Spaceport NewsJohn F. Kennedy Space Center

America's gateway to the universe. Leading the world in preparing and launching missions to Earth and beyond.

August 2, 1996Vol. 35, No. 16Mission update

Employees, celebrities spread word during space weekSpace Week was cel-

ebrated at the KennedySpace Center Visitor Centerand beyond last month withexhibits, book signings, guestappearances by astronautsand an actress, and a week’sworth of model rocketlaunches at EPCOT.

The Visitor Center kickedoff a week of activities July 16with a talk and book signingby Buzz Aldrin, the secondman to walk on the moon, andthe opening of the “Mission to

(See WEEK, Page 4)

Mission: STS-79 on Atlantis.

Launch date, time: Target dateof Sept. 12, 6:26 a.m. fromLaunch Pad 39A.

Mission Synopsis: STS-79 isthe fourth in a series of NASAdocking missions to the RussianMir Space Station, leading to theconstruction and operation of theInternational Space Station. Asthe first flight of the SpacehabDouble Module, STS-79encompasses research, test andevaluation of ISS as well aslogistics resupply for the MirSpace Station. STS-79 is alsothe first NASA/Mir American crewmember exchange, withastronaut John Blaha replacingShannon Lucid aboard the Mir.

Landing date, time: Target dateof Sept. 21, 11:30 a.m. at KSC'sShuttle Landing Facility.

Mission: STS-80 on Columbia.

Launch date, time: No earlier thanOct. 31 at 2:40 p.m. from LaunchPad 39B.

Primary payload: ORFEUS-SPAS-2, Wake Shield Facility-3.

Landing date, time: No earlierthan Nov. 16, 7:25 a.m. at KSC.

Ukranians prepare for place in history

The first Ukranian cosmonaut to fly onthe Shuttle can anticipate a place in hisnational history comparable to that theMercury astronauts hold in the UnitedStates.

Although Ukranians have flown inspace before, it has always been asSoviet cosmonauts — never as represen-tatives of their own country.

“Overall it is a social uplift that aUkranian will be flying in space againsoon,” said Col. Leonid Kadenyuk, one oftwo candidates from the National SpaceAgency of Ukraine vying for the positionof payload specialist on Space ShuttleMission STS-87 in October 1997.

The cosmonaut will be performingbiology experiments that will study theeffects of microgravity on plants. Scien-tists from five U.S. institutions and sixUkranian institutions are involved in theproject which was initiated in May 1995with the signing of a Joint Summit State-ment in Kiev, Ukraine by U.S. PresidentBill Clinton and Ukranian PresidentLeonid Kuchma.

(See UKRAINE, Page 6)

ACTRESS BARBARA EDEN attracts fans of all ages as she signs autographs atthe Space Shop at the KSC Visitor Center.

WORK CONTINUES AT KSC to restack and mate the solid rocket boostersoriginally scheduled for use on STS-80 to the orbiter Atlantis for use onSTS-79. At press time the external tank was scheduled to be mated to theboosters no earlier than today and the launch vehicle moved out to the padAug. 20. The switch was made due to concerns about the adhesive usedon the original boosters.

THE ORFEUS-SPAS-2 payload ismoved to a vertical work area at theMulti Payload Processing Facility.

Page 2 SPACEPORT NEWS August 2, 1996

KSC IS HOSTING 22 faculty from universities across the country this summer as they take part in theSummer Faculty Program sponsored by the Administration Office. The faculty members spend ten weeksworking in technical areas on problems of interest to KSC's mission. Twelve students, also pictured, areassisting the faculty members.

A NEW PROGRAM started by theAdministration Office's UniversityPrograms division establishes aninternship program with BrevardCommunity College students. Onestudent per semester will work at KSCin areas of interest to them and KSCwill send experts in various fields toBCC to work with students there.Pictured, from left, are DennisChamberlain of the Biomedical Office;Tyrone McCarty of BCC, the firstintern; Bruce Lockley of the LogisticsOffice, McCarty's mentor; DebbieHouston of Biomedical and Dr. IreneLong, director of the BiomedicalOffice. Standing are GreggBuckingham, university programsmanager, and Jim Jennings, directorof the Administration Office.

Teachers, students learn through doing at KSCNKMA presents awardshonoring contributions

Special awardsCenter Director Jay Honeycutt and Pub-

lic Affairs Director Hugh Harris were rec-ognized for their leadership and support ofNKMA and Al Parrish, associate director,received a special plaque in recognition ofhis continuous and outstanding leadership.

