-
#100 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:23
-
July 12: ELECTRONICS TROUBLE DELAYS CRRES LAUNCH
The launch of General Dynamics Corp.’s Atlas rocket will be delayed at least a week because of problems with spacecraft electronics aboard the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite. One of the satellite’s decoder units, which receive signals from ground controllers and order the craft’s components and science instruments to work, did not operate properly during final pre-launch testing today. “While we suspect the unit itself, there may be things contributing to this on the pad that we don’t understand,” said Kennedy Space Center spokesman George Diller. (Banke, Florida Today, July 13, 1990; Oates, The Orlando Sentinel, July 13, 1990 – edited)
-
#101 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:24
-
July 12: FLORIDA’S DER INVESTIGATES KSC PIPE INSTALLATION
Florida’s Department of Environmental Regulation will investigate whether NASA complied with federal and state rules that call for independent inspections when installing new tanks, according to DER spokesman Mike Camardese. He said, “They are not allowed to do the inspections in house. That is a definite no-no. They have to get someone who is a certified professional engineer from outside the NASA family to certify the piping.”
Records obtained by Florida Today show that the pipes, which funnel hazardous fuel spills into underground holding tanks, were not tested and inspected according to KSA contract specifications. They were installed at a building where toxic chemicals are used to fuel satellites. Jim Towles, Director of Facilities Engineering, said the piping system was inspected by NASA and contractor engineers prior to installation at the Vertical Processing Facility. The pipes may have to be dug up on an order of DER so an independent engineer can inspect them. Lesser penalties would require KSC to establish certain environmental programs. (Halvorson, Florida Today, July 12 & 13, 1990 – edited)
July 13: NASA HOPES FRIDAY 13TH COMES DOWN AS A LUCKY NUMBER
A liquid hydrogen tanking test on the Space Shuttle Atlantis this morning is expected to isolate the leak discovered two weeks ago during a similar test at Launch Pad 39A. To contain hydrogen concentration and better pinpoint the leak, Atlantis is encompassed by a more-complete sensor net, including plastic bags placed around strategic locations to isolate suspect areas between the orbiter and the External Tank. (JSC Space News Roundup, July 13, 1990; Countdown, September 1990 – edited)
ENGINEERS FIND TRACES OF HYDROGEN IN ATLANTIS TEST
Engineers pumped 280,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen back aboard the shuttle Atlantis Friday and, as with the first tanking test of June 29, detectors sensed a leak as soon as the super-cold fuel began to flow. The concentrations measured were very low. NASA spokeswoman Lisa Malone said sensors around the 17-inch disconnect joint, enclosed in a plastic bag to eliminate the effects of wind, recorded initial hydrogen concentrations of about 5 percent, or 50,000 parts per million. NASA's safety limit is 4 percent. "It's too early at this point to attempt to quantify the leak or to determine exactly where it's coming from," she said. "There will be a lot of data analysis from this test. It's too early to make any specific statements on how big the leak is or what is contributing to the leak." (Deseret News, July 13, 1990; Countdown, September 1990 – edited)
CRIPPEN: “WE DON’T HAVE A GENERIC PROBLEM”
Later on Friday, NASA announced it believes new tests have pinpointed the sources of fuel leaks that have grounded its Space Shuttle fleet, permitting a repair that could have one of the ships flying by the end of next month. If the suspicions of engineers are correct, the leaks on the shuttles Atlantis and Columbia are at different locations, eliminating fears of a major design flaw on all shuttles. William Lenoir, NASA Associate Administrator for Spaceflight, expressed confidence that they were “98 percent” positive that the Atlantis leak was totally unrelated to Columbia’s.
Rigged with special sensors and plastic "baggies" to detect and capture leaking liquid hydrogen, the shuttle Atlantis was loaded with fuel early Friday as it rested on its Florida launch pad. The improved sensor net pinpointed the leak as not occurring at the 17-inch disconnect umbilical – where the fuel lines between the orbiter and its External Tank are severed after launch – but at the flange where the lines bolt to the ET. “That sounds fairly simple,” said Lenoir after the test concluded. “You take it apart, bolt it back together and go fly.”
Even as the Atlantis leak was being traced on Pad 39A, engineers for shuttle builder Rockwell International in California were zeroing in on the source of the leak in the umbilical system removed from Columbia. Lenoir said the most recent analysis of those tests points to small, U-shaped Teflon seals on the drive shaft of the large "flapper valves" inside the big fuel line. One set of those seals is on the winged orbiter side of the fuel line and another on the tank side of the assembly. The seals on the orbiter side are the most likely leak source, Lenoir said.
"We have two different problems," Navy Captain Robert Crippen, NASA's Shuttle Program Director told reporters, couching that determination as good news. “That means we can say we do not have a generic problem, which could have been much more difficult to deal with.”
Finding the source of Atlantis’ leak away from the complex umbilical disconnect opens up the once-unbelievable possibility that Atlantis can be repaired without rolling the stack off the pad. The flange connection is sealed with 48 bolts. Perhaps if the bolts are tightened the leak will stop, and Atlantis can fly by August 10. “In all honesty, we do not expect what we can do on the pad will fix the problem,” Bill Lenoir warned. Yet the long shot is deemed well worth an attempt, since it would mean that two flights can be concluded before the critical October window for the launch of the Ulysses solar probe aboard Discovery. (The Houston Chronicle, July 14, 1990; Countdown, August & September 1990 – edited)
-
#102 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:26
-
July 14: PAD WORKERS WAITING FOR SOME DIRECTION
KSC spokeswoman Lisa Malone said today that workers “will be waiting for some direction from managers whether there needs to be any further testing at the launch pad or if preparations should begin to move Atlantis back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for some kind of repairs.” Today, workers moved the Rotating Service Structure in place around the orbiter about 9:45 a.m. EDT. They completed removing all traces of liquid hydrogen from the orbiter’s plumbing by filling the lines with harmless gases about 11:30 a.m. EDT. They also gained access to the shuttle’s rear engine compartment. (Banke, Florida Today, July 15, 1990 – edited)
July 15: CCAFS SPACE MUSEUM OPENS TO THE PUBLIC
After seven years, the Air Force Space Museum at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station reopened to the public today. Because it is located within a restricted portion of the Eastern Space and Missile Center, the museum has usually been closed to civilians because of security concerns. The Air Force Space Museum is at Launch Complex 26, where the first U.S. satellite – Explorer 1 – was launched fro, Pad A. The complex itself is part of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The grounds include the site where Alan Shepard and Virgil “Gus” Grissom were launched in the Mercury program and in the nearby blockhouse control room, electronic equipment has been restored. The museum – a National Historic Landmark – is free, but visitors are required to stop at the Air Force Station Pass and ID Gate and to obtain a car pass. (Minor, The Orlando Sentinel, July 13, 1990 – edited)
-
#103 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:29
-
July 16: “THE SYSTEM WORKS,” TRULY SAYS
Today, Vice President Dan Quayle met with NASA Administrator Richard Truly for an hour, their third meeting in a week. Rumors had persisted over the weekend that the National Space Council, an administration Cabinet-level policy-making group headed by Quayle, was pushing for a full-scale presidential-level investigation into NASA.
