Wll J, FI,Ip IN SHUTI1,g FIRST

In a space shuttle first, Columbia will roll from belly-up to belly-down - and the crew

from heads-down to heads-up - six minutes after liftoff today while traveling at about

Mach 13, or 13 times the speed of sound. The twist is designed to put the rocket ship

in radio contact with communication satellites. In the past, such a tricky maneuver

would have been used only if a shuttle had to make an emergency landing overseas -

something never attempted - because of a failed engine or loss of cabin pressure.

216
NASA can no longer afford its tracking station in Bermuda, which for 16 years has

provided uninterrupted communication between Mission Control and ascending space

shuttles. Columbia will twist to keep its external fuel tank from obstructing the radio

antenna that links the spaceship to NASA's communication satellites. The switchover

from Kennedy Space Center tracking station to the satellites should be smooth, with

only a momentary gap in coverage. The shuttle normally would switch over to the

satellites upon reaching orbit 81⁄2 minutes after liftoff. NASA stressed that the

maneuver is safe and has been certified for emergency use ever since Columbia made

the first shuttle flight in 1981. If the test goes well, NASA will close its Bermuda

station following Columbia's 16-day science mission, saving NASA $5 million a year.

And all shuttles launched toward the east, from then on, will do the twist. [Florida

Today. November 19, 1997, p 2A.]

November 19: LAUNCH OF STS-87

The Space Shuttle Columbia launched on time from Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39B

today at 2:46 p.m. EST on mission STS-87. The eighth and final Space Shuttle launch

of 1997, Columbia's timely liftoff punctuated a year of successful, on-time Shuttle

launches. KSC launch managers worked no major technical issues throughout the

day's countdown activities. Astronauts on this flight include: Commander Kevin

Kregel, Pilot Steven Lindsey, Mission Specialists Winston Scott, Kalpana Chawla,

Takao Doi and Payload Specialist Leonid Kadenyuk. [Bruce Buckingham. (1997).

Kennedy Space Center Space Shuttle Status Report [Online]. Available E-mail:

domo(_news.ksc.nasa.gov/subscribe shuttle-status [1997, November 19]. Florida

Today. November 20, 1997, p 1A & llA.]

November 20: SPACE MIRROR HAS NO STRUCI]IRAL DAMAGE

The 25-ton $6.2 million Space Mirror monument did not sustain structural damage

when its tilting, rotating mirror stopped working two weeks ago, Astronaut Memorial

Foundation officials said Thursday. But it is still not known whether the mechanical,

electrical or electronic parts in the mirror are damaged. A team of experts will inspect

parts this morning to see if the mirror can be safely lifted from the 40-degree angle

where it now rests, supported by steel beams. Normally the mirror tilts to a maximum

of 52 degrees, but for unknown reasons it passed that spot on Nov. 8 and kept going

until it was stopped by an I-beam on the platform below. The Space Mirror, which is

in front of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, uses computers and electrical

systems to tilt and rotate so that the sun's rays hit mirrors located on the back of the

monument. Those rays are then reflected back through the engraved names of the

astronauts. "We have decided to attempt to put the mirror up in a 90-degree position

to see if there is any damage we cannot see now," said Jim DeSanits, president of the

Astronaut Memorial Foundation, which built the memorial. Once the mirror is in the

90-degree position, it can be further inspected to find what went wrong and how to

correct it. [Florida Today, November 21, 1997, p 5B.]

217
November 21: KSC MIRROR REOPENS FOR PUBLIC _ON

The Space Mirror's motors kicked in Friday afternoon and moved the 25-ton

monument back up to a 90-degree angle. Friday's maneuver will allow the Astronauts

Memorial Foundation to open the monument for viewing today. The memorial to

astronauts who died in the line of duty has been off limits at the Kennedy Space

Center Visitor Complex since the mirror ground to a halt Nov. 8. About 17 million

people have seen the monument - built with money from Challenger license plates and

corporate donations - since it was dedicated in 1991. [Florida Today, November 22,

1997, p lB.]

MERCURY 7 ASTRONAUT INSPIRES S'IIJDENTS

Scott Carpenter's message was simple enough. "Anything you can imagine, you can

do, if you work hard enough at it,"the Mercury astronaut, pioneering aquanaut and

author told an audience composed mainly of students and educators Friday afternoon

at ceremonies in the Rocket Garden of Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex.

Carpenter, the man who made the country's second manned orbital space flight in May

1962, was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts. He was at the Space Center to

help commission the Scott Carpenter Analog Station, a fully functional, manned

system that demonstrates concepts of space life to students through NASA's Mission to

America's remarkable Students Program. The station's marine missions are analogous

to space missions conducted in remote undersea environments. In the mid-1960s,

Carpenter joined the U.S. Navy Sealab program and led efforts to transfer space

technology into ocean research. "The honor of having this space analog system bear

my name is beyond anything I can express to you," Carpenter said. The students, all

participants in the MARS program, represented seven Brevard schools as well as other

from around the state. Students from Michigan and Oklahoma also are involved in the

project, in which 21 classroom telephone links from the ocean floor already have been

conducted by crew members. The students were reminded of Carpenter's inspirational

qualities by KSC Director Roy Bridges, a former space shuttle pilot, who called the

Mercury 7 astronaut "a pioneer and hero of space explorers of all ages...a hero of

mine." Carpenter, who signed copies of his book Deep Flight at the Visitors Center

following the ceremony, said speaking to children about space and undersea

exploration is "really about the best thing we can do. Anything like this is important

if it gives us the opportunity to speak to kids." [Florida Today, November 22, 1997, p

213.1

SATEIJJTE SPINS AWAY FROM SHUTII.E

While a solar satellite tumbles uselessly in space, NASA officials are considering

whether to send two astronauts from shuttle Columbia on an emergency spacewalk to

rescue the spacecraft. Released Friday from the spaceship, the $10 million Spartan

satellite spun away soon after. The crew tried unsuccessfully for an hour Friday to

218
retrieve the spacecraft with the shuttle's robot arm. Now NASA officials are leaning

toward sending astronauts Takao Doi and Scott Winston out in their spacesuits to grab

Spartan so it can be brought back to Earth as planned. The men have been trained for

just such an emergency. If carried out, the spacewalk likely would take place

Monday. [Florida Today, November 22, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

November 22: DEEP SPACE 1 TO SI_DY ASTEROIDI

MARS_ COMEW

Slowly accelerating through space with a solar-powered engine, NASA's $141 million

Deep space 1 spacecraft will test a dozen new technologies for future missions. DS1,

the first in NASA's New Millennium series, is set for launch in July on a two-year

mission. The 5-foot-high workhorse will cruise past an asteroid, Mars and a comet,

doing scientific work with several compact, lightweight and highly efficient new

instruments. Seven members of the science team held a briefing Tuesday to discuss

the spacecraft's advanced technologies, including a solar electric propulsion system. In

January 1999, the spacecraft will pass within 5 miles of an asteroid named for Chrism

McAuliffe, the New Hampshire teacher killed by the explosion of the space shuttle

Challenger. In April 2000, DS1 will pass by Mars, conducting tests while it uses the

planet for a gravity assist maneuver to fling it on a path toward the comet WestKohoutek-Ikemura. [Florida Today. November 23, 1997, p 6L.]

November 23: ASTRONAUTS WIIJ. WAI.K TO NAB SATt'JJ JTi_.

