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KSC FORM 16-12 (REV. 0/76l 
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CHPO NO LOGY 0 F 

KSC AND KSC-RELATED 

EVENTS FOR 

1981 

SELECTED 

By Ken Nail, Jr. 

New Korld Services, Inc. 

ARCH X Vi ST 
FOREWORD 

The launch of Orbiter Columbia from the John F. Kennedy Space Center on April 12, 

1981 heralded the beginning of a new phase in manned space activity, and the 

era of an operational Space Tranportation System. 

Columbia was the first reusable spaceship and the first to casry a human crew 

on its maiden flight. The landing on the dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base 

on April 14, i981, after a 54-hour journey, was a star spangled event which 

excited the national spirit. Once again American astronauts were active in space. 

This Chronology presents a record of aerospace and related activities in 1981 in 

which the John F. Kennedy Space Center had prominent involvement and interest. 

Articles were selected from Aviation Week and Space Technology, Defense Daily, 

Miami Herald, Sentinel Star (Orlando), TODAY (Cocoa), Spaceport News (KSC), NASA 

News Releases, and other sources. 

The Chronology vas prepared as part of the KSC history program to "document KSC's 

role in NASA's programs" and is intended as a reference source for historians 

and other researchers. 

the published sources. 

when the article itself does not make that infomation explicit. 

The document is arranged by month and items by date of 

Actual <ate of the event may be indicated in par9nthesis 

Research was accomplished and text prepared by Ken Rail, Jr. Hew World Servbces, 

Inc., Archivist; with the assistance of Elaine Liston. 

Comments concerning the ChronoloRy are invited and should be addressed to Information Services Section (SI-SAT-52), John F. Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32839. 

M. Konjevich 

Information Services 
January 1981 

January 2: To some people, a canister is a thing that looks 

like a mobile home standing on its head. 

To others, it is a thing that looks much as though someone 

looped the nose, tail and wings off of an orbiter, then 

installed doors, ladders and handles on what is left, 

Looking very strange indeed, the space age canister actually 

is a moveable home for payloads and is also a painstakingly 

engineered airtight container that precisely duplicates the 

interior dimensions of the orbiter's cargo bay. 

It provides the clean enivironnent necessary while orbiter 

payloads are being moved around the space center. 

Horizontal payloads, for example, are verified on the 

Operations ar,d Checkout Building, then are moved to the 

Orbiter Processing Facility for installation. 

Vertical payloads, verified at the Vertical Processing 

Facility, must be moved to the launch pad for installation 

via the Rotating Service Structure. 

The canister, 21 meters (69 feet) long, can accomnodate 

paylO.3dS up to 18.3 meters (60 feet) in diameter, weighing 

up to 29,483 kilograms (65,000 lbs). 

Delivering a payload to the launch pad, the canister is 

hoisled to the proper elevation at the Rotating Service 

Structure where environmental seals protect the cargo during 

offloading. 

The canister is taken on its KSC travels by a 48-wheeled, 

self-propelled and highly maneuverable transporter. The 

speed of the 19.8 meters (65 feet) long transporter varies 

from a maximum of 16 kilometers (10 miles) per hour, empty, 

to a loaded maneuvering speed -- or "creep rate" -- of ,635 

centimeters (one quarter-inch) per second -- or .0228 

kilometers (.Q142 mile) per hour. (SPACEPORT PIEtS, 1-2-81, 

p. 3, Vola 20, NO. 1) 

- 1- 
<> Mr. J. A. Diggs has been named Equal Opportunity Officer at 

KSC. He had held the post as acting officer since Julyr 

1979. 

Prior to being appointed to the post, Diggs served as an 

Equal Opportunity Specialist here, as a field representative 

with the Off ice of Economic Opportunity in Atlanta, Georgia, 

and as Associate and Economic Director, respectively, 0 

Rrevard County Community Action Agency in Cocoa. (SPACEPORT 

NEI'JS, 1-2-81, p.5, Vole 20, NO. 1) 

<> 1981 Launch Schedule 

DATE 

Feh 19 

March 

March 

April 23 

May 

June 2 

June 18 

June 25 

July 31 

Sept. 15 

Sept. 17 

Oct. 29 

Dec. 10 

- MISSION 

COKSTAR D 

GOES-E 

INTELSAT V F-1) 

SBS-€3 

NOAA-C 

FLTSATCOV-E 

INTELSAT V ( F-3) 

DE 

S?1F 

INTELSAT V (F-4) 

RCA-CI. 

1NTELSF.T V ( F-5) 

FcA-n 

LAUNCH 

VEHICLE 

Atlas CerLaur 42 

Delta 154 

Atlas Centaur 56 

Delta 155 

Atlas-F 

Atlas Centaur 59 

Delta 156 

Atlas Centaur 55 

Delta 154 

Delta 158 

Atlas Centaur 58 

Delta 159 

Atlas Centaur 60 

COMPLEX 

36-A 

17-A 

36-B 

17-24 

WTR" 

36-A 

14-A 

36-B 

tr'TR * 

WTR * 

36-E 

17-A 

36-B 

LAUNCE SCHEDLJLE for 1981 also includes the first launch Of 

the Space Shuttle from 39A, now set for late March, WTR 

launch operations are conducted by KSC from Vandenberg Air 

Force Base, California. (SPACEPORT NEKS, 1-2-81, p.5, Vol. 

20, Mo.1) 

<> While the nation's attention is focused on Launch Complex 39 

for the upcoming Shuttle launch, the expendable vehicle team 

will look to continue its string of 31 successes with ten 

launches scheduled for 1981. 

- 2- 
0 

0 

With six Atlas-Centaur and four Delta launches, KSC will 

lift a variety of commercial, scientific and defense 

satellites into equatorial orbit. A large part of the 

expendable schedule will be devoted to the remainder of the 

INTELSAT V communications system, as four INTELSAT V 

satellites will be launched in 1981. 

In addition to ETR launches, three other missions will be 

conducted from the WTR launch site at Vandenberg Air Force 

Rase. Two NASA scientific satellites and one weather 

satellite will be lifted into polar orbit aboard two Deltas 

and an Atlas-F. (SPACEPORT NEWS, 1-2-81, p. 3, VOl. 20, NO. 

1) 

January 6: A private group called the Viking Fund has collected 

some $70,000 that it will give to NASA Vkdnesday to be used 

to continue processing data from the Viking spacecraft which 

landed on PIars in 1976. The budget squeeze on NASA was 

threatened to terminate the Viking data processing work. 

The Viking Fund was formed under the auspices of the 

American Astronautical Society (AAS). (DEFENSE DAILY, 

1-6-81, p. 7, Vola 114, NO. I) 

<> Dr. Alan M, Lovelace, 51, who has been deputy administrator 

of NASA since June 1976, the number twwo spot in the agency, 

will step down to allow the Reagan Administration to name 

its own team at NASA. 

NASA Administrator Dr. Robert A. Frosch announced prior to 

the presidential election that he would resign Jan. 20 to 

become president of the Arnericsn Association of Engineering 

Societies. (DEFEVSE DAILY, 1-6-81, p. 3, Vol. 114, No. 1) 

<> NASA's space science spokesman Nicholas W. Panagakos, 55, 

died Dec. 28 of a heart attack at a hospital in Portland, 

Ne. He has been NASA's public affairs officer for space 

science since 1971. He joined NASA in 1962 and worked for 

eight years as the information officer for the Goddard 

Institute for Space Studies in New York. During the 1968 

presidential campaign, he was a speechwrifer for Pemocratic 

vice presidential candidate Edniund Muskie. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

1-6-81, p. 7, Vol. 114, NO. 1) 

- 3- 
Ja~u~~ 7: The Intelsat Board of Governors last month approved 

the purchase of three new Intelsat V-A communications 

satellites from an international team headed by Ford 

Aerospace cor about $100 million. 

At the same time, the Board authorized Ford to proceed with 

long lead-time efforts in order to maintain Options for up 

to three more Intelsat V-A's. 

The new spacecraft will be basically similar to the Intelsat 

V spacecraft hilt by Ford, but will incorporate 

modificaticns and improvements that will boost their 

capacity from 12,00@ to 15,000 telephone calls, plus two 

television channels. 

The Intelsat V-A's are to be launched in the 1984-86 time 

period, augmenting the nine Intelsat V's which will be 

launched by the end of 7982. The first Intelsat V was 

successfully laanched Dec. 6. 

Intelsat plans to follow the Intelsat V-A series with a 

series of Intelsat VI satellites with a capacity of more 

than 40,000 telephone calls and two television channels. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 1-7-31, p. 13, Vol. 114, No. 2) 

<> NASA and the European Space Agency (E581 have been unable to 

work out an agreement under which NASA would provide the 

Deep Space Network for tracking the ESA Giotto Halley's 

Comet mission in exchange for providing experiments on the 

spacecraft. Instead ESA is looking to purchase the DSN time 

or to barter something else in exchange for the time. 

NASA had proposed to provide the DSN tracking and the Delta 

launch vehicle €or Giotto in exchange for two principal 

investigator experiments on the ESA spacecraft, but use of 

the Delta in place of the French Ariafie was vetoed in ESA. 

The Europeans then turned down the exchange of DSFJ alone for 

the two major experiments, feeling that this was too much to 

Pay 

-4- 
A decision on the Giotto payload is expected after ESA's 

Space Program Conrnittee meets Jan. 16. The spacecraft is 

expected to carry six or seven major experiments. It is 

considered likely that the U.S. will be invited to 

participate as co-investigators on one or two of the 

expe r imen ts . 

Meanwhile, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is seeking 

Reagan Administration's initiation in FU '82 of a $250 

nillion U.S. Nalley's mission, but there has been no 

indication from the Reagan camp that it intends increases in 

the space budget. (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-7-81, p. 14, Vol. 114, 

No. 2) 

<> The first Space Shuttle scheduled to fly in space is 

currently undergoing checks of its system while it sits at 

the launch pad. 

Last week, the orbiter was connected to ground systems, and 

was powered up using ground electrical power for the first 

tine at the pad. Validation of all connections to the Space 

Shuttle vehicle was complete early this week, and tests of 

many orbiter system were underway. 

Tests completed included the development flight 

instrumentation, radar altimeterr navigation radios, and the 

external tank to solid rocket booster connections. Also 

verified rras the operation of the gaseous oxygen vent arm 

and hood, the so-called beanie cap which will remove cold 

oxygen vapors from the vicinity of the external tank tip to 

prevent ice formation. 

On the Rotating Service Structure, small air leaks between 

the covers of the maneuvering system pod purge system and 

the pads themselves have prevented the purge air from 

reaching the desired 200 degree tempersture. Engineers are 

checking the design of the purge covers to remedy the leaks. 

A final assessment of the remaining gap filler work has 

determined that about 50C cap fillers remain to be installed 

before launch. 

-5- 
On Tuesday, checks of the water flow at the mobile launch 

platform level were begun. The water system will be used 

both to prevent flame and heat damage to the launch 

structure and also to provide sound deadening to protect the 

Space Shuttle from intense launch noise vibrations....... 

Scheduled for the remainder of the week is the nPlugs Out 

Overall Testg' which will test the ability of the Space 

Shuttle Orbiter to function without ground powerl as it will 

after liftoff. 

The strong back support for the payload bay doors will be 

installed in preparatix for the cycling of the orbiter's 

doors while in the vertical position. This also checks the 

door fit within the Rotating Service Structure. (KSC NEWS 

RELEASE No. 4-81, 1-7-81) 

January 8: Sen. Jake Garn (F-Utah), best known for his strona 

support of the nation's defense program, has been named the 

new chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on 

Housing & Urban Development and Independent Agencies -- the 

unit responsible for the NASA appropriations bill in the 

Senate. 

With the change from Democratic to Repub1 ican leadership in 

the Senate, he succeeds Sen. william ?roxnire (U-\:is.) as 

chairman of the HUD-IA Subcommittee. Proxmire, while ne has 

a reputation of being critical of the space program, has not 

made a najor effort in recent years to take significant 

funding from the Space Agency. 

Garn has not taken an active role on the space program but 

his aides confirm that the senator is a firm supporter of 

the Space Shuttle program, recognizing its need for the 

nation's defense and intelligence program, and he does not 

want that "critical" program to suffer as a result of the 

overall Federal budget cutting efforts planned by the Reagan 

Administration (a reduction which he fully supports). 

- 6- 
On the House side, the HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee 

will continue to he chaired by Rep. Edward Boland (D-Mass.), 

with Rep. Lawrence Coughlin (R-Pa.) expected to continue as 

ranking minority member. The subcommittee, which has been 

the major adversary of the NASA program in Congress, upset 

over cost overruns in recent years, lost only one member in 

the election. 

Garn, who was originally only fifth in line to take the 

HUD-SA Appropriations chairmanship, wanted the post to 

consolidate his authority over the nation's housing program. 

He earlier was named chairman of the Senate Committee on 

Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. 

Sen. Mathias (R-Md.), who was the ranking Republican on the 

HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee last year, and in line to 

take the chairmanship, opted instead for a position on the 

Senate Foreign Relations Ccmmittee, which required him to 

leave Appropriations. 

The 11-nan subcommittee is comprised of six Republicans, five 

of whom are conservative, including Sen. Jack Schmitt (N.P!.)p 

chairman of the NASA authorizing subcommittee and the leading 

proponent of the space program in the Senate, and five 

Democrats, four of whon are liberal. That membership is: 

Repiibl icans -- Democrats 

Jake Garn (Utah) Chairman Walter Huddleston (K37.1 (ranking) 

Lowell Weicker ( Conn. ) William Proxmire (Wis.) 

Paul Laxalt (Nev.) John Stennis (Miss.) 

Jack Schmitt (R.M. 1 Patrick Leahy (Vt.) 

Alfonse D'Anato (N.Y.) James Sasser (Tenn.) 

Arlen Specter (Pa.) 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 1-8-81, p. 20, Vole 114, NO. 3) 

January 9: Sen. Jack Scbmitt (R-N.M.), the new chairman of the 

Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology 6 Space, has urged 

the Reagan Administration to place more emphasis to the 

general space activities and 3 & D program of NASA. 

-7- 
In a letter to David Stockman, director-designate of the 

White House Office of Management & Budget, Schmitt praised 

Stockman's comprehensive plan to restore the U.S. economy but 

was critical of Stockman's inclusion of NASA among 

"low-priority" programs which Ncould be cut by at least 

one-third.. . .'I 

"NASA should not be lumped into a 'low priority' categov 

Echmitt told Stockman. "This hurts the credibility of your 

other excellent proposals." 

The senator told the OMB chief that his proposed Emergency 

Economic Stabilization and Recovery program cannot succ@ 

it ignores "the erosion of our research and technology 

Without that base and its continued reinforcement we will 

have little to which to recover to. Our over-all 

productivity, our national security and the motivation of our 

young people are all tied directly to the growth of that 

base, I' 

The senator listed 11 non-defense R & D activities that 

"clearly are adding basic economic strength and should b+e 

emphasized in any recovery program." including the followirq 

five involving KASA: 

1) Cooperative technology developnent programs with industry 

and academies, particularly in aeronautics and energy. 

Provides adva.;tages in productivity, export and national 

security . 

2) General space activities. Provides advances in 

productivity, national security, national motivation and in 

the competition with the Soviet Union. 

3) Space and terrestrial applications, Provides advances in 

productivity, national security, mineral resource assessment 

for domestic, national security and foreign policy purposes. 

4) Space research and technology. Helps keep future options 

open. 

-8- 
5) Technology utilization. Adds to short-term productivity 

growth. 

Schmitt also called for support for the traditional basic 

research program and science and engineering education 

activities of the National Science Foundation and for the 

basic and applied energy research program of the Energy 

Department. 

At the same time, Schnitt said the following R & D activities 

can be deferred or de-emphasized: the applied research 

activities of NSF, and DOE'S solar information/narketing 

program, ocean systems program, biomass program, coal 

conversion program and synfuels program. 

He also called for a reorganization of some Federal R & D 

activities to reduce costs and improve management, including: 

--Spin-off the Earth resources remote sensing activities of 

NOAA into the private sector, with NASA retaining 

cooperative technology development. 

--Dismantle DOE by reestablishing ERDA as a separate ag2ncy 

without regulatory authority; creating a Nuclear Pcl'er 

Administration frcz elements of D3E and NRCl and combining 

all fiecessary non-nuclear energy regulations in a separate 

independent agency, (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-9-81, p. 25 & 2GP 

Val. 114, No. 4) 

<> High attendance figures capped the year 1980, as more than 

1.5 millicn people travelled to Kennedy Space Center's 

Visitors Center, the fourth most popular Florida tourist 

attraction. 

More than 19 million people have come to the Visitors Center 

since it was opened in 5.966 to view its wide array of static 

and dynamic exhibits, rocket and spacecraft displays, space 

movies and space science demonstrations. (NASA NEWS RELEASE, 

1-9-81, NO. 5-81) 

-9 
ry 12: MFSA Administrator Robert Frosch and other top 

officials from NASA-Headquarters and field centers were 

scheduled to meet with top Air Force officials Saturday tc 

consider a decision on the choice of an upper stage for the 

Space Shuttle for NASA's planetary missions -- Star-rng with 

the Galileo Jupiter Orbiter & Probe iind the NASWESA dual 

spacecraft International Solar Polar Mission. 

The Air Force is responsible for d -reloping the 

solid-propellant Inersial Upper Stage (IUS), planned as the 

workhorse upper stage for the Squttle, which includes the 

basic two-stage vehicle to be used by DOD nd by NASP, and 

the three-stage IUS which wili be used for NASA's planetary 

missions. 

But a cost overrun of at least $112 millicn and a development 

completion delay on the Roeing-built vehicle has forced N.3A 

to reconsider its plan for using the three-stage IUS for 

launching the Galileo in 1984 and ISPM in 1385 on two Sh*ittle 

missions each. 

If the three-stage IUS is not ready in time for the Calileo 

launch in 1384, the next launch windad for the configuration would be 1987. 

The alternatives include: 

llkdapting a Centaur liquid-fueled stage to the Shuttle, 

which could then launch the Galileo Orbiter and Probe on a 

single Shuttle mission, but be delayed until 1985. Drab,.cks 

including possible complications in modifying the Chuttle t3 

accommodate the liquid fueled stage...snd uncertainty of 

costs. Some say it will be cheaper thah IUS; others that it 

will be more expensive. Centaur could also launch the twc 

ISPEl spacecraft on a single Shuttle flight in 1985 if a 

modified Shuttle is available. 

2) Developing a new two-stage ("twin-stage") version of IUS, 

which would employ two of the larger IUS motors, rat';er than 

one large and one small. This configuration is designed to 

be able to launch Gilileo and ISPP'I on single Shuttle 

launches, but would extend the Galileo flight time fro;? two 

to four years. 

-10- 
Gali;eo an4 ISPM program officials would like to proceed with 

thci. prc grams as currently scheduled, with the three-stage 

IUS cind dua!. launches in 1984 and 1985? respectively, 

althoirq:', a twin-stage with a top stage could do the ISPM as a 

single luiJnch in 1985 and is considered a viable 

alternative. They see going to the Centaur? with the changes 

to the spacecraft that it would requirer as being the least 

desirable option. 

But Space Transportation officials, faced with the IUS cost 

problems and possible further delays, see the Centaur as Lp 

strong optim. 

The new Boeing proposal for a twin-stage IUS offers 

advantages as well as disadvantages which will be part of 

complications of the final decision. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

1-12-81, pe 35, Vola 114, NO. 5) 

<> OMB director-designate David Stockman in his Senate 

confirmation hearings last week listed a wide range of 

Federal programs which he believes can be cut, not excluding 

NASA, which he earlier listed among agencies that could be 

cut by "one-third.'' 

Under questioning fron Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) about the 

NASA budget, Stocknan replied, "3: could probably find 

something in NASA to Cut." (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-12-81, p. 34, 

Vole 11/31 NO, 5) 

<> Nine menhers have been named to the Subcommittee on Science, 

Technology & Space of the Senate Commerce Committee, under 

the chairmanship of Sen, Jack Schmitt (R-N.M.). The 

subcommittee, headed iast year by Sen. Adlai E. Stevenson 

(D-Ill.), who retired, is responsible for the NASA 

authorization bill. Senators named to the subcommittee are: 

(R) Schmitt (chairman), Barry Goldwater (Ariz.1, Nancy 

Kassebaum (Kans.), Slade Gorton (Wash.) and Robert Kasten 

(Wis. 1. 

(I)) Donald Riegle (Mich, 1 (retnking I Wendell Ford ( KtY 1 I 

Ernest Hollings (S.C.), and Howell Weflin (Isfa.) 

-11- 
On the COP side Kassebaum and freshmen Gorton and Kasten are 

new to the subcommittee. Former committee member Robert 

Griffin (Mich.) has retired. I 

For the Democrats, Weflin is new to the subcommittee, and 

Sens. Russell Long (La.) and Edward Zorinsky (Neb.) have 

dropped off along with Stevensori. (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-12-81, 

ppo 35-36, Vole 11. 

<> The Defense Department acknowledged Thursday that an 

experiment with a laser "pointing and tracking" device for 

aiming weapons in space will be conducted onbcard the Space 

Shuttle. 

It said the experiments involved a "small laser which is not 

a laser weapon," emphasizing that "it is not an experiment of laser weaponry. 

Development of a laser weapon to defend against Soviet 

ballisti: missiles is not foreseeable within this c7ecade,n 

the Pentagon said. (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-12-81, p. 34, VOl. 114, 

No. 5) 

<> NASA, which has put off plans for follow-on missions to Mars 

until the 1990'Sp is looking at a new proposal for a combined 

Mars Rover and Sanple Return Mission -- the nost ambitious 

proposed mission to liiars since the proposals for manned 

landings during the Apollo era. 

The proposal for the Rover/Sample Return Mission, both of 

which separately are future mission candidates, was developed 

by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Johnson Space 

Center. JPL, which built the Viking Mars Landers, is looking 

at the Rover, while Johnson is interested in the sample 

return. (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-12-81, p. 33, VOl. 114, No. 5) 

-12- 
January 15: NASA is now estimating that the total cost of 

developing the Space Shuttle will be $9.6 billion, an 

increase of 26 percent above inflation from the original 

estimate ($5.12 billion in FY '81 dollars). The total 

investment cost for four Shuttles, including development, 

production and facilities, is now between $14 billion and 

$14.5 billion, (DEFENSE: DAILY, 1-15-81, p. 55, Vol. 114, 

No, 8) 

: Both the primary and backup astronaut crews €or the 

first Space Shuttle flight got some valuable experience at 

the pad here last week. The four, plus other astronauts and 

some ground support personnel, were briefed on the use of the 

emergency pad escape system, known as the "slidewire .I' 

The slidewire system might look like a thrill ride, but its 

purpose is to provide a quick and sure escape from the upper 

pad platforms in case of a serious emergency. 

Five steel cables extend from the Fixed Service Structure at 

the level of the orbiter access arm and descend to a point 

about 1,200 feet to the west, just inside the pad perimeter, 

On each cable rides a flatbottomed basket made of Kevlar, a 

heat resistant, synthetic fiber. Each basket can hold up to 

three persons and is positioned for easy entry in event of an 

emergency. 

Should the astronauts or ground ipessonriel need to evacuate 

the tower faster than the elevator could function, they would 

board the baskets and release then, The descent is 

controlled by a friction bake, but still achieves speeds 

approaching 60 miles per hour on its way to the bottom, 

Near the bottom, each basket engages a net, which in turn is 

connected to rows of heavy chains, which drag along the 

ground and act as a brake. The deceleration and stop is 

progressive, but rapid, and the system is similar to that 

once used to stop runaway jet aircraft. 

Once stopped, persons in the baskets can run to a protective 

bunker or can use a tracked vehicle parked near the bottom Of 

the cables, The vehicle can be driven away from the pad to 

safety. 

-13- 
For last week's lessons, the flight crews wore the space 

suits and other equipment they will wear during a mission. 

Such garments can make running and climbing cumbersome, and 

the astronauts learned where the more awkward phases of the 

procedures occur a 

To eliminate any possible hazard to personnel during the 

tests, sandbags are used to duplicate the weight of riders. 

The system is similar to that used for ApoYfo flights, except 

that the older system used a single, large basket instead of 

several smaller ones. (SPACEPORT NEWS, 1-16-81, p. 2, Vol. 

20, No. 2) 

<> Barely showing its age, Pioneer 6 last month marked its 15th 

birthday - the longest lifespan of an interplanetary 

spacecraft to date. 

Launched on Dec. 16, 196S, on Delta-35 from Cape Canaveral, 

Pioneer 6 has been circling the Sun between the orbits of 

Venus and Earth, cranking out data on the Sun's corona, solar 

storms, and even a comet's tail. 

The tiny, 140-pound probe has circled the Son 17 1/2 timess 

covering over 9 billion niles, and has sent about Pour 

billion data bits to Earth. Whenever the busy "big dish" 

antennas of NASA's Deep Space Network aren't tied up with 

other missions, they tune in for the latest report from 

Pioneer 6. The data received is forwarded to Pioneer 

experimenters and other space scientists and to "solar 

weather forecasters" at the NOAA Solar Disturbance Forecast 

Center at Boulder, Colorado. (SPACEPORT NEFS, 1-16-81, p. 4, 

Vola 20, NO. 2) 

January 17: China is not training astronauts, but is interested 

in the U.S. space program, U.S. Rep. Bill Nelson reports from 

his trip :10 the Far East. 

The Melbourne Democrat met this week with Chinese Vice 

Premier Fang Yi, minister of the state council in charge of 

the Science and Technology Commission. 

-14- 
"The vice premier said the Chinese are not training 

astronauts at present, although the Shanghai Daily reported 

last year that China had started an astronaut training 

program," said Nelson from Pekinq, one of the stops for his -- 

delegation from the House Science and Technology Committee. 

(TODAY, 1-17-81, 6A) 

18: "It worked." That was the word frum Bay St. Louis, 

Miss., where engineers fired a test version of the Space Shuttle's engine system for 10 minutes and 29 seconds 

Saturday afternoon. 

The firing was the 12th and longest test of a system similar 

to the three engines now bolted to the Spaceship Columbia. 

That leaves only a final test of the flight engines on the 

Kennedy Space Center pad sometime in February. If that test 

is successful, the engines will be approved for the Shuttle's 

maiden flight - n3w scheduled for March, but more likely to 

take place in April or May. 

A spokesnan for Flarshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, 

Ala:, the center responsible for the development of the 

engines, said the test went. as planned. 

"With today's successful firing, all main propulsion test 

objectives for the first flight and slsme objectives for later 

missions have been achieved,'' said James M. Sission, 

Marshall's manager for engineering and major test management 

off ice. 

Saturday's test was something of a milestone in the Shuttle's 

developnent. Had the test been a major failure, it is likely 

that performing a retest would have delayed the launch of the 

Shuttle. (TODAY, 1-18-81, p. 11A) 

January 19: NASA has decided to terminate development of the 

three-stage Inertial Upper Stage which was designed to launch 

the agency's planetary mission from the Space Shuttle and 

instead opted for the use of a nodified Centaur upper stage 

for that role. The two-stage IUS will be retained for both 

NASA and DOD missions. 

-1s- 
NASA Administrator Dr. Robert Frosch acknowledged that such a 

"significant change" in the agency's plans "will be subject 

to confirmation" by the new Reagan Administration. i. 

The change to the more powerful, liquid propelled Centaur 

will allow NASA to launch its two currently approved 

planetary missions -- the Galileo Jupiter Orbiter & Probe and 

the NASA/ESA International Solar Polar Mission -- on single 

Shuttle flights rather than two flights eachp but will 

require a delay in the Galileo from 1984 to 198fl ISPM will 

remain scheduled for 1985. (NASA's Space Science Office says 

that modification of the spacecraft for combined laurxh will 

not pose difficult problems, particularly since they were 

originally planned as combined launches.) 

The agency's decision was announced Thursday afternoon by 

Frosch, who said the decision was based on the "rapid 

escalation of estimated costs" for the three-stage IUS and on 

NASA's conclusion that there is "a very low probability that 

we can prepare a three-stage IUS in tine" to conduct the 

Galileo Orbiter and Probe launches to Jupiter in 1984. 

NASA cannot use the three-stage IUS for a 1985 Galileo launch 

because its thr?l;c is not great enough. 

The other option open to NASAp the use of a new twins-stage 

version of IUS (using two large motors instead of one large 

and one small onefp would increase the flight time for the 

Galileo Orbiter from two to almost five years, push back the 

launch of the Galileo Probe to 1986 and necessitate "an 

unacceptable long gap in the scientific data" from the 

program. Moreover, adoption of the two-stage IUS would cause 

a "sharp rise" in the cost of both the planetary program and 

the IUS, Frosch said. 

Although NASA in the past had rejected use of the Centaur for 

the Shuttle upper stage (including a specific "directive" 

from the House Appropriations Committee) on the grounds of 

cost and the complications of modifying the Shuttle, Frosch 

says that NASA has no choice but to go to that vehicle now to 

conduct the Galileo and ISPM. 

"NO other alternative upper stage is available on a 

reasonable schedule or with comparable costs l'l he said. 

-15- 
The NASA administrator did not provide details of the costs 

involved in the stage decision, but said that the agency has 

funds in its FY '81 and FY '82 budget to begin modifications 

of the Centaur, integrating it with the Shuttle, and making 

the "relatively minor changes" to launch facilities at Cape 

Canaveral to accommodate Centaur. He said the agency intends 

to contract with General Dynamics this spring for integration 

of Centaur into the Shuttle. 

A year ago, the cost of Centaur's development was estimated 

at $390 million. 

"The Shuttle/Centaur would satisfy our planetary mission 

needs and would offer both to commercial customers and to 

national security interests a highly capable launch vehicle 

with growth potential," Frosch said. 

The NASA chief said the agency will discuss with the Air 

Force "the best means for providing upper stages" to meet 

U.S. needs "in the second half of the decade" and work with 

then to continue develupment of the two-stage IUS, which 

remains a need of both agencies. 

Boeing is prime contractor for the two and three-stage IUS, 

with United Technologies the propclsion subcontractor. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 1-19-81, Pp. 74-75, Vole 114, No, 10) 

<> NASA submitted a $7.081 billion FY '82 budget request to the 

White House Office of Management and Budget, which pared $355 

million, or 5 percent from the request, to $6.726 billion 

figure. 

The original OMB cut in FY '81 was $307 million, or 5 

percent, but the President later cut another $200 million 

from the agency in a budget reduction. 

Most of the major cuts made in the FY '82 NASA budget request 

involved work towards prclriding a full-capability Shuttle 

system. (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-19-e1, p. 73, VOl, 114, NO. 10) 

-17- 
Janu 21: NASA has officially approved the conlinuiation of 

Voyager 2 on a trajectory which would take it to Uranus in 

1906 after flying past Saturn this summer. 

Under the approved plan, the spacecraft will ericounter Uranus 

at a distance of 107,000 kilometers (66,OC)O mLles) Jan. 241 

1986, making measurements and taking pictures &s it speeds 

past and heads for a possible encounter with Neptune. 

The Uranus encounter will provide the world witti its ffrst 

close-up look at that planet. 

The decision to fly past Uranus is, in efiavt, ;1 decision to 

retain the present trajectory. If agency r?i-ici=ils had 

decided against a Uranus encounter, then a :-etargeting of the 

Voyager 2 would have been required. 

Voyager 2, launched Aug. 20, 1977, is a sister ship to 

Voyager 1, which recently provided a historical close-up 

encounter with the ringed planet Saturn. Voyager 2 flew by 

Jupiter in July 19751 and will encounter Saturn August 25, 

1981. (MARSEALL STAR, 1-21-81, p. 4, Vole 21, NO. 19) 

<> NASA Saturday suceessfulPy concSuded its series of Space 

Shuttle Main Engine %lain Propulsion Tests with a 111 minutes 

and 29 second static €iring of the three-engine cluster at 

the National Space Technology Laboratories at Ray St. Louis, 

Miss. The agency termed the test highly successful. The 

test was conducted at 900 percent of rated power, with one 

engine shut down 236 seconds into the test as planned. The 

test also included gimballing of the nozzles and pogo 

sis.ulation. The MPT program included more than one hour of 

engine firings, 

Meanwhile at Johnson Space Center a three-day full-scale 

simulation of the first flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia 

was scheduled to begin yesterday. The prime crew for the 

mission, scheduled for Msrch 14, John Young and Robert 

Crippen, will be in the mission simulator for the test. The 

test was slated to begin with a simulated liftoff at 6:30 AM 

CST Jan. 20 and conclude with a landing at 2:30 PkS Jan. 22, 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 1-21-81, p. 93, Vole 114, NO. 12) 

-18- 
<> NASA's work toward development of a Space Station, seen for 

years as the next logical step in the space program beyond 

the Shuttle and Shuttle augmentation, will continue through 

FY '82 at very low level under the new FY '82 NASA budget. 

The Space Operations Center (SOC) concept developed by Johnson Space Center is now the prime Space Station 

candidate. The FY '82 budget contains some $5,000,000 to 

$7,000,000 for continuation of SOC Phase A studies. 

Initiation of the SOC Core and Modules is proposed for FY 

'84. (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-21-81, p. 93, Vole 114, NO, 12) 

<> New World Construction, Inc., Titusville, Fl., has won a 

$79,657 contract to install an air ventilation system in the 

Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space 

Cenrer. 

Thz ?.?rcr+-t, one set aside €or awtird to a small business 

firn, calls f,.x the fabrication, installation, and testing of 

an <?ir b.@rti;lation system in the low bay of the VABI the 

worl. 's sec: ?cl largest building. 

Tile changes -JroviAed by the new system will provide fresh air 

to c3 work and upgrade the systen's generator. (NASA 

NLKS :-EL '..TZ, No. 11-81) 

January 22; Sen. Howard Cannon (D-Nev. I, who has been closely 

associated with the space prograrn almost from its inception, 

has called on the Senate to take up the questior. of U.S. 

space policy now that the country is about to enter the Space 

Shuttle era. 

Cannon, former chairman of the committee responsible for the 

NASA authorization in the Senate, said he believes the United 

States should move ahead with the fifth Space Shuttle 

Orbiter; increase its investment in space science, space 

applications, and space R & D; encourage private sector 

investment in the space program; ar?d move to meet the launch 

vehicle competition from abroad. 

-19- 
"We have invested heavily, and we have worked hard to attain 

a leadership position" in space, he said in remarks addressed 

to the Senate. "I would not like to see our position wither 

away. We should not walk away from the environment of space 

and leave it to others until such time as we understand fully its uses and its implications for our national well-being." 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 1-22-81, pp. 99-100, Vola 114, NO. 13) 

<> Kennedy Space Center Workers are preparing for a major test 

of the Space Shuttle this morning - the loading of the 

ShUKtle'S fuel tanks with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. 

Although the test will begin three days later than originally 

scheduled, William Schick, chief of Shuttle prelaunch test 

and operations branch, insists the Shuttle can still be 

launched in March. 

"We nay be able to compress or do some testing in parallel to 

make up those three days," Schick said, "We look good at 

this time for mid-March." 

Today's test will mark the first time the supercold fue1.s 

that rower the Shuttle's three main engines have been loaded 

into the Shuttle's tanks. Engineers will carefully monitor 

for an ice buildup, Schick said. 

Experts fear ice nay cascade off the Shuttle's fuel tank, 

damaging the spaceship Columbia's fragile, heat-resistant 

tiles. Accordingly, they have taken a riimber of precautions 

to prevent icing, including insulation of the fuel tank and 

the installation of vapor catchers. 

Just before an actual Shuttle launch, both the hydrogen and 

oxygen tanks will be filled at approximately the same time. 

But for today's and Friday's test, the hydrogen tank will be 

filled one day and the oxygen tank the next day. 

After both tests, the tank will be photographed with infrared 

and regular cameras to check €or ice builduF. Then a team of 

six workers will spend an hour checking the tank and the 

Orbiter's tiles at five different levels. 

-20- 
Those who hope to catch a long-distance glimpse of the 

operation from Playalinda Reach will be disappointed. 

The beach is closed today and is likely to remain closed 

Friday and Saturday . 

NASA spokesman Rocky Raab said the only beach access road is 

being closed as a safety precaution. 

The major Shuttle tests that remain include: loading of the 

hazardous hydrazine fuel that will power the Shuttle’s two 

in-orbit engines, the on-pad firing of the Shuttle‘s three 

main engines, and simulated flights by the astronauts into 

and out of orbit. 

Late Tuesday, NASA officials at the Johnson Space Center in 

Houston said astronauts and flight controllers ovecarie a 

series of prohlens programmed into a simulated flight of the 

Space Shuttle Columbia. 

The 54-hour sigulation was designed to fo!.low the same flight 

plan as the Shuttle’s first orbital mission. 

Malfunctions are introduced into the flight to give 

astronauts John Young and Rob Crippen and flight controllers 

practice in solving problems, 

Officials said the programmed computer problems in Tuesday’s 

test included a malfunction in one set of orbital maneuvering 

thrusters and failure of three inertial measuring units. 

(TODAY, by David Bailey, 1-22-81, p. 14A) 

nuary 23: An area that might easily become a target for 

reduction in the NASA budget if the Reagan Administration 

carries its budget reduction pledge to NASAp but one that 

NASA believes is highly important, is the S300 million 

request in the FY ‘82 budget for Space Shuttle 

“Changes/Systems Upgrading. I’ 

-21- 
,. 

This money is in fact a contingency fund to pay for potential 

unknown, but not unexpected, problems that may occur as +he 

Shuttle nears the end of development and begins production 

and operational use. Availability of the funds allows the 

agency to hudget the money in the nost cost-effective manner 

without disrupting other elements of the program. 

The probable need for the funds is indicated by the fact that 

the $150 million budgeted in FY '81 for this line item has 

already been earmarked for Shuttle development. 

At the same time, if the money does not have to be used for 

unforeseen problems, NASA has identified certain areas of the 

Shuttle program where the money could be used effectively to 

enhance the Shuttle's capabilities. (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-23-81, 

p. 108, Vola 114, NO. 14) 

<> NOAA, which was assigned the job of establishing the 

Operational Landsat Land Remote Sensing Satellite Systeno has 

been given a $264.8 million Satellite Services budget for FY 

'82, an increase of 182 percent from the $94 million FY '881 

budget . 

The hulk of the increace is the new line item for 5123.8 

million which will enable NOM to establish a Landsat 

Operational System, based on an extension of the planned 

Landsat-D system being built for NASA. NOAA is spending 

about $1.2 million on Landsat planning in FY '81. 

The other najor NOAA satellite line item, Environmental 

Satellite Services, is funded at 5118.1 million in FY '82, up 

from $78.1 million in FY '81. Funding provides for operation 

of the national environmental satellite system. Increases 

provide for a polar orbiting satellite system, reimbursement 

to NASA for laur,ch vehicles and launch services, and 

initiation of the NOAA/NASA/DOD National Oceanic Satellite 

System (NOSS). The FY '82 MOAA budget reflects decreased 

cost of continuing the polar orbiting and geostationary 

satellite systems. (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-23-81, p. 108, Vol. 

114, No. 14) 

-22- 
: America's first Space Shuttle crew members said 

Friday they have confidence in the Orbiter Columbia and feel 

ready "right now" for their scheduled March 17 liftoff. 

Astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen said NASA's new 

versatile spacecraft has pushed technology 10 years ahead and 

may let America build t space station within the decade. 

"The Shuttle will enable us to do in space in the next five 

years what would take 20 to 30 years without it," Young 

said. "America needs a space station, and with the Shuttle, 

we can build it at one-tenth the cost." 

Speaking to newsmen at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the 

astronaut's press conference was beamed via television to 

five other NASA centers, including Kennedy Space Center. 

They were asked several questions about their confidence in 

the brand new and untested Space Shuttle. Unlike the former 

Mercury, Genini and Apollo space programs, NASA will not 

launch unmarined test flights of the Shuttle. 

"If we can be confident with anything, I believe it's this 

vehicle," Young said. "Obviously we think it's safe, or we 

wouldn't be doing it." 

The program is three years behind schedule and has overrun 

cost estimates of about a billion dollars, largely because of 

problems installing silica tiles to protect the Shuttle from 

scorching temperatures of re-entry. 

The tiles are four to five times stronger than they need to 

be. 

Young said that in the next several weeks some 3,600 tests 

will be made on the vehicle. 

-23- 
One of those, a liquid oxygen fuel loading test: scheduled for 

Friday, was canceled to allow the launch team some rest from 

Thursday's successful loading of the Shuttle's tanks with 

1 iquid hydrogen. 

The supercold fuels power ::,e Shuttle's main engines and will 

hurl the vehicle into space with more than 7 million pounds 

of thrust. 

Instead of the fuel loading +.est, technicians successfully 

re-tested three Shuttle auxiliary power units Friday. The 

test loading of liquid oxygen will take place today, said 

NASA spokeswoman Leslie Vock. 

The astronauts also talked about the tests they will make af 

the craft's flight systems.. environmental control systems, 

and opening the vehicle's payload bay doers, 

There alsa will be other more mundane tasks like "checking 

out the potty on board," Cripren said, 

"It's a test flight to check ail systems," he said. "We 

mainly want to get it up and get it hack down. Most of OUT 

training is devoted to two phases, the launching and 

landing." (TODAY, 1-24-81) 

January 26: Washington--Soviet Union launched 12 new spacecraft 

in the closing days of 1980, bringing the total number of 

Russian launches for the year to 89. In contrast, the U.S. 

launched 13 missions in 1980, nearly seven times less than 

the Soviets; a disparity that continues to concern U.S. space 

officials. 

From the launch of Sputnik 1 on CIctober 4, 1957, to the end 

of 1900, the Soviets logged 1,339 launches in which a payload 

at least achieved earth orbit. The U.S. has logged 587 

launches. 

Total number of Soviet spacecraft launched in 1980 is more 

than 100 because at least tt:o of the 89 launches carried 

eight spacecraft and some ot'ler Russian launches carried 

piggyback payloads in addition to the primary spacecraft. 

-24- 
The 89 launches for 1980 is the third highest annual launch 

rate demonstrated by the Russians and continues the 

aggressive military launch pace characteristic of the Russian 

space program during the past several years, During 1975 the 

Soviets also launched 89 missions. In 1976, 1977, 1978 and 

1979 they launched 99, 98, 88 and 87 missions, respectively. 

Ten of the missions in 1980 were to the Salyut 6 space 

station. Six of these were manned Soyuz flights and other 

four Progress tankers. The Soyuz 35 clew established B new 

manned flight endurance record of 185 days aloft during the 

course of this manned activity, 

Of the 12 new spacecraft launched between Dec. 16 and Dec. 

26, when Soviet launch activity for the year terminated, two 

were military photo reconnaissance satellites, eight were 

military communications spacecraft and two others were 

television relay and scientific mission oriented, (AVIATION 

WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 1-26-81, pm 61, Vole 114, NO, 4) 

<> The two astronauts who will fly the first Space Shuttle 

mission told a press conference in Houston Friday that they 

believe that the risks in the flight have been minimjzecl, 

that they have full confidence in the Space Shuttle vehicle 

and the Shuttle tean, and that they are ready to make +"e 

flight now. 

Veteran astror,aut: John Young, who will comnand the mission, 

reported that he and his copilot Bob Crippen were "very 

pleased" with the just-completed three-day full-scale 

simulation of the first Shuttle flight which included more 

than 42 hours in the simulator €or the planned 54-hour 

flight. He said that some 40 problems were encountered in 

the simulation and all were solved in real time. That 

capability is what makes space flight "such a great thing in 

this country." He praised mission control for a "terrific 

job." 

Asked again about the risks in the flight, Young pointed out 

that extensive tests have been designed to cover every 

possibility imaginable. He said it is the nature of the 

space flight business to find problems and fix them. 

-25- 
"If there is a vehicle we can have confidence in, it's this 

vehicle," he said on a nationwide hookup to several N 

centers. 

The astronaut, who has flown both Gemini and Apollo missions, 

said the Shuttle has a 1.4 safety margin, which is a 'higher 

safety margin than any airlintr." 

'@We obviously think it is safe or we wouldnvt be doing itrM 

he said. 

Asked about the NASA decision not to include the Tile Repair 

Rit on the first flight and the affect that would have on the 

mission, Crippen said that he believes that NASh took the 

right course in placing the emphasis on making sure that the 

tiles will work. 

Young added that the reason that the repair kit won't be on 

the first flight is simple: it's not ready, He noted that 

inclusion of the kit would entail a weight penalty of about 

1000 pounds. 

Asked about the possibility of flying the Shuttle unmanned in 

the first flight, Young said it would cost an additional 

$2!30-$500 million and delay the program for at least an 

additional year. 

Questioned about the objectives of the first flight, Crippen 

said that if they can "get up and down even in one day" they 

would satisfy 95 percent of the mission's objectives. 

Another important objective, he said, will be to open the 

Shuttle's payload bay doors. 

He added that the Shuttle vehicle is "looking real good and 

John and I are looking forward to a good flight." 

Questioned about a purported 5-6 week delay in the first 

Shuttle flight beyond the March 14 date, Young said that such 

a delay would probably hove to involve a roll-back of the 

Shuttle to the VAR, which he does not anticipate. He said as 

far as he knows, the Shuttle is only "two ob- three days" 

behind schedule for a launch March 14. (DEFENSE DRILYr 

1-26-81, p. 116' Vole 114, NO. 15) 

-26- 
<> Former Rep. Olin E. (nTiger") Teague (D-Tex.), a long-time 

chairman of the House Committee on Science & Technology and a 

leading congressional supporter of the space programr died 

Friday of renal failure and a heart attack at the National 

Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Teague, who was 70, 

served in the Army during World War 11, was in combat 6 

months, wounded a number of times, decorated eleven times and 

was discharged as an infantry colonel in 1946, Teague was 

elected to Congress in 1946 and served 16 terms before 

retiring in 1978, (DEFENSE DAPLY, 1-26--810 p. 117, VOl. 214, 

No. 15) 

27: The accident that damaged a Delta rocket booster 

last week cost millions of dollars and will "definitely" 

delay the launch of a weather satellite, NASA officials said 

Monday. 

"It may be a total loss," said NASA spokesman Rocky Raab, who 

said the accident is still being investigated by a six-man 

assessment team. 

The mishap occurred Thursday when the door of a rotating 

launch tower slammed into the first stage of the Delta 

rocket. The 74-foot rocket stage swayed six feet, almost 

toppling before it returned to an upright position. 

Impact from the collision left a six-in& tilt in the 

rocket's inter-stage adaptor, a hollow 15-foot tube that 

links the first and second stages. Fuel tank connections in 

the rocket engines also appear to be darnaged, Raab said. 

The rocket's second and third stages were not in place at the 

time of the accident. A fully assembled Delta rocket is 

valued at about $22 million. 

The door that collided with the rocket had been closed 

accidentally during the night, Raab said. Investigators have 

not revealed the name of the worker who closed the door. 

- 27- 
Raab said the accident will "definitely' delay the planned 

March 12 launch of a Geostationary Operational Environmental 

Satellite (GOES-E). The weather satellite is the second in a 

series of satellites launched by NASA for the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

During hurricanes and tornadoes the GOES satellites wdPl 

measure atmospheric temperatures and moistores at various 

layers for a three dimensional profile of severe storms. 

(SENTINEL STAR, 1-27-81) 

<> Kennedy Space Center engineers are inspecting a leaky seal on 

the external tank of Space Shuttle Columbia to determine if 

repairs will delay its scheduled March launch. 

Gas that escaped during a weekend tanking operation or 

moisture in the air likely caused the erosion of the tank's 

foam insulation used to keep the tank from overheating and 

improve its aerodynamics, enginzcrs said Monday. 

"The seal didn't Zit good," said Terry Williams, division 

chief for mechanical systems in shuttle launch operations, 

"and that's where we hac? damage to the Eaan insulation." 

But Williams stressed that fixing the tank "will be a 

one-man, simple operation where you spray in primer and then 

patch in bonding matter and put some paint on over that." 

The damage occurred when aerospace workers were loading 

liquid oxygen into the shuttle tank Saturday. The test left 

an area at the top of the 154-foot high tank damaged. 

Engineers have not pinpointed the problem and until the 

danlage is assessed, cannot predict if the first launch will 

have to be pushed back. 

The damage could alter the tank aerodynamically and cause a 

poor seal when the tank is loaded for the on-pad firing of 

the shuttle's engines next month, Williams said, (HUNTSVILLE 

TIMES, 1-27-81) 

-28- 
<> Pockwell International has named James A, McDivitt, a former 

astronaut, vice president, strategic management. (THE NEW 

YORK TIMES, 1-27-81) 

<> Reagan Administration budget director Dave Stockman, who 

earlier included NASA among agencies and programs that could 

take a "one-third" budget cut, appeared to reverse his c6urse 

last week by praising the space program as a valuable 

contributor to American technology and a source of 

inspiration to the public, 

The Space Shuttle, which accounts for half of the NASA 

budget, is considered fully exempt from any potential cuts, 

given its importance for planned defense and intelligence 

missions which President Reagan has singled out as 

particularly important. 

The space program also received a highly favorable report 

from the Reagan space transition team. 

Among the proposals for an initial trimming of the Federal 

budget is a 2 percent across-the-board in non-defense 

programsI which could represent $134 million out of NASA's 

$6.7 billion in PY '882 budget. 

Reagan is expected to submit his revised FY '82 budget next 

month. (DEFENSE PATLY, 1-17-81, p. 127, Vole 114, No. 16) 

<> NASA-Kennedy has awarded a $3.9 million contract to Frank 

Brhcoe, Inc, to activate and modify the High Bay 2 at the 

Orbiter Processing Facility. Work will include providing 

ground support equipment for the Orbiter hydraulic system and 

the platform for installing the Thermal Protection System and 

providing access to the Orbiter's payload bay doors. Work is 

expected to take 14 months. (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-27-81, p. 128, 

VOl. 114, NO, 16) 

January 28: A low-level study of a revolutionary space launch 

system that: could launch "telephone pole-size" payloads of up 

to one-ton into orbit around the Earth is being conducted by 

NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleveland. 

-29- 
The concept for the new system, an electromagnetic rail 

launcher, has been around €or some 60 years, hut has become 

of renewed interest because of recent laboratory advances 

which have increased the potential velocity of the system. 

(The electromagnetic rail launcher is akin to the "mass 

driver" proposal of space colony advocate Prof. Gerard K. 

O'Neill. 1 

Laboratory tests using a tiny electromagnetic rail system 

able to accelerate a few grams of material have achieved 

velocities of 10 kilometers per second, about half of what 

would be needed in an operational space launch system. 

A project oEficial noted, however, that an actual operational 

space launch system ir probably "20, 30, 50 years away." 

He estimated that such a system might cost on the order of 

$2c1 billion, with much of the cost involved in providing the 

large amount of electrical power needed. 

The electromagnetic rail launcher would be like a "lightning 

bolt," generating a massive amount of electrical power in 

approximately one second. Once built, the system could be 

used for multiple launches per day, One application might be 

to launch structural sections of il Space Station or a Space 

Rase. The s17sten could potentially provide enough materials 

for construction of a station structure in a Ratter of days. 

The payload would have to be accompanied by a solid rocket, 

which would fire to circularize the orbit. 

Lewis has been working on the concept for about a year, with 

about 1-1/2 man years of effort. A small increase is hoped 

for, but budget dependent. 

The center is currently negotiating a contract to Battelle 

Columbus Laboratories to study the feasibility of 

electromagnetic rail launchers for space launch. Battelle 

will look for problems that would discourage NASA from 

proceding with the StlJdy, as well as provide recommendations 

concerning future investigations. The study will run about a 

year. (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-28-81, p. 133, Val. 13.4, No. 17) 

-30- 
<> Kennedy Space Center engineers found additional problems 

caused by last week's loading of supercold oxygen and 

hydrogen into the Space Shuttle's fuel tank as they continued 

their inspection of the tank Tuesday. 

Most serious was a 2-foot by 4-foot area on the tank where 

the inner coating of insulation has actually come unglued 

from the tank's aluminum surface. 

Officials had hoped if any debonding occurred, it would be 

between the outer coating of foam insulation and the thin 

inner coating of insulation, not between the inner coating 

and the tank's aluminum skin, 

An initial assessment indicated it will take a week to repair 

the area, said Brian Grigsby, section chief for external tank 

and solid rocket booster mechanical systems. 

Workers will lower floats -- plywood platforms suspended by 

ropes -- into the hard-to-get-to area, near where the 

Orbiter's nose is attached to the external tank. 

Rut fixing the area is not as much a concern to officials as 

what caused the debonding. 

"NOW we have to determine why it debonded," Grigsby said. 

"We're hoping it's something simple like a bad batch of 

adhesive." 

Officials are worried because the tank must be loaded two 

more tines: once for a 20-secoiid test firing of the 

Shuttle's engines and once again for liftoff. 

If engineers cannot determine why the insulation came 

unglued, there's no guarantee it won't happen again. 

Becsuse the insulation protects the Shuttle from the heat of 

ascent and smooths its ride aerodynamically, the insulation 

must be nearly flawless. 

-31- 
Grigsby said fixing a 1 1/2-$oot-long crack on the lswer 

section of the tank will be relativsly easy. Workers will 

use a gun similar to a handyman's caulking gun to apply 

additional insulation. 

Engineers are also tr.y.tng to determine dhy an area where 

oxygen vents from the top of the t.lnh eroded insulati.on, The 

best method to fix that area is still. mder consideration, 

Grigsby said. 

The areas must be repaired before the tank is reloaded for 

the on-pad firing of the Shuttle's three engines, still 

scheduled €or Feb. 10. Grigsby said workers will do their 

best to make the repairs so that it will delay neither the 

test firing nor the March 17 launch date. (TODAY, 1-28-81) 

<> The Space Shuttle's External Tank was filled with propellants 

for the first time during a tank-detank test last week at the 

Kennedy Space Center. The test was successfully completed 

Saturday night, bringing the launch of Columbia one step 

closer. 

The test, which began last Tuesday was designed to check out 

the ground and vehic?e's hydrogen and oxygen systems, 

according to Pete Leberte, Deputy Manager, Shuttle 

Engineering and Major Test I'ianacgernent Of €ice, 

Marshall engineers monitored the tanking from the HOSC. 

Leberte said, "Although we have simulated the tanking and 

detanking over 30 times, this was the first chance we've had 

to actually monitor the vehicle with the cryogenics aboard." 

Leberte said, "All the test objectives were met without any 

major problems." He added, "We did find a couple of problems 

with procedures and few leaks in the ground system, but they 

are not expected to cause delays in the program." (MARSHALL 

STAR, L-28-81, p. IA, voi 21, NO. 20) 

-32- 
: Jones Machine and Welding Shop, a Merritt Island, 

Fla., company, has been awarded a $lP5,995 contract to 

fabricate 17 shoe retainer mechanisms €or use at NASA's John 

F. Kennedy Space Center. 

The shoe retainer mechanisms are part o€ the eight posts that 

attach the 4.4 million pound Space Shuttle to the Hobile 

Launcher Platform. Eight giant bolts hold the! twin solid 

rocket boosters to the posts until lift off, when the bolts 

are exploded, freeing the Shuttle for flight. At lift off, 

the shock-absorbicg springs inside the mechanisms allow the 

shoes to move and prevent them from being blasted away from 

the launch platform. 

The shoe retainer mechanism will also be used at Vandenberg 

Air Force Base in California on the laurich deck in future 

Space Shuttle launches. 

The contract, one set aside for award to small business 

firms, calls for delivery of the mechanisms by July 15, 

1981. (KSC NELCS RELEASE NO. 17-81, 1-29-81) 

<> NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center has awarded a S233,6?0 

contract to David Boland, Inc., a Titusville company. The 

contract, one set aside for award to a small business firm, 

calls for modification of an existing building at KSC. 

The building, currently used for maintenance and storage, 

would be converted into a series of shops to support tile 

processing. The tiles, which make up a major portion of the 

thermal protection system of the Space Shuttle orbiter, are 

processed by Rockwell International employees for 

installation on Space Shuttle orbiter. 

The contract allows 60 days for the work to be completed. 

(KSC PJEiIS RELEASE No. 16-81, 1-29-81] 

<> Chairman Don Fuqua (D-Fla.) of the House Science & Technology 

Committee indicated yesterday that the real increase in the 

NASA budget in FY '82 was long overdue and that the agency 

should not be a target of Reagan Administration 

budget-cutters. 

-33- 
While the Congress has to fight double-digit inflation, he 

told the NASA leadership at budget hearings, it must make 

progress" by taking funds from an agency such as NASA which 

contributes to much of the nation's technology base. Ha said 

he agrees with former NASA Administrator frosch about the 

need to "revitalize" NASA. 

He said there is growing concern about what may happen to the 

NASA budget, and that this is something that 'Congress must 

grapple with," (DEFENSE DAILY, 1-29-82, pp. 140-141, VOl. 

certain that it doesn't "mortgage the nation's future I 

114, NO. 18) 

<> A delay in the launch of the Space Shuttle is foreseen 

following the development of cracks in the insulation of the 

vehicle's External Tank earlier this week. 

About 50 square feet of the spray-on foam insulation on the 

Space Shuttle Columbia's Exterr.2.l Tank developed cracks 

following the first propellant loading and unloading test of 

the tank which was concluded Tuesday at Kennedy Space Center. 

NASA's Acting Administrator Br, Alan M. Eovelace said 

yesterday that if the cracking is confined to the surface of 

the foam insulation, which is employed to prevent icing of 

the aluminum ET structure as well as to provide thermal 

insulation, then it is not a major problem and is "easily 

cor re c t i bl e. I' 

In such a case, he estimated it wwld take 7 to 10 days to 

repair the insulation, which would delay the Shuttle Flight 

Readiness Firing now scheduled for mid-February and probably 

push back the first Shuttle launch from March 17 to the end 

of March. 

L. Michael Weeks, Deputy Associate Administrator for Space 

Transportation Systems, reported to the House Science 6 

Technology Committee that the agency had a similar cracking 

problem 6-8 weeks ago on the instrument pylons on the 

hydrogen tank. He said the agency solved that problern by 

making smaller pieces for the structure, ani! intends to do 

the sane thing on the cracked portion of the ET'S spray-on 

foam insulation. 

-34- 
The cracking of the foan insulation was attributed to the 

temperature and environmental changes in the tank caused by 

the extremely low temperature LOX/liquid hydrogen 

18) 

propellant. (DEFENSF DAILY, 1-29-81, p. 140, Vole 114, NO, 

: Air Force Secretary Bans Mark, called by some the 

leading candidate for NASA Administrator, is one of the 

persons that Sen. Jack Schmitt (R-N.IY.), chairman of the 

Senate Space Subcommittee, could support for the job. 

However, reports that Mark is the single choice of the 

senator are not correct. Schnitt has urged the 

Administration to look for a NASA Administrator who not only 

has the technical knowledge of recent NASA chiefs but also a 

knowledge of Capitol Hill. 

Mark, who headed R & D for the Air Force before getting the 

top job, is a former director of NASA's Ames Research Center, 

which developed the concept of the Thermal Protection System 

for the Space Shuttle. Mark said earlier this year that he 

believes that the nation needs a minimum of five Space 

Shuttles, At the same time, he has advocated development of 

a new expendable launch vehicle for defense needs. (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 1-30-81, p. 150, Vole 114, No. 19) 

<> The launch of a weather satellite will not be delayed because 

of the accident that dented a Delta rocket last week. And 

the dented first stage is being sent: back to the factory for 

possible repairs, a NASA spokesman said Thursday. 

The ladnch of the GOES-E mission on schedule March 12 is 

possible because of the substitution of the first stage of 

another Delta rocket. A first stage was ready and waiting in 

a Cape Canaveral Air Force Station hangar for the June launch 

of an RCA communications satellite. 

Kennedy Space Center officials reported at first that the 

run-in the Delta rocket had with its gantry on Jan. 22 might 

render the multi-million dollar first stage useless. The 

booster however, is being sent back to the McDonneil Douyias 

Astronautic Co.'s Huntington Beach, Calif., factory for 

inspection and possible reuse. 

-35- 
As soon as the tottering rocket was secured in place, a board 

of review went to work to determine the cause and extent of 

manager of the advanced planning and technology office. the accident. The Board is headed by Andrew 3. Pickett, i 

A KSC spokesman reported that "the investigation board is 

actively pursuing the cause of the mishap and has not yet 

completed its investigation for its final report.,,but 

corrective actions have been incorporated into the Delta 

processing operations.N 

Blame for the accident has not yet been assigned. 

The KSC spokesman said that processing of the new Delta will 

begin today with the erection of the first stage. It will 

continue next week, he said, with the mounting of the nine 

assist rockets. By Feb. 16, it is hoped the mission will be 

back on schedule. (TODAY, 1-30-81) 

J~~~a~ 31: We'd have been well advised at least to have 

ventioned Explorer I last week when we wrote about the l@th 

anniversary of the Apollo 14 Launch and the 20th anniversary 

of chimpanzee Hart's flight on a Mercury-Redstone. f. 

The same day - January 31 - bdt three years earlier than 

Ham's ordeal, the first U.S. satellite lifted off Pad 26A at 

the Cape atop a Jupiter C rocket and achieved earth orbit. 

It transmitted back to earth its discovery of a radiation 

belt (named after scientist James Van Allen) it hung tough 

€or a dozen years before re-entering earth's atmosphere. 

A few readers wanted to know why we'd slighted that historic 

space 'If irst," 

Well, guyst we really didn't. In fact, when Explorer I had 

its 20th anniversary in 1978, we celebrated it with a memory 

by Cocoa Beacher Bob Murkshe. When the satellite was 

launched he was RCA's manager of metric optics, 

-36- 
One of the great rocket pioneers, the late Dr. Hans Groene, 

was sitting in the blockhouse at the corner of the launch 

console. In fr.mt of him was a pile of papers. As the 

rocket roared into space, recalled Bob, "He did real-time 

computation of the trajectory with a slide rule!* Why didn't 

he use a computer, you ask? Ha! Who had a computer? Why, 

that little battery-operated device with pushbuttons that you 

take shopping wit: you would have been worth its weighc in 

diamonds then! (Milt Salanon in TODAY, 1-31-81) 

January 1981: NASA's Kennedy Space Center has awarded its 

largest contract ever to a small business to the W & 3 

Construction Corp., Cocoa, Fla. The $6,689,666 agreement is 

for work on Pad B of Launch Complex 39 which will be used to 

launch the Space Shuttle in 1982, when the Shuttle becomes 

operational. 

Under the fixed-price contract, W & J Construction, which has 

had previous Kennedy Center contracts, will install the 

long-run piping and cable to pump and monitor fuels, coolant, 

gaseous helium and nitrogen, compressed air and hydraulic 

fluids from their storage areas on the pad to the fixed 

service structure and the rotating service structure. 

Connections to the Space Shuttle are made from the two 

service towers. Work is expected to be completed in 20 

months. Pad B of Complex 39 is bdsically a duplicate of Pad 

A, the pad to be used to launch the first Shuttle flight,... 

Pad B will be used when the Shuttle begins regular 

operztions. Complex 33 was the launch site for the Apollo 

moon landing missions and is being modified for Space Shuttle 

flights. (NASA ACTIVITIES, 1-8lC p. 6, Vol. 12, No. 1) 

<> Engineers at the Kennedy Space Center have begun a "grow your 

own" exploratory project designed to cut down on energy 

costs. Funded by NASA's Office of Energy Programs, the 

$20,000 study is aimed at finding an energy efficient- method 

of using various plant species for use as energy sources. 

The study will examine plant utilization by direct 

combustion, digestion to methane and fermentation to 

alcohol. The latter is receiving the most attention at the 

present time, using sugar cane or cassava. The plants will 

be used to produce alcohol for use as gasohol or in a 

specially altered car which will run on pure alcohol. (NASA 

ACTIVITIES, 1-81, pp. 17 & 18, VOI. 12, NO. 1) 

-37- 
.- I I' 

<> The RSC Awareness Report is a new daily on-center radio 

program, the first of its kind at a NASA Center. The 

innovative broadcast features news reports on everything from 

the latest payloai! lofted into orbit to the prcblems of 

preserving historic but deteriorating launch site 

structures. Produced by the Education and Awareness Branch 

of the Kennedy Space Center Public Affairs Officel the 

broadcast airs every weekday morning from 6 to 8 at l6lO KHa 

on the AM radio dial -- the same frequency used later in the 

day to transmit visitor information to tourists driving onto 

KSC arid Canaveral National Seashore. (NASA ACTIVITIESI 1-811 

pp. 17 & 181 Val. 12, NO. 1) 

-38- 
February 1981 

: Rep. Edward P. Bo1 nd (D-Elass,) has been reelected 

chairztan of the HUD-Inzrrpendent Agencies Subcommittee of the 

House Appropriations CL'.iliittee, the unit responsible for the 

NASA appropriation in the Ilousa. The makeup of the 

subcommittee, because of CdP gains in the November election, 

has been shifted from 7/3 fer the Denserats to 5/3. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 2-2-81. p. 1598 Vole 3.14, NO* 28) 

<> Emphasis of the Advanced Programs part CY the NASA Space 

Transportation System budget, fund@.: at $10.8 million in FY 

'82, will be on four major categorl:s* 

1) UnzanneA Low-A1 t i tude Space PL t fc,i.ms, 

2) Unmanned Geostationary Platforms. 

3) A 9anned Space Operations Center. 

4) Various elements of orbital test and transportation 

to support the above. 

Tbe FY '82 budget provides funds to continue design studies 

to define platforn and power support systems and ciefinition 

studies of geosyncbronaus platfarm and the Space Qperations 

Center concept. A Shuttle-servicedy permanent manned 

low-altitude facility continues under study, Definition 

studies will also be conducted an large structures, 

satellite servicing, and advanced transportation options. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 2-2-31r p. 158, Vola lldr NO. 20) 

<> Cape Canaveral -- Plan to phase out expendable launch 

vehicles has undergone a full reversal in the past few 

months and there is a belief here that the McDonnell Douglas 

Delta launcher will remain in use for years to come. 

A combination in the slippage of the commercial operation of 

the space shuttle and strong demand by contractors to use 

space as a comnunications refay medium has prompted the 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration to take! two 

major steps: 
*Reorganize the management structure of the Kennedy Space 

Center to recognize the growing requirement for Delta and 

General Dynanics Atlas Centaur launchesI 

*Refurbish a second Delta launch pad to increase the 1 

rate to 10 per year from this facility. 

Charles D. Gay, director of deployable payloads operations, 

said: "X don't know if we'll ever do aw y with Delta,'? 

Under the center organization in effect prior to Jan. 5, 

part of Gay's operations involved deployable space shuttle 

payloads. This was done in anticipation that a31 payloads 

would do into shuttle. 

The refurbishment of Pad 178 is being done so it can launch 

the Delta with Castor 4 solid propellant strap-on motors. 

Hoist capacity is increased fron 25,000 to 40,000 lb., decks 

are being strengthened and cutczts enlarged to accommodate 

the larger solids. Previously, the Delta was launched from 

this pad with Castar 2 strap-an solid motors, 

There are firm commitments by contractors to use Deltas 

through 1985 from the Cape Canaveral launch complexes and 

through next year from the \Jestern Test Range at Vandenberg 

AFR. Atlas Centaur launch commitments go through 1984. 

(AVIATION WEEK G SPACE TECMNOLOGYp 2-2-81, Po 36, VQl, 114, 

No. 5) 

<> Cape Canaveral -- National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration has convened a board of review to determine 

the impact of an accident in which a gantry door struck in 

the interstage adapter on a i)elta launch vehicle on Rad 178 

here. 

The accident occurred on Jan. 22 as the tower was being 

moved to permit installation of three Castor 4 solid 

propellant strap-on rockets on the Delta. Force of the 

impact caused two of three bolts securing the launcher to 

pull free from their mounts and the vehicle to tilt several 

feet, 

-40- 
The Delta was scheduled to launch a geosynchronous 

operational environmental satellite (GOES), a weather 

paylor.7, Har. 32. 

The first stage of the Delta was returned to the factory for 

refurbishment. It was placed with the first stage of a 

vehicle that was scheduled to launch the RCA-D satellite 

June 25, (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 2-2-81, p. 36, 

Vole 114, NO. 5) 

<> To the Editors: 

With the launching of the space shuttle this year, 

Americans will once again be migrating to a new 

frontier. As in California more than a century ago, the 

colonization of space offers the same hope for new 

resources, new industry and a renewed sense of national 

spirit. (TIME, 2-2-81) 

William N. Ellis 

Huron, Ohio 

Some people loudly object to NASA and the shuttle, 

saying the money should be spent elsewhere. From the 

beginning of the manned space proqrarn in the late 50's 

until the end of Project Skylab in 1979, NASA spent 

approximately $60 billion, This sounds like A lot until 

one considers that today $60 billion would last four 

months in the Department of Health and Humar! Services. 

(T1V.E 2-2-8 1 ) 

Kenneth P. Myers 

Houston, Texas 

February 3: The first launch of the Space Shuttle, previously 

scheduled for March 17, has been delayed to the week of 

April 15th at the earliest because of "a number of minor 

problems" encountered during the first integration of the 

Shuttle and its ground systems at Launch Complex 39A at 

Kennedy Space Center. 

The most serious of the problems was the debonding of the 

spray-on foan insulation on two areas of the Space Shuttle's 

External Tank during fueling and defueling. One area is 

7-by-8 feet and the other, 4-by-4 feet. 

-41- 
At the same time, NASA has rescheduled the critical Flight 

Readiness Firing (FRF) of the Shuttle Columbia's three main 

engines from Feb. 10 to Feb. 16. The 20-second firing has 

to be successful if the early April launch is to be nade. 

i 

The rebonding of the spray-on insulation of the ET will not 

be made prior to FRP, NASA said, but well bafore the 

scheduled launch date, (DEFENSE DAILY, 2-3-81, p. 144, 

VOlm 114, NO. 21) 

<> The space agency yesterday delayed the maiden launch of the 

space shuttle Columbia fron March 17 to the week of April 5 

because of the failure oP insulation on part of the ship's 

large external fuel tank. 

The delay is another in a long series of launch 

postponenents caused by a variety of technical problems. 

The first orbital flight of the reusable space transport is 

nore than two years behind its original schedule. 

The insulation problem was discovered after the two-section, 

154-foot-tall tank was loaded with more than a half million 

gallons of frigid liquid oxygcfi and liquid hydrogen 10 clays 

ago. (THE b?ASHTNGTOR' POST, 2-3-91) 

: The Multi-Spectral Scanner on the Landsat-3 

spacecraft has failed after 22 months in space, leaving only 

the FlSS on Landsat-2, which was launched six years ago, to 

provide the multi-spectral data until Landsat-D is launched 

in the later half of 1982. 

NASA blamed the Landsat-3's MSS problems on a failure in the 

multiplex digitizing circuits. It said that the 

spacecraft's BlSS data has degraded "below the point of 

general operational usefulness" and that all attempts to 

correct the problem had failed. Landsat-3's Return Beam 

Vidicon Camera cortinues to operate. The spacecraft was 

launched in March 1978 and had a one-year design life. 

(DEFENSE DAILY8 2-4-81, p* 174, VOl. 114, NO, 22) 

-4 2- 
<> NASA's Kennedy Space Center is modifying a second Mobile 

Launcher Platform to adapt it for future Space Shuttle 

launches. The center has awarded Q $2 million contr 

K & S Electric, Inc. to make mechenfcal and electrical 

modifications to Mobile Launcher Platform 2, a transportable 

launch base that was previously used €or Saturn/Apollo 

missions. (DEFENSE DAILY, 2-4-81, p. 176, Vol. 114, No. 22) 

<> Third-term congressman Rep. Ronnie G. Flippo (D-A1 

been elected chairman of the Subcommittee on Space Science 6 

Applications of the House Science & Technology Committee, 

succeeding Rep. Don Fuqua (D-Fla.), who has headed the subcommittee for eight years. 

Fuqua, who continues as head of the full committee, has 

shifted to the chairmanship of the committee's Subcommittee 

on Energy Development & Applications, (DEFENSE DAILY, 

2-4-91, p. 177, Vole 114, NO. 22) 

February 5: Among more than 100 possible cuts that could be 

made in the FY '82 budget, the Congressional Budget Office 

has included the elimination of the fourth Space Shuttle 

Orbiter, at an estimated savings of 5583 million. 

However, the Reagan Administrationa aware of the military 

potential of space and other needsp is expected to exempt 

the Shuttle from its budget cuts. 

NASA flight projections, of course, not only show that three 

vehicles are not adequate, but that four will not be enough. 

CRO noted that the fourth Orbiter is estimated to cost $979 

million, of which $51 million has been authorized for FY 

'81. In addition, other costs of the fourth Orbiter cannot 

be separated from the common costs of the Shuttle production 

programs. It noted that when NASA deleted the planned fifth 

Orbiter, it estimated the savings to be $365 million, or 63 

percent of the estimated total costs for that vehicle. 

Sixty-three percent of $979 million is $583 million. 

-43- 
CBO noted that if one of the three Orbiters became 

inoperable and the Shuttle flight schedule were maintained, 

DOD would have to purchase about $100 million worth of 

expendable launch vehicles to conduct its "critical 

missions." An alternative, it said, would be for the 

military missions to be given priority over civilian flights 

on the remaining Orbiters. (DEFENSE DAILY, 2-5-81, p. 180, 

Vola 114, No. 23) 

Febru 7: Hoping to make a name for their city, Titusville 

officials will hold a pre-Space Shuttle launch party for the 

nation's media and political heavyweights. 

The only problem that has cropped up so far has been the 

date to be engraved on the 1,000 invitations. 

Party planner Donn Searle said it's impossible to know the 

date of the party because NASA doesn't know exactly when the 

launch will be. 

"We decided to put 'the afternoon preceding the launch of 

the Space Shuttle Columbia, 'I' Searle said. 

Among those to be invited to the executive bash will be all 

U.S. representatives and senators in town for the Paunek, 

ranking military leaders, Gov. Bob Graham and the rest of 

the Cabinet, local officials and reporters from the big 

three television networks, foreign press and news wire 

services. 

The event is being sponsored by Titusville city 

administrators with help from the Titusville Area Chamber of 

Commerce and the North Brevard Development Commission. 

(TODAY, 2-7-81, P. 2B) 

9: Brown & Associates Management Services Inc., a 

Titusville, Fla. firm, has been awarded a $321,579 contract 

to continue keypunch services for a second year at NASA's 

John F. Kennedy Space Center. The first year contract was 

for $286,959 bringing the two-year total to $608,538, 

-44- 
The contract, one set aside for award to a small business 

firm, will provide the major portion of keypunch and 

keyverify support services for NASA and NASA contractors at 

Kennedy Space Center. 

The contract provides continued employment for 13 keypunch 

operators and two supervisors in the Central Instrumentation 

Facility. (RSC NEWS RELEASE NO. 28-81, 2-9-81) 

ry 10: NASA's 30hn E'. Kennedy Space Center has awarded a 

$1,298,834 contract to a joint venture made up of three 

Central Florida firms, for the manufacture of 19 hypergolic 

control and checkout panels. 

Each company will fulfill an aspect of the contract. 

Precision FaSrication and Cleaning, Sharpes, Fla., will 

fabricate and clean the panels: Olson Electric Co., Daytona 

Beach, Fla., will do the electrical work an3 Specialty 

Maintenance and Construction, Lakeland, Fla., will supply 

materials and make frames for the panels. 

The hypergolic panels will be used at Vandenberg Air Force 

Base in California, to service the in-orbit propulsion 

system of the Space Shuttle. Nypergo%ic propellants 

ingnite upon contact and are used for the orhiterns 

secondary propulsion and attitude control systems. The 

hypergol control and checkout panels will be used to drain 

and clean the hypergol modules during ground servicing. 

The contract calls for the work to be completed in one 

year. (KSC NEFS RELFASE' NO. 26-81, 2-10-81) 

Feburaary 11: The following is the membership of the House 

Subcornnittee on Space Science & Applications, responsible 

for all but the aeronautics portion of the NASA budget, in 

the new Congress: 

*Democrats: Ronnie G. Flippo (Ala.), Chairman; Bill Nelson 

(Fla.), George E. Brown, Jr. tCalif.1, Maryilyn Lloyd 

Bouquard (Tenn.), and Ralph M. Sal1 (Texas). 

-4 5- 
*Republicans: Harold C. Hollenbeck (N.Y.), ranking minority 

member: Raymond McGrath (N.Y.), and Bill Lowery (Calif.), 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 2-11-a1, p. 215, voi. 114, NO. 27) 

<> "The 1980's promise to be a decade of significant progress 

in international space cooperation," stated Dr. Alan pf. 

Lovelace, acting NASA Administrator, in recent testimony tQ 

the U.S. House of Representatives Conmitt@@ on Science 

Technology. 

'We will see the culmination of many cooperative projects 

begun in the 1970'~~ and will be laying the groundwork for 

future cooperative endeavorstw he said. 

"Last year saw tremendous progress in the Shuttle main 

engine program," Dr. Lovelace said. "We have now 

accumulated over 105,000 total test seconds, having 

completed single engine certification late last yearf and 

three-engine cluster firings cariy this year. Future work 

will continue to expand the operating envelope both in terms 

of thrust and engine life." (MARSHALL STAR, 2-11-81, p. 4, 

Vol. 21, No. 22) 

F~~~~~~~ 12: 2-D. Mr. Mollinshead said that the XSC list of 

VIP invitecs for STS-1 launch had been compiled and that the 

gross number was less than 400 against a quota of 300. 

Those who cannot be accommodated will be given car passes 

for the Parkway site. 

Tours and visitors to the VIC continue to exceed previous 

marks with this February being seven percent above last 

year. 

2-E. Mr. Page reported on STS-1 vehicle status. He said 

that hypergolics are on board and that his desire is to keep 

it loaded rather than drain and refill. He is negotiating 

this position with Safety. He also reported that the most 

recent inspection showed that there was very minor tile 

damage -- 1 to 4. He also stated that the prospects are 

marginal for the simulated FRF scheduled for February 12, 

-46- 
. 

There are some problems with SAIL software. The FRF is 

scheduled for February 17 with the TRR scheduled for two 

days before the completion of the simulated FRF. Mr. Page 

also discussed the likelihood of having to install 

microphones in the nose cone of the external tank to 

determine vibration experienced during the tanking process. 

2-F. Mr. Walton said that the Comstar should be erected on 

February 10 and that launch on February 19 still looks 

good. He also reported that there was a problem with AC-56 

launch vehicle which may require a destack. He also 

reported on the status of the Delta-GOES. They are 

reworking the operating procedures and have instituted a 

requirement that all operations will be performed with an 

observer in the block house. 

There are conflicts within the schedule for launch of this 

vehicle which will probably cause a slip from March 12 to 

March 19. (EXECUTIVE STAFF NOTES W5-81, 2-12-81, p. 2) 

<> NASA's John F, Kennedy Space Center has awarded a $489,700 

contract to the Holloway Corp. of Titusville, to remodel 

part of a building for computer space for future Space 

Shuttle users. 

The contract, one set aside for award to a small business 

firm, calls for the renovation of' the fourth floor of the 

Operations and Checkout Building in the KSC Industrial 

Area. False flooring and partitions in four rooms will be 

replaced with new ilooring, wiring, air conditioning and a 

fire detection system, 

The area will be made suitable for companies to house 

Spacelab experiment test and checkout equipment. The work 

will be completed in 185 days. (KSC NEWS RELEASE NO. 32-81, 

2-12-8 1 ) 

February 113: Officials of Rockwell International said 

yesterday that they are not looking at a cutoff of the Space 

Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters in planning for the Space 

Shuttle launches, that they assume, that once the solids 

ignite, they wiLl continue to burn. Under questioning, they also said that if for some reason the SRB's cannot be 

separated from the Orbiter, the Shuttle cannot make orbit. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 2-13-81, p. 229, Vole 114, NO. 29) 

-47- 
<> "Blacks are a little like the space program - very Pew 

people realize how much we owe to their contributions," says 

J. Diggs, KSC's Chief of the Opportunity Program Office. 

Shedding light on those contributions is the idea behind the 

annual observance of National Afro-American History Month. 

The theme for the 1981 observance is "Black Mistory: Role 

Model for Youth.9' KSC's tribute to Blacks, sponsored by the 

Equal Opportunity Advisory Committee, ends today. 

Special events held this week included an exhibit of African 

art and artifacts, a special wsou1'8 food menu in the 

Headquarters cafeteria, and the highlight of the week, a 

program featuring Dr. Julian Earls of Lewis Research Center 

as guest speaker. 

Dr. Earls spoke to the theme of this year's Observance, 

outlining the accomplishments of several notable Blacks. Ne 

emphasized that these Black Americans serve as outstanding 

role models for virtuslly anyone, but especially to the 

youth of this country, who are in need of recognizable role 

models. (SPACEPORT NEWS, 2-13-81, p. 4, Val. 20, No. 4) 

117: nr. Stephen Gorove of the! Ole Miss law school is 

an expert on Row domestic and international law applies to 

outer space. 

He has published two books on space law - the most recent 

being "The Space Shuttle and the Law" - and helps put out 

the The Journal of Space Law, the only journal in the world 

devoted exclusively to the legal problems arising from trips 

beyond our world. 

"Really, the launching of the space shuttle will probably be 

the most significant event that has taken place since the 

beginning of the Space Age," Gorove said. 

"It is going to open up my field - insurance, legal 

problems, criminal jurisdictions, civil liability. It's an 

enormous field which is opening up entirely new 

possibilities for government and industry." 

-4s- 
Gorove said the thorniest question of law, as it applies to 

the shuttle, is when and where the craft is considered a 

spaceship and where it might be considered an airplane. 

"Space law should be applied to the shuttle," he said. "In 

the current state of the technology, it is a spacecraft. If 

it is going to someday in the future fly as an aircraft 

flies, then we will have to take amther look at it," 

The question of spacecraft or airplane is important because 

different laws apply to the two types of vehicles, he said. 

Space law is set down in four principal treaties, which set 

jurisdictional boundaries and liability limits and help officials deal with problems of liability in case of 

accidents and in insurance coverage, Gorove said. 

A fifth treaty - the moon treaty - is currently being 

considered by the United States. (DAILY PRESS, [Newport 

News, Virginia], 2-17-81) 

<> A crucial countdown rehearsal began tonight that will 

determine if the space shuttle Columbia is ready to carry 

two astronauts into orbit in April on its maiden voyage. 

The 2 -day test, already delayed 24 hours, was intended to 

exercise all elements of the shuttle's system for the first 

t irne . 

Experts at the Kennedy Space Center conducted the count, 

while flight controllers at the Johnson Space Center in 

Houston - where April's flight will be controlled - 

monitored the activity. 

At Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., design 

specialists stood by to provide advice on the shuttle engine 

sys terns. 

-49- 
The test includes all aspects of the launch countdown except 

for the astronauts - John Young end Bob Crippen - in 

Columbiass cockpit. During the practice, 526r000 pounds of 

liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel were to be pumped into the 

vehicle's external tank. (THE WASWPNGTON POST, 2-17-81) 

t Figures provided by NASA last yearI prior to 

recent changes in the Shuttle launch scheduler show a total 

direct Space Transportation System cost of $15.5 billion as 

f 01 lows : 

(In Millions of Dollars) 

Funding Through -- FY '80 

Shut t 1 e Deve logme n t 8,130 

Shuttle Production 1 234 

Operations Capability Dev. 122 

Spacelab 125 

KSC Facilities 225 

Other Shuttle Facilities 185 

Total 10,021 

Ad jus tmen t s 

Extend Shuttle Dev. 