Others recognized include:Michael Del Vesco, president; Catherine

Alexander, vice-president; Robert Gerron,secretary; Laurel Lichtenberger, treasurer;Miguel Rodriquez and Susan Kroskey,scholarship committee; Ramona Rogers,support to the programs committee;Vanessa Stromer, recognition and awardscommittee; Max Farley and Kathleen

The NASA Kennedy Management Asso-ciation recognized the outstanding achieve-ments and contributions to work related ac-tivities and outside community involvementby its members during an awards ceremonyJune 28.

Awards were presented to both NASAand contractor employees and recipients

were awarded certificates. Recipients'names will also be listed on a permanentplaque to be displayed at prominent loca-tions throughout the Industrial and LaunchComplex 39 areas.

Education OutreachHelen (Cindy) Coddington of Shuttle Pro-

cessing received the Education OutreachAward. She has coordinated education out-reach programs with the Brevard Countyand Florida state science fairs; has sup-ported KSC tutoring programs for area stu-dents and has worked with the Unique Resi-dent Tutoring For Up and Coming Replace-ment Engineers (NURTURE) program,sponsored by the NASA's Public AffairsEducation Branch along with the BrevardCounty school system; and she helps pro-vide mentors for Shuttle Operations pro-grams.

Community ServiceThe NKMA Community Service Award

was presented to Larry Schultz of Engineer-ing Development for numerous communityservice activities. He has served as chair-man of the Florida League of Cities EthicsCommittee and the Lutheran ChurchSchool Board, and president of the SpaceCoast League of Cities.

LeadershipDeborah Bitner of Payload Processing

received the Leadership Award in recogni-tion of her role in the successful develop-ment of the capability to perform a verticalSpacehab module payload installation inthe Shuttle Payload bay at the pad. She wasalso recognized for assisting in the integra-tion of a standard Spacelab tunnel with aspecial Spacehab tunnel extension to sup-port mission STS-76, the third Shuttle dock-ing with the Mir Space Station.

Harer, network teams; Tammy Conway andLeslie Alderman, brown bag sessions; VickieHall, special projects; Gale Allen, commu-nity outreach committee; Clara Anderson,membership committee; Louis Boyd, profes-sional development committee; DarleenHunt and Dian Hardison, publicity commit-tee; Audrey Silipo, boosters committee; JayGurecki, awards & programs; ShawnQuinn, awards committee; LaVerne Dobbs,Roelof Schuiling, Joel Reynolds, CherylHurst and June Perez, programs commit-tee; Chris Del Vesco, Bennie Bell, andKaren Iftikhar, dunking booth; and TimGreer, NKMA Golf Tournament.

SPACEPORT NEWS Page 3August 2, 1996

Employees of the month

HONORED IN AUGUST, are, from the left, Beth Smith, Installation Operations Directorate; Matthew Verdier,Engineering Development Directorate; Georgina Barrial, Office of the Chief Financial Officer; Ron Kent,Administration Office; Tina Pechon, Public Affairs Directorate; David Nardino, Payload Operations Directorate,Lori Thurow, Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate; and Charles Klein, Shuttle Processing Directorate.Not pictured are Debbie Folmar of the Logistics Office and Dave Reeves of the Procurement Office.

(NIST). KSC will also fund a portion of thedevelopment costs and provide facilities forfinal testing.

This effort is a part of KSC’s Dual UseProgram, where the center partners withindustry to develop technology for use bythe space agency that also has potential forthe commercial market.

The cryocooler chamber, about the sizeof a standard television, will allow the J-Volt Standard unit to be light and compactenough to be easily shipped to any field lo-cation,” Riley said.

“Once at the site, the system could bereadily mounted in a standard electronicstest rack.”

Size is prohibitive

Present-day J-Volt Standard systems areabout 6 feet tall and are prohibitively ex-pensive to build and too large to ship. Muchof this expense and size is the result of re-liance on a chamber that must be filled withliquid helium to supercool the electronic cir-cuitry to the temperatures that they wouldoperate in a superconducting electronicssystem.

“The compact cryogenic cooler, orcryocooler, will take the place of large 100-liter liquid helium containers now used at

permanent electronics testing sites,” Rileysaid. “Currently there are about 40 fixedsites in the country that are only used bycompanies and institutions that can affordthem. The portable unit will drasticallylower the cost of a J-Volt system. We expectthe superconducting industry to be revital-ized once the portable system is commer-cially available.”

Components depend on cold

Electronics components based on the su-perconductivity principle must operate atsupercold temperatures to maintain the flowof electrical current with little or no resis-tance through their circuitry.

