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#380 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:30
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#381 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:32
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#382 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:34
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#383 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:36
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#384 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:37
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November 30: ATLANTIS POST-FLIGHT SERVICING CONTINUES
Tires and brakes have been removed from the nose and main landing gears of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Orbital Maneuvering System a/c motor valves have been checked. Checks of the Reaction Control System a/c motor valves are planned today. Lubricating oil was drained from the Auxiliary Power Units. Routine post-flight checks and inspections are continuing on the three main engines and the Thermal Protection System. Preparations are underway for draining residual hypergolic propellants from the Orbital Maneuvering System crossfeed lines and the manifolds this weekend. The OPF will be closed to all non-essential personnel during this operation. (KSC Shuttle Status Report, Nov. 30, 1990)
December 1: MILITARY MET-SAT LAUNCHED FROM VANDENBERG
A Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) launch was successfully completed at Vandenberg AFB in California at 7:57 a.m. PST. The satellite was believed destined for use over the Persian Gulf to attain weather data and details on cloud cover and sand storms. The $40 million craft was delayed twice before finally getting into orbit. A faulty computer which controls the rocket systems during flight was the cause of both delays. The 1,815-pound craft was taken into space on a redesigned Atlas E rocket from Vandenberg’s Launch Complex-3 West. (Countdown, February 1991)
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#385 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:38
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December 1: CHANNEL TUNNEL LINKS UNITED KINGDOM AND MAINLAND EUROPE
Today Britain and mainland Europe were connected when workers from France and the UK broke through the final few metres of rock. Construction workers from Britain and France drilled though the final section of rock between them to join the two halves of the Channel Tunnel and meet under the English Channel.
The momentous breakthrough links the UK to Europe for the first time since the Ice Age, about 8,000 years ago. To a throng of cheers, construction workers celebrated with champagne - the only time alcohol has been allowed underground on the work site. French worker, Philippe Cozette, and his British counterpart, Graham Fagg, waved flags and shook hands as the first men able to walk between the two countries.
Only moments earlier at 11:00 GMT, a half-metre wall of rock separated Britain from mainland Europe. The men continued drilling until a hole was created big enough to allow vehicles through. The first Britons walked through the tunnel to have their passports stamped in France. There were similar scenes on the other side as a French party which drove into Folkestone, Kent, headed straight over to customs and immigration officers.
Transport secretary Malcolm Rifkind was among the first through. Speaking to the BBC, he said: "The physical contact that has been achieved between Britain and France today is symptomatic of many changes that we have been experiencing in the last 20 years. "It is all happening and it is continuing to happen at an accelerating pace."
Downing Street called the event a "tribute to private enterprise". The Channel Tunnel venture is expected to lead to the construction of a high speed train link across Kent, to match one France has already built. Work on the Channel Tunnel began in 1986 and it is due to be completed by 1993. (BBC, Dec. 1, 1990 – edited)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/1/newsid_2516000/2516473.stm
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#386 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:39
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December 3: SPACEHAB WINS CONTRACT
NASA has awarded a 4185 million contract to Spacehab Inc., a company that plans to prepare Space Shuttle experiment modules at a facility being built at Port Canaveral. “It’s good news for Spacehab, and we feel it’s good news for Brevard County,” said James Ball, Director of Marketing for the Washington, D.C.-based company. The contract rquires the company to install NASA-sponsored space science experiments into Spacehab modules at the 37,000-square-foot Port Canaveral facility, which is expected to employ 50 to 60 people. (Florida Today, Dec. 4, 1990)
December 3: OPF-2 CLOSED DURING ATLANTIS FUEL DRAIN
The Orbiter Processing Facility High Bay 2 is closed to all non-essential personnel today while technicians continue to drain residual oxidizer and fuel from the Orbital Maneuvering System crossfeed lines and manifold. This operation was started yesterday. The left OMS pod is scheduled to be removed December 7 and transferred to the HMF for post-flight operations. The three Auxiliary Power Units have been deserviced of lubricating oil. (KSC Shuttle Status Report, Dec. 3, 1990 – edited)
December 4: OPF 2 REOPENED FOR NORMAL WORK
Residual oxidizer and fuel propellants were drained from the Orbital Maneuvering System crossfeed lines and manifold and the bay was reopened for normal work early this morning. Tests of the radar altimeter and landing gear hydraulic struts are scheduled this week. Preparations are underway to remove the left OMS pod. Pod removal is scheduled Saturday to be followed by transfer to the HMF for post-flight operations. The No. 3 Auxiliary Power Unit was disconnected in preparation for removal. (KSC Shuttle Status Report, Dec. 4, 1990 – edited)
December 5: LEFT OMS POD REMOVED FROM ATLANTIS
Orbiter Processing Facility bay 2 was cleared this morning of all non-essential personnel so technicians could disconnect the left OMS pod from Atlantis. The bay will be reopened tomorrow afternoon and the left OMS pod will be transferred to the Hypergolic Maintenance Facility on December 8. Main engine drying operations are planned for December 6. Next week, heat shields will be removed in preparation for removal of the three main engines late next week. A test of the orbiter’s interior and exterior lighting systems is currently underway. (KSC Shuttle Status Report, Dec. 5 & 6, 1990 – edited)
December 5: NASA OFFICIALS DENY REPORTS OF PHONE MISUSE
NASA Johnson Space Center officials today categorically denied recent news reports of large-scale unauthorized use of long-distance phone service at the center. The Houston Chronicle incorrectly reported Wednesday that hackers accessing federal long-distance phone lines had stolen up to $12 million dollars worth of service over a two-year period.
