The Marshall Center Its Place in NASA

8/6/2019 The Marshall Center Its Place in NASA

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(NASA-T"1-82154) THE MARSHALL CENTEL. i I S81- 17958PLACE IN NASA (NASA);1 p HC A03IMF A01C5CL 05A G3/d5 UIICLdS1315J ? I


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0 Nish the coming of NASA'%Space Shuttle, new and almost limit-less horizons have been opined tipto us. Space is sera no longer itsonly it realm to explore: it is viewedmore as it bright and linutles natur-al rmmrce from which can bederived important benefits oilIn slam ways \\c are just now onthe threshold of what future genera-tions will conic to consider the Aveof Space.

We m the Marshall Space I:lightCenter are proud to have an inlllor-lant role in the dewlopment of thisSpace I'ranslx,rtation S y stem. Weare also deepl y involved in applica-tion of space science and lechnolo-g1, not onl y in space but also toForth processes as well. p his broad-KINVkl capability, eleve101101 overmall \ y ears, has prepared 6_( - enter for continued participationin : -Ogranis of the future. As \\eidelink ncc d. that can he timthro101 the use of space. or spacelei 1111o1oi\, \\'e \\ Ill Illo\ c to 111ccl

I lie purpose of this booklet is tosho\\ \ou lum the Marshall Centerfits into the framework of (henation's (lopes and plans for theft-ture ill nd to sires the inl-portance of our emplo y ers' contri-but ion% to our \\ ide- ratigingactivities. After reading this, wethin!. wit \\ ill sec %%h\ the MarshallSpace Hight ('enter is considered tohe one of the finest scientific andrn,inrrrin^ in%tilutiotl% in the \\oriel.

W. K. I ueasI )ireclor

NASAGoorge C Marshall Space Flight Conter


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CONnNn

UR1GTNAL PAGE ISOF POOR QUALM


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THE MARSHALL CENTER: ITS PLACE IN NASACURRENT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

The Space Transportation System ... ...........Working in Space .....................13Studying the Stars ...............................16Alh U s i n g Space to Benefit Earth . ...................18

4 W-suawvPROBING THE FUTUREri. f t e

rn Search of New Energy.... I ............251.ew Vehicle Concepts6MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCES

Organization ............................... 29Power Systems ................................23Buldng in Space .............................24Planning for Science .... . ........................ 25/ : : .0 Facilities.....9People...........31


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i!'fit1W 4 RMAR"E^i EQ: Its PlaceNkASA:

The Marshall Space FlightCenter. one of NASA' !argent facil-i ties, is located just % ou !hwest ofHuntsville. Alabama, on an 1`a - 1 t } -acre tract bordered on the south bythe Tennessee River.In the past, the division of respon-sibility for manned space flight gavethe Marshall Center the role ofdeveloper of NASA's propulsions y stcros. Bu t in its i^% o decades atthe forefront of space exploration.(tic ('enter has gained a wide rangeof experience and capabilities inspacecraft and experiment develop-ment as well as in rocket propulsionsyst erns.

Marshall is one of the nation'spioneering space centers. born ofthe Redstone team of rocketpioneers headed by Dr. Wernhervon Braun. Before joining NASA in1 1 )(4).this group had alreadypioneered the development of re--

entryntr protection for spacecraft andhad huilt the early Army rocket thatlaunched America's first satellitesand was soon to carry the nation'sfirst astronauts into space. Whenthese eng ineers and scientists form-ed the nucleus of the new MarshallSpace Flight Center, they broughtwith them their already-movingprogram it, huild a family of giantlaunch %chides thai became knownas the Saturns.In May o f 19 01 . P resident John F.Kennedy set an amb itious go al forthe nation: to land a man on themo on and return him safely to FarthhN the end of the decade. This di-rection accelerated a MarshallCenter program that in only sixYears produced the most po werfulrocket ever bu ilt. the Saturn Vwhich. with its lunar space craft.stoott 163 feet tall.As the Saturn program grew, so