This low-resistance technology allowselectronic equipment to process data atspeeds higher than those possible with con-ventional hardware and is now being usedin some mainframe supercomputers.

Research is underway to develop suchnext-generation devices as high-speed digi-tal switchers for communications equip-ment, digital spectrum analyzers and otherscientific research tools.

“There are many other potential commer-cial and military applications of this tech-nology, including improved ship-borne andground-based radars,” Riley said.

KSC teams with industry to develop super cryogenic cooler

Property awarenessemphasized at KSCfrom August 12-16

For years, the superconducting electron-ics industry has been stymied by the lack ofan affordable means to accurately calibratevoltage levels in this type of high-perfor-mance circuitry. NASA and Hypres, Inc.,Elmford, NY will jointly develop a productthat is expected to be a breakthrough forthe industry.

The device, known as a compact cryogeniccooler, will provide a supercold environmentfor superconducting electronic circuitry, saidKristen Riley of the KSC Technology Pro-grams and Commercialization Office. Thecryocooler will be a key element in the de-velopment of a portable Josephson Junc-tion Voltage, or J-Volt Standard system tobe used in the calibration of highly accurateelectronic instruments.

NASA plans to use the technology at itseight field centers throughout the country.

Agreement to lead to prototype

Under a recently signed 13-month SpaceAct agreement, Hypres will develop a pro-totype of the cryocooler along with NASA,the Department of Energy (DOE)’s SandiaNational Laboratories and the NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology

By Chuck Weirauch

August 12-16 has been designated Prop-erty Awareness Week at Kennedy SpaceCenter.

The purpose of the week is to make allKSC personnel more receptive to propertymanagement issues and concerns and toprovide increased visibility to property cus-todian functions and responsibilities.

Since KSC controls and maintains ap-proximately 120,500 items of personal prop-erty valued in excess of $6.4 billion, prop-erty losses have become an important con-cern to all employees at the Kennedy SpaceCenter.

A highlight of the week will be the pre-sentation of property awareness awards byCenter Director Jay Honeycutt on Aug. 14at the KSC Visitor Center. A new award,added this year, will be given to a singleorganization within each company (NASAand contractor) for its dedication in mak-ing property a priority throughout the year.

Page 4 SPACEPORT NEWS August 2, 1996

KSC engineers transform EPCOT into launch site for Space Week

Mars” interactive exhibit commemorating the20th anniversary of the Viking probe.

Astronaut/artist Alan Bean signedposters of his work on July 22 and on July23 Barbara Eden, star of the televisionseries “I Dream of Jeannie,” thrilled hun-dreds of fans with her appearance at theVisitor Center.

KSC also contributed to the celebrationof the nationally recognized week off-center.EPCOT sponsored exhibits and programs inthe Future World section of the theme parkfrom July 14-20. Among the displays werebooths highlighting space spin-offs, NASAlife sciences and the International SpaceStation. NASA and contractors includingDynamac, McDonnell Douglas Space andDefense Systems, Rocketdyne and

THE LAUNCH CREW proudly pose with the EPCOT Explorer rocket. The team consisted of engineers from KSC,Cape Canaveral Air Station and Patrick Air Force Base, students from University High School and personnel fromWalt Disney World/EPCOT. Disney provided the flight suits. A total of 92 people worked on the project.

THE LAUNCH CREW performs final positioning of the20-foot gantry tower. The launch pad, built on anautomobile transporter, is equipped with red rotatinghazard lights and a water deluge system. Personnel fromKSC's Education Branch and EG&G Florida, Inc. assistedwith the construction of the launcher.

Photos provided by Rosemary Todd

THE EXPLORER lifts off with 93 pounds of thrust providedby its ammonium perchlorate rocket motor. The motorburns for 3.1 seconds, accelerating the vehicle to morethan 150 mph and a maximum altitude of 875 feet.

THE WATER recovery team, positioned in a pontoon boatwith one of EPCOT's international pavilions in thebackground, pulls the 24-pound Explorer rocket from theShowcase Lagoon after splashdown.

(Continued from Page 1)

Rockwell International assisted with thoseand other displays. But one of the biggestcontributions of KSC employees was thecommitment of a team of engineers whoworked with 59 University High Schoolstudents to develop for EPCOT six 14-footmodel rockets and two prototypes. A rocketwas launched twice daily every day of thecelebration.

The engineers donated more than 2,500hours of time to work with the students onthe project.