In a bid to snatch a wayward science satellite from orbit, two of shuttle Columbia's

astronauts will float outside their ship at 7:16 tonight and wait for just the right

moment. When the slowly tumbling satellite comes within reach, astronauts Winston

Scott and Takao Doi will try grabbing it together and securing it in Columbia's cargo

bay for the ride home next week. NASA officials say the work is tricky, but not

unmanageable. The main danger is that the gently twirling satellite could bump into

the shuttle or the spacewalkers. "There's always some risk, but I think it's very, very

small," said Bob Castle, NASA flight director. "The shuttle is very, very controllable.

The crew can put it within a few inches of where they want it to be. I think there's a

very good chance that it's going to work." After pondering the walk for three days,

NASA officials are eager to put it to work so they can save their $10 million satellite.

Carried into space by Columbia so it could study the sun, the Spartan solar

observatory went awry when it was released Friday. After astronaut Kalpana Chawla

dropped the craft into orbit from the shuttle's robot arm, it immediately failed to start

its programmed manuevers. When Chawla tried recapturing Spartan, the robot arm

nudged the craft and sent it tumbling into space. [Florida Today, November 24, 1977,

p 1A & 2A.]

219
November 24: RUNAWAY SATEIJATE SNARED

With the patience of a spider waiting in its web, spacewalkers Winston Scott and

Takao Doi stood in the space shuttle Columbia's cargo bay for two hours Monday

night until their prey, an errant satellite, was within arm's reach. With a precisely

timed movement, Scott and Doi rescued the satellite and Columbia's wayward mission.

They reached over their heads on a cue from Scott and grasped the 3,000-pound

Spartan solar satellite. The impromptu spacewalk, planned during the weekend, shows

the flexibility of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Being able to

adapt to problems will be important when NASA begins construction next year of the

huge international space station, said John Pike, space policy director for the

Federation of American Scientists, a Washington think-tank. [Tile Orlando Sentinel.

November 25, 1997, p A-1 & A-5.]

MIRmS COMPUTER CRASHI_; RUSSIANS DELAY REPORT

The Mir space station suffered yet another computer breakdown that knocked out

power, but Russian space officials didn't report the problem until Monday - after it

was fixed. A new computer was installed Saturday night and Sunday morning, and

officials maintained all was well aboard the Mir. As recently as September, the Mir's

worn-out computer broke down almost weekly until the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis

delivered a new unit. Those breakdowns received worldwide attention in the wake of

a June collision with a cargo ship that severely hampered the Mir's functions. The

replacement computer had operated faultlessly until the weekend breakdown. [Florida

Today. November 25, 1997, p 4A.]

November 30: NASA WON'r RE-LAUNCH SATELLITE

NASA's solar spacecraft will not get its day in the sun. Officials decided Sunday to

forgo a second release of the Spartan spacecraft from shuttle Columbia because the

ship's fuel supplies are dwindling as it nears a Friday homecoming. The $10 million

solar observatory was released from the shuttle Nov. 21 but never started its science

observations because it did not receive all the computer commands necessary to begin

the work. The spacecraft then was set adrift accidentally when the crew tried to grab

it with the shuttle's robot arm. It took a spacewalk by astronauts Winston Scott and

Takao Doi on Nov. 24 to capture the craft for its return trip home. Checks of the

satellite showed it was healthy, however, and Spartan scientists had hoped for a second

chance. But in setting the spacecraft free once more, the shuttle would have burned a

lot of fuel in deploying and capturing Spartan a second time. Officials said the work

would have eaten into reserves needed if the ship has to remain in orbit extra days

because of bad weather. Columbia is due back at Kennedy Space Center on Friday.

[Florida Today, December l, 1997, p 1A.]

220
During November:. SPACE STATION MARKLWING

A software program developed by NASA to prepare International Space Station

hardware for launch is being spun off into the private sector. Command and Control

Technologies Corp. of Titusville, Fla, plans to market the Command and Control

Toolkit, an expanded version of the Control Monitor software developed at the

Kennedy Space Center. The aim is a product adapted to preparing, launching and

operating launch vehicles and orbiting satellites. NASA will receive royalties from a

licensing agreement; Command and Control Technologies estimates it will save about

$3 million by adapting the NASA software over what it would have spent to start from

scratch. NASA is free to license the Control Monitor software to other companies,

which would then compete against Control Technologies. [Aviation Week & Space

Technology, December 1, 1997, p 17.]

221
DECEMBER

December 1: _;HUTrI,E ASTRONAUTS TO TAKE

A 2ND STROLL AROUND SPACE

Two astronauts will leave the space shuttle Columbia early Wednesday in a hastily

added second spacewalk to do the NASA equivalent of tying up loose ends. NASA

managers late Monday decided to send Winston Scott and Takao Doi into Columbia's

cargo bay at 3 am. Wednesday to finish tests of spacewalking tools that they didn't

complete on Nov. 24. Although mission managers added a spacewalk, they didn't

extend the flight. Columbia is set to land Friday at 7:23 &m. [The 0flande Sentinel.

December 2, 1997, p A-7.]

December 1-8: LOOK TO THE STARS FOR A SHOW

b

The moon and planets will be arrayed in the sky this week in a close display that

won't be visible again from Earth for 100 years. Beginning Monday night and

continuing through Dec. 8, seven of the planets will appear in the southwestern sky in

a line slanting upward from the horizon. From west to southeast, Mercury will be

followed by Mars, Venus, Neptune, Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn, with a crescent moon

alongside. [FIQfida Today, December 2, 1997, p 1A.]

December 2: ASTRONAUTS TO TEST ROVING_ ROBOTIC EYE

Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts plan to test a $3 million free-flying camera, called

Aercam Sprint, during a second spacewalk early Wednesday. Astronauts Winston

Scott and Takao Doi never got around to Aercam Sprint during their first spacewalk

on Nov. 24. Padded for safety, the 35-pound sphere - which looks like a soccer ball

but is closer in size to a beach ball - was to flit around the open cargo bay, its TV

camera peering at the spacewalkers and their tools. The remote-control operator,

shuttle pilot Steven Lindsey, planned to fly it at a harmless 3 inches per second.

NASA hopes to fly a more advanced model on the international space station to

inspect hard-to-reach areas outside. [Florida Today, December 3, 1997, p 5A.]

December 3: ROBOT CAMERA GIVES SHUTTLE A NEW LOOK

Spacewalking astronauts aboard the shuttle Columbia today completed testing space

station assembly tools and a high-tech "floating eyeball" that could be a boon to future

station crews. In a dramatic one-hour, 16-minute test flight, the "eyeball," a $3

million robotic camera, slowly wheeled and zoomed about above the shuttle's cargo

bay, beaming down spectacular bird's eye-view television shots of the orbiter against

the blue-and-white backdrop of Earth. Other tests included a 156-pound space crane

and its 17.5-foot telescoping boom. The goal was to test revised techniques for

attaching components to the crane to minimize its tendency to flex when a force is

222
applied. The work went smoothly and engineers said the results will help designers

perfect operating techniques before space station construction begins next year.

[William Harwood. (1997). The Washington Post [Online]. Available W'WW:

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1997-12/04/061 r- 120497-idx.html [1997,

December 4].]

December 4: LUNAR PROSPECTOR SPA_Fr TO ARRIVE

AT ASTR(YrECH TODAY

The Lunar Prospector spacecraft is scheduled to arrive today at Astrotech's commercial

payload processing facility in Titusville. The spacecraft, transported by truck from

Sunnyvale, CA, is expected to arrive by late afternoon or evening and will be offloaded and unpacked on Friday. The Athena rocket on which it will be launched, is

already erected at Complex 46. Launch is targeted for 8:32 p.m. Jan. 5. [KSC

Cmmtdown, December 4, 1997.]