did the Marshall Center and neigh-bo ring H untsville. Aerospacecontractors came to the area withgreat num bers of peop le to work onthe Saturn I. Saturn IB and SaturnV sonic major elements of whichwere manufactured at the Center.After the initial success o f theSaturns came the urgent project todevelop it Lunar Ro ving Vehicle, theunique machine that turnedAmerica s lunar visitors into (ar-ranging lunar explorers. TheMarshall Center was also respon-sible for the developm ent of man'sfirst orbiting laboratory, Sky lab.These historic projects providedthe !Marshall Center with a legacy ofexp erience and facilities that enabledit to take on a wide variety of newspace challenges like those providedtoday by the ;pace Shuttle. Spacelah.Space Telescope, and a host of otherpro tects that this boo k will discuss.4


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Orj^A


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.CURRENTi DEVELCL -

4The SpaceTransportation SystemThe Space Shuttle, heart of theagency's new space translx)rtatiorlsweet, markedl y expands man'sabilit% to do things in space at lowercost, more often, and more eff-'c-tivelN than ever before.What makes the Shuttle so differ-ent is its reusabilit%. It is launchedlike a conventional rocket, operatesin orbit and reenters like a space-craft, then glides beck to Earth foran airplane-like runway landing.Then. after minor refurhishnlew.the tihuttle is reassenlhkd andLutnched again.The Shuttle is actually it collec-tion of several major elements. TheU , hitcr is the airplane-like compo-nent which carries the pa%load andthe crew. The I_xier a/ LmA carriesthe Shuttle's liquid propellants and serves,!"% the backtxme of the wholecraft. Strapp ed to each side o f thetank is a Solid Rocket B00%terwhich provides thrust at liftoff andearlN in fli g ht. The orbiter's threeShacc Sheerer , Main Fngint , % fire inunison with the two big booster% tolift the combined craft off its padand thrust it towards orbit.About two minutes into the eightminute~ of powered flight, the solidfuel in the Nxislem is upended.Small rockets fire in the booster'snose and ta l l sections, pushing themawaN from the rest of the rapidljaccelerating Shuttle. The boostersdescend on parachd!"'% into theoccan where the% are retrieved andlater refurbished for use on anotherflight.The Orbiter and the ExternalTank contintw until. just beforeorhital %clocity is achieved, the tank6


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PMENT PROJECTSj

!s almost emptied of its liquid hN'dro-gen and iWp id oxygen load. At Ihalpoint. th; main engines shut dOW1and the tank is jettisoned to tunlhlchack to Earth avJ break up oNer theIndian O cean. This is the o nl%Shutt le element that %% as notdrsit;ncd to he recoNcred and re-used. The Orbiter gets its final pushinto orbit from mo small nlaneu%er-ine rt ckct% carried high in its tail.Once parked in orbit around theEarth. the Shuttic O-biter's bigcargo h:1N dCxirs op en torc%eal Itscargo. instruments tohe op erated inplace. satellites to he deposited inspace. or planctarn spacecraft to helaunched on distant journe%s. O nsome missions. the Orbiter's boxcar-si/e cargo baN "ill hold a uniquefaeilill called tipaccl;th, from N0111:11

scientists can %tudN both the spaceemironmem and the Earth behm.They can also perform %ital rc-search in Such area: a% the pro-cessing of materials and the studyof weather-slaking mechanisms inthe cloudsoth of \\ hi: h aremade possible onl y I'N the lo\\-gravit\ conditions Ili.-.! operatingin space pro\ ides.The Marshall ( - enter has livenhea\il\ imokcd for \ear% in thedewlopnlenl and testing of this nc%%craft. Of the principal cicnlcnt% justdescribedhe Orbiter. MainFngines, External Tank. and SolidR . kci Nxim%cr% this ('enter hashad re%Ix1n% ib1h i .% for nianat,ing thedccelopnt. nt of all but the t h biwi-it%clf.

