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+ July 19, 1996 Mission update Vol. 35, No. 15 July 19, 1996 Spaceport News America's gateway to the universe. Leading the world in preparing and launching missions to Earth and beyond. John F. Kennedy Space Center Bertha sends Atlantis to VAB, boosters keep her there Mission: STS-78 on Columbia. After the threat from Hurri- flight, Mission STS-79, will be replaced because technicians disassembling the motors from Launch date, time: June 20, cane Bertha forced the rollback delayed until around mid-Sep- 10:49 a.m. from Launch Pad 39B. of the Shuttle Atlantis to the tember. It also means that U.S. the previous flight, STS-78, ob- Vehicle Assembly Building on astronaut Shannon Lucid is on served that hot gas had seeped Primary payload: Life and July 10, mission managers opted her way to setting a new record into J-joints in the field joints Microgravity Spacelab (LMS). to keep her there to replace her for U.S. long-duration space- of the motors. solid rocket boosters. flight that will stand for some The most probable cause for Landing date, time: Columbia The decision means the time to come. touched down at Runway 33 of fourth Shuttle-Mir docking Atlantis’ motors are being (See STS-79, Page 8) the Shuttle Landing Facility at 8:36 a.m. on July 7, 1996. The nearly 17-day-long flight made STS-78 the longest Shuttle KSC rolls out welcome for Olympic flame mission to date. Kennedy Space Center welcomed the Olympic flame July 7 in a big way. In addition to the landing of Columbia, which occured on time at 8:36 a.m., spectators and media were also offered an Mission: STS-79 on Atlantis. Launch date, time: Mid- September from Launch Pad 39A. unforgettable view of the Mission Synopsis: STS-79 is flame passing in front of the the fourth in a series of NASA Space Shuttle for STS-79. docking missions to the Russian As the flame made its way Mir Space Station, leading to the to the Visitor Center, a throng construction and operation of the of spectators heralded its International Space Station. As the first flight of the Spacehab arrival with flag waving and Double Module, (see photo, page cheers. The Melbourne 7) STS-79 encompasses Municipal Band and Chal- research, test and evaluation of lenger Fife and Drum Corps ISS as well as logistics resupply provided patriotic music. And for the Mir Space Station. STS-79 a recap of the day's activities is also the first NASA/Mir and the torch's journey across American crew member the United States played on a exchange, with astronaut John jumbo video wall. Blaha replacing Shannon Lucid KSC SHUTTLE Operations Manager Loren Shriver, right, transfers the Olympic flame to KSC runner Joanne Maceo's torch at the top of Launch Pad 39A after he aboard the Mir. NASA Administrator Dan carried the Olympic torch to the top of the pad as his contribution to the torch relay Goldin and Center Director effort. Jon Granston of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (center) Landing date, time: To be witnesses the exchange. Maceo then carried her lit torch down the concrete hard determined. stand of the pad to pass the flame to another member of the KSC runner team. (See TORCH, Page 3) Page 2 SPACEPORT NEWS July 19, 1996 THE NASA KENNEDY Management Association recently named new officers for 1996- 97. The officers, installed during a banquet June 28 at KARS II are, from the left, Bob Gerron, Mission Assurance, treasurer; Vanessa Stromer, Shuttle Processing, secretary; and Catherine Alexander, Installation Operations, president. Not pictured is Miguel SIX STUDENTS participating in the KSC/UCF Space Scholars Program and Rodriguez, Payloads Processing, vice president. Science and Engineering Scholars Program recently assisted with a presentation at the University of Central Florida on preparing high school sophmores, juniors and seniors for college. They are, from the left, Arthur McClung, a math major Space Week events planned at Visitor Center at Morehouse College in Atlanta; Summer Weisburg, a computer engineering major at the University of Central Florida; Monica Rivas, an industrial engineering The Kennedy Space Center memorating the 20th anniver- major at the University of Central Florida; Mimmie Lui, a civil engineering major Visitor Center has a number of sary of the Viking probe. That at the University of New Mexico; Shalot Armstrong, an electrical engineering events underway to celebrate exhibit will be on display major at the University of Texas; and Brian Baron, a math major at Morehouse. Space Week, Tuesday, July 16 through January 1997. The scholars programs target minority students who have traditionally been under-represented in engineering and science career fields. The objective is to through Tuesday, July 23. Upcoming features include an provide trained employees for permanent employment within the U.S. workforce. Space