TALK OF LAYOFFS AT KSC IN JANUARY SPARKS RIFF

The company that runs the space shuttle program is telling its workers to prepare for

layoffs starting next month because NASA wants to cut this year's space shuttle

budget. But NASA is saying the United Space Alliance, the private company it's

paying $1.3 billion a year to run the shuttle, is being "premature" and is taking a

suggested goal as a direct marching order. "We gave them a goal. We asked them to

take a look at that goal and to come back to us and tell us the impact," NASA

spokeswoman Peggy Wilhide said Thursday. "They have not gotten back to us

yet...We're not dictating a number. It is not a directive." A key congressman said

Thursday he is getting conflicting stories from the chiefs of NASA and the space

alliance. He said workers may be getting the warnings about layoffs as part of a

negotiation battle between NASA and its contractor. U. S. Rep. Dave Weldon, RPalm Bay, said United Space Alliance chief operating officer Jim Adamson told him

NASA wants to cut $100 million from this year's shuttle contract. But after that, Dan

Goldin, the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, told

Weldon "there is going to be no reduction like this at all." [l[]he Orlando Sentinel,

December 5, 1997, p A-8.]

C1.EAR SLOWS PB_nI_ FOR SHUTTLE'S HOMECOMING

Shuttle Columbia's crew has two chances to land in Florida today with its cache of

science experiments and a solar observatory. The shuttle's first opportunity is at 7-20

&m. at Kennedy Space Center. Columbia will have a second chance at 8-55 &m. if

bad weather thwarts the earlier try. But forecasters expect the skies to cooperate as a

cold front pushed through Florida on Thursday, taking rain and clouds with it.

[Florida Today, December 5, 1997, p 1A.]

223
December5: SPACE LAB IS BEHIND SCHEDI_LE

NASA's latest giant space observatory is way behind schedule, millions of dollars over

budget and may not have a space shuttle to ride into orbit, NASA revealed Friday.

TRW, the company building NASA's $1.4 billion Advanced X-ray Astrophysics

Facility, told the space agency this week that it can't make a promised June 1 delivery

date. TRW hopes to ship the observatory to Kennedy Space Center by mid-August.

The observatory will augment work done by the Hubble Space Telescope. The delay

makes the telescope nearly three months late and ready for launch no earlier than

November, and maybe later. With late delivery and NASA's tight launch schedule for

the next five years related to the construction of the international space station, the

observatory may not have a trip into space in the next couple of years, said a highranking NASA source. Columbia, which was supposed to fly the telescope into orbit

on Aug. 28, is scheduled to be shipped to California for extended maintenance in

November. After than Columbia will not fly again until December 1999, and that's a

mission needed to upgrade Hubble. Columbia is the only shuttle that can carry the

telescope. NASA's three other shuttles can't accommodate the 46-foot-long

observatory because they have air locks in their cargo bays. Those air locks are in

place so the shuttles can dock with the Russian space station Mir and later with the

space station. The telescope, conceived in the late 1970s, is considered the third of

NASA's "four great observatories" that will unearth secrets of the universe at all ends

of the electromagnetic spectrum. TRW is working around the clock to speed up

delivery but won't ship the observatory if it's not ready, a company spokesman said.

[Tne Orlando Sentinel, December 6, 1997, p A-1 & A-8.]

SHITITLE LANDS; INQUIRY t,WIS OFF

Shuttle Columbia's crew, mission STS-87, returned home Friday at 7:20 a.m. landing

at Kennedy Space Center, completing the 12th landing at KSC, and ending a highly

successful year for NASA but facing an investigation into the botched release of a

satellite during the mission. An inquiry will begin next week into whether crew

errored a computer glitch caused the spartan solar observatory to malfunction after it

was placed in orbit Nov. 21, officials said. NASA officials expect Spartan to be

unloaded fIom Columbia early next week. Once it is, it will be impoundecf With

Columbia home, NASA is turning its attention to next year. The agency has seven

shuttle flight scheduled, including two to begin construction of the space station. Two

other missions will take shuttles back to the Russian space station Mir to exchange

crews. The other three missions will be devoted to scientific research. Officials said

this year's achievement of launching eight shuttles - tying a record in the postChallenger era - is proof the agency safely can meet a busy schedule. [Flolida Today,

December 6, 1997, p 1A & 2A. KSC Countdown, December 9, 1997.]

224
December7: NASA' GOALS: FAR FROM MOON

Kennedy Space Center is conducting a ceremony tonight to mark the silver anniversary

of man's last footfall on the lunar surface. The event will be held at the Apollo/Saturn

V Center and will honor Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan. It was December 7, 1972,

when Apollo 17 lifted off from Complex 39A with Cernan, Ron Evans and Harrison

Schmitt. The sixth successful manned lunar landing return was the last of the Apollo

Program. [Florida Today. December 7, 1997, p 1A & 2A. A Summary of Major

NASA Lmmches, KHR-1, July 1980, p V-31.]

December 8: BAUDON MIGHT FLOAT HUMANS TO MARS

NASA engineers have developed plans to significantly alter the international space

station to test exotic hardware for a human expedition to Mars in 2014. Assembly of

the $40 billion station is set to begin in Earth orbit in June after 14 years of planning

and countless redesigns. The outpost - backed by 16 nations, including the United

States, Russia, Canada and Japan - is to serve as a space-based research laboratory.

But now, NASA is looking at plans to ditch one of its two primary research modules

to make room for $100 million inflatable space capsule that would carry astronauts

from Earth to the surface of Mars, the trade magazine A vim'ion Week and ,Space

Technology reports today. Two other major changes also are being considered: 1)

Using a self-sustaining, life-support system on the space station and the Mars capsule

that recycles water and air and provides some food. 2) Testing lightweight, miniature

electronics that would lighten the load during a journey to Mars. The prototype

module - called TransI-Iabs - would transport astronauts to Mars and provide living

quarters on the sub-zero surface of the red planet. It could be ready for flight as early

as 2002, the magazine reports. TransHab - to be built at Johnson Space Center in

Houston - would be launched into orbit inside a space shuttle's payload bay. Once in

space, the module would be inflated like a balloon, extending to twice the size of any

other station module. The 10,000-pound TransHab would consist of an 11-foot

diameter core, filled with research and life-support equipment, surrounded by a multilayered outer inflatable shell, the magazine reports. It would replace the Boeing-built

Habitat Module scheduled for launch to the station in 2003. Being's module was to be

a second American experimental housing module on the space station. By replacing

Boeing's living module with TransHab, NASA could test the reliability of experimental

equipment over long periods of time in space. Approval of the TransHab concept is

expected after two sets of engineering reviews, one in March and one next summer.

[Florida Today, December 8, 1997,.p 1A & 8A.]

FAIJ.EN ASTRONAUT HONOItED TODAY

Thirty years to the day after Maj. Robert H. Lawrence Jr. died in the crash of a

training airplane, he will be honored today in a ceremony at the Space Mirror

memorial. The ceremony, which is open to the public, begins at 2 p.m. at the Space

225
Mirror in front of the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex. The mirror will be

positioned northwest toward Lawrence's hometown of Chicago, said Jim DeSantis,

president of the private nonprofit Astronaut Memorial Foundation. Among the

dignitaries expected to attend include Kennedy Space Center Director Roy Bridges;

U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Bush of Chicago; end Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Air Force

Rodney A. Coleman. Lawrence, a jet-fighter instructor with a doctorate in physical

chemistry, was selected for the Manned Orbital Laboratory program in June 1967. Six

months later, he was co-piloting for a student in a F-104 Starfighter when it crashed

on a California runway. The other man survived; Lawrence did not. If he had lived,

Lawrence would have graduated in 1968 from the space flight training class that

included retired astronaut and former Kennedy Space Center director Robert Crippen.