Shuttle Production: 

Changes & Sys tem Upgrading 

Through '82 

Real Year $ 

Add 

100 - 

100 

Completion 

683 

188 

326 

30 

30 

4,058 

21801 

- 

600 

23 2 

4 50 

1 ,m 

- Total 

8,813 

4,035 

310 

451 

255 

215 

14,079 

600 

292 

550 

1 ,m 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 2-18-81, p. 246,-VSl. 114, NO. 31) 

: According to preliminary NASA estimates, it would 

cost somethlng over $3 billion to develop an orbiting manned 

space facility for launch in the late 1980's. Specifically, 

the agency put the cost at $2.5 billion to $3 billion in FY 

'75 dollars. 

To launch a facility the size of Skylab (done on a single 

Saturn V flight in 1973) would take about four dedicated 

Shuttle flights at a cost of about $100 million in FY '75 

dollars. 

(NASA's candidate manned space facility is the Space 

Operations Center, funded at less than $1 million in FY 

'82). (DEFENSE DAILY, 2-19-elr p. 255, Vol. 114, No. 32) 

-50- 
<> 

<> 

With a countdown rehearsal running hours behind schedule 

yesterday, the space agency postponed a test firing oE the 

space shuttle Columbia's main engine another 24 hours, until 

Friday. 

We got 11 hours behind in the count and decided to put off 

everything 24 hours," launch director George Page said in 

announcing the delay of the firing to 7:45 a.m. Friday. 

(PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 2-19-81) 

With various tasks in the countdown for the Space Shuttle 

Flight Readiness Firing (FRF) taking longer than expected, 

NASA yesterday rescheduled the 20-second firing to 7:45 AM 

Friday, a 24-hour delay. The countdown was 11 hours behind 

schedule at 10 AM yesterday and officials added an 8 hour 

hold to allow workers a time to rest and catch up with 

lagging activities. Consideration was given to a nighttime 

firing today, but dropped in favor of a firing tomorrow 

morning, NASA said that "no major problems" had been 

encountered in the new countdown. (DEFENSE DAILY, 2-19-81, 

257, Vole 114, NO. 32) 

February 21: America's oft-delayed space shuttle received a 

much-needed boost today with a perfect, 20-second launch-pad 

test firing of the three main rockat engines, space agency 

officials said. 

But the officials, while jubilant over the test, said a 

labor walkout at the Kennedy Space Center immediately after 

the 8:45 a.m. test firing, threatened the april 7 maiden 

launch of the reusable spacecraft. Officials said 800 

aerospace workers and machinists employed by the Boeing Co, 

in spaceport support work had struck in a pay dispute. 

James R. Thompson, Jr., manager of the shuttle's rocket 

engine progran, termed the test "totally perfect from an 

er.g i ne s ta ndpo i n t . 'I 

But soon after the test, the jubilation turned to concern 

over the strike by members of the Internatioq3l Association 

of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. 

-51- 
An obviously angry Richard Smith, director of the space 

center, said the machinists went on strike with no warning 

and placed in some jeopardy the remaining test operations. 

"We run a risk of jeopardizing some of the flight hardware," 

he said, adding the workers have important support jobs 

during the next few weeks leading up to the launch. 

He said the Boeing Co. has a plan to deal with the strike 

and it is too early to determine if the walkout will affect 

the flight. Smith s'aid the union members were within their 

legal rights to strike because ccheir contract with Boeing 

had expired some time ago. 

The workers are involved in a number of ground support 

operatiocs and Boeing is a major shuttle contractor. (THE 

WASHINGTON POST, 2-21-81) 

Pebru 22: Boeing Services International began replacing 

1,050 of its striking workers at Kennedy Space Center with 

management personnel Saturday tc? avoid any delays in the 

launch of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia. 

"We're doing everything in our power to make sure the strike 

doesn't interfere with the Rauncl? date," said Boeing 

Services official Donna Mikov. 

Members of the International Association of Mechinists and 

Aerospace Workers ?lked off the job Friday in a contract 

pay dispute. The walkout followcd the 20-second successful 

test firing of the Shuttle's three main engines. 

The walkout Friday initially jeopardized some post-test 

operations, such as purging Columbia's fuel tanks. But 

manageaent personnel were able to fill in, officials said. 

Boeing's contract with the union expired Jan. 23. Federal 

mediator Richard Deen said no progress had been made in 

bringing the two sides closer to an agreement. 

-52- 
Union representative Ted Eladdin ncl NASA were 

inviting a strike by making thei nd shouldn't 

have been surprised by Friday's walkout e 

'They like to act like they're so naive didn't know whet 

was going on," Maddin said. "This cou ng strike 

t was obviously planned by NA ing " 

<> After reviewing preliminary data from tha t 8% firing Frid 

ce Shuttle Columbi '8 main engine 

Saturday reported ry elem test.' 

Scientists said the 20-second test, which spewed flames and 

steam over the launch area, did little damage to the 

Shuttle. 

"de didn't see any damage to any of the til@ on the 

vehicle," said Kennedy Space Center spokesman Hugh Harris, 

"Rut there was some gap filler that came loiase and we still 

have to evaluate that. But other than some scorched paint, 

it looks really good." (TODAY, 2-22-81) 

<> An Atl8s-Gentaur rocket carrying B CQf4STAR satallite for use 

in a domestic communications system roared into space 

SA tu rcf a y . 

The 20-Eoot-tall satellite was launched at 6:%3 p.n, EST and 

rill join three others used by the American Talcp14cme and 

Telegraph Company and the GTE Satellite Corporation, a 

subsidiary of General Telephone 01 Electronics Corp. 

The satellite, which was built to be an an-the-ground spare, 

will kee, the system's capacity at: 36,006 simultaneous 

telephone conversations until 1983, company officials said. 

The first: two COMSTAR satellites were launched in 1976. 

They will be moved closer together to serve as D single 

satellite - primarily for backup - to conserve their 

' batteries, AT & 'I said, (SENTfNEL STAR, 2-22-81, p. 2R) 

-53- 
<> A historian at the University of California, Walter A, 

McDougall, recently observed that between the two world wars 

one definition of great power might have been a nation that 

builds its own airplanes. Today, he said, it might be a 

nation that launches its own spacecraft, 

This definition establishes the United States and the Soviet 

Union as undisputed superpowers, China, Japan, Franc@, 

Britain and India as aspirants to modest powerl and, 

emerging third force, Western Europe, by virtue of its 

collaborative space effort, the European Spaee Agency. 

The ll-nation agency is planning a new generation of 

communication satellites and building a manned laboratory to 

be launched from Cape Canaveral aboard America's space 

shuttle, whose test firing last week ESA representatives 

witnessed, At the same time, the agency is competing with 

its American cousin, the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, for the space-haulage business by developing 

the Ariane rocket, which will give Europe its own launching 

capability. The agency's leaders will meet March 5 in Paris 

to draft a new 10-year plan for even greater European 

traffic in space. (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 2-22-81) 

3: First launch of the Space Shuttle is now on track 

for early April EoXlowincr the s:iccessful 20-seco2d Plight 

Readiness Firing (FRF! of the three main engines of the 

Space Shuttle Columbia on the pad at Kennedy Space Center 

Friday morning, 

The test firing was conducted at 8:45 AM, an hour behind 

schedule because of problems with three of the four ground 

controls for the hydraulic power for the Solid Rocket 

Boosters. The three systems, not needed for the FRF, were 

suhsequently turned off by NASA. 

NASA reported that early data on the Space Shuttle Main 

Engine firing "matched perfectly" the results obtained in 

the .3cceptance firing of the three-engine Main Propulsion 

?e s t Ar tic le. 

The successful FRF was the last major test prior to launch, 

which is scheduled for April 7, but expected to slip z?:: 

lee ;t several days. 

-54- 
Development of the Space Shuttle is two years behind 

schedule, Cost is now estimated at $9.6 hillion, or 26 

percent excluding inflation above the estimate made ten 

years ago ($5.12 billion in FY '71 dollars). 

During the SSME firing Friday, after their work was done, 

some Boeing contractor personnel working on support tasks 

walked off the job in a contract dispute. (BEFENSE DAILY, 

2-23-81, p. 273, Vole 114, NO, 34) 

F@BBcUZi aftermath of Friday's Space Shuttle engine 

test, tiles are chipped, tile spacers are missing and the 

fuel tank is pockmarked. 

But inspection teams at Kennedy Space Center who combed the 

vehicle over the weekend looking for damage resulting from 

the 20-second engine firing found nothing that will further 

delay the Shuttle's launch in April, NASA officials reported 

Monday. 

Engineers were worried that the static firing would shake 

off some of the tiles, which protect the rocket-plane from 

the firey friction of ascent and re-entry. 

NASA also was worried about darnage caused to the Shuttle's 

fuel tank when it was first filled with super-cold liquid 

oxygen and hydrogen oil Jan. 24, 

"It does not appear that the area that dehonded in the first 

tanking test grew in size," a NASA spokeswoman said. 

However, an outer, foam-like insulation was damaged in two 

areas, she said. Roth of these areas can be readily fixed, 

she added. (TODAY, 2-24-81) 

<> The head of the Soviet Union's cosmonaut training programl 

Lt. Gen. Vladimir Shatalov, has accused the U.S. of 

developing the Space Shuttle for military purposes. He 

cited press reports which indicate that the "scientific and 

economic aspects" ol the Shuttle "have been put on the back 

burner." The general, whose country has conducted nearly 40 

anti-satellite interceptor tests in space, ascurled that: 

"space should not be used as an arena for future 

-55- 
confrontations, fighting or resolving questions in nonpeaceful ways." (DEFENSE DAILY, 2-24-81, pb 277, Vol. 114, 

NO. 35) 

<> Roedng supervisors from Washington, Kansas, Pennsylvania and 

California donned hard hats Monday to fill in for 1,000 

striking space workers. 

Negotiations in the labor dispute were suspended 

indefinitely Monday afternoon, ruling out the chance for an 

early settlement. 

will not delay the space shuttle's scheduled launch in early 

Apri 1 . But Boeing officials claim the strik- 

"We've told NASA that we'll meet our commitments," said A1 

Evenson, labor relations manager for Boeing Services 

International, the primary maintenance contractor at the 

space center. (SENTINEL STAR, 2-24-81) 

February 25: The nation's space budget has to be cut for 

political reasons, even though it doesn't make "technical" 

sense to chop science spending, says the former astronaut 

who chairs the Senate Science, Technology and Space 

subcommittee. 

"Frankly, I don't think it makes any teckriical sense to cut 

the (NASA) budget,..but I also know that, politically, to 

get a general budget-cut package through the Congress, 

everybody's going to have to bear the burden," says Sen. 

Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, R-N.M. 

Schmitt said that while he completely supports the budgetreduction package President Reagan unveiled last week, his 

subcommittee "will do what is necessary to fine-tune the 

administration's proposals" for trimming the budgets of NASA 

and other science-related agencies. (TODAY, 2-25-81) 

<> Rep. Ronnie Flippo (D-Ala.), the new Chairman of the House 

Space Subcommittee, has criticized the cuts made in the NASA 

budget by the Reagan Administration, charging that the 

revised budget does not adequately provide for a balanced 

space program. 

-56- 
He said that the revised budget represents a major setback 

in space science, space applic tions and in development of 

the Solar Electric Propulsion Stage (SEPS), failing to 

recognize "the positive contributions which the NASA 

programs make" in a wide range of areas, including the 

nation's economyI 

He said his subcommittee will carefully review the actions 

proposed in space science and applications by the Re 

Administration. 

"We want to avoid damage to our space program by arbitrary 

uninformed budget cuts," he said. (DEFENSE DAILY, 2-25-81, 

p. 284, Vole 114, NO* 36) 

<> The $63 million Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space 

Surveillance System, designed to track and catalog objects 

orbiting the Earth at altitudes between 3500 and 250000 

milest has begun operating at White Sands Missile Range. 

Four additional GEODSS facilities are located in South 

Korea, Hawaii, the Middle East and Eastern Atlantic Ocean, 

Site maintenance is provided by RCA. 

The GEODSS systemr built by TRW, employs a telescope with 

electro-optic tracking, a television camera and digital 

computer. It is expected ta identify and catalog about 500 

orbiting objects in deep space, providing data to the NORAD 

Combat Operations Center in Colorado. The data will be used 

in the Air Force Spacetrack satellite surveillance system, 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 2-25-81, p. 287, voi. 114, NO. 361 

<> The small, 63-inch-diameter solid propellant motor for the 

Inertial Upper Stage was successfully test fired for 51 

seconds at a simulated altitude of 10QtOOO feet Feb. 13 at 

the Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center, 

The test, the 15th consecutive successful test firing of an 

IUS full-scale development motor at AEDC was the first 

firing of a 63-inch motor with a 50 percent prapellnnt offload. The IUS will use varying percentages of fuel, 

-57- 
dependent on mission needs, with duration of engine ignition 

controlled by the amount of solid propellant employed. The 

51-second test generated a maximum thrust of 2300 pounds. 

The motor's nozzle was deflected plus and minus 7 degrees 

both in the vertical and horizontal planes throughout 

firing. 

The motor used in the recent design was designed for the use 

as an upper stage on the Titan-340 expendable launch 

vehicle. Boeing is developing the 63-inch and a 92-inehdiameter motor €or the two-stage IUS to be used on the Titan 

and Space Shuttle, The motors are built by Norden SysLemvs 

Chemical Systems Division. 

A three-stage version of the IUS designed for planetary 

missions is being terminated by NASA. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

2-25-81, p. 287, Vol. 114, No. 361 

<> Comsat's Comstar 4 communicatio?s satellite was successfully 

launched by NASA at 6:23 P.M. EST Feb. 21 from Kennedy Space 

Center by a General Dynamics Atlas-Cenc3ur vehicle. 

The 1746-pound, Hughes-built satcon was placed in a 

340/2Zr240-mi1e transfer orbit over the equator, Kick stage 

firing to circularize the orbit at geosynchronous altitude 

was scheduled last evening by Comsat. 

The four Comstar satellites, owned and operated by Comsat 

General Corp., are leased to AT&T and used jointly by AT&T 

and GTE Satellite Corp. to provide telephone circuits, WATS 

and private line services. The satellites can handle 18,000 

simultaneous two-way calls and operate at 4/6 GHz. 

Comstar 4, to be positioned at 127 degrees west longitude, 

will replace Comstar D-1 the first of the series, launched 

in May, 1976. 

To succeed the Comstars, AT&T has ordered three advanced 

Telstar 3 satcoms from Hughes. (DEFENSE DAILY, 2-25-81, pb 

286' Vole 114, NO. 36) 

-58- 
F~bru~~ 26: NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center has awarded a 

contract modification, valued at $3,601,000 to International 

Business Machines Corporation, Federal Systems Division, 

Cape Canaveral, Fla., €or additional system engineering and 

software development services in support of Space Shuttle 

checkout and launch systems at KSC and Vandenberg Air Force 

Base, California. 

Under this contract modification, IBM will continua to 

provide systems and engineering and software development 

services in support of sophisticated Space Shuttle checkout 

and launch systems at KSC and Vandenberg Air Force Base, 

California. Computer systems are used to automatically 

control and perform much of the Space Shuttle vehicle 

checkout while the vehicle components are being prepared for 

launch. The systems also provide the capability for work 

order control and scheduling and will conduct countdown and 

launch operations. (KSC NEWS RELEASE No. 40-81, 2-26-81) 

<> Comsat General's Constar D-4 domestic satcom was 

successfully placed into geosynchronous orbit at 6:36 PM EST 

Feb. 23 by a firing of its apogee kick motor. The Nughesbuilt satellite was launched Feb. 21 from KSC by an AtlasCentaur vehicle. (DEFENSE DAILY,, 2-26-81, pa 294r Vole 1J-4t 

No. 37) 

Februaw 27: The Space Shuttle may not have left its pad but 

program managers are in orbit over the results of last 

Friday's flight readiness firing. 

The orbiter Columbia's three main engines roared for the 

planned 20-second static firing - a major milestone leading 

to the first Shuttle launch. 

Engine ignition came at 8:45 a.m. 

The critical test received nationwide media coverage with 

representatives from the three television networks and 

science writers from major newspapers and wire services 

present . 

-59- 
In a press briefing held an hour and 40 minutes after the 

firing, KSC Director Richard Smith and KSC Shuttle 

Operations Director George Page expressed confidence that 

the maiden voyage of Columbia will come in hpril, as 

scheduled, 

"We got through on the first try and we're extremely 

pleased," said Smith. "I congratulate George and all the 

people who work for him in yetting this done." 

The Center Director said he is looking forward to Ln April 

launch. 

Page told reporters the only anomaly in the test was the 

premature shutdown of hydraulic power units on the solid 

rocket boosters, a problem which appeared to be computer 

related. 

"For all that rascal had to do, for that one little errorr 

it still deserves a hand," said Page. 

Page and others had been concerned that the enormous number 

of tasks required of the computer in the last nine ml.nutes 

of the countdown night overwork the systemr triggering a 

hold. Rut the countdown went smoothly. 

He also praised the professionalism of the launch team on 

their E irst Shuttle countdown. "We're very proud," said 

Page 

'We have a lot more confidence now that we can come close to 

an early April launch," he added. 

Post-FRF inspections have shown some of the orbiter's 

thermal protection tiles suffered small nicks or chips of a 

type expected to occur during launches. They can be 

repairod by treating the surface with silica. 

At press time, post-FRF inspections of the external tank's 

thermal protection panels and the main engines had not yet 

been performed. 

-60- 
Work on repairing the debon&?d external tank insulation is 

expected to take about two weeks. 

Damage to the launch facilities at Complex 39's Pad A were 

described as light and it appeared ready to support the 

first launch in April. 

While the flight readiness firing had the spotlight, other 

important tests were also conducted last week, including an 

at-sea operation for the two solid rocket booster recovery 

ships - the b.: Freedom and the UTC Liberty. 

The ocean recovery operations - conducted in extremely rough 

seas - involved practicing the recovery of solid rocket 

booster parachutes and frustums. Also practiced was the 

dewatering system which will be used to drain sea water from 

each SRB so they can be towed back to Cape Canaveral. 

Despite the rough seas, it was smooth sailing for the tests, 

program officials said. 

In addition to the post-FRf inspections and external tank 

repairs, several more tests must be run before first launch. 

A Shuttle System Test - actually a battery of tests 

performed on each system and silh-systern - will begin this 

weekend to make sure everything is working properly. Then, 

another series of computer-simulated flights will be 

conducted with crew aboard the orbiter. 

The final major test activity prior to launch will be the 

"dry" Countdown Demonstration Test - a rehearsal in which 

the Shuttle's tanks are not loaded with propellants. 

(SPACEPORT NEWS, pp. 1 & 5, Vole 20, NO. 5) 

<> 2-C. Mr. Page gave an overall post-FRF status report. The 

beanie cap parted at the area where it had been stitched and 

not glued. The seal will have to be removed for rework and 

testing at the LETF; three of four HPU's shut down in the 

minus counting; on hold-down post 17 the B sides did not 

-61- 
fire; assessment of tile damage revealed only minor problems 

with some chipping and a few gap fillers moved out (would 

not have affected flight). The External Tank had some minor 

cracking with no apparent additional separation or 

debonding. 

Mr. Utsman stated that assessment of the pad revealed that 

there was no damage. 

Mr. Parker also reported no major problems with the FRF and 

few problems with the strike with BSL immediately 

afterwards. Pickets are at Gates 2 and 4 and the County has 

motorcycle policemen at both gates. 

Mr. Utsman and Mr. Lohse discussed further on the strike and 

reported that work was continuing and that Boeing had 

brought in 210 personnel from other areas to assist in 

continding essential work. Temporary hires are also being 

considered by BSI and sub-contractors are continuing to come 

in. Most strike related impacts are in the work arounds. 

Mr. Utsnan also reported he is running a 24-hour civil 

service assessment log of strike-impacted work and 

contractor management personnel are working 12-hour shifts. 

Mr. Page reported that a new launch schedule for STS-1 is 

being assessed. 

2-E. Mr. Neilon stated that the Administration budget 

reductions would have impact on the cargo programs and that 

schedule impacts on Spacelab were being assessed. 

2-F. Mr. Walton stated that the Comstar launch went 

extremely well with good orbital. parameters with final move 

of the spacecraft scheduled for Monday night. 

He also reported that there is still a problem with the 

Intelsat spacecraft; i.e., the solar panel deployment gear 

train must he removed and retc;rned for rework. A three to 

six week slip is expected. 

2-G. Mr. Hollinshead said that there had been several 

breaking and entering incidents at the VIC this past weekend 

and that Security will probably increase surveillance in 

that area. (EXECUTIVE STAFF NOTES #6-81, pp, 1-21 

-62- 
1: Johnson Controls, Inc. of Dallas, Texas, has 

been awarded a $2,642,000 contract by NASA's John F. Kennedy 

Space Center for an electronic security system. 

The new security arrangements are to include door alarms, 

motion detectors, video boths to allow verification of 

personal identify and area authorization before premitting 

entry, and conversion of the present method of allowing 

access by badge display to an electronic check of personal 

identification codes, 

With the electronic system it will be possible, for example, 

to quickly count and identify individuals in a building or a 

section of a building at a given time. Elements of the 

system will be located on KSC and at Cape Canaveral Air 

Force Station facilities to protect critical flight hardware 

and Space Transportation System payload preparation and 

handling. (KSC NEWS RELEASE No. 42-81, 2-81) 

-63- 
MARCH 1981 

March 2: National Aeronautics and Space Administration has 

elected to keep hypergolic propellants in the space shuttle 

orbiter as a means of reducing launch preparation time for 

the shuttle by 8-10 days. 

The hypergolics -- monomethyl hydrazine fuel and nitrogen 

tetroxide -- fuel the orbital maneuvering system and reactor 

control engines. Tanks for both systems are located aft. 

The reaction control system has additional tanks forward in 

the orbiter. 

It was throught the tanks would have to be enptied to allow 

workmen access to the external tank for insulation repairs because the hypergolic propellants are hazardous. They are 

storable and do not boil off and it was decided to leave 

them in the tanks. 

It would have taken about four days to detank the 

hypergolics after the flight readiness firing and 4-4.5 days 

to re load them. 

Because of the hazardous potential, the launch pad would be 

cleared dclring both operations, 

The nose section holds 1,369 lb. of oxidizer and 856 lb. of 

fuel. 

Each of the two aft modules holds a total of 2,905 lb. of 

nitrogen tetroxide and 1,815 lb of fuel. (AVIATION WEEK & 

SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 3-2-81, p. 19, VOl. 114, NO. 9) 

<> Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) has urged support €or the Space 

Shuttle program, which he says will initiate "a new era not 

unlike the beginning of aviation 75 years ago." 

-64- 
With its reusable and versatile capabilities, the Space 

Shuttle "cannot help but enhance the free world's defense 

capability, assure continued U.S. technoloqical leadership 

an2 promote international cooperation in scientific and 

industrial use of space," Thurmond said. 

Asserting that the U.S. space program is at "a critical 

turning point," Thurmond charged that this country has "all 

but retreated from space." MeanwhiJc, "Russian and Soviet 

bloc cosmonauts come and go like weekend tourists at Salyut 

6 (and) the Russians, West Europeans and Japanese will visit 

Halley's Cornet while we sit home and watch." 

Beyond just having the Space Shuttle, Thurrnond said, "we 

must make sure that we keep its flight manifest full with 

the military and scientific payloads that will help to make 

America first in the world again and keep America first." 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 3-2-81, p. 5, voi. lis, rm. 1) 

<> Roeing Services International supervisL-y personnel moved 

the Complex 39A rotating service structur? back intc ?lace 

and did a number of other post-firing supporting functions 

to safe and secure the launch pad following the walkout of 

the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace 

Workers here 15 minutes after the flight readiness firing 

Feh. 20. 

The supervisors last week were installing scaffolding on the 

rotating structure to enable access to the external tank for 

repairs on the insulation. The tank will undergo two more 

cryogenic propellant test loadings to determine whether the 

insulation will hold. Platform modifications began Feh. 24 

and were scheduled to be completed March 1. 

Repairs on the tank are to begin March 2 and a goal of 13 

days has been set for completion. 

The key activity Boeing supervisor personnel performed was 

supporting, draining and purging of the external tank 

following the test firing. This was accomplished within 24 

hmrs after the firing to prevent corrosion in the tanks and 

plumbing. 

-65- 
Approximately 130 non-union Aoeinq International Services 

supervisors have been detailed here since the walkout in 

accordance with the company's strike contingency plan. Less 

skilled employees are being hired locally. (AVIATION VEEK & 

SPACE TECHNOLOGYI 3-2-81, p. 17, Vole 114, NO* 9) 

arch 3: While burly guards with automatic weapons may ha 

enough to keep human saboteurs from the Space Shuttle, an 

M-16 doesn't stop black belly plovers and tree swallows. 

These feathered Brevard residents, along with other bird 

species, are becoming a "real problem" at the Kennedy Space 

Center because of potential damage they may inflict to the 

Shuttle as well as the hazard they pose to training jets 

used by Shuttle pilots. 

It appears birds enjoy nesting around the three-mile long 

Shuttle runway. NASA officials fear the birds may become 

feathered missiles and collide with a landing Shuttle or 

T-38 jet trainers. 

- The problem is serious enough that NASA is spendin? S10,CiOO 

to research it. The study, which should be completed by the 

end of the year, is being conducted by the Merritt Island 

National P7ildlife Refuge Center. 

NASA has solved one bird problem, caused by the infamous 

leas tern. This bird liked to nest at. the end of the 

Shuttle runway. Rut every time jets revved up their engines 

for takeoff, the nests of the terns were blown away. 

Being a compassionate agency, EASA decided it would be 

better to get rid of the birds rather thail have them engaged 

in a constant state of hone building. 

NASA had considered setting up a water piping systen to 

drench the nesting birds. Hut after studying the proklenthe wildlife center recommended painting the end of the 

runway black, because terns prefer a white decor. The plan 

Worked. (TODAY, 3-3-81) 

-66- 
C> Maybe it's fast as well the Space Shuttle won't be 1 

in March. Much of the runway it would have 1 

California is under water. 

The Shuttle's spaceship Columbia is supposed to land on a 

massive dry lake bed at EAwards Air Force Base after: its 

maiden voyage into spacr! -- still scheduled for the 

week in April, But the "dry" lake bad is wet, 

We're getting drizzlei .on," said Sharon Wangllnr 

information specialist at Dryden Flight Research Cen 

If the Columbia were in the air today, it could not ]Land 

Edwards tomorrow because of the base's soggy runways, 'The 

lake bed is really an intermittently dry playa (a dessert 

basin) ," said T.K. Gwin, Edward's airfield manager, "What 

that amounts to is the lowest-lying area in the valley, 

When it rains, a11 the water runs there and sits. 

"The wind blows the water hack and forth and smooths out a 

clay base thatts as much as 150 feet deep in the middle.,.if 

it dries out, it makes an excellant runway," Gwin said. 

"Right now, it's wet," he said. Puddles 40 t~ 50 feat 

across are standing an the runway, but it's not: covarcd fmn 

shore to share, he said. 

What about next month, when April showers bring May flowers, 

and when the Shuttle is scheduled for launch and landing? Excusing the pan, Wanglin said, "It's still up in the air,'' 

(TODAY, 3-3-51} 

<> A special team of technicians and engineers arrived at 

Kennedy Space Center on Monday to begin repairing the 

Shuttle's fuel tank. 

But that work has already been delayed at least six days 

because the sperially sealed scaffolding is not ready, 

-67- 
Two dozen workers with Martin Marietta Aerospace, the 

company responsible for the Shuttle's external tankc arrived 

from National Space Technology Laboratoriesc ay St. Louis, 

Miss . 

There, they have been practicing repair procedures on a fuel 

tank similar to the Shuttle's mammoth 154-foot long external 

fuel tank. 

The repairs at KSC, which could begin Saturdery if work 

stands on the Shuttlets launch pad are ready, involve 17 

panels of cork insulation in three areas. The insulation 

came unr;lued when the tank was filled with liquid oxygen and 

hydrogen on Jan, 24. 

Both Martin and NASA have said the Shuttle cannot be 

launched until engineers are sure they know why the 

insulation came unglued. That's because the panels protect 

the tank's aluminum skin from the heat generated by air 

turbulence. 

That heat can reach temperatures of 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit 

before the ablative cork insulation starts burning away, 

( TODAY e 3-3-8 1 ) 

: 2-A. Mr, Smith extended his congratulations to 

everyone involved in the successful Shuttle FRF and said 

that he had received A congratulatory note from Hans Park 

and a letter congratulating all involved from Dr. Lovelace. 

Mr, Smith said that a revised STS-1 launch schedule would 

not be published until the two tanking tests scheduled for 

March 22 and 25 had been completed. A launch date of not 

earlier than April 6, 1981, may be used for support planning 

purposes. The dry CDDT is scheduled for March 17. 

2-€2, Mr. Utsman reported on progress being made on the 

external tank access modifications. While they are proving 

to be vsry costly, he believes we can make the schedule for 

a Saturday RSS rotation. 

-68- 
He also reported that there were no new developnents in the 

BSI strike situation a-3 that tSere are no major impacts, 

2-F. Mr. Mindernan stated that AS1 had been responsible €or 

minor wall rearrangement prior to office moves and while due 

to the strike some of the changes could not be nade 

organizations had given good cooper tion in proceeding with 

moves without these wall modifications which will be 

performed later. He requested a continuation 

understanding and cooperation. (EXECUTIVE STA 

67-81, 3-4-81, PP* 1-2.) 

March 5: Eighteen percent of the U.S. public believes that too 

little is being spent on space# while 34.5 percent think the 

space budget is about right and 39.1 percent believe that 

too much is being spent, according to a national opinion 

poll taken by the University of Chicago, This from the 

National Space Institute, which points out that only seven 

years ago only 7.5 percent of the public thought too little 

was being spent on spacer while 58.5 percent thought too 

much was being spent. (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-5-81, p. 39, Vol. 

115, No. 4) 

<> State officials have decided to invest in a special 5650,080 

advertising blitz aimed at lurinzj more tourists here during 

the spring. 

NASA could provide a big baast to the April tourism effort 

if it can keep the launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia on 

schedule. The launch - first U.S. manned space flight in 

nearly six years - is expected to draw several hundred 

thousand people to Rrevard, many of whom will be 

out-of-s ta ters . 

Another reason for us to pull for an April launch, (TODAY, 

3-5-81) 

arch 6: The chairman of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel 

has told Congress that there is "no open issue that is a 

real safety concern" in the Eirst Qace Shuttle flight, that 

he believes the Shuttle is in "good shape" and will have ''a 

good flight next month." 

-69- 
At the same time, chairman Herbert E. Grier told the House 

Space Subcommittee that there are still some areas 02 

concern about the Shuttle which will have to be further 

evaluated after the first flight, That flight will "provide 

B variety o€ data that should substantially reduce many of 

the uncertainties and wide variations in predictions now 

corif ronting designers ," he said. 

Asked about the fixes on the insulation 8 the Shuttle 

External Tank, Grier said the panel is satisfied with the 

fixes and believes that the insulation is "perfectly 

adequate for the first flight." 

While there are no unresolved safety issues €or STS-1, Grier 

said there are limitations on the flight, e.g.# the 

astronauts cannot use their ejection system for the first 

few seconds of the flight because they would "eject into a 

f i re ball. '' 

Grier told the Subcommittee thai he believes that "funding 

economies" have adversely impacted the STS-1 mission. 

"While this is not directly related to safety, it may create 

an environment in which the best solutions to problems are 

not always pursued and may result in the acceptance of more 

risk than necessary." (DEFENSE DAfLVI 3-6-03,, p. 43, Vol. 

1158 No. 5) 

rch 7: Space Shuttle launch preparations and repairs are on 

schedule for a launch on April 7, said Don Phillips, a 

Kennedy Space Center division chief. 

Aut that is based on a success-oriented, very optimistic 

work schedule, he said. And Phillips is of the opinion that 

a mid-April launch is more likely. 

"My personal opinion, and it does not reflect the opinian of 

the aqency, is somewhere around mid-April, but we have an 

outside shot at the week of April 6. But admittedly it is 

an outside shot because one small hit (problem) there, and 

obviously it will have a schedule impact." fTODAY, 3-7-81) 

-70- 
8 In addition to its reductions in the NASA budget, the 

gan Administration continues to leave nine top jobs at 

the agency, including that of admfnistr tor, €illeA on sn 

acting basis. 

Former NASA Administrator, Dr. Robert A, Frosch, resigned 

effective Jan. 6 and was replaced on an acting basis by Dr. 

Alan M, Lovelace, the former deputy administrator, who is 

expected to leave the agency when the Re n Administration 

gets around to naming its NASA team, 

Lovelace's current two-month stint as acting administrator 

is the longest the agency has been on an acting basis since 

George Low served as acting administrator from Sept. 16, 

1970, to April 26, 1971, seven months and ten days, during 

the Nixon Administration. 

In addition to the nine posts being filled on an acting 

basis, the deputy administrator post, the number two job in 

the agency, remains unfilled, although Dr, Anthony J. Calio, 

associate administrator for space and terrestrial 

applications, has been named special assistant to Lovelace, 

responsible for general managenent of the agency, That, of 

course, leaves the Applications Office without a full time 

chief. 

Another NASA official, Dr. Walter C. tJilliam, chief 

engineer, while he is not serving on an acting basis has 

been assigned to work at Rockwell International for "an 

indefinite period." (DEFENSE DAPLY, 3-9-81, p. 53, Vola 

115, NO. 6) 

<> Planners of advanced space mission are narrowing the issues 

on how to establish the first U.S. long-term operating bases 

in space while they await the Reagan Administration's policy 

on a possible new space initiative beyond introduction of 

the shuttle. 

The Administration is attempting to cut the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration's science and 

applications budgets severely, but prefers that large cuts 

not be made to the space shuttle program. Defense Dept. 

shuttle requirements are a prime factor in this approach. 

-71- 
There is a faction in the Administration that hopes to 

convince President Reagan to declare the objective of e! 

major new space initiative immediately after the first 

successful shuttle flight. Decision on a new initiative 

will have to be made by the Administration, since it will 

govern space policy for the first fourand possibly eight 

years of the shuttle era. 

The developnent of a large platform capability or manned 

space station structure are the strongest candidates for 

such a goal, NASA and industry planners are finding that 

determination of the most appropriate way to proceed toward 

these goals will be a difficult task. 

The head of advanced programs in NASA's Office of Space 

Transportation, Ivan Rekey, believes a Reagan statement that 

"our next major step in space should be establishnent of a 

permanent presence in space" would suffice, leaving NASA to 

determine the details of the goal after further study. 

No, 10) 

(AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 3-9-81, p. 73, Vola 114, 

March 18: Jointly evading hot air pockets from the press 

corps, astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen hinter1 

Flonday that the first flight of the Space Shuttle nay be 

sweet and low -- an abbreviated version of the scheduled 

54-hour flight, 

In their last official press conference before the launch >f 

the Shuttle, scheduled next month at Kennedy Space Center, 

they said the chances of pulling off the entire 36-orbit 

mission in the Spaceship Columbia is probably unrealistic. 

A successful mission may be redefined as getting up and 

getting back, said Crippen. 

And don't be surprised if the landing site is changed, Young 

cautioned. With the previously parched Mojave Desert lake 

basin at Edwards Air Force Base in California now standing in water, Northrup strip in New Mexico is looking better and 

better all the time. 

-7 2- 
Much of the questioning, in fact, centered 01: what would 

happen if the astronauts ran into problems. And wh@n a man 

with a Henry Kissinger accent still had trouble coming to 

grips with the intricacies of hailing outr Young just 

blinked and said, "You just pull the little handle." 

But for the soggy runway at Edwards Air Force Base, Young 

had no such snappy answers: "I've heard it from a 

unreliable, unauthoritative, unofficial source that the lake! 

bed could take a month to six weeks to dry. 

"One of the things about landing on a lake bed is if you 

veer off to the side, you haven't done anything. Whereas if 

you land on a runway and veer off to the side at a place 

like Kennedy, you night be swimming with the alligators." 

(TODAY, 3-10-81) 

Xarch 11: It didn't hurt the space shuttle, but NASA's revised 

1982 budget drew angry protest Tuesday from the space 

agency's European partners. 

As expected, the 56.122 billion budget for the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration guarantees full funding 

for the shuttle but slashes scientific and expl.oratot-y space 

programs to the bone. ReaKing the brunt of the budget CII~S, 

many of NASA's cooperative programs with the European Space 

Agency were delayed or scrubbed, 

The worst news was the cancellation of the joint "Solar 

Polar" rrission, scheduled for launch in 1985. The mission 

was to include two spacecraft: one furnished by NASA and 

one by the ESA, circling the sun in opposite directions. 

The new budget eliminates the American spacecraft and leaves 

Europe holding the bag. NASA hopes to pack most of its 

instruments aboard the European probe, but the withdrawal 

has disturbed NASA's European partners. 

Representatives of 11 nations cooperating in the ESA 

protested the cutbacks in a formal message to the State 

Department. 

-73- 
'We certainly knew this was corning," said 1a.n Pryke, a 

spokesman for @SA'S Washington headquarters. '' 

working two weeks to get the mission reinstated; obviously 

we haven't succeeded.'' 

"Until this problem is solved, we're going to be very wary 

about future cooperation (with N SA) ," Pryke said, 

The revised budget also postpones the first three missions 

of spacelab, a modular laboratory that will ride piggyback 

in the shuttle's cargo bay. The first mission will be 

delayed three months: the second two missions for more than 

a year. (SENTINEL STAR, 3-11-81, p. 8-A) 

<> "My opinion is that NASA's program of planetary and 

astronomical research is the most productive and exciting 

element of contemporary science. We now have superb 

technical and scientific capability for aci-v;.Sly doing the 

investigations that have been the dream and hope of mankinc! 

for centuries. As a citizen of the United Stsrtes, I would 

be grieved to see this nation deny its capability and its 

historical destiny." -- Dr. James A. Van Allen, discoverer 

of the Van Allen Radiation Belts, Narch 5, 1981. (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 3-11-81, p. 701 v01. lis, NO. 8) 

<> Repair of the 17 debonded insulation panels on the Space 

Shuttle Columbia's External Tank got underway F4onAay at 

Kennedy Space Center, with the agency expecting the job to 

take 13 1/2 days. NASA continues to hold to the April 7 

launch date, but a slip of a week is not unanticipated. The 

3-day launch readiness verification test is scheduled for 

Friday. Meanwhile, the prime landing site for the STS-1, 

the "dry" lakebed at Edwards AFB is not dry now after the 

recent rains, but is drying and expected to be in condition 

for the STS-1 landing, White Sands is the backup landing site. (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-11-81, p. 70, Vol. 115, No. 8) 

arch 12: Vice President George Bush will tour Kennedy Space 

Center on Tuesday afternoon, March 17, as part of a visit to 

Brevard County. 

-74- 
I 

Accompanied by NASA Acting Administrator Alan Lovelace and 

Kennedy Space Center Director Richard Smith, the Vice 

President will visit the Launch Control Center where Space 

Shuttle checkout and launch activities are being 

controlled. In the Control Room the Vice President is 

expected to say a few words to the Kennedy Space Center team 

responsible €or preparing the first Space Shuttle for launch 

next month. 

The Astronaut crew for the April launch, John Young and 

Robert Crippen, will brief the Vice President at the launch 

pad and lead him on an inspection of their spaceship. (RSC 

NEWS RELEASE NO. 45-81, 3-12-81) 

<> The Reagan Administration has clamped a lid on the future 

U.S. space and aeronautics program by not only eliminating 

basically nll new starts and most advanced technology and 

industry-support4ng programs from the FY '81-82 NASA budget 

but by providing virtually no new start funds in its budget 

estimates for the agency in the FY '83-85 period. 

It has however, provided all the funds necessary €or 

development and production of the Space Shuttle and its 

supporting systems, including a 560 million addition for the 

Shuttle in FY '81. 

NASA's Acting Administrator Dr, Alan M. Lovelace told 

DEFENSE DAILY Tuesday that there is "little or no wedge for 

new starts" in the President's estimated NASA budgets for FY 

'83-85. Reagan's adjusted figures for FY '81-82 and for the 

three out-years are as follows: 

FY '81 

FY '82 

FY '83 

FY '84 

FY '85 

$5.523 billion 

$6.122 billion 

$6,492 billion 

$51859 billion 

$5,599 billion 

Asked by DEFENSE DAILY if the restrictions on the NASA 

budget were made because of the? Reagan Administration's 

belief that it is not important to move ahear? in space or 

because of the Administration's emphasis on balancing the 

budget by 1984, Lovelace said it was the latter, i.e., the 

Administration's "priority" to reduce the nation's budget. 

-75- 
He said that in talking with Reagan officials, "I did not 

get the feeling that there was no tomorrow," 

The acting NASA chief s?.-IJ that in light of the cuts made in 

the federal budget that he did not think that NASA was 

treated "unfairly," or that the cuts would have been less if 

Reagan had already chosen a NASA administrator and science 

adviser. (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-12-81, p. 76, Vol. Kl5@ No. 9) 

<> Look for the first Space Shuttle mission to be launched 

April 8-9 at the earliest, Acting tJASA Administrator Dr. 

Alan M. Lovelace told the Senate Space Subcommittee. April 

7 has been the target date. Officially the mission remains 

scheduled for the week of April 5. 

The acting NASA chief also said that NASA has not made a 

decision to move the landing site from Edwards to White 

Sands because of the rain which has caused standing water on 

the '*dry" lakebed landing site ?t Edwards. He indicated 

that a final decision on the landing site will not be made 

until two days in acivance of the mission at the earliest, 

adding that the site can, in fact, be changed in virtually 

real time if necessary. (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-22-81, p. 79, 

v01. 115, No. 9) 

rch 13: Rep. Ronnie G, Flippo (D-AEa. jP chairman of the 

House Space Subcommittee, has told NASA that the 

subcommittee will take a careful look at NASA's plans to 

reprogram S60 million in FY '81 to support the Space Shuttle 

program, pointing out that the subcommittee told the agency 

earlier that it wanted to see no more supplementals for the 

Shuttle. 

Flippo expressed concern about NASA's management control 

over the Shuttle program. He was told by Michael Weeks, 

deputy associate administrator for STS, that the major 

single reason for the cost increases on the Shuttle program 

in the recent past was the discovery 18 months ago of 

problems with the adhesion of the Thermal Protection System 

tiles and the subsequent need to undertake a major change of 

design of the tiles. 

-76- 
Flippo is concerned also about NASA's plans to adapt the 

Centaur as a Shuttle upper stage and will hold a hearing on 

that matter, including the competitve aspects of the 

project. (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-13-81, p. 84, Vole 115, NO. IO) 

<> The KSC Hispanic Working Group is a new representative body 

established here to help management formulate policy 

decisions as they relate to Hispanic issues. 

The group is composed of volunteers selected from various 

Directorates and other work areas on the center. Hispanic 

Working Group Chairman Emilio Mola does the initial 

searching and screening for likely group members. 

If the persons agree to participate, their supervisors and 

the Center Director review and approve them for the task. 

In actual operation, the group works to maximize employment 

possibilities for Hispanics, serves as a sounding board for 

the center's Hispanic population and attempts to widen the 

appreciation of the Hispanic contribution to the nation. 

To do the latter, the group works closely with IMAGE of Cape 

Canaveral, a branch of the national organization dedicated 

to advancing the Hispanic culture and its appreciation. On 

KSC, the Working Group arranges the various activities 

associated with Hispanic Heritage Week and other special 

holidays with high Hispanic interest, such as Puerto Rico 

Discovery Day on Nov. 19. 

Mola is the Hispanic programs monitor in KSC's Equal 

Opportunity Program Office. 

The other five members of the group are: Fernando Esparza, 

TI-CSD-4, 7-8520; Manuel Virata, PM-STF, 7-3625; Raul 

Reyes, CS-MVD, 7-2395; Juan Rivera, TG-FLD-22, 7-7048: 

Alicia Thompson, DF-PEO, 7-3210; and August0 Venegas, 

DL-NED-23, 7-9172. Each is available at any time, 

Kennedy Space Center has approximately 70 full-time NASA 

employees who classify themselves as Hispanic, although this 

category includes numberous nationalities. In addition, the 

-77- 
various contractors at KSC have many Hispanic employees who 

are also encouraged to contact a member of the working 

group, (SPACEPORT NEES? 3-13-81, p. 6? Vol, 20, No. 6) 

<> Problem with sagging insulation on the Shuttle's fuel tank 

is probably not the fault of the tank's prime cantractors 

Martin Marietta Aerospace, and NASA is likely 60 foot the 

$2.6 million bill for the repairs, a NASA ~~ok~s~~~said. 

Cork panels of insulation, which protect the Shuttle's tank 

from heat generated by air turbulence during ascent, first 

came unglued when the tank was filled with auper-cold fuel 

on Jan. 24. 

The repairs to the tank and associated tests at National 

Space Technology Laboratories in Ray St. Louis, Miss., are 

estimated to cost about $2,6 million, said Brad Marman, a 

public information officer in NASA's Washington 

headquarters. The first panel was glued back to the tank on 

Thursday, a Kennedy Space Cznter spokesman said. 

NASA also will probably pay $700,000 more to make sure that 

tanks on future Shuttles will not have the same prcblem, 

Marman said. (TODAY, 3-13-81) 

<> NASA's FY '82 request for Shuttle production has been 

redoced $36 million by the Reagan Administration -- reducing 

the planned long-lead material procurement €or a fifth 

Orbiter and deferring the delivery of the Orbital 

Maneuvering System payload bay kit. 

The cut in the fifth Orbiter option was from $25 million to 

$5 million. Howeverr NASA says the remaining funds "still 

provide for the option of a subsequent decision on starting 

the fifth Orbiter without incurring substantial gapping in 

the production flow." With these funds? the fifth Orbiter 

could be delivered in 1987 if a production decision is made 

on or before the FY '83 budget request. 

The OMS package is needed to allow the Shuttle ta maneuver 

to a higher orbit for the Space Telescope mission, which has 

now been delayed 15 monthsp allowing a Concomitant delay in 

the OMS. (DEFENSE DAILYI 3-13-81, p. 84, Val. 115, No. 10) 

-78- 
<> Final systems tests on the first Spacelab flight unit began 

in Europe this week c's KSC's processing team continued to 

build experience with an engineering prototype of the 

versatile orbiting science laboratory. 

The Spacelab engineering model that arrived here in December 

has been in the Operations and Checkout Building's Pow bay 

undergoing trial-run processing operations. 

"The engineering model is almost identical to the Plight 

unit,l said Rudig Selg, the European Space Agency's (ESA) 

Spacelab representative at KSC. 

A joint program of ESA and NASA, Spacelab will fly aboard 

the Space Shuttle to provide a fully furnished laboratory 

adapted for the weightless environment of space, It will be 

pressurized so scientists may work without spacesuits. 

The first Spacelab flight is scheduled €or 1983. 

A team of more than 100 NAZA and MDTSCO employees are 

currently working on Spaeelah activities here at KSC, 

according to Roger Gaskins, KSC's division chief for 

Spacelab and horizontal payloads. 

With the limited hands-on experience we've had, I think 

it's going extremely well," he said of the processing on the 

engineering model. 

One of the engineering model'; primary uses will be to 

verify that facilities and eaaipment designed to process 

flight units will do so as rlanned. 

"It's a full blown electrical and mechanical pathfinder 

which will be pretty active for the rest of this year and a 

good part of next," said Gaskins. 

Meanwhile, the first flight unit is being readied in Brernen, 

Germany, for delivery to the United States later this yesr. 

-79- 
Gaskins returned early last week from a 10-day visit to the 

ERNO plant in Bremen, where Spacelab is being assembled. 

ERNO is ESA's prime ccntractor on the project. 

"ERNO performed a stowage revlew and NASA conducted % safety 

walkdown of both segnents of the flight unit," said Gaskins. 

He said astronaut Owen Garriot - science pilot on the Skylab 

3 mission - participated in a crew station review to ensure 

that man and machine will work in harmony. Part of the 

review, for example, involved checking .o see that controls 

can be easily reached and are readily visible. 

NASA also began the process of turning over four of the 

Spacelab's 16 racks to European researchers who have 

experimenks flying on the first Spacelab flight. 

Selg said that sone modifications and mechanical rework 

remains to be finished but that the flight unit is 

essentially completed. 

A series of final systems tests are underway this week, 

Delivery of the unit to KSC is expected to he acconlpanied by 

a five-fold increase in the ESA resident team here. 

Selg said the four-member resident team currently at KSC 

will probably swell to 20 with the arrival of more 

eng i nee rs . 

NASA and ESA will share equally the payload space available 

on the first Spacelab flight. European experiments will be 

integrated in Europe. 

One of three European payload specialists will fly aboard 

the Shuttle with a crew of American astronauts on this first 

voyage of the orbiting laboratory. 

A second Spacelab - being purchased by NASA - is already 

under production, said Selg. 

-80- 
Spacelab will be the principal scientific payload of the 

Space Shuttle throughout the 1980's end is expect 

valuable contributions to science, nedicine, indu 

processing a d other related fields, (SPACEPORT 

3-13-81, p. e VOl. 20, NO. 6) 

%e of delays in developing the Spac 

lays in developing the PUS upper st 

the Shuttle launch facility at Vand 

the U.S. may have ta increase its buy of ex ~~~~~~~ llauneh 

vehicles in the near term, and Space Shuttle Orbiters in the 

long term to m et its launch capability needs, 

This is the csne1usfon of a new General Accounting Office 

study centered on the Space Shuttle's akility to nieet the 

payload needs oP the Defense Department, (DEFENSE DAILY, 

3-16-81, p. %9e VOl. 115, NO. 11) 

<> Delivery of the first shuttle era space suits to Fterinedy 

Space Center far integration into the Columbia culminates a 

difficult f ive-year developnent that will enhance U.S, 

extravehicular capability hut at a e~at double what Johnson 

S~ece Center here originally intended to 

The two extravehicular mobility units (EMU'S), consisting of 

both the pressure suits a~d portatale lift? support systemsI 

will be mounted in the orbitervs airlock, Astrormurs John 

Young ar.d Robert Crippen will use the suits only in the 

event of a scriaus emergency reguirinq extravehicular 

activitr (EVA), 

The possibility Crippen could be forced to conduct en EVA to 

close malfunekianing payload bay doors is the primary reason 

for carrying the new suits on the Eirst shuttle mission. 

Young and Cri: en will not wear the suits for launch end 

reentry, but rdther use ejection escape pressure suits 

sinilar to the systems worn by USAFiLsckheed SR-71 cz;ews. 

-81- 
Unlike Apollo, when suits were custom tailored to each 

astronaut, in the shuttle a limited number of modo1 

components are used to form suits that c 

astronaut corps. NASA used Air Force sp 

and developed a sizing system covering individuals 

fifth to the 5th percentile. STR 

were planned to cover the range €0 

astronauts, with the plan to procu 

as wmen joined the astronaut corps, 

were added to the program and old 

checks with the new hardware, NASA 

could not fit into the n 

extra-small and extra-large sizes 

readjusting the spread among sizes 

caused additional redesign require 

SPACE TECXNOLOGY, 3-16-81, pe 69, 

<> Estimated development costs for the Space Shuttle have 

increased by $275 million in FY '81 due primarily to 

problems mcountered in readying the Shuttle Columbia fer 

flight, including the rekonding nf the thermal insulation 

tiles. 

As a result, NASA has reprogranmed $75 million from STS 

Operations, $55 million from Shuttle Production and $150 

million from Changes & Systems Upgrading in FY '81 for 

Shuttle development, 

The production funds were made availatrle by rephasing of. the 

pracurement of initial operational spares and ground suppc?rct 

equipment for simultaneous launch processing of two Orbiters 

and the deferral of support activities for the production 

program. 

Michael Weeks, NASA deputy associate administrator for Space 

Transportation Systems, told Congress Wednesday that the $55 

million transfer from production "leaves us with no 

reserves, so it does increase the risk t~ our already tisht 

delivery schedule, although the $60 million added to the 

Changes and Systems ilpqrading line items 60uld provide added 

schedule confidence.'' 

In ather STS areas, Weeks: 

-82- 
--States that development of the Solar Electric Propulsion 

System (SEPS), added to the FY '81 budget by Congress, has 

been cancelled, with $7 million in FY '81 and $18 million in 

FY '82 funds deleted. Acting Administrator Lovelace told 

DEFENSE DAILY that there is little likelihood of 

reinstitution of the program in the near term because the 

user community has not identified a firm need date €or the 

system. 

--Pointed out that the Centaur upper stage is capable of 

boosting 13,000 pounds to geosynchronous orbit, compared to 

5000 €or the IUS, which has a military as well as civil 

.use. For NASA it could accomodate TDPSS growth, he said. 

--Said it costs about $6 million in FY '75 dollars for each 

External Tank (about $9.6 million in current dollars). 

--Noted that NASA hopes to make the second Shuttle flight in 

August or September. 

--Said it costs about $6 million to refurbish the Solid 

Rocket Booster, including several hundred thousand dollars 

to tansport the SRB's from Florida to Utah and back. 

--Reported that NASA plans to complete three Shuttle Main 

engines in FY '82 and would like to produce about one engine 

ever;' four rnonkhs through 1985 in order to support four 

Orbiters 

--Said the third and fourth flight External Tanks will be 

rea>qied fa shipr~ent to KSC in 1981 and 1982, respectively, 

but that future deliveries "are under assessment, pending 

review of technical and budgetary issues and considering 

likely flight needs." (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-16-81, pp. 92-93, 

Vole 115, NO. 11) 

March 17: The panels of cork insulation that came unglued Erom 

the Space Shuttle's fuel tank during fueling exercises Jan. 

24 have been placed back on, an official at Kennedy Space 

Center said Monday. 

-8 3- 
“The work is moving right along pretty close to schedule,” 

said Thomas Wirth, Martin Mariett 

tank operations. “A11 the panels 

bonded down on the ship or are under vacuum cure,” 

In all, 32 panels have been glued ck onto the tank. The 

panels a€ insulation protect the minum skin of the 

Shuttleas fuel tank from the heat generated by friction 

during ascent. 

Wirth said the team of Martin tachnic ians, who are working 

on two shifts around the clock, still has plenty of work to 

do. They must conduct two tests to make sure the panels 

will stay on the tank. Then they will trim and smooth all 

the rouqh @Ages and finally apply a coating of silica foam 

insulation. 

Wirth said the technicains hope to start spraying on foam 

some time Wednesday. 

“Barring any trenendous weather problems, we intend to have 

it done in time to support the propellant loading test on 

the 23rd,” Wirth said. (TODAY, 3-17-81) 

ch 261: An enployee aE Rockwell lntcrnational warkfng on the 

Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia at #ennc;dy Space Center died 

Thursday after he and five other workers entered the aft end 

of the Orbiter after it had been purged with nitrogen gas. 

Five of the men lost consciousness in the nitrogen-rich 

environment. In addition to the man who died, another was 

listed in critical condition. An investigation has been 

ordered. (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-20-81, p. 122, Vol. 115, No. 15) 

<> Rockwell International was awarded a two-year, $158.8 

million contract modification by Kennedy Space Center 

Thursday for processing of the Space Shuttle Orbiter through 

launch and landing. The award, which runs to April 1982, 

brings Rockwell‘s Shuttle processing contract to $286 

million. (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-20-81, pm 122, Vole 115, NO* 15) 

-84- 
<> A Rockwell employeer John Bjornstad, 50, of Titusville, died 

shortly after noon, March 19, as the result of an accident 

earlier that day at the Rennedy Space Center, Fla. 

Six people were exposed to a pure nitrogen gas atmosphere 

while working on the Space Shuttle at approximately 9:30 

a.m. The group had entered the aft section of the orbiter 

following completion of the two-day long dry-countdown 

demonstration. This w 8 the final major sirnulatian prior to 

the first Shuttle launch in early April. 

At the time they entered the orbiter structure, the area was 

being purged with gaseous nitrogen. Although nitrogen is 

not toxic, it does exclude oxygen in the normal air from the 

area, causing loss of consciousness. 

All of the men were treated at the scene by the Kennedy 

Space Center's Occupational Health team and transported to 

the Health Facility in the KSC industrial a-ea, 

One person, Forrest Cole of Merritt Island, was intitially 

transported to Jess Parrish Hospital in Titusville and later 

was taken by helicopter to Shand's Teaching Hospital in 

Gainesville, where he WAS placed in the intensive care unit. 

A third person, William t. Wolford of Roekledge was taken to 

the Wuesthof f Hospital in Cocoa for observation. Three 

others were treated and released, 

Both NASA and Rockwell Intern-tional have formed 

investigation boards. The NASA Board is being headed by 

Charles Gay, Director of Expendable Vehicles. Charles 

Murphy, Launch and Landing Director for Rockwell, is heading 

their board. 

The other people who were treated an? released are: 

Nicholas Mullon, Merritt Island; J.L. Harper, Titusville; 

and Don Largent. 

All of the men except: Largent were technicians working for 

Rockwell International. Largent is an employee of blackenhut 

Services, Inc. (NASA NEWS RELEASE No. 81-42, 3-20-81) 

-as- 
runway for the space shuttle landing here 

ndition to support the first shuttle mission 

arly next month, barring any significant 

rainfall in the vicinity of the lakebed runway prior to 

launch. Edwards is the main landing site for the shuttle 

orbital flight test series. 

Last week seasonal rains resulted in some water on the 

aFSroach end aP Runway 23 in the area where the orbiter is 

expected to touch down, but the moisture is expected to dry 

completely by the end of the month. 

Backup runway t Edwards for the shuttle mission is Runway 

15, which is dry but currently undergoing needed repair work 

in preparation for the mission. Other lakebed runways 

designated as possible alternatives are runways 18 and 36. 

A microwave scanning beam landing system has been positioned 

for use on Runway 23 and is not capable of being moved on 

short notice in the event of a runway change, but NASA 

officials saiA the system is not a requirement for the 

initial flight. 

Precision approach path indicator (PAPI) lights will be 

operating on Runways 239 15 and 04, which is a hard surface 

runway. The lights are designed to provide shuttle 

cremembers with a visual reference during their rapid 

descent to let them know if the orbiter approach is too high 

or too low. (AVIATION MEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 3-23-81, D. 

241 VOl. 114, NQ. 12) 

’ <> Thirty-three-hour countdown demonstration test was completed 

on the space shuttle Mar. 19, clearing the way for the final 

critical tests before launch, 

The tests are high and low pressure hadings of the 

cryogenic propellant tanks scheduled to be done later this 

week. 

The demonstration last week coverec! virtually all aspects of 

the countdown except propellant loading and included ‘the 

astronaut crw as an integral part of the launch preparation 

procedures. 

-8 6- 
Among key events that took place were the warming of the 

inertial measuring unit, pressurization and checkout 0f the 

main engines, loading software in the main engine 

controller, loading software in the orbiter computers and 

closing the payload bay doors. 

The doors, closed Mar. 18, will remain closed until flight. 

Other activities in the countdown 

activating flight control systems, 

development flight instrumentation 

instrumentation was functioning, powering up the star 

tracker and putting all switches in the proper position. 

The crew cleared the orbiter at midnight, Mar. 18, and 

returned at 4:15 a.m. Mar. 19. John Young and Robert 

Crippen were in the cockpit for the final 2 hka of the 

count. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE ~EC~~OL~~Y, 3-23-81, p. 27, 

Vola 114, NO. 12) 

8 The $604 million cut from NASA's FY '82 budget by 

President Reagan will mean the loss of 15,000 eupectei' 

contractor jobs. I 

The agency's contractor ewtgloymenk ataod at 113pbJ80 last 

September and was projected to rise to 123,000 by September 

1982 under the Carter Administration's budget. The estimate 

has been pared to 108,200 under the Reagan budget. 

NASA's employment, at 22,613 last September will be cut to 

21,873 by September 19821 840 people less than planncl under 

the Carter budget. (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-24-81, p. 141, .~1. 

115, NO. 17) 

<> The 33-hour Dry Countdown Demonstration Test of the Space 

Shuttle Columbia was successfully completed last wee). 

George Page, Shuttle launch director, said $+everything An 

general went very well...I think everybody was pleased with 

today's run." (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-24-81, p. l4Ic Vole 315, 

NQ. 17) 

-87- 
<> Acting NASA Administrator Dr. Alan M, Lovelace reiterated 

last week that NASA's projected budgets for FY '03 t 

'84 provide "little or no funding wedge" for new 5t 

moreover, assume an inflation r te that is substantially 

below what it is now. 

We told the Sen te Subcommittee on Science, Technology 

Space that the agan A~mini~~~~ti~n is using an inflat 

estimate of 8,3% for FY '82, '7~ or FU '83 and for FY 

'$4. NASA is currently @~~@~i@ncing an inflation of about 

11 or 12 percent, he said. 

Subcommittee Chairman Jack Schmitt (RmP3.M.) indicated that 

he believes the 8.3 percent estimate is too low, citing a 

congressional study which calculated that the rate would he 

closer to the present figure. 

In his opening remarks, Schmitt, who has already said that 

he will not oppose the Reagan FY '82 funding level €or NASA, 

said, "It's time for the United States to recognize the 

relationship between our science and technology foundaticln 

and our national econony.w Ne said that NASA must do its 

part in the needed budgetary restr 

part of the "appropriate investment for the future." 

H@ said the FY '$2 ~~~~ b~~sgst is bindget 

representative of the world*^ first space power and it has 

not been for the past ten years." 

Citing the global Competition for exploiting the space 

environment, particularly from the Soviet Union, he said 

that as the Russians "continue to see America's support for 

a strong space program diminish, Soviet dominance will 

become even more evident." (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-24-81, 141, 

Vole 115, NO* 17) 

50 Working under funding from Pennsylvania State 

University and several aerospace companies planning to build 

Space Shuttle-related space systems, a Penn State aerospace 

engineering professor is examining the problems invc!*-r(3 in 

launching a satellite from the Shuttle, ips weal as csp vehicle 

to dispose of space debris. 

-88- 
Prof. Marshall H. Kaplan said the launch, mainten 

retrieval of satellites from the Shuttle will involve 

"tremendous problems." 

To launch a satellite, the Shuttle has 

spacecraft, which must drift for about 

far enough away to fire its booster rockets without 

endangering the Shuttle. 

4 

Because the satellite is not simultaneously pointed in the 

right direction, forced to spin, and thrust upward (as in 

expendable vehicle launch), the chances of its going into a 

tumble, losing its orientation and missing its precise final 

orbit ware substantially increased," Kaplan said. 

This is a major problem, he said, since not only is the 

plannd orbit at stake, but requires that consideration be 

given to such things as a satellite's size, shape, weight 

and fuel needs in designing a spacecraft to insure that it 

will go into the correct orbit. 

Kaplan said that one of the major objectives of this study 

is to provide the satellite with the "intelligence" it. needs 

to direct itself to its final orbit. Re is also locking at 

what type of propulsion system would best serve the needs 02 

shuttle-launched satellites particularly from the 

standpoint of safety. 

Kaplan's study also includes an investigation of ways to 

remove man-made space debris, e.g., remnants of launch 

vehicles and old, non-functioning satellites, from Earth 

orbit. 

In particular, he is stuijying the design, docking ca- city 

and other details of remotely controlled space vehicles that 

would orbit for a period of months, maneuver to a numbor of 

objects, and then either pick them up for return to Ed th, 

or attach a retro-rocket to them to propel them into the 

Earth's atmosphere where they would burn up. (DEFEW 

DAILY, 3-25-81, p. 146, VOl. 115, NO. 18) 

-89- 
<> 2-A. Mr. Griffin reported that Vice President Bush's visit 

to KSC on March 17 was considered a success and KSC's 

handling of the event was very professional. 

Nr. Griffin requested a brief status report after the Senior 

Staff meeting on the investigation of the Bad A accident. 

DK. Buchanan stated tha le, one of the 

victims, remains hospit in critical eon 

that he is showing impr of his vital f 

(heart, lungs and ki 

personnel at Bad A a 

stationed at the pad. 

should determine the resources required to provide an 

ambulance at Pad A when the Shuttle vehicle is there. 

2-F. Mr. Hollinshead announced that KSC has been requested 

to participate in the SHARP Program (Student High School 

Apprentice Research Program) again. KSC has sixteen 

students to place in meaningful jobs in scientific/research 

fields. (EXECUTIVE STAFF NOTES I 410-81, PPI 1-21 

r Acting NASA Administrator Dr. Alan W. Lovelace told 

the Senate Space Subccmmittee yesterday that the agency has 

asked Congress to allow it to proceed with development of a 

wide-body Centaur ragpcr stage fer the fpca Shuttle and 

asserted that wa sole source contract %,ath ~~~~~~~~ Dynamics 

for the development and pro3uction'* of the stage is 

essential to meet the 198% launch date for the Galileo 

Jupiter OrbiterJProbe. 

However, subcommittee chairman Jack Schmitt (R-N.M.) did not 

commit himself in any way to support €or the NASA plan, 

emphasizing that the important thicg is to select the best 

upper stage that can meet the long-term needs of both NASA 

and the Defense Department, not just to satisfy the 

requirements for Galileo. 

Asked by Schmitt what the savings would be from dropping the 

three-stage inertial Upper Stage and going to Centaur for 

Galileo, allowing a single launch in 1985 instead oE a dual 

launchc Lovelace said the costs would be "about equal.'. 

The savings from the single launch would be offset by the 

higher development costs for Centaur. (DEFENSS DAILY, 

3-26-81, p. 153, Val. 115, NO. 19) 

-90- 
rch 27: NASA Wednnsday successfully conducted the fueling 

test on the Space Shuttle External Tank, with no indication 

of separation of any of the thermal insulation tiks on the 

tank. In the initial fueling of the tank in January, some 

35 insulation tiles were debsnded and had to be rebonded. 

Wednesday's test began at 10~30 AH and concluded at 9 PM 

after several technical problems were encountered and 

cvercome. A final fueling test, to check out fu 

;jrocedures, is scheduled today. ~~i~~~ launch sf the 

Shuttle remains scheduled for the priP 5, with 

April 10 considered a good bet. (DE~E~~E DAILY, 3-27-81, 

p. 167, Val. 115, NO. 20) 

<> "There was a certain Walter Mitty excitement factor out 

there. It was like meeting Lou Gehrig when I was 12 years 

old. It was a thrill, a tremendous thrill." 

That's how Vicz President George Bush described his 

introduction to the Space Shuttle Columbia and prime crew 

astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen here last week. 

After climbing into the orbiterQs cockpSt, ush eased into 

the comanderqs seat end received a first-hand report on 

America's new spaceship from the crew who will pilot the 

craft on its first voyage into space. 

"Hey .l.ist@n, I looked over at Crip and John...and for the 

first 30 seconds I was a little dizzy lying there with the 

blood rushing to my head. To see that penel...and obviously 

just begin to comprehend the tip of the iceberg in terns of 

the technology, why it came home to me rather dramatically 

how irqressive this whole thing is." 

Obviously enthused by his visit to the launch pad, Bush 

later addressed the RSC workforce from the Launch Control 

Center, giving a hearty endorsement to the Shuttle pry'!rarn 

and heaping praise on the men and women who are making it a 

reality. 

*I just can't tell you how impressed 1 am with what I've 

seen and what X know to be the sense of mission that a19 of 

you have," said the Vice President. *This program is going 

to go forward. I don't believe the American people have yet 

begun to fully unf;rstand what your efforts mean, not just 

to this generation but to future generations." 

-91- 
Bush, in comments broadcast around the center over the 

public address system, said the new administration in 

Washington views the space program as having "tremendous 

national i~po~tanc@" and he co~endea KSC employees for 

their "seSif3Less work for this country." 

The Vice President told space center workers that he 

believes the ShuQt%e8rs first mission will r@-aw~~~n the 

nation's sense of pride. 

His praise for the SC workforce w s echoed by acting NASA 

Administrator Dr. Alan Lovelace, who flew down from 

Washington to accompany Bush on his tour of the space 

center. 

"You can't say too much to compliment the NASA-contractor 

team down here," Lovelace told SPACEPORT NEWS. "I think 

this is a super event for the Vice President to come down 

here," he added. 

Bush and his wife met the prime crew astronauts on the deck 

of the ShuPtleqo mobile launcher platform, were the special 

visitors were presented with a model of the Shuttle Eiid two 

Landsat ph~tos -- one of Houston, Texaso where they resided 

prior to moving to Washington, and another of Mrs. Bush's 

~o~~to~n in Maine. 

Bush met with reporters at the new Complex 39 press site and 

reiterated the administration's support for the Shuttle 

program. 

"We're committed to the Shuttle," he said. "We think jt has 

an extraordinarily useful role to play. This prograrr. will 

have the opportunity of recharging the country, of gtLting 

its optimism up. I love it when something good happens to 

the United States.' (SPACEPORT NEWS, 3-27-81, p. 1 6r 7, 

Vol. 20, No. 7) 

C> Above all else, we must be a team - and Joe Fitzsinnor;. who 

has been with the space program at. KSC since the Merecry and 

Gemini years, sees the Shuttle team growing stronger, day by 

day. 

-92- 
.- 

Fitzsimmons has seen a lot of changes here since he reported 

to work for NASA two weeks after John Glenn's historic 

orbital space flight in 1962. 

In those days, he was a co-op student from Georgia Tech, 

working in operations support. Later, he vas test canductor 

for the lunar module which carried astronaut eo the surface 

of the Moon during the Apollo ~~~~r~

Today, he's a test conductor for the Shuttle, manning a 

console in the Launch Control Center's Firing Room 1. 

KSC's a different place these days -- there's a different 

launch vehicle and a different way of doing things. 

But one important ingredient hasn't changed, he says. 

"The enthusiasm we had with the earlier m nned programs is 

still here," says Fitzsimons. "Launch fever? These people 

have got it. 1 see T-shirts, badgesr stickers everywhere P 

look, ever since the vehicle rolled out af khe QPF." 

In the "old days," he recallsr engin~~s watched their 

consoles intently, ready to simg aut %e problems arose. Now 

computers monitor the systems, sound the alarm, or even 

initiate an automatic shutdown. 

The sparse population of engineers in Firing Room 1 during a 

Shuttle mission simulation is in sharp contrast to the 

"crowd scenes" of the Apollo days but the comparison is 

deceptive, he says. 

"There are fewer people actually sitting at consoleL he 

points out, "but there are a lot more writing programs €or 

the computers behind those consoles.* 

But in spite of all the automation, words exchanged :-.- 

person-to-person remain critically important, he adds. 

In the early stages of Apollo, he recalls, there was a lot 

of explaining of terms, until everyone learned what the 

other fellow was saying and until the same words meant the 

same thing to everybody. 

-93- 
.. * , 

"It's been similar in the early Shuttle program," says 

Fitzsimmons. ut itls all coming together, I see it 

blending, solidifying day by day," 

FOP KSC workers like Fitzsimmons, who cut their teeth on the 

they worked ana the first shuttle mission has been a long 

one. 

hts, the gap b tween the last Wpoklo flight 

With the wait now almost over, Fitzsimsns and his teammates 

in Firing Ro 1 are *gorn for launch, (SPACEmRT N 

3-27-83., p. Vol. 20, No. 3) 

<> Dave Moja gazes out towards Complex 39 from his window in 

the Operations and Checkout Building and sees a lot more 

than the Space Shuttle Columbia. 

His eyes return to the colorful transparencies on his desk. 

"'b~e~re looking some years into the future8" says Naja, of 

KSC's Future t-ospace Projects Office. 

He's part of a team at KSC which coordinates ~~Q~rn~~~ 

planning with other NASA centers, performing pioneer studies 

to determine KSC facilities and operations support 

requirements for a broad range of candidate projects. 

Orbiting way stations supporting spaceflight to 

geOSynChroRoUS orbit and beyond, space platforms where 

science and applications research is performed, enormous 

satellites to beam solar power toward an energy-hungry world 

- these are the types of missions Moja deals with. 

It's a study not of what will be, but of what might be. 

"We are the focal point at KSC for the agency's advanced 

planning efforts. 

-94- 
"As studies at the other centers progress, we initiate ou': 

own to concentrate on ground operations planning. Xe'rc 

going to have studies starting this fall on what would have 

to change at KSC €or any of these options which may one day be pursued," he explained, 

Moja represents KSC on future project studies managed by the 

Johnson Space Center. Tom Feaster is KSC's representative 

for projects managed by the Marshal.1 Space Flight Cexter. 

And Dr. Gerry Sharp works advanced planning for future 

scientific payloads. 

Some of the nearer term possibilities involve orbital aids 

which would be employed aboard the Shuttle, says Noja. 

These would be things like the Power Extension Package that 

would allow extended Shuttle power and duration or the 

graphically named "cherry picker" -- essentially an open 

work station attached to the end of the orbiter's remote 

manipulator arm. 

Other future possibilities the KSC office is involved ir: 

studying are new launch vehicles derived from the current 

Space Shuttle. One concept of a Shuttle-derived rocket 

employs all the existing propulsion elements of the Shuttle 

but replaces the orbiter with a cylindrical cargo vehicle 

which would not be manned. Such a configuration could 

substantially increase payload capacity. 

But one of the most exciting pros~ects under preliminary 

study is the Space Operations Center - a permanently manned 

station which would serve as an orbital depot. 

"This would be a base for orbital transfer vehicles - a way 

station for travel to geosynchronous orbit and perhapa for 

planetary flighks," explained Moja, "These are what *.e call 

habitation modulesc" said Moja, pointing with the back end 

of his pen at several can-shaped appendages on an orbiting 

strxture depicted before him. c 

The Space Operations Center would be a shuttle-launcnea, 

shuttle-serviced facility which would be re-supplied every 

90 days to permit continuous operation. 

-95- 
An advantage of such an orbital base, Moja said, would be 

the capability to support integrating a number of satellites 

onto a single structure where they would, perhaps, share a 

common power source and be launched toward geosynchronous 

orbit as one unit. 

A beam builder device at the center could facilitate the 

construction of other large structures. 

Another prospect - the Science and Space Applications 

Platform - would be an unmanned orbiting laboratory from 

which experiments in a range of scientific disciplines would 

be conducted, 

Whatever's in store over the next 20 years of space travel, 

it's a sure bet KSC's Future Aerospace Projects Office will 

have visited it before the rest of US. (SPACEPORT NEWS, 

3-27-81, p. 5r Vole 20, NO. 7) 

arch 30: Return of the space shuttle to Kennedy Space Center 

after its first flight to begin preparations for the second 

orbital flight test mission could require up to one rsnth if 

the shuttle is forced to make an emergency landing at the 

White Sands backup recovery site, amid up to two months if 

the orbiter has to land at one of three designated 

contingency airfields averseas. 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials are 

prepared to rush some of the most essential shuttle recovery 

equipment to Northrup Strip at White Sands Missile Range, 

N.M., on short notice in USAF/Lockheed C-5 aircraft should 

the shuttle abort its mission on the first orbit, or have an 

underburn when its orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engines 

are fired for deorbit. The underburn would result in %e 

shuttle landing at White Sands, about 700 miles southeast of 

Edwards. 

The essential recovery equipment - called a mini-convoy - 

includes a 132,OOQ-Pb. purge transporter to disperse 

propellant fumes from the aft end of the orbiter, a lz:-ge 

ground coolant transporter to cool shuttle avionics gear and 

other electronic componentsp two vehicles used to connect 

the purge and cooling umbilicals to outlets on the aft end 

of the orbiter and crewinember egress vehicle. (AVKATTON 

WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGHI 3-30-81, p. 721 Vol. 13.4, No. 13) 

-96- 
March 31: The External Tank of the Space Shuttle Columbia 

successfully passed the second of two fueling tests Fridey 

and NASA today, following a flight readiness review at 

Kennedy Space Center, is expected to set Friday, April 10, 

as the launch date for the first Space Shuttle flight. 

The fuel loading tests Wednesday and Friday which involved 

loading of 526,000 gallons of liquid oxygen hydrogen, were 

designed to test the adhesion of the ET'S cork and foam 

insulating panels, some 35 of which came loose during an 

earlier fueling test. 

Shuttle launch director George Page reported that the two 

fueling tests "were successful. We have absolutely no 

debonding problem." 

As a result, "we feel the 10th is a viable launch date," 

Page said Sunday. (DEFENSE DAILY, 3-31-81, p. 178, Vol. 

115, NO. 22) 

-97- 
April 1981 

April 1: NASA's space science chief Andrew J. Stofan 

reiterated last week that NASA plans to launch the Venus 

Orbiting Imaging Radar (VOIR) and Gamma Ray Observatory in 

1988 instead of 1986 because of deletion of new start funds 

for the programs by the ]Reagan Administration, leaving open 

the question of where the money will come from tc fund the 

programs in FY '83-85 -- years where NASA is projected to 

have new start funds. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-1-81, p. 189, Vol. 

115, No. 23) 

<> All seventeen Republican members 02 the 40-member House 

Committee on Science & Technology, whose responsibility 

includes authorizing funds for NASA, have informed committee 

chairman Don Fuqua (D-Fla.) that they will oppose increases 

above the Reagan Administration request for all agencies in 

the committee's purview in FY '82. 

The action is a break with the previous bipartisan n2ture of 

the committee's actions. With Democrat and Republican 

support, the committee has tended to boost the NASA budget 

several tens of millians of dollars in previous years. 

In a letter to Fuqua last week, the 17 GOP members of the 

committee stated: "We intend to support fully the overall 

budget levels proposed by the Reagan Administration for each 

of the agencies under the committee's jurisdiction. This is 

not to say that we are unanimous (in) our support for the 

exact dollar amounts €or various programs within each 

agency. Clearly, we have some reasonable differences nere, 

both among members and between ourselves and the 

Administration. However, we do agree that it is absolutely 

essential once subcommittee and full committee mark-ups are 

coixluded that the 'bottom line' Pigure for each agency not 

exceeil the President*s proposals even by small amounts. 

"...During our authorization hearings, we have all heard 

pleas for funding for some programs above the Presid..:'~ 

request. Taken in isolationp many of these pleas hacr: 

merit. But what the minority members wish to emphasize is 

the overriding importance of approving the Administration ' s 

funding levels as a means to national recovery. Exceptions, 

no matter how limited, will inevitably lead to a flood of 

further budget additions." (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-1-81, p: 190, 

Vole 115, MO. 23) 

-98- 
April 2: During the past three years, the funds appropriated 

for construction of Space Shuttle facilities for the Air 

Force have totaled $364.1 million, including $286.7 million 

for facilities at Vandenberg AFB, Johnson Space Center, and 

Cape Canaveral, and the reprogramming of $77.4 million to 

cover launch complex cost overrun at Vandenberg. Another 

$38.2 million is requested for FY 1982, including $19.9 

million for Vandenberg and $18 million for solid rocket 

booster retrieval and disassembly facility at Port Hueneme, 

Calif. The initial operational capability d 

Vandenberg is August 1984, with an initial c 

about 10 launches per year. It is planned to increase that 

rate to a maximum of 20 per year. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-2-81, 

p. 196, Val. 115, NO. 24) 

<> 

<> 

Grrmman Aerospace Corp. is being awarded a contract by 

NASA's Johnscn Space Center to study simulations to verify 

the conceptual designs of Space Shuttle Orbiter-hnsed 

construction equipment. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-2-S?. p. 196, 

Vola 115, NO. 24) 

NASA announced yesterday that the Space Shuttle Columbia is 

ready to fly and set Friday, April 10 as the date for the 

maiden Shuttle flight. If all goes as scheduledr tkbc launch 

will take place 45 minutes after sunrise, Astronauts John 

Young and Robert Crippen will be at the controls of thc 

Orbiter for the planned 36-orbit, 54-1./2-kour flight, which 

will land at the dry lake bed at Edwards AFB, California. 

The maiden launch is two years and a month behind the 

schedule set a decade ago. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-2-81, p. 199, 

Vol. 115, No. 24) 

: Ten years of research and development, schedule 

slips, underfunding, cost growth and vacillating po!'-ical 

support are behind the space shuttle. A new decade is about 

to open for the reusable space launch system that has 

absorbed a dominant share of NASA's budget since its 

inception. 

While the confirmation and appointment process plodded on 

for the agency's new politically appointed leadership last 

week, the acting heads of the agency and shuttle program 

managers sat down at the Kennedy Space Center and committed 

as firmly as possible under the circumstances to a realistic 

launch date for the first shuttle flight -- April 10. 

-99- 
Launch preparation work for the initial trip of the fourflight orbital test program for the shuttle is two shifts 

behind -- less than a full day. That is a far cry from the 

black days of the tile bonding problems when the schedule 

delays were measured in weeks or months. Barring some 

unforeseen accident or critical unexpected failure, the 

shuttle is ready to go. 

Weather is now the biggest foreseeable hazard to the launch 

schedule. Mission requirements for the Kennedy launch site 

and abort runway there, the planned landing site at Edwards 

AFB, California, and Northrup Strip at White Sands, N.N., 

are no more than 50% cloud cover, no more than 10 kt. tailor crosswind or 25 kt headwind. April weather records show 

there is only an 11% chance to get these weather conditions 

on any given day. 

There is a 6-hr. 30-min. launch window after sunrise, but 

clearly plenty of opportunity for recycling from one day to 

another waiting for the right meteorological conditions. It 

will be a familiar uncertainty to veteran launch watchers. 

No. 14) 

(AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 4-6-81, p. 111 Vole 114, 

<> Discipline over areas with controlled access and 

communications procedures are being tightened here in the 

wake of a space shuttle launch pad accid6nt Narch 19 that 

killed two Rockwell International employees and injured four 

others. Rockwell employee John G. Bjornstad died the day of 

the accident and Forrest Cole died April 1. 

The Roikwell International work tean entered the aft 

fuselage section of the shuttle orbiter Columbia and were 

overcome by a 100% nitrogen atmosphere that deprived them of 

oxygen. The aft fuselage area houses the space shuttlt main 

engine propellant manifold and engine power heads. It is 

commonly maintained in a 100% nitrogen purge to prevent 

buildup of any possible leaking oxygen or hydrogen gas. 

"We have spruced up a lot of the discipline control areas 

and we are now doing fewer things in parallel than w:- .;ere 

before," according to George F. Page, Kennedy shuttle 

operations director. Final report of the accident 

investigation team has not be releasedI but a high NASA 

official said cause of the accident was largely a 

-100- 
communications problem. "Communications and understanding 

of the overall pad team was less than perfect," according to 

preliminary information, the official said. "The safety 

guys who give the all-clear €or work mean the all-clear €or 

areas of noinal work or areas that are explicitly not closed 

for access. 

"The access area to the aft fuselage had a rope and a sign, 

but the sip used was the same kind of sign used to 

Dasically control access as opposed to hazards. They were 

not using the hazards sign, so the rope was taken down by 

people who thought it was okay to enter when in fact it was 

supposed to have been taken down by safety monitors after 

they had sampled the area €or gas. The sign was taken down 

by an access monitor, preliminary information indicates," he 

said. 

"It was a communications problem. Now they are going to 

make sure everybody understands the rules and will probably 

announce over the intercom the specific exceptions involved 

in pad access." 