Space Center officials issued a statement Wednesday that, given that the entire long-distance bill for nearly 10,000 federal employees and contractors runs under $3 million each year, the Chronicle’s assertion could not possibly be correct. Acting on an inquiry from the Chronicle on November 16, the center shut down an off-site access link to federal long-distance service. It was also discovered that an access number to that link had been published on a “hacker’s bulletin board.”
There has been no appreciable change in Federal Telecommunications Service (FTS) call statistics from the Johnson Space Center or indication of significant abuse over the last several years. Any abuse at a level even much smaller than that asserted in the Chronicle article would have been impossible to miss and would have been investigated.
“While unauthorized use of the telephone undoubtedly occurs, as is likely on any large commercial or government system, we are confident it is a small percentage of total telephone costs,” said John Garman, Deputy Director of Information Systems at JSC. (Steve Nesbitt, NASA JSC News Release No. 90-059, Dec. 5, 1990 – edited)
December 7: ATLANTIS TORQUE CHECKS COMPLETED
Testing of Atlantis’ Main Propulsion System continues. Low pressure pump torque checks were accomplished overnight. Waste management system servicing has also been completed. The three main engines are scheduled to be removed December 12 and 13. Preparations are in work to move the left-hand OMS pod to the HMF tonight for the required flight-interval maintenance. Auxiliary Power Unit lube oil servicing is also planned. Smoke detection and fire suppression system functional tests have begun and the fire suppression equipment has checked out well (KSC Shuttle Status Report, Dec. 7, 1990 – edited)
December 7: NASA KEEPS CHALLENGER TAPES SECRET
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia today ruled that NASA is “entitled to an opportunity to prove its claim that release of the Challenger cockpit tape would invade the privacy of the deceased astronauts, of their families” and sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson, who had ordered NASA to release the tape to The New York Times. The space agency had invoked a privacy exemption under the Freedom of Information Act and said that releasing the tape would subject the astronauts’ families to emotional distress because recordings would be played repeatedly on radio and television.
Court of Appeals Judge D.H. Ginsburg wrote in his opinion returning the case that “disclosure of the file would reveal the sound and inflections of the crew’s voices during the last seconds of their lives. Therefore, the tape contains personal information the release of which is subject to the balancing of the public gain against the private harm at which it is purchased.” (Florida Today, Dec. 8, 1990; The Orlando Sentinel, Dec. 8, 1990 – edited)
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#387 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:41
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December 7: HOSTAGES MAY BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
The Iraqi parliament today overwhelmingly endorsed Saddam Hussein's decision to free thousands of Western hostages, meaning the 900 Americans held captive in Iraq and Kuwait might be home for Christmas.The more than 8,000 Westerners, East Europeans and Japanese stranded in Iraq will be allowed to leave beginning Saturday, Iraqi officials said.
Iraq said the hostages could start applying for exit visas immediately. It said they would be flown on special Iraqi Airways flights to Amman, Jordan. Despite the conciliatory move, U.S. officials said Iraq has sent 30,000 fresh troops to the Arabian desert in recent days, indicating Baghdad has no intention of abandoning Kuwait, which it invaded on August 2.