The Manned Orbital Laboratory, which involved launching two astronauts in a

modified Gemini ce.psule to see whether they could live and work in space, was

canceled before it flew. [Florida To¢l_, December 8, 1997, p IB & 2B.]

ENDEAVOUR IAFIDFF DELAYED FOR REPAIRS

Next month's flight of shuttle Endeavour to the Russian space station Mir has been

delayed at least four days so repairs can be made to the outpost and the American

spaceship, NASA said Monday. Liftoff now is set for around Jan. 19 on a mission to

pick up astronaut David Wolf and drop off his replacement, astronaut Andy Thomas.

The Russians have told NASA officials that before Endeavour arrives, they want to

finish three spacewalks to fix the battered station and collect scientific experiments

bolted onto its exterior. They also need time to unload an unmanned supply ship

scheduled to be launched to Mir from Russia in late December. NASA, meanwhile, is

faced with its own repair work on Endeavour. One of the shuttle's cargo bay doors

was damaged Saturday when a support structure broke and struck it. The damage is

minor and can be fixed in time to meet the new launch date, Kennedy Space Center

spokesman Joel Wells said. NASA engineers also are looking at unusual tile damage

to shuttle Columbia during its last flight, and want to understand the problem before

allowing Endeavour to fly. Columbia returned to Earth on Dec. 5 with 318 dents in

its protective tiles - more than twice the 150 usually found. [Florida Today, December

9, 1997, p 1A.]

SATEIJJTE W][IJ, TRANSMIT DIRECTV TO LATIN AMERICA

A multi-million dollar satellite will begin beaming television shows to Latin American

homes in February, thanks to the successful launch Monday of a Lockheed Martin

Atlas rocket. The $250 million mission got under way at 6:52 p.m. when the 15-story

Atlas lumbered off Cape Canaveral Air Station and headed toward an orbit 22,300

miles above the equator. The launch was delayed for 15 minutes so weather balloons

could be moved from restricted airspace. Hughes Space and Communications Co.

built the satellite for Pan-AmSat Corp., the world's leading commercial provider of

satellite-based communications services. The mission marked the eighth and final 1997

226
launch from Cape Canaveral for Lockheed Martin International Launch Services,

which markets the Arias and the Russian Proton rockets. [Florida TodL_v. December 9,

1997, p 4A.]

December 9: ADVANCED X-RAY ASTROPHYSICS FACILITY

DELIVERY DELAYED

TRW Space and Electronics Group, Redondo Beach, CA, has notified NASA that it

will be unable to deliver the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) to KSC,

on June 1, 1998, as required by contract, due to delays in assembly and testing of the

facility. TRW is NASA's prime contractor for the observatory. NASA and contractor

officials met at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, last week to discuss the

issue. While no new delivery date was agreed upon, the agency has directed TRW to

develop a plan of action that would show how the contractor can minimize impact to

the June 1 delivery. Although a delay in delivery could delay the launch, currendy

scheduled for August 1998 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia's STS-93 mission, the exact

impact is not yet known. [KSC Commiown, December 9, 1997.]

SENATORS BLAST NASA FOR PROGRAM OVERRUNS

Two key Senators blasted NASA Tuesday for letting "continual, unabated" overruns

undermine public faith in the agency's ability to manage its multibillion-dollar space

station program. Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Bill Frist, R-Tenn., promised

hearings early next year to get to the bottom of the problem. McCain is chairman of

the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, which oversees NASA, and

Frist chairs the sub-committee dealing with space. In a bluntly worded letter to NASA

Administrator Dan Goldm, the lawmakers expressed support for the program in

general, but said the cost problems threaten to do "irreparable damage" to it. NASA

has projected that the station general contractor - the Boeing Co. - is $817 million

over budget. The senators' letter, however, quoted a recent Science magazine report

that the station overrun actually may total $1.5 billion. [The Odmdo Sentinel,

December 10, 1997, p A-7.]

December 10: MARS PATHFINDER COMMEMORATIVE STAMP

TO BE ISSUED AT KSC

The Mars Pathfinder, whose mission to the Red Planet attracted a world-wide

television and Intemet audience last summer, will be commemorated on a postage

stamp. The $3 stamp will be issued first on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at JPL. The second

day of issuance will be Thursday, Dec. 11 at KSC. A ceremony featuring Titusville

Postmaster Ed Link and Floyd Curington, director, Expendable Launch Vehicles, will

be held at 11 &m. at Spaceport Theater, KSC Visitor Complex. Stamp cancellations

will be made after the ceremony. The stamp depicts the Sojourner rover at rest on

Pathfinder and is based on one of the first images sent back from Mars. [KSC

227
Countdown, December 9, 1997.]

JAN. 20 LAUNCH DATE SET FOR STS49

NASA managers have set Jan. 20 as the new target launch date for Endeavour on

mission STS-89. Technicians continue repairs to the orbiter's left payload bay door

damaged when a ground support device contacted the door. Repairs not completed in

the OPF will be finished on the launch pad. Rollout to the pad is currently set for

Dec. 16. The STS-89 Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test has been rescheduled

for the week of Jan. 4. [KSC Ceumdewn, December 11, 1997.]

SENATOR _;RAHAM ANNOI_INCES NEW

SPACE INDUSTRY LEGISLATION

U. S. Senator Bob Graham announced new federal legislation designed to support the

nation's continued space industry development. Graham discussed his legislation, cosponsored by Senator Connie Mack, that would amend the Commercial Space Launch

Act. The bill will encourage commercial utilization of the International Space Station,

enable the use of former ballistic missiles for research missions and direct a study into

how the Eastern and Western ranges could support a six-hour launch on demand.

Graham made the announcement at a 2:30 p.m. press conference at CCAS in front of

Launch Complex 46, the dual-use Navy facility recently modified for commercial

launches by the State of Florida. [KSC Countdown, December 11, 1997.]

December 11: COURTHOUSE PACK AT CASSINI TRIAL

Grandmothers, lawyers and peace activists packed a courtroom Thursday as the

trespassing trial of a group of Cassini protesters got under way. The 15 defendants

hope to convince a six-member jury that fear of a nuclear mishap motivated their Oct.

4 protest at Cape Canaveral Air Station. The Cassini probe, launched Oct. 15 aboard

a Titan IV rocket, carried 72 pounds of plutonium as fuel on its trek to Saturn. The

case is expected to go to the jury today. [Florida Today, December 12, 1997, p lB.]