“You’ve got to love working with thestudents and the hardware,” said DaveSollberger, the NASA engineer who coordi-nated the project.

After each launch, which took place overthe lake at the center of EPCOT's WorldShowcase, students and engineers in apontoon boat would retrieve the floatinglaunch vehicle and prepare it for its nextmission.

Thousands of spectators viewed thelaunches and many approached the groupafterward seeking more information on theproject.

“If the crowds were any indication, itspeaks well for our future in space,”Sollberger said.

In addition to Sollberger, engineersassisting in the project are Mike Haddad ofNASA, James VanGaasbeck, Interface andControl Systems; Steve Pollak, Computer-Sciences Raytheon; Lee Riley, CSR; andMarc Lavigne, McDonnell Douglas Astro-nautics.

SPACEPORT NEWS Page 5August 2, 1996

PILOT JON JOHANSON, wearing his flight suit adornedwith the names of his sponsors, downplayed hisaccomplishments during his recent stop at KSC butreveled in the success of the space program.

Australian pilot stops at KSC on second trip around globeand a half years working on the planeduring the day and serving duty as amidwife by night to pay for his expensivehobby. Once the plane was completeJohanson tested it out by becoming the firstperson to fly a single-engined aircraft non-stop from Adelaide to Auckland, Australia.

Johanson first flew around the world lastyear, heading west from Australia. This triphe started at the same point but is headedeast. He said although there are places hewould think twice about landing again, ingeneral he has found people around theworld are supportive of his venture.

Johanson was escorted around KSC byNASA employee Bryon Maynard, who isalso constructing his own kit plane made bythe same company.

Johanson said although he will go backto midwifery when he returns to Australia,he will have a harder time working within thestructured parameters of a regular job.

“Traveling around the world puts every-thing in a different perspective,” he said.

the incubator ’s proximity toKennedy Space Center alsogives participating firms accessto NASA expertise and labora-tories. “Our participation accel-erates KSC’s technology trans-fer mission and supportingsmall businesses with our hightechnology infrastructure couldlead to new products and jobs inBrevard County,” said KathleenHarer, KSC program manager.

According to Frank Kinney,executive director of Florida’sTechnological Research and De-velopment Authority (TRDA),NASA and TRDA decided on theincubator concept while search-ing for ways to help Brevardbusinesses deal with the aero-space and defense industry’s lo-cal downsizing.

“With a high-tech businessfoundation already establishedin the area, we’re making gooduse of existing resources and it’sa win-win proposition for thesmall business and the localeconomy,” said Kinney.

“BCC has been a communityleader in economic developmentefforts and we’re looking for-

Business Incubation Centerplans open house August 6 Exhibitor applications for

the seventh annual KSCBusiness Opportunities Expoare being taken through Aug.23.

The expo gives busi-nesses the opportunity tointeract with buyers andengineers from KennedySpace Center and othergovernment organizations.

Approximately 200 exhibi-tors and 1000 attendees areexpected attend the eventNov. 13 at Port Canaveral’snew Cruise Terminal 10. TheSmall Business Administra-tion, KSC prime contractors

and the Florida/NASA Busi-ness Incubation Center areamong the organizations thatwill provide one-on-onecounseling during the event.

A registration fee of $75includes an 8 ft. table topdisplay, a continental break-fast and a box lunch.

To receive an exhibitorapplication fax your companyname, address, point ofcontact, and phone number to(407) 867-7999.

For more information callthe NASA Central IndustryAssistance Office at (407)867-7353.

Applications taken for business expo

The Florida/NASA BusinessIncubation Center (FNBIC), ateam effort by NASA, the stateof Florida and Brevard Commu-nity College (BCC), will hold anopen house Aug. 6 to celebrateits official opening.

The incubator is intended toreduce many of the costs associ-ated with establishing and op-erating a new business. “Oursupport facilities and programswill train and nurture entrepre-neurs and help them to have thebest possible chance of success,”said Maria Clark, FNBIC’s ex-ecutive director.

The incubator program willoffer up to 20 start-up busi-nesses the opportunity to rentfurnished office space in a10,000-square-foot facility onBCC’s Titusville campus for aminimal fee. Tenants, who canstay at the center for up to twoyears, will have access to BCCequipment such as computerlabs, libraries and shops as wellas maintenance and securityservices.

The NASA partnership and

By Joel Wells

the program. FNBIC and NASArepresentatives will also be onhand to discuss the program.

Companies, entrepreneurs,and business mentors interestedin the program or attending theopen house, scheduled from 9-10:30 a.m., should call (407) 383-5200.