President Bush rejected such a notion. At a Washington news conference, Bush expressed strong support for Truly’s handling of the recent NASA problems: “I have confidence in NASA. I have great confidence in Dick Truly. It’s a perilous business, I guess, anytime you put people up there into space, but the record has been very good. I want to see us continue to be leaders in space.”
Instead of a presidential investigation, the Vice President directed the Administrator to select a group of non-NASA experts to advise the agency on its long-term goals. “Contrary to some published reports, there is no White House investigation of NASA,” Quayle said. “Space continues to be a top priority for this administration. We all want the best ideas on how we can move into the next century maintaining our leadership in space.”
Richard Truly said, “I am pleased the Vice President has expressed his confidence in NASA, as he has many times in the past. NASA will continue to work closely with the Space Council in pursuit of the President’s remarkable vision for America’s space destiny. I am confident the shuttle will be flying again soon and that timely corrections to the Hubble Space Telescope will assure realization of its full potential.” Louis Friedman, Executive Director of the Planetary Society, Pasadena, California, called Quayle’s decision to bring in voices outside NASA “a very good idea.”
Commenting on the temporary grounding of the Space Shuttle fleet, Truly said, “This is a case where our risk assessment system worked as advertised. We detected what could be an extremely hazardous situation with a hydrogen leak, and we have not been embarrassed to stop the flights until it is corrected. The system works.” (The Houston Chronicle, July 18, 1990; Countdown, September 1990; Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990 – edited)
July 17: LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
NASA announced today it plans to resume Space Shuttle flights by mid-August, sending Atlantis on a secret mission if the ship's fuel leak can be repaired on the launch pad. With exceptional luck, NASA may get the shuttle Columbia's delayed astronomy mission off by mid-September. Columbia will carry ultraviolet and X-ray telescopes. William Lenoir, the agency's Associate Administrator for Spaceflight, said he will be pleasantly surprised if the aggressive recovery plan works.
The team charged with finding and fixing the hydrogen leaks discovered on Columbia and Atlantis is closer to wrapping up its investigation of the problem, Lenoir said. “Not only do we see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I believe we are out of the tunnel. And that we are out in the daylight ourselves,” he said.
NASA Administrator Richard Truly appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” program and said, “We were afraid that we had what we call a generic problem, something we had overlooked that might really be a dangerous situation that would have long-term effect. As it turned out, it was just the terrible coincidence of two separate, specific leaks. The system didn’t go down for three years like it did after Challenger; it went down for three or four weeks.”
Driving the shuttle schedule for the remainder of this year are plans to launch Discovery STS-41, carrying the Ulysses probe that will study the Sun's polar regions. Ulysses must be launched between Oct. 5 and Oct. 23 to place it on a precise course toward its destination. “It requires some luck on our part to fly the STS-38 and STS-35 mission first… We are very optimistic we will have at least one flight off prior to Ulysses, and we have a glimmer of hope to get two off,"Lenoir said. "While we consider that unlikely, we are going to see if that works.”
The plan hinges on the possibility that engineers will be able to stop Atlantis' leak by tightening 48 bolts on a flange in the ship's silo-shaped External Tank. If that strategy does not work, or if engineers peer into the assembly and find a cracked weld, Atlantis must be rolled from the pad to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The success of the bolt-tightening strategy should be evident by the middle to latter part of next week, when the work is scheduled to be followed by another fuel-leak test.
Photographs of the aft compartment were taken and thorough inspections were made earlier. Calibrations of the hazardous gas detection system are continuing and the flow rates of purges in the plastic “baggies” are being measured. Preparations to remove Auxiliary Power Unit #3 aboard Atlantis are underway. Since Atlantis has been at the pad, the vendor has identified a time-life issue with this unit. The other two APUs are refurbished units.
If Atlantis can be successfully launched on her four- to five-day mission as early as Aug. 10, NASA will attempt to follow it by launching Columbia between Sept. 10 and Sept. 14, Lenoir said. Columbia was removed from the launch pad last month. Her leak has been traced to a Teflon seal on the drive shaft of a fuel-line valve inside the winged orbiter. If Atlantis still leaks after tests next week, as Lenoir suspects she will, Columbia will be rolled to Kennedy's Pad 39A as Atlantis is rolled off. In that case, Columbia would be launched about Sept. 1 on her ten-day flight. (The Houston Chronicle, July 18, 1990; JSC Space News Roundup, July 20, 1990; Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990 – edited)
July 18: FIRST COMMERCIAL ATLAS LAUNCH RESCHEDULED
General Dynamics Corp.’s first commercial Atlas rocket is now scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station July 20 at 3:33 p.m. EDT. The launch had been delayed so a computer problem in the Combined Release and radiation Effects Satellite could be worked to resolution. Technicians concluded the problem with the satellite’s command decoder unit stemmed from outside radio-signal interference and slight distortions from the test equipment. Weekend tests of the equipment were successful. “We sent more than 10,000 commands to the CRRES with no errors,” said NASA spokesman George Diller. The satellite is designed to study the effect of space on advanced satellite electronics and the magnetic and electric fields around Earth. (Halvorson, Florida Today, July 17, 1990; Oates, Florida Today, July 19, 1990 – edited)
July 18: KSC OVERTIME LEVELS QUESTIONED
An examination of KSC records reveals: Kennedy Space Center has granted exceptions to its strict overtime regulations 2,500 times this year. Almost half the 1990 waivers have come during the weeks when shuttle launches and landings occurred. Experts have questioned whether the large amount of overtime might have contributed to fuel leaks which have grounded the shuttle fleet.
Bob Sieck, Shuttle Launch Director, said that KSC is handling overtime better than in the past and that worker fatigue is not a problem. “We have not found fatigue to be a factor in any of the incidents that have occurred in the past,” he said. “When we have an incident, overtime is the first thing we accumulate data on – the number of hours the person or all the people involved have worked prior to that event on that shift, that week, that month.”