December 12: MORE SPACE LAYOFFS CONSIDERED

A $100 million shortfall in NASA°s budget is forcing the agency and its main shuttle

contractor to consider laying of hundreds of workers and mothballing a shuttle launch

pad, officials said Friday. The cost-cutting plan is expected to be in place by midJanuary, six months before NASA is to begin the most complex job ever attempted in

orbit - building its $40 billion international space station. Senior NASA officials say

whatever steps are taken by United Space Alliance - which runs the shuttle fleet - will

have to be done in a way that does not jeopardize the ships and their astronauts. "We

will not make any arbitrary cuts to the shuttle program that would affect safety,"

NASA Administrator Dan Goldin said Friday after a speech to the Melbourne-Palm

228
Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. But he added, "We are holding (the alliance)

accountable for giving us the lowest cost and highest level of safety, and we're going

to continue to encourage them to do that. The issue is safety at the lowest possible

cost." Some members of Congress reacted angrily to the news, saying even the talk of

more layoffs could put shuttle crews at risk. "You just don't do business like this with

manned spacecraft," said U. S. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Palm Bay, vice chairman of the

House space and aeronautics subcommittee. The financial trouble occurred in late

November when NASA told the alliance that is $1.3 billion contract for the budget

year that began Oct. 1 was being cut by as much as $100 million. A joint venture of

Lockheed Martin and Boeing, United Space Alliance is in the second year of a sixyear, $7.2 billion deal that calls for the company to gradually take over shuttle fleet

operations from NASA. The idea behind the pact is to save money by allowing a

private company - rather than the federal government - to run the shuttle fleet. Doing

so is expected to allow NASA to focus on research and development work that could

lead to human missions to the moon, Mars or beyond.

What caused the anticipated budget shortfall remains unclear. Alliance officials say

NASA underestimated the amount of money that would be required to operate the

shuttle fleet in fiscal 1998, which runs through Sept. 30. But NASA managers say the

alliance isn't meeting agency targets for shuttle spending cuts. Both sides say the

shortfall is not related to cost overruns in the space station program, which are

expected to total $600 million to $817 million by the time the outpost is completed in

late 2003. In any case, the alliance is considering a number of cost-cutting options

that include: • Laying off 300 to 400 shuttle workers as early as January or February.

It is not known whether the job cuts would be made solely at Kennedy Space Center,

where the alliance employs about 5,900 workers. The company also employs about

3,200 workers at Johnson Space Center in Houston, and about a dozen at NASA's

Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunts_lle, Ala. • Mothballing for a year one of two

shuttle launch pads at KSC. NASA had planned to launch three missions each from

pads 39A and 39B during the remaining three quarters of the 1998 budget year,

including the first U.S. station construction mission in July. Temporarily closing one

launch pad would enable NASA and the alliance to save money and still fly the other

planned missions. • Mothballing for a year one of three shuttle processing hangars at

KSC. Doing so likely would force NASA and the alliance to shuffle shuttles between

the two open hangars and the KSC Vehicle Assembly Building, where only minimal

work can be performed on the ships. The move could allow NASA and the alliance to

save money while meeting its launch schedule. G-oldin, however, said padlocking the

hangar is not an acceptable option.

The alliance already had planned to reduce its work force by 6 percent to 7 percent

each year during the period covered under its NASA contract, which runs through

2002. Company officials say such cuts, for the most part, could be managed through

normal attrition, which runs at a rate of about 6.5 percent a year. But the cost-cutting

measures under consideration would force an additional 300 to 400 layoffs that would

229
occur as early as January or February, company officials say. Goldin said he doesn't

expect the layoffs to be that severe. He said only 250 to 300 workers might face

furloughs early next year. No final decision has been made on how many workers

might be laid off, or at which company sites the furloughs would occur, he said. One

thing, however, is certain - the decisions will be made soon. [Florida Today,

December 13, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

CASSINI PROTESTERS GUILTY OF' TRESPASSING

A jury found 15 Cassini protesters guilty Friday of trespassing at Cape Canaveral Air

Station during an Oct. 4 rally. Brevard County Judge Kenneth Friedland sentenced

each defendant to one year of unsupervised probation. He also required each to

perform 300 hours of community service and to pay court costs plus $70 in sheriffs

investigative fees. If the defendants meet those conditions, the judge agreed to

withhold adjudication of their guilt. That means the defendants will not have criminal

records. The defendants were: Willa Elam, Jerry Bosworth, Bethsheba Lavoie,

Margery McIntire, Carol Mosley, Edwin Stapler, Mm7 beth Sullivan, Lance Turner,

william Vannatta, Theresa Beasley, Dorothy Brownold, Arthur Laffin, Richard Ochs,

Joshua Rumschlag, Barbara Weidner and Rena Vega. [Florida Today, December 13,

1997, p 1A.]

EG&G, 30HNSON CONTROLS TEAM UP ON BID

For several years, EG&G Florida Inc. has run base operations at Kennedy Space

Center. Johnson Controls World Services does the same at Cape Canaveral Air

Station and at Patrick Air Force Base. When NASA and the U.S. Air Force decided

to combine operations at those facilities into the same contract, it seemed to portend a

fierce and potentially bitter bidding war between two corporate heavyweights that

employ a combined 3,800 people in Brevard County. Then, the two realized they

were better off joining forces. The result is The Launch Support Corp. - a joint

venture of EG&G and Johnson Controls as well as Lockheed Martin and ITT Federal

Services Corp. It is the first time EG&G and Johnson Controls have worked together.

TLS will bid on the $1.47 billion Joint Base Operations Contract, five years in length

with a 5-year extension option worth $1.8 billion. Bids went out on Friday for the

contract, which will be awarded in August. Under the joint contract, 36 percent of

contract dollars go to small businesses. Of the amount designated for small

businesses, 15 percent goes to small, minority-owned firms and 5 percent is earmarked

for women-owned companies. [Florida Today, December 13, 1997, p 14C & 13C.]

December 16: KSC TO ROLL ENDEAVOUR OUT

TO LAUNCH PAD WEDNESDAY

NASA is ready to roll shuttle Endeavour to its launch pad Wednesday (Dec. 17) in the

agency's last big piece of work this year before Kennedy Space Center shuts down for

230
the holidays. Endeavour is scheduled for liftoff Jan. 20 on a mission to dock with the

Russian space station Mir, where it will pick up American David Wolf and drop off

his replacement, Andy Thomas. Once the ship reaches the pad, work will wind down

at KSC as the spaceport closes for routine maintenance on facilities that is done

annually over Christmas and New Year's. Meanwhile, workers will stay on the job

the next few weeks at Cape Canaveral Air Station readying two rockets for flight next

month. A Lockheed Martin Athena 2 is to launch NASA's Lunar Prospector probe

Jan. 5 on a mission to map the moon. And a Boeing Delta 2 rocket is scheduled to

lift off Jan. 9 carrying a British military communications satellite. [Florida Today,

December 16, 1997, p lB.]

SHUTH_ PROCESSING UPDATE

Technicians, who are preparing Endeavour for rollout to launch pad 39A later this

week, worked overnight in the VAB by sanding portions of the external tank's fibbed

intertank thermal foam "rind." These operations have been added to the regular

workload as a result of unusual tile damage to the Shuttle Columbia during its launch

last month. Engineers are investigating a number of possible causes of the damage but

one theory is that the ascent dynamics on the tank may have caused pieces of the ET

outer skin to break off and contact the underside of the orbiter and cause the damage

in question. Sanding operations are intended to remove thermal foam normally located

in this area. Repairs must be completed in the VAB as this section of the ET is not

accessible when the Shuttle is on the pad. An investigation is proceeding to ensure

that a full understanding of what occurred will be available for consideration at the

Flight Readiness Review currently scheduled in early January. Endeavour was

transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building at about 6 a.m. Friday (Dec. 12) where

it was subsequently mated to the external tank. The Shuttle Interface Test is

scheduled for completion today. [KSC Cotmtdown, December 16, 1997.]