Tenant application forms areavailable on the Internet athttp://technology.ksc.nasa.gov/FNBIC/.

ward to another chance for com-munity outreach,” said Dr. JoeLee Smith, President of BCC’sTitusville campus.

Lt. Governor Buddy MacKayand Congressman Dave Weldonare among the state and localofficials that will address openhouse visitors.

Attendees will briefly tourthe facility and meet represen-tatives of six small businessesthat are already participating in

Jon Johanson, an Australian midwifewho built his own plane and is in the

process of flying it around the world for thesecond time, can’t help but feel an affinitywith the Space Shuttle program. So hemade a point of visiting Kennedy SpaceCenter last week as he worked his way fromAdelaide, Australia to Oshkosh, WI, for thethe world’s largest airshow.

Johanson said the magnitude of theaccomplishments of the space programmade visiting KSC an awe-inspiring experi-ence.

“It shows how amazing the human raceis,” Johanson said. “It’s mind boggling whathumanity is capable of.”

Johanson said he decided to build theplane because he had discovered hispassion for flying and couldn’t afford to buyone ready-made.

The RV-4 single engine craft arrived in akit and Johanson modified it to meet theneeds his journey would place on it.

He spent nearly 2,000 hours over two

John F. Kennedy Space Center

Spaceport News The Spaceport News is an official publication of the Kennedy SpaceCenter and is published on alternate Fridays by the Public Affairs Officein the interest of KSC civil service and contractor employees. Contributions are welcome and should be submitted two weeks be-fore publication to the Media Services Branch, PA-MSB. E-mail submis-sions can be sent to Barbara.Compton-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov

Managing editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lisa MaloneEditor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Barb ComptonEditorial support provided by Sherikon Space Systems Inc. writers group.

USGPO: 733-096/20026

SPACEPORT NEWS August 2, 1996Page 6

Ukraine. . .(Continued from Page 1)

Kadenyuk and fellow candi-date Dr. Vyacheslav Meytarchanvisited Kennedy Space Center inJune to learn more about theexperiment from KSC manage-ment and researchers. It was thefirst time either of them hadbeen in the country. They talkedwith Spaceport News aboutsome of their impressions ofKSC and the differences andsimilarities between the spaceprograms here and in theircountry. Questions and answerswere translated by PeterChetirkin of Dynamac.

When did you first decide tobecome a cosmonaut?

Kadenyuk: On April 12, 1961,my interest began. That was thefirst time Yuri Gagarin flew inspace. Since then I have wantedto visit space. Flying on theShuttle will certainly fulfill myinterest.

Meytarchan: In 1978 when Ifirst met a cosmonaut inUkraine. It motivated me tostudy various programs inaerospace.

What are your impressionsof the Kennedy Space Cen-ter?

THE STS-77 crew drew a crowd when they presented their post-flight briefingat the Training Auditorium July 17. The mission was highlighted by the Spartan207/Inflatable Antenna Experiment in which a 48-foot-wide antenna was inflatedand jettisoned after operations.

PLANT PHYSIOLOGIST Bill Piastuch, second from left, and microscopist Liz Styjewski,both of Dynamac, give cosmonaut candidates Col. Leonid Kadenyuk, left, and Dr.Vyacheslav Meytarchan basic life sciences training.

Meytarchan: I’m amazed atthe nature you have in thiscountry. To see rocketslaunched here amidst birdsflying and other species isindeed incredible.

What type of training areyou receiving for this mis-sion?

Kadenyuk: There are fivemajor steps in our preparation.First is a rigorous medical examperformed in Ukraine. Next weare trained in stress situationsand vestibular preparation. Wealso have linguistic/technicalpreparation and finally materialstraining at KSC. This has been agreat help.

What is the historicalperspective of this missionfor your country?

Kadenyuk: SeventeenUkranians have flown in spacebut they were considered Sovietcosmonauts.

Since the time Ukrainebecame independent we havenot had cosmonauts. So this willbe the first cosmonaut forUkraine.

What implications doesthis mission hold for thefuture?

Meytarchan: Flying on theShuttle is going to provide abasis where the world will seeour ability to prepare with othercountries space programs thatwill provide for the future.

These first steps will be thebasis for a closer collaboration.It will give us the ability to openchannels of friendship.

Kadenyuk: We feel it isimportant our collaboration isbased on life sciences.

It is important that countriesfocus on these types of sci-ences.

Biological sciences are apriority for human existence.

Meytarchan: These first stepsfor Ukraine inspires furtherintegration to the world of thefuture.