Pentagon spokesman Bob Hall said the troop reinforcements brought the Iraqi buildup in Kuwait and southern Iraq to 480,000 soldiers. An additional 10,000 U.S. troops also have arrived in the Persian Gulf, Hall said. The 350,000-strong multinational force now includes about 250,000 Americans, most of them dug into the Saudi Arabian desert. President Bush has said 440,000 American soldiers will be in the gulf by mid-January. The U.N. resolution approved last week authorizes the use of force to drive Iraq from Kuwait if Baghdad has not withdrawn by January 15.
Saddam yesterday instructed his rubber-stamp parliament to free the captives, saying he no longer needed them to deter attack. He said his troops were fully deployed in Kuwait, seized in a dispute over oil, land and money. "Iraqi armed forces should maintain the highest degree of alert and vigilance," Saddam said, "because the forces of aggression remain on our sacred soil in Saudi Arabia, fanning the flames of fire."
Bush welcomed the decision to free Americans and other foreigners in Kuwait and Iraq but said the United States must still demand withdrawal. "We've got to continue to keep the pressure on," he said. In Saudi Arabia, U.S. troops also had a message for Saddam: It's great the hostages may be home for Christmas, but the soldiers are not prepared to go home until Kuwait is free. (Deseret News, Associated Press, Dec. 7, 1990 – edited)
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#388 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:42
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#389 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:42
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December 8: AMF DINNER AT SPACEPORT USA
Rep. Bill Nelson (D-Florida) and U.S. Senator Jake Garn (R-Utah) received the Quest Award from the Astronauts Memorial Foundation at their fourth annual awards dinner tonight at Spaceport USA. Five other awards were presented: David Brown, President of SKF Bearing Specialties, received the Corporate Award; Betty Castor, Florida Education Commissioner, received the Christa Award; Bob McCall, space artist, was awarded the Ambassador Award and the AMF’s Community Service Award went to the University of Central Florida Institute for Simulation and Training.
Senator Garn was the keynote speaker for the event and discussed both his 1985 flight aboard Discovery and his views on education. “We as a nation need to use foresight in looking at both the practical issues of space technology and the benefits gained when young minds embrace the ideas of the future,” he said. (Florida Today, Dec. 9, 1990)
December 9: NEW CENTAUR ON ITS WAY
General Dynamics ships its first Centaur upper stage for the Titan IV rocket to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this month. The upper stage will first be used in mid-1991 aboard the Titan IV to put a 10,000-pound military payload into geosynchronous orbit. Over the next five years, the U.S. Air Force will receive 15 of the upper stages from General Dynamics under a $1.3 billion contract. The stage carries 50 percent more fuel than previous versions. (Florida Today, Dec. 9, 1990)
December 11: AUGUSTINE REPORT: AIM AT NEW GOALS
“We are concerned that the Space Shuttle may be the thin reed that supports our entire civil space program,” said Norman Augustine, chairman of the panel established by Vice President Dan Quayle. Augustine’s report says that NASA should develop an alternative to the Space Shuttle, focus on science instead of “glitzy megaprojects” and recommended redesign of Space Station Freedom. The report also warned that another Space Shuttle accident is likely. Vice President Quayle remarked, “This report clearly points out the need for fundamental changes.” He also called it a shot in the arm for NASA.
The report did not call for the abandonment of the Space Shuttle, saying: “The committee recognizes the important role of the Space Shuttle for missions where there is a need for human involvement.” NASA Administrator Richard Truly said NASA would “look at every single recommendation and deal with it.” He said that, overall, he saw no major change in NASA’s pace of science programs. (Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990, KHR-15, March 1991 – edited)
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#390 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:43
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December 11: ATLANTIS MAIN ENGINE REMOVAL STARTS TOMORROW
Atlantis is scheduled to have her main engines removed starting December 12, with two engines scheduled to be pulled out on Wednesday and the third on Thursday. Powered-up testing continues. Tacan system testing also continues. Auxiliary Power Unit valve resistance checks are also underway. (KSC Shuttle Status Report, Dec. 11, 1990 – edited)
December 12: SPRINGER TO LEAVE NASA FOR BOEING JOB
Astronaut Robert C. Springer, just back on Earth after the STS-38 DOD mission aboard Atlantis, announced his retirement from NASA and the Marine Corps today. Springer will work for Boeing Aerospace and Electronics Division in Huntsville, Alabama, as manager of the Space Station Freedom’s element integration.