The accident investigation team has been interviewing 

numerous individuals at Kennedy Space Center. Managers say 

no pressure is being applied to finish the final acci2ent 

report in order to enhance schedule to first shuttle 

launch. The accident report is not expected to affect 

scheduling. (AVIATION WEEK fi SPACE TECHNOLOGYl 4-6-81, pp. 

18-19, 1.701. 114, NO. :4) 

<> NASA has awarded contracts worth $96 million to Honeywell 

Information Systems to provide computers €or the central 

data system of the Space Shuttle Launch Processing S:-ctems 

at Kennedy Space Center and Vandenberg AFB. The LPS 

automatically checks out the Shuttle while it is bei.dg 

prepared for launch. For FY '82 the contracts are valued at 

$30 million, and carry options valued at $66 million (+rough 

FY '86. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-6-81, p. 215, VOl. 115, NO, 26) 

<> U.S. space shuttle project management has taken measlires to 

prevent the shuttle's air-to-ground command links from being 

interfered with by the Soviet Union OK terrorist 

organizations. 

-101- 
Protection of the air-to-ground command capability will be 

achieved manually for the first shuttle mission and will 

involve a data encryption capability by the fifth shuttle 

flight. 

During early flights, before the tracking and data relay 

satellite system is available, Soviet or terrorist groups 

would Rave to make interference attempts while the shuttle 

is within line of site. TDRSS, however, would provide an 

adeitional line-of-sight target dolt would-be forces of 

interference. TDRSS will be protected against unwanted 

rad io penetration. 

The space shuttle has so much onboard autonomous capability 

that harmful interference would probably be unsuccessful if 

attempted. Such attempts could, however, deprive ground 

stations of data. 

During launch and emergency, abort calls should be made from 

the Mission Control Center in Houston, but the spacecraft 

itself has displsys to show the abort modes available to the 

crew. (AVIATION WEEK 6 SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 4-6-81, p. 17, 

Vol. 114, No. 14) 

atil 7: The Soviet Union cha~rged Saturday that the United 

States plans to use the Space Shuttle for nturning outer 

space into an arena of battle for America's dominance of 

Earth. 

The Tass News Agency said the Pentagon is "intensively 

preparing for using outer space ;or military purpose," using 

the so-called "Soviet threat" as an excuse for buildinr; up 

the military aspects of the space program. 

"Having failed to achieve a military superiority on Earth, 

the U.S. strategists are switching to outer space,n it 

said. Tass also charged that the U.S. wants to break the 

agreement barring deployment of nuclear weapons in space. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 4-7-8S.r p. 233, Vola 115, NO, 27) 

<> The 73-hour countdown for the maiden flight of the Space 

Shuttle Columbia at 6:50 AM this Friday began at 11:30 PM 

Sunday. The countdown includes six "holds" totaling 30 

hours and 20 minutes. 

-102- 
NASA yesterday expected to fix a short circuit that 

developed Sunday in a wire between a control box and a 

"pogo" nuppression valve in the Space Shuttle Main Engine 

system which caused the valve to pop open. NASA yesterday 

also replaced a leaky oxygen valve in ground equipment 

supporting Columbia's fuel cell generator. The replacement 

delayed work by about three hours, but the lost time is 

expected to be made up by lat: today. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

4-7-81, p. 223, Vole 115, NO, 27) 

: Acting NASA Administrator Alan Lovelace has 

acknowledged that it is likely that the Space Shuttle will 

not be able to handle all of the payloads on its manifest 

over the next four years and said NASA is looking at 

increased use of expendable vehicles, such as Delta, for 

some civilian payloads. 

The problem, cited by Chairman Edward P. Boland of the House 

HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee, is that NASA now 

believes it can build only 32 to 40 External Tanks per year 

by the end of 1985 rather than the 48 that are required for 

the missions on the manifest. Lovelace cited the need to 

draw manpower from ET production to deal with the ET'S 

rebonding problem at KSC. (DEFEHSE DAILY, 4-8-81, p. 229, 

Vol. 115, No. 28) 

April 9: The Space Shuttle Cclumbia remains on schedule for 

its maiden launch at 6:50 AM tomorrow morning from Kennedy 

Space Center. At 4 PM EST Wednesday the countdown for 

launch was a hold at T-23 hours, with four hours remaining 

in the hold before countdown was to be resumed. (DEFENSE 

DAILY- 4-9-81, p. 233, Vol. 115, No. 29) 

ril 3-11: A puzzling computer breakdown forced postponement of 

the hunching of the space shuttle Columbia Friday, al.7 

space agency officials pressed to reschedule it for Sdnday. 

The earliest the orbital test mission could blast off is 

6:50 a.m. Sunday. But until the comput@r problem in the 

spaceship could be COKKecte?ld, officials were unable to say 

when the reusable winged Columbia would be cleared for 

another launch attempt. 

-103- 
Friday night, engineers at Johnson Space Center in Houston 

identified the source of the malfunction as a timing fault 

in one set of spaceship computers that disrupted 

communications with the backup computer. 

What repairs were required and what effect they would nave 

on launching plans would not be decided until officials at 

the Johnson Space Center held a telephone conference with 

officials of the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral at 

midday today. 

Arnold D. Aldrich, the shuttle deputy program manager at the 

Johnson Center, said the problem was a "time skew" traced to 

the operating instructions programmed into the Columbia's 

primary computers. It caused the primary computers to 

reject communications from the backup computer because they 

did ;lot arrive when expected. 

Launching crews at the Kennedy Space Center planned to keep 

the spaceship ready through today so the countdown could be 

resumed rt 6 p.m. today, aiming for a Sunday mGrning liftoff * 

The crews were not to begin refueling the shuttle Rater 

today until they received a favorable report on the computer 

problem from engineers and electronics experts at the 

Johnson Center. 

After the Launch postponement was announced at 9:56 a.m. 

Friday, crews went to the launching pad and helped Young and 

Crippen out of the cockpit. They had been confined to their 

couches, lying with their faces skyward, for more than six 

hours. The lift-off had been scheduled for 6:50 a.m. 

Young appeared grim as he returned to the astronaut quarters 

at the space center. He and Crippen hsve been in training 

three years for the missionr which already is more than two 

years behind schedule because of development problems with 

the shuttle's propulsion system and heat-shielding tiles. 

The computers, ironically, relatively had been free of 

problems during the $10 billion development program. 

Friday was the first time in 15 years that U.S. astronauts 

had encountered such a frustration on the launching pad. 

Having a launching mscrubbed,A as it is known in space, 

vernacular, was a Lrsquent occurrence in the initial manned 

flight program of Hercury. 

-104- 
.. 

But the last time it happened was May 17, 1966, when the 

Gemini 9 astronauts, Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. 

d to walk awa r spacecraft af 

et craft they n~e~~ou~ with f 

t. They did no 

~S~~V~R, (Raleigh, El. C.) 

<> A simple failure to communicate among computers that would 

not wtalk" to each other delayed the maiden flight of the 

space shuttle Columbia Friday morning. 

The ship carries five computers in a data-processing system 

that runs almost every aspect of operation. Pt is designed 

to keep working even if one fails. 

Four of the computers have identical programs, or detailed 

lists of instructions for specific operations. The fifth 

has a simpler backup program for emergency use. 

Late in the countdowna the launch crew discovered that the 

backup computer was not trading data -- @'talking," in 

computer parlance -- with the four main computers. This 

left the potential for a complete camputez-system failure 

should the four main units somehow go awry, 

Mission Control would not let the spacecraft take off 

without the entire computer system in working order. 

The source of trouble seemed to bt- in the program written 

for the backup computer. The launch was delayed while 

technicians made a painstaking line-by-line check of its 

program. (THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 4-11-81] 

April 13: On his first full day back in the White House since 

he was wounded in an assassination attempt, President Reagan 

arose at 6:50 A.M. today to watch the televised launching of 

the space shuttle Columbia on its first orbital flight. 

"It's a spectacular sight," Mr. Reagan exclaimed, according 

to Carry Speakes, the deputy White House press secretary. 

-105- 
Space Shuttle Columbia launched into history at 07013 EST, 

April 12, 1981; STS-1 conc’ided successfully with the 

landing at Edwards AFE, California, on April 14. 

-106- 
In a nessage read to the Columbia astrorauts by George F, 

Page, the mission director, Mr. Rergan sard, "May God bless 

you and may God bring you safely home to us again-'' 

TEXT OF STATEMENT 

You go forward this morning in a daring enterprise and you 

take the hopes and prayers of all Americans with you. You 

go in the hand of God and draw on the courage of life. 

Our countryman and poet, William Cullen Bryant, said America 

is where "mankind throws cff its iast fetterd." With yxr 

exploits we loosen one more. 

"Who," he said, "shall place a limit to the giant's 

strength, or curb his swiftness in the forward race." 

Through you, today we all feel as giants once again. Once 

again we feel the surge of pride that comes from knowing we 

ar2 the first and we are the best and we are so because we 

are free. 

For all Americans, Nancy and I thank you and che 50,003 

others who have worked to make this 6317 F ,ibl~. AS YOU 

hurtle from earth in a craft unlike any other ever 

constructed, yoc will do so in a feat of Aiiericaii technolcgy 

and American will. May God bless you and may God brin? 1 JU 

safely home to us again. (THE NEW YORK TIFES, 4-13-81) 

<> House opponents of the Halley Intercept Mission say that L..e 

$5 million added to the FY '82 budgot by the House Science 

Committee for further study of the mission is inadequate to 

carry out thz project on the required schedule f3r th. 1986 

return of Halley's Comet. They say $30 million woula ue 

needed in FY '82 if the $2504300 million mission is &3 be 

conducted. NASA did not request funds r the project from 

the Carter Administration because it had higher priority 

projects. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-13-81, p. 252, Vol. 1:5, No. 

31) 

<> A Chinsse news report late last week said tho Space 

Shuttle's principal objective is military operations, with 

reconnaissance from synehronous orbits beyond the rsnge of 

Soviet antisatellite devices. Because of this missiorm, the 

Soviets have always been against the Space Shuttle type of 

vehicle, the report said. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-13-81, p. 253, 

Vol. 115, No. 31) 

-107- 
April 14: The Space Shuttle Columbia, piloted by astronauts 

John Ycung cn6 Bob Crippen, which flew into history Sunday 

in the mcliden launch in the Shuttle program, is scheduled to 

land on the dry lake bed at Edwards AFB, Calif., at 1:28 

(EST) this afternoon, ending a near-perfect 54 1/2 hour 

mission. 

The major anomaly in the mission i5 the loss of an estimated 

15 insulation tile5 on the Columbia's two OMS pods -- an 

area which will not be subjected to maximum heat loads and 

an area not critical to bringing the spacecraft through 

reen try, 

Despite speculation about the possible loss of critical 

"black tiles" on the underside of the vehicle, flight 

director Neil Hutchinson said, "We're not worried about any 

others (tiles) being loose.81 As for what caused the 15 

tiles to debond, he said, "It's fairly obvious the 

phenomenon was shock waves in the ascent that we didn't 

anticipate." 

Top secret Air Force telescope cameras in Hawaii and Florida 

were scheduled to "inspect" the underside of the Shuttle -- 

flying at an altitude of 170 miles -- yesterday to see if 

any tiles had, in fact, come off. 

Deputy flight director Gene Krnnz said the return could be 

handled a little differently if some underside tiles are 

missing, e.g., turning off some electrical lines in the 

underside of the Orbiter and some of the coolant pipes in 

the spacecraft's wings. 

tiirwever, he said, "I want to emphasize that we are nL 

concerned about the til-es." (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-14-81, p, 256, 

Vole 115, NO. 32) 

<> It's the number one song 172 miles above the Earth. 

Aboard the Space Shuttle, Jerry Rucker's "Blastoff Co,,3bia" 

served as a country-western alarm clock Monday for 

astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen. 

Rucker, a 36-year-old technician for Martin-Marietta a.t the 

Kennedy Space Center, said it was his love of the space 

program that inspired the song. 

-108- 
"I thought it needed a song,'' he said. 

Sung by Roy McCall, of Titusville, "Blastoff Columbia" was 

published by Silver Pelican Go. in Maitland. 

For now the song, like the Shuitle, is in the spotlight. 

"According to my publisher, the song is being played all 

over the United States. I have a feeling the record will 

get notice after the landing. This is something America can 

be proud oflw said Rucker, who lives in nearby Geneva and 

writes gospel music as a hobby. 

"This means more to me than any I've written so far. It 

really came from the heart,'' he said. 

The words to the song are: 

We have liftoff. It's beautiful. It's leaving the pad. 

Well, many, many hours went: into this thing. A job -.+-e11 

done by the Shuttle space team, We can't nay that she's 

sleek and lean, but 3'11 tell you right now, she8s a mean 

machine -- The Columbia. 

Not the kind you smoke, this here bird. She's high on 

herse 1 f . 

Rockwell, Martin, USBI, all got together and they gi- 't a 

try. You oughta see that sucker fly. Thar she goes, now 

wave bye bye. 

These solid rocket booster's hanging off the side, lo!. . out 

boys you're in for a ride. She's gonna switch into 

overdrive. Just lay back and let her slide. 

Don't hit any fence posts on the way up there boys. ' Flip in 

the switch.. .Awlright. 

-109- 
CriFpen and John are in the driver's seat...Home Sweet Home 

never sounded so sweet. After this ride, they're gonna be 

beat . 

Shook their socks off. Rest of the time when G-2...Hold on 

boys. Awlright. (TODAY, 4-14-81) 

<> More tkan 200,000 people, undaunted by warnings of 

rattlesnake; and snarled traffic, were expected to welcome 

home the Space Shuttle Columbia today when it glides to a 

landing on a sunbaked lake bed in the Mojave Desert. 

"This is the only time we're ever going to see anything like 

this," said Francis Bonar, one of hundreds of early arrivals 

at Rogers Dry Lake on this remote desert air base. 

Chamber of Commerce officials in nearby Lancaster Monday 

estimated the crowd would top 200,000 by the time the 

world's first roundtrip spaceship is scheduled to touch down 

at 1:28 a.m. EST after orbiting the globe for 2 1/2 days. 

Lancaster Mayor Fred Hann predicted the biggest crowd in the 

city ' s h is tory. 

Tents and trailers began packing a public viewing area 3 1/2 

miles from the landing site Sunday night. Awnings were 

being erected across the lake bed where VIP's, including Air 

Force Secretary Verne Orr, were to watch the landing. 

A mini-midway complete with hot dog, peanut and beer stands 

sprang up in the public viewing area. Early arrivals 

snapped up Space Shuttle T-shirts and kats. Some planted 

American flags in the hard desert ground at their campsites. 

(TODAY I 4-14-8 1 j 

<> MOSCOW, cowenking on the flight oi the Space Shuttle 

Columbia yesterday, continued Its criticism of the 

spacecraft as an instrument of the arms raceo "Work on the 

shuttle began 10 years ago. The American military connected 

it with far reaching plans to extend the arms race to 

space. An important element of the very first mission is 

the testing of a sighting device for laser weapons." 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 4-14-81, p. 257r Vole 115, No. 32) 

-110- 
<> 

<> 

Asked yesterday if the Reagan Administration is going to be 

responsive to the calls for added space efforts by the 

United States, in the wake of the success of Space Shuttle 

Columbia, such as joint missions with the Europeans, White 

House spokesman Larry Speakes said, "Once we get our NASA 

people appointed, we will discuss it with them." (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 4-14-81, p. 257, Vole 115, NO. 32) 

Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.) says the Space Shuttle, 

originally estimated to cost $5 billion, will actually cost 

about $20 billion, or "about $400 for every American 

family." Proxmire, who has been a persistent critic of the 

Space Shuttle program, told ABC"s "Issues and Answers" 

Sunday that the program is being "grossly oversold." He 

said the United States is "putting a truck up in the sky and 

we're being told it's a second coming." Sen. Harrison 

Schmitt (R-N.M.), chairman of the Senate Space Subcommittee, 

also on the program, said, mWe really have no alternative. 

The new ocean of space is there. We opened it up far more 

than the Soviets did, But the competition between 

oppression and freedom has now expanded i n t o t h a t arena." 

Schmitt added that the U.S. "must be there as dominant, if 

not more so, than any other nation." (DEFENSE DAILY, 

4-14-81, pe 257, Vole 115, NO. 32) 

April 15: Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio), who has not hsd much to 

say about the space program since coming to the Senate, said 

Sunday that the money being spent on the Space Shuttle is 

justified, 

('1 think it: would be worth every nickel spent on it just for 

the military uses the Shuttle and the space program can be 

put to,'* he said. "But we're not doing that. We're 3ing a 

lot of civilian research and new material developmenr in 

addition to military uses of surveillance and communications 

and perhaps defensive weapons," possibly including "lasers 

in space" that could shoot down Soviet ICBM's aimed at the 

U.S. 

As for U.S./Soviet cooperation in space, Glenn noted that in 

1962, when he orbited the Earth in the first U.S. manned 

orbital flight, "I proposed...that we get together, the 

astronauts and the cosmonauts," but nGthing came of it but 

one Apollo-Soyuz mission. "I think it probably would be 

pretty late in the game to do that now," he said. @@We seem 

to be pretty much going our own ways." (DEFENSE DAILY, 

4-15-81, p. 270, Vole 115, No. 33) 

-111- 
<> President Reagan yesterday praised Space Shuttle astronauts 

Young and Crippen, saying their "brave adventure has opened 

a new era in space travel. You put new worlds within closer 

reach and more knowledge within our grasp." (DEFENSE DAILY, 

4-15-81, p. 265, Vole 115, NO. 33) 

<> The Soviet trawler Ekwator tried to move into the Space 

Shuttle solid rocket booster recovery area during the Paunch 

on Sunday and had to be ordered out by a U.S. helicopter and 

cutter. The Coast Guard helicopter first spotted the 

Ekwator at the edge of the recovery area 170 miles east of 

Flagler Beach, Florida, and asked it to move out of the 

area. After initially complying, the Ekwator made several 

efforts to move in closer, but was prevented by the cutter 

Steadfast. Finally, the Ekwator went dead in the water 

outside of the impact area. Yesterdayp the trawler 

monitored the recovery of the United Technologies booster 

castings as they were towed back to the Navy's Trident 

submarine base at Port Canaveral. One of the casings was to 

be towed up the Banana River to the Kennedy Space Center 

yesterday. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-15-81, p. 2900 Vol. 115, No. 

33) 

<> The 54-hour maiden flight of America's Space Shuttle 

Columbia concluded in triumph at 1221 PPI EST (10:21 Ai? PST) 

yesterday when pilots John Young and Robert Crippen set the 

214,000-pound reusable spacecraft down in a perfect 

wheels-down landing on the dry lakebed at Edwards AFB, 

California. Firing of the OPlS engines to begin reentry 

began at about l2:22 PM. Six minutes later, Young reported 

the burn was "on time and nominal." 

Early indications were that the flight was near perfect and 

that the Columbia is in excellent condition. There were no 

reports that any of the critical "black tiles" on the 

underside of the spaceship debonded. 

Young, who emerged first from Columbia at 2:25, bounded down 

the steps that were brought out to the Orbiter after it was 

shut down and checked by technicians for toxic gas leaks, 

shaking hands with the technicians and walking under t c 

Columbia to look at the tiles, Crippen emerged several 

minutes later, also a11 smiles, and the two immediately got 

in the van to take them back to the air base. The 

astronauts were to be flown to Houston tonight for five to 

eight days of debriefing. 

-112- 
Young, a veteran of four previous space missions, told 

mission control that the Shuttle "is an all right flying 

machine. It doesn't fly like anything I ever flew before. 

It is really super." 

"It was one fantastic mission," added Crippen. 

Shortly after the successful landing, NASA-Johnson director 

Chris Kraft commented: "We just became infinitely smarter." 

Meanwhile, early indications from the Cape were that damage 

to the Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters that were recovered 

in the Atlantic was less than earlier expected. 

"I have no doubt that these SRB's will be reusable," Roy 

Runkle, a NASA design engineer for the SRB, told reporters. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 4-15-81, pp. 264-265, VOl. 115, NO. 33) 

<> The twin rocket boosters that helped propel Columbia into 

orbit will be refurbished at a cost sf $14.2 million and pat 

to use on the sixth shuttle mission, planned far Decenber 

1982. 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 

officials said yesterday that the boosters were "in vert: 

good condition" despite the battering they took with their 

plunge into the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday. 

Reconditioning the boosters will cost $36 million less than 

building a new pair from scratch. (THE PHLLADELPHIF 

INQUIRER, 4-15-81] 

<> From the moment John W. Young and Robert L. Crippen entered 

the space shuttle Columbia to the moment they emerged safely 

after their flight, both carried $800,000 worth of ec *:nt 

insurance. 

The coverage was arranged through the National Space Club 

Scientific and Educational Foundation, which promotes 

research and education relating to rocketry and 

astronautics, and by Corroon & Black-INSPACE, a Washingtonbased firm that specializes in insuring space risks. 

-113- 
James W. Barrett, chairman of Corroon & Black, said his firm 

arranged for each of eight insurance firms to provide 

$100,000 worth of coverage on each astronaut. The nonprofit 

foundation paid the premiums, and, in turn, each insurance 

company made a donation to the foundation. (ASSOCIATED 

PRESS , 4-15-8 1 ) 

<> Boeing Aerospace Co., one of the Phase-A study Contractors 

for preliminary definition of NASA'S conceptual Space 

Operations Center (SOC), reports completion of the first 

phase of its study, accompanied by the release of an 

artist's concept of the Shuttle-serviced, modular SOC. 

As depicted, the Boeing SOC concept is comprised of: 1) Two 

"large mobile home" -sized Habitat Modules that would serve 

as living quarters: 2) Two attached Cylindrical Service 

Modules which contain propellant, batteries, power 

processing, units, oxygen and nitrogen; 3) A Logistics 

Module which serves as a storeroom for consumables such as 

food, water and hydrazine; 4) A large hexagonal hanger for 

servicing and storing spacecraft; 5) A tubelike docking 

module for docking spacecraft and building structures in 

space: 6) Two solar arrays attacked at either end of a long 

boom to provide power for the center; 7) A flat panel 

radiator; andp 3) A track or truss structure and moveable 

"cherry picker" crane used for Randling spacecraft. 

Boeing notes that the SOC concept differs from previous 

Space Station concepts in that it would begin primarily with 

operational functions rather than as an R & D operation. 

These functions woiild include construction of space 

structures: tending of free-flying satellites; and 

servicing, launching and recovering space-based vehicles, in 

addition to scientific research. 

The center, orbiting some 200-250 miles above the Earth, 

would be permanently manned, with crew members staying about 

90 days before returning to Earth. 

Boeing says an initial station with a crew o€ four could be 

constructed in the late 1980's. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-15-81, 

p. 271, Vol. 115, No. 33) 

-114- 
ril 16: The Soviet evening television news prog:.-am devoted 

about 30 seconds today to film clips showing th? Columbia 

landing and its two astronauts being greeted aC?.er getting 

of€ the plane that took them to Houston. 

The Soviet commentator, reading from a New York dispatch by 

Tass, the official Soviet press agency, said the nl:w feature 

of the American spaceship was that it could be re-used and 

should be able to put payloads into orbit at a lotvex cost 

than rockets. 

"These characteristics of the re-usable sh:.?c?" the Tass 

dispatch said, "can serve both in the explota*:ic:. of space 

for peaceful purposes and in the solution GZ taskb of a 

purely military nature." 

"A big role is reserved for the shuttle program in the 

testing of various types of the newest weapons, which the 

United States intends to station in space,n the press agency 

added. (THE NEW YORK TIMES , 4-16-81) 

<> The second cargo carrier in America's space transportation 

fleet is taking shape here and is due to become operbtional 

in just over a year, 

Rockwell International's assembly plant in this wind-swept 

Mojave Desert town 20 miles south of the landing strip where 

the Space Shuttle Columbia landed Tuesday is one of a kind. 

Its 400 workers assemble a single product - Shuttles, at 

$500 million per copy delivered to NASA. Rockwell, the 

prime contractor for the Space Shuttle, labored nine 3ii.:ars 

to get Columbia in shape for Sunday's launch at Renneby 

Space Center, and the reusable spacecraft's first five 

flights will all be tests of increasing complexity. 

But the Columbia's sister carrier, Challenger, "wil: 

right into operational flight" in June 1982 when it is 

transported from the tall, 110,000-square-foot building 

where it is being assembled, according to Rockwell spokesman 

Bill Green, (TODAY, 4-16-81) 

-115- 
<> While a full inspection of the insulation tiles on the Space 

Shuttle Orbiter Columbia remains to be completed, NASA is 

starting preparations for the second flight of Columbia in 

September. 

The backup astronauts for the first Shuttle flight, space 

rookies Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly, have been named 

to pilot the second flight, which is slated to last four 

days, compared to the two-day (54 hours, 20 minutes, 52 

seconds) Orbital Flight Test-1 mission. Both astronauts 

participated in the landing tests of the Shuttle Orbiter 

Enterprise. 

The thlrci t.z.;t fiight of the Shuttle is planned for next 

sprint:; cht lourth and final test flight in the fall of 

1052, dnC? 5::~ fiist operational flight, carrying the first 

I'racki!s-: 3nd Data Relay Satellite, is planned for the end of 

1982. 

Coluc.L,i,? is slated to begin its return flight to Cape 

Canavcral frc:? ',dwards riding atop a 747 airliner in about a 

week. 

Scien~;-s :s i;sr.imate that the nose and leading edges of 

Columbia's t. ings were subjected to temperatures of about 

2750 degrees F during reentryp which started at a11 altitude 

of 400,000 feet over the Pacific. The spacecraft, traveling 

at more than 17,000 mph when it began reentry landed at a 

speed of 215 mph. 

Deke Slayton, manager of the OrbitLl Flight Test program, 

said Tuesday that shuttle officials are "all supremely happy 

with the way the vehicle performed. I guess we considcL it 

a 100 percent successful mission." 

Slayton said he got a preliminary report from the ground 

crew saying the tiles looked to be in good shape. (Sixteen 

tiles came loose from Columbia's OMS pods during takeoff.) 

A close inspection was delayed because a small amount of 

explosive freon and hydrazine gases were detected near 

Columbia shortly after landing. 

-116- 
The one negative report on the mission is that the Shuttle's 

launch pad at the Cape suffered significant damage, which is 

going to require @'a lot of time and manpower to fix." Pad 

director John Styles said the pad will have to undergo "some 

redesign." (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-16-81, p. 273, Vol, 115, No. 

34 1 

<> U.S. Rep. Bill Nelson is calling €or the Reagan 

administration to establish a firm national policy on space 

- including goals €or an orbiting space station by 1990. 

The Melbourne Democrat said Wednesday his proposal has the 

full support of the House Science and Technology Cmmittee 

and its space subcommittee. 

Nelson said he gained his colleagues' backing at this week's 

successful Space Shuttle launch from Remedy Space Center 

and landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California. 

"I will urge the new administration ta make a strong 

declaration of space policy in the near future -- what we 

should do and when," Nelson said. 

The nation hasn't had a space policy in eight yearsl Nelson 

said at an Orlando news conference. (TODAY, 4-16-81) 

<> These are the firsts ccnnected with the space shuttle 

Col umti a : 

It is the world's first reusable spaceship. 

Xt is the first spaceship to carry a human crew on it 

maiden flight. 

It is the first spacecraft to ride piggyback OR its main 

fuel tank into space. 

It is the first spacecraft to have booster rockets that were 

designed to be reused. By the wayI the boosters themselves 

-117- 
were the first to use solid fuel for a manned flight. And 

they are the biggest solid fuel rockets ever used in the 

space program with a total thrust of 5.3 million pounds, 

It is the first winged spaceship. The wing span is 78 

seet. The tail is 46.3 feet tall. 

It is the first spaceship to have a cargo capacity. Such 

capacity is about 1 1/2 times as great as an Air Force C-130 

cargo plane and the shuttle's hold can accommodate a 

Greyhound bus. 

It is the first spaceship capable of ferrying as many as 10 

people in an emergency. (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 4-16-81) 

April 17: Federal officials moved yesterday to suspend the 

license of a pilot who may have risked a collision with the 

space shuttle Columbia by flying his private plane into 

restricted air space seconds before blastoff. 

The pilot, not identified pending receipt of the suspension 

notice, was chased adc:y from the launch pad 90 seconds 

before the Columbia lifted off Sunday. 

He later said Re was trying to photograph the launch, 

spokesmen for the Federal Aviation Administration said. 

Kennedy Space Center security helicopters twice had to chase 

the single-engine Cessna-150 awey from the launch pad and an 

FAA chase pilot later forced the plane to land at a local 

airport. (THE SUN, 4-17-81] 

<> NASA Space Shuttle officials continue to be optimistic that 

the Shuttle Orbiters will be able to make the 100 flights 

for which they were designed, following preliminary 

examinations which show the Columbia to be in excell.entcondition. 

Orbital Test Flight director Deke Slayton said, "Overall, 

we're happy about the performance of the whole system.': "I 

see no reason why we can't have 100 missions with this 

machine, probably more than that." 

-118- 
Slayton said that besides the 16 insulaticn tiles that wevo 

pulled of the OMS pods during launch, no additional 

insulation tiles on Columbia were lost. Some of the tiles 

on the underside of the Columbia, however, were discolored 

by the heat of the reentry and some were chipped or pitted 

by sand kicked up by the landing on the dry lakebed at 

Edwards. 

Howeverr said Slayton: "All the damage looks like it's 

repairable." (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-17-81, p. 281, Vol. 115, 

No. 35) 

<> Somalia has become the 106th member country of Intelsat, the 

Internatiofial Telecomnunications Satellite Organization. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 4-17-81, p. 281, VOl. 115, NO. 35) 

: Shuttleliner Columbia's departure from Launch 

Complex 39A here last week was well within the strictest 

airline on-time standards. There was a small ha11 of flame 

visible Prom the viewing site when the arbiter's three main 

engines ignited at the pad within a minute sf the launch 

schedule revised after the recycled first: attempt Apz.,l 10. 

A small squirt of steam ejected to the right and a izyger 

one an instant later to the left. The shuttle stack hung 

for six seconds on the pad for thrust monitoring and 

umbilical retraction before the pair of solid rocket motors 

fired. Then it popped off the Fad, executed a quick 

100-degree roll to the right just above the lightning mast 

on the support tower leaving all hut the tips of its delta 

wing hidden behind the belly-mounted, bulging external tank, 

in turn flanked by the slimmer solid boosters. With that, 

it barreled straight up leaving a fat, pristine white 

cumulus-puffed finger of smoke in its wake. 

Unlike the majestic, deliberate acceleration of the Apollo 

spacecraft Saturn 5 liquid rocket powered booster and its 

deep bass low-frequency vibration, the shuttle lit up and 

was gone, It was the typically solid-rocket-motor fast 

getaway of the Titan 3 launch vehicle. 

Cheers, yells of elation, shouts of encouragement swelled 

from the crowd as the shuttle's smoke trail arched over to 

trace orbital insertion trajectory. Despite all the emotion 

of a 10-year development program with a two-year slip and 

letdown of the earlier aborted launch, uproar seemed 

slightly out of place# for the shuttle was all business. 

-119- 
The resumed final countdown at the T-5 hour point -- and 

incredibly the complex final 9 minutes on automatic 

sequencer -- went just like the documents. No glitches, no 

unplanned holds, no second agonizing recycle of the launch 

date, For a first flight of a space vehicle, let alone one 

more complex than Apollo, it was a rernarkable perforraance. 

Improvements are still needed. The first mission missed the 

tracking and data relay satellite system now in development 

whose delays will slip operational service to 1983 or 1984. 

Without it on STS-1, th2 crew could communicate with mission 

control only 30-40'6 of each orbit because of loss o€ NASA 

worldwide tracking stations for budgetary or political 

reasons. 

What happened to cause launch recycle -- random out-of-phase 

timing mismatch between the shuttle's four primary and one 

backup flight computer system -- also makes an important 

point about the shuttle. The shuttle is an electric 

airplane, with complex avionics and software, one that is 

still in a test program. It represents B different 

generation of operating and pro~edti~~l technology, and there 

wiZl be new kinds of problems to solve as it moves through 

its remaining three orbit.al test- fliqhts and into operation 

over the next two years. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECNNQLQGY, 

4-20-81, p. 13, Vole 114, NO. 16) 

<> Shuttleliner Columbia's arrival here two days and six hours 

after launch was as precise and businesslike as its 

departure, except €or a bit of showmanship to herald its 

approach -- a double sonic boom that sounded like the 

climatic cannon shots in the 1812 Overture, 

At something like 80,000 feet, when the twin boom hit, the 

shuttle was invisible to the naked eye. Its position 

overhead could be approximated, though, by the two contrails 

of a pair of Northrop T-38 ch&e aircraft flying a 5-minute 

racetrack pattern outboard of the orbiter's planned course 

to landing. There was a blip amid the contrails -- possibly 

a last puff of the orbiter reaction control. thrusters, and 

then the contrails diappeared as the T-38s cut inside the 

orbitergs gentle 1.3-g left-hand turn toward Runway 2, on 

Rogers Lake far ir delicately timed re%dezvous with the 

spacecraft decelerating from supersonic speed. 

-120- 
When the orbiter finally appeared to the watchers on the 

ramp at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, it was flaring 

on final just over the low hills to the north. In the 

slight haze and shimmering heat waves of the Mojave Desert, 

the orbiter could easily have been mistaken, with only a 

casual glance, for an arrivi?: medium-size commercial jet 

transport. It was a relatively long flare as the aircraft 

commander, astronaut John Young, let the energy gradually 

bleed off and the orbiter settle softly to the dry lake 

bed. There it kicked up a sireamer of tan silt like the 

spray of the speedboat, silhouetting one of the chase 

planes, an inspection, speed calibration and photo aircraft 

flown by astronaut Jon McBride, as the T-38 pulled up to 

start its own approach. The orbiter rolled to a halt in t1,e 

black-line criss-cross markers of Runways 23, 18 and 30, 

within a couple of hundred feet of a prelaunch planned 

stopping point, 8 minutes ahead of scheduled arrival. 

The shuttle is designed to change spaceflight from 

exploratory, cne-of-a-kind, disposable hardware leaps into 

the unknown of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo to a routine 

airline-analogaus turnaround. What the by-the-manual 

launchp two days in orbit, reentry and landing demonstrated 

is that the shuttleDs design goal is now achievable, 

Despite the skepticism that has grown wj th the Shuttie's 

slips, the frustrated wisecracks about 'that turkey on the 

pad" after the scrub of the first launch, the worry about 

the missing tiles on the orbital engine pods discovered in 

orbital inspection with the vehicle's TV camera, the message 

from che shuttle's sparkling Palm Sunday liftoff and 

precision landing in the beige California desert is that the 

shuttle will work. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 

4-20-81, p. 13, Val. 114, NO. 16) 

<> Launch processing system €or National Aeronautics an6 Space 

Administration's space shuttle here provides checkout, 

control and monitoring €unctions an order of magnitude, 

better than those available for Ap0110, but requiring aoout 

e-ie-tenth the firing room staff, according to NASA 

cificials. Designed principally to implement the s:...,. 

turnaround time requirement €or operational shuttle flights, 

the launch processing system uses minicomputers in "what is 

probably one of the largest di3tributed processing systems 

ever builtfN according to Walter Murphyr chief of guidance 

digital electrorics and softwara here. 

-121- 
Although there is some central processing, the consoles in a 

shuttle firing room are driven principally by about 45 

miniprocessors, all Modcomp 240 central processors in basic 

architecture, but with varying interfaces. The units are 

made by Nodular Computer Systems, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. 

The miniprocessors drive the firing room's 3.5 consoles, each 

comprised of three bays and support equipment, Murphy said, 

"With 15 consoles and three people per console, we have 

about 45 people with real control capability," he said. 

Apollo launch facilities required about 450 people, 

"One of the biggest gains is in repeatability," according to 

Murphy. More than 50 test counts have been conducted with 

the actual vehicle and with the Shuttle Avionics Integration 

Laboratory (SAIL) at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Murphy 

said. Several hundred firings have been run against simulators. 

The firing room here interfaces with the shuttle vehicle 

through the pulse code modulation (PCM) telemetry downlink, 

Control through launch is cEfected via the launch dat 1s. 

"Me stay on hard W~SC Sine until the umbPJical is pu3 - I' 

he said. (AVIATION KEEK fi SPACE: TECHNOLOGY, 4-20-81, p. 32, 

Vole 114, NO. 16) 

<> Shortly after the software/hardware synchronizatian problem 

developed in space shuttle orbiter STS-1's onboard computers 

during the initial launch attempt April 10, two teams were 

formed here at Johnson Space Center to troubleshoot the 

situation on a high-priority basis. 

Computer program tapes were quickly sent from Cape Kennedy 

here and masses of computer printouts were made in an 

attempt to provide data on signal input-outputs with time 

correlations. 

One team, comprising approximately 8-10 personnel at dchnson 

and several at Kennedy Space Center, worked on data 

analysis. 

-122- 
The operation entailed obtaining reams of corriputer printouts 

and dividing these among data analysis team members for 

close scrutiny. 

The team believed at 3:OO p.m. April 10 that they had 

finally determined the problem, vith John R. Garman, 

assistant division chief, spacecraft software divisionp 

Johnson Space Center, and Lynn Killingbeck, (%n IBM Systems 

software specialist, credited with identifying the problem. 

At a 5:OO p,m. meeting that day, the teams arrived at final 

problem identification and a solution %or overcoming it. 

Unfortunately, this was too late to prevent the launch from 

being cancelled that day. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE 

TECHNOLOGY, 4-20-81, p. 22, Vola 114, NO. 16) 

<> Damage to the Kcnnedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A from 

liftoff of the space shuttle was minimal and will be no 

factor in the schedule toward second launch, accordinq to 

NASA officials. 

Damage was characterized as no more extensive than thpt 

created by Saturn S launch vehicles and involved damage to 

light fixtures and instrumentation cabLing. Dttnnage to the 

cabling and light fixtures was expected. 

Some handrails on the fixed service structure were blown 

away and one was driven through an elevator about 100 feet 

away. The handrails will be redesigned for pre-flight 

removal. Small shower-head sized water spray nozzles in the 

solid rocket booster flame trenches were melted, also as 

expected. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 4-20-8. p. 

29, Vol. 114, No. 16) 

t 

priP 22: The external tank €or the second flight of the Space 

Shuttle Columbia was loaded on a barge at the Michoud 

Assembly Facility in New Orleans last week on a five-day 

trip to Cape Canavearal. The tank, which carries the liquid 

oxygen/hydrogen propellant for the Shuttle's three main 

engines, is 154 feet high, 27.5 feet wide and weighs 76r000 

pounds unfueled. Pfartin Priarietta Aerospace builds the ET at 

Michoud. The second Shuttle flight is planned for late 

Septembet. (DEFENSE DAILYt 4-22-81, p. 306, Vol. 115, No. 

38) 

-123- 
<> 2-C. Mr. Page gave the status of the STS-1 hardw 

said that the Orbiter might not begin its flight 

to KSC until Saturday, April 25. There was a general 

discussion of possible ceremonies upon its arrival at KSC 

with the likelihood that KSC employees and their families 

would be invited to attend. 

2-G. Dr. Buchanan discussed residue samples which had been 

removed from Pad A and the service structure. Aluminum 

oxide, silicon oxide, and iron oxide as well as hydrochloric 

acid have been identified necessitating a washdown of the 

structure to protect employees health and to prevent 

corrosion. fEXECUTIVE STAFF NOTES 12-81 for meeting of 

April 20, 1981, 4-22-81) 

<> Except for the loss of two $100,000 parachutes, the Space 

Shuttle's assist rockets are in good shape. In fact, parts 

of them may be back in the air as early as the sixth Shuttle 

flight -- scheduled €or 1982. 

"We're pretty well elated by the whole system," said John 

M. Gerding, the chief of NASA8s solid rocket booster 

retrieval branch. "Recovery was a piece of cake.'' 

The trio of parachutes on each booster opened perfectly, he 

said, But two of the parachutes sank to Plhe bottom of the 

ocean because their floats were torn away when the 

parachgtes were deployed. (TODAY, 4-22-81) 

<> The 900 members of the International Association of 

Machinists and Aerospace Workers employed on the Space 

Shuttle program at Kennedy Space Center by Boeing Services 

International who went on strike February 20, voted Saturday 

to accept the latest contract offer from BSI. The workers 

struck to protest elimination of cost-of-living allowance 

from their three-year contract. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-22-81, 

p. 310, Vole 115, NO. 38) 

rip 23: Former CIA director William Colby says the Space 

Shuttle oEfers the possibility of reopening the arms 

limitation talks with the Soviet Union. "We have agreed to 

limit weaponry in space. It is possible to destroy such a 

system, but the immediate result if the Soviets should 

-124- 
destroy our systen, is that we would destroy theirs. The 

Shuttle offers the possibility of negotiating new arms 

controls and systems," Colby said in Ckarlottesville, 

Virginia. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-23-81, p. 314, Vol. 115, No. 

39 1 

C> President Reagan today announced the nomination of business 

executive James Elonkgomery Beggs to become Administrator of 

the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Dr. 

Hans Mark as Deputy Administrator. 

Beggs has been Executive Vice President, Aerospace, End a 

director of General Dynamics Corp., St. Louis, Mo. Mark is 

former Secretary of the Air Force and former Director of 

NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California. 

Beggs, if confirmed, will succeed Dr. Robert. A, Frosch who 

resigned on January 20, 1981, to take over as the first 

president of the American Association of Engineering 

Societies in New York. Frosch had been Administrator since 

June 21, 1977. 

Born in Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan, gP 1926, Beglgs and hie wife, 

the former Mary Harrisonp have five children. 

Mark served as Secretary of the Air Force from July 1979 to 

1981. He had served as Under Secretary since 1979. 

Born June 17, 1929, in Mannheim, Germany, Mark came to the 

United States in 1940 and became a citizen in 1945. .He 

received his bachelor's degree in physics from the 

University of California at Berkeley in 1951 and a do;torate 

in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technolog\* in 

1954. 

He and his wife, the former Marion G. Thorpe, have two 

children. (NASA NEWS RELEASE NO: 82-51, 4-23-81) 

prfl 21: Nobody war; more pleased about the results of the 

first Space Shuttie flight than KSC officials. Here are 

some of their comments: 

-125- 
"I've been on a lot of first launches. I've been in this 

business over 20 years. But I've never felt anything like 

this," said George Page, Director of Shuttle Operations. 

"I'm so proud of that launch team. I thought the landing 

was an absolutely fantastic conclusion to a perfect 

mission. " 

"It was fantastic," said Dr. Bob Gray, manager of the 

Shuttle Projects Office. "It went all the way but I was 

afraid to think it would be this good in advance. It sure 

shows me that all things promised for Shuttle can and surely 

will come about. It's an outstanding tribute to America's 

space talents and CaFabilities." 

"It was super," remarked Tom Utsman, Director of Technical 

Support. "It's going to be hard to beat. It's hard to 

believe it was a first mission." 

"Much praise and thanks goes to our design and operations 

organizations. It was indeed a great effort by the KSC, JSC 

and MSFC Shuttle team," said R.E, Clark, Associate Director 

for STS Development, 

"We're delighted with the performance of the equipment we 

supplied," said Deputy Director of Design Engineering H.C. 

Paul. The Launch Processing System provided much better 

visibility into equipment operations than we had ever had 

before, and offers the potential for further automation of 

Space Shuttle processing at KSC. 

"The many systems at the pad functioned properly with only 

minor exceptions and sustained the rigors of the launch with 

No. 8) 

flying cOkOr5." (SPACEPORT NEWS, 4-24-81, p. 3, VO~. 20, 

<> I extend my personal congratulations to each and every 

member of the KSC team for the successful firat launch of 

the Space Shuttle. We have come down a long and sometimes 

bumpy road, but the results of our patience and effort .:an 

be seen today in every face in the NASA/industry tear.. The 

resounding success of the first flight is a legitimate 

source of pride for all of us. 

-126- 
But let us not be so blinded by our pride that we lose sight 

of the road ahead. The mission of the Space Shuttle is to 

fly safely again and again. We must be prepared to make the 

same efforts, to exercise the same diligence each and every 

time. Our path to those future launches has already begun. 

We have set a fine example for ourselves in this first step, 

and I look forward to sharing the remainder of the $x~rney 

with you. 

Richard G. Smith, KSC Director (SPACEPORT NEWS, 4-24-81, 

p. 3, Vole 20, NO. 8) 

<> An estimated crowd of 41,000 witnessed the historic liftoff 

of Columbia from viewing sites on Kennedy Space Center. * 

Workers and their families, visitors and invited guests 

fought mammoth traffic jams to get onto KSC and to their 

front row seats for the occasion, 

For many, it was the second time in as many days but when 

they got to their sites, they found a little m~re elbors room 

than had bean available on the first launch attempt April hO 

- which was scrubbed when a computer problem developed in 

the final minutes of countdown. 

Nearly twice as many folks - a capacity crowd - turned out 

for the scheduled launch on April 10. Many of the local 

residents who had car passes apparently stayed home on 

Sunday, watching the launch on TV instead of battling the 

crowd again. 

But for those who endured, the sight of Columbia rising 

above Pad 3% was an unqualified thrill. 

{' 

Among the watchers were 2,700 professional observer? ?d ia 

representatives from around the country and as Par away as 

JaFan, reporting on the launch of Columbia ~OK their 'news 

organizations. 

-127- 
"Seeing all those people coming here to view the launch and 

knowing that hundreds of thousands more viewed liftoff from 

the shorelines told me that the public's interest in the 

space program is a lot greater than some believe," said 

Arnold Richman, chief of the Visitors Services Branch. 

Bus after bus - 119 in all - ferried special guests and VIPs 

from their hotels to space center viewing sites. As dawn 

broke, the bleachers across the street from the VAB were 

beginning to fill up with invited guests - including former 

astronauts, corporate executives, government officials, 

educators and foreign visitors. 

"It was a beautiful sight and I was glad to be here," said 

former Apollo Astronaut Neil Armstrong - the first man to 

walk on the Noon. 

"Just fantastic!" exclaimed former Apollo launch director 

Rocco Petrone. "X see a lot of use of the Shuttle." 

"Apollo was sensational but this exceeded that," remarked 

Florida Congressman Don FuquaI chairman of the House Science 

and Technology Committee. Me said the time appears right 

for a fresh look at our future efforts PR space. think 

this launch will renew confidence Pn QUT program," he added. 

"This is the greatest launch team in the world," said U.S. 

Rep. Bill Nelson, also a member of the Science and 

Technology Committee. "Every American is grateful for their 

high degree of excellence, this is a great day for America, 

an important day for America." 

Celebrities Pat Boone, John Denver and Nichelle Nichol- - 

otherwise known as Star Trek's Lt, Uhuru - were here April 

10 for the scheduled liftoff but were unable because of 

prior commitments to make a return to launch site on April 

12. 

Present both days, however, were film producers G~~rgr- %cas 

- "Star WarsW - and Steven Spielberg - "Cfsse Encounters of 

the Third Kind." 

Among the thousands of viewers who watched the launch from 

the NASA Causeway East were visitors from all corners of the 

country. 

-128- 
"This is my third space shot that I have seen," said Tee 

Miller of Berlin, Pa. "But this was the most fabulous and 

I'm so happy to be a part of history being made." 

As did many of the viewers, Joel Siegler of Milwaukee, Wjs., 

had a personal interest in the Shuttle, His company - 

Siegler Machine and Tool Co. - has sugpl.%ed machine tools to 

other firms building parts for the Columbia. 

"It was terrific," said Siegler. 

Florence and Jack Whaley traveled here from Los Gatos, 

Calif. , to see Coluinbia off on its maiden voyage. 

''I thought the launch was terrific," said Jack Whaley. 

"I've worked for NASA for 20 years at Ames Research Center 

in California. I'm in the Research and Development Section 

of it. And we have tested this configuration that I just 

saw go up in the air and it's quite a thrill." (SPACEPDRT 

NEWS, 4-24-81, p. 6, Vole 20, NO. 8) 

<> We're back in the manned spaceflight business again. 

It was smooth sailing all the way for Columbia, from the 

moment of its dazzling early morning liftoff to the flawless 

touchdown on a California desert runway 54 hours and 21 

minutes later. 

The Space Shuttle thundered away from KSC's Pad 39A on its 

maiden flight a few seconds after the scheduled 7 a.r, 

launch on April 12, the dawn of a new era in space. 

"We'll try to do a little better next time," quipped 8 uttle 

launch director George Page in a post-launch press briefing 

that was punctuated with applause and cheers. 

But there was no doubt about the accomplishment achieved 

with the successful flight of Columbia - the world's first 

reusable spaceship. 

-129- 
The historic mission flown by Astronauts John Young and Bob 

Crippen demonstrated in a remarkable performance, the 

hardware of a new Space Transportation System that has been 

under development for nearly 10 years. 

America has opened the third decade of manne sp ra 63e f 1 E eJ h t 

with a versatile new tool that will play a major role in 

expanding mankind's presence on the space frontier. 

Even as Columbia flew 170 miles above the Earth, work had 

already begun on its second flight into orbit. And the 

winged spaceship will soon be back in its nest at KYC, 

undergoing preparations for a return to space. 

For the moment, however, NASA and its contractors are in 

what has been described as an "exhilaration mode," basking in the success of a mission that has scored big points for 

America's space efforts. 

Liftoff had been planned €or 6:50 a.m. on Friday, April 10. 

Anyone who tried to travel the roads on and adjacent to 

Kennedy Space Center could easily see that a Pot of folks 

fully expected it to go. 

But a computer problem in the final minutes of countdown 

forced a postponement of the launch until Sunday morning. 

There were no hitches on the second attempt. When the 

ignition commhnd went out, Columbia got up and went with a 

roar that cracked across miles of marshland, and a release 

of power that made the ground tremble under those who 

watched from sites a safe distance away. 

About 50 minutes later, as the Columbia flew over the Indian 

Ocean, a second firing of the Shuttle's orbital maneuvering 

system engines circularized the craft's orbit at an altitude 

of about 150 miles. Another burn later in the flight 

boosted them a little higher. 

Young and Crippen spent the next two days performing checks 

of Columbia's systems during on-orbit operations. The long 

payload bay doors opened and closed without trouble. 

-130- 
Both crewmen praised the vehicle for "performing like a 

champ. 

Crippen, on his first flight into spacel was quick to give a 

hearty endorsement to space travel. "1 highly recommend 

it," >e said. 

And when it was time for Columbia to return to the ground, 

it responded flawlessly to computer commands and John . Young's control stick. 

"What a way to come to California," remarked Crippen. 

Columbia's dramatic unpowcred descent began over the 

Pacific. As the craft glided toward California, it was 

flown at hypersonic speeds through a series of S-turns that 

gradually decreased its speed as it banked north and south 

of a straight line to Edwards Air Force Base. A5 sure as 

the mission was a milestone in the history of space travels 

the re-entry was a milestorre in the history of aeronautics. 

And when it came time to set Columbia down on the dry lake 

runway at Edwards, Young made it look easy. 

Touchdown came at 1:20 p.m. EST - two days, six hours, 20 

minutes and 52 seconds after liftoff. 

A KSC ground crew greeted the Columbia in SCAPE suits, 

"sniffing" the air around the craft for toxic gases and 

beginning the process of safing the vehicle. 

"You can't believe what a flying machine this is," .-' ig 

told controllers in Houston a5 he and Crippen waited to exit 

the craft. nItfs really something special." 

About an hour after the landing, the Columbia's hatrc' -clned 

and a grinning commander Young bounded down to inspect the 

Columbia from nose to tail. Soon after, Crippen emerged 

from the portable white room which had been positioned snug 

against Columbia's hull. 

-131- 
After the astronauts had departed, the rest of KSC's 300 

recovery and safing crew members went to work on the orbiter 

to prepare it for it's triumphant return home. 

Their first looks confirmed that the orbiter had come 

through its test flight in excellent shape. No additional 

tiles had been lost during the reentry, according to Deke 

Slayton, and repair work would be minimal before the ferry 

flight could be begun. 

By the day after landing, Columbia had been moved to the 

mate-demate device at Dryden for mating with the 747 carrier 

aircraft. The craft's windows were covered with protective 

shields and a number of purge and safing operations had been 

started. 

The trip home will take two days. 

Already back at KSC were the two solid rocket boosters which 

helped begin the Columbia@s journey. 

The two boosters will be refurbished, returned to the 

contractor for refueling and used again an a future flight, 

possibly as soon as STS-6. 

Perhaps the best summary of the Columbia's mission can be 

found in a comment made by Deke Slayton, Orbital Test Flight 

Manager, in a post-landing press briefing. 

"It was as perfect a mission as one could expect," he told 

reporters. "The Shuttle will do for space what the P"-3 did 

for aviation." (SPACEPORT NEWS, 4-24-81, pp. 1-2 & 8, Vol 

20, NO. 81 

April 25: When the space shuttle Columbia thundered off its 

launching pad at Cape Canaveralp Fla., earlier this month, a 

small circle of German engineersr eyes fixed on a television 

screen here, were particularly excited. 

The engineers were sitting across a field from the metal 

buildings that house the assembly line for Spacelab, a 

reusable orbiting laborakory scheduled to go into space in 

the shuttle's voluminous cargo bay in late 1983, 

-132- 
"Columbia is America's dream," said Manfred Fiichsr director 

of project development at Erno Raumfahrttechnik, the West 

German aerospace company that is Spacelab's prime 

contractor. "If that dream doesn't WOP~, ours won't 

either. '' 

Spacelab proved in the last swen years to be not only 

Europe's biggest, most ambitious space un king, costing 

nearly $1 billion, but also a curiously complex experiment 

in industrial and management cooperation. The shuttle's 

success gave the project a much needed lift, after delays in 

America's orbiter threatened to sag the interest of European 

governments and industry. (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 4-25-81) 

April 27: Poor weather is always a concern just before a 

rocket is launched into orbit, but until now there has been 

little worry about rainfall right after a launch 0- the 

space shuttle has changed that. 

The shuttle's t~qo huge solid-fucl bsosteK kockets have 

created the possibility that a sudden khunderstorm or shower 

immediately following a launch could produce acid rain, 

scientists point out. 

So the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is 

conducting studies to determine the environmental effects of 

such rain. (THE WASHINGTON POST, 4-27-81] 

<> While hailing the flight of the space shuttle, the 

archbishop of Canterbury, Robert A. K. Runcie, warned 

yesterday that man must explore "inner space, which ' -bars 

the fears and the desire to dominate, whish are the L:.,L'J~S 

of the violence and the divisions which disfigure the 

world." In a sermon at Washington Cathedral, the archbishop 

said, "There is a terrifying disparity between our te( -nical 

achievements and our moral progress.w (PHILADELPHIA 

INQUIRER, 4-27-81) 

: The House HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee 'has 

gone along with the changes proposed in the FV '81 NASA 

budget by the Reagan Administration, which includes adding 

$60 million to the Space Shuttle program and taking $9.5 

million from Space Flight Operations, $28 million from 

AppliCatioi:S, $6 million from Aeronautics and Space 

-133- 
Technology and $10 million from R b PM. The changes were 

previously authorized by the House Science Committee. The 

net effect of the changes is a reduction of $14.5 million in 

the FY $81 NASA budget eo $5,~22,~8a,ooo. 

The Senate HUD-PA Appropriations Subcommittee is scheduled 

to rnark-up the FY "81 HUD-IA appropriation, including NASA, 

early next week. The House subcommittee has tentatively 

schedulPd hearings on the FY '82 NASA budget next week: the 

Senate subcommittee is planning hearings May 12. (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 4-28-81, pe 339, Vole 115, NO. 42) 

<> NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory intends to initiate 

preliminary studies this year for definition of the new 

technology that will be required for spacecraft to 

investigate the far outer planets in the 1990's. 

The studies will specifically include investigation of 

concepts for an advanced spacecraft system for the outer 

planets missions "as a departure from" the traditional. 

three-axis-stabilized Mariner-class spacecraft. 

The mission opportunity period for coordinated exploration 

of Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, utilizing gravity 

assist from the planet Jupiter, will begin in 1991. In 

addition, NASA is planning the Saturn Orbiter/Dual Probe 

mission in the late 1980's a direct mission to orbit Saturn 

and send probes into Saturn's atmosphere and to Saturn's 

large moon, Titan. (DEFENSE DAILY, 4-28-81, p. 343, Vol. 

115, NO. 42) 

<> With the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia bolted to its top, a 

747 carrier circraft took off from Edwards WFB at 10:18 AM 

PDT yesterday on a two-day return trip to Kennedy Space 

Center. The aircraft will stop over at Tinker AFB, Okla., 

and make the final trip to KSC today. The flight war; 

delayed Sunday when a tailcone strut had to be replaced. 

Late arrival of the replacement strut delayed the flight 

three hours yesterday. (DEFENSE DAILYl 4-28-81, p. 34?, 

Vole 115, NO. 42) 

<> NASAF which is currently in the process of revising its 

flight manifest €or the Space Shuttle program, will reduce 

the number of flights planned thkough FY "85 from the 

-134- 
original 44 to between 26 and 36, a reduction of 18-41 

percent. The agency says that it believes tht 36-fl.ight 

figure is achievable. 

The revisions are being made because of the slip in the 

maiden Shuttle launch and the curtailment of the NASA space 

science program, witn some missions eliminated and others 

pushed back until later in the decade. 

NASA expects to complete the new manifest in about three or 

four weeks. The agency continues to retain the 487-flight 

mission model for the 1981-1982 period. 

Meanwhile, the second Orbital Flight Test of the Space 

Shuttle Columbia (Ov-102) is planned for September/October, 

with NASA believing the later date is more likely and 

Rockwell saying the earlier date can be met. 

OFT-3 is planned for January 1982; OFT-4 for April 1982. 

The first operational flight of the Shuttle is planned for 

September 15, f932r carrying a NASA science payload anfi two 

commercial communicatio7s satellites. 

The second operational flight is planned for November 1982, 

carrying the German Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS-01). 

The third operational flight is planned for January 3.983, 

carrying the first Tracking & Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-A). 

The second Space Shuttle Orbiter, Challenger (OV-99) 

scheduled for delivery in June 1982; the third, Discovery 

(OV-103) in September 1983, and the fourtht Atlantis 

(OV-104) in December 1984. A fifth Shuttle (OV-1051, f f 

initiated in FY $83 could be delivered in 1987. (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 4-28-81, p. 338, VOl. 115, No. 42) 

pril 29: Just two weeks ago, I joined millions of my fellow 

Americans in marveling at the magic historical moment that 

John Young and Bob Crippen created in their space shuttle 

Columbia. 

-135- 
The last manned effort was almost six years agor and X 

remembered how, over the years, we had all come to expect 

technological precision of our men and machines. Each 

challenge was raised. 

chievenent became commonplace, until the next new 

With the space shuttle, we tested our ingenuity once again 

-- moving beyond the acco~~~i~hrnen~s of the past into the 

uncertainty of the guture. Thusl we not Only 

planned to send up a 122-foot €.ireraft, 170 miles into 

space, but also intended to make it manewerable and return 

it to earth -- landing 98 tons of exotic metals delicately 

on a remote dry lake bed. 

The space shuttle did more than prove OII*. tkchnological 

abilities, it raised our expectations wLe n: re; it started 

us dreaming again. "The republic is a dnldfr wrote Carl 

Snndburg. "Nothing happens unless first h dream." 

(President Reagan's April 28 speech before Congress, as 

printed in THE NEW YOKY TIMES, 4-29-81) 

<> With little of the fanfare that surrounded its April 12 

lift-offr the space shuttle Columbia returned to its home 

port yesterday to be prepared for a second voyage this fall. 

A crowd of about 1,200 space cenker employees and family 

members burst into applause as the aircraft rolled onto an 

apron next to a facility where Columbia will be plucked off 

the '147, 

Richard Smith, director oE the Space Centerp said the 

54-hour, 36-orbit flight that ended in California on April 

14 was nmQre successful than we ever dared hope €or." %He 

said he knew of no problems that would prevent a second 

flight in September or October. ~~~~~~~

INQUIRER, 

4-29-83.? pa 6-A) 

<> Space shuttle Columbia*s thunderous tower of flame would 

have been far longer and louder without one weight-ctn-tkng 

breakthrough achieved in a Quonset-hut laboratory bn Ohio 30 

years ago. 

-136- 
Glass-industry researcher Dominick Labino's discovery of a 

new way to produce microscopic glass fibers led to the 

ultra-lightweight tiles used to insulate the space shuttle 

from the searing 2,500 degree F, heat of reentry. 

Other heavier materials could withstand the high 

temperatures but at the steep cost of using more fuel for 

liftoff or reducing the shuttlees laad capacity. As well, 

the remarkable durability of the ti?es results in the 

shuttle's "RSI' (Reusable Surface Iiisulation) being 

scheduled for 100 round trips into space. 

Extensive research before the first flight demonstrated the 

tiles' heat-resistant qualities, their resistance to damage 

from being plunged from 2,500 degree heat into water or from 

workers walking on them and their dimensional stability 

despite great, sudden temperature changes. 

Working with Minnesota sand and closely guarded trade 

secrets, employGes in a neat red-brick factory overlooking 

the Maumee River in Waterville, Ohio, today produce all the 

silica fiber used in the shuttle's protective tiles. A 

series of mergers absorbed Mr. Labino's original company, 

and Johns-Manville Glass Fibers Corporation now churn? out 

the fiber under contract to Lackheed, The glass fiber is so 

fine that one pound of it could c~ver athree-acre field, 

Stretched out as a single fiber, a pound of the invisible 

thread would be 10 million miles longr Labino explains. 

It seems perfectly logical to Labino that one important 

breakthrough for the space shuttle program came from.his 

tiny laboratory 30 years ago. He expects to continue making 

new discoveries in his larger but still modest private 

laboratory which this "retiree" operates without uovc-:vnt 

or industry funding. (THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MORI: 

4-29-81) 

<> The Space Shuttle Columbia, riding atop a 747 aircraft, 

arrived at Kennedy Space Center at 11:23 AM yesterdav =t.er 

a 3 1/2 hour flight from Tinker AFB, Ohio, cGmpIetirh9 Q 

two-day trip from Edwards AFB, where it landed April 14. 

Working date €or the second flight of Columbia Is Sept. 25, 

but officials say a mid-October hunch is more probable. 

(DEFENSE GAILY, 4-29-81, Po 347, Vole 115, NO. 43) 

-137- 
ril 38: The space shuttle Columbia was being towed at a 

snail's pace Wednesday to the Orbiter Processing Facility, 

where it will be refurbished for a second test flight next 

fall. 

Columbia, America's reusable rocket ship, arrived at Kennedy 

Space Center Tuesday amid the cheers of 500 space workers, 

concluding a two-day 2,248-mile piggyback ride from 

California atop a modified 747 jet transport. 

Workers guided the aircraft into a steel-framed de-mating 

tower and got ready for the 90-minute tow to the orbiter 

building two miles away, where it will remain about three 

months . 

Richard Smith, director of Kennedy Space Center, said 

technicians will troubleshoot the entire orbiter, closely 

examine the protective tiles that guard its heat-sensitive 

aluminum skin, and service the in-flight maneuvering 

sys tems . 

Also on the list is construction of a more comfortable 

cockpit for astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly, who will 

be inside the shuttle the second time it goes into orbit. 

CBS Mews Tuesday quoted space agency officials as saying the 

launch would be deiaycd until next year. 

Earlier, however, Smith said the Shuttle would be ready the 

first part of October, although it will be 18 months before 

it starts hauling commercial sate?.lites and scientific gear 

into space on a regular basis. 

"It's in excellent shape," Smith said. "I don't see why it 

can't go 100 times." (THE MIAMI HERALD! 4-30-81, p. 1OA) 

<> Although they could very well be the first husband and wife 

in outer space, Dr. Margaret PAea Seddon and Lieu%. CI.:~. 

Robert Lee Gibson, both astronauts, will settle for a trip 

to Hawaii by conventional jet following their marriage Hay 

30 in her home town of Murfreesboro, Tenn. 

-138- 
Dr. Seddon, the first woman to gain the full rank of 

astronaut, was a resident in nutrition and surgery at City 

of Memphis Hospital in 1978 when she was among the first six 

women chosen for astronaut training. During the &light of 

the space shuttle Columbia she was at Cape Canaveral, Fla., 

aboard one of two standby helicopters. Dr. Seddon and 

Commander Gibson have dated €or two years since meeting at 

the Yohnson Space Flight Center in Houston, where they are 

now stationed. 

The only previous astronaut couple, Drs. Anna and William 

Fisher, both physicians, were married before joining the 

space program. 

Since Commander Gibson is a pilot and Dr. Seddon would serve 

as a "mission specialist," the couple "have as good a chance 

as any" to fly together, Dr. Seddon told THE NASHVILLE 

TENNESSEAN yesterday. If so, she said, "Weqll be so busy up 

there we won't even have time to say ahel!.o'." (THE NEW 

YORK TIllES, 9-30-81 ) 

-139- 
MAY 1981 

May I: America's preeminence in planetary exploration is in 

deep trouble, according to NASA scientists attending 

Thursday's session of the 18th Annual Space Congress at 

Cocoa Beach. 

In fact, after the ravages of the recent budgetary process, 

only one probe into deep space is scheduled over the next 

decade, and that mission is tentative. 

Voyager 1's successful close encounter with Jupiter and 

Saturn was followed by an almost flawless launch of the 

Space Shuttle last month. So it is hard for Americans to 

imagine that we will be anything but number one in space for 

some years to come. 

"But even as we're sitting here at this moment basking in 

the renaissance of America's manned space program...there's 

a chill wind blowing through our planetary programrn said 

Torrence Johnson, NASA's lead scientist for the Galileo 

project . 

The Galileo project will send both an orbiter and a probe to 

Jupiter. The orbiter will fly by Jupiter 20 to 100 times 

closer than Voyager did. The probe will. descend through 

Jupiter's atmosphere, sending information back to Earth, 

until it comes so close to the surface of the planet that 

temperatures and pressure destroy it. 

But the Gaiileo project, originally planned for 1982, %as 

been repeatedly delayed because of problems with its launch 

vehicle -- the Shuttle. And because of those delays, the 

position of the planets has changed, and the rocket 

originally designed to boost the probe and orbiter from the 

Shuttle's payload bay into deep space is no longer powerful 

enough. 

An alternate and more powerful Centaur booster and an 

attendant increase in cost must now be approved by 

Congress. (TODAY, 5-1-81, p. 16A) 

-140- 
<> Thomas J. O'Malley, Rockwe11 International's vice president 

and general manager of launch operations at Kennedy Space 

Center, has been named man of the year by the Canaveral 

Council of Technical Societies. 

The Society, which sponsors the Space Congress, honored 

O'Malley "for his leadership in building and testing this 

nations's -- and the world's -- first reusable space 

vehicle. I' 

O'Malley, who has been with Rockwe11 since 1947, first 

worked for the Curtis Wright Co. He was test conductor on 

the Atlas ICBM program in the late 1950s and was in charge 

of the Mercury flight that sent John Glenn into Earth orbit. 

The Society also announced the chairman for its next Space 

Congress: George R. Faenzap the director of McDonnell 

Douglas's Kennedy Space Division. (!TODAY, 5-1-81) 

ay 2: The space shuttle Columbia may be assigned to 

rendezvous with a crippled sun-gazing satellite in orbit as 

early as next spring to replace a faulty efectrcnic unit in 

the $77 million solar observatory. 

The extraordinary space repair mission is under serious 

consideration by space agency engineers and received a boost 

from the highly successful maiden test flight of the shuttle 

earlier this month. 

A senior National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

official will be briefed on the idea next week and a -?mal 

proposal is expected to be made to NASA's managers by June. 

Donald Turner, a payload integration manager in the st ittle 

operations office, said it would be technically possible to 

send the Columbia up to fix the satellite next spring. But 

he said there are a number of complications, including Lhe 

fact that a package of test flight data instruments would 

have to be dropped from the mission. 

The satellite also is expected to be just barely within 

reach of the shuttle. The satellite now is in an orbit 333 

-141- 
miles high, and is expected to have dropped to around 327 

miles next spring. That's the maximum altitude the Columbia 

will be able to achieve by that time. 

The repair would not require spacewalking by the two-man 

shuttle crew. The idea is to use the shuttle's 58-fOot-long 

manipulator arm to grab the observatory and place it on a 

platform in the shuttle's cargo bay. 

The arm, directed by astronauts watching the action on 

television, then would turn two bolts to remove the faulty 

control system unit or module. A new module would be 

inserted into the satellite and the spacecraft would be 

released to resume normal operation, 

Turner said astronauts have practiced such an operation at 

the Johnson Space Center in Houston and feel confident the 

job could be done. 

The arm will be installed in the Columbia in the next few 

months to be tested for the first time in space on the 

shuttle's second €light, now expeceed in late Septem!-or or 

October. (SENTINEL STARl 5-2-81, p. 5-13) 

: The House Subcommittee on Space Science & Applications 

has called on the Reagan Administration to commit the United 

States to a major new space project, citing the construction 

of manned, multi-purpose orbiting Space Base as one good 

candidate for such an undertaking. 

"Commitment to a major, high-challenge space engineering 

initiative is both technically feasible and desirable," the 

subcommittee said, and the Administration should commit this 

country to such an initiative. 

The recommendations by the House subcommittee, which is 

chaired by Democrat Ronnie G. Flippo (Ala.), is in line with 

that made by the chairman of its counterpart in the Seiate, 

Republican Jack Schmitt (N.M.), who has called far a rew 

start on a Space Station in 1984. Thc recommendations also 

have the backing of Rep. Don Fuqua (D-Fla. 1, chairman of the 

subcommittee's parent Science & Technology Committee. 

-142- 
In a 41-page report on "United States Civil Space Policy'" 

released last week, the House subcommittee also recommended 

that NASA submit a set of long term goals for the space 

program, which reflect "a balance" between space science, 

applications and space transportation. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

5-4-81, pa 11, Vole 116, NO, 2) 

<> Up to eight RCA-built satellites may be launched this year, 

including three Defense Department spacecraft. The first 

two '@Nova" military navigation satellites, follow-ons to the 

Navy's Transist system, are slated for launch this year, 

along with the DOD's Block 5D-2 Defense Meteorological 

Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft. Nova, unlike Transit, 

has an orbit adjust system and a capability to store 

astronomical data €or eight days. The Block 5D-2, planned 

for launch late this year, employs extra sensors and has a 

longer service life than its predecessors. The other RCA 

satellites planned for launch this year are two NASA Dynamic 

Explorers (single Delta launch), two RCA Satcorns, and the 

NOM-C weather satellite. (DEFENSE DAILY, 5-4-81, p. 15, 

Vol. 116, No. 2) 

<> They all laughed at Christopher Columbus, too -- so retired 

Navy Capt, Robert Truaxr 63, is sticking to his drea ... 9f 

launching the first privately sponsored spaceship. Last 

summer he conducted a successful 60-second ground test of 

his homemade "Volksrocket" -- built of parts salvaged from 

the aerospace industry's junkyards -- with an eye toward a 

fifteen-minute manned flight into space and back this fall. 

Now money troubles may turn his vision into mission 

impossible. 

"We ran out of money last September," says the enqip -who 

once worked on the Navy's Polaris missile program. 'I.r!.~ax 

sank his entire savings of $60,000 into the project . .;f then 

looked for backers. We thought his worries were over when a 

Chicago real estate broker and 38 investors raised $250,000, 

but the group pulled out. Truax says he has been approached 

by venture capitalists in Phoenix and Dallas and hopes to 

raise $1 million more. His staff, meanwhile, has dv-' r.d 

to five volunteers. 

Still up in the air: who will man the rocket if it is ever 

launched? Truax is thinking of asking his old pal, 

ex-astronaut Jim Lovell, to help screen the 4,000 

-14 3- 
applicants, who range from a psychologist to a jockey. One 

of the most promising candidates is a female Braniff pilot 

who has logged 3,000 hours of flying time. 

There were technical kinks to iron outr too. For example, 

propellants have been pmped into the combustion chamber too 

quickly, causing flames to shoot out in all directions when 

the rocket is ignited. Truax figures he needs four 

Volksrockets on hand to conduct unmanned tests. The rocket 

is meant to be reusable: it will parachute to earth and be 

recovered from the sea. 

Truax is negotiating with Miami city officials in hopes of 

launching the manned rocket from the Florida coast. But 

even if he manages to raise the money he needs it will take 

at least another year to get ready for that flight. 

Meanwhile, in his driveway in Saratoga, Calif., sits the 

25-foot-long rocket "Private Enterprise." "Whenever I get 

too frustrated," he says, "I just grab my monkey wrench and 

hammer and build a little more." (NEWSWEEM, 5-4-81) 

ay 5: By the standards of 20 years ago it vas a technolsgical 

wonder. Today it would hardly rate more than perfunctory 

media coverage. 

The day was May 5, 1961. Alan Shepard sat atop a Redstone 

rocket in a cramped YIercury capsule -- known as Freedon 7 -- 

and was catapulted into space. 

The 15-minute, 22-second ride earned him a place in history 

as the first American to be launched on a suborbital flight. 

The historic mcment blazed a trail toward other space 

accomplishments.. And the memory of that first manned 

mission, while lost in today's advanced technology, still 

lingers at Kennedy Space Center. 

"We all had butterflies in our stomachs,' said fsam R!gell, 

NASA deputy director of carqo operations. 

Rigell, who was acting chief of electrical systems 20 years 

ago, took time out Monday to recall launch day as he walked 

about Freedom 7's now silent operations room at Cape . 

-144- 
behind them ready to respond to any problem," he said. 

A problem occurred at one panel, delaying the countdown for 

52 minutes. 

Rigell said he recalled Shepard barking into the microphone, 

"I'm cooler than you are. Why donst you fix your little 

problem and 1 igh t this candle. " 

Rigell said he and others hurried to replace an inverter in 

the rocket's electrical system. 

"The device had to work right," he said laughing at 

Shepard's impatience. 

Shepard encountered another delay when a computer error was 

detected. 

After a total hold time of two hours and 34 minutes, the 

count continued and progressed without trouble. 

During blastoff, Rigell and the rest sf the crew cheered the 

Mercury rocket. 

"You could just feel the rocket take off," he said. The pad 

was located only several hundred feet away from the . 

operations building. 

Looking out toward a short window facing the launch . , 

Rigell said, "Once the rocket lifted off, we couldn', see 

it." Information was fed to the crew by a tracking station. 

"When we knew the rocket was right on course, we had the job 

donern he said. 

f 

Shepard successfully splashed into the Atlantic Ocean a 

littie more than 300 miles from Cape Canaveral. 

"We were pleased because it helped the countryp" Rigell 

said. "We were really catching up with the Russians." 

-145- 
The Soviet Union successfully completed a manned orbital 

mission 23 days earlier. 

Regarding the progress of the past 20 years, Rigell said, 

"Back then we didn8t envision how fast we would travel in 

space. 

"(President) Kennedy came along and was telling us we're 

going to the moon." 

While the first manned flight was pretty exciting, Riuell 

feels bigger and better things are to come. 

As acting director of Spacelab, Rigell said he looks forward 

to the day when the United States and several European 

countries will form a permanent space station. 

The next Space Shuttle flight scheduled for this fall will 

transport equipment €or the jointly owned Spacelab, he 

said. (TODAYr 5-5-81) 

<> Preparations are under way at Kennedy Space Center for 

installation of the scientific payload for the second flight 

of the Space Shuttle Columbia, which will be launched in 

late September/October. 

The payload -- OSTA-1 (Office of Space and Terrestrial 

Applications - 1) -- is designed to demonstrate the 

Shuttle's capability as an operational space platform for 

scientific and applications research. The experiments most 

of which are being provided by the NASA office, are 

concerned primarily with remote sensing of land resources, 

atmospheric phenomena and ocean conditions. They are: 

1) Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A). An imaging radar to test 

advanced technique for napping geological structures 

important in oil and gas explorations. 

2) Multispectral Infrared Radiometer ( SIRR). Will. measure 

the solar reflectance of mineral-bearing rock formations. 

-146- 
3) Feature Identification & Location Experiment (FILE). 

Designed to discriminate between water, bare ground, 

vegetation, snow or clouds and thus be able to direct 

sensors to collect only wanted data. 

4) Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellite (HAPS). 

Designed to measure the distribution of carbon monoxide at 

the altitude between 7, 5 and 11 miles. 

5) Ocean Color Experiment (OCE). Designed to map algae 

concentrations which may indicate feeding areas for schools 

of fish and locate possible pollution in the oceans. 

6) Night & Day Optical Survey of Lightning Storms (NOSL), 

7) Heflex Bioengineering Test (HBT), A biological 

engineering experiment designed to determine the 

relationship between plant growth and moisture content in 

zero 6. (DEFENSE DAILY, 5-5-81, p. 22, Vol. 116, No. 3) 

<> NASA an$ the West German Ministry for Research Q Technology 

have signed a Memorandum of Understanding confirming the 

general understandings for the terns under which NASA will 

furnish launch and associate services to Gerrnany on a 

reimbursable and cooperative basis using the Space Shuttle. 

Specific Launch Service Agrelements will be signed for each 

individual activity. West Germany to date has paid earnest 

money to NASA for two reimbursable Spacelab missions on the 

Space Shuttle -- one for materials processing and life 

sciences experi',ients and the second for astrophysics 

experiments. Germany also plans to use the Shuttle to 

launch its Rosat x-ray satellite in 1986. Private 

organizations in Germany have also reserved a total .,L 25 

Small Self-contained Payloads for: Shuttle flight on a spaceavailable basis. (DEFENSE DAILY, 5-5-81, p. 19, Vol. 116, 

No 3) t 

<> Mr. Schmitt. mMr. President, in his address to a joint 

session of Congress last Tuesday, President Reagan said: 

'The Space Shuttle did more than prove our technological 

abilities. It raised our expectations once more; it started 

us dreaming again.' 

-14 7- 
"The President's words are so true. I should like to cite 

an example of this. The Honorable Ronnie G. Flippo, U.S. 

Representative from the Fifth District of Alabama, and Mrs. 

Manuel (Jean) Lujan, the lovely wife of my distinguished New 

Mexico colleague, the Honorable lvlanuel Lujan, U.S. 

Representative from the First District of Mew Mexico, were 

so inspired by the flight of the Columbia that they combined 

their talents and composed a song, commemorating that 

flight. I request that the words of that song be included 

in the Record." 

The text follows: 

Salute to Space Shuttle ColuP.bia's Maiden Voyage 

(by Hon. Ronnie G. Flippol 

O'Lord my name is Columbia 

And I'm perfect in every way 

I can't wait to get back to America 

Cause she gets better looking each day. 

To know me is to love me. 

Oh, I must be a hell of a plane, 

O'Lord ites hard to be humble. 

But I'm doing the best that I can. 

There are those who say I'm not worthy 

But as you can see on TV 

!4y spirit is the same as America's 

The home of the brave and the free. 

I'll fly up there for our future, 

For all of the World to see. 

I'm Columbia, the son of a great people 

And God keep America free. 

And now that I'm so damn beautiful 

And gained many admirers along the way, 

Same remember when I was an ugly duckling, 

My friends were Winn and Fuqua. 

When I glide back to earth in my glory 

With brave Crippen and Young guiding me 

I can't help expressing my feelings 

That this triumph 4s one for the free! 

O'Lord but it's hard to be humble 

Thru grumbfings of funding and such 

I've proved myself worthy aRd able 

Columbia1 s era hss punch. 

-148- 
I've started my journey at Kennedy 

And orbited far far above. 

I circled two days and six hours 

And returned to the land that 1 love. 

And now I am ready to labor 

For the benefit of all mankind 

The future looks brighter than ever 

For me and for others behind. 

O'Lord but it's hard to be humble 

And it's only my mission to search, 

To serve, to be there for the asking, 

I salute all mankind down on earth. 

(from the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD -- SENATE, S 4409, OFFICE OF 

5-5-81, Vol. XIX, No. 28, [Attachment AI) 

LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES REPORT, 

May 6: A 22-year-oid Rockledge man fell to his death Tuesday 

while working on a space shuttle launch tower. 

The accident occurred at 2:30 p.m. when the worker toppled 

from pad 39B where construction crews are converting an 

Apollo-era gantry for future space shuttle launches, said 

NASA off icials. 

The Brevard County Sheriff's Department identified the 

victim as Anthony E. Hill, 22. 

A NASA board of inquiry is expected to finish an 

investigation of the March accident sometime this week. A 

second inquiry board will be appointed to examine Tuesday's 

accident, said NASA spokesman Dick Young. 

Hill was employed by Wilhoit Construction, a subcontractor 

to Briscoe Corp. of East Orange, N.3. Briscoe is the 

primary contractor for the conversion project. 

When the accident occurred, 45 Wilhoit employees were 

assembllng the rotating service structure that swings into 

place arounc! the shuttle to service the spaceship before a 

launch, said project engineer Clifton Reeves. 

-149- 
"I was not there myself, but I understand that work stopped 

for some tine after the accident," Reeves said. "I can't 

say what height he fell from. It's still under 

investigation. (SENTINEL STAR, 5-6-81) 

<> A Hialeah firm has been awarc3ed.a $34,150 contract to 

manufacture the equipment that allows the Space Shuttle's 

payload bay doors to be opened and closed on earth. 

Fandino h Sons, Inc., of 1111 E. 52nd St., Hialeah, will 

fabricate a counter-weight device used to permit opening and 

closing the doors in a horizontal position, The device 

supports the weight of the doors in normal earth gravity. 

It will be used at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, 

from where the Shuttle is to be launched into polar !southnorth) orbit, starting in the mid-1980's. 

The contract is one set-aside for award to a small business 

firm. 

The machinery is substantially the same as that now used in 

the Orbiter Processing Facility at KSC. fKSC NEWS RELEASE 

NO. 139-91, 5-6-81) 

<> Satellite Television Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiarv of 

Comsat, has requested reservations from NASA to launch two 

satellites on the Space Shuttle in 1985 to provide saLellite 

-to-home subscription television, 

STC plans to launch one operational and one spare saL-.llite 

to provide pay television service in the eastern U.S. STC 

requestd approval from the FCC in December to begin 

construction of the two satellitesr noting that it will take 

3-4 years to have them ready for launch. FCC authorization 

to proceed with construction is required before STC can 

place ~iiy firm launch orders. 

The FCC last month unanimously aczepted STC's applica.,on 

for interim operating authority for the satellite-ea-hone 

television service. 

STC chairman John A. Johnson said that the company would 

prefer to use NASA launch services *wherever possible," 

citing the "significant financial benefits of the Shuttle." 

-150- 
The STC satellites, however, will be built for launch both 

aboard the Shuttle and The European Ariane launch vehicle. 

The company said that neither the U.S, Delta nor AtlasCentaur is suitable for its satellites. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

5-6-81, p. 32, Vola 116, NO. 4) 

ay 7:: Brevard County has the Space Shuttle. ff Robert Truax 

has his way, Miami will have the "Volks-rocket." 

The 63-year-old aeronautical engineer and retired Navy 

captain is determined to realize his dream of launching the 

world's first privately funded and produced manned rocket. 

John Feeny, a vice president in charge of promotion for 

Truax's three-man firm in Saratoga, California, will meet 

with Dade County officials later this week to discuss making 

their launch from here. 