“I can’t envision this place working with zero percent overtime; it would be impractical to completely eliminate the practice,” Sieck said. “If that were the case, too much of the workforce would be idle. If you had a standing army of people for every job that we did around here, to cover every contingency, the workforce would be exorbitant. It makes sense to use overtime to carry you through peak periods of activity.” (Higginbotham, Florida Today, July 20, 1990)
July 20: BOLTS TIGHTENED ON ATLANTIS FUEL LINE
NASA workers tightened most of the 48 bolts on one of Space Shuttle Atlantis' fuel lines today, but the space agency won't know whether that fixed a hydrogen leak until a tanking test next week. The shuttle's classified Defense Department mission is on hold until the problem is resolved. All the bolts checked out fine, said NASA spokeswoman Lisa Malone. "Everything looked normal," she said. Technicians over-torqued 38 of the 48 bolts by ten percent, Malone said. The remaining 10 already were over-torqued and so were not tightened. A pressurized helium test on the tank yesterday showed no evidence of any leaks, said Malone.
Discovery, meanwhile, has joined the other two orbiters with problems. One of 14 thrusters on Discovery's right Orbital Maneuvering System pad was dented when it fell off a work stand yesterday. A new $600,000 thruster, which weighs 20 pounds and is about the size of a football, will be installed. The accident occurred during routine maintenance work, Malone said. The replacement of the thruster will not jeopardize Discovery's scheduled launch with the sun-probing Ulysses satellite in October, Malone said. The damaged thruster was being returned to the manufacturer for repairs. (Deseret News, July 21, 2016)
July 20: HELIUM LEAK PROMPTS ATLAS LAUNCH SCRUB
The scheduled launch of an Atlas rocket was delayed today due to a leak which prevented the start of a compressor which furnishes gaseous nitrogen to the rocket to keep its satellite payload cool. Workers were able to start the compressor in time for a second launch attempt, but a leak in a liquid helium line then began overchilling hydrazine and the launch was called off just before 4:00 p.m. EDT. “We believe we understand what the problem is, but it will be at least Sunday before we try again,” said Jack Isabel, spokesman for General Dynamics. He said, further, that engineers will continue to assess the problem. (Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990 – edited)
July 20: BRANDENSTEIN’S “EXCEDRIN GROUP” BEGINS TRAINING
Twenty-three of America’s finest reported for duty at Johnson Space Center this week as the astronaut class of 1990 began a year of candidate training and evaluation for what some have called the best job in the world. The reinforcements are a welcome relief as NASA resumes shuttle flight operations with an active schedule ahead, according to chief astronaut Dan Brandenstein. Since the last selection, three years ago, the astronaut roster has dwindled from 98 to 84.
At an informal reception on Monday (July 16) to introduce the candidates to news media, Brandenstein called them his “Excedrin Group.” He said, “These guys are going to relieve a lot of my headaches.”
Selected from nearly 2,000 qualified applicants earlier this year, the group consists of seven pilot and 16 mission specialist candidates. Among five women selected are three military officers, including the first woman to be named as a pilot candidate, and the first Hispanic woman to be selected. There are 11 civilians and 12 military officers total.
After being introduced by their new boss, the candidates mingled and talked with national and local news correspondents about joining the ranks of the astronaut corps, particularly at a time when NASA has come under fire both in the Congress and in the press. Enthusiasm and confidence in the agency was evident as many of the candidates spoke of mankind’s need to go to space and their own ambitions to be part of that.
While their first week on the job consisted primarily of orientation briefings and tours, they also received altitude chamber training as a prerequisite to T-38 flight training which begins next week. The next several months will consist of intensive instruction in the fundamentals of aerodynamics, electronics, and computers, as well as in shuttle systems and operations. Several trips are planned to other NASA field centers for briefings and tours, as well as for water and wilderness survival training. (Jeff Carr, JSC Space News Roundup, July 20, 1990 – edited)
-
#104 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:31
-
July 20: TEAM EFFORT MAKES DRAG CHUTE TEST A TOTAL SUCCESS
The Space Shuttle orbiter drag parachute system’s first test today coasted to a total success at Edwards Air Force Base, according to the project engineer. Once certified, the chute will be incorporated into the orbiter fleet to help reduce tire and brake wear during landing and rollout following shuttle missions. “The test was a complete success,” said George Dawson, drag chute project engineer. “The actual deployment sequence was fantastic.”
The tests are part of ongoing efforts to upgrade operational capabilities and flight safety of the shuttle fleet. The drag chute system is designed to supplement the normal system of brakes and help slow the vehicle’s speed after landing. The test today was the first of eight designed to certify the chute for use on the four Space Shuttle orbiters. Endeavour, presently under construction at Rockwell International’s Palmdale, California, facility, will have the drag chute already incorporated into the vehicle. Columbia, Discovery and Atlantis will be modified with the drag chute when feasible during normal structural inspection periods.
Dawson said the series of tests using the NASA B-52 test aircraft will continue at one- to two-week intervals until the certification program is completed and the data have been fully evaluated. “Everything really worked well and the entire team effort was the reason,” he said. The next scheduled test is August 2 or 3. All tests will use the NB-52 aircraft piloted by former astronaut Gordon Fullerton. Each separate test will use different drag chute deployment speeds, ranging from 140 to 200 knots. Typical orbiter landing speeds range from 180 to225 knots.
The drag chute test program is managed by JSC. Also participating in the program are Rockwell, which designed the drag chute system; Irvin Industries, Santa Ana, California, which designed the parachute; and the Boeing Airplane Co., Seattle, Washington. Ames-Dryden incorporated the drag chute system into the tail section of the NASA B-52 for the test program. (JSC Space News Roundup, July 27, 1990 – edited)
-
#105 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:32
-
July 20: EUROPE’S ARIANE READY TO RESUME FLIGHTS
Arianespace is climbing back on the pad with launch of two satellites scheduled for the last week in July, and a dozen more flights planned through the end of 1991. The European space consortium is set to resume operations using their 44L booster to loft two communications satellites, the French TDF-2 and the German DFS-2 Kopernikus. The final “go” to resuming launches was given at a flight readiness review today. Launch of the 37th Ariane from Korou, French Guiana, is slated for July 24 at 6:25 p.m. EDT, with a 49-minute window.
Developed in a joint effort by France and Germany – based on the German TV satellites TV Sat 1 and 2 – TDF weighs 4,710 pounds at lift-off, and when deployed is 62 feet wide by 21 feet high. The 5-channel spacecraft has an expected lifespan of nine years. The 44L will position it at 19 degrees West for relaying television across Europe. Kopernikus is a multipurpose, 11-channel telecommunications satellite to provide multi-user links to the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, thereby contributing to the imminent reunification of both states. At lift-off, the DFS-2 weighs 3,135 pounds with a height of 13.6 feet and width of 50.5 feet when deployed. The satellite has an expected lifetime of ten years.
During the past two years, Arianespace has made 16 launches resulting in 24 deployed satellites. Currently, the consortium has a total of 39 satellites to launch in four years, worth a total of $2.8 billion. Recently, they have signed a contract to launch the Helios Earth-observing satellite at the end of 1993. The 5,513-pound spacecraft is a joint project between France, Italy and Spain, with Matra Espace as prime contractor.