ORBITING SPACE JUNK COULD CRIPPLE SHUTH_

A report suggests NASA spend more time trying to lower the risks from orbiting

debris. The report issued Tuesday by a panel led by an ex-astronaut says NASA

needs to pay more attention to space-junk risks, and work harder to lower them. The

National Research Council report noted that, during some shuttle missions, the threat

from space junk is even more grave than the risk the shuttle faces during its fiery

launch phase. "Although NASA is taking steps to protect the shuttle from orbital

debris such as spent rocket bodies, satellite fragments and paint chips, there is still a

real risk that a collision could cripple the shuttle or threaten the safety of the crew,"

said former astronaut Rick Hauck, who chaired the council's panel that produced the

report. But NASA's top expert on orbital debris immediately challenged some of the

research council's report's chief assumptions and findings - including the notion that

the space agency doesn't weigh space junk along with a mission's other major risks.

"We provide a risk assessment of critical penetration...before every flight," said

231
Nicholas Johnson, the agency's chief scientist who studies orbital debris. "I'm

responsible for that." Another assertion Johnson challenged was the statement that

NASA has accepted an "allowable risk" of one potentially fatal space-junk collision in

every 200 missions. NRC report pointed out that was greater than the accepted risk -

once in every 248 missions - that the shuttle will critically fail during its launch and

ascent to orbit. "The report is in error when it says orbital debris is the single largest

risk. That's never been true and it isn't true today," Johnson said. "Clearly the ascent

is the largest critical risk." He said the risk of critical damage from space junk varies

from mission to mission - depanding on a mission's length, orbital path and other

factors. Johnson's challenge carries more weight than a knee-jerk NASA response to

outside critics. The space agency itself commissioned the National Research Council

report, and Hauck's panel relied on NASA for much of the raw data upon which it

based its findings. Johnson did not dispute the report's damage assessments. But he

said NASA is making improvement, such as shoring up the shuttle's wing edges. [The

Orhmde Sentinel, December 17, 1997, p A-I & A-10.]

GA__ NEW MISSION: CHECK OUT EUROPA

Two years after the Galileo spacecraft sent a probe plunging into giant Jupiter's

swirling pink and yellow clouds, the craft marked the end of its primary mission and

start of an extended mission by zooming in on the frozen Jovian moon Europa

Scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced Tuesday that the mission has

been reborn as the GEM project, or Galileo Europa Mission. For the next two years,

Galileo will swing by Europa eight times, swooping in for close looks at the chopped

ice surface that may blanket the only extraterrestrial ocean in the solar system.

Following its eight Europa fly-bys, Galileo will round the moon Callisto four times in

order to brake and coast in toward the volcanic moon Io. [Florida Today, December

17, 1997, p 5A.]

December 17: IcsC LAUNCH DIRECIDR HARRIN_TON

TO RgHR_ SUCC_SORS NAMED

Shuttle Launch Director James F. Harrington has announced his retirement effective

Jan. 2, 1998. He will be succeeded in the launch director's position by Shuttle

Processing Deputy Director David A. King and Process Engineering Director Ralph 1%

Roe. As the senior member of the Shuttle launch team during the three-day

countdown, the launch director makes the final determination to launch. He also

oversees prelaunch preparations at the space center, as well as KSC landing operations.

Since being named launch director effective Jan. 22, 1995, Harrington has overseen 22

successful space shuttle launches. "The skill and ease with which Jim has managed

the countdown process has left a record of which we can all be proud," said Shuttle

Processing Director Robert B. Sieck, himself a former launch director. The naming of

two people to succeed Harrington will provide needed depth to the launch director

function. "To put it in football terms, we want to have more depth on the bench;"

232
Sieck said, noting that both he and Harrington served as launch director for extended

tenures. King will have the assignment for a period of about six months to a year -

enough to encompass at least three or four shuttle launches - after which Roe will

serve in the position for a similar length of time. The first launch that King will

oversee will be STS-89, the eighth Shuttle-Mir docking flight, set to launch in January

next year. Assessments will then begin to determine if a third person should also be

trained in the position or whether two will be enough. Imposing a time frame on the

assignment does not mean King or Roe is serving in an acting capacity. "This is a

full-time job," Sieck said. [KSC News Release #223-97, December 17, 1997.]

APOIJO 1 ASTRONAUTS HONOI_ED

President Clinton Awarded Congressional Space Medals of Honor to two of the three

Apollo I astronauts killed while preparing for a 1967 moon mission. Clinton

presented the medals Wednesday to the families of astronauts Edward White H and

Roger Chaffee in an Oval Office ceremony. They died Jan. 27, 1967, along with

astronaut Gus Grissom - who previously was awarded the medal - when their space

capsule caught fire on a launch pad. The tragedy prompted NASA to institute a series

of safety reforms. The president praised White and Chaffee as "courageous men who

gave their lives in our nation's effort to conquer the frontiers of space." "Though they

never got there, astronauts Chaffee, White and Grissom's footprints are on the moon,"

Clinton said. "Their spirits live on in every successful launch and every safe return.

On behalf of a grateful nation, I thank them for their sacrifice." The Congressional

Space Medal is the U.S. space program's highest honor. Grissom received the medal

in 1978. Clinton approved the awards for White and Chaffee last June. [Florida

Today. December 18, 1997, p 2A.]

December 19: WELDON: 750 KSC JOBS MAY BE CUT

As many as 750 Kennedy Space Center employees might receive pink slips, possibly

as early as next week, according to amemo from U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon's office.

The memo, which Weldon circulated to Florida's political heavyweights Friday, says

United Space Alliance and NASA "are beginning to agree on total job reductions in

the range of 600 to 750," and layoff notices are being prepared. Total layoffs at KSC

and other Alliance facilities may be as high as 1,200, the memo says. NASA

Administrator Dan Goldin said last week that layoffs were being considered in reaction

to a $100 million shortfall in NASA's budget. However, he indicated any layoffs

likely would be half of what Weldon was reporting. KSC Director Roy Bridges said

Friday he has heard the layoffs will number between 300 and 600. The 750 figure

Weldon used "is in the ballpark, but a little bit on the high side from what rye heard

recently." A spokesman for the Alliance said he could not confirm or deny Weldon's

numbers because no decision had been made on layoffs. "We have a team of

management people taking a hard look at the situation to see how we can absorb this,"

said Jack King, spokesman for United Space Alliance. "Naturally, with a cut like this,

233
therewill be cutbacks. We are looking at what those numbers will be. "There will be

no action before Christmas, but we should be in a position to announce our intention

in early January." The Alliance employs about 5,900 people in Brevard County, 3,000

in Houston and about a dozen in California. Weldon said his information came from

Director of Shuttle Operations Steve Oswald, who could not be reached for comment.

[Florida Today, December 20, 1997, p 1A & 2A.]

,JAN. ENDEAVOUR F]AGHT DELAYED 2 DAYS

Shuttle Endeavour is securely bolted to its launch pad today, but it won't be taking off

to the Russian space station Mir quite as soon as planned. Work on Endeavour in the

Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center took longer than expected this

week, prompting NASA to delay the first shuttle launch of 1998 two days to Jan. 22.

A new launch time has not been set. The decision came Friday, shortly after

Endeavour completed its 3.5-mile move from the assembly building to launch pad

39A, KSC spokesman Joel Wells said. This is Endeavour's second delay in two

weeks. It originally was targeted for launch Jan. 15. That flight was bumped five

days because Russian Space Agency officials said they needed more time to prepare

for the shuttle's arrival at Mir. This mission will mark the first time Endeavour has

docked with Mir. The shuttle is to ferry NASA astronaut Andy Thomas to the space

station for a tour of duty and return David Wolf, who is aboard Mir. [Florida Today,

December 20, 1997, p 1A.]