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. S .OI C . S h r h , 1 h u r I11gi l l "The Space Shuttle is px)wered bythree advanced design, high pres-

sor; liquid rocket engines mountedfit rbiter's tail section. Eachengine provides 470,1XM) p ou nds ofthrust. These engines developed bythe Marshall Ce nter and its primecontractor, the Rocketdvne Di%isiomof Rockwell International, eachconsum e 64. (XX) gal lons of liqu idhvdrug en and liquid oxygen pernliwite during flii!ht.When the Shutt le engine is c01 11 -pared ^% Ith the Saturn engines devcoped by Rarshall previously. itbecomes apparent that the require-nlents established for this nc% ^engine ,oencrated signifwam designchallenges. The Saturn engine firs%oml\ once, for it lifetime t4 no morethan Ien minutes. I he Shuttle'senpric had to he desicned to flyagain and ag ain for if miI I I I I IHI I l

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of 55 flights and a design life of 7.5hours of burn time. Added to thiswas the requirement that thrustlevels he varied over it angeof 05 percent to 109 percent of ratedthrust during flight, somethingtotally new for manned space ve-hicle Niosters. And to get theefficiency required. combustionchamb-.r pressures three timeshigher than Saturn's were necessary,bringing unprecedcntet t chal lengesin the pump design and materialsareas.

Obviously, this engine had tohedesigned to endure higher stressesand thermal Ic%cis. and to meetmore extensive fatigue and immite-nance requirements than an y rocketengine built before. The challengespresented by the Space ShuttleMain Engine we re recognized fromthe outset to require the most signi-lWitnt technological adsancentcnt ofthe %% hol e :shuttle progr:un.l tt i7 al 1,111^

The External lank is the largestelenrcnt of the Shimle. With a totallength of about 154 feet and .tdiameter slightl y more than _- feet.Itic tank ,k%arfs many ro c kets usedon manned flights in the past. suchas the l"itan of the (Pernini series. Itsroket-like appearance maN leadsonic to mistake it for the Shuttle'slauncher. III t is two tankslinked together bN it sleeve called an"imertank " I he liquid oxygen tankforms (he for% kard section. the NitWin MO - thirds is a liquid h drogentank. lihoug h the h y drogen tank is

the much larger of the two, atp aunch it weighs only one-fr-urt;. asmuch as its companion he_auscliquid oxygen weighs Ih times aforethan hvdrogen. Together, the5211 ,11(X1 gallons of prop el lants andthe tank itself weigh it f 1.03million pounds.

To maintain the low temperaturerequired for the liquid propellants,the skin of the tank is Covered ny aninch of foam insulation. Because theExternal Tank receives and distri-butes stress loads to and front theOrbiter and the Solid RocketBo xisters attached to it in flight, itsaluminum allo y structure has beendesigned to acconunkxlate complexload conditions. To minimize Costsin the non-recoverable tank, its fluidcontrols and valves were located inthe Orbiter.

The External Tank is being de-signed and manufactured underMarshall's manatement at theCenter's W-h-lid Asscrnhl\ Eacil-itv. New 06-arts, by the DenverDivision of Martin Marietta Aero-space..Sob.( R(PcAct flo oswr

The Solid Rocket Ei(-K)slcr is thefirst large solid propellant rocketever used to lxx)st it e-hicle. Two of these txwsters arcused on each Shuttle flight it, givethe craft the thr,tst it reeds curingthe earl y minutes of flioht while it isladen withit full propellant load andstrrggling against ntaxiniunt gravity.