Arianespace plans to have caught up with its backlog of communications-satellite launches by the end of 1991. The cause of the V36 mishap on February 22, which resulted in the destruction of the booster, was triggered by a piece of cloth which clogged a first-stage engine’s water supply tube. How the piece of fabric entered the line has not been specifically determined, only that it may have originated from a cleanup towel.
To ensure such an accident does not reoccur, several new procedures will be conducted. The flow of water and fuel in the Viking engines’ feed lines will be verified, and the high-pressure circuits will be leak tested. The first stage and strap-ons will also receive extra thermal protection. (Westdeutsche Zeitung, July 26, 1990; Countdown, August 1990 – edited)
-
#106 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:35
-
-
#107 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:39
-
-
#108 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:41
-
July 24: ARIANE ROCKET IS BACK IN OPERATION
Today’s successful launch at 6:25 p.m. EDT of a 190-ft.-tall Ariane 44L rocket that boosted two telecommunications satellites into orbit has put the European space program back on track. "We're back in operation after what amounts to a 3 1/2-month delay," said Doug Heydon, President of Arianespace Inc. "We're obviously extremely relieved and very happy. I think we have some pleased customers."
The flawless V37 launch deployed France’s second direct broadcasting satellite, TDF-2, and Germany’s second telecommunications satellite, DFS-2 Kopernikus in a geostationary orbit with an inclination of four degrees. Arianespace’s next launch, Ariane 44LP flight V38, is scheduled for the end of August to orbit a British military communications satellite and a telecommunications spacecraft for Eutelsat. (Deseret News, July 25, 1990; Countdown, September 1990 – edited)
-
#109 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:41
-
-
#110 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:42
-
-
#111 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:45
-
July 24: CAPE CANAVERAL MARKS 40th BUMPER ANNIVERSARY
Forty years ago today, the Bumper 8 double-stage rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. That was the first of 2,400 rockets in the past four decades. It led to the establishment of the Long Range Proving Grounds – now the Eastern Space and Missile Center – and transformed Brevard County into the Space Coast. The Bumper was a hybrid, consisting of a German A-4 guided missile – also known as a V-2 – and a WAC Corporal rocket.
Six Bumper flights were conducted at White Sands, New Mexico, but the last two Bumper flights, designated Bumper #7 and Bumper #8, required a longer range. These flights were intended to test rocket stage separation during near-horizontal rocket flight, a precursor to long-range ballistic missile testing. The tests required about 75 miles of range more than was available at White Sands.
Bumper #7 was scheduled for launch on July 19, 1950. The rocket misfired on the launch pad. As a result, on July 24, 1950, at 9:29 a.m., Bumper #8 became the first rocket launched from Cape Canaveral. The rocket lifted off near what is now Complex 3 and flew 189 miles down range. Launch of Bumper #7 followed on July 29, 1950. These launches successfully demonstrated the feasibility of near-horizontal liquid fuel rocket staging, and the Bumper #7 second stage achieved the highest speed of any man-made object to date.
Although seemingly insignificant by modern standards, the stage was thus set for many milestones to come, with the range of Cape-launched rockets ultimately extended to send men to the Moon and spacecraft to the outer reaches of the solar system. (Minor, The Orlando Sentinel, July 24, 1990; Cliff Lethbridge, “Cape Canaveral – 500 Years of History, 50 Years of Rocketry,” Space Coast Cover Service, Merritt Island, July 2000)
-
#112 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:47
-
July 24: IRAQIS ACCUSE U.S. AND KUWAIT OF PLOTTING AGAINST THEM
The Iraqi government today accused Kuwait of conspiring against it with the United States. Diplomats said the neighbors' tense confrontation has been aggravated by Iraq's massing of troops on Kuwait's border. The border buildup began last week and coincided with a verbal assault on Kuwait by Iraq's President, and threats of military action. President Saddam Hussein accused the small oil-rich state of stealing $2.4 billion worth of oil from wells on Iraqi territory and of seeking to wreck Iraq's economy by producing too much oil, thus pushing down prices.
Diplomats in Iraq and Persian Gulf states said that soon after the dispute erupted, travelers saw battlefield missiles, armored personnel carriers and tanks prominently displayed along the road from Iraq to Kuwait. Kuwait put its forces on alert for several days, but the diplomats, who insisted on anonymity, said the alert was canceled to defuse tension. They could not provide estimates for the number of Iraqi troops, but the Washington Post quoted Western military attaches today as saying two divisions, or 30,000 men, were moved to the southern border. Kuwait's entire armed force is just 20,300 men.
In a show of support for Kuwait, the Pentagon announced today that U.S. warships and aircraft would hold a "short-notice exercise" 600 miles to the south in the Persian Gulf with a second small state, the United Arab Emirates. The Washington Post also reported today that the U.S. Navy had canceled shore leaves for its forces in the Persian Gulf and that warships were on alert. A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Stuart Wagner, refused to confirm or deny the Post report. The United States has at least seven warships in the Persian Gulf, and the State Department announced at the beginning of the crisis that it backs Kuwait's territorial integrity.
President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt arrived in Baghdad today to try to mediate and said he would propose to Saddam that the foreign ministers of Iraq and Kuwait meet in Cairo to discuss the dispute. Baghdad kept up the verbal assaults on Kuwait today. The government newspaper Al-Jumhuriya accused Kuwait of coordinating its moves with the United States in order to "clear the way for foreign powers to intervene in the area."
The disputed oil field extends two miles into Kuwait but Iraq claims it owns the entire field. Saddam has spent an estimated $50 billion on sophisticated arms since coming to power in 1979 and appears to be trying to frighten Kuwait and the U.A.E. into ending oil overproduction. (Deseret News, July 24 & 25, 1990 – edited)
-
#113 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:48
-
July 25: ATLANTIS FAILS THIRD LEAK TEST AND WILL ROLL BACK TO VAB
Atlantis will be the second Space Shuttle in two months to roll back from the pad to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The orbiter failed its third leak test despite efforts to fix the problem on the pad. Liquid hydrogen began slowly flowing through the orbiter’s plumbing at 7:51 a.m. EDT today. About twenty sensors specially installed for the test did not immediately detect a leak. At 8:14 a.m. EDT the launch team switched to a faster pumping cycle. Less than four minutes later sensors picked up first indications of a leak. Engineers immediately stopped filling the tank.
Minutes later, television cameras monitoring Atlantis’ hardware showed a crack in the insulating foam surrounding the joint. NASA later determined that the crack was caused by a broken plastic bag – not the hydrogen leak. During the next hour, engineers started moving liquid hydrogen through Atlantis’ plumbing three more times. A leak was detected almost immediately each time, halting the flow. The test ended at 9:40 a.m. EDT and the tank was drained.