December 20: NASA CONFIRMS 600 ,]UBS WILL BE CUT

NASA officials confirmed Saturday that 600 United Space Alliance employees - 10

percent of the Alliance work force in Brevard County - will be laid off starting in midJanuary. About 500 of the lost jobs will come from ground operations at Kennedy

Space Center and the other 100 from the shuttle logistics depot in the city of Cape

Canaveral. The Alliance will ask for people to voluntarily leave the company before

making a decision on who will be laid off. U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon said Saturday he

learned the number of layoffs during a discussion with Ed Heffeman, NASA's acting

associate administrator for legislative affairs. "The numbers they've worked up have to

be approved by NASA's safety board," Weldon, R-Palm Bay, said. "So they have to

do their own internal safety analysis. But unless that analysis shows they can't let all

these people go, (the layoffs) will be in the 600 range." Heffernan was unavailable for

comment Saturday. But Roderic Young, press secretary for NASA Administrator Dan

Goldin, confirmed the conversation and the number of layoffs. Young also said one

shuttle launch pad will not be used during the 1998 budget year. It will be put back

into use when shuttles start taking astronauts to work on the international space

station. "We'll need that pad then," Young said. [Florida Today, December 21, 1997,

p 1A & 2A.]

234
STATION PARTS COMING TOGETHER AT KSC

Long before it gets into orbit, the $40 billion international space station is taking shape

on the ground at Kennedy Space Center. Three pieces of the station are being

prepared for launch at a giant, hangar-like facility for fiights aboard NASA space

shuttles starting next year. Workers are doing leak tests, electrical checks and

examining the exteriors for sharp edges that could rip an astronaut's spacesuit during

the many spacewalks that will be needed to build the outpost. "They're doing a very

thorough check-out," said KSC spokesman Brace Buckingham. "We want to make

sure they don't see anything that would impact the crew as they are floating around

them." The first of the three segments - a hallway that will serve as connector to six

station modules - is scheduled to be hauled into space aboard shuttle Endeavour in

July. Called Node 1, the $280-million component is 14-feet long, 16-feet wide and

weighs 10 tons. It will be joined with another station component that is set to be

launched from Russia in June. The two other components at KSC are smaller

segments that will serve as attachment points between the large hallway and adjoining

modules. They are to be carried up on future shuttle missions. In all, 33 U.S. shuttle

missions and a dozen Russian rocket launches will be needed to raise the station,

which will cover an area nearly as large as two football fields 250 miles above the

Earth. The first crew - a trio led by American astronaut William Shepherd - is to

arrive at the station in January 1999 while construction is underway. By the time the

station is complete in 2002, six-person crews will begin rotating through the outpost

every six months. [Florida Today, December 21, 1997, p 6E.]

December 22: LAYOFF TALK HAS NASA RATTLED

A flurry of pre-Christmas layoff talk in the space shuttle program has rattled workers

at Kennedy Space Center, infuriated the congressma n who represents them, and left

shuttle safety experts scratching their heads. NASA, meanwhile, is doing its best to

squelch rumors that as many as 600 shuttle workers at KSC will be laid off in January

and February - even though top NASA officials were cited confirming that figure over

the weekend. Monday was a day of finger-pointing, with U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, RPalm Bay, demanding that NASA's shuttle program directors be fired for

mismanagement. "The credibility of the NASA officials with me is pretty low at this

point," said Weldon, one of the agency's most ardent supporters in Congress. "I don't

know when I'm going to ever get the straight scoop from NASA at this point."

Weldon insists that NASA officials - including the agency's top liaison to Congress -

have confirmed that about 600 KSC layoffs are being planned by United Space

Alliance, the private company that is gradually taking over operation of the shuttle.

That figure is nearly 10 percent of USA's work force at KSC, and is double the

number of job cuts suggested by NASA Administrator Dan Goldin in a speech Dec.

12. Goldin's press secretary, Roderic Young, said Monday that he was misquoted in a

newspaper account over the weekend that reported Young had confirmed the 600-

layoff figure. "I never said that this was a confirmed number, and I don't believe Ed

235
[Heffeman, the agency's congressional liaison,] said this is a confirmed number either,"

Young insisted. Said another NASA spokesman, Brian Welch: "The bottom line is,

we don't know what the number is. Period." NASA claims the actual layoff number

won't be known until mid-January, after NASA safety experts have had a chance to

review the proposed job cuts. USA officials have told employees that layoffs are

coming, but also refused Monday to be pinned down on a number. One NASA

official characterized the holiday bickering over the extent of layoffs as part of a

struggle for leverage that has been going on between NASA and USA since August.

NASA has told USA it needs to shave about $I00 million from its $1.2 billion budget

for 1998. The NASA source, who insisted on anonymity, said USA has responded

with all kinds of dire scenarios to get NASA to ease its demands. At one point, the

private company told NASA as many as 1,400 jobs would have to be cut to reach

NASA's budget goals, the source said. Robert Dun, a member of NASA's Aerospace

Safety Advisory Panel, called all the layoff talk "yet another distraction, a major

distraction" that could have adverse effects on the program. [The Orlando Sentinel,

December 23, 1997, p A-5.]

December 23: LUNAR PROSPECTOR TO BE LAUNCHED

ABOARD ATHENA IT JAN, 5

The launch of Lunar Prospector aboard a Lockheed Martin Athena H rocket is

scheduled for Monday, Jan. 5 at 8:31 p.m. EST. The launch window is four seconds

in duration. Launch will occur from Complex 46 on Cape Canaveral Air Station,

Spaceport Florida's new commercial launch pad. Lunar Prospector, built for the

NASA Ames Research Center by Lockheed Martin, is a spin-stabilized spacecraft

designed to provide NASA the first global maps of the Moon's surface and its

gravitational magnetic fields. It will orbit the Moon at an altitude of approximately 63

miles during a one-year mission. [NASA News Release #222-97, December 23,

1997.]

NASA RI_SHES SAFETY REVIEW

NASA Administrator Dan Goldin says he will OK layoffs in the space shuttle program

only after a special safety review is conducted, but that review is shaping up as a

hurry-up job at best. The results of the special review by NASA's Office of Safety

and Mission Assurance are due on Goldin's desk by Jan. 16. But Frederick D.

Gregory, the top official there, just got the assignment from Goldin last Friday and

notified his staff on Monday, safety-office officials saicL The review involves

assessing the safety consequences of laying off potentially hundreds of managers or

hands-on shuttle workers at Kennedy Space Center in January and February. NASA's

primary safety concern in cutting shuttle jobs is maintaining the proper "skill mix"

among workers responsible for the most critical areas of preparing a shuttle vehicle for

launch. Shuttle program managers follow their own safety guidelines as they oversee

the shrinking of the shuttle work force. The safety-office's KSC branch, which also

236
will be involved in the special review, was likewise in the dark Tuesday. One official

there noted that they were getting all their information from newspaper reports.

However, that KSC safety official added he was confident an adequate review of any

proposed layoffs could be done even on such short notice. "I honestly think so," the

KSC safety official said. "Is there a plan? Then you go and look at the plan and see

if it makes sense." ['Ibe Orlando Sentinel, December 24, 1997, p A-7.]