"We've been offered launch sites all over the world? but we 

want to keep it an all-American project," said Feeny, a 

University of Miami graduate. "This is the perfect area. 

It seems a natural because Miami has had such bad publicity 

and this could help turn it E~POU~~." 

Truax added: "You want to know the truth? We've got to 

somehow pay for this project. X8ve got a quarter million 

dollars of my own money and another quarter million from 

other people who want their money back, 

"One way to do it is to take advantage of the public 

interest that seems to be there and sell tickets to - laurch site." 

Truax said four of six tests of his rocket so far have, been 

successful. 

"I've been collecting parts over the years, just resc1,izcj 

them from Lhe junk heap, because I couldn't bear to see such 

beautifui machines melted down for scrap?" he said. (TODAY, 

5-7-8 1 ) 

-151- 
<> The iron worker who fell to his death Tuesday from a space 

shuttle launch tower should have been wearing a safety 

harness, construction company officials acknowledged. 

"The normal procedure is for workers to put on a safety 

belt," said Thomas Kirby, supervisor for t7ilhoit 

International Corp., a subcontractor on launch pad 39B8 

where iron worker Anthony E. Hillr 228 oE RockLedge, died 

after plunging 100 feet Prom the metal gantry. 

Kirby said Hill was not wearing the safety device when he 

fell from the structure Tuesday afternoon. Hill, one of 45 

Wilhoit workers renovating the tower for shuttle launches, 

had been on the job about three months, Kirby said. 

He was installing a handrail on the rotating service 

structure when a metal grate gave way underneath him, 

witnesses said. The grate fell only one level, but Hill 

plummetted to the cement base of the pad. 

A NASA board of inquiry was appointed Wednesday to 

investigate the accident, but space center officials said it 

will probably be weeks before the board completes its 

report. (SENTINEL STAR, 5-7-8%, p. 2-61 

<> The Bionetics Corporation of Hampton, Virginia, has been 

awarded a nine-month, $2,045,395 extension of its contract 

to maintain reference standards and to repair and calibrate 

electronic and mechanical test equipment at NASA's John F. 

Kennedy Space Center. 

This is the fifth extension of the Bionetics contract end 

brings its total value since May, 1976, to $8,924,869. 

Bionetics is a small business firm. 

The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract extension covers the period 

from Flay 1, 1981, through Jan. 31: 1982. (KSC RELEASE NO. 

141-81, 6-7-81) 

<> Flowers Chemical Laboratories of Altamonte Springs, Florida, 

has been awarded a one-year, $45,374 contract by NASA's John 

F. Kennedy Space Center. 

-152- 
The contract calls for the laboratory to develop techniques 

that will allow more efficient and economical disposal of 

certain wastes that must now be treated as hazardous. 

The waste in question is produced when a compound called 

Marshall Sprayable Ablative (MSA) is applied to the nose 

cones and aft-skirt fairings of the recoverable Solid Rocket 

Boosters that help propel the Space Shuttle toward orbit. 

An ablative substance is a form of insulation that protects 

by burning away as the SRB's, for example, move from lower 

to higher temperatures. 

MSA is prepared by combining a powder with a liquid base 

containing solvents. It is then sprayed on the SRB sections 

to be protected. The leftovers from spraying and finishing 

must be disposed of as hazardous waste. Some waste is also 

produced when the rockets are being prepared for reuse. 

If the solid ingredients in the waste could be separated 

from the liquid, the volume of hazardous waste would be 

reduced. Recovering the solvents from the liquid waste 

would further decrease its toxicity. 

The contract is one set-aside for award to a sniall business 

firm. (KSC RELEASE NO. P$2-8lr 5-7-81) 

: Problems in manufacturing the Space Shuttle's External 

Tank will limit NASA to conducting a maximum of 36 Shuttle 

flights through 1985, the agency told the House HUD-IA 

Appropriations Subcommittee. 

The agency had planned to conduct 48 Shuttle flights in the 

1382-85 period, but 7 NASA missions were cut from that total 

by the revised FY '82 Reagan budget. 

The missions, primarily commercial satcorns, that cannot be 

accommodated on the Shuttle, will be carried on expendable 

launch vehicles, primarily the Delta and also the AtlasCentaur, acting NASA Administrator DP. Alan Lovelace said. 

4 

He expressed confidence that the Shuttle and the expendable 

vehicles will meet the launch requirements. 

-153- 
Associate Adminisrator John Yardley projected ET production 

at from 25 to 36 tanks through 1985, and said he thought 36 

is achievable. Lovelace, however, said that the agency is 

looking at a flight manifest of 34 Shuttle missions in that 

period. (DEFENSE DAILY, 5-8-81, p. 45, Vol. 116, No. 6) 

<> The reusable insulation tiles on the Space Shuttle Orbiter 

Columbia experienczd temperature levels during reentry "much 

lower than predicted," and, as a result, current estimates 

are that only 100 tiles will have to be replaced and 300 

tiles repaired. An additional 160 tiles, identified as 

replacement candidates prior to the STS-1 flight, may also 

be replaced. 

The overall repairs and modifications to Columbia required 

as a result of the first flight are described as minimum. 

As for the damage to the launch pad, NASA says that damage 

was less than occurred on any Apollo launch. (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 5-8-81, p* 46r Val. 116, NO. 6) 

<> It was a pioneering flight that opened a new arena for human 

accomplishment -- space. 

Tensions mounted as the moment for liftoff neared. 

And then... 

"...five, four, three, two, one, zero. Liftoff. You're on 

your way, Jose," came the send-off from Deke Slayton at 

Mission Control. 

A reassuring voice responded quickly: "Roger, liftoff and 

the clock is started. Reading you loud and clear. This is 

Freedom Seven." 

Alan Shepard was off the ground and on his way to becoming 

the first American in space. 

-154- 
-- 

Tuesday (May 5th) marked the 20th anniversary o€ Freedom 

Seven's historic flight, and the birth of the U.S. manned 

space program. 

Though Shepard's journey lasted only 15 minutes, it was the 

beginning of a great endeavor that would eventually land 

Americans on the Moon and lead to the creation of a new 

national resource which will enable the nation to use this 

new environment to its fullest -- the Space Shuttle. 

At 9:34 a.m. on May 5, 1961, the slender black and white 

Redstone rocket roared to life. 

With just about one percent the liftoff thrust of the Space 

Shuttle, and Redstone boosted a tiny Mercury spacecraft 

containing Shepard on a ballistic trajectory that would peak 

116 miles above the Earth's surface and bring Freedom Seven 

to a splash-down in the Atlantic Ocean a little over 300 

miles downrange from Cape Canaveral. 

America's first manned space mission was an unqualified 

success. 

Though it was long ago abandoned as an active site, the 

launch complex is now part of the sprawling Air Force Space 

Museum. It comes to life once again during frequent visits 

by those taking KSC guided bus tours and the Sunday 

drive-through tours of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 

Across the Banana River, at KSC's Visitors Center, is the 

recently remodeled Hall of History, and a manned spaceflight 

exhibit which includes the first Mercury capsule flc . in 

space. It was an unoccupied craft successfully tested on a 

sub-orbital flight five months before Shepard's misS'dn. 

On display near the capsule is a Mercury spacesuit -- used 

by Astronaut Gordon Cooper. 

The Freedom Seven Mercury capsule flown by SheFard is on 

exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum ill WashinGron, 

D. C. and his suit is on display at the Johnson Space Center 

in Houston. (SPACEPORT NEWS, 5-8-81, p. 1, Vol. 20, No. 9) 

-155- 
<> Small business is big business at KSC, says Jack Dryer, 

Industry Advisor and Small Business Specialist in KSC's 

Procurement Office. Dryer's comments cane as KSC prepares 

to join other NASA centers during Small Business Week, May 

10-16. 

Small businesses account for a large amount of KSC's 

contractor work, garnering 20, wards and contracts 

during FY 1980 at a value of $ million. Further, KSC 

has awarded $40 million to small business firms through 

March of FY 1981, said Dryero bringing the total to over 

$257 million since FY 1970. In those years as much as 60 

percent of all small business awards went to Florida-based 

firms. 

Among the small businesses currently under contract with KSC 

are: Expedient Services of Titusville, which provides roads 

and grounds services; BAMSI, a minority-owned firm which 

supplies key punch services, New World Services, another 

minority-owned firm which operates the technical and 

research library; McGregor-Werner, Inc., which furnishes 

publications, audio-visual and word processing services: 

Atlantic Technical Services, which handles mail and 

distribution services; Management Servicesp Ine,, which 

operates chemical cleaning and component refurbishment 

facilities; Bionetics Corporation, which operates the 

calibration laboratory; the UniEded Services, a 

minority-owned firm which supplies janitorial services. 

Various other small businesses currently furnish supplies or 

perform construction work at the Spaceport. (SPACEPORT 

NEWS, 5-8-81, p. 3, Vole 20, NO. 9) 

<> The 18th Space Congress was called to order last week on 

twin notes of pride and practicality, The chord was -:Jnded 

by two distinguished Congressmen, U.S. Representatives Bill 

Nelson and Don Fuqua. 

Nelson, a longtime Space Congress figure, introduced Fuqua 

with an anecdote which reflected the pride both men felt 

during the desert landing of the Columbia. 

As keynote speaker, Fuqua then accented the practical 

aspects of Space Shuttle operations. 

-156- 
"We nust get down to what the practical uses of the Space 

Shuttle are," he said, "We must use it like an airliner to 

space. 'I 

Fuqua noted that many of those practical u5es were as yet 

undreamed of, but predicted that they would be as diverse 

and innovative as the imaginations of the Space Sh~?tt.I@~s 

users. 

As Chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, 

Fuqua next observed that the key to an ongoing space program 

is funding stability, especially in the areas of research 

and development. 

He said he believes that research and development programs 

which are promising should be continued and not be subjected 

to the whims of committees or administrations. Funding, he 

added, should not be based on the waxing and waning of 

interest by those outside the field, 

Following the keynote address was a panel discussion chaired 

by John Yardley, NPSA's Associate Wdministratsr for the 

Space Transportation System. Yardley summed up the first 

Space Shuttle mission as a major suceess, but he note2 

certain areas for improvement. 

These include determining why the flotation bags for two of 

the six parachutes to sink and be lost: finding out why the 

tumble valve OR the external tank failed to open as it 

should have after tank separation; determining what eaused a 

flight data recorder in the orbiter to fail and lose mission 

data; and determining what caused some of the thermal 

protection tiles to be damaged. 

On the latter topic, Yardley explained that the tiles in 

general performed much better than expected, keeping ?-biter 

skin temperatures more than 100 degrees cooler than 

predicted. Workers have so far found 303 tiles which were 

damaged in some degree, mostly small chips or gougeE 

Other NASA panel members included Donald RBeke" Slayton, 

manager of the orbital flight test program, Daniel Germany, 

who manages the orbiter production program, Glynn Lunney, 

manager of the STS Operations Program Office, and Aaron 

Cohen, who manages the Space Shuttle Orbiter Project Office. 

-157- 
Slayton responded to earlier s&)eculation that one Of tbe 

flight test missions might be eljminated due to the SUCCess 

of the first mission. 

He reminded the audience that the entire program was success 

oriented, and that the planners had set four as the minimum 

number of test missions needed. 

Slayton did. however, say that the first landing on a 

concrete Purlway at Edwards and the first landing at KSC 

might be moved up by one flight, possibly occurring on the 

third and fourth missions respectively. 

Other panel members outlined the preliminary results of 

STS-1 and gave predictions for traffic flow, orbiter 

production schedules and future improvements to the Space 

Shuttle during their presentations. A final panel member 

represented the Space Shuttle commercial user. Yohn Almond, 

Vice President of Engineering for TELES T of Canada spoke of 

the concerns and troubles caused by Space Shuttle launch 

delays, but also said that things look very good for the 

future. (SPACEPORT NEWSl 5-8-81, p. 2 & 6, Vol. 209 F?o. 9) 

ay I): The Space Shuttle's launch helped boost a~~en~an~~ to 

an April record at Kennedy Space Center, NASA reports. 

April's visitors totaled 198,688 at KSC's Visitors Centero 

operated under contract by TWA Services Inc. That is more 

visitors than far any other April since the center opened in 

1966. It is 26 percent higher than April 1980. 

KSC Tours has set attendance records every month this "ear. 

NASA and TWA officials both give credit to the Shuttle for 

renewed interest in the space center, which has been visited 

by 20 million people since its opening. (TODAY, 5-9-81) 

z Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.) has criticized NASA for 

its management of the Tracking & Data Relay Satellite System 

(TDRSS) program, which he says has increased in cost by over 

$1 billion. He cited a report by the NASA inspector general 

which said that the ten-year-old lease of the TDRSS 

spacecraft will cost $2.156 billion instead of the $812 

-158- 
.. . ' . ,.- 

million originally estimated. Proxmire called the satellite 

system "overpriced, overweight, oversold and overdue." He 

pointed out that the TDRS can only be launched by the Space 

Shuttle, and that the delay in launching the satellites is 

costing the taxpayers $lmillion a day. The first TDRS is 

now scheduled for launch in January 1983 on the third 

operational Shuttle flight, some 26 months behind schedule. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 5-11-81, p. 60, Vole 114, NO. 8) 

<> Shuttle project and launch site managers here are weighing 

the needs of launch crew rest against orbiter vehicle 

turnaround and shuttle funding requirements to help target 

liftoff of Columbia's second flight test mission, to be 

piloted by astronauts USAF Col. Joe H. Engle and Navy Capt. 

Richard H. Truly. A mid- to late-October launch would be 

the earliest date possible if an optimum launch crew rest 

schedule is followed. 

First post-flight turnaround of the shuttle orbiter Columbia 

will take significant steps toward space airline type 

operations as many tests traditional for earlier space 

vehicle processing here are deleted. Inherent autonomy of 

the orbiter and system redundancy will alblbow this approach, 

and cost considerations mandate it. There are many older 

members of the Kennedy launch teain here who consider this 

approach controversial so early in the shuttle flight 

program. Younger launch team members who have had less 

experience with the Saturn/Apollo system have fewer 

reservations over test reductions. 

The shuttle orbiter Columbia arrived here on its Boeing 747 

carrier aircraft April 28 to begin at least a 25-week 

preparation for the second liftoff. 

Manpower fatigue and morale have become important 

considerations for pacing Space Transportation System 

(STS-2) processing, especially in light of the plannef 

reduction in vehicle tests. "Our launch director, center 

director and shuttle project director are all concerned with 

fatigue and morale. We are not sure we can work the lairnch 

team on three shifts, seven days a week for the second flow 

as was done on the first," Glenn Parker, orbiter marlager 

for the Kennedy Shuttle Projects Office, said. 

Parker said there is strong consideration here to adopt a 

two-shift six-day per week work schedule except in critical 

areas. Some persons would be placed on a two-shift five-day 

-159- 
per week schedule under such a concept. Under three-shift, 

seven-day operations the STS-2 vehicle processing flow would 

last at least 25 weeks from vehicle roll-in to the Orbiter 

Processing Facility through the second liftoff from Pad 39A. 

That schedule would place liftoff of Engle and Truly about 

October 19 based on Orbiter Processing Facility roll-in 

April 29. (AVIATION WEEK &I SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 5-11-81, p* 

50, Vole 114, NO. 19) 

ay 13: The Kennedy Space Center is among the NASA centers and 

government agencies observing the week of May 10 as Small 

Business Week. 

By presidential proclamation, the week honors the 12 million 

small businesses which pkovide the livelihood of more than 

100 million Americans. 

As part of the KSC observanceo Fred Boles, KSC Prxurement 

Officer, will make a presentation on KSC's contribution to 

the small business community at the Brevard Community 

College Lecture Auditorium, Room POQl Vocation Center, in 

Cocoa, on Saturday, May 23, from 9:JO - lL:30 a.m. The 

presentation is open to the public without charge. 

During Fiscal Year 1980, KSC issued $46.2 million in mare 

than 20,000 awards to small businesses. Of that amount, 

about $19.2 million went to Florida-based firms, many of 

them in Brevard County. 

Thus far in Fiscal Year 1981, KSC has awarded over $40 

million to small business concerns. Since Fiscal Year 1970, 

the value of awards to small husiness concerns by KSC has 

exceeded $257 million. 

In a memorandum to center managers, KSC Director Richard G. 

Smith noted: "To implement this new emphasis on the Small 

Business Program, all personnel who participate in the 

requirements process - engineers, logisticians, procurement 

personnel - must be alert to the small business 

opportunities available. 

Myour understanding and support of our efforts to place 

awards with small business firms, whenever possible, are 

essential to its success. Please join with me in supporting 

this segment of the private enterprise sector." (KSC ' 

RELEASE NO. 145-81, 5-13-81) 

-160- 
<> A record number of major corporations are taking a look at 

Brevard County -- and many of them apparently like what they 

see. 

Enthused by an unusually high nwtber of industrial 

prospects, county development officials predict that 1981 

may produce a bumper crop of new industrial plants on the 

Space Coast. They say recent announcements by International 

Telephone and Telegraph Corporation and Hughes Aircraft 

Company may be only the beginning. 

Unlike the job explosion of the late 1970s that zeroed in on 

South Brevard while virtually ignoring the rest of the 

county, this year's prospects are expected to be much more 

evenly distributed. Titusville and Central Brevard are 

getting their share of corporate lookers -- some of them 

firms whose work relates to NASA's Space Shuttle at nearby 

Kennedy Space Center. 

"Our activity has never been higher," said John E. McCauley, 

executive director of the c~~nt~-f~~~e~ Brevaard Economic 

Development Council. "It looks like it will be a very good 

year." (TODAY, 5-13-81) 

<> The possibility of a manned U.S. mission to land on Mars by 

the year 2000 is once again on the long-range drawing boards 

of NASA planners, 

The manned Mars landinc; mission was given major 

consideration in the late 1960's as a possible follow-on to 

the Apollo lunar landing project, but has fallen by-the 

wayside for the more productive and broader-based Sp---. 

Shuttle and planned Space Station projects. Developmnt of 

the Shuttle and Qace Station projects will, of COUT- , give 

the U.S. a major new capability to effectively conduct the 

manned Mars mission. (Another possible impetus, which some 

say is a good possibility, is the initiation of a Soviet 

manned Mars project.) 

One group that is taking such a mission into account is 

NASA's Solar System Exploration Committee, which advises 

NASA on which future planetary, solar and Other solar system 

mission the agency should conduct. The committee is slated 

to report to the agency this summer on which solar system 

exploration missions should be conducted after those 

-161- 
presently approved and is basing part of its recommendations 

on the possibility of the manned Mars flight by the year 

2000 -- considering which missions should be conducted as 

precursors to that mission. 

NASA due to budget limitations has dropped plans for any 

follow-on unmanned Mars missions for this decade, but is 

studying a number of possible missions for the early 199O's, 

including a Mars Sample Return Mission and a combined Sample 

Return/Rover mission. (DEFENSE DAILY, 5-13-81, pp. 71 & 72, 

Vol. 116, No. 9) 

<> NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center has awarded a contract 

to the Florida Institute of Technology, University 

Boulevard, Melbourne, €or research on inprovenent of systems 

to remove the vapors of hypergolic liquids. 

The value of the one-year contract, whS h calls for a 

preliminary design of the inproired system, is $152~695, 

Hypergolic propellants are used in the Space Shuttle'5 

Orbital Maneuvering Subsystem and its Reaction Control 

Subsystem. They are also ursed 071 unmanned vehicles such as 

the Delta. 

Hypergolic propellants are liquids that ignite on contact, 

without an ignition system. This easy start ant? restart 

capability makes them desirable for spacecraft maneuvering 

systems. They are also easy to store because they do not 

have extreme temperature requirements. Some other rocket 

propellants, such as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen must 

be kept extremely cold. 

The vapors from hypergolic liquids are extremely toxic, and 

working with them requires stringent safety precautions. 

(RSC RELEASE NO. 147-81, 5-13-81] 

: ACL-Filco Corporation, 3333 West Warner Avenue, ,anta 

Ana, California, has been awarded a contract of $2,190,844 

by ?IASA's Jphn F. Kennedy Space Center to produce 26 control 

panels used in processing Space Shuttle orbiters between 

missions. 

-162- 
The panels and associated hardware are used in draining 

hypergolic propellants from the orbiter's Auxiliary 

Propulsion System and the Forward Reaction Control System, 

securing those systems and checking them out. When the 

Space Shuttle returns from orbit some fuel remains in the 

sys terns. 

ACL-Filco is a small business firm. The work is to be 

completed between mid-May, 1981, and October, 1982. (KSC 

RELEASE NO. 144-81, 5-14-81) 

ay 16: The second flight of the space shuttle Columbia, the 

reuvable rocket plane that returned the United States to 

space glory last month, has been scheduled for Sept. 30, the 

space agency announced Friday. 

The four-day, five-hmr orbital voyage will mark the first 

time a spaceship has flown more than once. The Columbia 

again will lane at Edwards Air Force Base, California. 

Officials at the Kennedy Space Center said they originally 

planned tc launch astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly 

Oct. 18, but advanced the date to Sept. 30 by deleting 

unnecessary tests. 

Launch by Sept. 30, the last day in the fiscal year, would 

enable NASA to meat a commitment to Congress: two Shuttle 

flights in fiscal 1981. (THE MIAMI HERALD, 5-16-81). 

ay 19: Seven years after joining NASA as head of the tf-ort 

to develop the Space Shuttle, which successfully made ics 

maiden flight a month ago, John F. Yardley, NASA's associate 

administrator for space transportation systems, has 

announced his intentions to leave the agency effectivG Yay 

30 to return to McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co. as 

president . 

Largely unsung, he was the key man in the development of the 

Space Shut+.le. His resignation following the successful 

Shuttle flight was not unexpected. 

-163- 
Yardley was vice president and general manager Of McDonnell 

Douglas Astronautics' Eastern Division prior to joinging 

NASA, He joined McDonnell in 1946 as a structural engineer 

and later served as project engineer for design of the 

Mercury spacecraft (1958-60), as launch op@ratjlOnS manager for the Mercury and Gemir.! spacecr 

technical director for Pwini (196 

The post of associate adn 'strator for space t~~n~~

systems will be taken 5y L. Michael Weeks, who was named 

Yardley's deputy in November 1979. Prior to th t, Weeks had 

served since 1975 as manager of advanced systems development 

for General Electric's Reentry and EnVirOnRI@ntal SySt@mS 

Division. 

Weeks began his career at McDonnell Aircraft Corp., where he 

worked on the Mercury program under Yardley. He later 

served at herospace Corp., working an the Manned Orbiting 

Laboratory (MOL) program, and was vice president and general 

manager of LTV Corp.*s Missile and Space Division. (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 5-19-81? p. 99, Vole 116, NO. 13) 

<> Baeing Services International, Inc, has wan a supplenental 

agreement to an existing contract with %he space center. 

The agreement covers a modification to the contract to 

permit accelerated efforts in support of Space Shuttle 

launch preparations, 

The value of the cost plus award fee agreement is $5,075,000 

and brings the total value of the Boeing contract at KSC to 

$187,343,227. (KSC RELEASE NO. 153-81, 5-19-81) 

0: President Reagan Tuesday honored America's space 

shuttle astronautsr telling the mission's commander during 

an Oval Office award ceremony, "I'm glad you're not a fella 

who believes in keeping your feet on the ground.@ 

A beaming Presidrnt and Vice President George Bush wel~omed 

Columbia spacecraft commander John Y5un4, the shuttle', 

pilot, Pqavy Cmdr, Robert Crippen, and their Emilirrs to the 

White Rouse. The astronauts were honored for their 

successful mission in Earth orbit April 12-34, 

-164- 
The President then attended a luncheon for 21past and 

present U.S. astronauts in the Rose Garden. 

Young and Crippen received the Distinguished Service Medal 

Citation from the President, and acting NASA administrator 

Alan Lovelace received the Presidential Citizen's Medal. 

In dddition, Young, who flew on America's first two-man 

orbital spacecraEt in 1965 in the Gemini program, received 

the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. He is the only 

person to fly in space five times. 

Among thosc attending the luncheon were William Anders, Neil 

Armstrong, Alan Bean, Frank Borman, Scott Carpenter, Eugene 

Cernan, Michael Collins, Charles Conrad, Gordon Cooper, 

Sen. John Glenn (&-Ohio), Fred Haise, James Lovell, James 

McDivitt, Walter Schirra, Sen. Harrison Schmitt (R-N.M.), 

Russell Schweickart, Alan Shepard, Donald Slayton, Thomas 

Stafford and the two Columbia astronauts, Young and Crippen. 

(THE MIAMI HERALD# 5-20-81, p. 14A) 

ay 21: Gerald D. Griffin, Acting Associate Administrator for 

External Relations at MASA Headquarters and Deputy Director 

at the Kennedy Space @enters will relinquish his 

Headquarters duties effective Sune 1 and return to full-time 

duty at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. 

Griffin has been serving in the dual role since July 7, 

1980. Russell Ritchie, the Deputy Associate Administrator 

for External Relations, will manage the office until a 

successor is chosen. 

While at Headquarters, in addition to his External Relations 

duties, Griffin served as the NASA Transition Officer during 

the Carter-to-Reagan transition. He also played a ke; role 

in planning NASA's external activities related to the first 

flight of the Space Shuttle on April 12-14. 

Since assuming the Headquarters post, he has spent about 25 

percent of his time at Kennedy Space Center. 

-165- 
Dr. Alan M. Lovelace, NASA Acting Administrator, said: 

"Gerry Griffin has done an outstanding job in handling the 

responsibilities of two demanding jobs simultaneously. His 

duties as TranSitiOR Officer, coupled with the complex 

planning required for the first Shuttle Flight, caused us to 

keep him in a dual role for about a year at consider 

hardship to Gerry and his family. I very much appreciate 

his efforts and the cooperation of the KSC ~~n~~~~~~~ team 

that allobed this arrangement to work.' (RSC ~~~~A~~ NO. 

81-69, 5-21-43 1 ) 

2: Rocco Petrone, director of Marshall Space Flight 

Center during 1973-74, has been hired by Rockwell 

International as executive vice president of the space 

transportations systems group. 

Petrone started his career at Redstone Arsenal then moved to 

launch operations at Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space 

Center, Florida. He returned to Huntsville as Marshall's 

deputy director then director during the center's worst 

period of lay-offs. 

After leaving the space program he became chairman and chief 

exectutive ag the National Center for Resource Recovery 

outside Washington. 

A Rockwell spokesman said Petrone's responsibilities Will 

not involve activities under contract to Marshall. 

(HUNTSVILLE TIMES, 5-22-81) 

<> Dallas Gillespie, Deputy Comptroller, was recently appbinted 

as Chairperson of the Equal Opportunity Advisory Committee. 

He will serve in this capacity for one year. 

The EOAC is made up of a cross-section of the NASA workforce 

by grade, sex, ethnic background and level of suthority from 

each Directorate. Additionally, each employee group with 

exclusive recognition is represented on the Committee. 

Members of the Committee and its Chairperson are appointed 

by the Center Director following recommendation by their 

Directorate. The primary responsibility of the EOAC is to 

furnish advice and assistance to Center management for 

program improvement and for evaluating program 

effectiveness. 

-166- 
This committee serves as a two-way conduit between KSC 

management and employees to surface issues and ideas and 

dback for plans and concepts. Some issues the 

EOAC Committee has dealt with in the past include the ctm of 

the Reassignment Opportunity Bulletin vs. Merit Promotion 

~nn5uncements. 

Another issue discussed concerned women employees with 

administrative degrees employed in clerical positions not 

being able to compete for higher grade jobs. 

Issues of discussion for the coming year will include but 

not be limited to: 

* Continuation of ethnic group programs (Black History 

Week, Hispanic Week, etc) vs. Proclaim Your Heritage Week. 

* 

* Formation of a Language Skills Development Program. 

* Development of the KSC Affirmative Action Plans as it 

relates to hiring and promotion god.% for mino~itPes, wonen 

and the handicapped e 

Formation of a Black Employees Working Group. 

Members of EOWC ask for your support to ideas and 

encouragement to make this committee a success. (~~~CEP~~T SI 5-22-81, ppe 2&6, Vole 20, NO. 10) 

8 Acting NASA Administrator 9r. Alan Lovelace told the House 

Science & Technology Committee Wednesday that the project 

the U.S. needs to proceed with now to build on the 

capabiiities provided by the Space Shuttle is the Space 

Operations Center (SOC) -- a modular, permanently manned 

orbiting Space Station. 

"I think that the sooner the United States can get on with 

that the better," Lovelace said. 

The FY '82 NASA budget contains less than $1 million Ear 

continuation of Phase A studies on the Space Operations 

Center. NASA has proposed to initiate development of the 

SOC Core and its modules in FY '84. (DEFENSE DAILY? 

5-22-81, p. 124, VO~. 116, NO. 16) 

-167- 
s-E aboard a Delta rocket on ay 22, 1981. 

-168- 
<> Launch of the NOAA GOES-E weather satellite, which was 

postponed Thursday because of a circuit breaker malfunction 

in an ARIA tracking aircraft, was postoned again this 

weekend because of a potential vibration problem. Testing 

conducted by Hughes Aircraft, GOES prime, on the GOES-F 

satellite indicated that launch vibrations could potentially 

cut off the power to the GOES-E's new Visible Infrared 

Spin-Scan Radiometric Atmospheric Sounder...instsument. 

NASA is now looking at whether it has to de-mate the 

spacecraft from its Delta launch vehicle. A new launch date 

has nQ>e been set. (DEFENSE DAILY, 5-22-81, p. 126, Vol. 

116, NO. 16) 

<> There was more pomp in Washington and bigger crowds in 

Chicago. Rut Thursday it was like coming home, acccrding to 

space shuttle commander John Young. 

"The fireworks in Chicago were only one-millionth of the 

fireworks that went on here in April," Young told 2,C)OQ 

space center workers who gave him a standing ovation. Crip 

and I were thankful we didn't have a rear-view mirrL'i:.* 

Looking back on the launch that catapulted the Columbia into 

orbit, pilot Robert Crippen said the shuttle was not the 

"turkey" some critics imagined. 

"I'm here to tell you that turkey really flies nice," 

Crippen said. "That's a superb flying turkey." 

Crippen and Young toured the processing hangar where the 

Columbia is being readied for a Sept. 30 launch. Large 

portions of the spaceship have been dissected or disrzptled, 

and the shuttle's two orbital maneuvering engines hG.- been 

removed for refurbishment. 

Before Columbia rolls to her launch pad again in late 

August, Rockwell International technicians must replace 300 

tiles and strengthen 500 more. There will also be a . w 

outer coating on 2,000 tiles that were slightly damagca 

during the launch and landing. 

Stacking began this week on the solid-fuel rocket boosters 

that will carry the Columbia aloft on its second flight. 

Final mating of the orbiter, rocket boosters and an external 

fuel tank is scheduled for August. 

-169- 
Some technicians hardly looked up from their tasks as Young 

and Crippen clambered up metal catwalks for a better look at 

the spacecraft that carried them 37 times around the Earth. 

Dr. Robert Gray, mar.ager of shuttle projects, apologized for 

the lack of fanfare. 

"We have no motorcycle escorts or ticker tape parades," said 

Gray. '"But we do have the launch pad and the shuttle. No 

one else has shown you that yet." 

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you. We want to 

thank you for taking such good care of the flying machine," 

he said. 

At a noon ceremony, the astronauts helped launch a new stamp 

series commemorating the space shuttle flight. Thousands of 

stamp collectors mobbed the visitors center to purchase the 

stamps on the first day of issue, One dealer even flew in 

from West Germany to snap up $12,000 worth of stamps. 

(SENTINEL STAR, 5-22-81, p. 3A) 

3s The space agency finally carried out the launch of the 

GOES-5 sophisticated weather satellite late Friday after 

delaying it three times. 

The satellite shot into space at 6:29 p.m. EDT atop a 

fire-spitting Delta rocket. 

If all goes well, the Geostationary Operational 

Environmental Satellite No. 5 will be parked 22,300 miles 

above the equator near the coast of Ecuador. It will give 

forecasters pictures and sophisticated readings on weather 

patterns across eastern North America, Central America, 

South America and a large area of the Atlantic Ocean. 

The GOES-5 is a replacement €or a National Oceanic an? Space 

Administration satellite launched February i, 1975, '. .e 

more sophisticated satellite becomes the second of a new 

series that carries a telescope-type instrument that will 

improve weather forecasting, particularly on the development 

of storms and tornadoes, officials said. 

-170- 
GOES-4 was launched over the Pacific Ocean last September. 

(SENTINEL STAR, 5-23-81, p. 9-C) 

<> Like all heroes should, astronaut John Young ate all his 

. carrots. In fact, he ate almost everything on his yellow, 

plastic Princeton Elementary School cafeteria plate except 

the tiny American flag atop the strawberry shortcake. He 

didn't finish his peas either. 

Making a triumphant return to his hometown of Orlando Friday 

after successfully piloting the space shuttle Columbia, 

Young probably could have had his pick of restaurants for 

lunch. The city and its restaurants were his. 

But the tightly choreographed schedule of six stops in seven 

hours left little time for lunch anywhere but the basement 

cafeteria of Young's old elementary school. 

The sixth-graders with whom he shared lunch were clearly 

inspired by his astronautical feats and obviously impressed 

by his presence, but not enough to follow his example and 

eat all their carrots. Most cleared their plates of the 

turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and roE3sp but left their 

vegetables unmolested. 

Twelve-year-old James D'Ortano, sitting next to Young, 

hardly touched his lunch at all. The youngster spent the 

entire lunch hour quizzing Young about his space shuttle 

flight, being an astronaut, and other things more exciting 

than vegetables and yellow gravy. 

"He said when he flew the Columbia, at first it was c,,,". of 

scary, then after that it was like riding in a caro" James 

said. (SENTINEL STAR, 5-23-81, p. 12-81 

1 

<> The 154th Delta rocket to leave the ground since 196' 

cleared its pad and the Earth's atmosphere Friday, carrying 

a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather 

satellite successfully into a preliminary orbit. 

- 17 1- 
Although the GOES-E (Geostationary Orbital Environmental 

Satellite) had been nicknamed the "No-GOES" because of a 

series of launch delays, the Delta and its $16 million 

payload worked just as the engineers said it would. 

"Let me say that*s the way we like to do it: clean, simp3.e 

and by the textbook all the way," said Charles Gay, KSC's 

director of Deltas and Atlas Centaurs. 

In fact, the rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station at 6:29 p.m. worked a little too well. Its first 

stage was a little "hot" -- aerospace jargon for too fast. 

The speed was corrected automatically by the rocket when the 

second stage cut off seven seconds early, Gay said. 

From a staticnary vantage point 22,300 miles above Columbia, 

South Americ3, the infrared and camera eyes of the satellite 

will keep a watch on the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico 

and the Atlantic Ocean to monitor the development of 

weather, especially hurricanes. It is the GOES satellite 

that provides the weather photographs seen on television and 

in newspapers. (TODAYI 5-23-81) 

: Leaving its bright orange perch by the ocean behind, 

an Atlas Centaur rocket Saturday ferried an international 

communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station's launch complex 36B to a new home high in space. 

Although 20 minutes late, the 6:42 p.m. launch of INTELSAT 5 

satellite was picture perfect, blazing a flaming trail 

across an azure sky. Then, about 50 seconds into flight, 

the rocket suddenly laid a five-second-long, snake-like 

contrail as it passed through an area of humid atmosphere. 

Earlier it had appeared the INTELSAT would sit. An operator 

on the control panel inadvertently flicked the wrong switch 

less than two minutes from T-Zew. But he caught and 

reported his mistake, and the c0ur.t was recycled back to the 

five-minute mark. 

After systems were checked, the rocket was launched with 

less than 6C seconds to spare before the first launch slot 

ran out -- "A real cliff hanger," said one engineer. 

-172- 
Once in stationary orbit over the Atlantic Ocean, the 

satellite, second in a series of a dozen INTELSAT 5 

satellites, will transm,'; signals back and forth among the 

Americas, Europe, the ltliddle East and Africa. The largest 

satellite of its kind, an INTELSAT 5 can transmit Some 

12,000 phone conversations plus two color television 

programs. 

INTELSAT is a 106-nation organization in the process of 

setting up a worldwide satellite communications system. 

Nearly two-thirds of the world's transoceanic signals are 

carried over XNTELSAT satellites. 

The XNTELSAT 5 series will inc2ude satellites in stationary 

orbits above the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The 

total capacity of the series, including spares will be 

153,000 telephone conversations and 24 television channels. 

Manufactured by Ford Aerospace & Communications Corp., with 

the help of an international team of aerospace 

manufacturers, the average cost of an INTELSAT 5 is about 

$34 million. XNTELSAT paid NASA $42 million for the 

launch. (TODAY, 5-24-81) 

May 27: NASA now estimates that the cost to cGmplete 

development of the Space Telescope will be $700 to $750 

million in FY $82 dollars, which compares with the original 

estimate of $540 million to $595 million in FY '82 dollars, 

according to the Senate Commerce Committee. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

5-27-81, pe 143, Vole 116, NO. 18) 

May 28: NASA calls it a "getaway special" and the list af 

. Las Vegas casino and the government of West Germany. 

customers ranges from movie director Steven Spielberg to a 

I 

So far, 290 space fans, groups and governments have paid 

$500 cash deposits to rent space in the cargo bay of the 

space shuttle beginning in the 1982 or early 1983 to send 

small experircents into orbit. 

High school students in Camden, N.J., for example, plan to 

send an ant farm up to see if the zero-gravity atmosphere 

affects insect social organization. 

-173- 
. 

The "getaway special" -- which comes in three sizes and 

costs $3,000 to $10,000 -- was conceived in 1976 by the 

space agency to get the public involved in the shuttle 

program. 

To qualify for passage, customers must show their experiment 

has some scientific purpose. (THE MIAMI HERALD, 5-28-81) 

: The FY '81 supplemental appropriations bill approved 

by the Senate last week includes zi $33.4 million reduction 

in the amount requested by the Reagan Administration for 

NASA Research & Development. 

The bill calls for a recission of $37.9 million from the 

Carter Administration's FY '81 NASA R & I) budget -- compared 

to the $4.5 million recission recommended by the Reagan 

Administration and approved by the House Appropriations 

Comm i t tee, 

The key action in the Senate bill is the denial of the 

transfer of $60 million of Space Science & Applications 

funds to the Space Shuttle. 

At the same time, the Senate bill restores $14.6 million for 

the International Solar Polar Mission, $3 million for the 

Solar Electric Propulsion Stage, $3 million for Materials 

Processing, $2 million for Technology Utilization and $4 

million for Aeronautical R & T which the Reagan 

Administration proposed to eliminate. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

5-29-ai, p. 159, voi. 116, NO. 20) 

<> NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center has awarded a one-year, 

$1,121,274 contract extension to Atlantic Teehriical 

Services, 1203 Charles Street, Longwood, Florida. 

The contract extension is for the second year of pravj.ding 

maif and distribution services in support of NASA and 

contractor elements at the Kennedy Space Center and covers 

the period from May I, 3.981, through April 30, 1982. 

-174- 
The new award brings the aggregate value of the parent 

contract to $1,898,566. Atlantic Technical Services is 

classed as a small business firm. (KSC RELEASE NO. 158-81, 

5-29-81] 

May 30: 3[f you haven't been out to Kennedy Space Ccn'ceb- lately 

to see the visitors center, you@rre in for a pleasant 

surprise. It has grown bigger and better in recent months. 

And to show Brevard County community leaders how much bigger 

and better the state's fourth most popular attraction has 

become, NASA and TWA Services Inc., the company that runs 

the center, took about a 100 merchants and officials through 

the new facilities Friday. 

The most obvious addition is a 224-foot-long Saturn 1-€3 

rocket that makes the other rockets around it look as if 

they were bought at a fireworks stand in South Carolina. 

TWA Services, as part of a 10-year concession agreement with 

NASAp is paying a Winter Park contractor $64,000 just to 

paint and refurbish the rocket. 

H.B. Chambers, vice president and general manager of TWA 

Services, told the leaders the firm is also spending: 

$610,000 to make additions to the cafeteriar $230,000 to 

improve the sewage treatment plant, and $139,000 for a 

preliminary engineering and design report. 

Chambers also announced plans to build a 500-seat theater 

for lectures and derronstrations, and a 40-seat movie 

theater, with a five-story high screen using 70 mm fAd2 shot 

by IMAX Corp. 

Only a few such theaters in the world use the special film 

and screen. The theater at Circus World, west of Orlando, 

uses the special "you-are-there" IMAX film. 

IMAX is now making a film of the first Space Shuttle 

mission, Chambers said, 

Besides housing two theaters, the building will have 10,000 

square feet of space for additional exhibits. 

-175- 
A new souvenir and sales building will also be built, and 

the present souvenir building will be converted into a 

restaurant, Chambers said. Tt7A Services' expansion ccsts 

will be about $8.5 million. 

The tour facility operates at no cost to the government, and 

each year a portion of the earnings is reserved for 

improvements . 

After telling the lezders TWA Services' plans, Chambes 

bragged about how well the visitors center is now doing: 

"Nationally, tourism is down over 15 percent, and yet with 

no Shuttle for the public to see, this month we will be 39 

percent ahead. In peak periods our personnel complement 

periodically reaches 375...Our 1981 payroll budget is $4.4 

mill ion. 

"In 1980, our total expenditures amounted to $5.2 million, 

and construction commitment to $836,000. 

"The majority of this money is spent in our community. When 

estimating our 1981 gross income..,the impact on the Florida 

economy in the in-state expendit.:ires of dollars at the 

supermarket, barbershop, filling Stations, motels, 

restaurants and elsewhere is $72 million," Chambers said, 

(TODAY, 5-30-8 1 ) 

-196- 
0 

0 June 1981 

June 1: Shuttle orhiter Columtia's aerodynaaic smoothness 

during reentry was five times better than design 

specification, allowing a milch cooler reentry and thus 

preventing more significant heat damage to thermal 

protection system tiles that were chippEd and gouged by 

debris from the Shuttle's external tank during ascent. 

Based on preflight reentry unknowns, thermal protection 

system engineers said they would have had a difficult time 

clearing Columhia for flight had they known in advance the 

Parcin Marietta tank was going to produce the debris shower 

that occurred April 12 during first launch of tbe shuttle 

sys ten. 

"Fortunately, we proved we are not very sensitive to d6kiSr 

at least for this particular reentry," according to Robert 

Dotts , thermal protection subsysteri nanager for the JOIIRSO~ 

Space Center, who is overseeing det.ailed tile assessnent 

activities in Kennedy's Orhiter Processing Facility here. A 

tdnk debris study tean has been FormA, and at a minimm, 

car?eras will he added to the vehicle on the second flight to 

observe any tank debris activity." 

Durability of the tiles, proved under the damaging 

conditions and launch and reentry stresses of first flight, 

is an inportant factor in achieving cost-effective orbiter 

turnaround as the U.S. builds toward routine, airline-t.*p? 

operations in sDace witb the shuttle. 

"It looks like this is a l0n-mission vehicle after the first 

flight. It has exceeded our wildest estimates," the thermal 

protection system manager said. "We will he able to fly the 

second shuttle mission with very little engineering 

analysis. (AVIATIOrI FEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 6-1-81, pa 

40, VOL 114, m. 22) 

June 2: The "hottest real estate on Earth" may lie 22,300 

miles above the equator in the exclusive domain where 

satellites whirl in silent procession. 

-177- 
URi 

OF 

This is geosynchronous orbit, a narrow corridor in space 

that allows satellites to "hover" above a fixed location on 

Earth. The demand for such "parking spots'' above both 

hemispheres is booming, and experts say the traffic jam will 

get worse before the end of the decade. 

Of the 1,101 satellites now in orbit, only 10 percent are in 

geosynchronous orbit. The rest travel at lobrer altitudes, 

circling the Ehrth up to 16 times a day. 

In 1968 only 10 satellites occupied geosynchronous orbits. 

There are now 110 geosynchronous satellites, and the count 

is expected to climb to 300 in the next four years. The 

space shuttle, during its first 40 missions, will carry at 

least 11 geosynchronous satellites. 

"It's the sweet spotrO says one NASA cfficial. "It's where 

everybody -- including the military -- wants to be." 

Theoretically, an almost unlimited number of: satellites 

could occupy the vast flyway without colliding. Rut because 

communication satellites have the unneighborly tendency to 

?an each other, they must be spaced 1,5OcI miles apart to 

avoid interference. 

There are 21 prime spots above the Western Hemisphere for 

communication satellites; twelve are already taken by 

American and Canadian satellites, and the remainflew will 

probably be filled by the end of the decade. 

The United States occupies eight of these satellite slots, 

and the Federal Comnunication Commission has authorized use 

of six more geosynchronous locations by the mid-1980's. 

Still more geosy-ichronous satellites are awaiting FCC 

approval to laur :h. 

Canada has four locations locked up and may require mure 

sat.ellite spots in the future. Latin American nations have 

launch2d no satellites yet but are eagerly staking out their 

shares of the orbitbl parking lot. 

On the advice of the State DepartmeKt, the FCC decided to 

leave three spaces open for Latin America. (SENTINEL STAR, 

6-2-8 I) 
June 3: Following a users conference late last week, NASA has 

now made flight assignments for the 34 Space Shuttle flights 

it is scheduling through 1985 (including four test flights), 

a decrease of 14 flights from the 48 planned in December, 

Seven of the flights that were eliminated represented NASA 

missions that were delayed by budget cuts or combined into 

single launches. The other missions were bumped on the 

basis of wh-ich had been scheduled first, with missions 

previously scheduled for 1985 pushed into 1986. These 

include Syncom 4 h 5, two Australian satellites and 

satellites for Luxembourg and Italy. The reason for 

delaying these missions is lack of confidence that enough 

lightweight tanks could be built in time. 

Dr. Stanley L. Keiss, NASA's associate administrator for the 

Office of Sv'ace Transportation Operations, said yesterday 

that the ii~ers conference was "clearly upbeat," that there 

was an increased level of confidence in the Shuttle as a 

result of the successful STS-1 flight and that users were 

more anxious to stick to the Shuttle rather than move to 

expendable vehicles. He said the users now feel that they 

will fly close to when they want to on either the Shuttle or 

an expendable (Delta or Atlas-Centaur). (CEFESSE DAILY, 

6-3-51, p. 384, Vole 116, NO, 23) 

<> Lockheed F!issiles h Space Co. says that the reusable LI-900 

and LI-2200 (Lockheed Insulation/9 pounds and 22 pounds per 

cubic foot) silica tiles developed for the Space Shuttle has 

potential application as an insulation for aircraft turbine 

engines, as well as for protective fire proof walls. The 

conpany adds that an automobile manufacturer wants to look 

at using the LI-900 natsrial as insulation for car and trlic): 

engines. Lockheed enphasized that any possible commercial 

application of the tiles are downstrean; current emphasis is 

on manufacturing tiles for upcoming Shuttle flights. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 6-3-81, p. 183, Vol. 116, NO. 23) 

: What's had news for the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle 

is good news for rocket engineers across the river at Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station. 

The reduction in the nunher of Shuttle flights over the nest 

faur years fro:\ 44 to 3@ means that more Deltas and Atlas 

Centaurs will be launched. 

-179- 
Just how many more Deltas and Atlas Centaurs will be 

launched won't he known for about 30 days, said Joe Mahon, 

NASA's director of expendable launch vehicles in Washington, 

n. c. 

Mahon explained customers have 30 days from last Tuesday, 

when a users' conference ended, to decide whether they w 

to reserve a throwaway rocket or use the Shuttle. 

But at least 20 more Deltas and nine Atlas Centaurs Will be 

launched from here through 1985 and an expected increase in 

demand will proably mean the Delta program will be extended 

into 1986, Mahon said. (TODAY, 6-4-81) 

<> When the space shuttle Colunbia blasts off again on a 

five-day rnissian this fall, it will carry a $100 million 

mechanical arx and half a dozen photographic and electronic 

eyes to view the Earth. 

"From our parochial point of view, it's the time when the 

shuttle finally gets to do what it's supposed to do," said 

John Meilon, of the National. Aeronautics and Space 

Administration. "And that is to carry useful experiments 

anc! zarg9." 

On Thursdby, Neilon and other NASA officials showed off the 

ezrGo that Fill accompany astronauts Joe Engle and Richard 

Truly on the second shuttle flight, slated for as early as 

Septenber 30. 

Also on board will be a 50-foot mechanical arn, which in the 

future will he used to release and catch satellites. The 

device works much like a human arm. 

The nanipulator-arm system was developed and built by Canada 

for about $100 million and donated to the U.S. space 

program. An agreement Between the two countries calls for 

NASA to buy the next three arms at a cost of about $65 

m i 1 1 ion. 

-180- 
Bruce Aikenhead, who heads the manipulator progran for the 

National Research Council of Canada, said the arm weighs 

less than l,OOC! pounds and is 15 inches in diameter. The 

device "will be stretched out and its shoulder, elbow and 

wrist joints will he fully manipulated in space," he said. 

The most important experiment will be one that will send and 

receive radar signals to create map-like images of the 

Earth's surface. These will be used to gather data on 

mineral resources. (SENTINFL STARI 6-4-81) 

<> FJidows of two mechanics killed in a March 19 accident aboard 

the space shuttle Columbia plan to file separate suits 

against NASA totaling $23 nill.ion. 

In a formal claim this week, attorneys representing the 

widow of Forest Cole asked the space agency for $3 million 

in damages for the "wrongful" death of her husband due to 

negligence. NASA has six months to deny, ignore or settle 

the claim before the suit is filed in federal court. 

"I just feel like this is something that shot116 never have 

happened,'' said Mrs. Cole, of Merritt Island. "P?y hushand 

trusted then; he wont into that nitrogen-filled roon nevcldreaning there was danger. 'I. 

Cole, 50, and John Fjornstafl, 51, of Titusville, died after 

inhaling pare nitrogen in a shuttle engine compartment after 

a launch pad test. The two Rockwell Internetional mechanics 

were part of a five-nan crew sent back to work after an allclear signal was sadnt?ed prematurely. (SENTINEL, STAR, 

6-4-Pl1 FP. Fr 2c) 

June 5: From Broomfield, Ky.; from Brigham City, Utah; from 

Fockford, Ill.; from Hungtington Beach, Calif. -- bit by bit 

the 60,000 parts that make up the Shuttle's two assist 

rockets have ridden the rails to Kennedy Space Center from 

all over the country. 

During the last several weeks, technicians in the Vehicle 

Assemhly Building have been stacking the rockets' segments 

on their launch platforn, which has been newly painted 

pea-soup green to mask the scars of April's fiery blastoff. 

-181- 
On Thursday, 

United Space 

all toqether 

Fred Catalano, manager of launch operations for 

Boosters Inc. (USBI), the company that puts it 

and checks it out, proudly showed of€ the 

finished product fcr the second Shuttle launch. 

Rut it all started more than three years ago in March 1978. 

That's when technicians at McDonnell Douglas Astronautics 

CO.'S plant in Huntington Beach began work on the casing for 

the lower section of the rocket. 

Nine months later workers began putting together the 

hydraulically powered steering system that fits inside the 

section. Sunstrand Corp. does the work in Rockford, Ill., 

home of 1980 presidential candidate John Anderson, 

Stacked atop the steering segment of the rocket is the first 

of four sections containing 554 tons of the solid fuel. 

These potentially dangerous segments are made in a remote 

desert area near Brigham City, Utah, by Thiokol Chemical 

Corp. Construction on the lowest of these motor segments 

began in January 1980. 

Sitting atop the four loaded segments are three more 

sections: one containing guidance equipment: one that holds 

the three parachutes that bring the rockets back to Earth 

gently; and a nose cap. 

Although the nose caps top off the whole works and are the 

last parts to go on, it was the nose cap for the left rocket 

that first arrived at KSC in March 1978. The nose caps are 

made by Kaman Corp. of Rroomfield, Ky. -- not exactly the 

aerospace capital of the world. 

The various parts are delivered in one bay just inside the 

door of the VAR, where asserbly is completed by USBI. There 

they wait for the delivery of the mobile launch platform 

into another hay. That platform was unavailable until after 

April 12, the date on which the first Space Shuttle rode 

from it into orbit. 

On May 20, the left lower steering segment was placed on the 

platforn, with the right one following two days later. 

-182- 
Stacking began on Flap 26 when the first fueled section was 

carefully placed on top of the left steering segment. 

Workers alternate stacking from the left to right booster t9 

equalize the weight on the launch platform -- 647 tons per 

rocket . 

USBI's Catalan0 said the two rockets were stacked in half 

the time it took to stack the set for the Shuttle's Eirst 

launch. 

"We learned an awful lot off of STS-1," he said. For 

instance, the first set of segments weren't exactly circular 

because of the way the rockets were picked up and 

transferred. This time, workers used a four-point lift 

systen, which helped to circularize the segments, he said. 

On June 30, the Shuttle's fuel tank will be lowered into 

place between the rockets. The Orbiter Columbia is 

scheduled to join its other element on Aug. 28, with liftoff 

scheduled for 8 a.m. on Sept. 30. (TODAY, 6-5-81) 

June 7: In December of last year, NASA accepted the first part 

of an $850 million gift --- a couple of aluminun cans with a 

back porch. 

The label night have read: From Europe with love -- one 

Spacelab and one S2acelah model. 

Ten European nations quite literallv have given the United 

States a laboratory to fly in its Space Shuttle. It is the 

European Space Agency's major contribution to the Shuttle 

sys tem. 

Although it may sound simple-minded to describe one of the 

world's most sophisticated orbiting laboratories as a couple 

of aluminum cans, Spacelab's simplicity is one of its chief 

attractions. 

Spacelab -- not to be confused with Skylab, the orbiting 

laboratory that burned up in the atmosphere in 1979 -- is, 

in essence, one of a series of huge sealed cans with an 

open-air back porch. Within Spacelab, thousands of 

experiments will ride into space and back, firmly clamped to 

the payload bay of the Shuttle's airplane-like orbiter. 

,. -183- 
TO conduct the zero-gravity experiments, scientists aboard 

the Shuttle will crawl through a tunnel from the orbiter's 

basement to get into the lab, which is large enough for four 

people to work in at a time. The scientists can work in 

their shirtsleeves -- no special pressure suits are 

required. 

The experiments in Spacelab will be mounted on a series of 

racks which slide in and out of the cannisters 011 tracks. 

Each experiment can be individually supplied with 

electricity, heating or cooling and data from an on-board 

computer. And Spacelab is a can with windows and doors. It 

can be equipped with an airlock and a variety of overhead 

windows. 

Here at Kennedy Space Center, more than lon members of a 

team made up of representatives from the European Space 

Agency, NASF and PlcDonnell Douglas Corp. are beginning the 

work that will culminate in a seven-day Spacelab mission 

planned for mid-83. Utimately, 20 Europeans will be 

stationed at KSC. (TODAY, 6-7-81) 

June 8:: A Houston-based group of businessmen has notified the 

nation's space agency that it intends to launch a five-story 

-high, privately built rocket this summer from an isolated 

island off the coast of Texas. 

The privately financed Percheron Project plans to develop 

commercial launch services similar to those now provided 

exclusively by the National Aeronautics and Space 

Adninistration (NASA). A 50-mile suborbital flight by an 

unmanned rocket comparable in size and power to early 

versions of the Army's Redstone missile is planned to get 

the project under way. 

Officials of Space Services Inc. of Houston, the company 

behind the project, have told The Miami Herald that they 

plan to test-fire a newly designed rocket engine in early 

July at a private launch site on Flataqorda Island, a 

sparsely populated barrier island 50 miles northeast of 

Corpus Christi. 

If the 30-second ground tests of the engine are successfuly, 

says the company's president, Houston real-estate developer 

David Hannah, Jr., the group's first -- and only -- rocket 

will be fired on a short flight over the Gulf of Mexico 

later in the month. 

-184- 
By 1983, the company hopes to have more powerful boosters 

capable of putting communications and earth-surveying 

satellites into orbit at a price one-sixth of what NASA 

charges -- a price Hannah believes will generate a booming 

market for low-cost access to space. 

NASA, caught by surprise when it first learned sf the plans 

earlier this year, has not formally evaluated the group's 

chances of making a successful suborbital shot -- or its 

long-range hopes of putting heavier payloads in space. 

But space agency officials have told The Herald that they 

are taking the proposal seriously. They say that the launch 

appears to be within the realm of technical feasibility and 

that NASA has no clear authority to block it. 

NASA General Counsel Neil Rosenball...says the question was 

never even considered in the Space Act of 1968, which sets 

forth NASA's responsibilities. (THE MIAMI HERALD, 6-8-81, 

pp. 1A & 10A) 

June 9: Rockwell International has encountered no major 

problems thus far in fabrication of the second Space Shuttle 

Orbiter -- Vehicle 099 "Challenger" -- arid NASA says that 

"no problem are anticipated" in meeting the planned June 

1982 delivery date. 

Orbiter 099 was used as the Structural Test Article for the 

Shuttle development program, and is being modified to a 

flight configuration. All major elements of the vehicle 

have been denated and are currently in rework. To date, 

over 10,001, Thermal Protection System (TPS) insulation tiles 

have been installed; primary and secondary structural 

installations are underway. 

Final assembly of the vehicle is scheduled to begin in July 

with the crew module and aft fuselage delivered to 

Rockwell's Palmdale, California facility. 

Challenger is scheduled to make its first flight in December 

1982, employing the new lightweight External Tank and 

orbiting the first Tracking & Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-A). 

-185- 
NASA says that the September 1983 delivery schedule for the 

third Shuttle Orbiter -- Vehicle 103 *lDiscovery" -- is 

"considered achievable but will be tight due to having to 

utilize work-arounds early in the build cycle." (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 6-9-81, p. 214, Vole 116, NO. 27) 

June 10: Two Titusville fire fighters died of burns this week 

when a thunderstorm-fanned brushfire trapped the men on a 

bulldozer on Kennedy Space Center property, officials said 

Tuesday. 

Beau Sauselein, 32, died Tuesday at Shands Teaching Hospital 

in Gainesville with third-degree burns over much of his 

body. He was hospitalized Monday in critical condition, 

officials said. 

Scott Maness, also 32, was taken to the Jess Parrish 

Hospital in Titusvillc, where he died Monday afternoon, said 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 

spokesman Mark Hess. 

Both fire fighters were employees of the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service. (THE MIANT HERALD, 6-10-81, p., 3C) 

<> Attendance to the Visitors Center at NASA's Kennedy Space 

Center continued at a record-setting pace through May, 

making the first five months of 1981 the busiest in the 

history of the attraction. 

More than 143,700 people came to the Visitors Center in May 

breaking all previous attendance marks recorded for that 

month since the attraction opened in 1966. Of that total, 

nearly 115,000 also took the guided bus tour of KSC 

facilities used to assemble, checkout and launch the Space 

Shuttle. The total for May was 38 percent higher than for 

the same month in 1980. 

New attendance marks have been set for each oE the first 

five months of 1981. For the year, attendance is running 

just over 26 percent higher than for the same period in 

1980. Visitor Center officials are optimistic that if the 

trend continues, the VIC will record its first 2 million 

visitor year. 

-186- 
Up to now, the VZC's banner year was 1972, the same year 

NASA launched its final two Apollo lunar landing missions, 

when nearly 1.4 nillion people were attracted to the 

Vis i tors Cen te r . 

The current surge in visitor attendance is being attributed 

to a renewed public interest in space, largely due to the 

success of the first Space Shuttle flight, launched from KSC 

in April, 

The Visitors Center, which will celebrate its 15th birthday 

in July, has attracted more than 20 million visitors since 

it opened. (KSC RELEASE NO. 161-81, 6-10-81) 

June 111: Kennedy Space Center has awarded a S1 nillion 

contract to Fluid Energy Controls Inc. (Orlando) to provide 

22 hypergol and pneumatic panels for Space Shuttle 

facilities at KSC and Vandenbery AFF. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

6-1-81, p. 232, VO~. 116, NO. 29) 

<> MASA officials say spaceflight projects should remain a 

function of the governn!pnt and scoff at plans by a group of 

Texas biisincssnen to launch satellites for prof it. 

Space Services Inc., a new Houston-based companyI says it 

can launch satellites for a fraction of NASA's price, and 

hopes to become the first private U.S. business in the 

narket by late 1982. 

"Are they aware that I've got a staff of several thousand 

people working in a program that launched 10 flights last 

year?" said Peter Eaton, NASA's program director for Delta 

Launch Vehicles. 

Rut Gary Hudson, whose GCH Inc. has spent the last six 

months huildinq the first rocket for Space Services, said 

Eaton's problem is that he is part of the government 

bureaucracy. 

"All bureaucrats require staffs of several thousand people," 

he said. "The Thor rockets were launched (by the space 

agency in the late 1950s) by eight people from a 

transporter. Why does Eaton need 600 to 1,000 people now to 

do the same thing?" 

-187- 
David Small, space specialist for the State Department's 

legal office, said the government has not even decided yet 

whether it will approve the venture. "I'm just not ready to 

make a formal judgment," Snall said. 

Eaton asked, "If they launch their rocket and it comes down 

in the middle of downtown wherever, who's going to pay the 

damages? *' 

Space Services President David Hannah said the company 

carries $25 million in flight insurance. 

"The cutting edge of all this is whether the government will 

say, 'The government's got to do this kind of work,"' he 

said. "If it does, then I think we really have given 

ourselves over to a socialistic form of government." 

A sub-orbital test flight of the 53-foot-long rocket is set 

for next month, Chafer said, with a splashdown in the Gulf 

of Flexico. "If this is successful I think we will have 

established our credibility," said Hannah. The rocket will 

he launched from Matagorda Island on the Texas coast. 

Hudson said Space Services will put a satellite such as 

those used in weather observation into a 100-nile-high orbit 

for about. $2 nillion. 

He predicted a $5 million pricetag for sending 

communications satellites into geosynchronous orbit, in 

which the payload turns with the Earth and constantly 

remains about 23,000 miles above the same point, appearing 

stationary to people on the ground. 

NASA officials said it costs about $22 million for the lower 

orbit and $25 million for the higher one using Delta rockets 

carrying 2,400 pound payloads comparable to those foreseen 

by Space Services. 

Eaton laughed at Hudson's cost estimates and said the 

entrepreneurs probably do not realize how complicated 

spaceflight is. 

-188- 
.. 

Chafer said it didn't seem that complicated to him. "It's a 

fairly basic technology. It doesn't appear to us to be all 

that F!ifficult, although in the long tern there will no 

doubt be some sethacks." (TODAY, 6-11-81) 

June 11: An accident battered at least 15 thermal protection 

tiles on the space shuttle Columbia's left wing Thursday and 

may have darnaged the wing itself. 

The accident hit at 5:20 a.m. while technicians were testing 

the hydraulic system that raises and lowers the shuttle 

elevons, or wind edges. The left edge struck an access 

platform, damaging 15 t3 18 black tiles and inflicting 

possible structural Pamage to the shuttle. 

The accident is not expected to delay the shuttle's second 

launch, now scheduled for September 30. Before the 

accident, Rockwell International planned to replace about 

300 tiles and strengthen 500 more. The spaceplane is 

scheddled to roll to its launch pad in late August. 

In another Thursday mishap, hydraulic fluid was found 

leaking from a line that usually contains gaseous nitrogen. 

The problen apparently was caused by faulty ground support 

equipment, not flight hardware, a NASA spokesman said. 

(SENTINEL STAR, 6-12-81] 

June 12: A weightless paper clip floating around in a power 

supply box caused one of the minor problems that arose 

during the flight of the Space Shuttle in April, officials 

said Thursday. 

The paper cl ip, apparently overlooked before the launch, 

caused a short circuit in the power box. A backup unit 

provided the necessary power, however. 

The short was one of 52 minor problems that have been 

examined in two months of evaluation of the April 12-14 

mission. 

Joseph E. Mechelay, manager of the mission evaluation, said 

Thursday that all the problems were so minor the Columbia 

could be ready for its second launch from Kennedy Space 

Center long before the scheduled September 30 liftoff. , 

-209- 
Another problem was that arsas on either side of the rear of 

the vehicle sustained higher temperatures than expected, 

Nechelay said. 

Engineers still do not understand what caused the problem, 

he said, hut they now plan to put more insulation tiles in 

the affected area. (TODAY, 6-12-81) 

June 34: Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wis.) charged Sunday that 

. Space Shuttle enough money to pay for the actual operating 

NASA is not charging commercial and foreign users of the 

costs of the vehicle. 

NASA, in fact, to attract customers for the Shuttle, 

promised six years ago to set a set-fee of $18 million in FY 

'75 dollars for a full Shuttle payload for the first three 

years of Shuttle operations. (That $18 million, 

incidentally, is estimated at about $35 million in FY '82 

dollars. 1 

Rowever, Proxmire charged that even the $1E! million figure 

was based on inproper accounting, resolting in a "phony fee 

schedule" and "a windfall" for foreign and coninerciaf users 

of the Shuttle. 

The error, he saic?, is that NASA for contract purposes has 

estimated that each Shuttle Orbiter can make 500 flights, 

while the procurement contract with Rockwell calls for a 

life of only 100 fliqhts. 

Wile Acting NASA Administrator Lovelace told Proxnire 

earlier that the Orbiter may well be able to fly 500 

flights, Proxmire noted that at a rate of 14 flights per 

year, double that projected through 1985, the Orbiter would 

have to fly for 36 years to meet the 500-flight goal, which 

he said is "absurd." 

The result of this, he said, is that depreciation costs 

account for only $1 million of the S18 million user fee. 

Using 100 instead of 500 flights as the baseline, the 

depreciation cost would total $5 billion, boosting the user 

fee to $22 million, the senator said. He called the 500 

flight figure "remarkably optimistic." 

-190- 
Proxmire called on NASA to publicly state that it must 

subsidize Shuttle operations to get commercial and foreign 

users if thtit is the case. 

He said that NASA "should not pretend that the Shuttle is 

self-sufficient ant! then rig the user fee charges so that 

the taxpayer in reality foots the bill." (DEFENSE DAILY, 

6-16-81, p. 256, Vof. 116, NO. 32) 

June 16: The Columbia's crippled wing will be patched with 

_. pieces from a dunmy space shuttle, NASA officials said 

Tuesday, but the September 30 launch is still on. 

The cannibalized parts, stripped from the Enterprise, will 

fill a five-foot gap on the Shuttle's left wing where an 

accident last week damaged 18 thermal protection tiles and 

tore and bent the wing's trailing edge. The wing edges, 

called elevons, enable the Shuttle to maneuver 

aerodynamically during descent and landing. 

The Coluqbia's winu, being raised hydraulically during a 

test, struck a platform inside the shuttle hangar. 

The Enterprise is a dumny spaceship eqbipped with wooden 

rocket enaines. Originally designed for space travel, it 

was later adaptec' as a prototype and flew a series of 

approach and landing tests in 1977 at Edwards Air Force Base 

in California. The dumny spaceship also served as a 

mannequin for fitting the orbiter with its flight hardware 

and ground-support equipment. 

The Enterprise is stored in a hangar at Rockwell 

International's Palmdale, California plant. NASA has no 

plans to convert the prototype into a working shuttle, but 

it will be used for measurements at Vandenberg Air Force 

Base in California, where the Air Force is building a west 

coast launch facility for the shuttle. 

The mock spaceplane was named after the star ship Enterprise 

because of heavy lohbyinq by fans of the Star Trek 

television series. (SENTINEL STAR, 6-17-81, p, 6C) 

-191- 
June 17: The two men nominated by President Reagan to head the 

space agency said Wednesday that a manned orbiting st.ation 

should he America's next major space goal. 

"ble should start thinking soon about a space station, 

because that will open up all kinds of potential 

applications -- scientific, research, practical uses of 

space , 'I said Janes Montgomery Beggs, nominated to be 

adm i n i s t ra tor 0 f NASA. 

"The space station is the next natural step, the 

establishment of a permanent presence in space," added Hans 

Mark, nominated as deputy administrator. 

They testifie? at a cnnfirTation hearing before the Senate 

Connerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Sen. 

Harrison Schr:itt, F-N.$?" , who chaired the session, called 

then an "excellent tean" and said he was certain the 

comnittee would sen:! their nominations to the full Senate. 

1TOCFY, 6-18-81, p. 1A) 

June 18: I:t,en the second Fhuttle leaves Kennedy Space Center 

this fall for its five-day TiisSion, it will have a SlOO 

millim arr. on it and half a :!ozen photoqra~kic and 

elertror.ic el-es to look down or: the Earth and its cceans. 

"Fror our parochial point of view, it's the time when the 

Shuttle finally qets to do what it's supposcd to do," said 

John h'eilon, the ranager of KSC's cargo projects office, 

"an6 t?-,at's to fly exreriwents and cargo." 

k:eilon and other :IASP officials were showing off what will 

fly on the second Shuttle at a grand cargo premiere at KSC 

Thursday. 

Most of that cargo will be scientific instruments. The 

Columbia's payload bay, which was only about 10 percent full 

for the first flight, will be almost 40 percent full for the 

second flight. 

To the rear of the Colunbia's 60-foot-long hold will be a 

bundle of instrunents that will tell scientists how the 

Shu.Lle is performing. Toward the front of the cargo bay 

will be another, but larger, package of instruments that 

will tell scientists sollething about the Earth below. . 

-192- 

. - '-4 
Edwin C. Johnson, a KSC carqo official, said that the rear 

package's instruments are designed to verify what computer 

models and wiqd tunnel tests have been telling Engineers 

about the Shuttle. "They're designed to prove that the 

predicitions were correct in the first place," Johnson 

said. The instruments will measure noise, heat, vibration 

and posyihle contanination in the payload bay. 

A similar package flew on the first flight of the Shuttle. 

The second group of instruments will be mounted on a large 

aluminum platforn provided by the European Space Agency. 

Among the experiments will be: 

* A radar camera that will provide two-dinensional photos of 

the Earti?'s surcace in hopes of: identifyin? valuable 

minerals, caal and oil. Using a 33-foot-long antenna, 

scientists hope to identify geoloaical faults, folds and 

stratification that Tinpoint hidden natkiral resources. 

* Two television caneras that will tell scientists whether 

arcas of t3:e y2rt5 ?re c2rerc< with wzter, vegetation, bare 

ground, or snow. Presently, scientists wanting to estimate 

the anocint of a L"ert?in cror ar%ing on the Farth's surface 

ha\.e t3 sift ti-.roc:q; tke tcltal recorder1 satellite icages, 

irlclu3incj L-oc::~: ank? Sarc hills. If tk,is exyeripent is 

successfJl , i-naqes of vegetation could be separated from 

other featdres. 

* An air polldtior! norlitor that will measure the amount of 

carbon moq=:~iri~ in tl-.e lower atrmsyhere. k:itb infornation 

gathered by t! i.c ex:-cri;lent, scientists will exylore the 

possibility of Lfsiqrj satellites to monitor air quality. 

* An ocean color experiqent. The experiment will map the 

distribution of algae in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. 

Where there are high concentrations of algae, fish schools 

tend to congregate. 

* An infrared sensor that will be used to identify rock 

types. 

-133- 
Also aboard the flight of the Columbia will be a SO-footlong arn that will he used on later Shuttle flights to 

release and catch satellites. The rohot arm cost the 

Canadian government $100 million to develop and build. It 

is Canada's contribction to the Shuttle progran. NASA is 

buying three more of the arms from Canada for $65 million. 

The arm has a shoulder, elbow and wrist like any other arm, 

but the hand is another matter. 

It is called an end effector -- "that's a bit of robotics 

jargon for the business end of the arm," said Bruce 

Aikenhead of the National Research Council of Canada. 

Aikenhead said that although the arm weighs less than 1,000 

pounds and cannot lift its own weight on Earth, once it's 

free of the Earth's gravity it can handle something the size 

and weight of a Greyhound bus. 

AstronaLits Joe Fnqle ard Pichard Truly will sit at a control 

hoard in the rear of the Colunhia's cockpit and exercise all 

the arr?'s joints during the second flight, scheduled now for 

SepteTber 30. Then they dill practice snagging what's 

called a grapple fixture. Rtit the arm will not actually 

pic4 anything uf until the (thir3) flight. !TODAY, 6-19-81) 

June 19: An unannounced test change was largely to hla9e for 

the March lq accident that killed two space shuttle 

mechar.ics, according to a NASA board of inquiry. 

The 40P-page report, released Friday to the white House ani! 

memSers of Congress, outlines a total comnunications 

breakdown between officials controlling the countdown test 

and the men who were supervising launch pad operations 3 1/2 

miles away. 

According to the report, pad officials were using a 

different set of instructions and were never briefed on the 

change that had been made three days earlier. 

The test "deviation" extended the usual time for flushing 

nitrogen fron an aft engine compartment, so technicians 

could determine whether nitrogen gas was leaking into the 

crew conpartment. 

-194- 
Unaware of the test change, pad officials re-opened many 

areas of the shuttle for work, including the nitrogen-filled 

enqine compartment. The gas over*dhelmed five Rockwell 

International mechanics as they entered rhe compartment. 

The two victims were identified as John Bjornstad, 51, of 

Titusville, and Forrest Cole, 50, of Merritt Island. 

Bjornstad never regained consciousness after collapsing and 

was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time after the 

accident. Cole died on April 4 at Shands Teaching Hospital 

in Gainesville. 

Widows of Rjornstad and Cole are seeking seperate claims 

against NAS.4 totaling S43 million, for the wrongful deaths 

of their husbands. NASA has six months to deny, ignore or 

settle the clairs before they are filed in federal court. 

The test procedure "did not contain adequate steps for 

clearing the vehicle or pad for hazardous operations and 

for ... reopening the vehicle and pad for resuption of normal 

work," the investigative board said in a report. 

The board sai? tke lack of a warning sign was also a 

significant factor in the accident, saying it "negligently 

pernitted" the crex to return to the co-partrnent before the 

toxic gas had heen cleared. 

"Since the firinq roo'? crew knew that Gx2 (gaseous nitrogen) 

was still flowing, the public address systen announcement 

that the pad vas open for normal work was in error," 

according to t3e report. 

No disciplinary action has heen taken against anyone 

involved in the accident, said spokesmen for Rockwell 

International and the space agency. (SENTINEL STAR, 

6-20-81) 

June 22: For 25 years the United States has been running the 

"only ganc in town" wl;en it came to placing communications 

satellites in orbit for western nations. The cost and 

complexity of developing latinch vehicles with the power and 

reliability to put sizable payloads in orbit kept other 

countries from duplicating our space achievements. 

-195- 
But that era is now over. It was ended Friday with the 

successful orbiting of two satellites by a three-stage 

Ariane rocket, which was fired from a base in South America. 

The $1.6 billion Ariane program was created and financed by 

a 10-nation consortiun led by France and Kest Germany. In a 

way, the opening of this new avenue to space may be bad news 

for our own progran, because it means our "toll charge" may 

have to be lowered if we want to continue getting most of 

the traffic. 

In the long run, however, we think competition for space 

developments can only benefit the people of all nations. 

Our industrial and economic system was built on free 

enterprise and competition, so we shouldn't bemoan the fact 

that the Europeans have decided to challenge American 

technology in the new field of comnercial exploitation of 

space. 

"This means space is no longer the exclusive preserve of a 

few powerful nations, bcit now belongs to all of humanity," 

commented one elated official of the European Space Agency 

after Friday's successful Ia~incl?. 

Esen if a bit oi-erzealous, the statenent makes a point. 

Although we don't see cause to he upset about our losing a 

monopoly on satellite launching services, we do think it 

would be bad for the Llnited States to allow its leadership 

in this field to slip away. Ke clearly have leaderskip now, 

as vas denonstrated by the highly successful first flight of 

the Space Fhuttle in April. 

The Soviet ilnion, our nost formidable conpetitor, docs not 

have the capability to ta2e up -- and bring down -- payloads 

of the size tkat can he carried in the Shuttle's rather 

voluminous cargo bay. The use we make of this new tool -- 

which many view as the workhorse of space -- will determine 

whether the ilnited States retains and capitalizes on its 

lead in space. (TODAY , 6-22-81] 

June 23: "Increasing competition to U.S. operations in space 

can...be expected from the European Economic Community 

which , through the European Space Agency ( ESA 1 , is 

developing its own space transportation system, the 

expendahle Ariane...Ariane, designed to compete with the 

U.S. Shuttle and already drawing customers from it, will be 

- 19 6- 
able to launch Atlas-class payloads to geosynchronous 

transfer orbit :1700 kg) while follow-on versions in 

developnent or planning have capabilities...up to 2420 kg. 

Even a fully reiisahle crew and supply transport vehicle, the 

Herrnes, is being studie3 for a two-stage version of Ariane 

V" -- Chairman Don Fuqua (D-Fla.), of the House Science & 

Technology Comnittee, June 23, 1981. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

6-26-81, F. 320, VOl. 116, No. 40) 

June 24: Computer Sciences Corporation's Applied Technology 

Division has received a one-year, $45.5 million extension 

from Kennedy Space Center for continued operatior. of the 

Space Shuttle launch processing computers and the center's 

computer complex, and other services. The extension brings 

the value of the CSC contract to 5155.5 million. (DEFENSE 

DALLY, 6-24-81, p. 303, Vol. 116, NO, 38) 

<> No one 

19 acc 

Center 

will be disciplined or censured because of the March 

tlent at Pad 39A that claimed two li*?es, Kennedy Space 

director Richard Srnith said Wednesday. 

"I don t see that it vas any one person's fault," Smith said 

in an interview. 

"The syste:n broke down at several places, and I don't see 

anything that says you ought to single out a single 

operation or organization and take disciplinary action." 

Snitb also said all the measures recomnended by arl 

inuestiqative boar3 will be either put into effect or 

studied. 

"'vie put most of these findings i n t o e f f e c t before the launch 

of STS-1 (April 121," he said. 

Smith said procedures have tightened and the chain of 

command has been clarified. 

The most significant change, Srnith said, was the ih-ay access 

signs have been modified. 

- 19 7- 
A1 though there was an "access control sign" barring entrance 

to the hazardous area that Bjornstad and Cole entered, there 

should have been a "safety hazard sign" -- indicatiwj a more 

stringently con+rolled and more hazardous zrca. 

Smith said the second most significant change has been 

"tightening-up of procedures -- not major changes in the 

procedures, because the procedures were already there." 

Those procedural changes involve making sure everybody knows 

about any work or tests added to the schedule. 

The investigative panel determined the addition of a "tackon" test to the launch dress rehearsal was the single factor 

that most contributed to the accident. The test, one of 500 

such deviations, was added on several days before the 

accident. 

The tack-on test, which involved prolonging the flow of 

nitrogen in the Orbiter, xas not adequately discussed in 

pretest briefings, was not included on the main schedule or 

on 2ockwell's work sct-efiule and was virtually ignored on the 

day of the countdown as Lqorkers began pressing test 

conductors to oFen the l'ad back up for work, the report 

said. 

Another factor in the accident was scheduling what NASA 

calls side work at t3e sa3e time as hazardous operations. 

The board found the practice was used in an effort co stay 

on schedule. 

The panel recomnended "scheduling of side work during 

hazardous operations should be prohibited as a natter of 

practice." 

But Snith didn't promise any such prohibition for the second 

Shuttle launch scheduled for late September. 

Such side work will be scheduled during hazardous operations 

"at times, but it will undergo much more careful scrutiny," 

he said. 

The problem with the chain of command has also be attended 

to, Scith said. (TODAY, 6-25-81) 

-198- 
June 26 Syrnetrics Industries, Inc., of 557 N. Harbor City 

Boulevard, Melbourne, has been awarded a contract to supply 

NASA's Kennedy Space Center with 20 multi-circuit 

Operational Intercwunications Systens (01s). 

The value of the fixed-price contract is $64,251, until 

March 20, 1982, The contr3ct is one set aside for award to 

a small business firm. 

The communications systems will be used in the control rooms 

of the Complex 39 Launch Control Center and will be used 

primarily to provide a means for test directors, engineers 

and technicians to comnunicate during Space Shuttle tests 

and launches. Each control unit will permit their operators 

to nonitor uy, to eight channels simultaneously. (KSC 

RELEF.SF No. 172-81, 6-26-81) 

<> Around-the-clock launch preparations for the space shuttle's 

second flight, still scheduled for September 30, are going 

sroothly. But there are still major problem with fuel tank 

icing and excessive hlastoff stress. 

Ice fornation or! tbp nasc of the huqe, Sli~p-shaped tank 

caused danage to ZoluTbia's skin on the maiden launch, and 

engine firin: pressiJJ1-e on t!ie sDaceship was four times 

greater than anticipated, Dr. Robert Gray, manager of the 

s h u t t 1 e pro -j e c t s , sa id Fr id a y . 

The stress yrol-lev muld he serious on the second flight 

because the c5uttle will be carrying a payload of sensitive 

Etirth-scanning equi;.i:?ent. (SE?:TIXEL STAF, 6-27-81, pp. 1C & 

2c 1 

June 27: Two local firms have recently been awarded contracts 

by ??ASA at the Kennedy Space Center. 

Managenent Services Inc., with offices at the space center, 

has won an extension to its contract under which it performs 

precision cleaning and chemical analysis services. The $2.5 

million extension brings the total value of NASA's contract 

with Flanagement Services Inc. to $13.1 mil.lion. The 

contract runs through February 28, 1982. 

-199- 
New World Construction Co,, of Titusville, has won a 

$178,885 contract to build a repair shop for Space Shuttle 

main engines. The shop will he located inside the Vehicle 

Assernhly Building at KSC. 

NASA also announced that the Applied Technology Division of 

Computer Sciences Corporation has won an extension to its 

KSC contract. The company provides technical support 

services ranging from Shuttle ,aunch computer operation to 

radio frequency control and aiialysis. The extension is for 

$45.5 million, bringing the total worth of CSC's contract to 

$155.5 million. The extension runs through May 311 1982. 

CSC is located in Falls Church, Virginia. (TODAYI 6-27-81) 

<> Imagine the glistening white Shuttle, basking in the light 

of a Septeiber noon, with four day-glo orange racing stripes 

painted down its side. 

Yes, some bright orange stripes might be painted onto the 

Shuttle fuel tank to help observers watch the re-entry and 

breakup of the tank over the Indian Ocean. 

And no, Shuttle astronauts Fichard Truly and Joe Erigle don't 

plan to hang a pair of foan dice on the Shuttle's rear view 

mirror. 

According to a spokeswoman for Marshall Space Flight Center 

in AlaSana, engineers at Johnson Space Flight Center in 

Texas assigned external tank experts at i4arshall to study 

tne FossiSility of painting the tank to nake it a little 

easier to see. 

Appare3tly, tank experts are less than enthusiastic about 

the idea. In fact, they declined to talk about it other 

than to say the idea was being considered. 

But Kennedy Space Center has the paint and is ready to put 

it on. 

"We're talking on the external tank about putting four dayglo orange stripes down its length," said Bob Gray, head Of 

Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Projects Office. "I don't 

know that you'd call them stripes being how they're 10 feet 

wide and 15 feet long." 

-200- 
There would be four stripes at different elevations on the 

tank, Gray said. That would make the tank show up better in 

photographs to he snapped from aboard a ship stationed in 

the Indian Ocean. 