William Lenoir, Associate Administrator for Spaceflight, said that today’s test showed that hydrogen could still escape from a flange connecting fuel pipes to the ET, which holds the super-cold hydrogen and oxygen. Although bolts around the flange were tightened, hydrogen leaked at the same rate as in previous tests, he said. “We’re glad we tried,” he told a news conference after the leak test, "Basically, we concluded today that we did not fix it, which was not surprising." Last week Lenoir described the bolt tightening effort as a long-shot fix.
Based on the data from today’s test, program managers elected to move Atlantis off the launch pad for repair or replacement of the fuel line flange seal, thereby allowing Columbia to return for the launch of the Astro-1 mission in early September. Columbia, which was awaiting the decision on whether Atlantis would fly first, now is scheduled to move from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the VAB next week for mating with her ET and Solid Rocket Boosters. Shuttle Program Director Bob Crippen said today, “I feel very confident that Columbia is ready to go.” But NASA might perform another fueling test before STS-35 to assure itself that Columbia is leak-free now. (JSC Space News Roundup, July 27, 1990; Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990, KHR-15, March 1991 – edited)
July 25: AUGUSTINE SELECTED TO HEAD ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Vice President Dan Quayle, Chairman of the National Space Council, announced today that Norman R. Augustine, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Martin Marietta Corporation, has been selected to head an independent advisory committee that is to study the future of the space program and how to manage it. No other members were announced for the twelve-member panel which is to be appointed by NASA Administrator Richard Truly.
The committee was created to review the future of the civil space program, looking at the appropriateness of projects already planned, organizational balance and structure, adequacy of skills, the balance between government and private sector roles, and what assurances there are that missions can be successful. Augustine is considered in the aerospace industry to be an expert on management. Augustine is the author of a book called Augustine’s Laws, in which he posits four principles of management that he might well advise NASA to use: plan carefully; emphasize quality; keep it simple and control costs. (Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990, KHR-15, March 1991 – edited)
July Heat – Days of Hot and Cold
”NASA’s eyes are bigger than its stomach."
- U.S. Senator Albert Gore, Jr. (D-Tennessee), June 29, 1990
July 1990 became days of hot and cold for NASA. Cold – super-cold hydrogen flowing through the veins of Atlantis twice during the months. Hot – the heated eyes of Vice President Quayle, Congress and assorted other critics boring down on NASA’s blistered skin. The maelstrom unleashed in late June – concerning shuttle leaks and Hubble trouble – refused to dissipate, even under the influence of good news. By the end of July, NASA had determined that the shuttle fleet needed no major fixes, was not “grounded,” and would be set to resume monthly operations in September.
While NASA had cautioned that tightening fuel line bolts probably would not fix the Atlantis leak on the pad, many in the press and Congress appeared deaf to their warnings. The July 25 tanking test was again heralded in headlines as a NASA “failure” and fed politicians more fuel for speeches criticizing the space agency for its string of problems.
On the same day as the final Atlantis tanking test, Vice President Quayle announced that Norman R. Augustine, chairman and chief executive of Martin Marietta, would head the task force consisting of a dozen non-NASA experts in all. Even this appointment brought criticism from some Congressmen who pointed out that Martin Marietta makes the shuttle’s ETs and, therefore, has a vested interest in the space program.
The critics were pouring on heat from every direction. The National Space Council was said to be critical of NASA for not pressing the President’s Moon/Mars Initiative as top priority. The council itself was criticized by some observers as acting on a one-track level, solely cheerleading the Moon/Mars plan instead of exercising its complete oversight and advisory role.
The heat beat down not only on the Space Shuttle program and the beleaguered, blinded Hubble Space Telescope, but also on the infant Space Station program. On July 20 – the 21st anniversary of the first Moon landing – NASA released its report on Space Station maintenance which indicated that four spacewalks per week might be needed to repair the station even before it was completed in 1999. In a true journey into hindsight, Rep. William Green (R-New York) hearkened back to 1973, calling for the Space Station to be cancelled and replaced with one similar to Skylab.
If the heat was on, then one of NASA’s specialties lay in heat protection. NASA had invented the means to protect a spacecraft returning from the Moon; the agency had developed a reusable heat protection system for the shuttles. Now it would have to create a means to protect itself from burning up in an atmosphere of turbulent criticism.
(Countdown, September 1990 – edited)
-
#114 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:51
-
Something to cheer about – The first commercial Atlas lofts CRRES
"It's good to have something positive happen. It's a definite boost to NASA morale."
- NASA spokesman Jim Cast, July 25, 1990
NOTHING SEEMS TO BE GOING RIGHT THESE DAYS
During second half of July 1990, NASA badly needed a boost in morale as they prepared for launch of the first commercial Atlas-Centaur carrying the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES). Under attack in recent months because of the grounding of the shuttle and the vision trouble of the Hubble telescope, NASA hoped to overcome a trio of delays and successfully launch AC-69.
CRRES marked the first time NASA had contracted a company, General Dynamics, to launch a satellite. Although General Dynamics was providing launching services, NASA held ultimate accountability for the success of the mission. The NASA launch manager served as the liaison with the General Dynamics team. On launch day, he monitored the countdown and launch activity from the Mission Director’s Center and provided final agreement for launch.
NASA and General Dynamics scrapped plans to launch on July 17, when a problem developed with the exchange of computer commands between ground control and the CRRES spacecraft. Originally concerned that the satellite’s primary Command Decoder Unit (CDU) was malfunctioning, NASA stated that a two-week delay might be involved. The delay appeared to echo the other problems NASA was suffering. News reports of the delay began with such lines as, “Nothing seems to be going right for NASA these days…”
Technicians later determined that ground-support equipment and radio signal interference were at fault, and the launch could proceed sooner than previously believed. The first launch countdown came on July 20, but was stopped when a helium leak was found in the Centaur upper stage. A loose vent duct caused the leak, cooling the liquid hydrazine below acceptable levels. The launch was postponed until all four liquid helium vent ducts could be replaced.
Ready to try again on Sunday, July 22, the launch team met with frustration as thunderstorms were experienced in the area right at the scheduled launch time, 3:28 in the afternoon. A third try to launch the Atlas was announced for the next day, 3:26 p.m. EDT, but NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham warned that weather prospects were growing “worse and worse.” Again, lightning and high winds were predicted. The forecast looked better for July 24 when launch chances were rated at 80 percent.
ONE OF THESE DAYS EVERYTHING WILL GO RIGHT
On July 23, preparations proceeded smoothly for the third launch attempt. Against all predictions even Mother Nature cooperated as the 143-ft. Atlas rocket shimmered in the afternoon heat on the launch pad at Complex 36B at Cape Canaveral.