In 2007, STS-38 Commander Richard Covey had this to say: “Bob Springer had decided that he was going to leave the Astronaut Office after our flight, and in fact, had already accepted a position with Boeing in Huntsville, Alabama, when we got the delay announcement,” the four-month delay due to the hydrogen leak problems during the summer of 1990 that is. “I wasn’t 100 percent sure that he wasn’t going to say, ‘You know, I’m not going to fly. I’m just going to go to my new job.’ I think he probably had some of those thoughts about whether he wanted to delay.”
“Well, Boeing was good about letting him delay his report date, so he did go ahead and fly with us, but after we got back in November he left and actually finished his part of our crew report while he was working for Boeing in Huntsville, so he departed pretty quickly after we completed the mission,” Covey said. (Countdown, February 1991; Richard Covey, JSC Oral History Project interview, Feb. 7, 2007 – edited)
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#391 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:44
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December 12: NAVSTAR GPS PROBLEMS
A problem has reared its ugly head – just when the highly ambitious program to orbit a constellation of 21 Navstar GPS navigational satellites seemed to be going swimmingly. It appears that Navstar 2A-1 – the first Block 2A GPS satellite launched on November 26 – has developed a generic malfunction; one that could ultimately afflict other satellites of this specific type.
The problem arose today when a fuse blew in the electrical circuit of a solar array control box. A backup system has been activated and the satellite is functioning according to plan. Although GPS satellite solar cell arrays can be controlled from the ground if the need arises, it is felt that this is not acceptable as a long-term solution. Program chiefs need to establish if the malfunction is, indeed, generic and devise a solution before further GPS satellites are launched. It has been the U.S. Air Force’s intention to orbit a GPS satellite every 60-90 days – nine Block 2 models had already been launched prior to 2A-1 – but a decision as to when launches can resume rests with the team now attempting to isolate the ill-timed electrical flaw. (Spaceflight News #62, February 1991 – edited)
December 15: KSC BOOSTS BREVARD ECONOMY
In fiscal year 1990, Kennedy Space Center contributed $1.32 billion to the Florida economy; that represented a $132 million increase over the previous year. Contractors at the space center received about $940 million and another $224 million went to off-site businesses in the county. Florida businesses not located in Brevard County received about $18 million and out-of-state purchases and contracts amounted to roughly $61 million. Civil service salaries through the end of fiscal 1990 amounted to $131 million, an increase of $29 million over 1989. Of the 18,500 workers employed at KSC, 12,700 were employed by KSC contractors; 2,600 were civil servants and another 3,250 were employed in construction and tenant jobs. (Florida Today, Dec. 16, 1990)
December 15: ASTRONAUTS MEMORIAL TO BE UNVEILED IN MAY
The official opening of the Astronauts Memorial has been set for May 9, 1991, AMF officials announced. Appearing at the opening will be government dignitaries, NASA officials and former astronauts will be on hand for the memorial’s unveiling. Surviving members of astronauts’ families will also be on hand. The memorial honors Theodore Freeman, Charles Bassett, Elliot See Jr., Clifton Williams Jr., Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White, Roger Chaffee, Francis Scobee, Michael Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe. (Florida Today, Dec. 16, 1990; The Orlando Sentinel, Dec. 8, 1990)
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#392 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:47
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December 15: SHUTTLE WORK SET BACK BY KSC BLACKOUT
A relay in the uninterruptible power supply system at Kennedy Space Center apparently overheated and failed about 8:45 p.m. last night leaving the space center without power in the Launch Control Center for about 16 hours. The relay’s failure caused a small fire in an electrical panel on the LCC’s first floor; the fire was quickly extinguished by KSC firefighters, according to space center spokesman Bruce Buckingham. There were no injuries to personnel or any damage to any ground-based processing equipment or flight hardware, according to Buckingham.