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^ar

l f i nlike liquid rocket engines, whichhave a com plex system of pu mpsand feedlines, the Solid RocketB(x)ster's mo tor is essentially a longcvlinder packed with a solid m ix offuel and oxidizer. This c y linder hasa hot , w center which allows the fulllength of the mo tor's pro pellant toburn at once, unleashing a thrust ofalmo st three million po unds m itspeak. The thrust of each mo tor isalmost twice that of the Orbiterswhole com plement of three mainengines.While the motor makes up about127 feet of the booster's almost 150feet in length. the Solid Ro cket^tioster has many other important

sub systems. 'The structural sub -system gives the bo oster the neces-sary support it needs to serve as the"legs" of the who le Shuttle when thevehicle stands on the pad. It alsoenables the booster to handle theenormous thrust loads that must hetransferred to the tank and O rbiterduring flight. The exhaust nozzle onthe aft segment of each motor canhe moved by as much as eightdecrees b y the tooster's ThrustVector Control su l h systent to helpsteer the vehicle. Ei g ht separationmo tors, fou r hou sed in the forwardcomp artment and four m ore mo unt-ed in the aft skirt. push the spentbo osters awav from the remainderof the Shuttle. The recovery sysient.consisting of parachutes and ahom ing device, is lo cated in the

forward section o f the Ixxo ster andwithin the nose cap.The detailed design and integra-tion work on these subsy stems wasperformed by the Marshall Center"in-house:" This very acti% , programinvolved ahcut " 4) developmentand qualification tests at the Center.The subsystem design and integra-tion effort was in addition toMarshall role as overall projet.,manager for the development of theentire booster, including the motor.The structural elements of theIxxnter are being m anufactured toMarshall design by the McDonnellIN )uglas Astronautics Corpwationof H untington Beach, California.Thiok ol ( urp oration's WasatchDivision in Brigham City, P tah,developed and produces the motors.The motor casing, thrust vectorcontrol s y stem, structural assemb ly,and electrical systems o f the re-usable Solid Rocket Booster wereplanned for it lifetime of ?ll flights:the recovery system was p lannedfor ten.1'Irti1/l(' S 1M-AShuttle Systems E ngineering andAnalysis is a m ajor Marshall activitythat uses the Center's Icchn^calcompetence in the areas of propul-sion s y stems, lar g e launch vehicle

structures, and aerxiNnamics andflight predictions to perform m:-nyvaried Shuttle tasks. These includethose tasks which are it hart of theShuttle pr , ijects assigned to theCenter.In addition. Marshall people areworkin g on syst t ms tasks for thetotal Shuttle %chicle. These effortsinclude tasks in s y stems engineeringana integration, determination ofgrou nd and flight op erations re-quirements, the development andinte g ration o f s y stems conu 1ron tomore than one Shuttle elcnrent. 3 10on other special s y stems tasks^aigned to Nfirshall.

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Maior Tc^clins^All the major elements of the

Shuttle came to the Marshall Centerfor developmental testing on theirway toward space. The ExternalTank underwent exhaustive struc-tural tests here in various facilities.A former Saturn V moon rockettest-firing stand was converted, atconsiderable cost savings, to holdthe large liquid hydrogen tank forstructural testing. The liquid oxygentank and intertank underwentstructural testing ino building usedfor similar testing of Saturn vehicles.And another facility originally builtfor testing Saturn I and Saturn IBfirst stages was converted for use intesting the Solid Rocket Booster'sstructure.

The most spectacular of theShut :e tests at the Marshall Centerwas the year-lung Mated VerticalGround Vibration Tests, which tookplace during 1978 and 19 79. Forthese tests, various Space Shutticconfigurations were assembledinside a -W-foot tall dynamics teststand. The information derivedallowed Marshall engineers to verifymathematical mWels used topredict how the Shuttle's controlsystems and structures would reactto the vibrations the spacecraftwould encounter during actualflight.

!Marshall is also responsible forsingle engine tests conducted atNASA's National Space TechnologyLaboratories at Bay St. Louis,Mississippi. The main engine had tobe test fired numerous t i mes duringits development, and each flightengine must undcry,,, acceptancetruing there before- it is installed inan Operational 00,iter.

Another Ma;-,hall Shuttle testresponsibility at Bay St. Louis. theMain Propulsion Test, itnol y ed testfirings using a cluster of three SpaceShuttle Main Engines drawingpropellants from an actual ExternalTank. These tests verified the opera-tion of the o% erall main propulsiops y stem and showed that the separateelements would function properl}together.