PAO (George Diller): T minus five minutes and holding. We are now in the standard 15-minute built-in hold that will allow the launch team to catch up on any activities which remain to occur. However, there are no significant issues in work at this time… The General Dynamics test conductor will very shortly be picking up with a status, a readiness check of his launch team in the blockhouse. And the NASA launch manager will also be conducting a readiness check of the mission team and providing the government concurrence to launch today’s flight… A very smooth and uneventful countdown today which began on schedule and there have been no issues to work… Approximately ten seconds from coming out of the built-in hold and going into the final five minutes of today’s launch activity.
Controller: T-5 minutes and counting…
Controller: This is Vehicle Power. I did not go internal.
The Atlas failed to switch from ground power to its own battery system, stiff-arming the count dead in its tracks.
Controller: All systems recycle to T-5 minutes and holding.
PAO: We are recycling… The launch team is essentially trying to work this problem in a way that will preserve our remaining launch window.
The heat on the launch team grew like flames licking at their necks. The first launch window, during which a launch would place CRRES in the proper orbit, extended for 13 minutes from 3:26 p.m. EDT; if the first window was missed, a small second one lasted 7 minutes from 4:41 p.m. EDT.
PAO: This is Atlas Centaur launch control at T-5 minutes and holding. The General Dynamics launch team is troubleshooting a vehicle power problem… Still nothing significant to report in the troubleshooting activity, although discussions are going on… and the focus of discussion is on a switch that takes the vehicle to internal power.
Launch Director: …Let’s go ahead and secure.
PAO: As we heard, General Dynamics launch Director, Frank Watkins, has instructed test conductor Sy Baker to scrub today’s launch attempt…
Later in the day General Dynamics decided to call of an attempt for June 24 so the vehicle’s faulty electronics could be tested. Jack Isabel, a company spokesman, said, “It’s disappointing when you can’t launch, but one of these days everything will go right and we’ll have a success.”
-
#115 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:53
-
BINGO! - SOMETHING POSITIVE TO SHOW
48 hours later, on Wednesday, July 25 – the day Atlantis’ third failed leak test brought a wave of more bad publicity for NASA – technicians had replaced the malfunctioning electrical switch and were set to try the AC-69 launch again.
PAO: We’re approximately three minutes away from coming out of the built-in hold. Standing by now for readiness check from General Dynamics launch director Frank Watkins, and polling of the NASA mission team by NASA launch manager Jim Womack… the next to the final status check from both the NASA team and the General Dynamic team indicating that we are go for a launch at the opening of the window at 3:21 p.m. … One minute away from picking up the countdown. Weather-wise nothing nearby, the satellite picture showing a completely clear KSC and Cape Canaveral with all of the developing clouds inland around St. John’s River… Thirty seconds now from picking up the countdown and the launch of AC-69 with the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite. Spacecraft separation will come at approximately 28 minutes 44 seconds into the flight.
Controller: T minus five minutes and counting.
Controller: Atlas, go internal.
PAO: (…) Topping of the Atlas liquid oxygen tank has been stopped and the first stage oxygen vent valves are being closed in order to pressurize the stage for flight… Standing by for Centaur to go onto internal power… Centaur is on internal power… topping of the Centaur liquid oxygen tank now being stopped… We’re now at T minus 50 seconds and counting, waiting now for launch director Frank Watkins to give a final go for launch…
Launch Director: Status check. Propellants?
Controller: Go Atlas.
Controller: Go Centaur.
The familiar “go” poll proceeded, punctuated by the twin echoes of calls by the Atlas and Centaur controllers.
PAO: We are now at T-25 seconds, the ground launch sequencer now controlling… Standing by now for the final go for launch at T-10 seconds and ignition of the main engines at approximately four seconds… T-8… 7… 6… 5… 4…
At T-4 seconds flames boiled from beneath the Atlas I and the golden glow billowed up the rocket.
PAO: 3… 2… 1… zero, lift-off! And we have lift-off of Atlas Centaur AC-69 with the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite…
AC-69 thundered into the cloudless sky precisely at 3:21 p.m. EDT, the opening of the 13-minute launch window. The Atlas’ smooth, slicing roar reverberated with a historic sound stretching back to John Glenn’s Mercury flight and before. The latest version of Atlas carries a pedigree dating back to the first U.S. ICBM of the 1950s.
PAO: All the engines look good. Atlas burning normally, no problems… Everything looks nominal. Going through the period of maximum dynamic pressure…
Like the laurel wreath of victory worn by the winner of the Boston Marathon, a condensation halo of success appeared the bulbous nose as the rocket punched through the sound barrier.
PAO: Engine data looks good, still no problems; everything looks good on the flight of AC-69. 17 miles high now, 33 miles downrange… Pressure on the Atlas stage looks good. We’ll have Atlas Booster engine cut-off at two minutes 35 seconds. We still see no problems in the flight. Coming up now on two minutes Mission Elapsed Time. Very nice clean burn on the Atlas stage… And booster engine shutdown right on schedule. Booster engine jettison… Sustainer engines are now burning. Still have no problems in the flight… Next event to occur at three minutes coming up now will be the jettison of the Centaur insulation panels… And we have confirmation now that those panels have been jettisoned.
The rectangular insulation panels tumbled away from the rocket like autumn leaves in a strong breeze as the Atlas climbed through an altitude of 50 miles.
PAO: Coming up now to jettison the nose faring. Coming up here in about five seconds… Nose faring has jettisoned… Altitude 67 miles high, 154 miles downrange... Everything still smooth on both Atlas and Centaur… Sustainer engine data looks good. Four minutes into the flight… Next event should be the Atlas sustainer vernier engines cut-off at about four minutes and 27 seconds… Stand by here for Atlas/Centaur separation… Waiting now for confirmation of separation and start of the Centaur… Standing by for Skip Mackey, the director of central telemetry, now to confirm Centaur main engine start…
Mackey: Both engines are up and burning… Looks like we have two good Centaur engines…
PAO: Approximately 89 miles now in altitude… Everything continues to look good; it’s a very smooth flight. We’re not seeing anything unusual in our telemetry signals and standing by now for acquisition from Bermuda. Radar contact now from Bermuda… Main engine cut-off of the Centaur stage… We’ll now be going into a coast phase… Altitude now is 94 miles high… This coast phase will last until launch plus 25 minutes… At just short of 25 minutes we will see the start of the Centaur main engines for a second burn which will last approximately 90 seconds.
The Centaur restarted its twin engines and in less than two minutes had finished General Dynamics’ work for the day.
Controller: Bingo! Main engine cut-off!
Controller: Spacecraft separation!
Applause rippled through the control room in a growing wave as the tracking aircraft flying near Angola confirmed that the CRRES satellite successfully separated from the Centaur. “So far, the spacecraft is performing flawlessly. We’re glad to be in orbit,” said satellite mission director Sid Saucier. Later PAO George Diller said, “We have about the best flight we could possibly hope for.”