Processing work on Atlantis and Discovery in the Orbiter Processing Facility was halted during the blackout. Workers completed their troubleshooting efforts, replaced the failed relay and returned to routine operations by 1:48 p.m. today, according to John Williams, spokesman for Lockheed Space Operations Center. Shuttle managers foresee no delay in the upcoming launch of Discovery in March 1991. On April 2, there was another interruption in the power supply when plumbing broke and water was accidentally sprayed on electrical equipment. (Banke, Florida Today, Dec 16, 1990; The Orlando Sentinel, Dec. 17, 1990 – edited)
December 17: NASA FACILITIES NEED MAINTENANCE
NASA spends too little money on maintenance of its facilities and that could cause safety hazards, says the General Accounting Office, and investigative arm of Congress. “Many of NASA’s facilities have not been adequately maintained and are in degraded condition,” according to a GAO report issued today. The report says that NASA is working to correct the faults and suggests that the space agency develop a comprehensive maintenance strategy, spend more money on upkeep and conduct annual surveys to determine which of its centers most needs repairs.
John E. O’Brien, Assistant Deputy Administrator of NASA, calls the document “a useful assessment” and that the space agency is correcting the problems. At Kennedy Space Center, the reports cites: “A leaky roof on the Vehicle Assembly Building which allowed rain to splash down on computers in the adjacent Launch Control Center; ventilation systems and heating boilers so old that replacement parts are now unavailable; obsolete circuit breakers at KSC and Ames Research Center which are so dangerous that power must be turned off to allow testing.”
Congress has ordered NASA to spend $20 million this year on long-delayed repairs; $4.12 million of the money will be spent at KSC to fix leaks in the LCC; modernize the sewage treatment plant; replace water pipes in the VAB; replace inaccurate electrical meters and faulty lights, and repair roads and parking areas. (Brown, Florida Today, Dec. 18, 1990; The Orlando Sentinel, Dec. 18, 1990; Countdown, February 1991 – edited)
December 17: CAUSE OF LCC FIRE DETERMINED
NASA officials have traced the cause of the small fire inside the Launch Control Center on December 14. A wire had been accidentally severed on December 12, according to French Johnson, Chief of the Electrical Mechanical Systems Branch. The system affected by the fire provided continuous power to critical computers that monitor the health of the shuttle fleet. Lockheed Space Operations Co., the shuttle processing contractor, will oversee a $1.2 million refurbishment which is expected to be completed by January 12. (Banke, Florida Today, Dec. 18, 1990 – edited)
December 17: SDI STARBIRD LAUNCHED
The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization launched a $10 million Starbird rocket tonight at 10:37 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 20 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. That site was last used in the 1960s to launch Titan missiles. SDIO Program Manager Lt. Col. Lanny Larson said, “It looks like it was a 100 percent success. We know of nothing at all that went wrong.” (Banke, Florida Today, Dec. 18, 1990 – edited)
December 18: SHUTTLE “AMBASSADOR” AT SPACEPORT USA
Visitors to the Spaceport USA on December 20 will have the opportunity to take a walk-through tour of a full-scale Space Shuttle replica. Named the “Ambassador,” the 122-foot long model is the next best thing to climbing in a real Space Shuttle, according to visitor center officials. The full-scale replica, made of steel and fiberglass, will offer visitors an astronaut’s view of the Space Shuttle’s flight deck, crew quarters, and cargo bay.
A video display of Space Shuttle operations will be presented at the exhibit. Guests will have the opportunity to take photographs by the 56-foot-high Ambassador. The distinctive black and white coloring, which duplicates the tiles used on actual Space Shuttles, will make a striking background for those special family photos. After sundown, special lighting will illuminate the Ambassador and its dramatic 78-foot wing span.
During the Christmas season, Spaceport USA will primarily be open from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. daily, except on Christmas Day when the complex is closed. The Ambassador was built by an Apopka, Florida, firm for Irvin and Kenneth Field Productions (Vienna, Virginia). The replica will be on display for four months through an agreement between owners and TW Recreational Services Inc.
“When citizens of countries that don’t have a space program visit Florida, they want to see the American space program first-hand. At the same time, Americans continue to show great interest and pride in the space program,” said Tom Blair, Marketing Supervisor at KSC’s Spaceport USA. More than 3.1 million people toured the space center in 1990, an increase of 5.2 percent; December’s increase over 1989 was 5.1 percent.
Spaceport USA is operated by TW Recreational Services for NASA. Company officials cite a number of events at Florida’s fourth-largest tourist attraction accounted for the 1990 visitorship: the arrival of the Space Shuttle replica “Ambassador;” groundbreaking for the $6 million Astronauts Memorial and construction of the 80-seat Satellite Sky Theater.
