VOL. 37 NO. 5 Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas March 13, 1998 In this issue Collins first female shuttle commander Two flights as pilot prepare her for STS-93 assignment Astronaut Eileen Collins will Pilot Jeffrey Ashby, a Navy com- 1995 as Discovery approached to become the first woman to com- mander. Mission Specialists Steven within 30 feet of Mir, in a dress mand a space shuttle when Colum- Hawley and Catherine “Cady” Cole- rehearsal for the first shuttle-Mir bia launches on the STS-93 mission man, an Air Force major, and Michel docking. In May 1997, she visited the in December 1998. Tognini, a CNES astronaut and Mir space station as pilot on board First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton French Air Force colonel, round out Atlantis for the sixth shuttle-Mir dock- made the announcement March 5 the crew. ing mission, delivering Astronaut from the Roosevelt Room at the Selected as an astronaut in 1990, Mike Foale and returning Jerry White House. Collins has served as a pilot on her Linenger to Earth. The Air Force lieutenant colonel two previous space flights. Her first STS-93 will be the first flight for International Space Station will be joined on the flight deck by space flight was STS-63 in February Please see COLLINS, Page 8 Eileen Collins components being readied for shuttle launches. Page 2 JSC passes National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center 2101 NASA Road 1 final ISO 9001 Houston, Texas 77058-3696 quality audit JSC successfully passed its final ISO 9001 Quality Reply to Attn of: AA Management System audit at the end of February, and CONGRATULATIONS ON SUCCESSFUL AUDIT has been recommended for registration—the first Find out the latest on Lunar NASA center to achieve the distinction. Prospector and Mars JSC’s formal ISO 9001 registration, which builds upon the previous success of its White Sands Test Pathfinder next week. Dear Fellow Employees: Page 3 Facility, is expected in about eight weeks after certify- I would like to congratulate the JSC team for successfully completing the reg- ing bodies in the United States and Europe have vali- istration of the center’s quality system to the ISO 9001 standard. Through your dated the results of the audit performed by National efforts, JSC is now the first NASA center and the largest Federal organization Quality Assurance, USA. ever registered. Our effort required much hard work and dedication on the part According to JSC Director George Abbey, this is a of the entire team, and represents an important milestone for the center. significant testimonial to the excellence of our quality system at JSC, but also a starting point for continuing The agency set a goal for all centers to achieve registration, and JSC has done improvement of our overall technical and management that. However, it is important to keep in mind that registration, though an impor- processes. tant achievement, is not where we gain the most value from our efforts. The real ISO 9000 Office Director Lee Norbraten said JSC benefit comes from increasing discipline in our processes and using our system always has been at the forefront in scientific and engi- to improve the work we do every day. That is our challenge as we go forward. neering achievement, and that ISO 9001 registration With your help, I’m confident that we’ll further strengthen JSC’s Quality Sys- proves the center is at the forefront in the overall excel- Then, it was a small, single- tem and realize even greater benefits for the center and our customers. lence of its technical and management processes. purpose capsule. Now, it’s a We can be proud of our achievements, while recognizing that we still have “ISO 9001 registration is significant not just in what large, multipurpose orbiter. much to do. JSC is a complex organization with many dynamic and diverse activ- it stands for, but in that it required the active participa- Page 5 ities—characteristics that made implementation a challenging task. The coming tion of a huge number of people from every corner of year will continue to present opportunities for improvement, and I know we are the center, and every level of the organizational struc- up to meeting the challenge. Again, I extend my congratulations and apprecia- ture,” Norbraten said. “We have proved that our qual- tion for a job well done. ity management structure complies with the highest known standard for quality; the challenge now is to use that framework to improve the effectiveness of how we operate.” George W. S. Abbey Norbraten said a presentation ceremony will be Director scheduled sometime in April, and that the auditor will return May 11-13 to follow up on the results of the February audit. At that time, JSC must be able to prove that its corrective action systems are in full and effec- Twenty years ago, the tive operation. Space Shuttle Enterprise Thousands of