Conference 7.286::space

49.0. "Shuttle Mission Details" by VAXWRK::HELSEL () Tue Apr 30 1985 18:07

Inspired by Mr. Weaver's line about only having outdated Shuttle information,
I made an attempt to get the latest rumors.  I called Engineer X the first
thing Tuesday morning (April 30, day after launch) to update my rumor file.

I asked Engineer X how yesterday's launch went and his reply was enthusiastic.
He said as soon as the boosters were released, Senator Garn appeared at the
front of the main firing room and gave a little speech.  He basically said
that it was the greatest experience of his life.  Also, believe it or not,
he said he was used to Washington D.C. where people went around doing nothing
and getting paid for it and that when he was at KSC, he saw people who really
worked for a living in action.  He also said that the people who launch the
shuttle don't get nearly enough credit.  

This made everyone happy at the consoles.  I waited til today to try to
establish contact because after a launch, the only place you can find an
engineer at KSC is on the deck at the Holiday Inn in Cocoa Beach.

I asked when and what the next launch was.  I was told that the next two dates
were June 12 and July 9.  Also Engineer X said the first was a Discovery
launch and the latter was to be Atlantis.  This was a surprise to me because
I thought Atlantis was scheduled for September.

At this point my man in Havanna showed the wear of two launches in two weeks.
He said he had no idea.  He said he has been working round the clock on the
last two launches and he was just glad it was over for now.  Getting that
orbiter up yesterday was a big stride for them and they put everything they
had into it.

I also asked about the three people who had the electrical accident at Pad B.
He said, "Oh, they were just some subcontractors NASA hired to run some wires.
"   Apparantly, it was not a big problem on the base, just to the three guys
that got fried.

I will try to get back to our friend after he has had some rest and has fully
focused his attention toward the next launch/launches.  In the meantime,
Do you know where your rats and monkeys are tonight?

Thanks for giving it a shot...

						-Dave

	You can always call the dial-a-shuttle number 1-900-410-NASA for
the latest information. The charge is $.50 for the first minute and .35 
for each additional minute. I don't know if they update this when 
nothing much is going on, but it is usually LIVE during missions.

or you can listen to Goddard Space Center retransmitting live shuttle
communications on 3.860 Mhz (or 7.260 Mhz, I think)...

If you call dial-a-shuttle when there is no mission, you get a nice recorded
message saying the number is not in service, and that you were not charged.

If you call when there is no voice traffic, the NSI folks running it usually
have things like news conferences (live and recorded) and little vignettes
about how various things work.

Burns

In view of the recent assertions about NASA's schedule pressures and
shift in emphasis away from safety, I call on conference members to re-read
.0.  (I am still wading through this file and just read it for the first time).
				/AHM/THX