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( oil/ i r r r,f; .ti'IrrrrIh ,Ih t to/mIt'I?lAs new requirements are identi-

fied. the Shuttle will he mocfified tomeet these demands. Marshall gillcontinue to have responsibility forfollow-on otevelopment of its propul-sion system - the Main Engines,External Mink and Solid RockLIBoosters.

The Center is investigating waysto increase the weigh t-:arrvingcapability of the Shuttle by addingthrust-augmenting rocket enginesbeneath the External Tank. Thisextra "boost modul will he avail-able in the mid-19N)s for use on anyShuttle mission that requires mornpounds-to-orbit capability.

1 1 1 r I101 l 'pper slap,Since the Space Shuttle is a rela-

tively low-orbit vehicle, both NASAand the Department of Defenseneed a Shuttle "upper Stage toboost certain payloads to high orbit.or Io send interplanetary craft out ofEarth orbit entirely. To put a satel-lite into high orbit \ here it will slayover one spot on the Earth', surface a communications satellite, forexample it must be placed farabove the operating ceiling of theShuttle. That boost will come froman Inertial Upper Stage.Prier to launch, this Shuttle upperstage is mated directly to thepayload it will boost. That assemblyis then loaded into the ShuttleOrbiter payload hay. In an orbitabout 150 miles above the Earth, theupper stage with spacecraft attachedis deployed and the Orbae- departs.Then, in response to i t e- im m andprogrammed into it earlier, theInertial Upper Stage motor ignites,lx+osting the spacecraft to a higher-orbit or toward another planet.

OCCaluSe 0' the variet y of itsmissions an.i payloads. the InertialUpper Stage is designed as it flexibles y stem that can he put to use inthree different configurations usingcombinations of two different sizesOf solid rocke. motors. rhe AirFord, which has primary responsi-hi t ity for (levc lopnlent , f ht.- upperstage, will use the haste Iwo-slageconfiguration. NASA is also parlicl-pating In the &,elopmenl and. forits missions. \ill deeclor and usemo :NASA-unique pla , +elary con-figurations in addilio t to the bitst\o-stage system.As the NASA organization formanagement and coordination onthe Inertial Upper Stage program,Marshall Space Flight Center pro-%ides NASA's requirements to theAir Force and participates in con-tract direction to insure that theoperational model Satisfies bothNASA and other non-Defense userrequirements.

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I piceOn: of the Shuttle's most impor-tant roles is to serve as both trans-porter and support platform forSpacelab. This laborator y facility.when placed inside the cargo bay of

the Shuttle Orbiter, becomes aversatile orbital research center.Spacelab is a flexible laboratory.featuring several interchangeableelements that can he put together invarious configurations to meet theparticular needs of a given fli g ht. Atwo-sect ion pressur ized m odu leprovides either a short, or long.habitable workshop for scientists.Five unpressurized pallets can alsobe placed in the Shuttle cargo havto hold instruments which requiredirect exposure to spare. As manyas eight different com binations ofpallets and modules are presendplanned.

The first Spacelab mission. one ofthree being managed by theMarshall Center, will employ thetwo-section laboraton module andone pallet. The second mission willuse three pallets and no workshopmodule. For such a mission. thescience cre%% \ g III o\ersee operationof the pallet-mounted experimentsfrom inside the Orbiter's cabin.

The development of the Spacelabsy sterr, is being done b\ the Euro-pean Space Agency, with NASA'sguidance and assistance. TheMarshall Cc._, is NASA's ladcenter for this project and. as such.provides guidance to the EuropeanSpace Agency and its contractorconsortium cc hick is desi g nin g an dmanufacturing the equipment to hefurnished to NASA. It is also direct-I\ responsible for (Ic%elopment ofcertain related equipment. such asthc.tunnel throu gh c% fi lch cre"m em bers c+i l l transfer to theSpacelab from Shuttle Ii i tg quarters.