NASA Deputy Administrator J.R. Thompson stated, “Today’s successful launch of the sophisticated scientific satellite known as CRRES marks an important step forward in the ‘new way’ in which NASA is doing business with the private sector for expendable launch vehicle services.” He added, “My personal congratulations go out to General Dynamics, and, in fact, to the entire industry/government team for placing CRRES into its proper orbit, where it can now begin a string of strenuous scientific tasks.” – The launch also marked a welcome step in providing NASA with something positive to show in the stormy summer of ’90.
.
FIRST OF A NEW GENERATION
Speaking on behalf of his company, Jack Isabel said, “All of us at General Dynamics certainly are very proud of the performance today of our rocket as it made its commercial debut. I think this is a springboard for many more Atlas launches from the Cape. It couldn’t have been better.”
AC-69 marked the debut of the newly modified $64 million Atlas Centaur – also called Atlas I – being marketed by General Dynamics. Modifications made to the Atlas I vehicle included an all-metal 14-ft. diameter payload faring, changes to compensate for the high loads caused by the larger payload faring, addition of a second guidance gyro, new computer-controlled pressurization system, and a new data acquisition system.
General Dynamics intends to become the commercial space business with the biggest Brevard County launch plans; the company has 23 firm commitments for launches, options for eight more and another possible ten launches. Another of the big commercial space businesses, McDonnell Douglas, plans eight more launches, and Martin Marietta has plans for one.
Spaceport Florida Authority Director Ed O’Connor said the Cape Canaveral area is already reaping the benefit of the new industry. As frequency increases, there will be more jobs to run the launches, more construction and more need for offices. The impact from hiring more commercial space workers is expected to be felt throughout the Brevard County economy.
The emergence of the U.S, commercial launch industry has brought new life to the rusting steel structures at Launch Complex 36A and 36B. “The pads are real old,” said Ralph Howlington, General Dynamics Corp.’s Pad 36B site manager. “They were built in the early 1960s and have been sitting for years in the open salt air. We had to go in and do a complete sandblast and paint job, repairing the parts that were too deteriorated.” The launch towers have been repainted with an anti-corrosion paint and now appear dull gray. General Dynamics will launch its new Atlas rockets from Pad 36B. Pad 36A will be used to launch military satellites.
Beginning in 1991, General Dynamics will begin marketing an Atlas II version, which will be used by the Air Force to launch Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) satellites. The Atlas II will be stretched in height by 12 feet and will use engines with increased performance. The Atlas II will be able to loft 6,100 pounds into geostationary transfer orbit, compared to 4,950 pounds for the Atlas I used for CRRES.
(JSC Space News Roundup, July 27, 1990; Countdown, September 1990; Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990, KHR-15, March 1991 – edited)
-
#116 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:54
-
July 27: SHUFFLING SHUTTLES IN FOUR STEPS
Managers at Kennedy Space Center have a four-step plan for swapping Atlantis – now on Pad 39A – for Columbia – now in the Orbiter Processing Facility. In Step One, Columbia will be moved from the OPF to the Vehicle Assembly Building for mating with her boosters and External Tank. Step Two calls for rolling Atlantis back from her perch on Pad 39A to a position just outside the VAB, where she will remain for 24 hours due to lack of space in one of the world’s largest buildings.
Step Three calls for the mated Columbia to be rolled out to Pad 39A and Step Four moves Atlantis into the VAB. These maneuvers will produce two firsts in the Shuttle Era, i.e., the first time two consecutive shuttles have been rolled back to the VAB and the first time that two fully assembled shuttles will be seen outside, next to each other. “It’s unfortunate that they are heading in opposite directions,” said KSC spokesman Bruce Buckingham. (Banke, Florida Today, July 28, 1990 – edited)
-
#117 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:56
-
CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS: August 1990
August 2: NAVSTAR II-8 LAUNCHED ATOP DELTA II ROCKET
Another Navstar Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) was lofted by a McDonnell Douglas Delta II (Delta 197) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 1:39 a.m. EDT. The $65-million Air Force navigation satellite became the eighth in a series of 21 to be orbited by the end of 1992 (Countdown, October 1990 –edited)
-
#118 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 21:57
-
August 2: VP QUAYLE NAMES ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
Vice President Dan Quayle today announced the names of eleven persons chosen to serve on the Advisory Committee on the Future of the U.S. Space Program, chaired by Norman R. Augustine. Laurel Wilkening, Provost at the University of Washington, will serve as Vice Chairman. The other panel members are: Edward C. “Pete” Aldridge, former Secretary of the Air Force; Joseph P. Allen, former Space Shuttle astronaut (STS-5 and STS 51-A); D. James Baker, President of Joint Oceanographic Institution; former Rep. Edward Boland (D-Massachusetts); former Rep. Don Fuqua (D-Florida); Daniel J. Fink, former Chairman of the NASA Advisory Committee; Robert Herres, retired Air Force General and former Commander in Chief, U.S. Space Command; David T. Kerns, member of the President’s Education Policy Advisory Committee; Louis J. Lanzerotti, Chairman of the National research Council Space Studies Board; and former NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine. The panel member were selected on thejoint recommendation of NASA Administrator Richard H. Truly and Mr. Augustine in consultation with the Vice President.
The Advisory Committee will advise the NASA Administrator on overall approaches NASA management can use to implement the U.S. space program for the coming decades. The Committee will have a broad charter and will report its findings within approximately four months. The Committee will operate as an independent entity, and will submit its findings to the administrator of NASA and, with the Administrator, to the Vice President in his capacity as Chairman of the National Space Council. (Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990, KHR-15, March 1991 – edited)
August 2: NASA DEFENDS SERIES OF T-38 “CLOSE CALLS”
A NASA official on Thursday defended the agency's safety record in the operation of T-38 jets, the small, high performance training aircraft flown by its astronauts. A National Transportation Safety Board report on the "close call" involving a T-38 piloted by astronaut David Walker and a Pan Am Airbus over Washington last year disclosed there had been 22 potentially hazardous incidents involving the jets over a three-year period ending in April 1989. Those incidents included 10 "close calls" with other aircraft.
"That is standard and not high," said Marine Col. Bryan O'Connor, a NASA astronaut and Deputy Director of Flight Crew Operations at the Johnson Space Center. "Twenty-two in three years with about 100 different people means we had 80-some people that probably never reported anything in three years," O'Connor said. The size of the astronaut corps at Johnson varies but typically numbers near 100, many of them qualified as T-38 pilots and others eligible to ride as passengers. NASA's T-38 fleet includes 26 aircraft.
NTSB spokesman Mike Benson said his agency's report on the Pan Am Airbus incident will released Friday. The Orlando Sentinel obtained a copy Wednesday and reported on the 22 potentially hazardous incidents mentioned in the documents. Benson said that unlike the Pan Am incident, the 10 "close calls" had not prompted separate investigations by the NTSB. The Sentinel reported that two of those 10 cases also involved airliners.