(Philips, KSC News Release No. 199-90, Dec. 18, 1990; Chronology of KSC and KSC Related Events for 1990, KHR-15, March 1991 – edited))
http://photos.orlandoweekly.com/these-vintage-photos-of-the-kennedy-space-center-are-mesmerizing/?slide=1&bus-stops-at-the-launch-area-cape-canaveral-florida
http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_US/shuttle/annexes/3_expo_shuttle_ambassador.htm
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#393 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:48
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December 18: NASA SEEKING WAYS TO IMPLEMENT AUGUSTINE REPORT
Administrator Richard H. Truly said today that NASA will “move out aggressively across the board” an all the Augustine Report recommendations and will create two new management jobs to oversee exploration and to recruit technical talent for the space agency. Truly also discussed the possibility of separating the Space Shuttle Program from other development programs in a NASA-wide television address. “Assuming we do eventually go that way, the transition must be very long and carefully laid out because it would mean the moving of literally billions of dollars of our programs,” he said. “And there is also the need to make sure that ‘safety first’ is maintained within the shuttle program.”
The new Office of Exploration will be positioned under an associate administrator; its first duty would be to lay out “well thought-out” options to meet the challenges of returning to the Moon and exploring Mars. The new Office of Human Resources will insure that NASA has the engineering, scientific and administrative talent necessary to fulfill its missions. These include the high-priority space program, the 75-year-old aeronautical research program, Mission to Planet Earth to help protect the environment, and the planetary exploration program – the Mission from Planet Earth.
Truly pledged that NASA would seek ways to implement the committee report. He said that the agency would place considerable emphasis on beginning the committee’s recommendations to develop a heavy-lift launch vehicle and to insure the vigor of the nation’s entire civil space transportation system.
The heavy-lift vehicle was proposed to insure access to space. The backbone of the U.S. access to space is the Space Shuttle, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary of flight next April. The advisory committee said that the United States will be “unalterably committed to the Space Shuttle for many years.” Therefore, NASA “must take steps needed to enhance the shuttle’s reliability, minimize wear and tear, and enhance launch schedule predictability.”
Among other recommendations made by the Augustine Report is the suggestion that NASA should plan to consolidate shuttle program responsibility at Kennedy Space Center. Center Director Forrest S. McCartney said, “As the program transitions from a development program to a recurring operation, the center of activity naturally gravitates toward KSC. It’s too early to say what will happen I certainly don’t see any diminished role for KSC. I see it possibly enhancing.”
He went on to say that astronaut training and mission control would probably not move from Johnson Space Center, but that managers located at NASA Headquarters and at Marshall Space Flight Center could be moved to KSC; MSFC employs about 1,000 people in the shuttle program.
The panel declared that “the Space Shuttle is essential to America’s civil space program for the next decade or more.” Truly also noted his appointment of Donald Puddy to head a small team to help the Administrator determine how to implement the Augustine Panel’s recommendations. Currently Puddy is Director of the Flight Crew Operations Directorate at the Johnson Space Center. (Vincent, NASA Press Release No. 90-162, Dec. 18, 1990; Brown, Florida Today, Dec. 19 & 22, 1990 – edited)
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#394 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:50
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Postscript: Meeting the Bushes – A Nice Memory
Ross-Nazzal: Did you guys have any PR duties after this flight, or were they also classified?
Covey: Yes, we did. Yes. Let me put it in the right perspective. We had some. Most of them were related to our customer, so they weren’t highly publicized. I’m trying to think if there was anything else unique. The only thing that was unique and was very memorable is that the crew did get invited to the White House, and this was the George Bush the first and Barbara, Barbara’s White House. We went just before Christmas, so we went in December. We went very quickly after our flight, which was, you know – the Bushes were great about that type of thing.
It was the most memorable visit that we had. Of the three that I’d made to the White House after flights, it was the most memorable. The reason was because of George Bush and Barbara Bush. They invited our spouses, so our wives went with us, and we all went into the Oval Office. Had a very nice photo session in the Oval Office with them, and I’ve got this great picture of my wife and myself with George and Barbara Bush, and that’s unique, to have the First Lady in the picture. In my first visits the First Lady wasn’t anywhere around.