Week is a nationally exclusive viewing of a com- The students must maintain a 3.0 GPA and are awarded with a four-year recognized period to honor the memorative film on Apollo 11 to scholarship, a yearly allowance and ten weeks of summer employment at KSC. men and women whose efforts be shown throughout the day on The programs are administered by the Equal Opportunity Office. have contributed to America’s July 20, a public briefing and achievements in space. At press poster signing by astronaut/art- time activities were set to begin ist Alan Bean on July 22 from July 16 with a talk and book 10 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m.; and signing by Buzz Aldrin, the sec- an appearance by Barbara ond man to walk on the moon, Eden, star of the television se- and the grand opening of the ries "I Dream of Jeannie" on Visitor Center’s “Mission to July 23 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 Mars” interactive exhibit com- p.m. The activities are all free. Brevard crisis line seeks volunteers Kennedy Space Center who offer telephone outreach employees have an opportu- and reassurance to isolated or nity to contribute directly to homebound elderly clients; the community by volunteer- data entry assistants, who JUDY CASPER worked in sports information during the Olympic Trials last month. ing to assist Crisis Services of assist in entering call data Brevard, Inc. in responding to and community resource data KSC employees volunteer at Olympics calls for help. into a computer system; and The telephone counseling fund-raising, special projects Judy Casper, branch man- tional Amateur Athletics Asso- service provides confidential or administrative assistants ager of public relations for ciation, the official governing 24-hour-a-day service to who help with events and EG&G Florida, Inc., and Klaus body for track and field compe- people who call in with any projects. Staefe, who works in the Instal- tition, for the duration of the type of problem. Time commitments vary lation Operations Directorate, Games, July 22 through Aug. 4. Opportunities are available depending upon the area of are volunteering their sports- Staefe, who has officiated at for trained and untrained service. For more information, related experience to the Olym- hockey games on the interna- positions as crisis line volun- contact Linda Lawrence, pics. tional level, has been designated teers, who provide 24-hour-a- program director, at 631-9290. Casper, who has an extensive as the officials coordinator for all day assistance to callers; Crisis Services of Brevard, background in sports adminis- soccer games played in Orlando. sunshine service volunteers Inc. is a United Way agency. tration, will be working with Staefe also officiated at the representatives of the Interna- World Cup in Orlando in 1994. July 19, 1996 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 3 Warm crowds greet torch along road through KSC TORCH. (Continued from Page 1) TOP LEFT: KSC runner Eric Oulette, accompanied by an Atlanta Committee for the Jay Honeycutt were on hand to Olympic Games escort, proudly carries the torch welcome the torch as were STS-78 down the Saturn Causeway on the way to Launch Commander Tom Henricks and Pilot Pad 39A. Kevin Kregel, who presented a sym- TOP RIGHT: Marty Winkel savors the cheers of the crowd as he delivers the torch to the KSC bolic torch that was flown on that Vistor Center. mission to a representative from the CENTER: Loren Shriver pauses in front of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Space Shuttle Atlantis after receiving the flame Games. at Launch Pad 39A. BELOW LEFT: STS-78 Pilot Kevin Kregel, NASA Hugh Harris, director of Public Administrator Dan Goldin, Center Director Jay Affairs, acknowledged each of the 20 Honeycutt and STS-78 Commander Tom Henricks runners who carried the torch through stand with the symbolic torch the STS-78 crew Kennedy Space Center before signal- carried aboard that mission. BELOW RIGHT: Jane Hodges lights her torch ing Jane Hodges, a Public Affairs from a cauldron where the flame was held during employee, to light her torch from a ceremonies at the Visitor Center. cauldron holding the flame, and carry it forward on its journey to Atlanta and the Games. Page 4 SPACEPORT NEWS Mars probes build on past f wenty years after the landing of the Viking Orbiter on Mars, plans Tare underway for a decade of ex- ploratory missions to the Red Planet. On Nov. 6, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) plan to begin the effort with the launch of Mars Global Surveyor on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS) Complex 17A. The Sur- veyor will travel hundreds of millions of ki- lometers to carry out an extensive study of the planet using its suite of sophisticated remote-sensing instruments.
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