One incident in September 1986 involved a NASA T-38 that passed within a quarter-mile of a Delta Airlines 737 airliner bound for Houston. The second involved a Southwest Airlines 737 and a training jet that passed within 2,000 feet in March 1989, the Sentinel reported.
O'Connor said NTSB investigators requested copies of the reports NASA had compiled on the 22 incidents. The space agency showed the reports to the NTSB after it provided investigators in the Pan Am incident with a tour of flight operations facilities at Ellington Field and a rundown of its flight safety practices, he said. Each of the reports was compiled by the NASA T-38 pilots involved in the incidents. The incidents varied in seriousness and included collisions with birds and lightning strikes as well as close calls with other aircraft.
One of the incidents involved a NASA pilot who was running dangerously low on fuel as he waited his turn to land in a congested flight pattern. Finally, the pilot had to declare an emergency so that controllers would permit him to land before he ran out of fuel, O'Connor said.
Takeoff and landing operations at Ellington Field, where the T-38s are based, pose the highest risk. Typically, the close calls involve light aircraft that use airports without control towers, not airliners arriving and departing from Hobby Airport. "This flying operation is not exempt from the same kind of problems that the whole country is having right now," said O'Connor. "Overworked controllers, hazy conditions and lots and lots of weekend flyers out, flying puddle jumpers with everyone vying for the same air space."
T-38 pilots involved in hazardous incidents are urged to report the circumstances to NASA flight safety personnel so that their colleagues can fly more safely, he said. Walker and the Federal Aviation Administration reported the Pan Am Airbus incident. Walker last month was stripped of a shuttle command and prohibited from flying T-38s for 60 days as a result of that incident and other undisclosed flying infractions.
At the same time, astronaut Robert Gibson also was stripped of a shuttle command and grounded for a year after the private plane he was piloting in an air race near New Braunfels was involved in a midair collision. Gibson landed safety, but the elderly pilot of the second plane died when his racer crashed. (The Houston Chronicle, Aug. 3, 1990 – edited)
-
#119 by Ares67 on 15 Dec, 2016 22:06
-
BREAKING NEWS: IRAQI ARMY OVERRUNS KUWAIT
Iraq's powerful army invaded the small oil-rich kingdom of Kuwait early Thursday, August 2. Tank-led troops quickly seized the ruler's palace and government buildings, and the Emir fled to Saudi Arabia, Kuwaiti officials said. Kuwait's U.S. ambassador said the Iraqis occupied all government buildings in the capital and were moving south toward the country's oil facilities. He appealed for U.S. military intervention. The invasion came hours after Iraq broke off talks intended to mend its differences with Kuwait.
"The Iraqis have occupied all of Kuwait!" a Kuwaiti government official shouted on the
telephone. Diplomatic sources in the Persian Gulf estimated more than 200 Kuwaitis were killed or wounded. The Iraqi government of President Saddam Hussein claimed it invaded at the request of revolutionaries who had already staged a coup and established "The Provisional Government of Free Kuwait." Kuwait and U.N. diplomats labeled the coup report a farce.
Bush Thursday condemned the invasion as "naked aggression" and signed an order
freezing control of Iraqi assets in the United States and blocking almost all imports from the oil-rich Middle Eastern country. Kuwaiti assets have also been frozen. The U.N. Security Council swiftly condemned the invasion, demanding an unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi troops and calling for immediate negotiations between the countries.
A Pentagon source said the aircraft carrier USS Independence, escorted by a six-ship battle group, was diverted from exercises in the Indian Ocean toward the gulf, where other U.S. ships were already patrolling. Bush summoned reporters prior to an early-morning meeting with his top national security advisers and said he was viewing the Middle East tumult "with utmost gravity." He said the United States would "take whatever steps necessary" to defend interests in the gulf. When asked if this included military force, Bush said, "We're not discussing intervention." But he said he would not discuss military options publicly.
It was the first time in modern history an Arab nation had invaded another and taken over its government. The other Persian Gulf states have long opposed the use of military force to settle disputes. Diplomats said about 350 Iraqi tanks wheeled into the capital a few hours after crossing the border 40 miles away at dawn. Witnesses said the bombardment of ports and military airports by artillery and the air force was vicious.
The invaders surrounded the palace of Kuwait's ruler, Sheik Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah. Residents said the palace was seized after about two hours of heavy artillery barrages. There were about 50 tanks around the palace and the neighboring American Embassy, residents said. Baghdad television said Iraq could withdraw its forces within days. Kuwait's land and sea borders were closed, as was the airport. There are about 4,000 Americans among the large expatriate community in Kuwait.
The Soviet Union decided to suspend arms sales to Iraq, the official news agency Tass said Thursday, quoting the Foreign Ministry. Earlier Thursday, the Soviet Union demanded that Iraq withdraw its troops from Kuwait. Nations around the world criticized the invasion. The Soviet Union and France, the main suppliers of arms to Iraq, called on Baghdad to immediately withdraw its troops from Kuwait. The Arab League Council met in emergency session in Cairo but issued no immediate statement. Israel condemned Iraq as the main threat to peace in the Middle East and said the world could no longer ignore Hussein's volatile declarations. But Defense Minister Moshe Arens said he did not believe "any action on the part of Israel is required."
Iraq's ambitious President Saddam Hussein Hussein earlier this year threatened to destroy half of Israel with internationally outlawed chemical weapons if Israel tried to attack any Iraqi military facilities. Western nations are nervous about Iraq's military posturing. Police have arrested several people in Britain on charges they were trying to smuggle nuclear-bomb triggers to Baghdad. Police in Britain and other European countries also intercepted shipments that they said were parts of a gigantic gun capable of firing chemical or nuclear shells into Israel, 250 miles west of the Iraqi border.
Oil prices soared in frenzied trading because of fears the invasion would disrupt supplies. The spot price of North Sea Brent Blend, the most widely traded international crude oil, jumped to $23.62 a barrel from Wednesday's close of $20.40. Iraq has the second-largest known oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia - more than 100 billion barrels. His eight-year war with Iran left him with the Arab world's most formidable and battle-trained army, but his nation was also saddled with about $70 billion in war debts - of which $10 billion to $20 billion was owed to Kuwait. Hussein had demanded that Kuwait write off that debt.
Hussein launched an economic reconstruction drive after the August 1988 cease-fire with Iran but was constantly strapped for cash. He turned his attention to Kuwait, whose roaring oil production was helping glut the market and drive prices down, cutting Iraq's precious revenues. Iraq claimed Kuwait was stealing oil from a border oil field and demanded Kuwait's Bubiyan Island, which is opposite Iraq's only outlets to the sea. Baghdad has even claimed for years that Kuwait is part of Iraq.
(Deseret News, Aug. 2, 1990 – edited)