How about J pair of fender skirts for the crawler 

transporter? (TODAY, 6-27-81) 

June 29: The Senate Friday by voice vote confirmed the 

nomination of James Beggs to be administrator of NASA. The 

nomination of Hans Mark to be deputy administrator was sent 

to the floor by the Commerce Committee after that of Beggs 

because of a minor paperwork problem, and therefore didn't 

get on the calendar. Speedy confirmation is expected when 

the Senate reconvenes 3uly 8. Beggs, 55, has been executive 

vice president in charge of Aerospace Operations for General 

Dynamics since 1974. 

MeanvJhile, the nomination 0; George A. Keyworth of the Los 

Alanos Ilational Laboratory to be President Reagan's science 

adviser has not yet been submitted to the Conmerce 

CowittcL, wkict-. will hold confirmation hearings shortly 

after it gets the norination. (DEFENSE DAILY, 6-29-81, p. 

327, Vol. 115, '?o. 41) 

<> Kulti-instrument array keyed toward future oil and mineral 

exploration from space and improvement of overall U.S. 

remote sensinq carability is scheeuled for loading in the 

cargo bay of the orSiter Colunbia this week as the first 

formal payload of the space shuttle program. 

Designated OSTF 1, for the first Office of Space and 

Terrestrial Applications shuttle payload, the instrument 

complenent includes five sensors mounted on a British 

Aerospace Spazelab engineering pallet and two smaller 

system to be carrjed in Columbia's cabin with astronauts 

USAF Col. Joe H. Engle a?d Navy Capt. Richard H. Truly, 

during the second shuttle mission. Launch is targeted for 

September 30. 

OSTA 1 has spent about two years in checkout and integration 

here, a processing flow that nears an end June 29, as the 

5,604-lh. system is scheduled to be hoisted over Columbia's 

open payload bay doars and bolted to the cargo bay. The 

OSTA 1 schedule called for lift out of its cargo integration 

-201- 
and test equipment checkout stand in the operations and 

checkout buildir,g and it was placed in the payload canister 

on June 24, in Freparation for the scheduled transfer to the 

Orbiter Processing Facility on June 29. 

The move is being made about two weeks earlier than 

originally planned to insure that any electrical or 

structural interface problems between the shuttle's first 

payload and the orbiter can be resolved without affecting 

the September 30 launch target, James Ragusa, Kennedy's Site 

support manager for the OSTA 1 payload, said. Interface 

problem should be minimal because of the lengthy OSTA 1 

checkout here and the time the payload spent in the cargo 

integration and test equipment (CITE) stand, a pseudo 

orbiter electrically and physically. 

OSTA 1 completed a najor electrical activation in the CITE 

stand April 27-29, accordinq to Ragusa. (AirIATION WEEK & 

SPACF TECHP?OLOCY, 6-29-81, p. 54, VOl. 114, NO. 26) 

<> Specialty ?laintenance and Construction, fnc. of Lakeland, 

Florida, has won a contract with the space center to upiiate 

lighting and a8.r conditionin7 systens in a vital technics1 

building (the Central Instrui?entation Facility) here. 

The fixed price contract lith the firm is for a total of 

$1,097,624, and is the result of a set-aside for small 

business firm. (YSC FELEASF No. 171-El, 6-29-81) 

June 30: The second flight of the Space Shuttle Orbiter 

Columbia, scheduled €or launch SepteTber 30 at Kennedy Space 

Center, has been extended one day to five days and six hours 

because of the near-perfect flight of the first mission, 

and, in particular, the lower-than-expected consumption of 

oxygen and hydrogen by the Columbia's fuel cell electric 

generators in the maiden flight. 

The extra day will give astronauts Joe Engle and Richard 

Truly more time to test the Remote Manipulator System, which 

has been installed in the Columbia's payload bay. It will 

also provide an extra day for operation of the Shuttle's 

first payload -- the OSTA 1 -- a packaqe of seven primarily 

Earth resources experiments, nost of which will be carried 

in the payload bay aboard an engineering model of the 

Spacelab pallet. Installation of the instruments was 

scheduled for yesterday. 

- 20 2- 
The experiments are the Shuttle Inagircj Radar, the Ocean 

Color Experiment, the Shuttle Multi-Spectral Infrared 

RadioTeter, Measurement of the Air Pcllution from 

Satellites, Nighttime and Daylight Optical Survey of 

Thunderstorz iightninq, Feature Identification and Location 

Experiment (an advanced technology experiment involving 

location of surface features and clouds) and the Heflex 

Bioengineering Test (a life science experiment involving 

sunflower seeds) . 

In addition to OSTA 1, Columbia will carry the Induced 

Environment Contamination Monitor (IECM), a system 

development by Xarshall Space Flight Center corrlprised of ten 

instrunents to check f3r contaminants in and around the 

cargo bsy which might adversely affect experiments. The 

monitor will look for outgassing from materials withir: the 

Shuttle, along with gases from tho reaction jets which 

control the vehicle in orbit. 

€-IPSA, in a briefing Friday, said that the only problem of 

any significance resulting fron the maiden Shuttle flight 

was a stronger-t5an-expected overpressur2 that occurred when 

the two Solid Focket Roosters were ignited on the launch 

pad. 

It said the overpressure suhjected pzrts of the Colunbis to 

stresses close to the naxinum pressure they were designed to 

withstand. XASA is lookin7 at several launch pad 

modifications to reduce the pressure if it is deternined 

that the o*.’erpressure is a possi!:le hazard. Modifications , if needed, will not delay the Septenber 30 launch date, the 

agency said. 

Schedgled today at the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC is 

the bolting of the External Fuel Tank to Columbia’s Solid 

Rocket Roosters. 

The ColuTbia is scheduled to be noved from the Orbiter 

Processing Facility to the VAR on August 4 €or mating with 

the ET and SRBs. The mated vehicle is scheduled to maw to 

the launch pad August 26. (DEFFNSE DAILY, 6-30-81, p. 332, 

Vol. 116, No. 42) 

-203- 
<> Rep. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), a member of the House Space 

Subcommittee, has suggested that Presider.t Reagsn set foith 

a national space policy that includ2s thc soal of 

establishing a space Onerations Center, a permanently manned 

Space Station, in lox Earth orbit by 19E9. (DEFErlSE DAILY, 

6-30-81, p. 332, Val. 116, NO. 42) 

<> The space shuttle's 97-foot b1im;-shaped fuel tank began 3 

slow rendezvous Monday evening with two 115-foot rocket 

boosters. 

Crews worked through the night to connect the tank and the 

rockets, a launch assembly that is to be joine? with ihe 

sFace shuttle ZoluTbia on August 4. 

A giant crane began m2ving the tank fro;? the west side of 

the Vehicle Assenbly Building to the east side to meet the 

pair of rockets at 5:30 p.n. 

E!ASA spokesnen, still hoping to see Coluribia's second launch 

go on sc!:erlule Sci>ten?wr 30 , said !.?onday a<ternoon that the 

tank and rocket mat in? began several hotirs earlier than 

initially 2lar.ned. i,iork was expected to end sowtine this 

norninq. 

The r'lazzling .;:lite ta.i.7;; form the backbone of Colu.-hia's 

"launch configuration." Each booster is attached to four 

points 0'1 either side of the tank. The spaceship grips the 

tank wi tk three c o n n e c t i o n s . 

Each bqoster kicks i? 2.6 million pocnds of thrust to Iielp 

the main engines lift Columbia from the pad and into orbit. 

The boosters, spent in two ninutes, are blown free 28 miles 

above the Atlantic Ocean. 

The tank, filled with liquid oxyqen an$ hydrogen, remains 

attached to the shuttle for 6 1/2 more minute<, fueling the 

spaceplane's three engines. It is jettisoned 70 miles above 

Earth and tunhles into the Indian Ocean. 

There are plans to paint Day-Glo orange strips on the 

external tank for the second mission so a trackinq ship can 

get better pictares of its descent, a NASA spokesman said. 

-204- 
I?ost of t- as tart? js supposed to disintegrate before it 

strikes t112 i:Jter. The reusable boosters are towed into 

Port Canavcri I. 

The two boosters used for the first mission in April are 

being refurbished. (SENTINEL STAR, 6-30-81, p. 4C1 

<> Two thirds of the second Space Shuttle is bolted together 

and ready to go. 

The candle-shaped rockets are sitting on the movable launch 

pad, and Monday night the fuel tank was hoisted from its 

preparation area high into the roof beams of the Vehicle 

Assembly Huilding. Then it was lowered back down between 

the two assist rockets and "was imted hard down" by 7 a.m. 

Tuesday. 

"It took lesr than half the time it did for ST5-1 (the first 

ShuttlE mission)," sai:! Dick Jones, supervisor for the 

operation for Yartin Yarietta Aerospace, the company 

responsible for tk,e SI:.ittle's fclel tank. 

Jones said the 0:-cratio? wcqt -ore s:Yoothly this time 

primrily kcause ;>any of the nodifidations that had to be 

made on the first tank were made in Plichoud, Louisiana, 

where the tanks are zaqufactured. 

The tank has already S2en loaded once with liquid oxygen and 

hyc!roqcn at t'.e i:at io-.a! Space Technology Laboratories in 

Bay St. Louis, Yississippi. (TOFFY, 7-1-81) 

June 1981: Honeywell Infornation Systems , Inc. , YcLean, 

Virginia, has Seen awarded two contracts for Space Shuttle 

Launch Processing Systen elenents by the Kennedy Space 

Center, Florida. One contract, in the anount of $19,422,731 

provides for computers and software support services at 

Vandenberg Air Force Rase, California; the other contract, 

in the aaodnt of S10,750,331 provides parallel services for 

Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The Launch Processing System 

controls and i-erforns much of the Space Shuttle vehicle 

checkout automtica:ly while the vehicle comyvoncnts are 

bein? prepared for launch.. .The Kennedy Space Center 

contract perfornance periad extends from Seyt. 1, 1981 

-205- 
through Sept. 30, 1982. Annual options may be exercised 

thereafter which would extend the contract through Sept. 30 

and bring the potential aggregate value of the contract to 

S62,286,698. (:IASA ACTIVITIES, 6-81, p. 18, Vole 12, HO. 6) 

-206- 
The payload canister approaches the Vehicle Assembly 

Ruildinq on July 1, 1981. 

-207- 
JULY 1981 

July I: The engineering model Spacelab pallet that carries 

five of the seven experiments for the OS A-1 (Office of 

Space & Terrestrial Applications-11 scientific payload, was 

loaded into the cargo bay of the Orbiter Columbia July I at 

the Orbiter Processing Facility at Xennedy Space Center. 

OSTA-1 will be the first payload carried into space by the 

Shuttle. (DEFENSE DAILY, 7-6-81, p. 21, Vol. 117, No. 3) 

July 3: Alan Lovelace, acting admjnistrator of NASA since 

January when Robert Frosch resigned, will leave the agency 

July 11 for private industry, NASA headquarters in 

Washington announced Thursday. 

Lovclace will join General Dynamics Corporation in St. Louis. 

as ctrporate vice president for science and engineering. If@ 

will 3irect and coordinate the company's engineeringa 

research, advanced produce and program develo 

spokesman said, 

In December, Lovelace announced he intended to retire froa 

NASA but agreed to stay when then-administrator Farssch 

decided to leave the agency for a job as president of 

American Association (af Engineering Societies, 

NASA's new chief, James Beggs, 55, kft a post as vice 

president of General Dynamics to come to ASA. The Senate 

confirmed his ncmination last week and he starts work 

Tuesday. 

President Reiqan recently awarded Lovelace the Presidential 

development. f'.WDAY, 7-3-81) 

edal for his role in the Space Shuttle's 

July 6: k pressure pulse four times stronger than predicked 

generate6 heavy loads on the space shuttle orbiter when the 

two solid rocket boosters were ignited for the first launch 

April 12. ?!,,ional Aeronautics and Space Wdministration has 

been attenpting since the launch to determine if the 

overpressure was random or a problem that will require a 

hardware fix. 

-208- 
Analytical work is under way here and at Marshall Space 

Flight Center to find out why the pulse was not deflected 

away from the shuttle system and why it reached a force of 

2.P psi. when the prediction was 0.5 psi. A load of 2.0 

psi. could danay structures inside the payload bay, 

particularly attach points for payloads and systems, 

accordinq to Pobert F. Gray, manager of the Kennedy Shuttle 

Projects Office. 

Gray said the pressure wave surrounded the entire orbiter 

vehicle. No damage resulted, but loading on the aft heat 

shield approached design limits, elevons were moved about 6 

inches and the crew compartment was subjected to a 3g load 

that lasted a few nilliseconds, according to Gray. 

There is no general agreement within NASA that launch 

measurements are completely accurate and Xarshall is 

conducting tests to verify nunhers and data. 

Several changes are being considered on the launch pad to 

insure deflection of the pressure pulse if a fix is 

required. AF.O~~ t?e:?: 

* Ir?stallinT steel fir-flect3r harriers or. the launch 

plat forn. 

* Clqsinq exhaust l-,olcs c'iuring the iqnition phase with steel 

cables arranaed like a grid and covered with a burnable It so f t I' rl e t a 1 . 

* Incorysratinn s i.:atcr harrier deflecting systen. 

Exhaust an3 flane should be carried away alonk the concrete 

deflector tunnejs that are part of the launch complex. If 

it is concluded that the existing system is not adequate, a 

decision on how to proceed will he made within several 

weeks, Gray said. He called the overpressure incident the 

most serious problem NASA has in preparing for the second 

shuttle launch, but that it will not affect the planned 

September 30 launch date because any required fix can be 

completed by then. (AVIATION KEEX & SPACE TECHNoLOGY, 

7-6-81, F. 21, VOl. 115, NO. 1) 
<> On April 12, NASA's newest flying machine rose proudly from 

its pad, accompanied by the click, whir and hum of hundreds 

of government cameras recording the event. 

But just eight days later, as Kennedy Space Center 

photographers were busily developing the thousands of 

pictures they took of the Space Shuttle's liftoff and 

landing, President Reagan issued a moratorium banning 

government agencies from publishing new material or making 

new movies. 

"I think that the president's order is a good thing," said 

Charles Hollinshead, KSC's director of public affairs. "It 

just hit us at a bad time." 

The president was not singling out NASA. The ban applies to 

20 government agerlcies. 

"The federal governnent is spending too much money on public 

relations, publicity and advertising," Reagan said. "Much 

of this waste consists of unnecessary and expensive films, 

nagazines and panphlets." 

Like the films, nagazlnes and panphlets published on NASA's 

Apollo missions? 

"They do put out a lot of stuff," said a spokesman for the 

president's Office of Managenent and Budget, which is 

assigned to make sure the moratorium is heeded. "It's the 

sort of slick, high quality stuff that attracts a lot of 

a t ten t ion. 

"Rut I wouldn't say VASA is notable in its expenditures in 

relation to the other agencies," said the official, who 

asked not he named. 

How is NASA reacting to the restrictions? 

"So far it hasn't caused us a lot of problems," said KSC's 

Holl inshead. 

- 210- 
"We're not singing the blues," said Brian Duff, director of 

public affairs in NASA's Washington office. "Austerity has 

taught us how to he lean.'' (TODAY, 7-6-elr p. 1A) 

<> President Reagan's national secuity adviser, Richard Allen, 

has initiated a federal interagency review on uses of the 

space shuttle, stimulated by the successful first flight of 

the vehicle. The review will be managed by the White House 

Office of Science an3 Technoloqy Policy and headed by its 

director, George A. Keyworth, President Reagan's science 

adviser. Space industrialization and priorities between 

military and civil uses of the space shuttle will be 

addressed both in the context of constrained budgets and 

revitalizing U.S. technical capability. 

As the Iihite House asscssnent was being launched, NASA and 

USAF were holding their own meetings at Systems Comnand 

Headquarters at Andreus AFE , Maryland. Most important early 

result of the session was a decision to slip the initial 

shuttle operational capability at Vandenberq AFE, 

California, fro3 mid-1984 into 1985. (AVIATION VIEEK & SPACE 

TECHNOLOGY, 7-6-81, p. 15, Vol. 115, No. 1) 

<> f!ASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center has awarded the firm of 

Frank A. Kennedy, of Cape Canaveral, Florida, a contract to 

provide the Spaceport with a Vapor Detection Calibration 

Capability in a higb-pressure gas cleaning area. 

The fixed-price contract carries a value of 588,754, and is 

to be completed 150 calender days after the contract was 

ab?zrded on June 30, 19P1. The contr?ct is one set aside for 

award to a snall business firm. 

The contract calls for modification of a high-pressure gas 

cleaning area located at Launch Complex 39. (KSC RELEASE 

No. 174-81, 7-6-81) 

July 8: The Denver (Colorado) Aerospace Division of Martin 

Marietta Aerospace, Inc. has been awarded a supplemental 

agreement to an existing contract with NASA's Kennedy Space 

Center. The award provides for communications security 

devices to be incorporated into the Space Shuttle checkout 

and launch surport facilities at the space center. 

-211- 
The value of the cost plus fee agreement is $5,360,676, and 

brings the total value of the Martin Marietta contract at 

KSC to $101,781,432. The overall contract covers the period 

from February 4, 1980, through January 1, 1982. 

The contract supplement calls for the installation of 

encoding and decoding devices in the Checkout, Cmt.:ol, and 

Flonitor Subsystem of the Launch Processing Systerl tisea to 

checkout and launch the Space Shuttle. The new equipment, 

designed to enhance security for sensitive ccmnunications, 

will be installed in the Launch Processing System In the 

Launch Control Center firing rooms. (KSC RELEASE bo. 

176-81, 7-e-81) 

July 10: As part of its continuing evaluation \I p:-o:;f?cted 

costs of the Space Sbuttle, NASA inforTed the ;:bite House 

Office of Management ii Budget this sFring of "threats" to 

the program that could increase its costs by $300 million to 

$500 million in FY '83 over what the agency had earlier 

est inated. 

A top agency official to12 Defense Daily yesterday that 

current estimates continue to show the possibility of an 

increase of that nagnitu2c. 

The projected FY '83 budget for Space Transportation Systens 

had been 52.8 billion, which has Seen boosted by inflation 

to about $3 billion. The increase, if it materializes, 

would boost the FY '83 STS budget to $3.3-53.5 billion. 

If there is a slip in the delivery sciiedule for the 

Orbiters, the increase could go higher. Costs could also be 

affected by changes in the spares policy. 

The largest part of the project cost increase is for 

production of the three follow-on Orbiters, which, in fact, 

are developmental-type vehicles in that they are continually 

being upgraded. Some cost increase, ander that 

circumstance, is not totally unexpected. 

Rockwell International, Shuttle prime, has informed NASA 

that becuase of increased manpower requirements and the need 

for longer engineering work, its costs and the costs of its 

vendors and suhcontractors on the Orbiter have gone up 

-212- 
substantially. In addition, improvements in the Orbiter 

ordered by NASA have raised costs. The total possible 

increase in Orbiter production costs in FY '83 is estimated 

at S150-S300 million. 

The other area of increased costs is Shuttle Operations, 

including the increased costs for the lightweight External 

Tank which is behind schedule, as well as increased costs 

for the Solid Rocket Boosters and spares. 

None of the projected increases in operations costs are 

related to the STS-1 flight, which, if anything, indicated 

that costs may be less than expected. 

NASA Is r.:,* ;'E+ saying that the S300-$500 million cost 

incr-. e :f i c-.-t~inty. It believes that sone of the 

'.ncrg=asr-c nL; !x subject to negotiation, although that may 

be Gpt.Tistic. (DFFENSE DAILY, 7-10-81, p. 51, Vol. 115, 

?lo. 7? 

July 13: Daragc 1.0 the solid rocket booster systen that helped 

pro,-e: the f.rst space shuttle into orbit was largely 

con, il?$' t- the s;ft skirt area and progran engineers believe 

the c3 9.::. -C the danage have been isolated and can be 

elimir,atid in future nissions. 

Emphasis in the first mission, April 12, was on the ascent 

perfornance of the boosters and both functioned withodt 

anonaly during this phase. On descent, the nozzle extension 

was blown a5Js.y at an altitude later determined to be too 

high, an? stiffener rings in the aft skirt were found not to 

he strong enoug!: to withstand the water impact. 

The nozzle extension was severed from the spent booster when 

programmed to do so at apogee. This resulted in an 

unforeseen incidence of aerodynamic flutter that tore the 

thermal curtain. The resulting whipping action destroyed 

sone of the instrumentation that measured temperature and 

pressure, according to George S. Morefield, chief engineer 

of United Space Boosters, the company that has the contract 

for installation, assembly and checkout of the booster 

sys ten. 

The thernal curtain protects against flame and radiant 

heating . -213- 
On the second flight according to Morefield, the integrated 

electronics asse3hly will be programme? to delay the nozzle 

extension severance from apogee, which was 270,000 feet in 

the first flight, until about 20 seconds after deployment of 

the main recovery parachutes at an altitude of approximately 

1,500 feet. 

"We don't care about the curtain as long as it works on 

ascent, I' Moref iefd said, "but we lost some insturnentation." 

In addition to the later nozzle extension, power lines in 

the aft skirt will be wrapped with heat-reflective tape. 

When the boosters descended during the first flight, there 

was outgassing and puffs of flame, which caused the 

insulation to ignite. Flames spilled over the edge and 

attacker? the thermal curtain. The new procedure will keep 

the flame farther away fron the curtain, Morefie13 said. 

Redesigning the stiffener rings can not be finished in tine 

for the scheduled September 30 second flight of the shuttle, 

hut should be ready for the third and subsequent flights, he 

said. (FVIATION ~:EFK & SPhCE TECHtIOLOGYr 7-13-81, p. 57, 

VOl. 115, NO. 2) 

<> Economic inportance of the solid rocket booster retrieval 

and refurbishment to the space shuttle psoqrax is 

underscored in an analytical projection of new versus 

refurbished booster costs carried out until about the 

nid-199n's. 

9ne new booster systeiy today costs S25 illi ion. A 

refurbished booster has an estimate2 cost of $7 million. 

For a shuttle launch, according to the National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration analysis, the cost is $50 nillion 

versus Si4 million. Precise assessment of the costs depends 

on a detailed study NASA and its contractors are conducting 

of components and structures that can be reused. (AVIATION 

PJEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 7-13-81, p. 24, Vole 115, NO. 2) 

July 15: Astronaut Richard Truly, who will pilot the second 

space shuttle flight, met briefly with reporters Kcdnesday 

to express confidence in Columbia and optimism for a 

Septenber 30 launch. 

-214- 
Truly flew to the space center from Houston Wednesday 

morning to watch the closing of the shuttle's payload 

doors. The doors will be opened on the five-day flight so 

that scanning experiments can point toward the Earth. 

The 44-year-old astronaut, dressed in blue NASA coveralls, 

said he and astronaut Joe Engle were very well prepared for 

thc launch because they trained as a backup crew for the 

first flight. .?or five months in 1977, Truly and Engle flew 

space shuttle landing test fliqhts. 

Truly, a Mississippi native, is a Navy captain who has 

logqed more than 5,000 hours in jet aircraft. He became a 

NASA astronaut in September 1969 and was the capsule 

communicator for all three of the manned Skylab missions and 

the Apollo-Soyuz mission. 

Truly said the main difference for astronauts between the 

first and second mission of Columbia is that different 

conruter prograns will guide the spacecraft, and the second 

flight will be twice as long. 

"\:e sbould he nclch nor€ confident than at the first flight 

because we're siire tk:ose three engines work , " Truly said. 

He said that t5ree months befDre the first launch "scare 

staries were cmins out of the woodwork,'' but he hasn't 

heard any this tine. (SENTIXEL STAR, 7-16-81, p. 3C) 

<> Ten Idaho fir?fighters will he imported today to help 

extinguish a 1,OPO acre blaze that threatens radio and radar 

facilities at Kennedy Space Center on the Xerritt Island 

Nat i ona 1 Ki Id 1 if e Refuge. 

The blaze starte? Flonday and is the most recent in a series 

of fires that have plagued tho refuge for two months, 

charring hundreds of acres ana killing two U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife officials in June. 

The firefighters, from the Boise Interagency Fire Center, 

should arrive this afterncon, refuge manager Robzrt Lee 

said. 

-215- 
"They (firefighters) can provide us with the expertise to be 

more effective and can also give us a break," an exhausted 

Lee said late Tuesday evening. "We've been at this since I 

don ' t know when. 

Lee said the fire jumped the NASA Causeway Tuesday and began 

threatening NASA facilities located by the Visitors 

Information Center. The facilities included small 

communications buildings and large radar discs. 

Also, Lee said the U.S. Forest Service is sending in a 

special tanker plane this morning to dump a phosphate-based 

fire retardant on the blaze. (TODAY, 7-15-81, p. 1R) 

July 16: Kith calk that Anerica's exploration of space has 

been rejuvenated by the S;Face Shuttle project, officials and 

guests at Kennedy Space Center celebrated Thursday the first 

manned landing on a celestial body. 

Samp: in3 a 3-by-5 cake conmenorating the 12th anniversary of 

the Apollo 11 launch, about 351) people crowded the Visitors 

Infornation Center to hear some nostalgic references to the 

team that pl?t Neil ArTstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon in 

1969. Michael Collins renainerl in the comnand module whjch 

circled the moon. 

None of the Ap0110 11 astronauts attended the KSC 

celebration. 

Donald F. b.illiam.s, cornnander of the U.S. Navy Astronaut 

Corps, called the Apollo 11 mission a "great event of modern 

tines" and the first step toward space colonization. 

"The destiny of the people of planet Earth is to leave this 

Earth and explore the rest of the universe," Killiarns said. 

"There's a lot out there and we haven't even begun to look 

at it." 

P7alter Kapryan, deputy director of Apollo 11 launch 

operations and now a rranager for Lockheed Engineering and 

Management, said after the noon launch the Anerican people 

became complacent and lost interest in space exploration. 

-216- 
He said the decrease in space program funding after the moon 

launch was a "national tragedy and a waste of one of our 

nation's most valuable resnurces. The Apollo 11 staff was 

just dispersed to the winds." 

Now, Kapryan said, the nation's enthusiasm for space 

expioration has been rekindled by the Shuttle's success, 

which he believes is good. 

"57ithout goals, individuals and nations stagnate. History 

has shown us that," he said. (TODAY, 7-17-81) 

<> The Aerospace Services Division of Pan American MrJrld 

Airways, Inc., Cocoa Reach, Florida, has been awarded a 

one-year extension of its contracc to supply medical 

services at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center and Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station. 

The $3,573,338 award covers the period July 1, 1961, through 

June 30, 1982, and brings the cunulative value of the 

contract since July 1, 1977, to 512,372,535. The new award 

narks the fifth year of service under a contract with a 

one-year basic tern plus fodr one-yehr options. 

Under the contract, Pan A3erican will provide occupational 

medicine and environnental health services to civil service, 

military and contractor personnel, 

Services are provided by physicians, nedical technicians and 

nurses in facilities at KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station. (KSC RELEASF Yo. 181-81, 7-16-81) 

July 17: Frank Ryrne, Deputy Director of Information Systems 

at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, has received a $10,000 Space 

Act Award from the NASA Rcard of Inventions for devising a 

computer launch system improvement. The award was pt.esented 

to Fyrne at a special ceremony at XSC or: July ?O by Center 

Director Richard G. Smith. 

Ryrne received the award for his patented invention entitled 

"Comnon Data Buffer System." The co.rimon data buffer forms 

an important part cf the Launch Processing Systen (LPS), 

which is used to checkout and launch NASA's Space Shuttle at 

-217- 
KSC. The system's basic function is to allow the individual 

computers of the LPS to communicate with each other. It 

launched the first Space Shuttle, and replaced the 

relatively antiquated Apollo launch system previously used. 

The U.S. Patent a?d Tradesark Office issued V.S. Patent No. 

4,254,464 covering the invention on March 3, 1981. 

Ryrne who lives in Cocoa Reac'., Florida, invented the system 

while working in KSC's Directorate of Electronic 

Engineering. (KSC RELEASF No. 185-81, 7-17-81) 

July 20: The review of U.S. space policy to be conducted by 

the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 

under a specific directive from President Reagan will be 

completed by about Christmas and its results should impact 

the FY '83 FedEra? budget, Dr. George A. ("Jay") Keyworth 

11, the director-designate of OSTP told Senate cor.firmation 

hearings yesterday. 

Keyworth has said that tk:e interagency review of U.S. space 

policy to be concluded by OSTP will develop "the ideas and 

plans that will set the course" for U.S. activities in space 

"for years to cone." He said the review will he one cf his 

first major tasks as director of OSTP. 

Senator Jack Schmitt (R-N.Kq.), chairing hearings by the 

Commerce Committee into Keyworth's nozination, said that the 

U.S. has not had a national purpose for its space program 

since the first manned landing on the Moon 13 years ago 

yesterday. That was "the end of our space purpose," he 

said. "i;hile the Space Shuttie is a nagnificent 

acconplis5nent, it is not a purpose." 

Keyworth said that there is "considerable concern" in the 

administration about the future of space. He said the 

problem is sufficieqtly co,nplex, including the problem of 

the "turf" of various agencies, that it will take five 

months to complete the review 

Schrnitt expressed the hope that the findings of the review 

would be reflected in the FY '83 budget and in supplementals 

that may be submitted so that the space program could 

benefit, and Keyworth indicated that it would. 

-218- 
Asked by Senator Howell Heflin (D-Ala.) whether more 

coordination between NASA and the Defense Department on 

space is needed, Keyworth said that he felt that 

coordination should be strengthened, noting that appointment 

of forger Air Force Secretary Hans Mark to be deputy 

adninistrator of NASA should help. 

Questioned by Schmitt about the U.S. role in international 

cooperative research and development, Keyworth said that 

such programs are important to Aneriqa. He added that U.S. 

commitments to international projects "absolutely nust be 

honored," and he volunteered that he would be reexamining 

the Administration's decision to terminate the U.S. 

spacecraft for the International Solar Polar Mission (ISPM). 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 7-21-81, p. 105, Vole 117, NO. 14) 

July 26: It's being called the case of the missing LOX, and it 

means the orhit of the second Space Shuttle will be slightly 

lower and slower than that of the first mission. 

And it also has forced conputer specia1ist.s to rewrite the 

Shuttle's flight pronfa? so that the rocketplane, scheduled 

for blastoff Septentwr 30, will be taking a dlffererit rafh 

into space. 

L3X is NhSA's abhricviation for liquid oxygen, which is 

mixed with !?ydroqen to por:er the spaceship Colurnhia's three 

engines. 

The prot-le? is that after engineers analyzed data fron early 

April's fli9kt of the Fhuttle, they found t!iey couldn't 

account for nearly 4,080 pounds of liquid oxygen. 

"We found we had a lower quantity at the end of the 

mission...than we had predicted," said Horace Lamberth, head 

of the fluid systems division at Kennedy Space Center. 

Arc3 that could cone from any one of three things, Lamberth 

said: The engines could have used more oxygen than 

expected; engineers cauld have miscalculated the density of 

the liquid oxygen they put into the tank, resu1tir.g in a 

lower quantity; or the size of the tank could have been 

niscalculated. 

-219- 
The problem is further complicated by the excessive amount 

of time it would take to pin down which of the three 

alternatives is to blame for the missing LOX. 

"You can't wait until you get all that analysis done," said 

Richard Kohrsf Johnson Space Center's manager of SjrstenS 

integration in the Space Shuttle program office. "And we 

need the flight data from the second rnission,..So you go 

ahead and fly STS-2f" he said. 

But you fly it very conservatively just in case you run 

short of liquid oxygen. (TODAY, 7-26-81) 

<> The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed a 180-day 

suspension of the license of a Cocoa pilot who flew into a 

restricted area minutes before the April 12 launch of the 

space shuttle Colmbia, officisls said. 

But space aqencp officials, saying a catastrophe could 

result if pilsts get away with flying too near Kennedy Space 

Center ciurinq 1 if toff, want Jerry Ralph Stevenson punished 

more severely - 

Stevenson, 22, plans to appeal the FAA ruling at an informal 

hearing Tuesday with the agency's lawyer, FAA spokesman Jack 

Barber said in .r\tlanta. The pilot was notified of the 

recommendation b). nail this week. (SENTIYEL STAR, 7-26-81) 

July 27: In addition to the six orbiter experiments to be 

conducted as part of the seconr! space shuttle mission, four 

other experinents have been designated for f liqht on future 

shuttlo orbiters. Three of the new experiments could be on 

the third shuttle mission if tine permits and performance is 

met, according to Edwin C. Johnsonf Jr., technical assistant 

for cargo integration in shuttle operations. 

They are: 

* Shuttle entry air data system. * Shuttle upper atmosphere mass spectrometer. * Shuttle infrared leeside temperature sensing. 

-220- 
The fourth experiment, technology flight instrumentation, 

will not be carried until after the fourth flight, when the 

orbital flight test program is scheduled for completion. 

The shuttle entry air data system was devised to obtain more 

precise measurements of air data at speeds above Mach 3.5 at 

various angles of attack and sideslip. Its development 

depended on the ability to penetrate the shuttle orbiter 

reinforced carbon-carbon nosecap without affecting 

performance of the cap. The system consists of 14 

penetrations for ports and tubes and 28 pressure 

transducers, which will provide measurements from an 

altitude of about 56 miles to touchdown. The upper 

atmosphere mass spectrometer will measure atmospheric 

constituents at altitudes higher than those to be 

investigated by the entry air data experiment. This 

information will contribute to calculations of static and 

dynamic force coefficients and derivatives in flight over 

the entry trajectory. The infrared leeside temperature 

sensing experiment is designed to provide high-resolution 

infrared imagery of the upper surface of orhiter wings and 

fuselage during reentry. The camera for this experiment 

will he housed in the top of the vertical stabilizer and 

will view the wings and fuselage through two windows that 

are transparent to the infrared spectrum and are cooled by 

gaseous nitrogen. Tl-.e camera will operate from 5 minutes 

before entry through the descent phase. 

Developnent flight instrumentation on board the orbiter 

Colu.?ll?ia totals 3,978 sensors. About 25% of these 

instrunents will he retained for technology flight 

instrumentation experiments , which wi 11 concentrate on 

measurenents of aerodynanics, aerothermodynamics and flight 

control. Modular auxilliary data systems that will process 

measurenents \;ill be located forward and in the cargo bay. 

(AVIATIO>T iiEfii & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 7-27-81, p. 45, Vole 115, 

?lo. 4) 

<> Problem with the Space Shuttle Columbia's new mechanical 

arn have postponed a simulated flight test for another 16 

hours. 

The 32-hour test at Kennedy Space Center, which had already 

been pushed from Friday back to 8 a.m. today, has now been 

rescheduled for midnight tonight. 

-221- 
Technicians were still "troubleshooting" electrical problems 

with the arm's emc.i-qency jettisoning systen Sunday night, 

said NASA spokesman nick Young. The system allows the arm 

to be discarded if it won't fold back into place while in 

space. 

The series of tests are primarily designed to prove that the 

Shuttle's payload, a bundle of instruments that will search 

the Earth's surface for minerals and other resources, has 

been connected to the spaceship properly. 

Young said it is too soon to tell if the testing delays will 

affect the Columbia's move to the Vehicle Assembly i3uilding 

scheduled for August 4. The Shuttle's second flight is set 

for September 30. (TODAY, 7-27-81, p. 10A) 

<> Recommendation that the U.S. pursue development of a large, 

permanently rnanned space statim as the next primary focus 

of its space program will be made to President Reagan by 

James M. Beggs, new administrator of the National 

Aeronautics and Space Adninistration. 

Reggs told ?.'JIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY he also would 

recomnend to the President that !le make a public statement 

of commitment to establishing a pernanent U.S. presence in 

space as a way of helping focus efforts on an eventual 

station operation. 

"Xhether we are going to be able to bring a station through 

to a new start in the next three or four years is a short 

tine horizon for this agency, but we sure are going to try," 

Reggs said. 

"That clearly is where you go, because if you don't go 

toward the space station, then the real payoff on the space 

shuttle will not be achieved. You have to go space station 

if you are going to use the shuttle as it ought to be used. 

"I think the probability is reasonably hiqh that we can get 

a policy statement out of this Administration as to what we 

ought to be doing. I think we can get an early space policy 

document that continues the President Carter initiative. As 

to the President giving any type of commitment to the manned 

permanence thing, I don't know, I would not hazard to guess 

on that. We are going to try." 

-222- 
While Reqgs will raise the space station initiative with 

President Reagan, the White House will be examining the 

course of the U.S. space program as a whole and the 

relationship between NASA and the Defense Department in 

space progran developments. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE 

TECHNOLOGY, 7-27-81, p. 23, Vole 115, NO. 4) 

July 28: NASA's Kennedy Space Center has awarded Butler 

Construction Co. of Rockledge, Florida, a contract to 

construct security modifications to a room in KSC's Launch 

Control Center (LCC), 

The value of the fixed-price contract is $235rOOOr and is to 

be completed 90 days after receipt of a notice to proceed. 

The contract was awarded July 23, and is one set aside for 

award to a snall business firm. 

Bdtler Construction is to supply labor, equipment and 

materials to construct modifications to Room 4R10 of the 

LCC. The modifications consist of construction of visual 

harriers, Fersonnel access barriers, and installing sound 

suppression systeTs and perscnnel access control systens. 

(KSC REISEASE ??O. 187-81, 7-28-81] 

<> A simulation of space shuttle Columbia's next mission ran 

into delays t!:is weekend after NASA discovered it got its 

wires crossed on the ships's new mechanical arm. 

Five to six wires on the 50-foot limb, which will hoist 

satellites into space an future missions, were incorrectly 

installed due to errors on the wiring diagram, said Charles 

Henschel, shuttle test director. One wire was left out. 

Rewiring of the arm was expected to be completed Monday 

night and the sinulated test was rescheduled for midnight, 

Henschel said. 

Thirty-two hours of testing will begin with the darmant 

Columbia being awakened by its computer brains telling the 

spaceship it is flying. 

-223- 
Columbia will be fully powered, its life-support systems 

switched on, and its computers doing a "fake-out" to get the 

ship to "think it's in orbit," Henschel said. 

"The prime purpose is to make sure the various systems are 

compatible," Henschel said. "Making sure the shuttle and its 

payload comnunicate is especially important,'' he said. 

Testing begins with 5 1/2 hours of powering the ship, making 

it habitable, and starting the computers. Astronauts will 

later conduct a "mission run," which is a simulated ascent, 

orbit and descent. The tests and simulations will leave 

Columbia about 70 percent ready for launch, Henschef said. 

The first crew aboard for routine checks will be support 

astronauts Dick Scohee and El Onizuka, Mission astronauts 

Joe Engle and Richard Truly and backup astronauts Ken 

!!attingly and Henry Hartsfield will participate at various 

times later in the test. 

An astronaut crew will open the payload bay doors, switch on 

the scanning instruments, and check the robotic arm, The 

timetable for operating the scanners will be verified, and 

the instruments will he teste? to ensure they are working 

correctly, said Eldon Raley, cargo operations director. 

"This is an important payload for the benefit of mankind,'' 

Raley said. "Earth resources data is important to our 

future. The test is to prove that we can talk to the system 

that transmits data to the ground." 

Engineers are no longer worried that the cargo pallet will 

he darnaqed by tile excess blastoff stress that threatened 

ColuTbia on its first launch. Studies have shown that the 

4,000 pounds of instruments are too light to be wrenched by 

the launch, said Jerry Kenney, payload mission manager. 

(SENTINEL STAR, 7-28-81, p. 6C) 

<> A company hoping to offer the nation's first commercial 

satzllite launching service raised its first rocket on a 

launch pad Monday after three days of delays caused by bad 

weather . 

-224- 
"I'm thrilled. It's just beautiful,'' said Charles Chafer, 

vice president of Space Services, Inc., after workers used a 

crane to lift the 55-foot-long spaceship onto the stand at 

Ma tagorda Island. 

The company plans engine tests this wek -- a three-second 

''burn" today and a 25-second burn Wednesday -- and hopes to 

launch a suborbital flight August 12, company spokesman Walt 

Pennino said, The flight plan submitted to the Federal 

Aviation Administration calls for a three-mile flight that 

reaches an altitude of 14,500 feet. 

That plan was contained in a request for a waiver of an FAA 

rule prohibiting unmanned rocket flight in controlled air 

space. (TODAY, 7-28-81, p. 10A) 

<> A large water-spray systen will be installed around the base 

of the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters to reduce 

engine firing pressure when the Columbia blasts off on its 

second flight, a XASA official said Tuesday. 

The S1.5 to S2 Tillion spray system will be designed and 

installed by nid-Septenbsr and shouldn't dalay the shuttle's 

encore voyage, said Dr. Robert Gray, manaqer of the shuttle 

pro j ec t s . 

Although the sctiedule is very tight, all other preparations 

for Columbia's September 30 launch are on target. "If all 

goes supersmooth we can make it," Gray said. "At this 

point, we feel real, real good compared to the first launch 

because there are fewer unknowns .'I 

Water fro;n several 3E-inch lines will be shot across +he 

bottoms of the twin solid rocket boosters to absorb c'.ess 

liftoff pressure which caused minor damage to the shi, on 

its maiden launch last April. 

The spray water system is the easiest solution to the 

pressure problem because it doesn't involve building 

burdensone additions to the launch pad, Gray said. 

Technicians have designed several other modifications to 

correct the overpressurization, but they would require too 

much work or delay the launch. 

-225- 
The problem on the maiden lasnch occurred when pressure 

created by the firing of the solid rocket boosters was 

deflected back to the ship. The force moved the entire 

shuttle-tank-rocket assembly, jarred the cockpit and Flexed 

the wing flaps 6 inches. 

Although the shock lasted only 20 milliseconds -- not long 

enough to be felt or recognized by the astronauts -- it 

created ati "unacceptable" situation for future launches, 

Gray said. 

The new system will be designed to shoot water, at the rate 

of 75,000 gallons per minute, across the primary holes to 

absorb the pressure. Gray said the water, which will come 

from a nearby stmage tank, will be turned on for about 25 

seconds . 

Although a final decision on the water spray system was not 

expected until late Tuesday, Gray said he was 90 percent 

sure that it would be adopted. "It's the best system. We 

like it" better than the other modifications, he said. 

(SENTIPlEL STAR, 7-29-81, 1'. 2C) 

July 29: A planned test firinq of the first rocket designed 

for private commercial use had to be rescheduled Tuesday 

because engineers weren't satisfied everything was in order, 

a company official said. 

"They (engineers) weren't satisfied that, mechanically, 

everything was in order," Space Services Inc. spokesman r7alt 

Pennino said Tuesday after the five-second burn of the 

engine in the 55-foot Percheron rocket was postponed until. 

Thursday. 

"They didn't want to run that risk until all the fittings 

and instrumentation and pumping systems were in order," he 

said. 

As for rescheduling the five-second test for this morning I 

Pennino added, "We can't guarantee that, either." (TODAY, 

7-29-81, p. 14A) 

-226- 
<> The scheduled Tuesday transfer of the space shuttle to the 

Vehicle Assembly Building will be delayed one to three days 

due to problems encountered during preliminary systems 

testing, NASA said Wednesday. 

The postponement will "very possibly" push back the 

Columbia's scheduled September 30 launch, although that 

hasn't been officially confirmed, said shuttle test director 

Charles Henschel. 

"All I can say officially is that we're still on for 

September 30, but that's starting to look soft,'' he said. 

"We're trying to juggle our schedule" to make the original 

launch date, Henschel added. 

NASA crews will begin working full time on Sundays next week 

to pick up time. 

The towing of the shuttle to the VAE, where it will be mated 

with its solid rocket boosters and external fuel tank, has 

been delayed because it took five days longer than planned 

to cor,pfete the sir?ulated tests, 

The space shuttle currently is resting in its glorified 

garage about 300 yards fron the VAR. 

Wiring and computer problems with the shuttle's payload 

system were the prinary cause for the holdup, Henschel 

said. Those problens were solved and the test ended at 2 

a.m. Wednesday. 

Earlier this week, NASA discovered that four to five wires 

controlling the shuttle's new mechanical arm had been 

erroneously installed. One wire was left out completely. 

The 50-foot limb will hoist satellites into space. That arn 

is scheduled to be tested during the second flight but it 

won't do any lifting. 

Two other problems arose Tuesday. The l?ft payload bay door 

wouldn't open and a computer wouldn't verify movements of 

the mechanical arm. 

-227- 
Astronauts Richard Truly and Joe Engle tested systems in the 

cockpit Tuesday and were satisfied with the results, 

Henschel said. 

Despite the problems, Hensehel said the simulation was far 

better than the simulation for the maiden shuttle flight 

last spring. 

Engineers said they are confident another potential problem 

area has been solved. There had been fears that 

modifications to prevent the shock and vibration experienced 

during the first launch would cause delays. (SENTINEL STAR, 

7-3o-e1, p. 5C) 

<> NASA's Kennedy Space Center has awarded a supplemental 

contract to Reynolds, Smith and Hills Architects, Engineers, 

Planners, Inc. of 2460 N. Courtney Parkway, Merritt Island, 

Florida. The contract is for a study of KSC's launching 

facilities to be conducted to see if modifications are 

needed €or use of the Centaur upper stage as part of the 

Space Shuttle system. 

The value of the fixed-price contract is se34,872, and 

brings the total anount of the Reynolds, Sxith and Hills 

contract at KSZ to $863,868. The new contract covers the 

period of 73 days from award. The contract was awarded July 

22. The study is to he conducted at Reynolds' Merritt 

Island, Florida, facilities. 

The contract supplenent calls for Reynolds to perform a 

study of possible modifications to NASA's Space Shuttle 

launch facilities to accornodate a Centaur and payload in a 

shuttle orbiter payload bay. These facilities include 

Mobile Launcher Platform 2 and the Rotating Service 

Structure and Fixed Service Structure at the Complex 39 

launch pads. (KSC RELEASE No. 188-81, 7-29-81) 

July 30: An Air Force Space Division/Boeing Aerospace Inertial 

Upper Stage test vehicle has arrived at Cape Canaveral for 

launch checkout of the first flight vehicle scheduled for 

next year. 

-228- 
Called a Pathfinder, whose UTC solid rocket motors and 

ordnance devices are loaded with inert material, the vehicle 

will be used to duplicate the exact flow of IUS hardware 

from shipment of components to integration to launch 

readiness . 

Taking part in the test will be flight-type hardware of a 

Martin Narietta Titan 34D launch vehicle, the IUS Pathfinder 

test vehicle, and a spacecraft model. The test is considered 

a critical phase in the IUS development program because the 

first flight mission is operational. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

7-30-81, p. 163, Vole 117, NO. 21) 

<> About a tablespoon of toxic rocket fuel was responsible for 

an evacuation of the Orbiter Columbia's hangar at Kennedy 

Space Center on Thursday afternoon. 

More than 100 Space Shuttle workers were evacuated for an 

hour from the Orbiter Processing Facility after fuel dripped 

from the Colurnbia. Fire and safety teams easily 

extinguished a thernal protection blanket that began smoking 

at the rear of the Orbiter. 

Ro injuries or damage to Shuttle hardware occurred, said KSC 

spokesnan Rocky Raab. 

Firefighters with 13ackenhut Services responded to the 2:30 

p.m. accident. 

“Anytine something happens at the OrSiter Processing 

Facility and that bird is in there, we are very interested. 

It was taken care of and well under control,” said one 

Mackenhut Services employee. 

Raab said there were no flanes involved. But he added the 

hypergolic fuel that dripped from a small thruster engine at 

the rear of the Orbiter is hignly toxic and began to smoke 

on the blanket. 

“The nen who were w0rkir.c; with the thrusters were Mearing 

protective self-contained suits” that are designed to 

protect against inhaling the “high-powered fuel,” Raab said. 

-229- 
He said while there was no immediate threat to workers in 

the facility, the evacuation was necessary as a precaution. 

The Shuttle workers were moved to the facility's parking 

lot. 

The evacuation was orderly "and followed normal procedures," 

said KSC spokesman A1 Seeschaaf. 

"Someone saw the smoke and immediately set the alarm off and 

then there were bells, sirens and flashing lights 

everywhere, I' he said. 

The accident happened while Shuttle workers were replacing a 

thruster engine at the right-hand side of the rear of the 

Orbiter. 

Apparently, there was some residual fuel in one of the 

lines, a spokesman said. 

The Orbiter's 44 thrusters are used to fine tune the 

spaceship's path once it is ir. orbit. (TODAY, 7-31-81) 

July 31: A nian from i;est Germany wants to know how America 

found the expertise to send a space shgttle into orbit when 

it couldn't properly hang its own flag. 

Jason Matthews, a schoolboy in Nottinghamshire, England, 

writes that the American flag adorning the Columbia looks 

different fror, the one in his encyclopedia. 

They're just two of the many people who are asking the same 

question: "Say, can't you see that Old Glory is hung 

backward on the space shuttle?" 

NASA is used to questions. When 50 callers and letter 

writers insisted that the Stars and Stripes had been 

reversed, the space center promptly typed a reply. 

Its reply to the letter writers is simple -- the flag isn't 

backward, your perception is. 

-230- 
U.S. regulations state that when the flag is displayed on 

aircraft, the star field precedes the stripes in the 

direction of aircraft movement. The flag on the shuttle is 

supposed to appear to be flying from a mast. 

According to those rules, the Stars and Stripes was applied 

to Columbia with a silica-base, heat-resistant paint that 

can withstand heat up to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The public confusion stems from a NASA-released photograph 

of the Colunbia's April 14 landing at Edwards Air Force Base 

in California. The picture, which was widely reprinted in 

newspapers and magazines, shows the shuttle's right side as 

its L'ear wheels touched down on the Mojave Desert. 

From that angle, the flag looks unusual because the star 

field is in the upper right-hand corner, said NASA spokesnan 

Rocky RaaS on Thursday. 

"That's why people are curious," he said. "If they saw the 

flag on she other side they wouldn't kave said anything 

because it looks carrect from there, because the star field 

is in the upper left-hand corner." 

Doris Plauney, who has answered FlASA nail for more t5an five 

years, said most letter writers are trying to help rather 

than rib tbe space center. 

"Most of then point it out in a nice way to help US," she 

said. "Apparently, they felt tiley were the only ones who 

noticed and the;? hoped that no one else would. However, the 

man from Xest Gernany was nearly irate about it." 

The flag correspondence, from adults and children around the 

United States and Europe, is just a small part of the new 

interest in NASA that officials attribute to Columbia's 

successful nission. 

"Dear NASA" letters are being posted at an average of 10,000 

a month, as opposed to 3,000 a month five years ago. 

-231- 
But the flag observers, Raah said, are still relatively few 

compared to those who ask the most frequent questions about 

the space program -- "How do I join?" and "HOW do the 

astronazts go to the bathroom?" (SENTINEL STAR, 7-31-81, 

pp. IA rc 8A) 

-232- 
AUGUST 1981 

August 1: Robert A, Foster, iz-merly director of Computer 

Sciences Corp.'~ Applied Techr.oloqy Division in Houston, has 

been naned director of the division's Kennedy Space Center 

operations. He replaces Thomas Williams who was recently 

named president of the division, E. P. Boykin, formerly 

head of finance and administration for Conputer Sciences 

Corp. at KSC, has been promoted to director of the Houston 

operations, Foster's former post. 

The Applied Tecknology Division is KS.-'c 191'q:-st operating 

unit. JTODRY, 8-1-81) 

August 3: Astrianauts doe Engle and Richard Truly won't be 

caught kickin12 the tires on this Space Shuttle, even if it 

is the world's first used spacecraft. 

"I wish I could buy a use3 car that lonkcd as gocd," Truly 

said dtirinq i? news conference fror. Johnson Space Center in 

Woustcln ?\?on,?ay. 

Appearing before the press in a video hookup aired 

s inu 1 taneol?s!y in I1ai:s tan, T;ash ingtotl, Huntsville, Alahana, 

and Kennedy ??ace Center, the astronaats said they feel 

confident t5e Shuttle will perfom as smoothly the second 

tine around AS it did in April. 

"Ke're qcin? to be rcstly when the bird's ready,'' Engle said. 

They predicted certain modifications inside the Orbiter 

Columbia shoiild Rake the scheduled Sept.embcr 30 flight 

easier than the tri:> taken by Bob Crippen and John Young 

last April. 

Included in those changes is a wireless communications 

headset :hat "will reduce the number of cords in the Shuttle 

and make sl-ace fliG5t a lot easier. \:e won't be getting 

tangled up in each other," Truly said. 

Young and Crlppen bc? complained about getting cauqht in the 

"spaghetti" attached to their headsets. 

-233- 
As for any advice the second pair of Shuttle astronauts 

received from their predecessors Truly quipped jokingly, 

"Yes, don't do anythinq dumb." 

The astronauts also discussed the more serious prospect of a 

venture out of the Columbia and into space to fix a robot 

arm if it should fail to fold back into the Orbiter's 

payload bay. 

The arm, to oe tested during the five-day flight, is 

designed for future missions to retrieve or launch 

satellites from the cargo bay. "If we cculd fix it by EVA 

(leaving the Orbiter) we would. If we couldn't, we would 

jettison the arm," Truly said. 

Rut they said they will approach this mission conservatively 

and in the event of any failure in the ship's hardware, they 

will return early. (TODAY, 8-4-31) 

August 5: A junho tractor-trailer, carrying a 60,000-pound 

steel slab to the Tiennefiy Space Center, ripped out a section 

of railing on the Titusville Cacsewnp t?erinesday morning. 

One of the three Roeing Services International workers 

aboard the ?:ASA trailer was taken to Jess Parrish Nemorial 

Hospital in Titusville following the 10:15 a.m. mishap, 

Paul Duncnt, 48, cf Titussille, was listed in stable 

condition Kednesdap nigf?t with a fractured left arm. 

Accortiing to witnesses, the trailer that was hauling a steel 

plate from Kims Industrial Steel Inc. edged too close to the 

westbound lane of the bridge on County Road 402. 

One of the trailer's massive back tires jumped the curb and 

brushed along about 20 feet of the concrete railing, 

crunbl ing it. 

The trailer was traveling east, but because of its size -- 

20 feet wide -- it took up both lanes. 

Rresard County Commissioner Gene Roberts estimated damaqe to 

tne county bridge at under $10,000. 

-234- 
No charges have been filed in the accident, and a Florida 

Highway Patrol spokesnan said it is still under 

investigation. 

The steel plate, being transported to launch complex 39, is 

designed for modifications to the Space Shuttle pad but not 

for the scheduled September 30 launch. 

It would be used to shield the Orbiter against the shock of 

the solid rockets during ignition. (TODAY, 8-6-81) 

<> Special spacecraft fans donated by NASA to the Smithsonian 

Institution have been retrieved from the musem by the 

agency's Marshall Space Flight Center and will be used on 

Space Shuttle nissions. 

NP.SA said that if it had to purchase the fans new today, 

they could cost more than $22,000 each. It estimated that 

the saving froT reuse of the fans could exceed $500,000. 

The fans, of the type used to provide ventilation inside the 

kpollo Co i-...-.and YodGle after splas!i?own and to circulate air 

abar? Skplah, were rerioucc! by ?larshall fror the backup 

Skylah on display at the Snithsonian's Air and Space Museum. 

Of the 35 fans tested, 25 will be available for up to 10 

flights each aboard the Space Shuttle, PlFSA said. To date, 

13 of the fans have been programed for use, e.g., one will 

he used to circulate air in the Spacclah transfer tunnel, 

another will serve as a fliqht spere, and two will be used 

in a cosr,ic ray experinent on the second Spacclab nission. 

(DEFENSE DAISY, 8-5-81, p. 195, Vol. 117, Ne. 25) 

August 6: NASA Inspector General June G. Brown has initiated a 

review of the production phase of the Space Shuttle Orbiter 

program ained at ensuring that money for the program is 

properly expended. The review, to be completed by March, 

will include participation by the Air Force Inspector 

General and is designed to ensure that "appropriate controls 

and safeguards are in place to the expenditure'' of billions 

of dollars for Shuttie production. The requirement for 

spare parts and identification of alternate soiirces of 

supply, and contract changes will be anong the subjects of 

the study. A NASA spokesman described the review as 

-235- 
"preventative" and not connected with allegations that 

Rockwell used funds allocated for Shuttle production for 

Shuttle development. (DEFENSE DAISY, 8-6-81, p. 202, Vol. 

117, No. 26) 

August 7: Despite the destruction Wednesday of the prototype 

55-footI 6@1000-pound thrust Percheron rocket when its 

engine exploded during a planned 3-4 second test, the 

companies building the rocket as a commercial launch system 

say they plan to build a new rocket and continue with the 

program. 

It was estimated that it would take from six months to a 

year to get another rocket ready. 

The Percheron (named after a French draft horse) project is 

being conducted by Space Services, Inc. of Houston, Texas, 

headed by David Hannah, Jr., a real estate developer, joined 

by a group of private investors. The rocket is being built 

for Space Services by GCH Inc. of Sunnyvale, California, 

which is headed by Gary C. Hudson, a 31-year old, 

self-taught engineer, and employs 17 engineers. 

The companies have projected start-up costs of $10 to 530 

million for the Percheron project and have spent something 

over $1.2 million to date. 

The 55-foot Percheron rocket, bolted to its launch stand on 

Matagorda Island, Texas, blew up shortly after 5 PM 

llednesday after engineers began the countdown for the first 

prelininary test firing of the kerosene and liquid oxygenfueled engine. 

GCH engineers said that they believe the explosion was 

caused by the failure of the small liquid oxygen valve to 

open, which caused kerosene to run onto the engine. They 

believe the kerosene caused a small explosion in the engine 

compartment that in turn caused the kerosene tank to explode 

hurt1ir.y the top two-t-hirds oE the rocket 200 feet into the 

air. Four pieces of the rocket landed back on the ground, 

causing no injuries. The rocket's base remained bolted to 

the stand. 

-236- 
Space Services, which had said its chances for a successful 

test firing of the engine were about 50/50, had planned to 

follow a series of three static tests with a six-mile 

suborbital test flight of the rocket this month. The 

conpany hzd received FAA clearance for the test Wednesday. 

Long-range plans called for conducting an orbital test 

flight of the vehicle later this year from an unnamed site 

and conducting six such tests over the next two years, with 

the vehicle to be declared operational in 1983. 

Planning to undersell both the Space Shuttle and Ariane 

launch vehicles, Space Services has said that it expected to 

charge frorn $3 to $5 nillion to place a 2000-3000 pound 

payload in lm Earth orbit, and S15 to S16 nillion to place 

a 5000 poun payload into geosynchronous obit. (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 8-7-21, F. 210, VOZ. 117, NO. 27) 

<> NASF.'s new inspector general JU'IC C,. Brown told DEFENSE 

DAILY ;:ednesday that the recently instituted review by her 

office of the production phase of the Space Shuttle Orbiter 

progra.? is ained at uncovering "weak.nesscc" in NASA's 

acquisition systeii for the Orbiters. 

The objective is to avoid costs before they occur by 

instituting nore controls where they are needed, she said. 

Asked if the review was pro.-pted by allegations now being 

investinate3 in the courts that persors in Rockwell 

International, Shuttle prime, charged funds used for other 

program L oiaqiriq Shuttle dcvelopnent, Brown said it was 

not, and that the review is not going over any "specific 

problem. 'I 

She indicated that the magnitude of the Orbiter production 

program and the amount of money still to be spent is the 

driving factor in the study, which she said was fully 

endorsed by forner acting NASA Administrator L?r. Alan 

Lovelace. 

Asked if she planned to initiate similar reviews of other 

NASA programs, Brown said she did not, primarily because the 

majority of her staff, up to 20 people at times, will be 

involved in the Orbiter production study, and because there 

are no other projects of this magnitude currently extant. 

-237- 
The NASA IG -eview is to focus on "finanical and project 

management, including contract changes" in the Orbiter 

production program. (DEFENSE DAILY, 8-7-81, p. 209, VOl. 

117, No. 27) 

<> The Navy's FLTSATCOM-5 communication's satellite, which will 

serve as an on-orbit spare for the constellation of four 

spacecraft now providing global military satellite 

communications coverage, was successfully launched at 4:16 

AM EDT yesterday from Cape Canaveral aboard a General 

Dynamics Atlas-Centaur vehicle. The 2300-pound spacecraft 

is built by TR'W's Dzfense Space Systems Group. It will be 

positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 93 degrees west 

longitude above the equator, a position selected because it 

is a heavy traffic area for FLTSATCOM's mobile users. The 

four-satellite FLTSATCON system provides high-prority UHF 

communications relay links between 900 ships, submarines and 

aircraft of the Navy fleet and selected ground stations, 

between a thousand Air Force aircraft and air-to-ground 

terminals, and SAC. (DEFENSE DAILY, 8-7-81, p. 211, Vol. 

117, NO. 27) 

<> Kennedy Space Center Deputy Director Gerald D. Griffin 

announced his resignatioq from NASA today, to be effective 

August 22. He has accepted a position with Scott Science 

and Technology, Inc. (SST), of Lancaster, California. 

Griffin will serve as Vice-president for Operations with 

SST. SST is an international corporation dealing primarily 

in resear-h and development of high technology products and 

systems. The corporation has offices in Albuquerquc, 

Colorado Springs, Houston, Los Angeles, and London, as well 

as corporate headquarters in Lancaster where Griffin will be 

located. 

Griffin recently returned to his full-time position as KSC 

Deputy Director. Since July 1980, he had been serving in 

the dual role of Acting Associate Administrator for External 

Relations at NASA Headquarters and Deputy Director of the 

Kennedy Space Center. He was named to the Kennedy post in 

May 1977 after serving one year as the Deputy Director of 

the Dryden Flight Research Center. 

Griffin was named NASA Assistant Administrator for 

Legislative Affairs in 1973 and later was appointed Deputy 

Associate Administrator (Operations) in the Office of Space 

Flight, serving in that position until 1976. 

-238- 
Before joining NASA Headquarters, Griffin worked at NASA's 

Johnson Space Center where he was a Flight Director for all 

eleven manned Apollo missions. He was lead Flight Director 

for Apollos 12, 15, and 17. Previously, he was flight 

controller in Xission Contra1 for Gemini missions, He 

joined the Johnson Space Center (then Manned Spacecraft 

Center) in 1964 and was named Flight Director in 1968. (KSC 

NEI7S RELEASE NO. 194-81, 8-7-81) 

<> Roeing Services International, Inc., Kennedy Space Centerr 

Florida, has been awarded a supplemental agreement to an 

existing contract with NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center. 

The award provides for Boeing to handle supply and 

transportation services at the Space Center and adjacent 

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 

The valiie of the cost-plus-award-fee acjreenent is 

$13,545,786, and brings the aggregate contract value to 

$41,4351fi32. The one-year supplemental contract covers the 

period from July I, 19&1, through June 30, 1982. 

The contract supplenent calls for Roeing to continue supply 

arid transportation functions at both the Kennedy Space 

Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The supply 

functions include operations at the Central Receiving 

Facility and various supply warehouses located throughout: 

the two installations. These supply facilities provide 

technical and administrative materials that are required for 

everyday operations, and replenish materials that have been 

requisitioned. Transportation functions include handling 

outgoing shipments for VASA and contractor organizations 

from KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 

The new award represents the fourth year of service under a 

contract for one year plus four one-year options. (KSC 

RELEASE No. 193-81, 8-7-31) 

August 8: Federal Firefighters, using a tanker plane dropping 

fire-retardants, stopped the progress of a brush fire that 

broke out Saturday south of the Merritt Island National 

Wildlife Refsge and threatened to move north. 

About 20 firefighters set up a fire line in hopes of 

containing that blaze that erupted about 3 p.m. along the 

Indian River about 4 miles west. of the Kennedy Space Center 

-239- 
industrial complex and a mile south of the NASA Parkway, 

said Jack deGolia, spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service. 

Les Tschohl of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management originally 

estimated that the fire had spread across 300 acres o€ 

palmetto and brush within two hours. But: after some of the 

smoke cleared, officials learned that only 50 acres had been 

burned, deGolia said. 

Authorities said that if the fire had gone north to the 

wildlife refuge it probably would have threatened one house 

in the area. Federal firefighters stationed a pumper at the 

home to protect it, AeGolia said. (SENTINEL STAR, 8-8-81) 

August 10: The Shuttle Orbiter Columbia was expected to roll 

from its hangar to the Vehicle Assembly Building at 4 a.m. 

today. 

The 300-yard tow had been delayed four hours from midnight 

because many chores were taking longer than expected, 

Kennedy Space Center spokesman Mark Hess said Sunday. 

The transfer was expected to last about an hour, 

Once inside the cavernous VAE, workers will begin hoisting 

the Orbiter to a vertical position so it can be linked to 

its silo-like external fuel tank and two 150-foot-tall 

booster rockets. 

The nove from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the VAB was 

oriainally scheduled last Tuesday. But the trip was 

postponed several tines because of wiring problems in the 

device deploying the robot payload arm. 

Oir'ficials said they do not expect the delays to postpone the 

September 30 launch date, but said the schedule is extremely 

tight and more trouble could push it back. 

The Shuttle is scheduled to roll out to Launch Complex 39A 

on August 26. (TODAY, 8-10-81) 

-240- 
<> Combination water cascade/trough system was selected last 

week by the National Aeronautics and space Administration as 

the method to deflect the pressure caused by ignition of the 

two solid rocket boosters in the space-shuttle launch 

sys ten. 

Modifications to the launch pad and mobile launch platform 

began August 4 and NASA said the work will not affect the 

scheduled September 30 launch date of the second space 

shuttle. 

Because of a delay in transferring the orbiter to the 

vehicle assembly building from the orbiter processing 

facility, NASA elected to waterproof thermal protection 

system tiles before the transfer. The waterproofing 

operation was performed by hand using aerosal cans. 

Originally, waterproofing was to have been done with a spray 

boon, but the opportdnity to complete the job before 

transfer to the vehicle assenbly building will save two days 

in this facility. 

Transfer of the orbiter was put off fwor?. August 4 by a delay 

in completing the orbiter integration test. (AVIATION WEEK 

h SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 8-10-81, p. 27, VO1.115, NO* 6) 

August 11: The tedious task of attaching the external tank and 

solid rocket booster stack to the Orbiter Columbia got under 

way TUeSdajT morninq at the Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle 

As seT5 1 y B il i 1 d i ng . 

The first step was to hoist the spaceship to a vertical 

position for attachment to the three connection points on 

the 154-foot high external tank. 

By late Tuesday aiternoon, t h e O r b i t e r had been securely 

bolted to two of the tank's connections. 

A mechanism that retracts the landing gear at the nose of 

the Orbiter was nJt operating properly. In addition, there 

was a problen wi4.h the electrical wiring in the groEn8 

support equipi~t=f,c which is also involved with the Orbiter's 

nose landing gear, 

.. -241- 
The Orbiter's landing gear must be fully prepared during 

this stage of the checkout. The next time it will be 

extended is when the spaceship lands on the runway at 

California's Edwards Air Force Base at the end of its 

miss ion. 

Before the landing gear was retracted, films were made of 

every part of the nose wheel well. 

Only about 63 thermal protection tiles remain to be bonded 

to the Orbiter between now and the Shuttle's move to the 

launch pad, set for August 26. 

The second blastoff of the Space Shuttle Columbia is 

scheduled for September 30 and KSC officials say mating 

operations are smooth enough so that the launch may go on 

time. 

The next important date in the Shuttle's road to launch is 

an interface test which will determine if the three Shuttle 

compenents -- Drbiter, solid rocket boosters and tank -- all 

work in concert. (TODAY, 8-12-81) 

<> The space shuttle Columbia received a snsll jolt Monday when 

a forklift carrying an access platform bumped into a wing 

flap and darnaged two of its thernal protection tiles. 

The accident occurred a few hours after the spaceplane 

was towed a quarter-mile from its hangar to the monolithic 

Vehicle hsse*qbly Building, where it's scheduled to he 

reunited with its solid rocket boosters and equipped with an 

external fuel tank. 

Space center spokesman Dick Young said the damage was minor 

and shouldn't affect the timetable for the shuttle's 

scheduled September 30 launch. 

The ruined tiles were removed shortly after the collision 

and will be replaced after the orbiter is mated with the 

twin boosters and fuel tank. That union was scheduled to 

begin Monday night and will take several days to complete. 

-242- 
An August 26 target date has been set for rolling the 

rocket-tank-orbiter assembly to the launch pad. But 

officials on Flonday were far from reassuring about meeting 

the deadline. 

"We just might make it," said George Page, shuttle launch 

director. "The next three days will tell us. It looks good 

but there's a lot of work to be done." 

Kennedy Space Center Director Dick Smith said it will be "a 

bit of a struggle" to make the September 30 launch. 

"There's still a reasonable chance, but it's more work than 

we initially anticipated. Remember, this is the first time 

we've ever processed a vehicle to fly again." 

Page and Snith both said the shuttle is in better shape now 

compared to preparations €or the first flight. 

"We've learned a lot of things, but there's still more to 

learn," Snith said. (SENTINEL STAR, 8-11-81] 

<> Every year they visit fro-. deep space, flashing across 

starlit skies for a few sultry days in August. Their return 

to the void is as silent as their arrival. 

The Perseid rneteors are back to perform, beginning tonight. 

Commonly known as shooting stars, meteors are tiny chunks of 

rock, iron, a7d ice ranging in size from less than an inch 

long to the size of baskethalls. 

Almost all disintegrate during their fall through the 

earth's atmosphere, leaving a glowing trail through the 

night sky. 

A few meteors can be seen on any clear night, but during the 

Perseid shower they become a celestial Fourth of July with 

60 to 80 sighted an hour. 

Despite interference to viewing from a bright, full moon, 

this year's heaviest meteor activity is expected tonight, 

Wednesday night and early Thursday morning before sunrise. 

- 24 3- 
The only rules for good meteor gazing is to pick the darkest 

spot possible and scan the entire sky, said Robert Wood, 

Rrevard Community College professor of astronomy and 

director of the college's observatory. 

"Just lean back in a lawn chair and look," Wood said. 

Traveling in a westerly direction, the meteors appear to 

originate from the constellation Perseus -- hence the name 

Perseid meteors. 

Dating from the breakup of an ancier?+ comet, the Perseid 

meteors travel as fast as 30 to 40 miles per second and 

start burning to a cinder about 80 miles above Earth. 

And they will be visible from anywhere on the globe. 

"Most burn up but some could strike the earth," said Wood, 

adding the likelihood is remote. 

The meteors, travelinq in a cluster, orbit the sun in the 

sane nanner as the Earth. 

Steve Plorgan, a member of the Brevard Astronomical Society, 

said veteran star gazers will be disappointed with this 

year's shower. 

The prob'em is with another heavenly body -- the moon. 

"A full moon really makes it hard to see," Morgan said. "A 

lot of people will sit this one out." (TODAY, 8-11-81) 

August 12: The Space Shuttle's rollout to the launch pad will 

be delayed by one day due to a slower than expected 

attachment of the spaceship Columbia to its fuel tank and 

rocket boosters. 

The mating of the Shuttle components was completed Wednesday 

and a series of tests of the entire Shuttle stack are 

scheduled to start no sooner than Saturday, Kennedy Space 

Center officials said. 

-244- 
One problem in mating was a simple on2-inch movement of the 

Columbia during its connection to the external fuel tank's 

forward attach point. 

"This required repositioning the vehicle. Even one inch 

could throw a number of interfaces (critical connections 

between the Columbia and tank) out," said space center 

spokesman Dick Young. 

Between now and the scheduled August 27 rollout to the 

launch pad, Shuttle workers must hook up cables between the 

tank and the Orbiter that will fuel the Shuttle's main 

engines with liquid oxygen and liquid hydroger. 

It will take the remainder of the week tQ properly hook up 

the lines which serve as a vital electrical link between the 

Orbiter and the 154-foot high tank. 

The five-day, full-stacked Shuttle test will involve two 

simulated countdowns , mock ascent and descent. 

During the proceddre, astronauts Joe Englc and Richard Truly 

will test their SrJdCl? legs in the Orbiter. 

The Space Shuttle matincj, in the Vehicle Assembly Building, 

began Monday after the Orbiter was towed 300 yards from its 

hangar. 

KSC officials said the one-day rollout delay should not 

postpone the sche:ldleF! Septerher 30 launch. (TODAY, 

8-12-81, p. 16A) 

<> NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, after a flight of four years 

and 1.24 billion miles, will fly by the planet Saturn at a 

distance of 63,000 miles above the planet's cloud tops on 

August 25, returning 18,500 pictures of the planet, its 

rings and its moons and taking other scientific 

measurements. 

The photographs and data returned by the spacecraft will 

augment and refine the earlier findings of its siste-ship, 

Voyager 1, which flew by Saturn at a distance of 77,000 

miles nine months ago. 

-245- 
Voyager 1 was launched August 20, 1977, from Cape Canaveral 

aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket. Voyager 2 was launched 

September 5 on a faster, shorter trajectory. 

Both spacecraft were designed and built by NASA's Jet 

Propulsion Laboratory. (DEFENSE DAILY, 8-12-81, p. 238, 

VOl. 117, No. 30) 

August 13: A military communications satellite launched a week 

ago has developed an onboard power failure. 

U.S. Air Force officials are now searching for the cause of 

the malfunctioning power system, a problem that could keep 

the systen fron operating at full strength. 

"It's premature to say now if it is a gcod or a bad 

satellite. He haven't fully activated all the parts" 

(includinrj its communications nachinery), said Etrl Gray, 

spokesnan for the space division of the Air Force System 

Command . 

The FLTSATCV? satellite, the last in a series of five, was 

sent into orbit fron Cape Canaveral Air Force Stztim before 

dawn August 6 and developed problems within hours of launch. 

The najor diffictiity is with a power syster, designed to 

point the satellite's solar panels toward the siin and its 

connunications antennas toward Earth, Gray said. 

A second difficulty, a wobbling of the craft, has been 

corrected, Gray saiii. (TODAY, 8-13-81) 

<> Boeing Services International, Inc., Kennedy Space Center, 

Fla., has been awarded a supplemental agreement to an 

existing contract with NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center. 

The award provides for Boeing to perform Ground Support 

Operations services for a fifth contract year at the 5pac.c 

Center . 

-246- 
The value of the cost-plus-award-fee agreement is 

563,381,627, and brings the aggregate contract value to 

5257,242,135. The one-year supplemental contract covers the 

period from July 1, 1981, through June 30, 1982. 

Ground Support Operations that Boeing handles at KSC include 

operation and maintenance of the huge Crawler Transporters 

used to transfer the Space Shuttle to the launch pads. 

Other functions include handling toxic wastes, operation of 

heavy equipnent such as the cranes used in the Vehicle 

Assembly Building and the Orbiter Processing Facility, minor 

repairs to KSC buildings and facilities, and general office 

moving functions. 

The new award represents the fifth year of service clncler a 

contract for one year plus four one-year options. (KSC NEWS 

RELEASE \lo. 196-81, 8-13-81) 

August 14: Sone SASA officials hase grumbled that "The Right 

Stuff" is the wrong staff to show the public about America's 

first manned space progran. 

Rut NASA has tentatively approved the nO\?i@ anyh'ay -- and 

it's the higqest entertaj.nneiit production ever to receive 

space agency cooperation, according to a FTASA spokesman. 

Chardof f-Winkler, the naker of "Rocky" and "New York, Mew 

Yqrk," plans to begin filming the novie version of "The 

Right Sttiff" at the space center in January. 

NASA officials kaue cleared the first draft of the film's 

script, which was inspired Dy Ton Woife's irreverent, nakedeye chron5;ling of the space pragran circa 1958 - 1363. 

The script was written hy William Goldman, aothor of "Lord 

of the Flies." And final approval is expected after NASA 

officials read the script revisions, which are being written 

by the film's director. 

Chardoft-Kinkler needs NASA's blessing before it brings 

cameras an3 crew to the space center next year. 

-247- 
Without a working agreement with the space agency, ChardoffWinkler would face the heavy expense of building recreations 

of the old Mercury control rooms on Cape Canaveral and other 

space center equipment to be used in the film. 

The producers also want to include NASA footage of the 

Mercury launches because "some of that early stuff cannot be 

reproduced," Executive Producer Hal Polaire said in a 

telephone interview from his office in Culver City, 

California. 

It appears that Chardoff-Winkler will get what it needs to 

make the movie, said Byron Morgan, head of NASA's motion 

picture bureau in Washington. (SENTINEL STAR, 8-14-81, p. 

1-A) 

August 17: A California businessman has donated payload 

Shuttle flights to a Brevard group that promotes science for 

younq people. 

"Col. Prank Lenahan has given us four payload reservations 

and may let us have five morer'' said Drazen Premate, 25, 

founder of the non-profit Inter-Space Society. The Society 

helps place student science experiments in space through the 

use of I\?ASP.'s "Get-Away Special'' Program. 

"Lenahan is giving us number 32 and three other numbers from 

41 through 40," Premte said. "That puts us right near the 

top of the list of 350 reservations." 

A retired Air Force fighter pilot and aerospace researcher, 

LeIadhan said he wants to see young people involved in 

science research. 

"The Space Shuttle program has a lot of potential and the 

place to get great ideas is out of high school and college 

studefiis," he said. "Nothing would make me happier t4an to 

see their ;)rejects succeed." 

The Ge'-Away Special (G.A.S.) was announced by NASA in 1976 

as a ;AI-cgram for using leftover cargo space on Space Shuttle 

missj.orts. The extra room will house special containers with 

science experiments bc he carried into low earth orbit at 

550 per pound. 

-248- 
NASA will furnish soup-can shaped containers for the 

experiments in two sizes: 5 cubic feet and 2.5 cubic feet. 

Each canister can hold six or eight experiments and can 

weigh up to 200 pounds. 

Reservations for G.A.S. payloads cost $500 per container, 

and the experiments will fly on a space-available, 

first-come, first-served basis. (TODAY, 8-17-81, p. 1-E) 

<> A series of integrated tests on the Space Shuttle were 

postponed from Saturday to 8 a.m. today because mating the 

spaceship Columbia with its external tank took longer than 

expected, said Kennedy Space Center spokesman Dick Young. 

The five-day tests of t+e Shuttle elements -- Orbiter, 

booster rockets and external fuel tank -- are designed to 

make sure everything has been connected correctly and all 

the components work as a system, Young said. 

During the latter part of the tests, crew menhers will 

simulate an ascent to orbi:, descent and landing, and a 

return to latinch site. Yoilnq said if sonething goes wrong 

during the Shilttle's flight before it is too far out of 

range, th.e Orbiter can nake a 18O-degree turn and return to 

Kennedy Space Center. 

There has 5ecn no official asscssnent yet to determine if 

the latest delay will affect the launch date of September 

30, Younq said. (TODA?, 8-17-81, F. 10-A) 

<> Kennedy Sy,ace Center is faced with a new challenge almost as 

great as desic2ning and launching the first Shuttle -- making 

it do what it's supposed to do. 

When N4SA engineers came away from their draft boards and 

planning tables back in the early 1970s, they told their 

budget-conscious bosses they had come up with a spaceship 

that could he landed, patched up and put hack into orbit 

within 160 hours -- or just about a week's time. 

-249- 
That was nine years ago. Now, if the second shuttle flight 

is launched on time in late September, it will have taken 

more like two dozen weeks to prepare the Columbia for 

launch. 

And KSC planners say they'll be lucky to achieve a l0-week 

turnaround by the ninth flight -- much less the flight rate 

of 40 Shuttles a year scheduled for 1990. 

"It's mind boggling if you think of it in terms of the way 

we do business today," said Wes Branning, head of a 

committee charged with coming up with ways to shorten 

turnaround time. 

Branning's committee, nicknamed STAG for Shuttle Turnaround 

Analysis Group, must figure out how NASA is going to launch 

334 Shuttles from KSC by 1994. 

"Ke nust radically change the way we process the vehicle," 

Rranning said. 

Sone of the changes Eranning's committee has in mind are 

relatively simple: installing permanent: jacks in the floor 

of the Orbiter's hanqar; changing the way pzyloads are 

attached to the Orbiter so they can be replaced more 

quickly; and streamlining checkout operations. 

Other changes will he more difficult. The committee plans 

to reduce testing by 50-60 percent. The way various 

elements of the Shuttle are put together must be 

simplified. That neans najor design changes. 

And one change Rranning's committee has recomnended is the 

simultaneous loading of volatile and toxic fuels. These 

fuels have always been loaded separately in the past. 

Loading them in concert is unprecedented and likely to be 

controversial, especially with hypergolic fuels -- designed 

to ignite when they come in contact with one another. 

Branninrj said his committee anticipates sone resistance from 

veterans. 

, -250- 
"We didn't do those things back in the old days,l' he said. 

"Rut in those days we were using primitive hardware. Since 

then we've developed our design capability to the point that 

it's safe to do these sort of things." 

According to Rranning, these mechanical changes to the 

Shuttle and to KSC's facilities will not be difficult 

technologically. 

"In developing the Shuttle, some of the problems we ran into 

with the thermal protection system (the tiles) and the main 

engines were pushing the state of the art," Rranning said. 

"The type of changes we're making right now to get us to an 

improved turnaround are well within the state of the art." 

Rut the changes won't come cheaply. "We're getting ready to 

put a lot of inoney into nakincj the system achieve its 

operational goals," said one upper-level manager recently. 

Rrannincj stressed that every change is being analyzed to 

make sure the "payback" merits the expense. 

Though expensive, the mechanical changes will prove 

relatively easy. It's just a matter of getting them 

designed, approved an6 implenented. 

But other changes more difficult than the mechanical ones 

must he made -- changes in philosphy at KSC that money can't 

buy. 

"The problem you have is NASA has alwdys worked in an R & D 

(research and developnent) environment ," Branning said. 

"KSC does not have an operational philosphy like the 

airlines do. The airlines have R & D folks who design their 

planes, develop them, get all the bugs out of them and then 

turn them over to the airlines as operational aircrafts. 

"We've got to educate our R & D people to come into an 

operational phase." 

"TO me," said Robert Buckley, formerly the chairman of 

Branning's committee, "we can design the most efficient 

flight and ground hardware, hut the manner in which we 

operate and manage our people has to be changed." (TODAY, 

8-17-81, pp. 1-A & 10-A) 

-251- 
<> Kennedy Space Center has awarded a $4.3 million supplemental 

to Modular Computer Systems Inc. (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) 

to provide additional mini-computers and peripherals for the 

Checkout Control & Monitor System of the Space Shuttle 

Launch Processing Systems at KSC and Vandenberg AFB, 

California. The award, which runs through December 1982, 

brings the value of the MCSI contract to $31.9 million. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 8-17-81, p. 259, Vola 117, No. 33) 

August 18: We've been operating here at Kennedy Space Center 

essentially the same way for the last 20 years," said Robert 

Buckley, head of KSC's operations planning office. 

And it's past time to change. 

Here are some of (the) changes Ruckley and other planners 

want to make: 

"Reduce paperwork by 50 percent. 

"Computerize day-to-day operations, 

*Reduce Shuttle testing by 50-60 percent. 

*Xncrease automation by 25 percent - this year. 

*Reduce the day-to-day involvement in and monitoring of 

contractor operations by the government. 

Ironically for a space agency, NASA is old fashioned in many 

ways 

"NASA needs to catch up and modernize," Ruckley said. "The 

way we work and the process by which we accomplish our work 

must be as modern and efficient as the rockets and launch 

syste:ns we're working on." 

And presently, that is not the case. 