PEGASUS LAUNCHES SATEIXITE

A new fleet of small, low-cost satellites designed to transform the personal

communications market began to take shape in space Tuesday with the launch of a

commercial Pegasus XL rocket. The slender white Orbital Sciences booster was

carried about 60 miles off the coast of southeastern Virginia attached to the belly of an

L-1011 jet, then cast free at 2:11 p.m. to launch into orbit. Tucked aboard the

launcher were eight tiny disk-shaped satellites for the ORBCOMM communications

network, envisioned to provide two-way data and massaging services anywhere on the

planet. ORBCOMM will use up to 36 satellites circling 512 miles above Earth to link

subscribers from around the globe when the service opens for business next spring. Of

the four Pegasus rockets launched from the U.S. East Coast, Tuesday's was the third to

be staged from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia The first, in 1994, was

based at Kennedy Space Center's shuttle landing strip. Pegasus officials say they are

planning a return to the Space Coast to launch a Brazilian science satellite next

summer from Cape Canaveral Air Station. Other future missions may also be headed

Florida's way, they said. [Florida Today, December 24, 1997, p lB.]

December 29: KSC DRAWS RECORD NUMBER OF VISIIDRS

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex had it biggest New Year's party ever

Monday. Although not officially 1998 for most of us, Monday marked the first day of

the visitor complex's fiscal year, and it celebrated by welcoming a record 23,000

guests. Rick Abramson, president and chief operations officer of the company that

runs the visitor complex, was hoarse Monday from talking to visitors. "It was

unbelievable," Abramson said. "We were within a minute of closing our gates. We're

limited on our parking." The previous record of 19,000 visitors was set last year,

although the number is unofficial because turnstiles were installed at the center only

last week. But Abramson said interest in space has peaked because of the successful

Mars Pathfinder and Cassini missions. "Absolutely, those missions have translated

into people" who visit the center, Abramson said. "All the positive, exciting things

NASA is doing has sparked interest. This is a national treasure." [Florida Today,

December 30, 1997, p 1A.]

Dining 1997: NASA FHJ.,ED THE CALENDAR IN 1997

Mars Palhfinder. One of the most watched events of the year occurred 141 million

237
miles from Earth, as hundreds of millions of people followed the July 4 landing of

NASA's Pathfinder spacecraft on Mars, the first landing on the Red Planet since the

Viking missions in 1976 and the first every to use air bags to cushion impact on the

surface. Shortly after Pathfinder's landing, the Sojourner rover began its own

exploration of nearby rocks and other feat_es. The images from both craft were

posted to the Intemet, where more than 500 million "hits" were recorded by the end of

July.

Hubble Servicing lVr_ion -- "New" Telescope for the New Millennium. During five

days of spacewalks, astronauts flawlessly performed major maintenance and upgrades

to the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, replacing older hardware with two

dramatically improved instruments that are helping astronomers probe the universe in

greater detail than ever before. Also this year, Hubble uncovered over 1,000 bright,

young star clusters bursting to life in a brief, intense, brilliant "fireworks show" at the

heart of a nearby pair of colliding galaxies. The Hubble image of the galactic collision

was printed on the front pages of newspapers around the world as well as on the cover

of Newsweek magazine.

Shutfle-Mir Goes Forward. In 1997, three U.S. astronauts -- Jerry Linenger, Michael

Foale and now, David Wolf -- added to NASA's long duration record aboard Mir and

to the Agency's ability to gain experience and knowledge unavailable elsewhere.

Despite problems on the Mix, NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin concluded that

Shuttle-Mir has a thorough review process which warrants continued American

participation in the program.

NASA Satellites Provide Best View Yet of E1 Nino Weather Phenomena. Pacific

Ocean sea-surface height measurements and atmospheric water vapor information

taken from independent Earth-orbiting satellites, the Upper Atmosphere Research

Satellite, the NASA Scatterometer, TOPEX/POSEIDON, end SeaWiFS have convinced

scientists of what they had earlier postulated - - a full-blown El Nino condition is

established in the Pacific.

Cassini I.mmdaes to Saturn The international Cassini mission left Earth bound for

Saturn on Oct. 15 atop an Air Force Titan IV-B/Centaur rocket in a picture-perfect

launch above Cape Canaveral, FL. With the European Space Agency's Huygens probe

and a high-gain antenna provided by the Italian Space Agency, Cassini will arrive at

Saturn July 1, 2004.

X-33 and X-34 Flight Technology Demonstraton Achieve Major Milestones. In 1997,

the Agency's quest to reduce launch costs and increase access to space through its

Reusable Launch Vehicle Program took a major leap forward. The X-33 technology

demonstrator, scheduled to begin flights in mid-1999, successfully passed its critical

design review, and the X-34, the smaller and earlier flight demonstrator being

developed in parallel with the X-33, successfully passed a design freeze in mid-year.

238
Galileo Discovers keberzs on Europa. Images captured during Galileo's closest flyby

of Europa on Feb. 20 showed features of the Jovian moon, lending credence to the

possibility of hidden, subsurface oceans. The findings generated new questions about

the possibility of life on Europa.

Uplifting Year for Aemnmufies. To ensure that NASA's work in science and

technology sustains U.S. leadership in civil aeronautics and space and improves air

transportation system safety, the Agency established technology goals, called the Three

Pillars, that will stretch the boundaries of the knowledge and capabilities needed to

keep the United States as the global leader in aeronautics and space.

SOHO Sheds New Hght on Active SmuL Scientists using the joint European Space

Agency/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft have

discovered "jet streams" or "rivers" of hot, electrically charged plasma flowing beneath

the surface of the Sun. These new findings will help scientists understand the famous

11-year sunspot cycle and associated increases in solar activity that can disrupt the

Earth's power and communications systems. [NASA News Release #97-281,

December 8, 1997.]

239
APPENDIX A

SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCHES FOR 1997

January 12:STS41 - Shuttle Atlantis took off on a mission to Russia's space station

Mir. A crew of five taxied astronaut Jerry Linenger to the outpost and then ferried

colleague John Blaha back to Earth after a four-month tour of duty on the station.

February 11:STS-82 - Seven astronauts took off two days early on a mission to

service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Flying aboard Discovery, the crew carried

out four spacewalks to install new instruments on the observatory and then conducted

a fifth to repair insulation on the $3 billion telescope.

April 4:ST8-83 - Shuttle Columbia carried seven astronauts into orbit a day later

than originally planned. The planned 16-day mission was cut to four days when one

of the shuttle's three power-producing fuel cells failed on orbit.

May 15:STS-84 - Atlantis blasted off on the year's second mission to Mir.

Michael Foale replaced Linenger aboard the outpost, becoming the fifth U.S.

researcher to work on Mir.

Astronaut

July 1:STS-94 - Columbia took off on a rerun of its shortened April research

mission. The shuttle was prepared for flight in just 84 days - a post-Challenger record

for NASA.

August 7:STS-85 - Six astronauts were launched on an atmospheric research mission

that featured the deployment and retrieval of a German telescope carrier. A prototype

of a Japanese robot arm that will be used on NASA's planned international space

station also was tested.

September 25:STS-86 - Atlantis headed off for a third 1997 mission to Mir. An

international crew of six picked up Foale and dropped off his replacement, astronaut

David Wolf.

November 19:STS-87 - Columbia was launched carrying six astronauts on a research

mission that featured two spacewalks to test tools and techniques for upcoming

construction of NASA's planned space station.

**December 5: Columbia's touchdown capped another significant first: 1997 will go

down in shuttle history as the first year in which every flight ended with a landing at

Kennedy Space Center.

240