hours of work were required to make made its first visit to JSC. this a reality, he added. In some cases, this meant for- Page 6 Please see ISO, Page 8 Bush accepts Rotary’s National Space Trophy Former President George Bush, tional leadership in providing the who was instrumental in launching a nation with the vision and means to new era in human and robotic space accomplish its goals in space for the exploration during his administration, 21st Century.” JSC employees scope out received the National Space Trophy In 1989, under the Bush adminis- the partial solar eclipse, and at a March 6 black-tie celebration at tration, the world entered into a new receive Stellar Awards. Space Center Houston. era of space science as NASA dis- Page 7 Several JSC employees were patched the Magellan spacecraft to among 16 recipients of Stellar map Venus, Galileo to Jupiter, and Awards from the non-profit Rotary the Cosmic Background Explorer to National Award for Space Achieve- study the origins of the universe. In ment Foundation, established in addition, Bush committed this coun- 1985 by the Space Center Rotary try to further pursue the human Club to recognize individuals who exploration of space when on July have made outstanding achieve- 20, 1989, the 20th anniversary of the ments in space, creating a greater Apollo 11 moon landing, he public awareness of the benefits of announced the goal to establish a space exploration. permanent human presence on the The theme for the annual space Moon and to use that experience to Photo courtesy Rotary International Local school district breaks industry awards banquet was begin human space exploration of Former President George Bush of Houston enjoys the limelight at the ground for intermediate “Dreams to Destiny,” celebrating the Mars. Two years later, in 1991, the gala dinner in which he received Rotary International’s National Space accomplishments and contributions U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed to school on JSC grounds. Trophy at Space Center Houston. Joining Bush are Rep. Nick Lamp- of individuals in making the dream of exchange astronauts and cosmo- son, D-Texas, NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin and JSC Director Page 8 space exploration a practical reality. nauts on the Mir and the space George Abbey. Several JSC workers received Stellar Awards for their Bush was cited for his “excep- Please see ROTARY, Page 7 accomplishments at the banquet. Page 2 Space News Roundup March 13, 1998 Thomas continues research; cosmonauts reset space walk U.S. Astronaut Andy Thomas continues his If a space walk were required at this time, Air bubbles in the rotating chamber have the Base Block,” Thomas wrote. “There was microgravity research aboard Russia’s Mir the crew has the necessary tools on board to hampered the experiment’s effectiveness, but a lot of equipment stowed on all the panels Space Station as two cosmonauts prepare to open the latches. However, Mir’s Russian researchers on the ground have developed and in every available location. But it did open try again in April to mount a space walk to controllers have chosen not to per- troubleshooting measures in an out at the base block which is more spacious brace the damaged Spektr solar array. form any space walks until after the effort to remove the bubbles from the by comparison.” Mir 25 Commander Talgat Musabayev and next Progress resupply vehicle IR-2 chamber’s growth medium. Thomas He also recalled the experience of watching Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin were preparing arrives March 17. M 5 reduced the rate at which media and the shuttle depart. to exit the Mir space station from the airlock in Prior to the solar array space walk, nutrients rotate around the reactor “On the one hand I was sorry to see my col- the Kvant 2 module two weeks ago to effect beginning sometime in early April, chamber to eliminate bubbles and leagues leave, but on the other, it meant that the solar array repairs, but were unable to there will be three space walks to decrease the oxygen reaching the I was now able to get on with the mission and open a secondary latch on the airlock hatch. replace the propulsion system atop cells. COCULT researchers wanted work assigned to me. The shuttle was a The hatch has 10 primary latches and 10 the Safora boom assembly on the to ensure the cells receive the cor- breathtaking sight as it pulled away and flew secondary latches and Musabayev and Kvant-1 module. This propulsion rect amount of oxygen. around the station. During the daylight phase Budarin were able to release all the primary assembly has been operating since In a letter home posted on the of the orbit the brilliant white of its tiled insu- latches and nine of the secondary latches, but its delivery to the station in March THOMAS NASA Shuttle-Mir Web of the Inter- lation system was caught in the sunlight.