"It has always been an embarrassment to me," said Buckley, 

"that we're looked on as space scientists, but we're doing 

business in an old fashioned way by ignoring the use of the 

computer as a tool. Avis can locate a car anywhere in the 

country and determine its maintenance record," he said. And 

yet, the majority of KSC's quality control records are on 

paper . 

-252- 
If a quality control worker finds something wrong with a 

tile, for instance, he would fill out a formt itemizing the 

deficiency. Several people would have to read the report, 

approve it, sign it and pass it on. 

If a part is needed, another form would have to be filled 

out, which would need more approving and more signing. 

Someone would have to look on the shelf for the part and 

fill out additional forms before sending the part out. 

"That's one example involved a lot of people, a lot of paper 

and a lot of time," Buckley said. 

If the system were conputerized, the quality control worker 

could: enter the deficiency on a computer terminal without 

having to go hack to his office, check for the part without 

bothering anyone at the warehouse and review a history of 

the tendency of similar parts to break. 

"It's not a matter of proving it's practical - industry has 

already done it," Buckley said. 

But it's not enough to conputerize the paperwork. Some of 

the paperwork must be eliminated, especially in the area of 

checking out and launching a manned spaceflight. 

"NASA has always been proud that we set ourselves above 

what's been called a bureaucratic agency," Ruckley said. 

"But there's been some erosion of that." 

"What happened is after the Apollo fire (of 1967 in which 

three astronauts were killed) through Congressional action, 

recommendations were nade that laid on tremendous amounts of 

documentation checks and balances. And that has resulted in 

the tremendous bureaucratic system we have now." 

Although the paperwork may be justifiable for a 

developmental progran, much of it must be eliminated before 

the Shuttle system can become economical or feasible. 

"When we reach these higher launch rates, the amount of data 

we'll be processing will far surpass the capability of doing 

the work on paper," he said. 

-253- 
"What we intend to do," Buckley said, "is examine all the 

requirements that exist for documentation and determine what 

the minimun amount of documentation is that we need for 

operations." The measure should not he hard to push 

through. "If you talk to George Page (KSC's launch 

director) and those guys over there (the launch team), 

that's one of their major objections, a lot of paperwork and 

a lot of signing. They've got the right frame of mind - a 

Can Do attitude." 

But it's not just paperwork directly related to the Shuttle 

that needs to be eliminated or streamlined. "We need to 

drastically reduce the amount of paper associated with the 

way we're presently doing business," Buckley said. 

Again, Ruckley looks to the computer to accomplish this: 

"The center is in the process of looking for a data 

management systen at a center level." 

NASA nust also let the contractors who do the work assume 

more responsibility, Ruckley said. NASA now attempts to 

natch the number of engineers and quality control workers 

contractors employ with an equal number of NASA engineers 

and quality control personnel. 

"In the past that has proven to he a successful way to 

operate in the developnental stage.,,and we're not kicking 

that. After all, two sets of eyehalls are better than one. 

"But for an operational system and for the sake of 

economics, we must streamline our check-out team to the 

bare nininJr?, I' Buckley saii! 

In fact, in hopes that NASA and KSC can get back to the 

mission prescribed in its charter - research and 

3evelopment, the agency is considering taking a major step: 

turning the Shuttle over to private industry. (TODAY, 

8-18-81, p. 1-A) 

<> NASA at 8 AM yesterday started the nine-day Shuttle 

Interface Test on the mated Space Shuttle Columbia in the 

Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. Due to 

the difficulties in mating the vehicle, NASA is running 

behind schedule for rollout of the vehicle to the launch 

pad, which may slip four or five days beyond the planned 

-254- 
August 26 date. Such a slip would likely impact the planned 

September 30 launch for STS-2, but such a decision has not 

yet been made. (DEFENSE DAILY, 8-18-81, p. 268, VOl. 117, 

No. 34) 

<> The second Intelsat V communications satellite, launched Play 

23, is now in operation relaying communications between 

North America and Europe. The Ford Aerospace-built 

spacecraft will be the prime Intelsat satellite to provide 

communications services between the Americas, Europe, the 

Middle Ear and Africa. The first Intelsat V spacecraft, 

launched in December 1980, is being used as the on-orbit 

spare for the Atlantic network, which will eventually 

consist of four satellites. A total of nine Intelsat V and 

three Intelsat V-A satellites, all built by Ford, are 

planned. They will be succeeded by up to 16 Intelsat VI 

satellites. (DFFESSE DAILY, 5-18-81, p. 270, Vol. 117, No. 

34 1 

August 19: Technicians hooked up ground-support electrical 

equipment and began data-processing and systems checks in a 

series of tests on the space shuttle Columbia that will 

continue through the beginning of next week. 

The tests are to prepare the Columbia for its second flight 

into space Septenber 30. The reusable spacecraft spent more 

than two days in space in an k2ril 12 mission. 

Dick Young, a spokesman at Kennedy Space Center, said 

officials hope the tests can be completed in time to keep an 

August 27 scheduled cfate for the shuttle's rollout to the 

launch pad. 

Testing, which began ?Ionday, is running about three days 

late because the mating of Columbia to its external fuel 

tank took longer than expected. The delay last week threw 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration technicians 

off their schedule. 

Early next week, astronauts Joe Engle and Dick Truly will 

rehearse the Columbia's second flight in simulations of 

liftoff , orbit, re-entry into Earth's atmosphere and 

emergency procedilres. 

-255- 
Work was continuing on the Columbia's thermal tiles. 

Workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building have 62 more tiles 

to add to the shuttle. (THE MIAMI HERALD, 8-19-81) 

<> Some day Greyhound Bus Lines may be operating the Shuttle. 

Or Piedmont Airlines. Or United Space Boosters IGC. Or 

Rockwell International. 

Chances are, it won't be NASA. 

On the recommendation of three independent studies - one of 

them chaired by James Beggs, the man who is now the 

administrator of NASA - the agency is strongly considering 

turning over its Space Transportation System to a private 

contractor. 

The transition will depend on how quickly the Shuttle 

matures as a spacecraft, but it could be made as early as 

1984: "It probably will be sooner than a lot of people 

would like," said t7. E. Backus, head of Kennedy Space 

Center's planning office. 

Backus explained that it all got started back in 1977 in 

Washington headquarters: "They wondered whether NASA, being 

a basic R & D outfit, was in the long term solution to 

operate a repetitive, transportation sys tem. 'I 

Two studies were ordered: one by the National Association 

of Public Administrators (chaired by Beggs) and another by 

the Aerospace Corp., a think tank extensively used by the 

Air Force. A number of alternatives were considered, 

including: turning the system over to the Department of 

Transportation; splitting NASA in two parts, a research arm 

and an operations leg; letting the Department of Defense run 

the Shuttle: and creating a quasi-commercial outfit like 

Arntrak (Startrak?). 

Both studies ultimately came up with the same 

recommendation: "What they basically concluded is that. for 

the foreseeable future...NASA should run it," Backus said. 

"However, they thought that the prudent thing for NAS.', to do 

is gradually make changes in the way NASA operates so the 

system proves to be really viable...then we would be able to 

make the transition to a quasi- or full- commercial 

operation. 'I 

-256- 
Another study by the consulting firm of Booz Allen and 

Hanilton Inc. was ordered to find out how the transition 

could be made: "klhat they concluded was that the greatest 

cost saving would he...comhine all the flight hardware 

contracts into one and all payload contracts in one," Backus 

said. 

"In other words, one contractor to drive the truck, and one 

to host all the customers and care for their particular 

needs," he said. Kennedy Space Center decided to add a 

third contractor to be responsible for mowing the grass, 

emptying the garbage, sweeping the floors and conducting 

other day-to-day activities. 

'What they said, in effect, is if we're going to let this 

thing become a viable commercial operation, we should 

disengage our R & D types from their traditional technical 

involvenent," Backus said. "Right now, €or instance, civil 

servants are involved in signing all procedures, being 

present during all operations, coordinating contractors, 

making schedule decisions...hThat they envisioned the civil 

servants would do is concentrate more on contractor 

performance. It would 5e getting out of the middle of the 

trees to watch the perfornance so 570u'll have a better 

ability to judge the contractor's performance because you're 

not a part of the operation." 

Presently, over a dozen or more contractors are responsible 

for the various elements of the Shuttle system: one for the 

Orbiter, one for the assist rockets, one for the fuel tank, 

one for payloads; one for the computers: and so on. Each 

Contractor reports to NASA separately and NASA monitors each 

contract on an individual basis. 

IJnder the proposed system, the single contractor in charge 

of operating the Shuttle could hire the same subcontractors 

now doing the job. Or the main contractor could train his 

own people to do the job. 

Backus said that as soon as people oLt at KSC hear about the 

concept, they usually ask two questions: "Bill I lose my 

job?" and "HOW could the flight contractor be anyone other 

than Rockwell?" 

Will large numbers of workers lose their jobs? "1 don't 

know the answer to that, but historically, the answer has 

been no," Backus said. "In the past when contracts have 

changed, 80 percent of the people have kept their jobs." 

-257- 
Won't Rockwell International, the company now responsible 

for designing and developing the Orbiter and integrating the 

Shuttle's various parts, inherit the contract? "NO, it 

doesn't have to be Rockwell," Backus said. "Whoever gives 

the best overall proposal would be the one to win it. In 

fact, this time the cost proposal would be a very big item, 

whereas when you're going through an R & D proposal, the 

technical excellence is a very high factor." 

Rackus pointed out that the Air Force, chose Martin 

Marietta, the company that builds the Shuttle's fuel tanks, 

to be the integration contractor at the West Coast Shuttle 

launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. 

"Boeing and Lockheed build airplanes, but they don't run an 

airline. General Motors builds buses, but doesn't run a bus 

line, Electric Eoat Co. builds boats but it doesn't run a 

ship line. "It takes a different kind of mentality. A 

whole different set of thinking has to go on between design 

and operations , 'I he said. 

Why 6oesn't NASA run its own Shuttle? "When you put R & D 

personnel into an operational system, you do two things: 

they keep trying to improve the technical performance as 

opposed to the cost performance. And you sap the agency's R 

& D capability." (TODAY, 8-19-81, p. 1-A) 

August 20: The rollout of the Space Shuttle Columbia from the 

Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad at Kennedy Space 

Center has been rescheduled from August 26 to August 31 

because equipment testing aboard the Shuttle is behind 

schedule. 

The delay is expected to impact the planned September 30 

launch of the Shuttle, but no decision on a rescheduling has 

been made as yet. 

At Kenne?y Space Center, a NASA spokesman said there were 

"no big problems" with the Shuttle, "just a lot of little 

ones." He said that testing is taking longer than expected 

as is putting test programs in computers aboard the 

Columbia, Mating of the Orbiter to its External Tank also 

went over schedule. 

-258- 
NASA is currently running the Shuttle Interface Test on 

Columbia, which is scheduled to conclude early next week 

with the flight astronauts conducting simulated takeoff, 

orbital maneuvers, descent and landing. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

8-20-81, p. 283, Vol. 117, NO. 36) 

August 21: The NASA manager responsible for recommending to 

the NASA administrator what course the agency should take 

toward developing a space station is currently continuing to 

evaluate two basic space station concept options and does 

not expect to reach a final decision on what station concept 

to recommend for construction until 1983 or possibly 1984 

after further contractor studies. 

In an interview with DEFENSE DAILY, Ivan Rekey, chief of 

advanced concepts in the Advanced Programs Directorate of 

NASA-Headquarters Dffice of Space Transportation Systems, 

said the two major concepts that are being evaluated are: 

1) The Space operations Center (SOC) concept developed by 

Johnson Space Center and evaluated in a recently 

completed Phase A study by Boeing Co. wit5 Rockwell 

International looking at integration >f the SOC with tl'r?. 

S?ace Shottle; and, 

2) A "Growth" Science and Applications Space Platform 

concept developed by Elarshall SFace Flight Center and 

currently in pre-Phase A study by McDonnell Douglas. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 8-21-81, p. 287, Val. 117, NO, 37) 

<> Kennedy Space Center has awarded Martin Marietta a S3.48 

million revision contract for accelerating work on the Space 

Shuttle External Tank. (DEFENSE DAILY, 8-21-81, p. 292, 

Vole 117, NO. 37) 

August 22: University of South Florida professor Bill Fisher 

was among 21 men and women selected Friday as Space shuttle 

astronauts. 

Fisher, whose wife Anna was selected as a Shuttle astronaut 

in 1979, is one of five physicians qualified to travel in 

space. 

-253- 
A resident of Houston, the 35-year-old Fisher, is a 

specialist in emergency medicine with particular interest in 

healing properties in space and the effect of weightlessness 

on the inner ear. 

A menber of the 70-menber U.S. astronaut corps, Fisher was 

selected as a candidate in 1980 and began training in July 

of that year. 

Fisher is not expected to fly in the Shuttle until after 

1983. 

Fisher and his wife made Brevard headlines in December 1980 

when they were creditPd with attempting to save the life of 

a Cocoa Beach man involved in a motorcycle accident. 

The Fishers spotted the man lying lifeless on SR 528. They 

revived him bot he died more than a week later. 

Another native Floridian included in Friday's announced crop 

of Shuttle astronauts is Richard Richards of Key West. 

NASA also selected two Edrapean scientists, one Frc1 

Switzerland, the other from FIoll.and, for the astronaut 

training prograa because of the Eurqean Space Agency's 

funding and developnent of Spacelab. 

One will continae to train as a payload specialist at 

Marshall Space Flight Center, in iiuntsville, Alabana, and 

the other will be assigned to Johnsor! Space Center in 

Houston. (TODAY, 8-22-81) 

<> Voyager 2, racing to a Tuesday night rendezvous with Saturn, 

already is taking "snappier-looking pictures" of the pastel 

features swirling in the planet's butterscotch clouds, 

scientists said Friday. 

And as the spaceship sails, to just 63,000 miles above khe 

cloud tops - the closest thing to a surface on the gaseous 

planet - it promises still more surprises and prrhaps a few 

answers to the riddles found during Voyager 1's flight past 

the planet last Novenber. 

-260- 
"We expect to get an even better look at Saturn this time," 

project scientist Edward C. Stone said at a news 

conference. (TODAY, 6-22-81) 

: October 2 was set last week as the Launch date f?r 

the second space st. '-t7.c mission as National Aeronautics and 

Space 4Jninistratio* -9irtinued to experience delays in 

acconp1i;hing integr. .A tests of the shuttle system. 

"Overall, systen testinc, is going very well, but we are 

plagued by human errors," according to A.D. O'Hara, director 

of space transportation system processing. "We are trying 

to determine why there are errors - if people are tired, or 

if there is a lack of discipline to existing systems." 

The October 2 date represents a two-day delay from a 

schedule set May 18, and although NASA is estahlishing a 

space shuttle turnaround schedule, O'Hara saic?: "We are not 

happy as managers. t:e laid out a schedule and work is 

taking longer than we forecast.'' 

Rollout of the shuttle systeR to Laurich Copnplex 39A Row is 

schedule3 fer August 31, Meeting this date depends 011 

simulated missisn runs by prize and backup astranaut crews 

schedllled to begin at 10 a.m., August 24. The crews arc to 

simulate a priaary ascent, primary descent and backup return 

to launch sit? abort. 

Problens causing delays last week involved two faulty 

umbilical connections between the ground and the orbiter. 

A heliu~ leak 5eveloFed at a netal-to-netal seal that used 

ground bolts. Khen flight bolts were installed, the leak 

stopped, 

It took longer than expected to install ordnance because of 

the schedulina problem with the small, specialized crew that 

does this work, O'Hara said'. 

A group consisting of Kennedy and Johnson Space Center 

representatives and representatives of Rocknell 

Interrational, the prime shuttle orhi ter con t rac tar, is 

analyzing potential design changes - such as the helium 

umbilical connection seals - that could ease the launch 

preparat ion operation. 

-261- 
Although many more tiles were removed after the first 

shuttle flight than expected, the thermal protection system 

tile work for the coming flight "is a dream" compared to the 

work that proceded the first launch, O'Hara said. 

Mobile launch platform modifications are under way 

c o n c u r r e n t l y w i t h shuttle interface tests in the Vehicle 

Assctmbly Building here. The modifications are designed to 

deflect a high-pressure pulse from solid rocket booster 

ignition away from the orbiter. Although considerable 

cutting and welding is required, there have been no 

interference problems between the launch platform and 

shuttle stack? O'Hara said. 

Primary differences in launch preparations between the first 

and second shuttle flights are the addition of an integrated 

test with Johnson Space Center and with the Office of Space 

and Terrestrial Applications (OSTA) payload, addition of an 

integrated cyogenic loading and auxiliary power unit 

recertification, deletion of the flight readiness firing and 

use of a restructured launch co~intdown with fewer built-in 

Vol. 115, No. 8) 

holds. (A\rXATION WEEK & SFACE TECl?NOLOZY, 8-24-81, p. 21, 

<> (letter to the editor of Today) I keep reading references to 

the upcoming Space Shuttle's STS-2 mission as "the first 

flight of A 'used' spacecraft." Technically, this is not 

true. 

Genini spacecraft number 2 was launched from Complex 19 on 

January 19,1965, on the unmanned GT-2 mission. The 

spacecraft reached an altitude of about 106 miles, and 

traveled approxinately 2,122 miles downrange during its 

18-minute suhorbital flight. During re-entry, the 

spacecraft was subjected to the most severe heating of any 

Gemini mission. A successful recovery was made by the 

aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain. 

The spacecraft was returned to the EZcDonnell Aircraft: 

Corporation where it was refurbished ani" modified to the 

Gemini R configuration for use in the Air Force Manned 

Orbiting Laboratory program. The main visible external 

change was a small circle cut into the heat shield to 

simcllatc a hatch to he used by Air Force astronauts in 

entering and leaving the Manned Orbiting Laboratory. 

-262- 
Gemini A was launched from Complex 41 aboprd a Titan 111-C 

on November 3, 1966, as part of the OV43 payload. The 

flight was a "roller coaster" trajectory, reaching about 123 

miles in altitude before the vehicle was pitched down and 

the transtage engine ignited (increasing velocity.) 

For years, this first American spacecraft to have flown 

twice in space has been on display in the exhibit hall of 

the Air Force Space Museum on the Cape. It is still there. 

True, the upcoming STS-2 mission will be the first manned 

flight aboard a "used" spacecraft, but let's give credit 

where credit is due. (TODAY, 8-24-81, p. 8-A) 

<> Just 15 months ago, the wind whistled through the rusty 

orange grid-work of Cape Canaveral's abandoned Complex 13 as 

Air Force officials debated what to do with its 

deteriorating hulk. 

Its towering gantryr oRce the focal point of a nation on its 

way to the moon, was valued only by the pound - as scrap. 

Now Complex 13 and a few cther surviving launch sites at 

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station are on their way to 

beconing historic monunents. 

First ignored and then dynamited as hazards, the imposing 

towers that pointed America toward the moon and stars fell 

one by one during the 197Os, when America's interest was 

turned toward Southeast Asia and problerns closer to hone. 

Of 34 launch pads at the Cape, only nine are still in use. 

Of those not in use, only three remain intact. 

Gone is Complex 19, where 20 men were placed into orbit as 

part of the Gemini program. 

Gone is Complex 14, the pad that was the starting place of 

John Glenn's ride into orbit. 

Gone are Complexes 34 and 37, where 15 Saturn rockets were 

laiinched and where three astronauts gave their lives in an 

effort to put man on the noon. 

-263- 
But now there is growing hope for the remaining launch 

towers and for other valuable Indian and pioneer sites at 

Cape Canavera 1. 

"I have a pretty good feeling about it," said Major Jerome 

Ashmhn, commander of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. "I 

think that within the constraints of the bidgct we're going 

to do everything we can to preserve these sites.'* 

Two separate efforts are under way to save historical sites 

at the Cape - one ordered by Congress and one requested by 

the Air Force. (TODAY, 8-24-81) 

August 25: Astronauts Joe Engle and Dick Truly guided the 

space shuttle Columbia through a nock launch Monday evening, 

eight hours after a balky computer forced a delay in a 

series of rehearsals for the craft's second voyage. 

The Colunbia made its nake-believe liftoff at 6 p.m. 

Officials at Kennedy Space Center said the simulation - 

scheduled for 10 a.m. - was delayed by problems in the 

special computer program for the rehearsals. 

The progran, which would not be used during a real mission, 

"fools" the spaceship into thinking it is flying, they 

said. The computer shclt down four seconds before the 

simulated liftoff in the first attempt. 

Engle, Truly and backup astronauts Thomas Mattingly and 

Henry Hartsfield will put the craft through si:iulated 

liftoff, launch and re-entry problems as the tests continue 

t h r oug 11 today . 

The shuttle isn't fueled and the vehicle is still in the 

Vehicle Assenbly Building, lashed nose-up to its towering 

fuel tank and solid-fuel boosters. The astronauts rest on 

their backs in the ejection seats as they go through the 

test maneuvers. 

The Columbia is scheduled to be rolled out of the VA3 to its 

launch pad on August 31. 

Launch is still set for September 30. (SENTINEL STAR, 

8-25-8 1 ) 

-264- 
August 27: The Space Shuttle passed the last in a battery of 

tests with straight A's Wednesday and was declared ready for 

its move to the launch pad Monday. But NASA officials in 

Washington, D. C., said they doubt the spacecraft will be 

launched on schedule. 

"It (September 30 launch) is a very remote possibilityI" 

said Dave Garrett, a NASA spokeman in Washington. "At this 

point it looks more like the first week of October. That 

could be anywhere from October 2 to October 9." 

The delay would be blamed on the slower than expected work 

in mating the Orbiter Columbia with its solid rocket 

boosters and fuel tank earlier this month. 

The Shuttle's nine-day integrated tests, which ended early 

Wednesday morning, were successful overall, said A. D. 

O'Hara, director of space transportation system processing 

at Kennedy Space Center. 

O'Hara said the tests conducted inside the garage-like 

Vehicle Assenbly Building, showed a "maturing of the Shuttle 

hardware and test teams" as compared KO similar tests before 

the first Shuttle launch. 

"The guys in the firing roon reacted well. We were very 

pleased," O'Hara said. 

During tests Monday through Wednesday, Shuttle astronauts 

and the back-up crew operated the Col~irnbia's controls while 

compaters pdt the Shuttle through sinulated launch ascent 

and landing. 

Wednesday's one-hour test involved the Shuttle backup crew 

of Ken Mattingly and Eenry Hartsfield in a smooth mock 

re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere and a landing, 

The Columbia also received high marks earlier this week 

after primary astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly guided 

the Shuttle through a make-believe launch, which was delayed 

eight hours by a faulty computer program. 

Refore the Shuttle is moved to launch Complex 39A, it must 

be disconnected from the skeleton of work stands that girdle 

the 184-foot vehicle,. said KSC spokesman High Harris. 

-265- 
After that, one of NASA's super transporter-crawlers is 

positioned under the mobile launch pad. The entire 4 

million-pound unit is carried at about one mile an hour to 

the pad. 

The Shuttle's rollout to the pad should take about five 

hours, Harris said. (TODAY, 8-27-81, p. 1-A) 

<> When the Space Shuttle Columbia circles the globe, a cloud 

of dust and debris travels with it "like a dirty little 

atmosphere," a University of Florida space expert says. 

And the Shuttle's first scientific payload will include an 

instrument to study the mess. 

"Everything that orbits around the Earth has a little cloud 

of dust and dirt and flakes of paint that orbits around with 

it," said Jerry Weinberg of YF's Space Astronomy 

Laboratory. "The sun shines on it and creates a glow. It's 

hard to look through it." 

An instrument that will exanine the debris will move to 

Kennedy Space Center soon to await its scheduled January 

1982 ride, the third scheduled voyage of the reusable 

spacecraft. 

"We're spending lots of money to observe the universe fror.. a 

space platform. This instrument will see how the 

surrounding contamination cloud - it's like a dirty little 

atmosphere, really - affects the light that comes in 

different parts of the spectrum," Weinberg said. 

The device will help determine where the dust comes from so 

the Shuttle nay be able to clean up its unwanted companion, 

said Weinberg, who devised such an instrument. 

Space scientists are careful to keep dust to a minimum: the 

Shuttle is housed in a dust-quarantined laboratory, and 

visitors first go through sophisticated vacuum cleaners. 

"But still, when the Shuttle's bay doors were opened, a bolt 

and other debris floated out," Weinberg said. 

-266- 
Weinberg, who has been studying space dust for 21 years, 

also will study the astronomical glow of dust throughout the 

solar system. (TODAY, 8-27-81) 

<> Hundreds of space workers who normally enter Kennedy Space 

Center from SR 402 were forced to make a detour Wednesday 

morning when the drawbridge linking the space center and 

Titusville malfunctioned. 

County Road and Bridge Director Macon Baliard said one of 

four electrically controlled mechanical wedges, which 

normally lock the bridge in the closed position, was somehow 

knocked out of alignment when the bridgetender attempted to 

close the swing span at 6 a.m. 

"It was just a matter of realigning the wedge and doing some 

welding. It was a ninor repair bi:t time consuming," Ballard 

said. 

The bridge, which spans the Indian River, was reopened to 

vehicle an? boat traffic ahout 11 a.m. Wednesday. (TODAY, 

8-27-el) 

August 29: The second nission of the Space Shuttle Columbia 

has been pushe2 back to October 9 if launch preparations 

continue without problems, NASA announced late Friday 

afternoon. 

The decision to postpoie the September 30 launch came as no 

surprise to Shuttle engineers who were put five days behind 

schedule because of problems preparing the spacecraft inside 

the Vehicle Assenhly Building. 

The biggest setback caine during the mating of the Orbiter 

with its massive external fuel tank and two rocket boosters 

two weeks ago, said Kennedy Space Center spokesman Dick 

Young. (TODAY, 8-29-81, p. 1-A) 

<> The launch of a business communications satellite from Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station on September 3 has been delayed 

indefinitely because of engine problems, said a spokesman 

for Satellite Business Systems Incorporated Friday evening. 

-267- 
Spokesman Bill Dunne said the launch of SBS-2 had been put 

back "for what could be weeks and maybe months" because of 

problems with a solid-fuel motor in the so-called Payload 

Assist Module, or PAM. 

"There was a bad engine firing last night," said Dick Young, 

Kennedy Space Center spokesman. 

A meeting is set Monday between representatives of SBS and 

NASA officials working with expendable launch vehicles to 

discuss the satellite's problems. 

The PAN motor amounts to the third stage cjf the rocket 

vehicle and thus is essential since its boost provides the 

final thrust needed to put the satellite in orbit. The 

motor on the SBS payload assist module is known as a STAR-48 

and was built by Tkiokol Corporation. 

The satellite is to be launched aboard a two-stage Delta 

rocket. (TODAY, 9-23-81) 

<> The school science fair was never like this. 

High school students today can take their experiments 

anywhere - even 170 miles up, thanks to a small locker 

aboard the Space Shuttle. 

Fleeting at Kennedy Space Center Friday, high school students 

from around the country told NASA scientists and the public 

what they would like to subject to a zero gravity 

environment. 

That includes everything from flying insects to tiny sponges 

to rats with arthritis. 

The young men and women are a select group chosen from a 

field of 1,500 entries in the first Shuttle Student 

Involvenent Project, a joint venture of NASA and the 

National Science Teachers Association. 

-268- 
Rut Friday's presentation wasn't all academic. There w3s 

talk of money - without it a number cf student Shuttle 

experiments that get off the ground will be severely 

limited, 

"Anything designed to go up in space is expensive. There 

are design reviews, safety checks," said Dr. Glen Wilson, 

NASA acting director of academic affairs, 

He estimated some of the experiments can cost as much as 

$4,000 to $6,000 and more - a burden even to the corporate 

sponsors that bankroll the student experiments. 

One of those more expensive experiments belongs to the only 

Florida winner, Aaron Gillette of Kinten: Fiaven. 

The Winte; Haven Senior High School 12th-grader plans to 

send tin;. sponges, or sporifera, into orbit and induce them 

to break apart into individual cells, as they do in nature. 

Why take pictures of tiny sponges breaking apart and coming 

together again? 

Looking ahead to the 2!.sl: century when Qrhjting space 

stations may be a new p!ace to 60 business, Gillette would 

like tc know nore about rhe hecling process in space and 

even the production of artrL'icia1 limbs above the earth. 

Neither Gillette nor Wilson have any idea when the sponges 

will acccrnpany Shuttle astronauts in space. 

"It's unlikely for this Shuttle mission. Some of the more 

complex experiments will take two to three years to 

prepare," Wilson said. (TODAY, 8-29-81) 

August 31: The space shuttle Columbia was scheduled to be 

rolled out of the huge Vehic!e Assembly Building before dawn 

today €or the snail's-paced Cjrst leg of its next journey to 

outer space. 

-269- 
The shuttle, attached to its two solid-fuel booster rockets 

and huge external fuel tank, will be moved 3 1/2 miles 

across the Kennedy Space Center to its ocean-side launch 

pad, where it will be reslied for its second launch October 

9. 

The trip to the pad at 1 mph with frequent stops, is 

expected to take seven hours. It is scheduled to begin at 5 

a.m. so the shuttle can reach the launch y.4 at 1 p.m. 

before expected afternoon thunderstorms begln. (SENTINEL 

STAR, 8-31-81, p. 2-C) 

<> More than 200 employees of Kennedy Space Center were honored 

with awards for their contributions and service to the Space 

Shuttle program on Monday, August 31. Group achievenent 

awards were presented to 39 organizations that played 

outstanding roles in making the first Space Shuttle mission 

a success. 

Presenting the awards were NASA Administrator James M. 

Beggs; L. Michael Weeks, Acting Associate Administrator for 

Space Transportation Systems, and KSC Director Richard G. 

Smith . 

The awards cerenony was held in a large tent near the Barge 

Basin at Complex 39 and its date coincided with the rollout 

of the Space Shuttle for the second mission from the Vehicle 

Assembly Building to the launch pad. Visible in the 

background was the Space Shuttle vehicle being transported 

to the pad at snail's-pace speed of about one mile per hour. 

The NASA Distinguished Service Medal, one of the highest 

agency awards that can be earned by an individual, was 

presented to six persons. It is granted for distinguished 

service, ability or courage in making a contribution 

representing substantial progress to aeronautics or space 

exploration. 

Recipients of the DSM were: Rayrtond L. Clark, Robert 3. 

Gray, Peter A. Minderman, George F. Page, Richard G. Smith 

and Thcmas E. Utsman. 

-270- 
The NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, for meritorious 

contributions, was awarded to six contractor employees. 

They were: Paul C. Donnelly of United Space Boosters, Inc.; 

Howard S. Hardcastle of Boeing Services International, Inc.; 

Thomas J. O'Malley of Rockwell International Corporation; 

Dr. Thomas Williams of Computer Sciences Corporation; Thomas 

C. Wirth of Martin Marietta Aerospace; and Eugene C. Wood of 

Martin Marietta Corporation. 

The NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, €or notably 

outstanding leadership was awarded to 11 employees 

including: John T. Conway, Col. Marvin L. Jones (USAF), 

William H. Lohse, John R. Lyon, Joseph F. Malaga, Alfred D. 

O'Hara, Henry C. Paul, Andrew J. Pickett, Thomas S. Walton, 

Wiley E. Williams, and George T. Sasseen. 

The ten employees honored with the NASA Exceptional 

Engineering Achievement Medal were: Satish Anand, William 

W. Bailey, Ronald L. Bartcher, Donald D. Auchanan, Frank 

Byrne, Kenneth R. Clark, Terry D. Greenfield, Robert B. 

Martin, James D. Phillips, and Orval Sparkman. 

The KASA Exceptional Service Medal, signifying achievenent 

or service characterized by unusual initiative or creative 

ability, was awarded to 80 employees. The HASA PubLir: 

Service Medal, awarded for exceptional contribueions to 

engineering, design and development or management 

coordination of programs related to the accomplishment of 

the mission of NASA, was presented to 30 contractor 

employees. The NASA Certificate of Appreciation, for 

service or contribution to the center which warrants local 

recognition, was presented to 85 outstanding space center 

workers. 

The NASA Group Achievement Award, for outstanding toarlwork 

or group effort, was presented to 17 organizations f- their 

contibutions to the launch of the Space Shuttle. Some of 

the organizations are: the KSC Launch Operations Support 

Team, the Eastern Space and Missile Center at Patrick Air 

Force Base; Detachment 11, Second Weather Squadron, Patrick 

Air Force Base; the KSC Executive Mandgement STS-1 St -rt 

Staff; the Shuttle Center Support Team; the Public Affairs 

Office; The Sensor Development Team, Director of Desig.. 

Engineering; the Engineering Documentation Team, Director of 

Design Engineering; the Microwave Scanning Beam Ground 

System Team; the Launch Processing System Engineering 

Management Team, Director of Design Engineering; and the 

Department of Defense Manager's Space Shuttle Support 

Off ice. 

-27 1- 
Also included were: the San Antonio Air Logistics Center, 

Directorate of Energy Management Material Division; the 

2179th Communications Group: the General Services 

Administration Interagency Motor Pool; the Solid Rocket 

Booster Retrieval Team; the Federal Aviation Administration 

STS-1 Launch Support Team; and the Reliability and Safety 

Analyses Team, Director of Design Engineering. 

The NASA Public Service Group Achievement Award, for 

outstanding teamwork or group achievement, was presented to 

22 contractors, including: Rockwell International 

Corporation for the Launch Operations Group: Martin Marietta 

Aerospace for the External Tank Operations Project; United 

Space Boosters, Inc.; Thiokol Corporation; Catalytic, Inc.; 

McGregor & Werner, Inc.; RCA Services Company for the 

Communications and Instrumentation Support Services Project 

Team; Planning Research Corporation for the Design 

Management Tean; and Boeing Services International, Inc. for 

both the Ground Systems Operations Team and the Supply and 

Transportation Services Team. 

Other contractors honored were: Technicolor GraEshic 

Services, Inc.; the Bionetics Corporation for Standards and 

Calibration Support Services Team; Pan American far 

Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health Servicpc 

Team: both RCA Services Company and Pan American for Space 

Shuttle Support; Honeywell Information Systems, rnc. for 

Launch Processing System Central Data Subsystem Project 

Team; and Management Services, Inc. for Component 

Refurbishment and Chemical Analysis Team. 

Additional contractors honored were: Wackenhut Services, 

Inc.; Expc.dient Services, Inc.; Unified Service, Inc.: 

Canteen of Florida, Inc.; Atlantic Technical Services, Inc.; 

and RCA Communications. These last six recipients a1 

involved in center support operations. (KSC NEWS RL.,ASE 

No. 218-81, 8-31-81] 

-272- 
SEPTEXBER 1381 

September 1: The space shuttle Columbia returned to the firing 

pad Monday to start final preparations for takeoff again in 

six weeks. 

The winged space freighter, carrying its first working 

payload and an untested satellite-unloading crane, rode a 

massive crawling machine from its assembly building to the 

oceanside firing site 3 1/2 miles away in less than six 

hours. 

Never before had a spaceship returned to a launch pad for 

flight a second time. The Columbia, set to start flight 

No. 2 October 9, is designed to make the trip 100 times. 

We have reached a real milestone in the program," said NASA 

administrator James M. Beggs. 

The shuttle, attached to a new external fuel tank and two 

new solid propellant-booster rockets, stood in its 

launch-ready position on the same mobile platform it 

scorched when it blasted off on it..; maiden flight April 12. 

The whole assenbly, weighing 11,918,000 pounds and standinq 

227 feet high, began the slow journey to the launch site at 

4:45 a.m. on the back of the huge crawling machine 

originally built to carry Apollo moon rockets in the 1960s. 

The eight-tread tractor ca:+-y;ng the shuttle was powe,. ' by 

two 2,750-horsepower diesel vngines that use 150 gallons of 

fuel for every mile travelE6. 

i 

Powerful floodlights illuminated the first part of the 

trip. The shuttle presented an eerie view as pre-dawn mist 

and diesel exhaust swirled in light beams around the blackand-white machine. 

The first rays of the morning sun hit the space machine as 

it was well on its way down the crushed rock roadway that 

also served as the first leg of the Apollo moon flights. 

-273- 
George Pac,e, iaur.ch director, said he expects work fror! n3u 

to launch day to go smoothly. 

"Me have a fairly high co.ifidence of making it," Page said, 

referring to the new October 9 launch date. The flight was 

delayed nine days last week by Tinor problems and the desire 

to give the launch crew some rest over the next 39 days. 

(THE MIAMI HERALD, 9-1-81) 

<> The congressmen, movie stars and generals who watched the 

first Space Shuttle launch in April from the shadow 3f the 

Vehicle Assembly Building won't get that close again. 

NASA's decision to move the VIP viewing sites comes after d 

study that showed the potential for a mist of Shuttle rocker 

exha.:st to spread to the sites, three miles from the launck 

pad. 

While the mist is not toxic, it can be irritating and caLssdiscomfort, said Dr. Albert Koller. Jr., of NASA's office cf 

environmental management. 

Koller, at a press briefing following the Space Shuttle's 

rollout to the launch pad Monday, said the mist was detecp&'fc 

aEter the first launch, 

Because there were no winds blowing in the direction of tb.e 

VIP site, the cloud of hydrogen chloride, aluminum oxide ar,Lil 

water fell in a snall area near the launch pad. 

But Koller said northerly winds during an autunn la: I 

push the highly acidic debris over to the bleachers. 

like the second Shuttle flight scheduled October 5, &d 

"It would cause some reddening of the skin and burnins bgt 

no permanent damage," Koller said. 

NASA announced VIPs would be located outside a four-nile 

radius of the launch pad. Other public viewing areas wou!? 

be confine? outside a four-mile radius on the NASA CauseraLz 

between Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Stat ion. 

-274- 
"Ke're just being conservative," Koller said, adding N"SA 

environnental specialists will continue their study of the 

exhaust cJoud during the second Shuttle launch. 

Despite the rocket exhaust debris, the Space Shuttle 

received high marks from environmentalists studying its 

effect on wildlife. 

The only damage to plant life came from the exhaust debris 

which caused some "spotting to plants," according to the 

report. Koller said animal life in the area did not Seem to 

be disturbed by the launch. 

Sound levels fron the launch were measured at 111 decibels 

at the viewing site - less than the noise experienced at a 

rock concert, KdlLer said. 

According to the report, U.S. Fish and RilAlife Service 

personnel observed no disturbance to wildlife from the sound 

or force of thE launch. (TODAY, 9-1-81) 

September 3: The spaceship that took the hard knocks so the 

S~acc Shuttle Colunbir., could be launched safely into orbit 

faces an inglorious retirement - rusting in the sagebrush 

under the hot California sun. 

CurrentLy, the Shuttle Enterprise is a mechanical guinea pis 

for nore hiqhly sophisticated Orbiters under construction. 

Xt will never bo launched and its usefulness will cease in 

several years. 

Instead of putting the Enterprise to pasture in Calif:.. :a, 

there are those who'd like to see the prototype Shuttle 

retire on Brev, d turf. 

Imaqine a full-sizod spaceship open for the public to tourr 

complete with mock-up Spacelab and cockpit, And inafri-z it 

right in front of the Visitors Information Center at kennedy 

Space Center. 

- 27 S- 
Arnold Richman, chief of KSC Visitors Services, lets his 

imagination run a little wild when it comes to the 

Enterprise. When NASA finishes its testing and has used 

what they can for Orbiter spare parts, they can give it to 

us, he said. 

"We in public affairs (at KSC) have asked t3ashington that 

the Enterprise be considered for display here," he said. 

Vith close to 1.5 million visitors a year expected because 

3f the Shuttle launches, Richman said KSC is the best place 

to view a mockup. 

Too big for indoors, the Enterprise could rest near the 

Visitors Information Center. With the inside fully 

renovated, Richnan foresees the test flight Orbiter equipped 

withslide show facilities, life-size payloads, open for a 

tour through the hull. 

"People have no idea how big the Shuttle is or what it's 

capable of doing. When it's in the Vehicle Assembly 

Building, Orhiter Processing Facility or on the laurrck, pad 

it's not really accessible," Richman said. 

Saving the Enterprise Lrom a lonely afterlife in the 

California desert won't happen easily. 

First, NASA will make use of the non-flying Shuttle space 

craft for four to five years. 

On September 16 it will be moved from storage to NASA's 

Dryden F1 ight Research Center in Edwards, California. There 

it will undergo high temperature and stress tests so 

engineers can make improvements on Shuttle Orbiters ird., 

under construction. 

t The Enterprise also is used for Shuttle spare parts. .;hen a 

forklift brushed up against the Shuttle Columbia and damaged 

some tiles August 10, the hoie was patched with a piece of 

the Enterprise, said Sharon Wangfin, a spokeswoman for 

Dryden Center. 

Wanglin said despite the rigorous testing, the Enterprise 

will remain intact. From there it is up to NASA to decide 

how to retire the craft. 

-276- 
Rep. Bill Nelson, D-Helhourne, said he will join the fight 

to bring the Enterprise to his district. 

"From our standpoint, we're the only place to have it. But 

it's going to be a long haul getting it here," he said. 

Nelson, like Richman, said one important question remains 

unanswered - how much the mission back to KSC will cost and 

who will pay. (TODAY, 9-3-81) 

September 4: More than 216,600 people toured the Visitors 

Information Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in 

August. So far this year the center has had just over 1.5 

million visitors, about 25 percent more than during the same 

period last year. 

Of the August visitors, 173,336 took the guided bus tour of 

KSC to view the Orbiter Processing Facility, the Vehicle 

Assembly Building and Complex 39, where the Space Shuttle is 

refurbished, assembled and launched...Patronage of the bus 

tour for the month ran 24.1 percent of August 1981. 

Xn July 237,865 people visiteci the centert and 190,292 took 

the bus tour. (KSC NEKS RELEASE No. 225-81, 9-4-81) 

SeptemDer 5: Federal officials have blamed Rockwell 

Internatiana: and NASA for the deaths of two Space Shuttle 

wo;kers r7t Kennedy Space Center March 19. 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials also 

fined Rockwell, employer of the two workers, a total >f $420 

for failure to "prevent employees from entering the 

(Shuttle's) aft access compartment during the operation of 

gaseous nitrogen purge." 

NASA was blamed for opening Pad 39A "for normal work while a 

purge was being conducted," but not fined because the space 

agency is another branch of the federal government. 

"That would amount to the government paying the government," 

said William Demery, OSHA's Tampa-based area director. He 

released details about the investigation report Friday. 

- 277- 
OSHA used a complex method to calculate Rockwell's fine, 

mandated by the agency's own rules, Dernery said. 

Thesc included factors such as the number of employees, 

their proximity to and the frequency of their exposure to 

danger, and other stress factors, he said. 

A proposed penalty of $700 was reduced by 40 percent to 

$420, Demery sai2. The agency gave Rockwell credit for its 

cooperation ar,d good accident record, he said. 

"The penalty is not important,'' Demery said. "Rockwell 

rewrote its procedures, and they are excellent at this 

stage. We feel they took immediate steps to prevent an 

accident of this type from happening again. 

"There's no reason for OSHA to press further," he added. 

"They're (Rockwell) not out there trying to hurt people.'I 

Demery acknowledged OSHAt s investigation of the tragedy was 

completed July 10, the day citations were "hand-delivered" 

to Rockwell and NASA officials at KSC. But he denied agency 

officials had attempted to withhold information from the 

public. 

"We don't normally inform the press when citations are 

delivered," he said. "Besides, NASA an3 Rockwell are 

required to post the citations where the accidents 

occurred.'' (TODAY, 9-5-8i) 

September 7: Seven-year development of the renote manl.jlator 

system by Spar Aerospace, Ltd., as Canada's $100 mil1iu:, 

contribution to the space shuttle proqraii1 has resulted in a 

blending of human, computer and mechanical capabilities for 

operation of a complex space system. 

Astronauts U.S. Air Force Col. Joe H. Enqle and Navy Cayt. 

Richard H. Truly will put the manipulator arm througi. a 

lengthly series of development exercises as a key objective 

of the second space shuttle mission. 

-278- 
Operation of the remote manipulator arm from the shuttle 

orbiter's aft cockpit station has required development of a 

highly interactive man/machine interface, which was a 

challenge considering the dynamics and mechanical 

requirements of the system. Operating the arm utilizes the 

same rotational and translational hand controller philosophy 

employed in flying the orbiter and previous spacecrafc, and 

this AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY editor had no 

difficulty adapting to and operating the manipulator system 

in Spar's Simfac simulation facility. 

U.S. astronauts have spent many hours in Simfac developing 

and verifying manipulator system procedures. Astronauts 

William B. Lenoir, Sally K. Ride, Judy A. Resnik and USAF 

Major John M. Fabian have formed the core of this group, 

with Fabian especially involved in Air Force-oriented 

activities with the system. 

Manipulator system displays are relatively simple, and one 

of the more challenging aspects of operating the nanipulator 

is learning the most effectivL utilization of the several 

control modes available to the astronaut. 

Precise positioning requirements, the dynamic/mechanical 

aspects of the system and the unusual management arrangenent 

between the U.S. and Canada combined to result in thc 

manipulator system's being one of the nost thoroughly tested 

and verified systems of the shuttle program. In spite of 

this, Spar management is concerned that they may not be able 

to meet the 100-mission operating life of each system 

without significant refurbishmf Tt or redesign. This is 

because of changes in the orbiter launch and landing loads 

environment as detetmined by Rockwell International after 

the manipulator had been designed and built to a lesser 

loads environment specification by Rockwell and the :'-tiondl 

Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

"We currently have negative inargins on fractare critit 71 

items, elements of the structure where if you apply tf.e load 

repetitively, as through multiple launches, parts could 

eventually fail," Eric R. Grimshaw, operations director for 

Spar's Remote Manipulator Systems Division, said. 

The problem is not one of flight safety but a question of 

manipulator system lifetime without requiring 

refurbishment. Grimshaw said Rockwell's pre-first flight 

data show the first manipulator system could be used for 

between only two and 10 flights without fear of disat-ing 

failure. 

-279- 
Considerable analysis is needed to determine the validity of 

the preflight stress analysis data, however, in connection 

with the real data provided by the first flight. Spar and 

Rockwell have been examining both the preflight analysis and 

the data from the first flight to see if, combined, they 

present any problems for future use. 

With respect to the design specification to which the system 

was built, Spar believes the manipulator system hardware and 

software validation and test have been more stringent thap 

for most cther shuttle systems. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE 

TECHNOLOGY, 9-7-81, p. 57, Vole 115, No. 10) 

<> A contract has been awarded for construction of a viewing 

site at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. 

The $218,944 contract was awarded to Frank A. Kennedy, Inc,, 

415 Commercial Drive, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The contract 

is one set aside for award to a small business. (KSC NEWS 

RELEASE NO. 226-81 , 9-7-81) 

<> Consider the Space Shuttle as a flying tow truck th,' must 

break free of gravityss grip and catapult cargo as heavy as 

16 Cadillacs into space. 

To accomplish that, there can be no room for excess 

baggage, A few extra pounds anywhere can be a burden. 

So NASA has ordered its 4.5 million-pound space workhorse to 

go on a diet. 

That means lighter materials in parts of the Shuttle 

Orbiter, less wiring and removal of the paint overcoat on 

the massjve external fuel tank. 

Shuttle contractors say the tank color will probably be the 

most obvious change. The once all-white Shuttle will .--art 

a light brown fuel tank for the third launch. (TODAY, 

9-7-81) 

-280- 
September 9: The space shuttle Columbia will be pulled from 

active duty next year and returned to California so workers 

can renovate the spaceplane, even adding a kitchen, NASA 

officials in t?ashington said Tuesday. 

Under NASA's new schedule, Columbia will be temporarily 

retired in October 1982 after completing its fifth flight, 

The space shuttle then will be transferred to Rockwell 

International's Palmdale plant where technicians will make 

$20 million worth of modifications, including replacing 

ejection seats for the pilot and co-pilot with permanent 

seats. 

The world's first reusable spacecraft is not expected to be 

ready €or flight again until June 1983. 

The renovation, however, won't reduce the number of missions 

flown in the space shuttle program, said Col. Joaquin 

Saavedra, chief of mission analysis and integration €or the 

shuttle program, 

NASA plans to meet its ambitious schedule by launching the 

second space shuttle, Challenger, in place of Columbia. 

Challenger is scheduled to arrive here in June. 

Original plans were to alternate Columbia and Challenger, 

but now Challenger will fly three missions while Columbia is 

out of commission, Saavedra said. 

When Columbia returns to duty, the two orbiters are o';?ected 

to alternate flights. (SENTINEL STAR, 9-9-81, p. 3-C? 

<> Shuttle astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly rehearsed 

Tuesday for the second flight of Columbia by practicing 

landings on the 15,000-foot runway at Kennedy Space Center. 

John Young, commander of the first Shuttle mission, went 

along for the morning ride to give pointers to the two space 

rookies who are in the final phases of preparing €or the 

October 9 launch. 

-281- 
The practice touchdowns were made in a Grumman Gulfstream 

jet, modif led by NASA to have a cockpit resembling the 

Shuttle's. 

Meanwhile, the Shuttle launch team started a demonstration 

countdown in the early hours Tuesday. The test will last 33 

hours and include a simulated ignition of the spacecraft's 

main engines. 

Truly and Engle don their flight suits to spend the final 

two hours of the simulated countdown in the Shuttle's 

cockpi t . 

KSC spokesman Dick Young said the astronnuts will enter the 

crew compartment of the Columbia at 10 a.m. for a simulated 

lift-off at noon. 

"This duplicates an actual Shuttle launch," Young said. 

"The only difference is that the external tank isn't 

loaded. I' 

"So far the test has been going very well," (WDkV, 9-9-81) 

September 10: Four NASA scientists have come up with a way to 

launch future space shuttles horizontally from an airport 

runway. And they'll do it by turning the supersophisticated orbiter into, of all things, a biplane, 

according to an article in the September issue of Popular 

Mechanics. 

"Everything worked out very well" in wind-tunnel tests, says 

William J. Small, who with co-workers L. Robert Jackson, 

John P, Weidner and James A. Martin came up with the design. 

The key element in the complex NASA patent is the use of 

two-winged turbojet boosters slung under the shuttle's delta 

wings. Each booster contains a pod of 8 to 10 enginesI 

burning jet fuel to develop thrust of 100,000 pot-nds '"r 

engine. 

{ 

After a takeoff run of at least 4,150 feet, the orbiter, 

essentially a biplane at takeoff, according to Small, -rises 

off the runway and assumes a high angle of attack - 

something over 22 degrees. 

- 28 2- 
Some five minutes later, at an altitude of about SO,OO(! 

feet, the two jets - carrying human pilots or robotic gear 

controlled from the ground - detach and circle back for a 

landing, while the shuttle's rockets take it into orbit. 

Because every portion of the vehicle can be recovered, says 

the Popular Mechanics article, the method would cost less 

than a conventional vertical rocket liftoff. 

It would also give the space plane the ability to leave 

earth from any large airport, a substantial advantage in 

military applications of the shuttle. (DAILY COURIER-NEWS, 

[of Elgin, Illinoislr 9-10-81) 

<> The Space Shuttle Columbia successfully "blasted off" 

k7ednesday afternoon, after an unexplained power failure 

delayed the last major dress rehearsal by 3 1/2 hours. 

Astronauts Dick Truly and Joe Engle, who were in the cockpit 

during the simulation, called the rehearsal a "definite 

success. 

We learned an awful lot and it was a good refresher course 

for US," Enqle said, adding that the main objective of the 

second Shuttle mission set for October 9 will be to expand 

the spaceship's payload capacities. 

An unexpected power failure Tuesday night had Kennedy Space 

Center engineers and technicians confused. 

At about 9 p.m., the Orbiter Columbia shut itself down, said 

KSC spokesman Rocky Raab. "It's supposed to do that .nen it 

senses something wrong." 

Power was restored to the Shuttle at midnight. But what was 

wrong is still unknown. 

"We haven't done extensive troubleshooting on the problem,'' 

Raab said. "But we will study it as long as it takes to 

find out what went wrong." 

-283- 
In addition, other less serious problems arose during the 

rehearsal and are not expected to affect the October launch 

date. 

Technicians detected a console problem concerning the ground 

supply hydraulics controlling the pad and the Orbiter. 

Raab said this problem was probably the result of 

inconsistent readings among instruments at the pad, the 

Orbiter and the firing roon. He declined to elaborate. 

Also, improper calculations were fed into the compater 

program governing the Inertial Measurement System - a 

massive gyro-compass that controls the movement of the Space 

Shuttle as it travels through space. 

Fourth, there was a computer problem involving the program 

designed to activate the tumble valve on the external fuel 

tank. 

The valve is supposed to open autonatically shortly after 

the external tank drops from the Shuttle. The valve lets 

out pressure, causing the tank to hit the Earth's atmosphere 

at an angle that allows the tank to disintegrate, instead of 

bouncing off the atmosphere and back into space. 

Fifth, the sinulated external tank loading process took an 

hour-and-a-half longer than anticipated. 

At 3:55 p.~., officials simulated launch and then went 

through steps for a failure of one engine. 

"It's something that could happen in an actual launch, so we 

went through procedures for it," said KSC spokeswoman Anne 

Skinner. 

If it had been a real mission, the launch would have bcen 

scrubbed. 

"We'd feel terrible," if that happened, Truly said. "But 

we'd still have the Orbiter sitting there. If we had had to 

abort a mission later in flight, we could have come back to 

the runway here at the Kennedy Space Center." 

-284- 
No engines were fired as part of the rehearsal. However, 

most of the electrical equipment and computers programs were 

tested up to the moment of ignition. 

One of the most significant parts of the rehearsal involved 

the Ground Launch Sequence, which is activated nine minutes 

before takeoff, 

The computerized sequence performs - much faster than humans 

could - hundreds of steps just before the launch. 

A separate test is scheduled for Monday during which liquid 

oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants will be put inside 

the 154-foot-tall external fuel tank. (TODAY, 9-10-81) 

September 11: Budget Director David Stockman's insistence that 

NASA cut $367 million from its 1982 budget is the wrong 

medicine for the economy, according to the economics 

practiced in the office of Florida Rep. Bill Nelson. 

A "boll weevil" Southern conservative who has been part of 

the political coalition that's approved President Reagan's 

"economic recovery" program thus far, Nelson wrote Reagan 

last week to ask that he "reverse these most crippling 

additional cuts in the agency which helps keep America a 

world leader in technology and innovation." 

"It is precisely the innovation and technology advancement 

spurred by NASA which has been responsible €or the economic 

growth since the late 1950s," said Nelson, a Democrat who 

represents Brevard County. "It was this innovation ..-L ich 

drove the economy and permitted President Kennedy to cdt 

taxes drastically, an action Mr. Stockman has commended." 

A member of the House Budget and Science and Technoloi-, 

committees, Nelson said he's devising strategy on how to 

block Stockman's suggested cuts in Hound 2 of the 1982 

budget battle. (TODAY, 9-11-81, p. 1A) 

<> John F. Murphy, a former administrative assistant to Senator 

Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) and director of legislative 

affairs for the Agency for International Development since 

-285- 
March has been named director of legislative affairs for 

NASA. liiurphy serve3 as administrative assistant to 

Goldwater from 1974 until joining AID earlier this year. 

He replaces Terence T. Finn, who has been named deputy 

director of government/industry affairs for the agency. 

Finn, a former staff member of the Senate Budget Committee, 

joined NASA as director of legislative affairs in September 

1978. He at one time served as legislative director 

assistant to Senator Joseph D. Tidings (D-Md.) 

Joininq NASA as deputy to Murphy is Patrick A. Templeton, 

who has been manager of government and community relatims 

for General Electric's Major Appliance Business Group. He 

has been with GE since 1965. (DEFENSE DAILY, 9-11-81, Vol. 

118, No, 3) 

: Nouse/Senate conferees Thursday approved a 

$6.187 billion FY '82 appropriation for NASA, $65 million 

above the $6.122 billion requested by President Reagan in 

his revised March budget. 

The House had originally approved a $6.134 billion 

appropriation, with a $35 million boost in R & D to be made 

at NASA's discretion, while the Senate had approved a $6.214 

billion appropriation, with a $90 million boost in R 6! D 

allocation to nine programs, including $45 million for 

Aeronautical R & T. Those programs are SEPS, Spacelab 

payloads, UARS experiments, materials processing, search and 

rescuer TU, Tech Transfer, ISPM and AR E, T. 

The compromise bill provides $4.973 billion for R E, D - an 

increase of $70 million, with the money to be alloca'-- I at 

the discretion of NASA. The Senate agreed to go alp. *.ith 

the "ceilings" placed on the nine programs by the House, 

which cannot be exceeded unless the House and Senate 

Appropriations Committees concur. The ceilings are the 

amount requested by President Reagan as follows: Space 

Shuttle, $2.194 billion; STS Upper Stage, $75 millip. --per 

Stage Operations, $40 million; Space Telescope, $120 

million; Gamma Ray Observatory, $8 million; Galileo, SA;3 

million; VOIR, $10 million; Landsat-D, $84 million and 

Spacelab, $111 million. 

-28 6- 
At the same tine, the House dropped its recommendation that 

NASA reprogran funds if needed for production of a fifth 

Shuttle Orbiter, and agreed to the Proxmire amendment 

barring NASA from spending funds for the Search for 

Extraterrestrial Intelligence. (DEFENSE DAILY, 9-14-81, p. 

31, VOl. 118, NO. 4) 

September 15: Kennedy Space Center officials went through 

final preparations today for a critical tanking test and 

simulated launching of the space shuttle Columbia. The 

shuttle is scheduled to be launched for t.he second time on 

October 9. 

The tanking exercise, during which the shuttle’s external 

tank will be filled with 143,000 gallons of liquid oxygen 

and 183,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen, was scheduled to 

begin at 2 A.M., tomorrow. NASA officials said they also 

planned to rehearse the final 45 minutes of countdown with a 

simulated launching set for 8 A.M. 

After the 184-foot-tall external tank is allowed to warm up 

€or 18 hours, preparations will begin for Wednesday’s test 

of the newly installed pressure water system on the 

launching pad. 

The pressure water systerr,, which sprays water around the 

holes of the solid rocket boosters‘ exhaust, is designed to 

prevent a recurrence of the overpressurization shock waves 

that were created during the shuttle’s first mission last 

April. (THE NEk7 YORK TIMES, 9-15-81] 

September 16: A fuel loading test of the Space Shuttle +“?s 

successfully completed by NASA at 8:02 AM EDT yesterdh,, 

clearing the way for final preparations for the October 9 

launch of the Shuttle. (DEFENSE DAILY, 9-16-81, p. 42, 

Vol. 118, No. 6) 

<> Astronauts Joe Enqle and Richard Truly said Tuesday -:.ey 

want to fly a fully loaded space shuttle next month despite 

concerns that excessive blastoff pressure may ground 

experimental hardware already stowed for the voyage. 

-287- 
"It certainly would disappoint us" to leave the experiments 

behind, Truly said, "but we're certainly not planning on 

doing that. We're planning to fly them." 

"The overpressure problen doesn't lend itself to a clear, 

analytical solution," said flight commander Engle, "but it's 

being attacked by NASA and we're confident the problem will 

be solved." 

The Columbia has been packed with a 5,000-pound payload of 

experiments and sensitive monitoring equipment and a 50-foot 

mechanical arm for its second voyage, scheddled for liftoff 

October 9. They are scheduled to be tested during the 

flight. 

But NASA officials said Monday the delicate equipment could 

be scrubbed from the mission if the pressure problem isn't 

corrected. (SENTINEL STAR, 9-16-81, p. 1-A) 

September 17: NASA is continuing to look at ways to reduce the 

overpressure from the Space Shuttle laiJnChr including the 

possible addition of water troughs in the Solid Rocket 

Booster ports. A major water deluge test of the new water 

vibrations suppression syster! built into the launch pad was 

scheduled yesterday. The Canadians, builders of the Remote 

Manipulator Systen, and the Office of Space & Terrestrial 

Applications, responsible for the OSTA-1 payload, have 

expressed concern that the overpreFsure on launch could 

damage the RMS or the imaging radar on the OSTA-1. NASA 

believes that it has solved the overpressure problem, but 

official clearance remains to be given. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

9-17-81, p. 52, Vol. 118, No. 7) 

<> NASA officials Wednesday successfully tested a crucial 

launch pad wate.--spray system designed to reduce liftcff 

pressures or. the space shuttle Columbia and its first',argo. 

As pfannei!, the systen spurted 70,000 gallons of water below 

the launch pad for 45 seconds, clearing prohably the ':st 

major hurdle before the scheduled October 9 lauqch. 

vOn a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say this was 10," said Bill 

Tolson, chief of NASA's launch structures and accessories 

section. "Apparently, everything is clear for the laLnch ." 

-288- 
NASA was considering several methods of diminishing what 

engineers call the "overpressurization shock wave," first 

discovered during the shuttle's first flight in April. 

Wednesday's tests involved only plumbing and the flow of 

water on the launch pad. The rocket boosters were not 

fired. 

The spray system is designed to shoot 100.000 gallons of 

water into holes below the shuttle's twin solid rocket 

boosters to absorb the massive pressure of rocket firing, 

4 SENTINEL STAR 9-17-8 1 ) 

September 18: The House Tuesday passed the FY '82 HUD-IA 

appropriation bill approved in conference committee 

including a S6.187 billion appropriation for NASA, $65 

million above the Administration's request. 

The bill includes a $70 million increase for NASA R & I) to 

be sent for the Solar Electric Propulsion System, 

International Solar Polar Mission, Shuttle/Spacelab Payload 

Developnent, Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite 

Experiments, Technology Transfer, Materials Processirq, 

Search and Rescue, Technology Ut ilizaticn, Aeronaut ical 

Research & Technology, arid Mid-Level Facility, Fane. can Se 

spent at the discretion of NASA, with the proviso that the 

fundincj be applied in a manner to bring about "a meaningful 

enhancenent of each of these programs." The R & D 

appropriation is $4.973 billion. 

The bill also includes $99.8 million for Construction of 

Facility, a cut of $5 million, and $1.114 billion for 

Research & Program Management, the amount requested. 

The WUD-IA bill also includes $1.071 billion for the 

National Science Foundation, a $37.5 million increase over 

the Administration's request. (DEFENSE DAILY, 9-18-81, pp. 

58 & 59, Vole 118, Nc. 81 

<> The Pegotiations on NASA's FT '83 budget: now taking pkce 

between the agency and OMR include a close look at NASA's 

projected manifest for the Space Shuttle, which some expect. 

to be reduced, with a conconitant delay in some payloads, as 

a result of increased Space Shuttle production costs and the 

new round of civil budget reductions. The manifest, which 
has been basically complete since June, tentatively includes 

31 flights from Kennedy Space Center through FY ‘85. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 9-18-81, p. 64, ‘401. 118, No. 8) 

September 21: Space shuttle system last week underwent three 

preflight tests as final preparations continue for the 

scheduled Qctober 9 launch. Last week’s milestones were: 

*Test loading of the external tank with cryogenic 

propellants. 

*System test of modifications to the mobile launch platform 

to deflect overpressure resulting from solid rocket motor 

ignition away from the shuttle, 

*Recertification of the No. 2 auxiliary power unit by means 

of a hot firing. 

No debonding of the external tank’s cork insulation was seen 

immediately after the tank test loading was completed 

September 15, although there was scme cracking in the 

sprayed-on foam insulation along an air load ramp 

protuberance. 

The test loading was considered successful although several 

anonalies developed, according to Horace L. Larnberth, head 

of the fluid systems division in NASA’s shuttle engineering 

directorate. Most significant was a leak in the main fuel 

valve to the No. 2 space shuttle main engine, which was 

disccvered when skin sensors indicated cold temperatures. A 

decision was made September 16 to change this valve. 

Some leaking also was found in the liquid hydrogen quick 

disconnect umbilical. Lanberth Sail the seal will be 

retested several more times, but that the fix can probably 

be accomplished by increasing helium purge pressure. 

Changing the seal wodld require considerable time, he said. 

Finally, in point sensor failed in the liquid oxyqen tank. 

This Sensor tells when the tank is loaded, but there are 

other sensors in the tank and replacement will not be 

necessary. 

-290- 
Lanberth said the fixed service structure's beanie cap 

gaseous oxygen vent system worked well and ullage pressures 

were within the specification spread. The liquid oxygen and 

liquid hydrogen tanks were loaded simutaneously to flight 

capacity . 

The water cascade/trough modification to the mobile launch 

platform was tcsted in its plumbing design September 16 

coincidental with scale model tests at Warshall Space Flight 

Center. The Kennedy test involved a full water flow in both 

solid rocket booster exhaust holes and troughs in one of the 

holes. (AVIATION WEEK 6, SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 9-21-81, p. 25, 

Vol. 115, No. 12) 

September 23: Space Shuttle Columbia's second launch may he 

delayed as much as a month once ground crews finish 

assessing damage from Tuesday morning's accidental spill of 

poisonous oxidizer. 

George Page, Kennedy Space Center's director of launct-. 

operations, told reporters Tuesday afternoon that the launch 

has been delayed for at least a week past its October 9 

target date. 

"We've got a ways to go before we can give you an idea of 

the launch slip," Page said when asked how much the flight 

would be delayed. "I'll tell you right now, in my book 

we're down at least a week, maybe two weeks." 

Page spoke to a press conference held at Kennedy in 

Florida. It was monitored here at Marshall Space Flight 

Center's communications office. 

The spill occurred as technicians on the shuttle launch pad 

were loading niLrogen tetroxide, a toxic fluid, into \''e 

forward reaction control system, a module of rocket 

thrusters located forward of the crew compartment in 

Columbia's nose- The thrusters control the shuttle attitude 

in space. 

About 12:15 a.m. CDT, technicians disconnected the filling 

line which then failed to close, sending up to three gallons 

running down the right side of the shuttle. 

-291- 
"Within a short time it became apparent that we had a pretty 

serious problen," Page said. 

As technicians dried the spill, using special absorbent 

cloth, they could feel the heatshield tiles along Columbia's 

side coming loose in their hands, The tiles protect 

Columbia from the heat of re-entering the Earth's 

atmosphere. 

Nitrogen tetroxide is easily stored in its pure form and 

does not harm metal. But it breaks down organic materials 

such as the synthetic rubber that bonds the tiles to 

Columbia's aluminun skin. 

"When you get the (bonding) wet with the nitrogen tetroxide, 

you have no adhesive qualities at all," Page explained, 

The liquid also is extremely poisonous to humans. Whenever 

it is hpndled, space workers wear outfits called SCAPE suits 

- self-contained atmospheric protective ensemble - that are 

somewhat like spacesuits. No injuries were reported, 

Partly because only technicians in the bulky SCAPE r'its 

were allowed on the launch pad for several hours, the extent 

of the tile damage was not iv.rnedia*-ly known. At least 67 

tiles had been removed by 3:30 p.m. Another 200 OK so might 

be damaged and could require removal, cleaning and 

reb0ndir.g. 

The spill area is about two feet wide at its top, six feet 

acrose the bottom and 18 to 20 feet high. Technicians are 

trying io define its boundaries to determine the exten' of 

repair work needed. 

There is no danger to the silica heatshield tiles, Page 

said, although they did soak up the fluid. They can be 

decontaminated and rebonded. The aluminum skin should be 

safe unless there was a good deal of water present, 

said. That would cause formation of nitric acid and could 

weaken the metal. 

Once the extent of the spill and its damage are known, Page 

and other space agency managers must decide if it can be 

repaired on the launch pad. 

-292- 
The rotating gantry now around Columbia was not designed for 

such work, so work platforms will have to be rigged. 

If any oxidizer has leaked into the forward reaction control 

system module, it must be removed for cleaning. That 

capability, too, was not designed into the gantry, so 

Columbia might need to be returned to its hangar. 

That could delay the launch by a5 much as a month, according 

to Page. 

"Right now we hope that isn't going to be the case," he 

said, "but we can't rule that out." 

Experts from Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the 

orbiter is managed, and from Rockwell Inter?6tional in 

Downey, California, where it was designed ani built, are to 

go to Kennedy to assess the damage and the repairs. 

The cause of the leak remained unknown Tuesday afternoon. 

(HUNTSVILLE TI!+lES, 9-23-81, p 8 1 

<> It's being billed as the Shuttle slip -- just another delay 

that causes Brevard County's tourist industry to waver under 

a mass of motel cancellations an3 postponements 

In anticipation of the second Shuttle mission, Titusville's 

1,310 motel rooms have been booked solid for the October 9 

timeframe. 

But now those reservations aren't worth much. 

Because of Tuesday's accident on the Shuttle pad, the 

blastoff has been postponed for at least one to two weeks. 

The news could be worse for Brevard's tourism. If t:.; 

Shuttle spectacle is delayed until late November or IQIlgeL-, 

it will come snack in the middle of an already tourist-heavy 

time in Florida. 

-293- 
In October, hotel reservations usually hit a low -- Floridabound airplanes fly with empty seats and beaches have far 

less than the usual number of Northern visitors. 

An October 9 launch "would have come at a blessed time 

because...hotels would have probably been only about 50 

percent occupied," said Sill Lyerly of the Titusville 

Chamber of Commerce. 

If the spaceship takes off during winter, hotel L~O~S in the 

Titusville area will be at an even greater premium than they 

were during last April's launch. 

NASA officials estimate about 39,500 viewers, plus about 

2,700 media representatives, will be permitttd on Kennedy 

Space Center grounds to view the launch. And thousands are 

expected to crowd the beaches and highways. 

When news of the delay circulates throughout the nation, 

Lyerly expects hoards of motel cancellations and 

pos tponernen ts 

OWe're going to have to slip and slide again. We don't know 

what the extent is yet of the delay, but we're used to it," 

Lyerly said Tuesday. 

Sone tourists, however, grow impatient and give up trying to 

fit their schedules to the shifting Shuttle mission. 

One businessman from Seattle, WashPngton, had already 

canceled his motel reservations by Tuesday afternoon after 

hearing of the accident, said Peter Gwiazda, manager 0: the 

Best Western Executive Motel in Cocoa Beach. 

"Any more (Shuttle postponements) and I'm sure eventuc..ly I 

people just can't keep delaying their plans," Gwiazda said. 

Motel officials say they will transfer reservations er a new 

date if a patron requests the change. 

Airlines will not experience the same swarm of cancellations 

because flight reservations aren't as tcp-heavy for the 

October 9 period. 

-294- 
Most Eastern Airlines flights in and out of Melbourne and 

Orlando for October 8-10 are "wide open," said Ray tlau, a 

sales manager for the airline. 

Delta Airlines also reported only "normal capacity" in 

bookings leaving Orlando in the days following the original 

expected launch date. (TODAY, 9-23-81) 

<> The head of the company which built the Percheron rocket, 

the privately-funded launch vehicle which exploded in a 

static test last month, told Congress yesterday that NASA 

has taken the space program to a point where private 

industry can and will take on a series of private space 

projects that will accelerate U.S. space accomplishments and 

benefit the American society and economy. 

David Hannah Jr., president of Space Services Inc. (Houston) 

told the House Space Subcommittee, which is holding three 

days of hearings on the future of the U.S. Space Program, 

that his company is continuing with a second Percheron 

rocket which it expects to launcS by the end of 1982. 

He reported that NASA has been extrenely helpful, bet!? 

officially and unofficially, in helping his conpany analyze 

the problems with the Percheron and what should be done to 

make it successfui. Moreover, he said there are hundreds of 

former NASA employees who b3ve retired from the agency and 

live in the Houston area, many of which are being used for 

advice by Space Services and whose expertise is available to 

other companies interested in the space business. 

Ne told the subcommittee that he rioes not see the Percleron 

competing with the NASA Space Shuttle, but suppleme. '. -,,q it 

for smaller payloads. 

"I think we can work togetherrR he said, saying the Space 

Services/NASA connection can be Ra good marriage." 

The Percheron rocket is designed to launch 300-to-S00-;-~und 

payloads into low Earth orbit, an? ultimately to launch 1000 

pounds into geosynchronous orbit. 

-295- 
Hannah said the nost promising potential markets for 

Percheron are for low Earth orbit remote sensing satellites, 

such as might be used by oil companies for exploration, as 

well as certain types of connunications satellites that 

would operate in low Earth orbit. He added that once the 

capability of Percheron to place payloads in low Earth 

orbit at a low cost is demonstrated, the market will 

blossom. 

He said he believes that the Percheron's services could be 

offered at 30 to 40 percent less cost than NASA vehicles, 

noting that 30 percent of the NASA costs results from 

man-rating their vehicles. (DEFENSE DAILY, 9-23-81, p. 82, 

Vole 118, NO. 11) 

<> John F. Kennedy Space Center Director Richard G. Smith has 

named a mishap investigation committee to investigate the 

circumstances surrounding a mishap involving a leak of 

nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer which resulted in damage to the 

Space Shuttle Orbiter. The mishap took place on September 

22, 1981, at Pad A of Launch Complex 39. 

The committee was charged with the responsibility to 

investigate the facts, determitie the probable cause of the 

mishapr assess the possibility of recurrences of sinilar 

mishaps and recommend corrective or remdial actions. 

The members of the cornnittee are as follows: 

Mr. h'iley E. Williams (KSC) - Chairman: Mr. Russell E. 

Rhodes (KSC); Mr. H3ggai Cohen (NASA HQ): Mr. Chester A. 

Vaughan (JSC); Mr. Charles W. Murphy (Rockwell 

International) Contractor Advisor; Mr. James A. Thorn;. (KSC) 

- NASA Advisor; Mr. James B. Lansing (KSC) - Executi,e 

Secretary. 

Formation of s?lch a committee is an established procedure 

following an incident involving damage to d flight vehicle. 

Some of the first actions of the committee were to obtain 

all records and documentation pertaining to the incident for 

study and to ask that fueling or defueling operatiert.,, of the 

Space Shuttle involving hypergolic propellants be suspended, 

The committee expects to release an interim report of 

findings by October 6, and a final report should be 

presented by Octokzr 13, 1981. (KSC RELEASE NO. 262-81, 

9-23-8 11 

-296- 
<> Kennedy Space Center engineers are seriously considering 

towing the damaged Space Shuttle Columbia from the launch 

pad to its hangar in the wake of a propellant spill Tuesaay 

that contaminated one of the spaceship's forward steering 

engines. 

If that happens, the October 9 launch could be delayed a 

month or more. 

A 20-foot-long swath of the Columbia's heat protection tiles 

also were soaked by the acidlike nitrogen tetroxide, and by 

3 p.m. Wednesday 266 tiles were removed from the Orbiter 

nose. 

If repairs to the Shuttle can be made on the pad, engineers 

predict a week to two-week launch delay. But if the fully 

assembled spaceship has to be dismantled, the launch could 

be postponed more than a month. 

The decision to tow the Shuttle back to the Vehicle Assc-Zbly 

Building and then the Columbia to the Orbiter hangar for 

repairs won't be made until Friday, Page said. 

But schedules and the procedures for rolling the Shuttle 

back to its hangar started Wednesday in case officials 

decide repairs are too big for the pad. 

NASA engineers speculate a repair job in the Orbiter hangar 

would be necessary if the Shuttle workers found extensive 

danage to the steering engines (Reaction Control System) at 

the Columbia's nose. 

would take serious damage (to the Reaction Control 

System mechanism] to move it back," said 30hn Presnell, who 

represents Johnson Space Center's Orbiter Project Offi-o at 

KSC. (TODAY, 9-24-81) i 

<> Lt. Gen. Thomas B. Stafford (USAF-Ret.), former head E R & 

D for the Air Force and former astronaut, said yesterday 

that consideration should be given to putting the Air Force 

in charge of operating the Space Shuttle. 

-297- 
Testifying before the House Space Subcommittee on the future 

of the U.S. space program, Stafford said that the Air Force 

has the skills to carry out: those operations but would need 

a higher budget to do so. He acknowledged that there would 

be criticism of the Defense Department "taking over" the 

civilian prograr?, but said he did not think that would be a 

problem 

Noting that NASA or a private or semi-private corporation 

might also qualify to run the Shuttle, Stafford recommended 

that we "re-examine the existing management of our entire 

space program and re-acquire the ability to complete 

programs rapidly. Serious considerations should be given to 

management arrangements which are responsive to urgent rleeds 

and provide effeccive and rapid action." 

Stafford testified that space is "vital" to U.S. national 

defense and that the U.S. "must be capable of conducting 

effective space operations during all conditions of 

12) 

conflict." (DEFENSE DAISY, 9-24-e1, r>. 92, Vole 118, NO. 

September 25: &ike a fiery bullet blazing through the r-+.-ilight 

sky, a sopnisticated communications satellite was lT*rnched 

into space on a two-stage Delta rocket Thursday at Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station. 

Aside from a minute leak of fuel from the rcxkr?t, the 7:09 

p.n. launch was flawless, said NASA engineers. 

The fuel seepage - about five drops a minute - was not a 

hazard tc the launch of the second Satellite Business 

Systems satellite which left the pad 15 minutes later man 

scheduled. 

The Payload Assist Module, a motor designed to put the 

satellite in a temporary orbit around the Earth, also fired 

without problem, 

came through with flying colors," said Albert Smith, an 

engineer with Satellite Business Systems. 
Engineers had pcstponed the satellite launch, originally 

scheduled for September 3, after the Payload Assist Module 

failed in test firings, 

Repair of the solid-fuel motor proceeded faster than 

anticipated and the lacnch was pushed forward from October 4 

to Thurs3ay. 

On Saturday, the satellite will be transferred into its 

permanent orbit 22,240 miles above the Earth, 

It will travel at 6,876 miles an hour in an orbit 

synchronous with the Earth's. This keeps the satellite over 

B particular area of the United States. 

From there the satellite will serve about 25 corporate 

customers with high-speed communications relays across the 

country . 

Aside from teletype printing, the satellite can relay voice 

and visual irna9.s fron one plant to another. 

"This second sate?lite will mean a whole lot more business. 

It will double our capacity," Smith said, 

The first of the SRS satellites was launched in November and 

the third should be launched aboard the Shuttle in 1982. 

Smith estimated the cost of the mission is about $37 

million, plus development costs for the satellite whit+ was 

built by Hughes Aircraft Co. in California. (TODAY, 

9-25-81) 

September 215: Officials at t5e Kennedy Space Center in Florida 

announced yesterday that repairs needed on the space shuttle 

Columbia because of a propellant spill Tuesday would Pr done 

at the launching pad and that the craft could be reacJ €or 

flight by late October or ear;y November. 

If it had been decided to roll the shuttle back to its 

hangar, the delay would have been even longer beyond the 

original October 9 launching date. 

-299- 
Project engineers determined that about 340 heat-resistant 

tiles cane loose when the spilled nitrogen tetroxide 

destroyed the adhesive that bonds them to the shuttle's 

alurninun hull. All the affected tiles were situated near 

the shuttle's nose and, the engineers said, were easily 

accessible to technicians working on platforms erected 

around the vehicle. The platforms were being enclosed so 

that temperatures and humidity could be controlled in the 

re-application of the tiles. 

A spokesman for the Rockwell International Corporation, the 

prime shutt'e contractor, said that the work of cleanin3, 

regluing and retesting the tiles would begin early next week 

and continue around the clock. The lightweight silica tiles 

themselves were not damaged, only the bonding material. 

Nearly all of the Columbia's exterior is covered with the 

tiles, about 31,000 of them, which protect the vehicle from 

the frictional heat of re-entry into the earth's 

atmosphere. (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 9-26-81) 

September 2%: The 12 percent across-the-bodrd cut in ci:.il 

outlays in FY '82 to be requested by President Reagan in his 

March budget request is not expected to be applied to the 

$2.2 biilion Space Shcittle ckvelopinent and production 

program, which the kdi:~inistr;?t;on prot.ect@d in its earlier 

revisicns, DEFENSB DkIt? has heen told. Detdils of the 

proposed civil cuts are expected to be released early tnis 

week. Cdrrently listed exenEtions include entitlencnt 

program and Veterans Administration hosprtal care. 

The President in March requested $5,895 billion in outlays 

for NASA in FY '82; a 12 percent cut from that would total 

$706 nillion. A full exemption of the Shuttle would leave 

NASA facing a $445 million cut. (LEFENSE DAILY, 9-2P-81, 

p* 112, Vole 118, NO. 14) 

<> Work crews put the final touches Sunday on the platfo# S, 

electrical outlets and duct work needed to repair the fueldamaged tiles of the space shuttle Columbia before ite 

second launch. 

Space agency officials said replacement of 338 of the 

shuttle's 31,000 heat-resistant silica tiles rill not begin 

until Tuesday. 

-300- 
The tile replacement begins a week after the accident in 

whicn nitrogen tetroxide spilled while filling fuel tanks 

for the shuttle's 14 small rocket thrusters tkit allow it t.0 

maneuver in space. 

No new launch date has been set to replace the scheduled 

October 9 launch, but guesses by space agency officicla ure 

late October or early November. (SENTXNEL STAR, 9-28-81, 

September 28-30: Senator Proxmire (D-WI) \in offering an 

amendment to increase the public debt to only $995 billion 

thereby avoiding the trillioL dollar figure, discussed in an 

all-night talkathon various ways thc? Federal G vernrnert 

mu13 save money, one of which was the elirzination of a 

Courth Shuttle Orbiter. (NASA QFk'ICE OF LEGISLATIVE 

AFFAIRS, LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES REPORT, 9-28/30-21, Pdl! 

September PO: Gne painstaking step is being taken at a time as 

the Space Shuttle's protective eggshell of heat protection 

tiles is being washed, baked, examined and reexamined by a 

tean of specially trained technicians. 

The scene is a modest, gray, alurninun-sliding workshop in 

the shadow of the Kennedy Space Center's E. .ive Vehicle 

Assembly Building. 

As many as 60 men an3 women are giving 352 lightweight tiles 

some very personal care after they were soaked during a leak 

of a highly corrosive propellent last week. 

The nitrogcn tetroxide that spilled down the side of tne 

Columbia didn't darnage the tiles themselves, but it ~"e away 

at the glue that keeps them bonded to the spaceship. 

Although only three tiles were glued back on to the Orbiter 

and 10 were awaiting reattachment Tuesday, 349 tiles ' 

already gone through the first of at least sevcn steps 

before they are finally bonded to the aluminum skin of :he 

Co lum bi a. 

And 131 of the brittle ccranic-like tiles frere already at 

the end of the line -- outfitted with a felt backinq celled 

a Strain Isolation Pad. 

-30 1- 
As each tiit? was carefully removed from the Columbia in the 

days following the propellant leak, they were brought to the 

Rockwell International workshop where they were examined, 

labeled and stored. 

Each of the Columbia's almost 32,000 tiles are numbered and 

have their individual place on the ship. When it comes to 

putting then back on, tiles are called by number, said Roger 

Loeffler, Rockwell supervisor for the preparations. 

A 24-hour operation, tiles are first stripped of any 

remaining adhesive backing. They are washed in a de-ianized 

water -- a solution absent of impurities. 

From there tiles are waterproffed and baked in an oven at 

400 degrees for two hours. 

Technicians carefully watch through the oven's glass windows 

as about 20 of the white-coated low temperature tiles or 

black-coated high temperature tiles bake. 

In all, there are three different tile bakings for waterproofing and curing with temperatures as high as 1,400 

degrees, Loeffler said. 

The tiles, which are designed to protect the Columbia from 

heat as high as 2,300 degrees as it plummets through the 

atmosphere for landing, cannot be bonded directly to the 

ship's aluminum surface. They wwld crack as the aluminun 

expands and contracts. 