Then the President says, “I want to take you guys to go do this, and Barbara’s going to take the spouses and go show them the private residence,” which was all decorated for Christmas. So they disappeared, and then he says, “Okay,” he says, “I want to show you this little…,” so he took us off in his little office behind the Oval Office. He had his little world map in there, and he had a typewriter, and that’s where he typed all of his little notes to people and stuff. He was showing us that, and he was just kind of saying, “This is where I really do my work,” you know, and stuff, and it was very personable.
He took us outside and showed us around some things, where he played horseshoes, and the dogs were running out there, I remember. Barbara came out somewhere in there, because Millie went running out and caught a bird, and it drove Barbara crazy. She was so ticked at Millie for killing this bird, as you can imagine.
But then my wife tells the part about when they went up into the private residence, and we came up, I guess. Yes, we came up there and joined them. This was about the time we had joined them, and it turned out that Jeb Bush was there with his family for the Christmas holidays.
I think Kathy said that we were standing outside the Lincoln bedroom – she still remembers this – and these two little kids came running out, grabbed their arms around Barbara Bush, and pulled her down. I sort of remember this; my wife remembers it. And she listens to them; she says, “Yes, these are the astronauts.” So here were these kids who were the grandchildren of the President of the United States, and they’re real excited about seeing the astronauts, you know, and stuff.
It was kind of a neat story that’s there. So that was the most memorable post-flight thing we had from STS-38 was that.
Ross-Nazzal: That’s a nice memory. It’s nice that you were able to go and get those photos.
Covey: Yes, yes.
(Richard Covey, JSC Oral History Project interview, Feb. 7, 2001 – edited)
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#395 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:51
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That’s all…
…at least the Atlantis side of the story
STS-38 hi-res photos on L2 at
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=18687.0
But I’m afraid we’re not through with the “summer of our discontent,” because there is yet another tale to be told:
Columbia STS-35 – Triumph over Adversity
So watch this space for the next chapter in the shuttle history reports, which will also include a look at Mir Space Station events. The Russians weren’t so happy during that time either – and I don’t mean the death woes of the Soviet Union.
I hope you’ll join me again next year; my current target for posting the STS-35 report is March 2017.
_________________________________________________
“Going forward requires touchstones in the past.”
- John Herschel Glenn, Jr. (1921 – 2016)
__________________________________________________
Oh, just one more thing…
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#396 by Ares67 on 16 Dec, 2016 21:52
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Winter is coming
“Still… in this world only winter is certain.”
George R.R. Martin, “A Dance with Dragons”
So, let’s all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2017… I guess…
While putting the final touches to this latest Space Shuttle history report I’ve been in a rather dark mood… No, it’s not about turning 49 last month – it’s about what happened two days earlier… Bill Clinton becoming the new First Lady may have been terrifying to parts of the U.S. electorate – fair enough… But The Donald? Seriously? America, you’ve got a lot to explain. Of course, it was your choice to make; he will be your leader now… that should be punishment enough. But who will pay for it? – No, not Mexico... All of us!
Okay, now let’s talk about Brexit… NOT!!!
Recently I’ve been listening again and again to that R.E.M. song… Can you guess which one? It’s not “Man on the Moon!”
Where was I? – Ah, yes, Space Shuttle history. Perhaps that will ease my mind…
“Triumph over Adversity,” that’s the motto!
See ya’ll in 2017.
- Ares67
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#397 by Kyra's kosmos on 25 Feb, 2024 23:24
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In Tom Jones' Space Shuttle Stories there were a couple revelations from Bob Springer about STS-38. The first was a spacewalk that was cancelled just before depressuriation of the airlock to deploy a stuck antenna that came unstuck just in time.
The second was a bit disturbing, but someone must have thought it a necessary precaution. If ithis had come from someone else with only periphreral involvement or a random forum dude, I would have taken it with a grain of salt. Col. Springer wouldn't make this up to boost Tom Jones' book sales.
"The payload had a self-destruct mechanism, and we were not to land with that payload at any place other than Kennedy Space Center. If we had had to go to one of the emergency fields, they’d have pulled the pin. They really didn’t want that payload exposed. The original reason for it was when the payload was on orbit, if there was any chance that somebody could make a grab for the satellite, they would blow the satellite up. They didn’t really make a big deal about “You’re not going to land with it,” but we knew what that meant."
In a TAL would the crew ditch off the African coast and then they would blow it up? This would imply the other NRO type satellites could have had a similar policy and procedure. At least STS-36 had some military base airfields as it ran up the Atlantic seaboard.