That's where the felt Strain Isolation Pad comes in. 

Technicians first spread a coating of a high-strength glue 

to the surface of the tile. 

Using spatu1z;s and even syringes, they tediously apply the 

deep red glul? to the surface of the tile. Cvery nict. ind 

dent in the tile is covered. Then the pad 1s fitted over 

the tile's sbrface and clamped in place. 

-302- 
Later, when the tile is brought to the Orbiter, that sane 

glue, called Room Temperature Vulcanizing adhesive, is used 

to hold the tile to the spaceship. 

“It’s similar to silicon glues, like bathtub sealant,” 

Loeffler said of the adhesive, made by General Electric. 

Loeffler said he expects to process as many as 30 Or more 

tiles a 8ay but added some slightly nicked tiles will take 

more time than others. 

The tile reattachment is the only work that remains in the 

aftermath of the propellant spill. The cleaning of a 

forward steering engine compartment was finished Tuesday, 

said Mark Ness, space center spokesman. (TODAY, 9-30-81, 

p. 16A) 

-303- 
QCTORFF. 1931 

October 1: The lick-'en and stick-'em job of replacing heatprotection tiles on space shuttle Columbia moved slowly 

Wednesday following the installation of a new access platform at the launch pad. 

The painstaking, round-the-clock work to reglue about 366 

tiles that either fell or were removed after a fueling 

accident last week began Tuesday. The regluing was halted 

late in the day to bolt on a new platform for workers et the 

193-f OOt lev@ 1. 

Technicians reported only four tiles were in place at 4 

a .m. Wednesday. 

The accident has delayed the October 9 launch by several 

weeks. I! new launch date iil late October or early November 

is to be announced soon, possibly next week, officials 

said. ( SEYTINEL STAR , 10-1-E 1) 

<> Planning Research Corporatior? (PRC), of 7600 Old Springhouse 

Road, McLean, Virginia, has won an extension to an existing 

contract to provide design engineering support for the Space 

Shuttle program at the John F. Kennedy Space Center. 

The contract renewal is for a total of $29,468,899, bringing 

the value of the contract to a grand total of $194,509,387 

to date. The cost plus fixed fee contract is in its e'ihth 

year, and the term of the renewal extends from nay 2C, 1981, 

through May 15, 1982. 

PRC provides desiL;n engineering and construction management 

for the Space Shuttle program, its ground support facilities 

and projects of the KSC Design "qqineering Directora' 

Some of the projects for which PRC has provided SU~~.-LL 

include construction of the Vehicle Assembly buildingr, 

Launch Complex 39, the Mobile Launcher Platforms and their 

Crawler Transporters and various paylojd handling equipment 

at the space center. (KSC NEWS RELEASE NO. 265-81, 10-1-8i) 

-304- 
October 2: Confident they have isolated all the contanination 

frcx last week's propellant leak, Shuttle engineers were 

busy replacina damaged heat protection blanket5 in a forward 

engine cavity Thursday. 

Four of 26 blankets renoved from the Reaction Control System 

were replaced. The blankets, manufactured at a Kennedy 

Space Center workshop, protect inner engine parts from the 

extreme temperature in space. 

One problem technicians at the launch pad found with the 

malfunctioning valve at fault was a buildup of a contaminant 

called iron nitrate. 

To prcvcnt iron nitrate buildup again, propellants, such as 

nitrogen tetroxide, will he placed through a filter until 

they are ready to be loaded into Orbiter propellant tanks. 

Reloading the highly conbustible propellants into the 

Columbia should resume Tuesday, said Mark Hess, a space 

center spokesna n . 

Other work at the pa6 Thursday included installation of a 

camera to record the Shuttle's slight northward drift at 

liftoff . 

Engineers want to measure the extent of the movement that is 

due tc the asynmetry of the Orbiter, its fuel tank and solid 

rockets. (TODAY, 10-2-81) 

October 3: An 4ir Force major general will assume the +-? 

position in the Space Shuttle office in November, NASI 

announced Friday, adding to speculation of greater military 

involvement in the procjram. 

Ma], Gen. James Abraharnson has been named NASA Associate 

Administrator for the Office of Space Transportation Svstens 

and is the only associate administrator tapped dir-crc' . from 

the his Force' said Mary Fitzpatrick, NASA spokesman in 

t?ash ing ton, D. C . 

hbrahamson, appointed by NASA Administrator James Beggs, 

will join four other associate administrators directing 

different arms of the space agency. 

-305- 
Rep. Rill Nelson, D-Yclhourne, said the choice of Abrahanson 

cane after "NASA surveyed a landscape of excellent 

managers. One at the top of their list was Gen. 

Abrahanson." 

Comnissioned an Air Force second lieutenant in 1955 and a 

veteran of the Vietnan War, Abrahamson has scrved since July 

1980 at Air Force Systems Command at Andrews Air Force Base, 

Md. 

No stranger to the space program, Abrahamson was a member of 

a NASA committee to assess Space Shuttle management in 1979 

and was selected to be an astronaut in the Air Force's 

manned orbiting laboratory program from 1967 to 1969, 

Nelson predicted Abrahanson's Air Force and NASA background 

will be an asset to the program. "The military uses of the 

Shuttle are an extremely important part of the national 

mission of the Shuttle." 

Military leaders directly involved with NASA operations here 

predicted greater Air Force involvement in the Shuttle 

program by 1986 when flights from Vandenberg Air Force Rase, 

California, are operational, 

Air Force Col. Marvin Jones, commander of the Eastern Space 

and Missile Center at Patrick Air Force Base said 

Abrahamson's appointnent "emphasizes the importance we in 

the Air Force put in Shuttle. We will be the predominant 

users on the West Coast. This (the Shuttle program) is 

where the Air Force is moving." 

Five defense missions are on the Shuttle schedule for launch 

from Vandenberg in 1936. 

Ahrahamson, 48, succeeds John Yardley, who left NASA t! 1 May 

to becQme president of McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., a 

division of McDonnell Douglas Corp. (TODAY, 10-3-t?: 1 

<> Its repairs ahead of schedule, the space shuttle Columbia 

should be ready for a second mission by early November, 

launch director George Page said Friday. 

-306- 
Although NASA still officially is considering a launch date 

later this month, Page said at a news conference he was 

personally eliminating any chance for next shuttle ascent 

that soon. 

"Early November looks very, very possible," he said. "The 

late October date looks optimistic." 

Page said NASA will announce a specific date in a week. 

(SENTINEL STAit, 10-3-81) 

October 5: President Reagan has cut the FY '82 NASA budget by 

$367 nillion to S5.755 billion, which is projected to cut 

outlays by $257 million to $5.638 billion. R fi D has been 

cut by $311 million to $4.592 billion; Construction by $25 

million to $80 million and RP & M by $31 million to $1.083 

billion. The overall reduction is 6 percent, half of the 12 

percent reduction ordered in the non-defense budget by the 

President, reflectinq continued full funding of the Space 

Shuttle. The $257 million reduction in NASA's outlays 

represents a 4.4 percent reduction. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

10-5-81, p. 250, Vol. 118, No. IO) 

<> The pilot who Eirst broke the sound barrier in 1947 told. a 

crowd at the International Space ria11 of Fame that the U.S. 

Air Force deserves the credit for his success. 

"They taught me to be a fiqhter, test and research pilot," 

said Chuck Yeager, of Cedar Ridqe, California. But he added 

that to be famous, a pilot doesn't have to be good -- only 

survive. 

Ycager, one of seven inducted durinq the weekend at 

/,lamqfjr,-?o, New E?exico, said he'd "love to fly a (Space) 

Shuctlt:, hut I had my fun in other aircraft." 

Yeager iiroke the sound harrier in the Re11 X-1 at more than 

670 nph. He cvcntually achieved a speed of more than 1,000 

mph anit an altitude of nore than 70,000 feet in the X-1. 

Others inducted who were not present were astronauts Alan 

Shepard, who retired as a P:aq rear admiral and lives in 

neer Park, Texas; Scott Caryentt-r, who retired from the Navy 

-307- 
h liqhter wciqht external tiznk enters the VhB on October 5, 

1981, in preparation for tbc STS-3 mission which bcqan at 

KSC on ?larch 22, 1982. 

-708- 
as a connander and lives in Canoga Park, California; Gordon 

Cooper, who retired as an Air Force colonel and 11-es in 

Glendale, California, and Wally Schirra, who retired as a 

Navy captain and now lives in Inglewood, Califort.ia. 

Gus Grissom, krnerica's second man into space, was i.?ducted 

pOSthUrnOUSly. (TODAY? 10-5-01, p. 1211) 

October 5: International Business Machines Corpirasio-, of 

7900 Astronaut Boulevard, Cape Canaveral? Flc-ida, la5 won a 

three year renewal of an existing contract 8.; the .i3hn F. 

Kennedy Space Center. 

The cost plus fee coqtract is for a value of $27,996,434, 

bringing the total value of the contract to 564,355,534 to 

date. Under the contract, IBY perform systems engineering 

and software development services in support of the Space 

Shuttle Launch Processing System at Kennedy Space Center and 

at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. 

The tern of the contract extension runs Erorn October I, 1981 

throuqh September 30, 1984. (KSC NEWS RELPASE NO. 2:6-81, 

10-5-01) 

October 6: Space Shuttle launch director George Page, who has 

been called a pessinist by some, said last week that the 

two-week turn-around time that has been the goal for the 

Space Shuttle is "probably optimistic." He said there was 

no doubt Lhat NASA would continue to reduce the turn-around 

time for the vehicle as it proceeds into the operational 

phase, but, **I don't think we'll ever get to two weeks " 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 10-6-81, p. 156, Vole 118, NO. 20) 

<> Kennedy Space Center workers had three visitors Monday, but 

two of them -- Space Shuttle astronatlts -- were kept hidden 

from the press. 

It was the silent but impressive external fuel tank for the 

third Shuttle mission that space center officials revealed 

to photographers and reporters as it was unloaded from a 

covered barge. 

-309- 
The tank left it5 New Orleans, Louisiana, plant last Tuesday 

for the long ride to the KSC turning basin. From there it 

was towed to the Vehicle Assembly Building where it will be 

inspected and tested. 

It's not that the 154-foot long tank didn't make a pretty 

picture. Stripped of its white insulation, the fuel tank 

for the third Shuttle flight is an apricot color. 

That flight is now scheduled for no earlier than February. 

Asthetic consider3t 3ns aside, eliminatirtg the insulation 

material stri,:ed 530 pounds off the tank and added that 

much we I :;IC :i.,".c~ ty to future Shuttle payloads. Engineers f0tlr.i tk.e a+'i &ior.:.l insulation was unnecessary. 

The tank, to :*e filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid 

oxygen, FA:! fun. ',he Columbia's three main engines and fall 

into tb.: ..-?ian ;:?an from 73 miles up. 

Meanwhil-, ast-mnauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly inforinally 

addresc-ec _-: lt:~~ pad crews and inspected the Orbiter between 

11:45 a.>i. and L p.n., said Dick Young, space center 

spokesman. 

On NASA's reason for sequestering the astronauts from the 

press, Young explained, "They were looking for a sitljation 

where the crew could talk to the launch team withaut feeling 

they were in a goldfish bowl. They just wanted to be 

completely relaxed and natural." 

Repairs to the Shuttle continued Monday with 241 of .le 

Columbia's heat protection tiles reglued by the afterc-?n in 

the wake of a propellant leak last month. 

Space center officials said 118 heat tile cavities remain to 

be filled. 

Because of the propellant spill, the October launch was 

postponed to early November. (TODAY, 10-6-811 

October 8: The second launch of the Space Shuttle has been 

rescheduled for November 4, 1981. 

-310- 
P. decision on the ne% launch date was made by NASA 

management following an assessment of work to be completed 

on the Orbiter Colunbia. 

Previously scheduled for launch on October 9, from the 

Kennedy Space Center, Florida, the delay was caused by a 

spill of oxidizer propellant on September 22@ whic 

over 360 thermal protection tiles. 

Replacement of the tiles is proceeding well and measures 

have been taken to prevent a repetition of the spill caused 

by the malfunctioning quick disconnect valve. (KSC RELEASE 

NO. 81-160, 10-8-81) 

October 9: The Space Shuttle will lift off November 4 barring 

any problems later this nonth when caustic propellants are 

reloaded into the Columbia, NASA offic'als announced 

Thursday. 

The launch that will start astronauts Joe Engle and Richard 

Truly on a five-day mission is scheduled for f:30 a.m. 

Officials conferring hy telephone with Washington and other 

NASA centers -- including Kennedy Space Center -- agreed 

they could finish repairs to the Columbia's heat protection 

tiles by Sunday. 

The Shuttle was previously scheduled to fly today. Rut a 

September 22 propellant leak down $:he side of the Columbia 

played havoc with the adhesive bond on 376 tiies and the 

October 9 date was scrubbed. 

Space <enter engineers said Thursday th? new date gives them 

pl rity ?f time to rrouble shoot any problems that may arise 

k-xorc ladnch. (TttDk;, 10-9-81, p. 1A) i 

<> Prime crew astronauts Joe Engle and Dick Truly visitr- KSC 

early this week and said, "We're awfully proud of eaci. and 

every one of you. From what we've heard and what we can 

see, you've turned around and got your spirits up and gotten 

your work done ahead of schedule." 

-311- 
The two referred to the efforts to clean up and recover 

after an oxidizer spill which forced the removal of hundreds 

of tiles and nore than two dozen thermal blankets from 

inside the orbiter's Forward Reaction Control Systen. 

Tile rebonding efforts early this week were running 

sisnificantly thead of schedule, with 215 tiles applied to 

the orbiter by Monday morning. At that time, there had been 

369 tiles removed, leaving 154 cavities to be filled. 

The tiles remaining, however, were expected to take somewhat 

longer to bond because thev were in areas less accessihle or 

were of complicared shapes snd sizes. In a press brrcCing 

last week, Launch Director George Page said that he hoped to 

have the majority of tile rebonds finished by October 13. 

"The whole world is watching us to see how we recover from 

this and get back in stride, and we're proud of all of you 

for the way it's gone," said Engle. 

Truly added, "We'll 50 ready for the flight as soon as tf;e 

vehicle is," and smmarized the events of the mission plan. 

(SPACEPOPT NEI*'S, 10-9-81, p. 1, Vole 20, NO. 20) 

<> An atmospheric research satellite which will study the 

production and distribution of ozone was launched by a KSC 

tear! earlier this week from Vandenberg Air FQrCe Base in 

California. 

The Solar Mesosphere Explorer, or SME, lifted off at 4:27 

a.m. PDT (7:27 EDT) on Tuesday. A Delta rocket Carrie? the 

spacecraft into orbit. 

The SME launched from California carries five scientific 

instruments to monitcr conditions related to ozone 

production and distribution of the mesosphere, that region 

of the atmosphere located 19 to 50 miles above the E; *b. 

Satellites have already discovered evidence that the ozone 

layer, which protects us from harmful radiation, is being 

depleted. The SME research satellite should help us better 

understand the processes which create ozone and affect is 

distribution. (SPACEPORT NEWS, 10-9-81, p. 3, Vol. 20, No. 

20 1 

-312- 
<> There's a group of briaht young scientists anong the 

thousands of Brevarci County students who returned to school 

this fall. They completed a sunner work-study experience 

which would be the envy of untold numbers of young people 

across the country. 

The ten academically talented students spent nine weeks af 

scientific experimentation at Kennedy Space Center as 

participants in the Summer High Schoc: Apprenticeship 

Research Program, or SHARP, for short. 

The purpose of the SffARP program is to provide selected 

students witn "first-hand" experiences in research and 

developnent environments in order that each may explore 

tentative career choices. 

Brevard County students who participated in the SWARP 

program were: Brenda Anderson and Everette Jordan, Cocoa 

High School; Andrew Aurigema, Eau Gallie High School: Sheila 

Cannan and Brian O'Connell, Cocoa Beach High School: Melani 

Furtado, Eelbourne Catholic High School and now at Br.=varc? 

Community College; Lisa Guilianelli, Melbourne Hiq> School; 

Willie Brown and Curtis Keels, 30th of Titusville High 

School, and David Voor, Astronaut High School. (SPACEPDRT 

NEWS, 10-9-81, p. 6, Vole 20, KO. 20) 

<> Who s3ys lightning never strikes in the sane place twice? 

According to KSC liqhtninq expert Jim Stahlmann of PRC, 

thunde-bolts have zipped the lightning mast atop Pad 39A 

three times, and the Pad's water tower once, since April of 

this year. "Studies have shown that up to 6 strikes ran be 

expected per s.quar- kilometer per month in the summe,,irne 

here at KSC," Stahlnann says. 

Eventually, lightping will strike the pad while the Shuttle 

is there, and when it does the vehicle will be protected. 

Lightning usually hits the pad high point, the top of the 

fiberglass mast, Piid passes harmlessly through ;4 c:aS?r 

threaded through ?:he top of thc East to grounc.3;lr.g pc. -5 

1,000 feet away an either side. 

The mast provides a "cone of protection" for the vehicle and 

the pad service structures. 

-313- 
Although the Shuttle is safeiy harbored while on the pad, it 

is susceptible to damage fron strikes during its ascent to 

orbit. For this reason, reliable lightning warnings are 

necessary. 

Forecasts are provided by a round-the-clock team af Air 

Force meteorologists at the Cape Canaveral Forecast Facility 

located in the Range Ccrntrol Center on CCAFS. 

The Shuttle will not lift off if the electric fields at the 

launch site exceed one kilovolt per meter or if its flight 

path will take it into dangerous weather. [SPACEPORT NEWS, 

10-9-81, p. 7, Vola 20, NO. 20) 

October 10: The delay in the launch of the space shuttie's 

second test mission will make it extremely difficult to make 

the shuttle's first operational launch in September 1982, a 

top KASA official said Friday. 

'The slip fron September 30th to October 9th to Hovenber 4th 

makes it extremely difficult to make launch number five in 

September of next year," said Michael X'eeks, acting 

associate administrator for stste transportation systems. 

The shuttle's first mission, delayed two years by many 

problems, was launched April 12, while a propellant spill in 

September forced postponement of the second mission's 

launch. 

'Ke've got our work cut cut for us,' Weeks said. We've 

never had to launch an identical vehicle beforer but 

eventually it will be easier than launching Gemini or Apollo 

spaceships." 

Weeks was at the space center to discuss the progress' Jf 

Challenger, to be delivered here June 30, 1982, and to 

discuss the overall space shuttle program. 

Weeks said he thought the program was gettincr good sub~@rt 

from the Reagan administration. 

"I think Mr. Reagan is supporting the shuttle quite well in 

these difficult budget times," he said. 

-314- 
The official said he was very pleased with the progress 

which had been made in repairing the Columbia from the spill 

cf the toxic fuel. He said that the November 4 launch date 

leaves a couple of days for problems if they occur. 

As of Friday, 366 of the 377 damaged s:iuttle tiles had been 

replaced. (SEP:TIGEL STAR, 10-10-811 

<> Kennedy Space Center Tours ::ad announced that records have 

been broken this yezir for tours, running 26.5 percent: ahead 

of last year with an attendance of more than two million. 

Effective October 8 the last daily tour will leave at 4:30 

p.m. (TODAY, 10-10-81) 

October 12: They were the mice that roared. 

Fifty self-prxlained S.O.E.5, determined to twist the huge, 

powerful arm of KASk and convince anyone who would listen to 

"save our beach." 

No one got very excited when U.S. Rep. Bill Nelson, 

D-Melbourne, rose at a March 1980 Titusville Chanber of 

Comnerce breakfast to tell his listeners that MASA might 

close or limit access to SR 402, the only Brevard entrance 

to Playalinda Beach. 

They needed to prctect the Space Shuttle from saboteurs, 

Nelson explained. 

But, people talked. And the more they talkttd, the more t!-Jey 

questioned Nelson's warning. 

Ry June 1980, they decided it was time for action. 

It started with a meeting of 50 people, must of them 

Titusville business leaders. 

They vowed to use bumper sticlers, brochures and if it came 

down to it, demonstrations. 

-315- 
They proclaimed July 31 "Take an S.O.B. to City Hall Day." 

One S.O.B. volunteered to organize a "Screech on the Beach" 

with his fellow S.0.B.s as the screechers and NASA as the 

screechees. 

On "S.O.5. Day," more that? 300 newly converted activists 

jammed Titusville city hall for a spirited meeting. 

One attorney got a roaring round of applause when he told 

them that every law firm in North Brevard had volunteered to 

help in the search for legal guns to level on NASA. 

The group sent a polite "thanks but no thanks" to Nelson, 

who had suggested a federally funded shuttle bus that would 

have allowed NASA to more closely monitor the beachgoers 

whose trip to Eorth Brevardqs only beach would bring then. 

within three miles of the launch pad. 

S.O.B. Chairman Hank Evans said a shuttle bus would be 

waste of federal tax money, a nuisance tc beaehgoers a. . program danqling at the end of a federal shoestring du.-.irg 

hard financial tines. 

Private vehicular access to Playslinda was threatened when 

NASA officials determined they needed a 3 1/2 mile security 

zone around the launch site whenever a Shuttle is on the 

pad. They had estimated that by 1986, there might be an 

orbiter on the pad every day of the year. 

The S.0.B.s put NASA on the hot seat, demanding to knzw 

Why 3 1/2 niles?" 

But NASA couldn't tell them. The answer was shrouded in 

secrecy -- "national security." 

Chuck Hollingshead, public affairs director for the Kennedy 

Space Center, said the security report was secret ti~,~,isc it 

described the Shuttle's vulnerable points and suggested ways 

to eliminate them. 

The S.0.B.s ccntinued to insist that NASA should worry more 

about the Shuttle's vulnerability from the ocean, not the 

beach road. 

-316- 
"No self-respecting saboteur would come in by land, they 

would c0rr.e from the ocean," one S.0.B. complained. 

Probably true, Hollingshead said, explaining that the 

security perimeter would be protection against, not 

professional saboteurs, but from spur-of-the-moment rifletoting crazies, 

The bitter feud went on until September 6 when KSC Director 

Dick Smith announced that NASA's plans to provide security 

for the Shuttle had been altered to allow private vehicular 

access. With the exception of periodic, short closures when 

the Shuttles are fueled, launched or landed, the beach road 

would stay open. 

To satisfy security requirements, a checkpoint would be set 

up at the e3ge of the security zone on SR 402 and guards 

would randlsnly search vehicles heading for the beach. 

Roving patrols would nake sure no one stopped between the 

checkpoint and the beach, Smith said. 

Those security measures remain in force today. 

Georqe Morford, chief of launch opesat ions and physical 

security at KSC, said the compromise is working. 

"The public has been 100 percent cooperative. We haven't 

had any incidents," he said. 

Searches are linited to larger vehicles, such as vans and 

recreational vehicles, because weapons large enough to 

damagt. the Shuttle are too conspicuous to hide in a sLandard 

passenger car, he said. 

All incoming vehicles are stopped by a guard who asks; f the 

occupants have any weapons. Some who do are allowed to 

continue because the weapon is too small to hit the Shuttle 

which sits on the pad three miles away, Morford said. 

The beach snack bar and ranger station are off-limits when a 

shuttle is on the pad because they lie within the 3 l/Z-milc 

security zone. 

-317- 
13hile jubilant over the compromise, the S.0.B.s say they 

consider the victory temporary. 

A hank account, opened last year to finance the fight, 

remains open. 

Evans said he can round up plenty of S.0.B.s at the first 

sign that beach access is threatened. 

"I think the fact that we won the first time will cause a 

greater number of people to get involved next time," he 

said. "If anything happens, we'll be ready. We still have 

the bumper stickers." (TODAY, ?.0-12-81, p. 1B) 

<> A ]Leak of highly poisonous fumes stalled a propellant 

filtering operation at the Shuttle launch pad Saturday 

evening, Kennedy Space Center officials reported Sunday. 

There were no reported injuries or any damage to the 

Shuttle. The launch of the seconc? mission of the Columbia 

is still scheduled for November 4. 

The 140 Shuttle workers evacuated from the pad were not 

exposed to the fumes and were able to return to work within 

45 minutes of the 5:15 p.m. accident, said KSC spokesman 

Dick Young. 

The vapors of nitrogen tetroxide escaped from a valve 

minutes before a filtering process was to begin at a 

propellant storage facility on the southeast corner of the 

pad. 

Only a small amount of gas was vented out of the storage 

tank within a few seconds. 

"It was a momentary thing. It just went into the a;. &..3 

dissipated, Young said. 

Young ssid the venting of the vapors Saturday occurred when 

the propellant became overloadtid in a faulty valve. 

-318- 
That valve was replaced Sunday and the weekend filtering of 

propellants for the Colurtbia's maneuvering engines should be 

completed sometime today. (TODAY, 10-12-81) 

<> Rep. Bill Nelson took his message to the Reagan 

administration Friday, and the Melbourne congressman claims 

he nay have changed Budget Director David Stockman's mind 

about NASA budget cuts. 

Holding a press conference in Orlando Monday, Nelson said he 

met with Stockrran for 15 minutes and found the president's 

budget director receptive to keeping space exploration 

probes and other non-Shuttle programs alive. 

As €or the Shuttle program, Nelson said the administration 

is still committed to funding $1 billion a year for the next 

three years and that any cuts to NASA's budget would neither 

affect the Shuttle nor the 12,000 workers at Kennedy Space 

Center. (TODAY, 10-13-81, p. 12A) 

<> The last of 376 heat protection tiles that were remover! from 

the Space Shuttle Colunbia because of a fuel spill was 

reattached early Monday. 

"The last tilt- went on at 4:15 a.m.," said Kennedy Space 

Center spokesnan, Dick Young. 

The tiles, which protect the Columbia from the firey heat of 

reentry into the atmosphere, came unglued from the spaceship 

after a caustic propellant spilled down its side during 

fueling September 22. 

Since Friday, launch crews have been filtering propellants, 

trying to remove iron contaminants that damaged a valve and 

caused the leak. The filtering process continues today. 

The only work remaining on the Columbia, scheduled f-. 

lacnch tjavembcr 4, is minor patchwork and testing of the 

tiles' adhesion, Young said. (MDAY, 10-13-81, p. 12k) 

-319- 
October 14: Hughes Aircraft Co. has announced plans to build a 

new satellite assenbly plant near Titusville, Florida, to 

build the new generation of larger satellites, which are 

difficult to ship across country for launching from Kennedy 

Space Center. 

The company currently manufactures communications and 

weather satellites in its facotry at El Segundo, 

California. It said those satellites average seven feet in 

diameter, while the new generation of satellites are up to 

14 feet in diameter. 

Hughes said that the establishment of the new facility will 

not have a negative impact on its El Segundo operation, 

which currently ertploys 6,000 people in the design and 

construction of satellites. 

Among the new large satellites €or which Hughes is bidding, 

is the Intelsat VI, in competition with Ford Aerospace. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 10-14-81, p. 199, Vole I.l&, NO. 25) 

October 15: The Space Shuttle Columbia will have a dry runway 

for landilg when it returns froii orbit next month unless 

more rain falls on the Rogers Dry Lake bed, NASA officials 

said Wednesday. 

Storms two weeks ago left as much as 10 inches of standing 

water on the lake bed, but most of it has evaporated. All 

that remains are two puddles beside the main runway 

connected by a thin strean less than an inch deep across the 

approach, NASA spokeswoman Sharor, Wanglin said. 

"The backup runway is dry today," she said Wednesday. "At 

this point there is not a problem. That's the situation 

unless we get more heavy rain." 

{ 

The tentative launch date for the Columbia's second flight 

is November 4. (TODAY, 10-1S-Sl) 

October 18: Moving gingerly to avoid a repetition of last 

month's disastrous spill, technicians at the Kennedy Space 

Center Saturday began pumping vitriolic rocket fuel into the 

onboard tanks of the space shuttle Columbia. 

-320- 
"They're not in any hurry, nor do we want them to be," HAPA 

spokesman Rocky Raab said. 

Crews began about noon the six-day task of filling 

Columbia's tanks with liquid nitrogen tetroxide and 

hydrazine. Reporters were not on hand to witness the event 

and NASA's own information team was absent. 

Raab said there would be "some interval" between the time 

the fuel flow began and the first flow into Columbia's 

tanks. 

"It is a step-by-step process with checking all along the 

way," he said. 

Raab said additional precautions had been taken since the 

September 22 spill of nitrogen tetroxide that caused 379 of 

Columbia's heat-shielding therm1 tiles to peel off its 

alurninun skin. That resulted in pushing back the launch 

date for the shuttle's second orbital journey from October 9 

to Novenber 4. 

One of the precautions was replacement of the shutofC valve 

that failed to halt the flow of nitrogen tetroxide, as it 

was designed to do. Raab said the valve was replaced "with 

one of sinilar desiun." 

The propellant being loaded into the tanks fuels the snall 

rocket thrusters used to naneuver the Columbia in space. 

Uhen combined, hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide are selfigniting into a hot gas, producing the needed thrust. (THE 

MIAMI HERALD, 10-18-81) 

<> It was part of a dream come true for Robbie Zinni and his 

f ani ly 

The 9-year-old Texas boy with incurable leukemia was greeter! 

ty astronaut Elfison Onizuka at Kennedy Space Center 

Saturday morning and given a tour of the center's control 

room and a close look at the Space Shuttle's launch pad, 

(TODAY, 10-18-81, p. IF31 

-321- 
October 21: Representatives of conpanies that night be 

interested in bidding on a future contract to do all shuttle 

processing for NASA have been invited to watch the complete 

cycle of preparation of the Space Transportation System for 

its third mission, KSC Director Richard G. Smith announced 

today. 

Smith said that qualified companies have been invited to 

assign a limited number of their own manaqers and engineers 

to observe and assess the steps required from the time the 

orSiter returns to KSC after its second trip in space until 

it is returned after its third mission. The group of 

observers will have no active role and no official 

responsibility for shuttle processing operations. 

The invitation is an effort to give potential bidders every 

opportunity to learn what it takes to prepare the shuttle 

for flight in order to assure knowledgeable competition when 

NASA solicits proposals for a Shuttle Processing Contract 

(SPC) next fall. 

The plan evolved after recent discussions with industry 

representatives invited to KSC to assist in planning 

activities. Smith asserted that NASA is "anxious to 

demonstrate that a viable competition with the hardware 

developers is a realistic possibility." We said, "EASA is 

prepared to alter its traditional role of involvement in day 

to day shuttle operations and redirect its resources to 

other activities more in keeping with the NASA research and 

development mission." 

The new contract will cover refurbishment after flights of 

Space Transportation System orbiters in preparation for 

their next missions, checkout and assembly of the 0tk.r.r 

elements of the Space Shuttle such a5 the External T .I~ and 

Solid Rocket Boosters, and responsibility for support 

operations materials, including maintenance and operation of 

facilities. 

The SPC is the second of three comprehensive contracts that 

NASA intends to establish at KSC as the most effective and 

economical method of conducting Shuttle missions whew :ne 

systzm becomes operational subsequent to the first four 

developmental flight;. Tne first contract, covering base 

operations, or institutional support services, is scheduled 

to be awarded about one year from now. The third, the Cargo 

Processing Contract, is not currently scheduled but is 

intended to follow the other two. (KSC RELEASE NO. 289-81, 

10-21-81 1 

-322- 
F 

<> In order to reduce the excessive overpressure experienced 

during the maiden voyage of the Space Shuttle in April, IihSk 

has added two water suppression systems to the mobile isunch 

pad -- one which will spray water directly into the exhaust 

plume as the Solid Rocket Boosters ignite to absorb the 

shock wave generated, and the second, a series of water 

troughs that will be suspended around each booster. 

Approval to add the latter system was given by NASA-deadquarters about two weeks ago. Marshall Space Flight Center 

was assigned to come up with solutions to the overEressure 

problem. 

During the STS-1 launch, several milliseconds after the 

Shuttle's Solid Rocket Roosters were ignited, a pressure 

"pulse" bounced back up through the holes in the Shuttle's 

mobile launch platform, causing excessive stress loads on 

the Orbiter's aft heat shield and fliqht control surfaces. 

Concern was later expressed that the overpressure could 

damage the Remote Manipulator System or the imaging radar on 

the OSTA-1 scientific package schedule to go on STS-2. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 10-21-81, p. 238, Vole 118, NO. 30) 

<> NASA has announced a $28 million contract renewal to 1.R.f-1. 

The contract will inclcde the systems engineering and 

software development services in support of the Space 

Shuttle Launch Processing Systems at the Kennedy Space 

Center and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. (TODAY, 

10-21-81, p. 14C) 

October 22: Technicians are so far ahead of schedule preparing 

the Space Shuttle for launch, they're all getting the day 

off Sunday. 

Fueling the Columbia's rear and forward maneuvering e-ines 

with propellants should be completed this morning, sai 

space center spokesman Rocky Raab. 

The fuel, combined with nitrogen tetroxide, provides :'e 

combustion needed to power engines while the Columbia AS in 

orbit. 

-323- 
Vorking about 11 hours ahead of schedule, all Shuttle launch 

crews at Pad 39A will get a day off Sunday so "the team can 

prepare thenselves and be fresh for the pre-countdown 

activitieg next week," Raab said. 

One of these pre-countdown activities will start Friday as 

liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are loaded into storage 

containers on the pad. (TODAY, 10-22-81, p. 12A) 

October 23: Everyone in NASA agrees that the operational era 

of shuttle will be unlike any other period in the agency's 

history. Traditionally a research and development 

organization, the agency had devoted a great deal of 

innovative thinking to trying to deternine the best way to 

direct an Operational system such as the Space Shuttle. , 

One of the most difficult problems is determining whether a 

traditional hardware contractor would be most efficient at 

the operational tasks or whether a company concerned with 

day-to-day operations of more traditional transportation 

systems would provide a more economical approach. 

The answer to such a question could weil remain unkr?wn if 

those companies were reluctant to compete for the contract 

because of their unfanil.iarity with shuttle processing and 

fear that there is no way to compete equally with companies 

having spacecraft processing experience. 

To solve this apparent conundrum, a number of qualified 

companies are being invited to KSC to observe the complete 

process of preparing the Columbia for its third flight. 

Center Director Richard Smith says that the selected 

companies will assign a limited number of their managers and 

engineers to observe and assess the steps required from the 

time the orbiter returns to KSC after its second mission 

until it is launched once again. 

The plan evolved after recent discussions with industr:. 

representatives invited to KSC to assist in the planning 

activity. Smith saysI "PIASA is anxious to demonstrate that 

a viable competition with khe hardware developers is a 

realistic possibility. NASA is prepared to alter its 

traditional role of involvement in day to day shuttle 

-324- 
operations and redirect its resources to other activities 

more in keeping with the ItASh research and development 

mission. a 

Smith said thac KASA is convinced of the necessity to 

streanline STS operations and that there is signifdcant 

opportunAQy for the government to reduce its costs. 

The overall plan to streamline operations and to reduce 

costs is to have only three major contracts at KSC. The 

first covering base operations or institutional support 

Services, is scheduled to be awarded about a year from now. 

The shuttle processing contract could be awarded as soon as 

the summer of 1983, and the third contract, for cargo 

processing, is not scheduled but is expected to follow the 

other two. 

"By making the (three major) contractors as self-sufficient 

as possible," Smith said, "the qovernment should be able to 

reduce the number of daily contacts end approvals now 

required in direction of the workf give the contractors more 

direct responsibility and incentive a~td hold them more 

strictly accountable for their performance and results. 

This sbouPd brinq about lower costs to the government an$ 

industry payof E would be through incentive fees. " 

(SPACEPORT t.IEk:Sr 10-23-81, pp. 1 G 7, VOI, 2Or 1JO. 211 

<> Eighteen NkSA senior executives, including three from KSC, 

were awhrded Presidential Rank Awards in a ceremony in 

Kashington, D. e. last week. Center Director Richard Smith 

was naned a Distinguished Senior Exrcdtive and George Page 

and Thomas Utsman, Director of Shuttle Operstions and 

Director of Technical Support, respectively, were nar.?d 

Meritorious Senior Executives. 

The awards are presented each year under the eukhority of 

the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, on the principle that 

employees should be compensated based on their performance. 

The awards include a lump sun payment. (SPACEPORT NEWS, 

10-23-81, p. 2, Val. 20, No. 21) 

<> Astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly have waited a long 

time for their chance to fly into orbit.. 

-325- 
But they're no rookies. 

Engle and Truly are among the first to fly America's new 

hybrid spacecraft as one of two crews which manned the 

Orbiter Enterprise during a 1977 series of approach and 

landing tests that verified its aerodynamic characteristics. 

They twice brought the prototype orbiter to a gliding 

touchdown at Edwards Air Force Base after it was released 

from atop a 747 carrier aircraft high over the California 

desert. 

Having served as the backup crew for the first orbital 

flight of the Space Shuttle, Engle and Truly have received 

extensive training €or their mission. 

They have "flown" sophisticated simulators mimicking all 

phases of a Shuttle mission and practiced runway approaches 

and landings in aircraft modified to perform Pike an 

orbiter. 

Joe H. Engle, 49, will be the Commander aboard Columbia on 

its second orbital flight. Engle has already flow2 in space 

three times as test pilot of an X-15 rocketplane. He earnrd 

his astronaut wings by soaring above 50 miles, generally 

considered the threshold of outer space. 

A coloncl in the Air Force, Engle has flown over 135 types 

of aircraft and he makes a hobby of flying vintage World War 

I1 p1an.s. 

He joined NASA in 1966 and was backup lunar module pi:?t for 

the kpollo 14 mission. 

Engle was born in Abilene, Kacsas, and graduated from$ he 

University of Kansas with a Bachelor's degree in 

aeronautical engineering. He and his wife, Mary CLLherine, 

have two children. 

Navy Captain Richard H. Truly served as a pilot: aboard the 

carriers Intrepid and Enterprise. He joined the USAF Manned 

Orbiting Laboratory Program in 1965 and transferred to NASA 

in 1969 when the MOL was cancelled. 

-32G- 
Truly served on the astronaut support crews for the Skylab 

and kpollo-Soyuz manned flights and was a "capcom" (cepsule 

comnunicator) during those nissions. 

He will be the Pilot aboard Columbia far STS-2. 

Truly was born in Fayette, Mississippi, and graduated from 

Georgia Institute of Technology in 1959 with a Bachelor's 

degree in aeronautical engineering. 

Truly and his wife, Colleen, have three children. 

(SPACEPORT NENS, 10-23-81, p. 6r Vol. 20, No. 21) 

<> RCA engineers are confident this one won't get away. 

The cornnunications satellite to be launched November 19 from 

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station will take the spot in the 

sky once reserved for the satellite that disappeared into 

space almost three years ago. 

RCA's Satcon 3-R standing for replacencnt -- was unveiled by 

that conpany's engineers Thursday, 

Standing about 9 feet high and weighing in at 2,400 pounds, 

the satellite will supply cable television customsrs with 

expanded service. 

Customers include Home Box Office and the Christian 

Broadcast Network. "There is a vast demand for more 

channels and this satellite can provid that," said Bili 

Palme, RCA launch director. 

The satellite has a total of 28 channels. Each channel is 

equipped to handle one television station. 

The satellite will circle the globe Eram 22,300 miles '7 an 

orbit: that is synchronous with the rotation of the Earth. 

Palne said engineers still aren't sure what happened to 

Satcorn 3, just minutes after a motor fired that was designed 

to put the ;atellite in permanent orbit. 

-327- 
He said it either slipped into space or crashed to the ocean 

below. 

'We never did find it,* kalrne said. 

The motor that failed in the first satellite was 

fnanUfaCtUKed by kerojet Cc. and FICA purchased the important 

component from Thiokol Corp. €or the replacement satellite. 

Aerojet no longer makes that particular kind of motor, Palme 

said. 

Satcorn 3-F was built at a cost of $25 million and like the 

satellite that disappearez, it is insured for about $80 

million. The Delta rocket that will carry the satellite 

into space costs another $25 nillion. (TODAY, 116-23-81) 

October 25: It was the first reunion of America's manned space 

program, but the only astronaut to show up was Dekc Slayton, 

the one who didn't get into space until 13 years later. 

The other five former astronauts apparently were too busy to 

attend the get-together, which took place Saturday in a NASA 

park not far froa where they launched into the hearts cf 

America as heroes of the Mercury program. 

According to Slayton, U.S. Senator John Glenn couldn't get 

away from Washington where he w3s embroiled in debate over 

the sale of AF'ACS planes to Saudi Arabia. Businessmen Alan 

Shepard and Kalter Schirra had work to do in Houston and 

Denver, respectively. Gordon Cooper and Scott Carpe- '.er 

were sonewhere on the West Coast. 

The only other Mercury astronaut, Virgil "GusH Grissom, was 

one of three astronauts killed in a 1967 launch pad iire. 

Their absence, however, didn't spoil the party. An 

estimated 200 people arrived to relive the days of Redstme 

and Atlas rockets, the emotional launch of Shepard, the 

first American in space, and the ticker-tape hoopla thbC 

followed Glenn's orbits of the planet. 

-328- 
"In those days, ever)boAy thought this was a once-around 

adventure, that we'd do it this tine and that would be itr'' 

said Charlie Donlan, who was s2cond in authority on the 

program. 

"People didn't comprehend what it was all about,* he said. 

Slayton talked briefly about his own days as an astronaut 

before comparing tcday's NASA pilots with those of the early 

1960s. 

"Fhen I was scrubbed from the Mercury mission it was the 

worst feeling in the world," he said. "Disappointed? That's 

putting it mildly. I didn't kncw that I would get back into 

space. Rack tt,en, nobody thoucjht that far ahead." 

Slayton, 57, is the only Mercury astronaut still working for 

NPSP.. He is manager of the Orbital Test Flight program for 

the space shuttle and plays a crucial role in selecting 

astronauts to man the space plane. At the picnicr he wre a 

red T-shirt that read: "Chief." 

"What's different about today's space program is that wc 

fbave different categories of astronauts, scientists an3 

Ph.Ds who will handle the shuttle cargo. Rut there are 

still some great test pilots arcunil." 

Competition among astronauts tc get on the shuttle is just 

as intense ac it was throughout the Mercury, Gemini and 

Apollo progrems, Slayton said. 

"Everyone wants to fly every flight. It's like a foor.-nall 

team. No one wants to sit on the bench." 

When asked about the performance of astronauts John Yd ?(J 

and Robert Crippen aboard the maiden shuttle voya9e last 

April, he said: "They did a good job. That's nothing 

unusual. That's whst we expect from all the astronauts." 

Slayton also said Young, a veteran VZ five space €ligt?ts, 

probably would not gc into space again, although the Orlando 

native had expressed B desire to do so. "I'd be very 

surprised if John flew again," he said. "There are too many 

young people anxious to get up there.w 

-329- 
As the picnic progressed, nostalgia flowed as heavily as the 

beer that was grovided in several kegs. 

"The high point of the pro?=am for ne was when we lifted 

that Redstone off with A1 ?hepard," said Ca1 MoserD a 

Mercury engineer who now works for Martin Marietta on the 

shuttle's external tank. 

"I just luoked at that thinq and tried t:* realize that there 

was actually a man inside that little capsule. I saw guys 

with tears in their eyes who I never c>pe *:d to see cry." 

W.J. "Kappy" Kapryan was one of the toy officials who 

questioned Shepard after his flight. ':.-:'.I .c walked in the 

room and saw kin sitting there everythin; .m'.j silcnt, kind 

of hushed. It was sort of d holy moment. Nothing will aver 

replace it." 

In one sense, this was merely a reunion of memories. Many 

of the people attending the picnic have remained at the 

space center through all American space activity. 

"Me go from contractor to contractor. Our f identification) 

badges change, but the f,$ces don'tl" tloscr said. wKe'rc 

space bums. l<'e do a lot to stay in the area." (SENTINEL 

STAR, 10-25-81, pp. 1-B & 7-51 

October 26: Shuttle countdown working group is refining the 

launch countdown for the second space shuttle mission, and 

Clyde V. Netherton, working grobp chairman, said the 

approach for Space Transportation System 2 will contin\*? to 

be one of research and development despite some proceO.,ral 

changes. 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration closely 

analyzed the first shuttle countdown in preparation for the 

second count, Netherton said. The first count "did w'l but 

there were too aany activities between T-12 and T-ti ._. We 

need t-3 loosen this period," he said. 

"Fuel cell activation was one example. We took it oiit of 

that tine slot and will start the system for STS-2 in 

parallel with external tank cryogenic loading. This also 

will reduce the fuel cell running time. 

-330- 
'Cornecting ordnance and the range safety validation tests 

disrupted the countdown flow more than anything else. We 

should De doing this in the Vehicle Assembly Building, but 

we'll do it on the pad 6.5 days before launch.' 

Ordnance, range safety and fuel cell activities are the most 

significant changes between STS-1 and STS-2, Netherton 

said. Countdown tine will remain the same, 33 hr. 

(AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 10-26-81r p. 24, Vola 

115, NO. 17) 

<> Loss of the actual grapple test is more of a disappointment 

than a siqnificant loss of data. The grapple test was to 

have been the most operationally oriented element of the 

manipulator tests during the flight. Actual grapplinq will 

now be delayed until Mission 3, when astronauts Marine Col. 

Jack R. Lousma and USAF Col. Charles G. Fullerton are to use 

the arm to extract the induced environment contamination 

monitor from the paylsad bay. 

The Mission 2 test was canceled when an end effector 

completing qualification tests necessary far first flight 

failed to successfully cornpletc a test in which the end 

effector's movable carriage is pulled dawn tc forr. a hard 

rantact between the arm and its targct, when an actual 

target is present. 

In order to locate the problem, the test end effector had to 

be disassembled, and this in turn delayed completion of the 

qualification requirements necessary to clear the end 

effector mounted in the orbiter for actual use, Spar said. 

None of the other manipulator exercises planned over three 

days of testing in space are affected. The problem i. not 

expected to cause any changes in plans to use the en 

effector operationally in the third flight, although sum 

end effector design improvements could result. (AVIATION 

WEEK 6 SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 10-26-81, pa 24, Vola IPS, NO. 171 

<> Shuffle 3,000 people -- tops in their professions -- into 

Kennedy Space Center, seat them as close to center $: .IC! as 

passiblc and watch their eyes pick up a permanent: gleam, 

Once they are showered with Shuttle dust, most guests 

invited to view the spectacle of a launch from an exclusive 

NASA grandstand become space enthusiasts for life. 

-331- 
And they are guests who, when impressed, make the news. 

With the theory that seeing is believing, NASA officials 

have mailed private invitations to politicians, celebrities, 

educator3 and business and civic leaders throughout the 

United States. 

In Apri; the list included John Denver, Gov. Jerry Brown and 

Pat Boone. (TODAY, 10-26-81, p. 1A) 

<> The troops will be out November 4, searching for anything 

suspicious in the air, land or sea. 

The delicate, multibillion-dollar Space Shuttle will be 

protected by Kennedy Space Center security officers, the 

FBI, the Federal Aviation Adninistration, rlorida Marine 

Patrol, Erevard County Sheriff's Department, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Florida Highway Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard 

and auxiliary and the U.S. Air Force. 

Khile northern Brcvard County won't resemble a nasinun 

security jail, Shuttle guards will be out in full fcrer. 

The area will he the cer,ter or' attention for mast of the 

nation when the Shuttle takes to the sky for a seconc! time. 

And with all that attention comes a security risk and, 

consequently, a need for tight protection. 

More than 200 KSC security officials, plus officers from at 

least eight other policing agencies will ensure no 

authorized aircraft, boats, vehicles or pedestrians venture 

near the Space Shuttle, said George Morford, chief of launch 

operations, security branch. 

They hope the launch won't be a repeat performance of 

April's even, when, to the surprise of onlookersI a p% vate, 

unauthorized airplane buzzed by the Shuttle minutes before 

takeoff 

As a result, the FAA, which had only one aircraft qua: ,ing 

restricted airspace in April, has increased its strength to 

two planes for the November event, Morford said. A KSC 

helicopter will also circle the area. 

-332- 
While Secret Service officers won't be guarding the 

spaceship, they will be on hand if President Reagan or other 

top governnent officials fly in for the launch, he said. 

The multiple agencies will conmunicate through use of a 

command center at RSC. Air to ground communications -- 

bogged down by some confusion last spring -- will be 

strengthened by use of more administrative personnel, 

Morford said. 

Officers will patrol Playalinda Beach, which will again be 

closed to beachgoers three days before the launch up through 

launch day. Pc.osquito Lagoon and the Banana River will also 

be watched carefully for waterborne intruders. 

Traffic is the most tine-consuning concern of the officers. 

although about 8,000 bus, trailer and car passes (excludins 

the media) will allow visitors onto KSC -- about 3,000 less 

than in April -- security officials still expect traffic 

backlogs. 

Visitors at the space center are expected to reach 45,000 

plus about 3,000 media representatives. 

Cars stacked up for miles on SR 3 and U.S. 1 last April 10, 

which turned oat to be the day the launch was scrubbed and 

rescheduled, 

To solve that problen, security will open a third gate to 

check through vehicles with permits. The gate, off the NASA 

Causeway, is between Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and 

KSC. 

The two KSC gates will open at midnight, two hours earlier 

than last time, to avoid stackups of early-arriving 

vehicles. 

Since the launch is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on a We2..--'3yt 

about 110,000 KSC employees will be filing to vork at t"= 

same kine a:; visitors, causing an even greater traffic jam 

than during the April 12 Sunday launch. 

To avoid the crowds, visitors with vehicle permits are 

advised to arrive at KSC around midnight and no later than 4 

a.m., Morford said. (TODAY, 10-26-81, p.lB1 

-333- 
October 27: A nalady that struck Brevard County school 

children in epidenic proportions last April is expected to 

resurface next week. 

The symptoms include difficulty sleeping, increasing 

excitement and the tendency to speak in acronyms used by 

aerospace engineers. Like VAB, OPF8 STS-2, LCC. 

The problem is Shuttle fever and school officials 

acknowledge there's little they can do about it. 

So they'll hold school as usual November 4 -- the day the 

Space Shuttle Columbia is expected to begin its second 

mission about 7:30 a.m. 

That's what school officials did on the scheduled maiden 

launch day April 10. 

The space bug hit hard that day causing the school absentee 

rate to top 90 percent in some schools -- even though the 

launch was scrubbec!. 

Many elementary children went ta school as usual, but the 

older students apparently were smacked by Shuttle fever. 

(TODAY8 10-27-818 p* 1s) 

r 28: Citrus production -- one of Florida's oldest 

industrfc*s -- is stepping out of its time warp this winter 

with the help of NASA space technology. 

After decades of old-fashioned and erratic transmissio- of 

weather predictions, some Florida citrus growers will have 

access to direct freeze warnings relayed by satellites. 

Computers that give a colorful picture of data collected by 

one of NASA's satellites are being set up in five Florida 

counties and one Georgia county. 

The computers will offer citrus growers as much as eight 

hours notice of an impending .crop-killing frost, said Dr. 

J. David Martsolf of the Institute of Food and Agricultural 

Science of the University of Florida. 

-334- 
Kith the notice, growers can switch on their heaters and 

fill their wells in time to salvage sone of their fruit. 

About 50 agricultural agents and citrus growers gathered for 

a seminar at Kennedy Space Center Monday and Tuesday to 

learn hod to operate the computers, 

"Growers feel they're starving €or weather information,* 

said Fred Crosby of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration at Ruskin Weather Station. 

Crosby nans a central computer that is the direct link to 

the satellite's thousands of transmissions. From Ruskin, 

information is filtered immediately to Florida's five 

conputers through telephone lines. 

County extension agencies in Homestead, Fort Pierce, Bartow, 

Tavares and Madison will operate computers in the 

experimental project this winter.\ 

Citrus growers in the counties containing those cities, plus 

Orange County, will be able to call their extensior! agents 

and obtain up-to-the-hour weather forecasts. 

Other Florida co>ntiesl including Brevard and Indian Riverl 

are expected to participate within a few years if local and 

federal funds become available. (TODAY, 10-28-81, p. 1R) 

Octohr 29: The countdown for the second launch of the Space 

Shuttle Columbia, which is scheduled for 7:30 AM EST, 

Wednesday, November 4, is slated to begin at 1 AM Satu-day, 

October 31. Space Shuttle launch director George Page said 

Monday that "right now it doesn't loo:; like we're going to 

have any problems that are going to slow us up" in ma';ng 

the launch. Landing at the dry lakebed at Edwards, ii all 

goes as planned, will be at 11:40 AM EST, Monday, November 9. The weather outlook for Cape Canaveraf and Edwards 

remains good. (DEFENSE DAILY, 10-29-81, p. 282, Vol. 118, 

No. 36) 

October 31: It swnds ominous: a toxic chemical mist from the 

Shuttle blastoff, composed of ingredients such as 

hydrochloric acid and aluminum oxide, drifting touard an 

unprotected throng of more than a thousand people. 

-335- 
The thought was enough for NASA to move VIPs four miles away 

fron the second Shuttle launch, a half-nile farther back 

from where they watched the first launch. 

NASA has even begun selling anti-mist covers to people who 

park their cars close to the launch site. Even though 

diluted, the acid in the mist still is strong enough to eat 

into a car's finish. 

Scientists are also increasing their monitoring program of 

the mist as part of a program to minimize the environmental 

damage it could cause. 

But what about reporters, who will be only 3 1/2 miles from 

the Shuttle pad at an unprotected spot which could be bathed 

with the mist from Wednesday's 7:30 a.m. scheduled launch. 

"You're expendable," said NASA spokesman David Garrett. 

"It's just like being a war correspondent. You rake your 

chances. '' 

That means if the winds are blowing in the right dirc-tion 

following the launch, reporters nay suffer fron! ternp2rary 

red skin blotches and respiratory irritations. 

Following the first Shuttle liftoff, scientists found a 

synptom of the acid mist -- spotted vegetation four miles 

north of the launch pad. 

If the wind had been blowing from the east or northeast, 

rather than from the southt the mist would have spotted the 

hides of reporters, VIPs and their cars located 3 1,'2 ... ~les 

from the pad. 

So this time the VIPs are being moved back and the reporters 

are being warned. 

"You're here for an operational purpose," Garrett said in 

explaining the double standard. "The VIPs are guests we 

bring in. They're observers." 

And should reporters or their cars be injured in the line of 

duty, NASA will assume no responsibility, Garrett stressed. 

-336- 
The new precautions aside, NASA officials say the acid mist 

fron the first Shuttle launch was even less than the 

computers predicted. But even so, they are stepping up 

their environmental monitoring of the chemical mist to study 

its impact on the sensitive 240,000-acre erritt Island 

National Wildlife Refuge. 

NASA sent a small plane into the exhaust cloud following the 

first Shuttle launch to measure the cloud's diameter and 

dispersion time. Officials now are trying to figure out a 

new path for the plane's second flight. 

"We're going to try to get the plane in quicker this time," 

said Bill Brannan, director of NASA's office of 

environmental management. "We're going to go through the 

cloud twice and under it twice." 

Following the first launch, Brannan said, the plane flew at 

a high elevation to measure the contrail of the Shuttle. 

But since the contrail dissipates far above the ground and 

poses no environmental danger, the plane for the second 

launch will concentrate more on the large blastoff cloud 

vhich lingers over the ground and causes the mist, Brannan 

said. 

Two or three more launches need to be monitored before 

scientists analyze long-term impacts fron the toxic clot,d on 

the wildlife refuge, Brannan said. 

But for now, the only major damage scientists said occurred 

to the refuge from the first launch was within a few 

thousanu feet of the launch pad where the blastoff fireball 

charred the surrounding area, Brannar, said. 

From the first launch, scientists learned that their second 

major environmental concern before launch -- the effect of 

the noise on surrounding bird populations -- was not a major 

problem. 

"They got up, flew around, and then came back an6 sa+ iown," 

said Paul Tost, also with the office of environmental 

management. 

-337- 
But scientists from NASA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service will keep the same bird-monitoring program for the 

second launch, Tost said. That means four nests will be 

watched. 

A camera will be trained on an eagle's nest five miles from 

the launch site, and biologists will watch a colony of 

wading birds seven miles from the site. 

Two other bird colonies within four miles of the launch 

complex will be examined following blastoff. 

The major difference from the first Shuttle launch in April 

and Wednesday's launch is that the birds were nesting in 

April but will be more scattered about for this launch. 

"The eagles aren't on their nests," Tost said. "They are 

fussing around in the area, but unless one lays an egg in 

short order, we don't anticipate they'll be housekeeping 

during the launch." (TODAY, 10-31-81, p. 18) 

-338- 
November 1: The Space Shuttle Columbia already may seem a bit 

routine to some on the Space Coast, but in Lima, Ohio, it's 

far away? exciting and big news. 

That's what is making Jimmy Flannery a celebrity in his midwestern hometown. He's going to see the Paunch, compliments 

of President Reagan and NASA. 

Jimmy, you see, is 12 years old and determined. 

He wanted more than anything to see the Space Shuttle 

Columbia launched and made up his mind to stop at nothing to 

realize his dream. 

After all, seeing a launch is very important when you have 

your heart set on being an astronaut some day. 

In April, James was in Soc;th Florida with his brother and 

widowed mother, visiting relatives. The fmily drove north 

for the first launch attempt. 

The young Shuttle fan was disappointed to learn that they'd 

need vehicle passes to enter the space center. He was even 

more disappointed when the launch was scrubbed. The family 

didn't return for the successful launch two days later. 

To get the vehicle pass he so desperately wanted for 

Wednesday's planned launch, Jimmy Flannery went straiaht to 

the top -- the Ft'hite House. 

He wrote to the President, who forwarded his letter to NASA 

officials in Washington, who eventually sent Jimmy the 

vehicle pass. 

His mather Carol, a Lima postal employee, adnits that. she 

was only humoring her space-loving son when she mailed the 

letter to Reagan in August. 

-339- 
"I figured it (the letter) would get lost in the shuffle. I 

didn't think he'd get any response," she said. 

For weeks? Jimny asked over and over if he'd received any 

mail. He finally got the long-awaited letter three weeks 

ago. 

"I was flabbergasted and he was in seventh heaven," Mrs. 

Flannery said. 

"I guess we should never underestimate the power of a 

12-year-oldr" she said. 

Jimny said he simply told the president that he'd missed the 

first launch and that "I kind of like space." 

That, according to his mother, is an understatement. 

"The walis of his bedroom are covered with anythin9 to do 

with the Shuttle or with space," she said. "His drawings 

come home from school and they're all space. 

"He does eat, sleep and dream space," Mrs. Flannery said. 

Jimmy's science teacher at Shawnee Middle School in Lima 

will attest to that. 

"That (the Shuttle) is all he talks aboutr" teacher Mike 

Bishop said. "If I could get him as tuned in to other 

things I teach, he8d be super. 

"We're all excited about it?" Bishop said. "The only homework he'll have is a report to the class on the Shuttle." 

James is due to arrive in Titusville Tuesday with his mother 

and 15-year-old brother William. 

There won't be any motel bills to pay at the Penny Pincher 

Inn where they are registered, according to Jean Miller, 

director of reservations and sales for the motel. 

-340- 
%e just felt that if the president can give him a pass, we 

can give then: a complimentary room," Miller said. (TODAY, 

11-1-81, 4A) 

<> For every set of eyes that see5 the launch of the CQlu??bia 

b?ednesday, there is a different view of what this mission 

will mean for our times. 

Industry sees the Space Shuttle as another factory, some in 

the scientific cornnunity speak of it as an extension of 

Earthbound telescopes and the military is calling the 

Shuttle the greatest defensive weapon since chain armor. 

Launch XI of the Columbia won't be strictly the see-if-itcan-fly mission of Launch I. The eyes that will study this 

launch will take a hard look at performance. 

NASA engineers who planned the five-day, four-hour and 10- 

minute flight of astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly, put 

the most important maneuvers and tests of Shuttle capability 

at the front end of the schedule. 

It's en the morning of the second day in flight the crew 

will unfurl a 50-foot mechanical arm fron the open payload 

bay for testing purposes. 

But the test that would have given generals and college 

professors reason to holr! their breaths, momentarily anyway' 

will have to wait fo the third launch, in March, because of 

a possible defect in bearing at the arm's fingers. 

A simple grappling or holding test onto a knob inside the 

payload bay by this Canadian-built robot arm would have 

given any Shuttle user a good indication how well objr-ts 

can be manipulated and moved through space. i 

"The arm is essentially goinq to be the big payoff, It's 

the bread and butter of: the Shuttle," said Br. Edwin 

Strother, Florida Institute of Technology professor QL 

physics. 

Xt is the arm, with a lifting potential greater than 60,000 

pounds, that could loft an interplanetary probe into space. 

-341- 
Another satellite that the robot arm could hoist into space 

is the Department of Defense's inertial upper Stage -- a 

solid rocket motor that would put military payloads into 

high Earth orbit. 

"Utimately the successful operation of that (robot arm) 

system is the key," said Cofanel Marvin Jon~t. comander Qf 

the Air Force's Eastern Space and Missile Center. ("PODAY, 

11-1-81, Po 1A) 

November 2t The worst kept secret at Kennedy Space Center has 

to be the location of the third overseas energency far.r?ing 

site for Flight 2 of the Space St.uttle. 

One site, Air Force Col. Jim Boqart said Sunday, is the 

U.S. Naval Air Station at Rota, Spain. A second site, he 

said, is the Hickan Air Force field at Honolulu 

International Airport, Hawaii. 

The location of the third site, Eogitrt told an informal 

gathering of reporters, is "not releasable." 

Rut as the reporters quick.ly pointed ?ut, a sprtce agency 

press kit plainly states that rhe third site is Kadcna Air 

Base at Okinawa, an island of Japan. 

"The government of Japan agreed to provide an energency 

landing area in territorial properties of Japan," Boqart 

said, carefully. 

A slightly embarrassed Hugh Harris of NASA explained, Japan 

didn't want a commitnent to be a planned landing spc hut 

it wss willing to help in an emergency.* (TODAY, 11-2-81? 

p. 10A) 

<> Brisk autum winds corning outs of the south eoutd stana rn 

the way of the Space Shuttle Columbia's scheduled leuram? 

Wednesday morning, NASA officials said Sundav. 

While U.S. Air Force weather forecasts compiled Sunday 

indicated winds would not be great enough to delay 

Columbia's second voyage into space at: 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, 

-342- 
Kennedy Space Center engineers said they aren't writing the 

weather off untrl 45 minutes before liftoff. 

That's when John Younq, commander of the first Shuttle, Will 

supply a final forecast from a Gulfstream 11 aircraft 38,000 

feet up. 

It would take 27 mile-an-hour winds from the south to stand 

in the way of the launch itself, said Clyde Netherton, 

chairman of the Shuttle countdown working group. 

But Netherton said qreater than 11-nile-an-hour winds across 

the KSC runway also would force engineers to scrub the 

launch because NASA wants to be well prepared for an 

emergency landing si:ould the mission fail in the first four 

minutes after liftoff. (TODRY, 11-2-81, p. 1A) 

November 3: kstronatits foe Englc and Richard Truly arrived in 

Brevard County Monday "more than ready" for Wednesday's 

launch of Space Shuttle Coiu?bia. 

Waving and sniling to repcrters at the Patrick Air Force 

Base landing strip after their I hour, 40 minute fliahts 

from Houston in "-38 NASA training jet",, Truly said what 

space centPr officials were reporting throughout the day -- 

nthe Shuttle is more than ready to go." 

U.S. Air Force weather forecasters said the oullaok for 

biedncsday's launch 'ooks "90" too. As of Pfonday evening, 

Teteorologists were forecasting siattered clouds, 11 to 12 

mile-an-hour winds from the southeast and only a 10 pe :ent 

chance of rain for the 7:30 a.m. liftoff. 

"It does look good. Even the weather looks good," said John 

Young, comrnander of the first Shuttle flight, shortly after 

his arrival at the Air Force Base. (TODAY, 11-3-81, p. 1A) 

<> ~1l systems remained go yesterday for the second flight of 

the Space Shuttle Columbia -- which will become the tirst 

spacecraft ever to fly twice in space -- scheduled for 

liftoff from Cape Canaveraf at 7:30 A1 tomorrow. 

-34 3- 
The 73-hour countdown for the mission began as scheduled at 

1 AM EST Saturday. Final countdown begins five hours prior 

to launch. 

Piloted by astronauts Joe H. Engle and Richard H. Truly, the 

Space Transportation System-2 (STS-2) mission is scheduled 

to last five days, four hours and 10 minutes. The Shuttle 

flew for two days and six hours in its maiden flight April 

12-14. (DEFENSE DAILY, 11-3-81, p. 16, VOl. 119, NO. 2) 

<> Two days before Launch 11 of Space Shuttle Columbia, a key 

NASA official had a reassuring message: Don't worry >bout 

the tiles. 

"%e ought to have 100 percent confidence'' in the tiles, "And 

I do," Shuttle test nanager Donald K. "Deke" Slayton said 

Ronday. 

The tiles, which provide a thermal blanket to protect 

Columbia from the heat of re-entry, were a major cause of 

concern before and during the spaceship's maiden flight last 

April. 

Despite some broken tiles, and one missing, the blanket of 

30,752 tiles did its job. Re-entry was cool and snoot:,. 

At a pre-launch briefing Monday, Slayton was asked about the 

status of a repair kit that was being prepared should tiles 

fly off duLing future flights. 

"I don't know if we're doing anything more about it - not," 

he said. "In my opinion, worrying about the tiles is kind 

of like worrying about the wing spar. You know you don't 

carry spars (a part which supports the wing) when you go 

flying. 

"..,The problelns you can get into going out (of the 

spaceship) to try to do tile repair are astronomic, nd we 

ought to be able to guarantee the crew they don't have to 

worry about that subject," he added. 

-344- 
"So, I would hope we're not messing around with tile repair 

kits. But that's just ny personzl opinion and not 

necessarily NASF's. I don't know what they're doing with 

the tile repair kit." (TODAY, 11-3-81, p. SA1 

<> Although fewer Shuttle watchers will jam Kennedy Space? 

Center for Wednesday's launch than in April? law enforcement 

officials still are preparing for the sane problems 0- 

crowds and traffic. 

But officials say they don't expect as many crowd problems 

because the number of visitors receiving precious passes to 

the space center has been cut almost in half. Only 45,000 

passes will be issued this time, compared with 85,000 for 

Colurnbia's first liftoff. 

But many law enforcement agencies throughout Brevard County 

are beefing up patrols in an effort to make all that Shuttle 

traffic flow a little easier before and after launch. 

(TODAY, 11-3-81? p. 1R) 

t The space shuttle spawned a new industry Tuesday: 

acid-rain car covers. 

NASA concessionaires hawked the elastic-edged, plastic 

covers fro? the back of a beige panel truck in the press 

area parking lot. At $20 each, sales were slow. 

"I don't know what they're forr really, I'm just selling 

them," said Doris Yost, a NASA gift shop employee. 

The covers are supposed to protect vehicles from hydrogen 

r3::la::ide fallout spewed by the shuttle during launch. When 

the chemical residue conbines with moisture in the airr it 

forns hydrochloric acid. 

Tne acid is fairly weak but NASA scientists sa! it ir >tent 

enn.?h to damage the finish on cars, make your eyes u...n, or 

ircltatc the thrxt and lungs. (SEEJTINEL STARl 2;-4-81) 

-345- 
<> The Shuttle Columbia is Go. Astronauts Joe Encjle and 

Richard Truly are Go. Kennedy Space Center launch crews are 

Go. But the weather can't seen to make up its mind. 

A confident Colunbia flight test manager Deke Slayton gave a 

"better than 50-50 chance" the Shuttle vi11 thunder fron its 

pad into space today, but he saic! gathering clouds and a 

chance of rain in this morningq§ forecast could threaten a 

punctual liftoff of the world's only reusable spacecraft. 

"We don't expect a solid cloud deck. We'll be lookinc, for 

holes in the clouds," said Slayton, who added the launch 

team would be satisfied with patches of blue and go4 

visibility at the runway and pad. 

"It could be a pilot's decision on the weather," Slayton 

said. 

A U.S. Air Force forecast late Tuesday night indicated a 

30-45 percent chance of rain in the early morning hours. NI 

think we're going to get some rain but I don't see it 

affecting the launch by 7:30," said Pat Mongillo, KSC 

emergency preparedness officer. (TODAY, 11-4-81, p. In) 

<> Academy Award - winning director and popular actor Robert 

Redford said he came to watch the second launch of the Space 

Shuttle Columbia because he's interested in the marriage of 

the hunan spirit and the future of human values. 

With our advanced technology, we're to the point where we 

have to be imprcssed with what's happening," Redford said, 

Redford said he is both frightened and fascinated by the 

possibilities the Shuttle offers. 

"I'm frightened by the part that's computed, that car'" be 

experimented, Redford said. 

Rut, he said, he feels fortunate in coming to Kennedy Space 

Center and seeing for himself that which is the face of the 

future 

- 34 6- 
"The nore you see and understand what it neans...the more it 

means to our particular future." 

Redford is interested in this second launch, he said, 

because of its studies of air pollution, air quality and the 

ocean. (TODAY, 11-4-81, p. 5A) 

<> The problem-plagued Space Shuttle Columbia stood up 

thousands of disappointed space fans Wednesday morniqg after 

coming a suspenseful 31 seconds to liftoff. NASA won't 

attempt another launch for at least a week. 

It was a dirty oil filter and not the weather NASA officials 

were worried about earlier in the week that prompted Shuttle 

launch director George Page to scrub the liftoff at 9:35 

a.m. 

Late Wednesday afternoon Mike Weeks, NASA's acting associate 

administrator for the Shuttle progran, said the space agency 

would need a week to either repair or replace two of 

Columbia's Auxiliary Power Units. 

The hydrazine-fueled units help steer the thrust of the 

Columbia's main engines during launch and operate the 

landing gear and flight control flaps on the wings. 

Engineers said they believe either hydrazine or water leaked 

into the two power systen gearboxes and mixed with a 

lubricant, "causing a waxy substance to form wtlch may have 

clogged filters in the system," snid Hugh Harris, NASA 

spokesman. 

NASA officials said late Wednesday they are considering two 

options for getting the Columbia back into operation. 

Engineers either will drain the lubricants from the 

gearboxes, flush the system and reservice it, or they'll 

replace the power units so the Shuttle can fly while ,SA 

studies the faulty parts 5n the ground. 

Weeks said NASA management teams will make that decision 

within a few days, after engineers can get a look at the 

complete auxiliary power system. (TODAY, 11-4-81, pp. 14 ti 

14A) 

-347- 
November 5: Dick Smith's mind was made up. 

Smith, Kennedy Space Center director, flashed a thumbs down 

gesture, ending the suspense that had flickered through the 

glass-enclosed Launch Control Center since hours before dawn 

Wednesday. 

"I say scrub it," he said softly. 

Computers wound down, earphones were yanked off and hands 

reached for telephones at the space center's firing room. 

What started as a flawless countdown ended with a delay of 

about a week, NASA officials said late Wednesday. 

tJednesdzy was an on-again, off-again day after 7:25 a.m., 

only five minutes before NASA expected to launch its encore 

flight of the Columbia. 

Before 7:25 a.m., Smith's face was rnarked with a confident 

smile as his headphones clattered with words from the 

Shuttle astronauts, frort Houston and from the tier belt,,+ 

full of engineers. He and other top officials sat 1.- a 

locked, glass-plated room with their backs to the Shuttle 

and their faces to about 75 specialists hidden behind pale 

blue computer consoles. 

The smile, and the confidence, soon faded. (TODAY, 11-5-81, 

p. 4A). 

<> Walter Cronkite paused, sweet roll in hand, to expound his 

views on space transportation. 

It was a little after 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, still dar . and 

the former anchorman was eating a catered breakfasL 7 paper 

plates in the CBS press box, a large trailer at Kennedy 

Space Center. 

4 

The pre-launch breakfast was scheduled to start at 6 a.m. 

and although Cronkite would not lead CBS' coverage, aides 

were urging him to make-up for his spots as a special 

-348- 
correspondent. Except for Columbia's naiden voyage last 

April, he has covered every one of America's manned space 

voyages. 

Cronkite, who turned 65 the day of the delayed launch, said 

he will function as the "old expert" for the Shuttle's 

second flight. 

"I expect they're tolerating me, not exploiting me," the 

fatherly institution grinned. 

CBS excluded Cronkite from the first launch shortly after he 

joined the hoard of directors of Pan American World 

Airways. Cronkite accepted the position a few days after 

his March retirement from the helm of The CBS Evening News 

-- a position he had held for 18 years. 

There's "no bitterness," Cronkite said candidly. "I thought 

the decision was little bit harsh but I had to agree with 

it. It was kind of my own mistake a!i3 not anybody else's." 

The revered journalist resigned fron the board last 7 -71th 

rather than restrict his reporting of the U.S. space 

program. (TOCAY, 11-5-81, p. SA) 

<> The extended hold slapped on Columbia's launch a nere 31 

seconds before liftoff sent hundreds of Shuttle watchers at 

Kennedy Space Center in a search for snacks and 

refreshments. 

With word of a long delay, the 3,500 people at the VIP site 

headed for the food and drink stands in hopes of passing the 

time with some sustenance. 

But they found the conces ion cupboards pretty bare. 

Food director Bob Jennings of Canteen of Florida, the -ace 

center concessionaire, said the 1,300 sausage and biscuit 

sandwiches hauled in to feed the hungry crowd also were 

gobblcd up. 

-349- 
Jennings also found his 2,880 Cokes in short Supply. All 

1,500 fruit pies were sold -- even the last broken one which 

went for half price at 25 cents. 

Also devoured early at the site were 1,000 packages of 

cheese, Jennings said. 

The concessions weren't the only places for lines. Long 

waits at the portable toilets also were common. At e:20 

a.m., 35 men and 42 women were standing in lines at the 

portables. (TODAY, 11-5-81, p. $A) 

November 6: Contrary to local reports, the Space Shuttle 

lifted from its launch pad two days ago "atop a plume of 

blue-white flame." 

So saps the launch agency -- a major Detroit newspaper1 

The above quote may not be exact, but the Detroit !Jem did 

have these Page One headlines Wednesday morning: 

"Colunbia does encore"...*A perfect launch"! 

In its haste to meet a printing deadline, the newspaiser 

somehow made the wrong choice of two stories that had been 

pre-written -- one for a scrub, the other for a launch. 

"It didn't take long for 30,000 copies to corne off the press 

and go out on the trucks," said a former TODAY staff. now 

living in Detroit. We phoned him yesterday after Sc-;hern 

Bell executive Lee Matteson tipped us off to what he'6 just 

heard. 

A photo of the front page of the News appeared in yesterday 

morning's Detroit Free Press, which headlined its own story: 

"The News knows it printed 30,000 wrong papers." 

Some of those got into circulation. We couldn't get to talk 

to the News's managing editor to find out just how many. 

But the News sure did try to recall the liftoff papers. 

-350- 
<> 

<> 

"They were trying to shoot the tires off the trucks" to get 

then to stop the delivery, our man said. We assume he was 

joking. (TODAY, 11-6-81, p. 1B) 

With NASA still uncertain about a new liftoff date for th.? 

space shuttle, work crews built platforms in the rain 

Thursday and prepared to analyze oil in the crippled 

Columbia's auxiliary power units. 

The weather remained rainy and windy here as workers were 

expected to sample the units to determine the degree of 

contamination in the lubricating oil. Clogged oil filters 

in two of the three units, which power Columbia's guidance 

system on landing, forced the cancellation of Wednesday's launch. (SENTINEL STAR, 11-6-81, p. 1A) 

A cocoon of steel scaffolding surrounded the space shuttle 

Columbia as launch crews went back to work Thursday on the 

grounded spacecraft and Kennedy Space Center officials 

turned a wary weather eye on Hurricane Katrina. 

Launch Director George Page said it would be at least 

Saturday before officials would know how long it would take 

to correct the oil contamination problems that halted 

Wednesday's scheduled launch of the reusable spacecraft. 

Page said that the second flight of the Columbia would 

probably not be possible before next Wednesday and might be 

delayed until the following week if workers must replace the 

auxiliary power units that forced the postponement. 

Severe weather could add to the delay. Page said that 

Hurricane Katrina's current course did not appear to pose 

any threat to work at Launch Pad 39A, but he said space 

center officials were monitoring the storm's progress. (THE 

MIAMI HERALD, ii-6-ai, pp. IA E. 18~) 

November 7: A new launch date for the second shuttle c,,..ion 

was expected to be announced todny after NASA technicians 

finished an analysis of the oil rn Columbia's power system. 

-351- 
Space agency officials hoped the shuttle could be launched 

as early as Kednesday morning. But liftoff of the historic 

encore journey could be delayed another week if they decide 

Columbia's power units have to be replaced instead of just 

cleaned. 

Columbia's next successful blastoff will enter history books 

as the first relaunch ever of a manned orbital spacecraft. 

NASA spokesman Mark Hess said officials have nct decided 

when a new countdown would start in the event a Wednesday 

launch is announced nor have officials determined how many 

built-in holds to insert in the 36 1/2-hour countdown, he 

said. 

The holds are used to rest the launch team for emergency 

decisions, like the one that canceled last Wednesday's 

launch with 31 seconds remaining. 

Meanwhile, work crews inspected the shuttle's twin rocket 

boosters and fuel tank on launch pad 59A. On the fwl tank, 

a small amount of insulation was found to be slightly 

damaged due to icing, Ness said. (SENTINcL STAR, 11-7-81, 

p. 4-C) 

November 8: Space officials Saturday rescheduled the second 

launch of the space shuttle Columbia fcr next Thursday. 

The two hydraulic system engines that developed oil-pressure 

trouble seconds before blastoff last Wednesday will be fixed 

by simply draining contaminated gearbox oil, flushing the 

system and installing new filters. 

"Getting to a Thursday launch is a very tight schedule but 

one which the mission management tear? feels can be made," 

the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

announcement said. (THE MIAMI HERALD, 11-9-81, p. 1" 

<> ... "Of course we'd like to have flown, but if we had a 

problem lurking in the bird...we're mighty glad that we 

found out arid held off till we can get it fixed." 

--Astronaut Joe Engle, after the delay of Space Shuttle 

Columbia's launch. (TODAY, 11-8-81, p. 10E) 

-352- 
November 9: National Aeronautics and Space Adninistration 

launch team made a last-minute effort here November 4 to 

override stored launch processing systen computer pressure 

limit criteria for Columbia's fuel cell liquid oxygen system 

and continue the countdown. 

Launch officials were uncertain immediately after being 

forced to scrub the launch whether to attribute an erutomatic 

countdown stop and inability to resume the launch countdown 

to procedural or software problems. 

"I think we will find that the problem is procedural -- that 

we used the software in a way that was not intended," one 

engineer said. 

One impyovement in the launch control processor complex 

since the initial shuttle launch is the extension of memory 

capability from 64,000 to 256,000 words of working memory. 

This had allowed the u5e of memory to store all operating 

formats at one time and call up the appropriate format as 

needed. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGYI 21-9-81, p. 20, 

Vol. 115, No. 3.9) 

<> Space shuttle auxiliary power units (APUs), designed as 

reusable elements to facilitate quick turnaround between 

missionsI became the dominate factor in the postponement of 

Columbia's second launch. Two of the power units that were 

not test fired after the STS-1 mission developed lubrication 

problems. 

To facilitate airline-type space operations, the shuttle's 

Sundstrand APUs are designed for reflight, with refue- 7g 

the only major service operation between missions. Last 

week's experience, in which one APU that had been replaced 

and test fired after the first mission worked properly and 

the other two did not, will result in reconsideration of how 

reusable the APUs actually are without oil change and retest 

after each flight or followinq long intervals between 

firings. 

The APU that functioned normally had been fired recently 

because it is a new unit replacing one (chat malfunctioned in 

the first flight. (AVIATION MEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 

11-9-81, p. 22, VO~. 115, NO. 19) 

-353- 
<> Even though the second Shuttle launch attempt was delayed 

just seconds before blastoff, astronaut Joe Engle said he is 

as ready as ever to command the Orbiter Columbia, now 

scheduled to fly Thursday morning, 

"There wasn't ever anybody that wasn't mentally prepared," 

Engle said Sunday at his home in Houston, 

Engle said he felt surprised when the launch was stopped 

last Wednesday just 31 seconds before liftoff but said? "I'm 

certainly glad that the problem was found before we were up 

in the air." 

He also said the scrub did not affect his confidence in the 

Space Shuttle. 

"I've never had any lack of confidence in the machinern 

Engle said. 

Meanwhile, Columbia's launch pad was closed to all but 

essential workers Sunday while the three auxiliary poder 

units that caused the delay were refueled with highly toxic 

hydrazine. (TODAYr 11-9-81, p. 1A) 

Nowember 10: Space officials gave the go-ahead Monday for a 

second, abbreviated countdown to start this morning, leading 

to the shuttle Columbia's curtain-call flight, 

The clock is to start at 8 a.m.? aiming for a 7~30 a.m. 

Thursday launch of the first spaceship ever to take 8 repeat 

trip in orbit. 

The first count got to within 31 seconds of liftoff IpCt 

Wednesday, only to be blocked by clogged filters in tt 

Columbia's three auxi?iary power units. 

of 

The units have been cleaned, the spacecraft checked and 

astronauts Joe Engle and Richard TrilZy are ready to try 

again. They will fly here today from their training base at 

the Johnson Space Center in Houston. 

-354- 
As last week, it appears the weather will be touch and go, 

with a storr: front heading toward Cape Canaveral. Light, 

intermittent rain was forecast for Thursday morning. 

"Right now they're saying the weather should be OK for 

launch," said space agency spokesman Mark Hess. "That front 

is expected to move through here on Wednesday and be gone by 

Thursday. *' 

At the launch pad, Hess said, "everything is running along 

very smoothlyl" with pre-count preparations ahead of 

schedule. 

Officials decided that the early portion of the original 

countdown would not have to be repeated, and instead of a 

full count with the clock ticking down from 73 hoursl the 

truncated version starts at 35 hours. Three planned holds 

totalling 12 1/2 hours stretch the count over 47 1/2 hoursl 

compared to 129 1/2 for the original. (THE MIAMI HERALD, 

11-10-81) 

November 11: With the tirying of polished vaudeville corux7ians, 

astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly returned here Tuesday 

and quickly lightened any disappointnent surrounding the 

postponement of last week's space shuttle hunch, 

"We've got to stop meeting out here like this," quipped 

Truly. He and Engle were greeted for the second time in 

eight days by 6 group of reporters, photographers and 

servicerr'en after arriving from Houston to prepare for 

Thursday's launch. 

"I'm going to say it one more time -- Columbia is ready. 

Joe and I are ready. We're going to do it this time." Truly 

said, 

Engle joked to cameramen spread across the airfield at 

Patrick Air Force Base: "This is it. If you don't qet the 

right pictures this time, it's going to bc yo~r :sst 

chance, We really are going to go this the." 

Engle was referring to last Wednesday's scheduled shuttle 

liftoff that was cancelled with just 31 seconds remaining in 

-355- 
the countdown when NASA officials discovered unusually high 

oil pressure in the orbiter's auxiliary power units. 

(SENTINEL STAR, 11-11-81, p* 1) 

<> If any boater is thinking of sneaking into the prohibited 

waters around Kennedy Space Center for a closer look at the 

Space Shuttle -- forget it. 

The U.S. Coast Guard will be out in full force, along with 

boats from the Coast Guard Aiixiliary, the Hsrine Patrol, the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department, and the Brevard County 

Sheriff's Department. 

"People usually understand that (the patrol) is for their 

own safety," said Lt. Cmdr. Bruce Kiiinek, in charge of the 

patrol operation. 

"If the Shuttle malfuctions or blows up, we don't went 

anyone to get hurt," he said. 

Basically, the prohibited area includes .ne east half of the 

Indian River, the south end of the Mosquito Lagoon, ' .2 

north end of the Banana River and within three miles 

offshore between the Mosquito Lagoon to Port Canaveral. 

The area is divided into four patrolled sectors: the 

offshore area, Mosquito Lagoon and Haulover Canal, the 

Indian River, and the hanana River, Klimek said. 

Each sector has at least one Coast Guard boat and thy-? to 

five auxiliary boats, all staffed by at least three .3ple, 

he said. 

Klimek said a total of 150 Coast Guard people are involved 

in the operation. (TODAY, 11-11-81, p. l€3) 

~ov@~b~~ B2: After mare than 24 hours of holding their breath, 

Snuttle engineers won a battle against the clock at 12:45 

a.m. today and gave a 'Go' for the launch of Columbia no 

sooner than 10 this morning. 

-356- 
Late Vednesday, the engineers successfully replaced a downed 

data receiving box near the crew compartment, thanks to the 

still unbuilt -- and now little lighter -- Shuttle Orbiter 

Challenger, 

-Two of the 36-pound black boxe.s were flown to Kennedy Space 

Center at 9:05 Wednesday night from Palmdale, California, 

where they had been installed in Columbia's successor and 

sister Shuttle. The boxes were soon installed and working 

aboard the Columbia. 

NASA engineers had their fingers crossed Wednesday night 

that the space Shuttle Orbiter parts would be the eleventhhour fix needed to launch the Shuttle fate this morning. 

Delayed at least 9@ minutes from its original 7:30 a.m. 

launch tine, the Colunbia's return to Earth orbit depends on 

whether a suitcase-sized piece of data-receiving equipment 

works, which was salvaged from the Shuttle Orbiter 

Challenger. 

Earlier Wednesday, engineers found one of seven datareceiving boxes, locatett near the crew compartment, would 

not perform backup operations. 

The boxes, called mu 1 tiplexer-denult iplexer units , receive 

as nany as 2,800 different measurements and readings from 

sensors scattered throughout the Columbia. The boxes 

translate critical infornation on the Colunbia's health 

whilo in space into computer lancpzje. 

From there the thousands of bits of infornation are fed to 

two larger data processing units that organize and reray it 

to engineers on Earth. 

The end result is a neat reading on 8 computer terminal 

Screen at Houston's Johnson Space Center of things like the 

status of the Columbia's electrical power cel1.s or 

temperatures inside the craft. 

hlthouqh the Columbia could fly without backup ~ystens, NASA 

wants a fail-safe operation so engineers on the ground won't 

be in danger of losing valuable information about the 

spacecraft as it circles the globe 150 miles up, 

-357- 
"The primary system is doing fine. It's a question of 

tidying up the backup," said L, Michael Weeks, NASA's acting 

associate administrator for the Shuttle program, (TODAY, 

11-12-81, ps 1A) 

<> Whether unsure beca, of last week's launch scrub Of Sored 

with it all, many vi,-- .ors who normally would be jockeying 

for the best Space Shuttle viewtng spots appeared to be 

staying away Wednesday. 

Law enforcement officers spent the day waiting far the 

traffic crunch that never developed. 

Their first brushes with Shuttle-watching mobs in April, 

when upwards of 750,000 people turned out to watch 

Columbia's debut, taught them to prepare for a massive 

onslaught of tourists and residents alike. 

Although no one seems to believe the crowd for ,olurnbia's 

return to space can top the first launch's turnout, 

officials doaat agree an how closs the crowd will corrie to 

last week's aborted launch, when the crowd was estirsted at 

300,@00-~l~~s (TOPAY, 13-12-81, p. 1A) 

<> They could be called Space Age Butlers. 

They primp and tuck, dress and undress their "masters," slip 

on shoes, smooth wrinkles an6 even stash a sandwich in a 

spare pocket. 

But spacesuit technicians responsible for dressing W' X 

astronauts prior to a launch do more than give their models 

the newest high-tech fashions. Overlooking one detail could 

endanger the astronauts' lives. 

Two gold-colored ejection escape suits have been lain out. in 

waiting for Joe Enale and Richard Truly, who will arri.re in 

the suiitirq-up room of the Operations and Control Building 

at Kennedy Space Center about 6:30 a.m. today. 

A team of suit technicians, including A1 Rochford and Jean 

Alexander, has arrived at KSC from Houston, where it tended 

to the Engle-Truly team's needs during training, 

-358- 
The suits, with en outer layer of fire-resistent material 

and an inner layer of netting and rubber, already have been 

tested and re-tested for dangerous leaks of oxygen. 

Engle and Truly will slip into a dressing room where they'll 

don insulating long underwear. They will then emerge to the 

spotless but unsterilized "clean room,@' where they will sit 

in recliner chairs to change into their 45-pound spacesuits. 

Rochford and Alexander, clad in white uniforms and caps to 

keep the area cleansed, will help Engle and Truly into their 

awkward garb. Comfort and convenience for the two 

astrcnauts are key factors. 

"They can do it by themselves,'' Alexander said, "but it's 

easier for them with someone helping." 

Each astronaut has his personal quirks, which the 

technicians know and even exploit for the sake a€ a joke to 

break the technically overwhelming aura of the hours before 

launch. 

With EncJLe and Truly, the source of contention was 

eyeglasses. After days of preparations e technicians 

couldn't seem to find the right pairs to fit the 

astronauts. The elasticized bands holding the biEocals were 

either :oo loose or too tight, frustrating suit technicians 

until the glasses sat perfectly on the astronauts' noses. 

It becarte a standard joke with the Shuttle flying duo and 

the technicians, even on launch day last week. As Engle and 

Truly readied for their trip to the pad, a suit technician 

paraded in front of them wearing a floppy overcoat ani! a 

pair of huge, plastic, carnival-like sun glasses. He -7ened 

the coat to reveal dozens of eyeglasses, oEfering the 

astronauts one more chance to buy the pair of their choice. 

Forty-four-year-old Rochford, who hos suited up astronauts 

since 1960, enjoys the friendly banter he has exchanged with 

the astronauts, including Wally Schirra in the Gemin, .ays 

and Alan Shepard in Apollo 14. 

Rockford has helped the flying crews through years of 

training and donning off-the-shelf spacesuits up to the 

point where he drops them off in a van at the launch pad 

before takeoff. 

-359- 
"You have to develop a rapport with the crew. You have to 

build up a confidence level," he said. 

While Rochford remenbers the experimental bygone days of 

spacesuits with clumsy zippers, Alexander can relate Only to 

the Shuttle days. 

Alexander applied for the suit technician job 1 1/2 years 

ago after working as a NASA secretary, The 36-year-old 

woman is the only fernale in the space aqency's suit-up team. 

"They wanted a woman to make the women astronauts more 

comfortable," she said. 

Alexander said her talents were ninimal when she was 

selected -- she 5ad sone mechanical ability, which Means 

only that she knew how to turn a wrench and screwdriver. 

Rut after more than a year of on-the-job training in 

Houston, she is ready for her first manned launch toda". 

Most of the technical aspect of the suiting-up process Itas 

completed about 72 hours in ddvan~e, when the suits wew 

hooked up to consoles which checked for air atid oxygen 

leaks. 

The suits' multiple pockets were filled with a pen and 

pencii, a flashlight, eyeglasscs, a calculator, head set, 

air sickness bag, knife and even a frozen sandwich to case 

hunger if a delay cones up in the launch countdown. 

Emergency survival kits were double-checkcd by techni-ians 

and stowed inside the Shuttle Orbiter. And helmets b'C",i 

tested to ensure the astronauts could properly communicate 

with ground control. 

"We just make sure everything is where it's supposed LO be," 

Alexander said. "We're troubleshooters." 

(I 

The technician team then took of€ early Wednesday afternoon 

to rest before returning to prep the suiting room several 

hours before launch. . 

-360- 
Few problems cone up at launch tine, Rochford said. The 

only delay in the first launch occurred when a leak was 

discovered in Young's helmet. The defective helmet was 

replaced with a stand-by model. 

After helping Engle and Truly dress today, Rochford, 

Alexander and one other co-worker will keep the astronauts 

from overheating in the heavy suits as they are driven from 

the Operations and Control Building to the launch pad. 

The crew has 40 minutes to tend to Engle and Truly before 

they must he completely suited up and ready to depart for 

their spacecraft. 

Booties will be slipped over shoes worn by Engle and Truly 

to ensure no dirt is trailed into the Orbiter. Their 

helmets and gloves will be brougnt to them as they are 

strapped into their ejection seats. 

Alexander will stay in the Operations and Control Building 

while Rochford accompanies the astronauts to the pad. On 

arrival, Rochford will hand over spare ventilators and other 

equipment to suit technician Ron Woods, stationed at ~~lf 

launch pad. 

And that -- the suit technicians hope -- will be the last 

they'll see of Enqle and Truly before the two become spacetested veterans returning to share their memories. (TODAY, 

11-12-81, p. 3A) 

November 13: When a long-awaited goal finally looms in s-jht, 

it often loses its allure on arrival, winding up as a whitewashed, anti-climactic dud. 

But. the Colunbia, although a patience-tester, was definitely 

no dud Thursday morning. 

The spaceship gave a repeat performance that rivaled A - 

debut, stunning first-time viewers and renewiqg inspiration 

in veteran space watchers. 

-361- 
Pessinism and anxious glances at the sky disappeared, 

replaced with weak-kneed leaps of excitement, raised fists 

urging the gleaming white ship forward ani] shrill hoots and 

whistles of widespread well-wishing. 

'Oh, my God. It's like an earthquake,' said Kitty 

Carpenter, 25, of Seattle, as the hefty Columbia's liftoff 

made the ground tremble alcng the Indian River. 

The Shuttle raised itself up (with the help of NASA 

officials) on its spiral of smoke and brilliant orange 

flames, seeming to pose dramatically in midair for the 

hundreds of media cameras aimed in its direction. 

It then coyly disappeared into a thin stream of clouds, 

reappearing noments later to draw further applause from its 

audience below. Then it was gone. Seconds later, NASA 

spokesman Hugh Harris announced it was already approaching 

Spain. 

Thursday's spectacle was the shortest show on Earth -- or 

above Earth -0 but none of the gathered onlookers seemed tc 

leave disappointed. 

"The thrill of it going up -- even if it was such a short 

time -- will last forever," said Scott Rachman, 21, a 

University of Florida senior, as he watched along the Indian 

River in Titusville. (TODAY, 11-13-81, p. 4A) 

<> An ofE-shore wind protected Shuttle viewers fron a cloud of 

acid fallout left behind when Columbia blasted of€ 1 ?ch 

pad 39A on Thursday, a space agency spokesman said. 

When the Shuttle was scheduled to fly last week, NASA set up 

car washes and sold plastic car covers to protect 

automobiles from a possible cloud of contaminants consisting of alJminum with hydrochloric acid attached. 

VIPs were moved an extra half mile from the launch site 

because of the potential acid mist, but: the press was left 

only 3 1/2 miles from the launch site to watch at their own 

risk. 

-362- 
But this tine, said Don Zylstra, favorable winds eliminated 

the pollution problem "unless you were out there in a 

fishing boat." 

He said: "A north wind carried it (pollutants) away from 

the launch pad and press viewing sites." 

If the winds had been from the east, however, the press lney 

not have been so fortunate. Neither would their cars, as 

hardly any vehicles in the press parking lot were covered. 

But one CBS camera crew came prepared with large plastic 

trash bags. "You know all those car covers," a cameraman 

said, "I brought body covers." (TODAY, 11-13-81, p. 3A) 

<> ... A faulty fuel cell forced Mission Control on Thursday td 

consider bringing Columbia astronauts Joe Er.glc* oad Ris ?rd 

Truly home on Saturday, instead of the planned ret.urn n xt 

Tuesday. 

Columbia does not face r3n encrgericy situation as the two 

previous U.S. crews did, The ship has two healthy fuel 

cells, but mission ruies dictate that with one fuel cell out 

Engle and Truly do as many high priority assignments as 

possible in 54 hours. 

I:ASA said it is possible the mission could go the full Pive 

days if the other fuel cells stay healthy. (TODAY, 

11-13-81, p* 3A) 

<> Columbia's two spent solid rocket boosters splashed down in 

the Atlantic Ocean about seven minutes after Thursday's 

launch, but rough seas delayed their recovery by NASA ships. 

The 93-ton reusable rocket boosters were bobbing in 12-to-15 

foot seas. The ocean was too choppy for divers to a3 into 

the water to attach an air hose, called a barb, tc the 

boosters with air so they could be towed back tu Port 

Canaveral, said a spokeswoman for the manufacturer, United 

Technologies. 

-363- 
The boosters will be refurbished and refilled for use on a 

future Shuttle flight. The Orbiter Columbia -- the part of 

the Shuttle that resembles an airplane -- also is reusable, 

but the spaceship's dominating external fuel tank is not. 

The tank broke up in the atmosphere and pieces fell into the 

Indian Ocean, 

Radios aboard the boosters helped two NASA vessels find the 

boosters floating about 158 miles from Kennedy Space Center 

within an hour after they dropped frc ... the Shuttle, said Sue 

Butler of United Technologies. 

The boosters burned for 2 1/2 minutes before separating from 

the Columbia on takeoff. As they separated, six parachutes 

opened to control their descent hack to Earth. 

Fifty workers aboard the Liberty and Freedom retrieved the 

parachutes, and planned to hook up the boosters at daybreak 

today and tow them to Port Carraveral. (TODAY, 11-13-81, p. 

3A 

<> One last time, nine minutes before liftoff, launch :'!rector 

George Page held the countdown clock. "Let'5 take - tine 

and do it right," he told his crew. They did, and blastoff 

was brilliant. 

The delays, the problems, the frustrations will never make 

the history books. Columbia, soaring once again, did -- the 

first spaceship ever to return to orbit. 

As he surveyed his launch team, Page recalled the power unit 

problem that stopped the countdown eight days ago, j,,, 31 

seconds before liftoff. And the eleventh-hour repai. job, 

completed just after midnight, that made possible a Thursday 

flight. 

"We should have come out of that hold at T-9 minute= -bt 

on time," Page said later. "Exceptr looking arouna, A nd~ a 

little concerned that a lot of people were real snxio\*s to 

go, and I thought it might be good just ra take our time and 

review any problems we might have and give the guys a chance 

to catch their breaths. 

-364- 
"Ne'd been pushing pretty hard there," he said. "We had no 

magic window to make. It took just 10 minutes. It was a 

beautiful liftoff .I' 

Columbia cleared its launch tower, and the Kennedy Space 

Center team had done its job. Crews will clean up the pad 

and await Colunbia's return here in about two weeks -- and 

then ready the ship for Flight I11 next March. (TODAY, 

11-13-81, p. 7A) 

<> Some things might be better the second time around, but not 

for the hundreds of journalists who descended on Kennedy 

Space Center Thursday morning. 

Only eight days had elapsed between the mission's first 

scrub and Colurnbia*s liftoff, and the normally prolific 

press was searching for something new to say. 

"It's coming up with a fresh story," ssid Derek Haywbrd of 

television station FTVL in Jacksonville, who was also 

working on a story about the media. "We already came uy 

with a good one a week ago. If it's delayed again,.." 

Hayward said finding a new ancfle is even more difficult for 

a local. station because the New 'iork networks cover the 

Shuttle launch so thoroughly. 

Although NASA reported about 2,400 journalists picked up 

their security badges, the space agency said it had no way 

of knowing how many actually showed up for the launch. 

(TODAY, 11-13-81, p. SA) 

<> On October 9 TODAY editorially called upon the Drevard 

County Commission to give a proper designation to the 

nameless road that serves as the main approach to the 

Kennedy Space Center from 1-95 in North Brevard. 

On November f, the commission officially designated the five 

-mile long divided thoroughfare Columbia Boulevard, to 

permanently commemorate the name of our niption's first Space 

Shuttle. (TODAY, 11-13-81, p. l4A) 

-365- 
: Although California's Edwards Air Force Base will 

lay clain to the Columbia today, its undeniable home is 

Kennedy Space Center. 

And the spaceship will be coming back home possibly as soon 

as Nov. 24 -- giving NASA workers something to celebrate 

over their Thanksgiving holiday two days later. 

The Shuttle Orbiter will be clamped onto a souped-up Boeing 

747 and returned so its proud work crews can ready their 

masterpiece far a possible March 20 third launch. 

The third launch, previously scheduled for March 1, has been 

pushed back to no earlier than March 20 because of the 

second delay-plagued mission, said NASA orbiter project 

engineer Gene Thomas. 

Bringing the Shuttle up to a launchable level took seven 

months last time. This time, NASA will have four months 

based on preiininary scheduling. 

The dates are strictly speculative, Thomas added. (TODAY, 

11-14-81, p. 3A) 

<> A woman barked commands to a manned American spacecraft for 

the first time Friday, and the astronauts said it sounded 

"mighty good." 

Sally Ride, the first woman to serve as a "cap-corn" -- a 

Capsule communicator -- instructed astronauts Joe Enr?e and 

Dick Truly from Mission Control as the Shuttle pilotc 

unfolded the ship's robot arm for its first test. 

In the first exchange, Truly said, "Oh', Sally, we go" 

arm secured right now. We've got the power on and we're 

getting ready to turn it on." 

le 

Ride: "OK, Sounds good." 

Truly: "YOU sound mighty good too." 

-366- 
Once the arm was successfully deployed, Ride, 30, told Engle 

and Truly, "OK. That SOV~~S great, and you guys do good 

work. " 

Most of the talk was highly technical as the astronauts went 

through a step-by-step deployment of the S80 million, 

Canadian-built arm. Ride has a doctorate in physics 

specializing in astrophysics and has workc. extensively with 

the Remote Manipulator System, the official nane of the 

device. 

*She's an astronaut, she's articulate and she's very 

familiar with the remote manipulator," said NASA spokesrm 

John Lawrence. "Ne needed someane who had worked with the 

system and could talk knowledgeably about it." 

Ride is a native of Encino, California, and was one of the 

first six women accepted into the U.S. astronaut corps in 

1978. (TODAY, 11-14-81, p. 3A) 

<> While the Columbia was experiencing some spacebound problem 

Friday, the earthbound launch pad at Kennedy Space Later 

was left virtually unscathed despite the thunderous thrust 

of the spacecraft's engines. 

After a preliminary look at Pad 39A, NASA officials said 

structural damage was mainly limited to loss of some fire 

bricks from the flame trench beneath the Orbiter and 

destruction of a screen on the pad's external tank arm. 

Fist-sized yellow-stained chunks of the bricks were th->wn 

more than 500 feet against a barbed wire fence surrounding 

the pad. 

Another fatality was a television camera stationed by NASA 

on top of the flame trench and demolished by the Columbia's 

f irey takeoff . 

"There's very minimal damage; very superficial," said Merle 

Oakley, lead design engineer for the launch pads. 

"The rest is nothing that can't be washed off and painted 

up," he said. (TODAY, 11-14-81, p. 1OA) 

-367- 
November 15: The television set at Kennedy Space Center was 

just another tourist attraction Saturday. 

Clutching dripping ice crean cones8 paper bags of NASA 

paraphernalia and instamatic cameras8 about SO0 visitors to 

the space center gathered around televisions to pltrcldly 

watch the Shuttle Columbia screech to a halt 3,000 riles 

away in California. 

A few seconds of applause and some wondrous 'whooos* rang 

out at the visitors' center, and a few proud smiles shone 

through. Then the crowd quietly dissipated. 

The exuberance so manifest two days earlier when the 

Columbia's 6.4 million pounds of thrust gracefully pushed 

the spacecraft skybound just wasn't to be found at the space 

center Saturday. 

But then again, the launch was live, right in front of the 

tourists' awed faces. Sending a postcard home sayin "I was 

there for the launch," was much more thrilling than mailing 

ane saying "I was at Kennedy Space Center watching the 

landing on TV." (TODAY, 11-15-81, p. 3A) 

<> As Colunbia neared its return Saturday, NASA workers were 

still trying to recover two solid rocket boosters from rhe 

Atlantic Ocean of€ Cape Canaveral, where they have drifted 

since helping to send the spaceship aloft. 

The reusable painted steel canisters were drifting in rough 

seas about 120 miles from Kennedy Space Center -- ab- -. 50 

miles closer to shore than the spot where they landeb 

Thursday after peeling away from the Shuttle following the 

launch. 

Recovzry divers made "sone progress" Saturday as they 

inserted an air hose called a barb into one of the casings, 

but they were having difficulty with the second booster. 

Both must be filled with air so they will float lag-,ike, 

said Sue Butler, spokeswoman for the manufacturert United 

Technologies. (TODAY8 11-15-81, p. 3A) 
November 15: Transfer of space shuttle mission control 

responsibilities from the Johnson Space Center, Houston, to 

the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in order to reduce 

operational costs and make more efficient use of manpower is 

being discussed with top shuttle managers by Hans M. Mark, 

deputy administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 

Adninistration. 

Mark raised the transfer issue in a NASA internal long-range 

planning document that was followed by discussion with other 

headquarters officials. 

He characterized the transfer concept as "food for thought" 

that would stimulate debate. 

The document discussed transfer of mission control as early 

as 1984, but Mark said the actual intent of his comments is 

to orient the agency thinking toward transfer of mission 

control to Kennedy if NASA is able to begin operation of 

large manned platforms or a space operations center in about 

10 years. 

"No matter how the matter of sht:ttlc operations is final1.y 

decided, the Johnson Space Center should phase out of the 

operational mission dlzring the next three years,n according 

to the advanced plannifia outline written by Hilton Silweira, 

special assistant to the depilcy administrator, and Mark. 

*It is very unlikely that it will he possible to control 

costs of operations if the developmental attitudes that 

prevail at the Johnson Space Center dominate after space 

shuttle becomes operationalrA the outline said, "The 

operations of the space shuttle, both launch as well 9s 

mission control, should he handled by Kennedy Space, Center 

and by Vandenberg AFB, once the West Coast launch facility 

is complete. 

Mark said he believes the transfer of significant Johnson 

responsibility to Kennedy wouXd became a manpower issue if 

current manned space station/platforn concepts are 

approved. "This is to start people srr;uing about P' 

issue. It needs to be discussed in public, a:id anyboa) who 

doesn't want: to argue it: In public is not participating 

adequately in the policy discussion," Mark said. (AVIATIOF; 

WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 11-16-81, p. 16, VOl. 115, NO. 20) 

-369- 
<> Contamination in the lubricating oil in two of the three 

auxiliary power units in the orbiter Columbia would not have 

effected APU operations if the launch had gone as planned 

November 4 according to two independent laboratory ck.emical 

analyses of the oil. 

The second space shuttle launch was delayed because ]tt 

feared that pressure buildup in the APU oil lubricating 

system signaled a potential danger that could become acute 

OR reentry by causing a rnalfuction in APU startup. Howeverr 

chemical analyses here and in Rockford, Illinois, where 

Sundstrand manufactures the units, showed that most of the 

contamination would htve returned to solution -- won?d have 

melted -- as the units continued co warm for operat~..n. 

The basic concern was that the contamination would plug some 

of the 10 snall jet orifices through which oil is sprayed 

into each of the APU gearboxes. This oil is used both to 

lubricate and cool the gearboxes in each of the three APU's. 

(AVXATION WEEK & SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 11-16-81, p. 24, VOl* 

115, NO. 20) 

C> Countdown to launch the orbiter Colmbia on its scce-d 

mission absorbed 2 hours 11 minutes of unplanned hcl. as 

the count proceeded. The critical ground launch sequencer 

measurements that caused the launch to be delayed from 

November 4 to November 12 performed without anomaly. 

The biggest problem that developed in the count was a 

malfunction of one multiplexer/denultiplexer in the orbiter 

that is part of the data pro-2ssir.g system tilat relays 

sensor information from the orbiter to ground stations. 

115, No. 20) 

(AVIATION WEEK 6 SPACE TLCH'SOLOGY, 11-16-81, p. 26, VO' 

<> The surprise failure of one of the three electrieity-andwater-producing fuel cells on the Space Shuttle Orbiter 

Columbia soon after launch Thursday was the reason '' 

Friday ordered tho flight cut to R "Pinirnum mission. 54 

hours, with landing Saturday afternoon et Edwarcjs AFB, 

California. 

Although normally only one or two of the fuel cells are used 

at any one time on the mission, rules set in advance of the 

launch require that if one is out, the mission must be cut 

-370- 
to 52 hours from the planned five days-plus. NASA evaluated 

an extension of the flight Friday Sefore officially 

announcing the nininun mission decision. 

NASA said thst the STS-2 fuel cells, all new, are similar to 

those used on 25 previous manned U.S. space missions and had 

never failed before. (DEFENSE DAILY, ll-I6-8l0 p. 35, Vol. 

119, No. 10) 

<> A snapped towline and rough seas hampered the recovery 

operation but one of Colurbie's two solid rocket boosters 

was pulled into Port Canaveral early Sdnday nighi. 

The other booster that helped send the Shuttle into space 

Thursday remained in the Atlantic Ocean late Sunday but was 

expectefi to be towed into port early today. 

Once the boosters are towed into port and anchored by ihe 

ships, they pass through the port's locks and up the Banana 

River to the nangars at the Poseidon dock near Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station, where they are then pulled out 

of the water. (TODAY, 11-16-81, p. IOAI 

~~w~~~~r 17: After four days of bobbing and driftii:g in an 

unusually rough Atlintic Ocean, Columbia's second reusable 

solid rocket booster was brought into Port Canaveral Monddy 

morning. 

The t:;o boosters would normally be brought in together but 

the rough weather held up operations for such a long time 

that as soon as the first booster was attached to the 

towline it was hauled in. (TODAY, 11-17-81, p. 8A) 

<> Kith its perfect landing of the Space Shuttle Columbia 

Saturday, the excellent condition of its insulation tiles 

and the successful test of the Remote Manipulator Systr-, as 

well as operation of the OSTA-1 scientific payload, h,..A's 

Space Transportation chief Michael Weeks said Saturday that 

he considers the mission 90 to 95 percent successful. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 11-17-81, p. 83, Vole 119, NO. 11) 

-371- 
<> George Page, NASA's Shuttle launch operations director, says 

that he believes the minimum turnaround that can be achieved 

with the Space Shuttle is between 5 and 8 weeks. The 

Shuttle was designed for a two-week turnaround, but it has 

become evident that a longer time will be needed. (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 11-17-810 F'. 85, VOl. 119, NO. 11) 

<> America will have the capability to knock enemy 

communications satellites out of the sky with a high-powered 

laser beam by the end of the century, predicts the Air Force 

general who heads the Shuttlz program. 

@'It would be Ruck Rogers style. We're working on that 

zapping capability now but the laser's pointing and tracking has to be sufficiently nature," said Major General Janes 

kbrahanson, who assumed the post as NASA associate 

administrator for the Shuttle program Monday. 

Abrahamson, who will be officially sworn in next Tuesdavr 

replaces L, Michael Weeks. The washington-based offi. 11 

was interviewed exclusively by '!%DAY during his visit to 

Kennedy Space Center last week. 

The Defense Ac?vancecf Research Projects Agency shoul? 4ecide 

by Janaary how it will spend about. $550 million allocatt :-i 

for high-energy lasers that could defend U.S. satellit+-& or 

shoot down enemy ones. 

He said while the Shuttle itself might not be armed wieh 

such a laser, it would probably carry the device partly to 

its orbit. 

Hoisted by t ;t robot arm from the Shuttle's payload bay, LS 

small Air Force rocket would actually launch the laser nwt 

into a higher Earth orbit thousands of miles up. \ 

Abrahamson said he wants to keep Shuttle payload seL.ets out 

of the hat?ds of the Russians but that may mcan Ajiericans 

will have lesr access to what traditionally has been an open 

space program. 

It's a fine line, he said, "but frankly there will be some 

restrictions 3n access." (TODAY, 11-17-81, p. 1A) 

-372- 
<> Eost excited guy we saw the day the Shuttle hunched: 

ex-::kSA biqshot Riles "Fike" Ross. He was deputy director 

of Kennedy Space Center for seven of his 10 years there. 

Mike resigned in 1980 to be European regional manager for 

TPF International, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. 

''1t's the iirst manned launch I've ever seen from outside," 

he told us at the fall reunion that night of the Missile, 

Space and Range Pioneers. "It was just great!" 

Mike had always been in the Launch Control Center or o:!-.er 

operational area and viewed the launches on TV screens. 

(TODAY, 11-17-81, p. 1B) 

November 20: The library of the future is here at KSC today. 

Sure, it has the familiar stacks of books, racks of 

magazines and newspapers, and our favorite library 

institutions -- the card catalog and Readers Guide. 

Bst there's something else here that is not so obvious 0- 

the computer. 

New computerized information systems recently acquired by 

the KSC library are putting vast amounts of data at the 

fingertips of librarians and users. This is in addition to 

the on-line aerospace technical information system which has 

been available here for many years. 

Bibliographic searches that used to take hours, sometimes 

days, to complete manually can now be completed in minutes, 

thanks to the new computer data bases which can be reached 

from KSC on special terminals. 

The XSC library added the two new data bases to its existing 

ones this summer. The first, called Department oE Ent. y/ 

RECON, bs an on-line system providing rapid hiid easy access 

to energy information stored at the Department of Energy's 

Technical Information Center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. 

-373- 
The second new data base is called the Chemical Information 

System. 

It gives the user quick access to basic information about a 

particular chemical or compound. The information supplied 

includes things such as molecular structure, other names the 

chemical is known by, exposure limits, safety, toxicity, 

disposal methods, transportation and handling procedures. A 

listing of other sources of information is also displayed. 

The Chenical Information System and the DOE/RECON date bases 

are being used by specialists here at KSC but some 

organizations which might benefit from the new libra:-j 

seivices may not be aware they're available, said New World 

Services' Project Manager' Vince Rapetti. 

The terninals for accessing the data bases are housed in the 

document3 d@partm€?nt across the hall from the library 

readiny room. And if you want to find out more about the 

capabilities of the system, Bill Cooper, head of the 

department documents, io the person to see. 

There's a-rother data base with far broader appllcatiape soon 

expected to be on-line. at KSC. It's Lockheed's DIALOG 

systca and it provides users access to a collection of 

bitiio7raphic data bases in science, applied science and 

technoioqy, social science and hu?anities, and business/ 

ccormnic-, . 

According to an article in the October issue c8f the 

Futurist, such services will be commonplace in the libraries 

of the future. Already, there are about 70 million 

bibliographic records readily available on-line and I etrly 

10 million more are being added each year. 

sOn-line retrieval can closely approach the desirable ideal 

of putting the inquirer instantly in touch with a 

substantial part of mankind's collective memory," wrote twa 

British researchers in B book describing the 189 existing 

on-line bibliographic data bases. (SPACEPORT ILEX, 

11-20-81, p. 3, Vol. 20, KO. 23) 

<> The orbiter Columbia was not the only piece of Space Shuttle 

hardware to be reused during STS-2. Some parts of the twin 

Solid Rocket: Boosters (SRBs) had been used before. 

-374- 
None of the parts had flown in space during STS-1, but a 

surprising number of parts were used during the seven static 

firings of early notors. Seven such static firings were 

conducte? as part of the development and qualification 

program at Thiokol's Kasatch Division in Utah. 

The nozzle flex bearing on STS-2's left SIiB has, in fact 

been used three tines in the past, during firings of 

developnent motors one and three, and OR qualification 

testing motor number one. 

In addition, two of the cylindrical case segments on the 

left booster were previously used on development motor 

number 4. 

The right hand SRB was also made up partially of used 

parts. Two of its cylindrical case segments and an attach 

segment were used during the test firing of development 

motor number four, 

The first portions of the SRBs used during STS-1 may be 

reflown as early as the sixth fliTht of the Columbia, and 

other parts will be used in subsequent flights. {SPACEPORT 

NEUS, 11-20-81, p. a, mi. 20, NO. 231 

November 21: Delays in purging the Space Shuttle Columbia's 

maneuvering engine fuel tanks at Edwards Air Force Base, 

California, has had a minor ripple effect. 

The reusable spaceship's two-day trip to Kennedy Space 

Center, originally scheduled to start Monday, has be.- 

pushed back to Kednesday at the earliest. 

And the Columbia, riding piggyback atop a 747 aircraft, 

won't touch down on KSC's Shuttle runway until midday 

Thursday, said Dick Young, NASA spokesman. 

The problem, said Les Rienertsen, NASA spokesman at nrds, 

*is the earlier than expected return.R iToGRY, ll-21-afr 

p. 1OA) 

-37 5- 
November 23: RCA's Sateom-IIIR domestic communications 

satellite was successfully launched at 8:37 PM EST, November 

19, from Launch Complex 17 at Kennedy Space Center by a 

McDonnell Douglas Delta 3910/PAM-D vehicle. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

11-23-81, p* 114, Vole 119, NO. 15) 

<> Amid the scrubs and holds that punctuated the space shuttle 

orbiter Columbia's second flight in space -0 and the 

inevitable speculation about its spaceworthiness -- one fact 

is plain. Columbia's second flight itself was ample 

demonstration that the concept of a reusable space launch 

vehicle is technically feasible. 

The question raised by the entire process -- the scrubbed 

launch and the ninirnun length mission -+- is whether four 

test flights are enough to shake down the shuttle before it 

goes into operational service. Orbital flight testing for 

the shuttle was compressed as shuttle costs rase, program 

delays lengthened and the pressure to show some return for 

the enormous investment in the reusable launch system 

became overpowering. Columbia's second flight, though not 

the cripple it msy have been painted the public eye, does 

emphasize its research and development phase and the wisdon 

of thorough seasonina in test, (AVIATloN WEEK & SPAnC 

TECHNOLOGYP 11-23-91, 11, Val. 115, NO. 211 

<> Approximately 20,175 spectators viewed the second space 

shuttle launch from National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration grounds here November 12. Another 10,000- 

12,000 watched the launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station, and estimates of public viewers off government land 

ranged up to 250,000. 

NASA spectators numbered about half those present fc the 

first launch April 12. Approximately 25,080 viewers were at 

Kennedy November 4 when the launch was scrubbed. Most of 

the congressional delegation here November 4 opted not to 

retrrn November 12. The same was true of personalities from 

stage and screen. 

NASA said the presence of the shuttle system here has worked 

to make this year the highest in attendance at the visitors' 

center since it was established in 1966. Attendance is up 

27% over last year and the total expected to vis.'t before 

the end of the year is 2 million. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE 

TECHNOLOGY, 11-22-81, pm 19, Vole 115, NO. 21) 

-376- 
<> Overpressure and sound suppression nodifications made to 

Launch Complex 39A survived the second space shuttle launch 

t!ovenber 12 without damage. A full-scale test of the 

modified water system was conducted successfully 30 hours 

after launch. 

All reports of pad damage as of the middle of last week 

indicated it was =a little lighter than on the first 

launch," according to George W. Warren, National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration site manager. tie added that sane 

local areas were hit more seriously, but in critical areas 

such as cable tray lids, mobile launch platform and fixed 

service structure, damage was relatively light. 

"A half-dozen missions will go off before most areas on the 

complex will be tested," Warren said. The damage will 

affect different areas with each launch. 

The overpressure piping that surrounds the solid rocket 

booster flame holes was an area of concern because it had 

not been tested with a full-scale system before flight. 

This piping was designed to cascade water into flame holes 

to suppress noise and deflect ignition overpres~ure fron 

solid rocket boosters, which had caused e unexpected 

pressu;e spike on the first. shuttle launch April 3.2. The 

overpressure could be critical because it approached desiqn 

limits on sorm shuttle attachment points with a rneaslslred 

value of 2.5 psi. on the first flight. Early data, Warren 

said, show the spike was reduced to 25% of what was 

experienced on STS-1. 

Water bags, which were placed across the flame holes as a 

trough, parted and were denolished as expected when struck 

by pressure from the booster ignition. "The only thing that 

remained was a little bit of the parachute cord" that: 

secured the bags to the mobile launch platform. 

"Shreds of the bags were all over the place," Warren said. 

There was some surface erosion on the galvanized water 

pipes, and ablative material on some mechanical joint,; a€ 

the pipes was blown away. 

Solid rocket booster hold-down posts were replaced after the 

first launch, primarily to assess if there was any 

structural damage. None was found and, although much of the 

-377- 
ablative material was stripped from surfaces of two of the 

posts in the second launch, they will not be replaced for 

STS-3, which is the designation €or the third launch. 

Warren said no substqntial damage resulted to the fixed 

service structure? although some hand rails were bent on the 

external tank gaseous oxygen vent orn. A Zew sections of 

grating were dislofiqed on the up^ 'c level of the fixed 

structure, and therc was some localized dislocation on the 

mobile launch platform. For example, the blast protection 

on a large flexible hose was blown off, It had not been 

affected on the STS-1 launch. (AVIATION MEEK 6 SPACE 

TECHNOLOGY, 11-23-81, pp. 24 6 25, VOl. 115, NO* 21) 

November 24: NASA Deputy Administrator Mans Mark said 

yesterday that there is no truth in speculation that NASA is 

considerino closing down Johnson Space Center, although 

there is a possibility that Space Shuttle mission control 

could be shifted to Kennedy Space Center in the future. 

(One repart stated that a study had found that NASA may have 

to close one of its centers, suggesting Cape Canaveral take 

over operational control of the Space Shuttle, with Johpson 

Space Center officials opting for B new porgrarn*) 

In an interview with Defense Daily, Mark said that Johnsor, 

is "one of our best centers" and no consideration is being 

given to closing it down. He said that NASA is, in fact, 

looking at turning over the Space Station project to 

Johnson. 

He reaffirmed that the Space Station is the most logical 

next major porject for NASA, the logical extension of rtie 

Space Shuttle effort. (DEFENSE DAILY? 11-24-81, p. 128, 

Vole 119, NO. 16) 

0 

<> Nearly 2,000 space workers told to 30 home and wait out the 

budget crisis are expected back on the job today. 

NASA oEEfcfals Monday picked 270 civil servant3 to stay on 

the job while placing another 1,864 on furlough without pay 

until Congress released funds €or a return to normal 

business. 

-378- 
The 270 people were "absolute essential people" needed to 

monitor contractors paid for space shuttle work through 

December I, said KSC Director Dick Smith. (SENTINEL STAR, 

11-24-8 1) 

<> Interesting headllne November 17 ("Mission control may land 

hereu), and quite apt. If and when Mission Control Center 

becomes a space station, it might come down at KSC, but that 

is the only way it will ever reach Florida. Don't forget 

that a political decision put it where it is and that Texas 

politicians will keep it there. No less than Vice Presieent 

George Bush calls it a "national treasure." 

A few years ago Don Fuqua, now chairman of the House 

committee that authorized NASA budgets, asked why astronauts 

should remain in Texas during the Shuttle era. Just that 

query touched off a mini-explosion at Johnson Space Center 

where the boys spent $500,000 to convice the committee it 

would cost too much to move. 

Hans Mark's concern about reducing Shuttle costs carries an 

obvious implication that NASA knows how much those costs 

are. NCJ~ so at 'Kennedy Space Centers where no one P.L- ever 

answered my query: what did it cost to launch STS-l? 

(TODAY, li-24-81) 

November 25: Kennedy Space Center engineers are analyzing a 

metal cylinder that fell from the sky over southern Africa 

in March to learn if it was part of a satellite. 

A part of the drum-shaped object, smaller than a human -ist, 

was brought to the U.S. by an American missionary who said 

the metal piece burned small trees and brush upon impact. 

NASA engineers said Tuesday it is most likely a harmless 

piece of "space junk" -- possibly part of a decayed 

satellite that disintegrated in the atmosphere. 

The Baptist missionary, from Greek, SIC., took the object to 

the space center Monday. The man, who is on a one-year 

furlough from Africa, had visited with Rev. Raymond Brendle, 

pastat- of the Grace Baptist Church in Titusvills. 

-379- 
The suspected space junk was discovered by native tribesmen 

who reportedly saw it streak through the sky like a 

fireball. 

He said the nan took the object to the space center because 

he believed it might have been part of the external fuel 

tank from the Space Shuttle's first mission in April. 

But engineers said the metal has a high iron content, 

leading engineers to believe it's from a satellite, possibly 

Russian, that began to break up in the upper reaches of the 

atmosphere. 

NASA engineers said the Shuttle tank broke up over the 

fndian Ocean, east of the African continent. 

The intense friction of re-entry would cause most objects to 

disintegrate in the atmosphere. (TODAY, 11-25-81, p. 10A) 

z The space shuttle Columbia completed its 

piggyback return home Wednesday to the cheers of spar< 

workers and their families lining its 3-mile runway. 

Tiles intact, the first spaceship to make two trips into 

orbit and return looked better and arrived back from 

California three days faster than it did after its first 

mission in April. 

Bolted atop a slim Boeing 747, the stout spaceplane was 

greeted at the spaceport like a long-lost little bro. :re 

Veteran astronaut Deke Slayton, who accompanied the daubledecker aircraft in a T-38 chase plane, predicted the third 

launch would be March 19. It will be from pad 39A, four 

miles away. 

Just after the landing, technicians began work to separate 

the Columbia from the converted 747, and this was scheduled 

for completion by 11 p.m. Wednesday. 

Work was to proceed around the clock until late morning, 

when the shuttle is scheduled to be back on the ground fcr J 

2-mile tow to the orbiter processing center, a sort of Space 

Age garage. 

-380- 
Once inside the garacje, the shuttle's payload doors will be 

braced open and scientific experiments brought back from 

space will be removed. (SENTINEL :TARI 11-26-81) 

Mowember 27: Twice-launched Spacecraft Department: Titusville 

reader Chick Stucka adds to Harry C. Shoef's rundown 

(printed here several weeks ago1 on spacecraft that have 

been launched twice. Harry had been hearing newscasters 

wrongly say that the Shuttle was the first. He told how a 

Project Mercury capsule launched from Wallops Island, 

Virginia, in November 1960 was launched again in March 1961, 

and that a Mercury-Atlas capsule was launched in April and 

July 1961. 

"Gemini 2 did it twice," Chick said. "The first time was an 

instrumentation shot in late 1964. We picked it (the 

spacecraft) up in the Atlantic? brought it back to a Naval 

Station at San Juan, serviced it there and flew it back to 

the States. 

"The second time, the Air Force used the same spacecraft for 

MOL (Manned Orbiting Laboratory) in late 1966. It was 

recovered off Ascension," said Chick, a WCC employee who at 

the time worked for the spacecraft manufacturer, McDonnell. 

(TODAY, 11-27-81, p. lE31 

November 30: Martin Marietta Aerospace's Michoud Division now 

has the first four lightweight external propulsion tanks for 

the Space Shuttle under construction, with the first to be 

delivered in September for use on the sixth Space Shuttle 

mission, which will be conducted tin mid-1983. 

The lightweight tank will weight 71,000 pounds, 6000 pounds 

lighter than the External Tank which flew on STS-1. 

Actually? Martin believes it can reduce the weight by 6400 

pounds, but is leaving a 400-pound margin for contingencies. 

One of the weight reductions -- eliminating of 600 pof-ds of 

white latex paint on the tanks surface -- was made : 

result of the STS-1 flight which demonstrated that the ET'S 

thermal protection system would adequately protect tile tank 

without the paint. 

-381- 
In addition, Martin now believes it may be able to cut 

another 1000 pounds from the ET by removing a large slosh 

baffle from the liquid oxygen tank. Keight savings may also 

come from eliminating cable trays which run almost the 

length of the tank (if electrical cabling is routed through 

the tank's interior), and by substitutuing fighter weight 

composites for some metal parts. (DEFENSE DAILY, 11-30-81, 

po 142, VO~. 119, No. 181 

<> Grumman Aerospace Corp. has announced that it will be 

competing for the Space Shuttle processing contract that 

NASA plans to award in the summer of 1983. 

The contractor selected will be responsible for refurbishing 

the Space Shuttle Orbiter between flights -- a job NASA now 

performs with a number of companies as subcontractors -- 

along with chezkout and assembly of the External Tank and 

Solid Rocket Booster, and maintenance and operations of 

turn-around facilities at Kennedy Space Center. 

Grumnan Aerospace president George Skurla said the company 

views the Shuttle processing contract *as one of the few 

major civilian space contracts up for bids in the ne-r 

future and weere taking a long hard look at it." Ht .id 

the contract would rnvolve employment of over 5000 people at 

Kennedy Space Center. 

The Grumman effort will be headed by Fred Haise, its vice 

president for space programs and former hASA astronaut. 

Companies interested in bidding on the processing contract 

have been invited to watch the third flight of the Shu*'le 

next March. (DEFENSE DAILY, 11-30-81, p. 144, Vol. 119, 

No. 18) 

C> To Yoe Engle and Richard Truly those dreiaatic 36 orbits in 

space must have seemed like a pleasure cruise compared with 

the postflight grilling they began last week at iJou=' #. 

Yohnson Space Center. Only a day after reaching eartn rney 

found themselves at: a ceremonial breakfast with Vice 

President George Bush, who did a little probing af his own 

to find out what it was Pike to fly the shuttle (said Truly: 

"Me were just getting the hang oE it" when the flight 

ended). Next day the astronauts started nine days of more 

formal debriefings, answering the questions ai their 

engineering collcagues, doing a stint in the flight 
simulator to check whether it accurately reflects what 

happens in space, an3 reporting to the space center's 

director, Christopher Erzft, Jr. The preliminary verdict: 

in spite of problems before and during the flight, Columbia 

was, in that venerable IJASA expression, A-OK. (TIME, 

11-30081, p. 72, vole 118, KO. 22) 

<> The space shuttle Columbia's second mission may have been 

cut short, but scientists are ecstatic about the infarnation 

gathered by the craft's scientific instruments. Because the 

shuttle flew much lower than typical satellitesr its radar 

prn.3ucet3 sharper and more detailed images than satellites 

can provide. Analysts can use the shuttle asnapshotsA to 

help uncover mineral deposits that may lie beneath the 

tangled vegetation of the world's unexplored jungles. knd 

the very first pictures processed turned up a major 

surprise: they showed large surface waves marching like 

sand dunes across shallow regions of the Mediterranean Sea. 

For the moment, that discovery has oceanographers baffled. 

But it has led scientists to hope that more of the earth's 

secrets will emerge from the shuttle's readings -- ar.d 

perhaps sone explanations 8s well. (NEWSI.:EEK, ll-38-E?Pr p. 

29, Vole XCVfXXe NO. 22) 

-383- 
DECEMBER 1981 

ember 1: Faced with a possible reduced flight rate for the 

Space Shuttle Orbiters, NASA hac developed a so-called 

"mixed fleet" launcher concept in which a new unmanned 

launch vehicle based on recoverable Shuttle Solid Rocket 

Booster components would be used to augment Shuttle flights 

when payload space was not immediately available in the 

Shuttle. 

The proposed new unmanned launch vehicle, known as the 

"SRR-X," would have a paylcad ceFebility of 65,000 pounds -- 

the sane as the Space Shuttie -- avid its Solid Rocket 

Boosters would be recovered aicer launch for reuse. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 12-1-81, p. 147, Vola 119, No. 19) 

r 2: A cluster of three of the 2.5 million poun? "rust 

Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boasters combined in an unranned 

launch vehicle (SRB-X) could place a 125,000-pound payload 

into low Earth orbit, according to NASA Deputy Administrator 

Hans Mark. (DEFEI.!SE DAILYI 12-2-81, p. 156, Vol. 119, YO. 

20) 

<> NASA has concluded that the overprcssurc on the Space 

Shuttle during the STS-2 launch last month was about 25 

percent of the overpressure experienced on STS-1, which had 

raised serious concerns about the safety a€ experiments 

aboard the Shuttle. A water trough and a water spray system 

were adcied ta the launch pad for the STS-2 launch, and a 

NkSh spokesman says that the overpressure experience:. on 

STS-1 is considered acceptable, although 5fme permanent 

launch pad changes will be cansidered to further reduce the 

problem. (DEFENSE DAXLY, 12-2-81, p. 160, Vol. 119, *:o. 20) 

c 

~~~~~~~ 3: The third Intelsat V communications satellite is 

scheduled for launch by NASA December 9 from Cape Cnnrsveral 

aboard a General Dynamics Atlas-Centaur launch vehicle. The 

4lQ#-pound satellite, built by Ford Aerospace Sr 

Communicdtions Corp. usinq subsystems supplieci by enti 

international tear!, will provide 12,000 sinulcaneaus two-way voice circuits and two color television channels. The 

spacecraft will be placed fn an elliptical transfer orbit 

ranging from 103 to 22,3 7 miles, where its ap~cgee kibk 

-384- 
motor will fire to circularize the orbit at geosynchronous 

altitude over the equator at 15 degrees east longitude. The 

first two Intelsat V spacecraft were successfully launched 

by Kennedy Space Center on Decenber 6, 1980, and May 23, 

1981, respectively. A total of nine Intelsat V's are 

planned. (DEFENSE DAILY, 12-3-81, p. 163, Vol. 119, No, 21) 

<> ... Using B flying 'helitorct~~ to start a contrr~lled burn of 

about 4,000 acres near the (three-mile-long Space Shuttle) 

runway, NASA officials hope to eliminate the (tree) 

swallows' food source and vegetation. With no place to live 

the birds should congregate farther away from the 1arrf;ng 

strip, government officials said. 

NASA will be aided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 

flational Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. 

The burn should last no more than a few hours and is set to 

begin at 9 a.n., said Dorn Khitmore, spokesman for the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Whitmore said the burn is accomplished fron a helicopter 

that carefuliy and precisely drops snall anount5 of igniting 

fluid 011 the shrubs below. 

Whitmore said son@ wildlife will fall victfn to the burn. 

"I'm sure sone wildlife will he killed. Certain species 

will be trapped and killed," he said. 

While the swallows don't create a problem for the glid@.-like 

Shuttle, they can get lodged in the engines 0.f aircraft. 

(TODAY, 12-3-81) 

: Trailing a sonic boom from Clearwater to Cocoa, 

the space shuttle Columbia will thunder to its first Fiorida 

landing at Kennedy Space Center sometime next summer. 

During four scheduled flights in 1982, the shuttle will 

deploy thrce satellites in orbit. A second aptlcc.l;hip, the 

Challcnqer, will also join the shuttle fleet and Ely its 

first mission late in the year. 

-385- 
A total of 80 launches, including expendable rocKets, 

missiles and shuttle flights, are planned for Florida by 

NASA and the Air Force in 1982. The unofficial count, 

published in AVIATIOM WEEK, includes 50 Poseidon and 

Trident ballistic missiles to be test-fired from U.S. and 

British submarines, and nine non-military satellite launches 

aboard expendable Delta and Atlas-Centaur rockets. 

There were only 50 major launches at Cilpe Canaveral this 

year, including the shuttle's first two test flights. 

The shuttle is scheduled to return to space no earlier than 

Narch 19, with Farine Col. Jack Lousma and Air Force 201. 

Gordon Fullerton at the controls for an ambitious seven-day 

ni ss ion. 

"The ship cane back in super condition, in better shape than 

after the first rcission," said Jim Harrington, chief of 

shuttle orbiter operatiom at Kennedy Space Center. "X've 

heard nothing that would alter plans for a full sever-day 

mission. (SENTINEL STAR, 12-6-81, p. 1-A) 

: President Reagan yesterc??y at the White House 

presented the Distinguished Service Medalp NASA's highest 

honvr, to the astronauts who piloted the second Space 

Shuttle mission Past month, Col. Joe Engle (USAE') an8 Capt. 

D.i.ck Truly (US!?). The astronauts presented the President 

with a silver medal commemorating the second flight of the 

Space Shuttle Columbia, an American flag carried on the 

flight, photographs of the mission, and a NASA crew patch 

designed for the mission. The President told the astronauts 

that he was "thrilled" by their flight and that he i- "very 

proud" to accept the mission mementoes. The Presidc - noted 

that he was particularly amazed by one aspect of the SAuttle 

mission: that it takes only 20 minutes to get over from 

Yawaii to landing at Edwards AFB in California. (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 12-8-81, p. 187, VO~. 119, NO. 24) 

<> Snuggled in a steel cocoon of electronic gadgetry, t'? space 

shuttle Columbia is Ahead of schedule for a third flight the 

week of March 22, space officials said Monday. 

*i think we've got a good shot at the latter part of March. 

We're pressing on with it. In fact, we're a little ahead of 

the game," said Jim Harrington, shuttle ground operations 

manager. 
Harrington said a faulty fuel cell blamed for cutting short 

last r?onth's mission will be replaced by next week, and that 

modifications for the next flight include an extra set of 

fuel tanks to sustain the orbiter through seven days in 

space. 

The shuttle tean now hopesIt0 cut the Previous 1s 112 weeks 

of postflight maintenance nearly in half, Harrington said. 

That woulB allow the Columbia to be moved to the nearby 

Vehicle Assembly Building in February for linkup uith a new 

fuel tank and two solid rocket boosters. 

The quicker :light preparation is possible nainly because 

fewer tests have Seen scheduled, Harrington said. 

"The more and more you fly it, the more you learn and the 

more confidence you derive," he said. 

Tests are being conducted only on things that have been 

modified, failed in flight or needed to be replaced -- such 

as the faulty fuel cell. 

Since Novenber 29, workers have removed 70 tiles and marked 

more than 100 others having nicks or other minor problem 

with a tiny shuttle insignia and they will be repaired in 

place, Harriiigton said. 

No tiles fell off during the second flight -- unlike the 

first mission -- and only 12 of those removed will actually 

have to be replaced, he said. (SEXTINEL STAR, 12-8-'') 

December 9: The fight to save Playalinda Beach is on. 

Members of the Save Our Beach citizens group put their 

protest plans on hold Tuesday long enough to hear w? - 

Canaveral National Seashore Superintendent Don Guitc. sd to 

say to the Titusville City Council about a proposed l0-year 

seashore management plan. 

-387- 
V?hen Guiton couldn't promise that North Brevard's only beach 

would be open nore than half the time after NASA opens 

Launch Pad 39 B in 1986, S.O.B. decided to take action. 

The protest group now plans to begin a signature drive to 

convince the park service not to adopt the 103-page 

management plan. 

At the center of the controversy is the long-dormant launch 

pad that by 1986 is expected to hurl space shuttles into 

orbit. It is only about a mile from SR 402. the only beach 

accessI and both sides acknowledge that creates a security problem. (TODAY, 12-9-811 p. 3B) 

Deccennber 10: Disclosirg that NASA has not reduced its Shuttle 

flight rate in order to meet budget cutbacks, NASA Associate 

Administrator Dr. Stanley Weiss said yesterday that NASA is 

still planning to conduct 32 S. 3ce Shuttle missions through 

fiscal 1985, basically the same as planned six months ago. 

In fact, 34 flights through FY '85 were planned at that 

time, but since then the availability of the Vandenberg 

launch site has slipped 14 months, eliminating three of 

those flights, one of which has been shifted to Ken*c?y. 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 12-10-81, p. 204, VOP. 1119, NO. 26) 

<> RCA Americom's Satcom 111-R (replacement), launched November 

19 from Cape Canaveral, has been placed in its assigned 

synchronous orbital position at 131 degrees west longitude. 

When fully operational early next year, the satellite will 

carry cable television programming currently carried on 

Satcam 1. (DEFENSE DAILY, 12-10-81, p. 207, Vol. llgI Yo. 

26) 

<> The OSTA-1 package of seven scientific experiments carried 

on the second Space Shuttle mission gathered almost all the 

Earth-observation data that was sought despite the f; that 

the mission duration was cut from 5 to 3 days, BCCOL..,.., to 

OSTA-1 chief Dr. James Taranik. 

A key objective of the $11.6 million OSTA-1 was to evaluate 

the ability of the Shuttle Orbiter to serve as a steady 

platform for Earth-viewing instruments. 

-388- 
Taranik said the STS flight was a success scientifically. 

The agency reported that the experimental side-looking radar 

flown on the mission obtained eight hours of radar pictures 

and worked "perfectly," meeting all of its objectives. NASA 

said the radar's ability to penetrate clouds and vegetation 

makes it "extremely attractive" for mineral resource 

exploration. 

The one experiment that failed was an attempt to photograph 

lightning storms. Although such storms were spotted, the 

limited amount of data obtained was of low quality. 

(DEFEfJSE DAILY, 12-10-81, p. 206, Vol. 119, No. 26) 

December 11: Cosmic dust, solar flares and the effects of 

weightlessness on plant growth are some of the mysteries 

that will be explored during the shuttle's third flight in 

March, NASA scientists sai3 Thursday. 

The seven-day itinerary also includes the first lifting 

chores for Columbia's 50-foot mechanical arm, which was 

tested successEully last month during maneuvering exercises 

on the abbreviated shuttle flight. 

Scientists also plan to study reactions of the orbiter and 

payload to temperatures greater than those experienced on 

Earth: the effects of an orbiter-generated "cloud" of 

particles and gases, if any exists, and the degIte of 

electrical charging on the $10 billion spaceship. 

Astronauts Jack Lousma and Charles Fullerton are expected to 

fly the shuttle in various new altitudes to determine he 

effect of intense heat and cold on the orbiter as it flies 

into and away from the sun, said Kenneth Kissin, mission 

manager from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in 

Greenbelt, Maryland. 

"It's important for us to know if the payload bay doc , will 

open and close in those conditions," Kissin said. 

To test the orbiter's thermal capacities, Columbia will be 

pilcted into a "barbecue roll" so that it will be spinning 

much like an electric rotisserie as it hurtles through 

space. 

-389- 
The plant growth test, the shuttle’s second plant 

experiment, will allow scientists to observe the effect of 

weightlessness on lignin, the substance that makes plants 

stand upright. Four seedlings -- peas, Gats, cucumber and 

pine -- will be stowed in a locker in the crew cabin shortly before takecf f . 

The plant test on the last shuttle flight, another zerogravity experiment, was inconclusive because the mission was 

shortened from five days to two due to a fuel cell failure. 

Kissin characterized experiments to be conducted on the 

third flight as much more sophisticated and “scientific” 

then @n previous missions. 

One test, the Vehicle Charging and Potential 2xperiment, 

includes the first fast-pulse electron gun to Le used in 

space. The low-powered gun will emit electron charges from 

the shuttle to chailge the electronic potential around the 

ship. This experiment is expected to help spacecraft 

engineers determine the charging properties of the orbiter 

and assess electrical changes associated with the 

experiments 

A sun-oriented experiment will study polarization of X-rays 

emitted during solar flares. 

The Canadian-built robot arm, the star of the second 

mission, is scheduled to be operated on three different 

occasions during the flight. (SENTINEL STAR, 12-11-81) 

<> NASA has revived its plan to retrieve and repair the 

orbiting Solar Maximum Mission spacecraft via a Space 

Shuttle flight in 1983. The SMM retrieval mission is 

planned as the first extravehicular activity (EVA) on\; he 

Shuttle. To simplify the astronauts’ task in going to EVA, 

the agency is giving serious consideration to develcpment of 

a high pressure space suit. (DFFENSE DAILY, 12-11-81, p. 

212, Vole 119, NO. 27) 

<> NASA has received bookings from foreign and contuercfal 

customers for 109 payloads to be launched by NASA launch 

vehicles, of which 61 are for the Space Shuttle. Some 

orders extend into the late 1980’s. Six months ago NASA had 

-390- 
booked 28 payloads on the Shuttle (Defense Daily, June 4). 

Sone payloads are double booked on the shuttle and an 

Expendable Launch Vehicle. The Shuttle can carry 3 Delta 

class payloads (e.g., satcorns) per mission. 

NASA Payload Bookings 

Total Expendable LV's Space Shuttle Double Booked 

59 

50 

109 

26 

e 

34 

Domestic 

26 

Foreign 

35 

Total 

61 

7 

7 

14 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 12-11-81, p. 212, VOl. 119, NO. 27) 

<> The following is a summary of operational Space Shuttle 

launches planned through FY '87. The four Shuttle 

development [one in FY '82 and three in FY '821 flights are 

not included. NASA proposes to maintain the Shuttle launch 

schedule at 24 launches a year beginning in FY '88. 

FY'P2 FY'83 FY'84 FY'85 FY'86 FY'87 

Kennedy Space Center 

NASA other U.S. Gov. - 4 4 5 5 7 

DQD - - 2 4 5 5 

Foreign - 1 1 1 2 3 

U.S. Commercial 1 2 

Total KSC i 3 3 13 15 17 

2 - 3 - 3 - - 

NASA 

DOD 

Total VAFB 

Vandenberg AFB 

1 

- 1 6 

- w e - 

- - - 

a 5 a B -2 z 

Grand Total 1 5 9 13 17 23 

(DEFENSE DAILY, 12-11-81, p* 212, Vole 119' NO. 27) 

eember 12: Wrapped in silver foil like enormous Christmas 

presents, Europe's Spacelab arrived at Kennedy Space Center 

Friday aboard a plane that would dwarf three jumbo jets. 

-391- 
Like many Christmas presents, SpacelbS came unassembled. 

And before the four boxes were unloaded from the U.S. Air 

Force C-5 t:nsport, engineers from both sides of the 

Atlantic were predicting they would have the barrel-like lab 

ready for its first flight deep inside the Space Shuttle's 

cargo bay by late 1983. 

Spacelab is designed to be a home for as many as four people 

who will study the Earth and the surrounding cosmos from 

space. 

Landing at KSC*s three-mile-long Shuttle runway after an 11- 

hour flight from Hanover, West Germany, the Air Force 

transport dramatically lifted its front nose cone exposing 

the cavernous innards and more than 20 tons of cargo. 

"It Zooks good for '83. We had a lot of soul searching 

meetings (at NASA and European Space Agency centers),W said 

John Neilon, who heads Spacelab processing for NASA. 

tleilon said after a day's work unloading what is most of the 

23-foot-long laboratory, "it should be asscmbled and looking 

like soxthing bv the first: week in February." 

A second shipnent of Spacelab parts is expected within 10 

days. 

The biggest hurdle to assembling the $900 million lab may be 

a cultural barrier, 

Built by 10 European nations but assembled by Americ 5, 

Spacelab was born out of an international melting pot of 

space technology. 

"There always is some difficulty in the translating. It's 

something we'll all be working onrn said Richard Smith, 

space centsr director. 

Just how successful the European venture in space is will 

depend on economic factors. 

-392- 
Europe's inflation and unenploynent woes could put a dent 

not only in future Spacelab development, it could affect 

work on the continent's other space venture -- the Ariane 

satellite launcher. (TODAY, 12-12-81, p. 12A) 

r 13: me Space Shuttle's barrel-shaped 12-story-high 

fuel tanks -- which are destroyed in the atmosphere after 

each launch -- may be recycled as a spaceship for colonists 

to Mars in the next century. 

While a voyage to the red planet is still speculation, NASA 

scientists have decided to take one of the 76,ObO-pound fuel 

tanks on a day's ride around the Earth in 1983 to see how 

well it withstands the rigors of getting into space. 

Engineers are considering the short-and long-term uses of 

the tank, which fuels Shuttle main engines in launch. The 

engineers are proposing the $10 million tank be saved after 

every flight. 

The external tank isn't the only Space Shuttle component 

that may get a life after death, 

The two-solid-fuel booster rockets? which give the Shuttle 

its initial fiery kick irrto space, are reusable but 

engineers would like to send them up as unmanned satellite 

launch vehicles after they have served the Shuttle. 

Under a $250,000, one-year contract, Boeing Aerospace Co. 

enSineers are studying the potentizl of the SRB-X -- a 

rocket that would offer a cheap alternative and backu, to 

the Shuttle for launching military and commercial 

satellites. 

"The thinking is toward a mixed fleet of expendable rockets 

and the Shuttle," said Bob Marshall, who heads a NASA team 

studying the idea at Marshall Space Flight Center in 

Huntsv i lle , Alabama. 

He said a s,inqle 119-foot booster rocket -- or more for 

added thrust -- would be a uniform vehicle that would 

replace Atlas Centaur and Delta rockets now used. 

-393- 
"That would eventually cut costs," Marshall predicted. "One 

assembly line Could take care of all space vehicles." 

He said the first refurbished booster rockets could be ready 

for launch by 1990 frcm Kennedy Space Center. (TODAY, 

12-13-81, pp. 1A 6 20A) 

t Modifications to the space shuttle orbiter 

Columbia progressed last week as engineers and technicians 

maintained a turnaround schedule designed to prepare the 

orbiter for its third flight in late March. 

The STS-3 solid rocket boosters and external tank also are 

undergoing final preparations for mating in the Vehicle 

Assembly Building, and the two elements are scheduled to be 

joined shortly after Janaary I, 1982. 

Modifications to the orbiter are: 

*Replacement of the fuel cell that cause3 the duration of 

STS-2 to be reduced to 54 hours. Another set of frr cell 

propellant tanks will be installed to extend the 111.- uf the 

system that generates water and power. STS-3 is scheduled 

to last seven days. 

*Replacement of a malfunctioning auxiliary power unit. 

*Changing the microwave scanning beam landing system, which 

was a planned removal and replacement. 

*Changing radar altimeters in the forward secticjn ot the 

cabin, also a planned maintenance activity. (AVIATION WEEK 

h SPACE TECHNOLOGY, 12-14-81, pp. 18-19, Vole 115, NO. 24) 

four 

missi 

1982 

15: fn a change of plans, NASA has decided to fly 

astronauts on the first operational Space Shuttle 

.on (the fifth shuttle flight) scheduled for November 

on the revised Space Shuttle manifest. 

The third Space Shuttle flight is scheduled for mid-to-late 

March and the fourth and last Shuttle R & D flight for July. 

-394- 
The original plan was to fly the Space Shuttle Columbia with 

two astronauts until its two ejection seats were removed 

after flight five. However, NASA now plans to simply 

deactivate two ejection seats behind the two cockpit seats 

and on the upper level of the cabin and one in the lower 

level. 

The four-man STS-5 mission is to fly in space for five days, 

launching the SBS-C and Telesat-E communications satellites. 

The secund Shuttle Orbiter, Challenger, is not equipped with 

ejection seats and will have room for a crew of seven. ft 

will carry four men on its first flight, STS-6@ which is 

scheduled for January 1983 from Cape Canaveral. Challenger 

is to be delivered to Kennedy Space Center from Rockwell's 

Palmdale, California, plant next June. (DEFENSE DAILY, 

12-15-81, p. 231, Vola 119, NO. 29) 

<> Dr. Fre*krick G. Pierce, a former deputy medical director clt 

Kennedy Space Center, died Sunday in Homosassa Springs after 

a heart attack. He was 59. 

Pierce worked at KSC from 1970 to 1974 before opening 

private general practice in Ccrcoa Beach for two years. 

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his wife, 

Mary Pierce of Honosassa Springs, and two other children, 

John Pierce of Beaumont, Texas, and Barbara Haylock of 

Sparta, N. J. (TODAY, 12-15-81, p. 38) 

ber 16: The third in a series of Intelsat V csrnmer< '91 

communication satellites roared into space Tuesday night 

after a four-day delay caused by mechanical problems with 

the Atlas-Centaur booster rocket. 

The satellite is owned and operated by the International 

Telecommunications Satellite Organization, which alrt itas 

14 communication satellites in space. Tuesday's launch vent 

as scheduled at 6~35 p.m. 

The Intelsat system bandles two-thirds of the world's 

overseas communications as well as domestic communications 

for 14 countries. Twelve more Intelsat: V satellites will be 

launched. 

-395- 
Tuesday's mission cost $75 million. The 4,llO-pOUnd 

satellite can relay 12,000 telephone calls and two color 

television channels at one time. 

A spacecraft motor will be fired in a week to place the 

satellite in a stationary orbit 22,300 miles above the 

equator. 

A decision will be made later as to whether the satellite 

will be used over the Atlantic or Indian oceans, company 

officials said. 

Technicians postponed a Friday launch to check oil pressure 

in the rocket engines and a mission-destruct mechanism 

required if the launch went off course. Another delay 

announced Sunday allowed workers to replace a stabilizing 

system used to counteract winds and keep the rocket on 

course during launch. (SENTINEL STAR, 12-16-81) 

er 17: The non-rocket components oE the first Inertial 

Upper Stage, to be launched this summer atop thcct Air Force's 

Titan 34D launch vehicle, has been shipped to the Air T~rce 

Eastern Launch Site, Florida, by Boeing Aerospace. The two 

IUS solid fuel rocket mciQorsr being built by United 

Technologies Cherqical Systems Division, will be shipped to 

Florida this month nnd in February, respectively. The 

Boeing hardware is comprised of the IUS equipment support 

section, which houses systems for guidance and navigation, 

telemetry, electrical power, tracking and comnand, and the 

IUS Interstager which will connect the two rocket engines. 

Boeing says that redundancy and parts quality give the IUS 

an estimated reliability of 98 percent. The IUS is slated 

to make its first launch on the Space Shuttle in Januc?-.* 

1983. (DEFENSE DAILY, 12-17-81, p. 244, Val. 119, No. 31) 

4 

ber 118: NASA's Kennedy Space Center is issuing RFPs for 

provision of a "turnkey" Shuttle Inventory ~anagement System 

(SfMS If), a logistics management system which will control 

material to support the operation of the Space Shuttle. 

This will include spare parts for ground support equipment, 

flight hardware and institutional support requirements. The 

system will support NASA Shuttle management, air Force 

Shuttle project management at Vstndenberg AFB, developrent 

center Shuttle logistics office at Johnson Space Center and 

Marshall Space Flight Center, contractors at KSC, 

Vandenberg, Marshall, MAP and Downey, and logistics 

-396- 
personnel at KSC and Vandenberg. The Kennedy Center points 

out that the "magnitude" of the procurement "will tend to 

render some otherwise qualified firms incapable" of 

performing the contrace. (DEFENSE DAILY, 12-18-81, p. 250, 

Vole 119, No. 32) 

bp?r 19: The Space Shuttle Columbia could be Anerxca's 

loudest firecracker next Fourth of July. 

The fourth mission of the reusable spacecraft is scheduled 

for the beginning of July and Kennedy Space Center Director 

Dick Smith said he'll aim for a launch on America's 206th 

birthday. 

'I went to George Page (Shuttle launch director) and said 

why don't we really try to push it to the Fourth. I thin: 

it would be great," Smith said Friday. 

Would a fourth of July Shuttle launch attract the big brass 

from Washington? Smith, 52, hopes so but he added security 

concerns in light of revelations of a Libyan assassi, -tion 

squad may restrict presidential travel next year. 

He cited the president's recent decision to light the White 

Mouse Christnas tree from inside, bowing to security 

precautions. 

The fourth Shuttle mission also will be a first as engineers 

plan to land the spacecraft at the 3-mile-long KSC runway. 

NASA wants to test the Shuttle's ability to hanqle ir runway 

crosswinds at Edwards Air Force Base in California during 

the third mission before venturing a KSC landing. 

No firm date on the tbird Shuttle mission has been set but 

Smith said NASA is still looking toward a mid-Harch flight 

with astronauts Jack Lousma and Charles Fullerton. (P"'3.'IYI 

12-19-81, p. 2.619) 

-397- 
ber 21: Contractor and governnlent workers will take an 

11-day vacation from work on the space shuttle systen 

December 23 until January 4, 1982, 8s most of the 

modifications have been comFieted for the next Xaunrh the 

shuttle, which remains on schedule tor :ate Earch. The 

orbiter Colunbia will be moved Lron the orbiter process!.nr, 

facility to the Vehicle Assembly Burlu’ing. 

A total of 70 modifications were scheduled on Coluinbia after 

its second flight, and as of late last week, all but 14 were 

accomplished. One activity last week was the shipment of 

the orbiter tires to the Rockwell Tntcrnational facility il. 

Dswncy, California, €or a cold s~~ak, eo terify they will 

survive in the 200 C environment to which they will be 

exposed on the t!:ird mission. 

Also accompiished last week was a flush and oil change of 

the No. 2 and No. 3 auxiliary power units. The ??a. 1 unit 

has been replaced, and it wil; undergo e functional test 

this week. 

National Aeronautics and Space Adninistrattan lest week sai3 

378 thermal protection syster? tiles have en removed $tort 

the orbiter, most af them for densification. Of these, 10.1 

have been ro>?.aced. 

Most of the modifications were accomplished while the 

orbiter was powered down December 4-16. The primry CTS-3 

payload -- the NASA Office of Space Sciences €?*tperlment 

package -- is scheduled to he instailed in the orbiter cargo 

bay January 10. (AVIATION WEEK & SPACE TECHKOLOGY, 

12-21-81, ~p. 14, Vole 115, NO. 25) 

bet? 22: The leak of 15 to 20 gallons df nitrogen 

tetroxide oxidizer being pumped into the Shuttle Colurnbia 

September 22 %.?as caused by a design problem in the ground 

quick disconnect fittings. 

NASA has returned the 42 discontlect fittings to Fair ::i1~2 

Strates, where design ttodifications will be considered. 

The committee investigating the accident has reported that 

the failure of the quick disconnect fittings was due to an 

accunufation of iron nitrate in the oxidizer GTkich lodged 

between the interior components of the fitting, allowing an 

onen path for the oxidizer to spill Quf. 

-398- 
The report ssfr! that the close tolerance of the interior 

components allowed the contaminant buildup to create the 

spill. 

"The design of the fitting provided a single failure point 

which had not been recognized prior to the incident," it 

reported. 

The comnittee recommended a series of protective measures to 

guard against a similar failure in the future, including 

elimination of the use of the quick disconnect as a flow 

shut-off valve and use of protective aprons. (DEFENSE 

DAILY, 12-22-81, p. 269, VOl. 119, NO. 34) 

December 23: The failure of fuel cell W1 on the Space Shuttle 

Columbia during its second flight last month, which led NASA 

to cut the flight from 5 to 2 days, was caused by corrosion 

in the fuel cell -- a problem that NASA had not expected to 

find. 

Engineers disnantling the faulty cell Monday at United 

Technologies Corp. in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, found that 

aluminum hydroxide hac3 clogged two of the three aspirators 

that remove water from the fuel cell, and that the third 

aspirator had a hole in its nozzle. NASA said the source of 

the aluminum hydroxide, which is caused by the corrosion of 

aluminun, is not known. 

As a result of Monday's finding, NASA has removed the three 

fuel cells now aboard the Columbia to see if they have a 

similar corrosion proble7i. If they do, the third flisht of 

the Shuttle, scheduled for the week of March 22* coul'. be 

delayed. 

Work on the Columbia at Kennedy Space Center is to be halted 

between Christmas and New Years day to give contractor 

perscjnnel a vacation. 

Astronauts Jack Lousna and Gordon Fullerton arc scheoL..ed to 

fly the third Shuttle flight, which is scheduled for seven 

days. (DEFENSE DAILY, 12-23-81, p. 275, Vol. 119, No. 35) 

-399- 
<> Two successful flights of the Space Shuttle Columbia, 

Voyager 2's flyby of Saturn an? a perfect launch record were 

anong the highlights of 1981 for the National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration. 

Columbia's two missions, in April and Novsmberr marked a new 

era in space flight. It was the first time that a 

spacecraft has been launched Erom and returned to Earth end 

then reused €or a second mission. 

More spectacular photographs and new detail and scientific 

data resulted from the closest approach to the giar.: ringed 

planet of Saturn by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft late in 

August. 

The Voyager 2 mission acided to information already gained 

about Saturn from Voyager 1 which flew past the planet in 

November 1980. Voyager 1 is moving out of the ecliptic 

plane of tie solar system while Voyager 2 wifl travel 

several billion more miles to a Uranus encounter in January 

1986, then on to a rendezvous with Neptune in August 1989. 

In addition to the two Shuttle missions, there were '1 other 

successful launches by the agency. The year's perfeL. 

launch record is the fifth in the agency's 23-year history. 

The launches ranged from weather and communications 

satellites to environmental monitoring and Sun-Earth energy 

studies. 

Space Transportation System 

1981 was the year of the Shuttle. Two successful missions 

were conducted, in April and November, as the flicjht: ,sting 

of the Space Shuttle, a key element in NASA's Space 

Transportation System, reached its halfway mark. 

Astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen flew the Orbiter 

Colclinbia during its historic 54 1/2-hour initial misc -. 

The second flightr STS-2, carrying the first payloa, the 

remote manipulator arm was manned by astronauts Joe Ensle 

and Richard Truly. 

The new era in manned space flight began April 12 at 8:00 

a.m. ESTI when the Space Shuttle roared of€ the launch pad 

at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, The two-rnillionkilogram (four-and-a-half-million-pound) revolutionary 

-400- 
spacecraft was thrust into space by a combination of two 

solid rocket boosters and a trio of liquid fuel Space 

Shuttle main engines. 

Young and Crippen, during their two days in orbit, carried 

out a wide ranging series of systems checks to prove the 

feasibility of the Space Shuttle system. 

During the flight, television cameras detected minor damage 

to the Thermal Protection System (TPS) tiles located on the 

Orbital Maneuvering System pods. The damage was not deemed 

serious. 

At 10:21 a.m. PST, on April 14, the Columbia landed safely 

on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, California. 

The first Space Shuttle mission was determined to be an 

unqualified success. 

The Columbia was returned to the Kennedy Space Center in a 

less spectacular way -- piggybacked atop its 747 carrier 

aircraft. 

STS-2, launched November 12 fron Kennedy Space Center, was 

significant in that it WES the Eirst time a spacecraft had 

been reused. Colunhba, piloted by astronauts Joe Engle and 

Richard Truly, carried a space apiDlications payload and a 

renote manipulator arm. It landed at Edwards on November 

14. 

Despite a shortened mission, caused by a failed fuel cell, 

STS-2 was a success. Over 90 percent of the test objectives 

were completed by Engle and Truly and data from the OSTA-1 

experiment packaae delighted investigators. 

The Remote Manips'ator System worked well and the Thermal 

Protection System again proved itself effective during the 

fiery entry through the Earth's atmosphere. 

An investigation into the fuel cell failure began shortly 

after the orbiter was ferried back to the Kenaedy Space 

Center from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility at 

Edwards. 

-401- 
liithin two weeks after landing, work beqan on readying the 

Columbia for its third flight test scheduled Zor March 1982. 

Meanwhile, construction continued on the second orbiter, 

Challenger, at Rockwell International's plant at Falmdale, 

California. The newest orbiter is to be delivered to the 

Kennedy Space Center in mid-1982, 

As orbiter construction proceeded, main engine testing 

continued at full power level (109 percent of rated power 

level) and external tank production maintained a steady 

pace. 

As the Space Shuttle began to prove itself, a new study 

began on an unmanned launch vehicle based on solid rocket 

booster technology. SRB-X would be capable of boostlng a 

29,490-kg (65,000-lb.) payload into low Earth orbit or 5,443 

kg (12,000-lb.) in geosynchronous orbit. (NASA NEWS RELEASE 

No. 81-199, u-23-81) 

<> NASA planners have set their sights on an ambitious launch 

schedule for the coming year: 10 expendable vehicle 

launches and three Space Shuttle flights, including the 

first operational niission. 

Of the 10 expendable vehicles, seven will be Delta rockets 

and three will be Atlas Centaurs. One of the Deltas will be 

launched from KSC facilities at Vandenberg AFB, California, 

and will carry the only non-communications satellite to be 

launched this year. 

The launch scorecard for 1982 begins in mid-January with 

RCA-C1, =bcard a Delta, February will see another Delta, 

this one bocsting a WESTAH-IV into orbit. 

i 

March will be a busy month, beginning with an Atlas Centaur 

rocket with an INTELSAT V-F-4 satellite for the 106-nation 

Internatfonal Telecomnunications Organization, and perhaps 

ending with the launch of the third Space Shuttle mission 

(STS-3) with its OSS-1 astronomic31 investjgations package 

on a seven-day flight. 

-402- 
April and May will have a Delta and its INSAT-1A payload and 

an Atlas Centaur with its 1NTELSP.T V F-5. There are no 

launches currently listed for June. 

July will again have two launches, an earth resources 

satellite, LANDSAT-D aboard a Delta from Vandenberg AFBa and 

the fourth Space Shuttle mission (STS-4) from KSC carrying a 

Department of Defznse payload, The action then continues in 

early August with a Delta rocket and its TELESAT-F payload, 

also called ANIK-D, a Canadian communications satellite, 

Launch teams get what would be a three month break at this 

point, were it not for a Delta launch in late September. 

The payload for that launch is WESTAR-V. November will see 

the fourth Delta in a row, with RCA-E as its payload, and 

will be highlighted by STS-5, the first operational mission 

of the Space Shuttle. That flight is listed a5 carrying two 

communications satellites, SBS-C and TELESAT-E and their 

boost stages plus an experiments pallet, OSTA-2. The 

mission is scheduled to last five days. 

The last launch of 1982 is now listed as being an Atlas 

Centaur, carrying INTELSAT V F-5A, the third Atlas Cc ..‘;asp 

and INTELSAT combination for the year. 

The WESTARS are being launched for Western Union, the RCA 

satellites are part of the RCA Satcorn Network, the SBS 

series is owned and operated by Satellite Business Systems, 

the TEJ’ESATS are being orbited for Telesat Canada and the 

INSAT will be launched for India. 

The communications satellites missions are classed as 

reimbursables, meaning that NASA will be reimbursed for the 

cost of the launch vehicles and launch operations. 

Communications satellites are placed in stationary orbits at 

selected points 35,600 kilometers (22,250) miles above the 

equator, Their orbital speed is synchronized with that of 

the Earth‘s rotation and they appear to hang or hover over 

their assigned duty stations. (KSC RELEASE NO. 321-81, 

12- 23-8 I) 

December 24: Kennedy Space Center workers exposed to asbestos 

fibers at a major warehouse haven’t compl-ined of 

discomfort, and cleanup crews plan to sped the holidays 

mopping up the layer of dust caused by the fallout. 

-403- 
"It was not enocgh asbestos and they weren't exposed to it 

long enough €or there to be any health hazard," said Dr. 

Paul Ruchanan, a space center physician. 

About 40 of the 250 workers at the central supply warehouse 

are getting physical exams scheduled through the first of 

the year, Buchanan said. 

Those people were exposed briefly to the irritating 

substance during renovation work to plumbing. As workers 

sawed the old fixtures, dust with particles of asbestos fell 

to the floor. As much as an inch of the stuff coatep the 

floor 

"These (the physical exams) are simply to establish a base 

line, to be cautious. We would be extremely surprised if 

anybody developed any problems because of this exposure," 

Buchanan said. (TODAY, 12-24-81, p. 1B) 

mber 25: Ahead of schedule, the space agency played Santa 

Claus to the several thousand men and women preparing the 

Shuttle Colufnbia for its third flight into Earth orbic. 

Since Wednesday and through January 4, Shuttle workers -.-ill 

have a holiday. Meanwhile, the object of their dedicaLion, 

the Columbia, is being refurbished at a smoother pace than 

during the weeks between the first and second flights. 

"We're ahead of schedule and we're not pushing people like 

we did in the past. It was taxing to them and their 

families," said Dick Smith, Space Center director. AODAY, 

12-25-81, p. 20A) 

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