Sl^^rr^^/u !, .11i.c.cion hrrrr^^rnten!As indicated earlict, the MarshallCenter has another role in Sp acelab

that is quite apart from the develop-ment of the facility itself. TheCenter 's Spacelab P ayload P rojectOffice is the f ocal point for planningand directing the actual Spacelabmissions.Preparations for the first threeSpacelab flights are alreadv wellunderway . These pace-setting mis-sions will fl y in the earl y 1980s .Preparing for a mission is a com-plex task. In some cases, Marshall'speople manage the development ofan experiment to he flown aboardSpacelab. In others, the y guide non-NASA users in the definition,design, and preparation of their ownexp eriments. The Center also devel-ops requirements for mating thefinished experiment to Spacelab-provided equipment, such as racks,pallets and the data managements y stem. and for checking out eachpiece to m ake sure it c% I l l work bo thindepe rdently and as an integratedpart of the \% hole Spacelab payload.

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One of tllc most urtiklue featuresof Spaeelah is that it affords scien-; ;% (s the opp ortuni ty to ac lual l% gointo orbit to operate their ownexperiments, or select some special-ist to do this for them. Ill ast,scientific investigators had to rely'on NASA % , astronauts to operatetheir experiment equipment. Thepeople s . lectcd to do thi" \%orh onShutt le f lights are cal led Im .14 oadspecitdisryTheir c xtensi\-e trainingis another of the Marshall Center'sreslxm sibi l it ies as mission m anager.

The pay k.ad specialists for thefirst two Spacelab missh is havebeen ill or some time.Because the first mission is a jointmission sponsored b\- both NASAMid the European Space Agency.the pa\load specialists for [ba l flightwill include a European the fiatto fl\ in .pace from another free-\% or ld count r y . In training for thisflight are five pa y load specialists:two Americans and three Euro-peans. Two a ill be identified to fhi lx)ard Spacelah. the other three% % il l op erate groiinO-hascd cxperi-1 1 1 Cm cyuipm em and ;assist the pai rin orbit.The Space lab ? p a\-load cre\%consists of four Americans. in-cluding a \%o n lan. T% % \% i l l go in tospace and two %ill operate from theground.As plans ;Irk. made for futureSpacclab flights, the MarshallCenter is expected to remain amajor participant in missionmanagement .l i/ l ET Itat 1')"p,rr,rtr1,1t

In recent \-cars, an increasing:nllount of the Center's effort hasbeclt &&Told to the kle\cloplllellt ofexperiments to he flown in spacealaiarl Simide and Spacelah. In thi.role, Mal sltall 's o% % n scientists oftenbecome " cush o nle rs- for theCenter's mission management s, r-\- icc just dcN crihed.

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D uring the I '470% highly-respected..cells of excellence" were developedwithin the Center in many of thespace-related sciences. Leaders inthese disciplines are now preparingfor flight opportunities for theirexperiments over Ill suchprowls are now under wa y at theCenter. These p rojects are assignedW mam organizations of the Center.% % Ith the hca% iest concentrationheing in the Space S ciences Lab -oratory.O ne major area \% here theShuttle and Spacelah are used forextensive experimentation is in (fit,studv of the effects of g ravit y onpro cesses essential to (tie prnxlu c-tion of important materials used onthe Farth. "This % cork , which wasinitiated on Alxollo. Sk % lah andsounding ro ket flights, is a Mar-shall Center speciam aimed atexploring the fundamental charac-teristics of material behavior andinvesti gatin g how various materialsinteract during their formation.The priniary_ henefit of this workis expected to he in the applicalion

of space experiment-derivedknowledge to the Earth-based pro-duction of such things as optics,composite materials used in weight-critical prxiucts, electronics crystalsand pharmaceuticals. Bill there is itstrong lxossihility that this work mayalso result in the production inspace of sonic unique products withsmall volume market demands andhigh com m ercia l % aloe.The experiments now underwaycover an extremel y wide variet y ofmaterials and proces.K s. Examplesinclude inv estigations kn'o thegro% % (h of high perform ance crystalsand semiconductor, the fornrttionof unique alloys and comlxisites, theprecise separation of biological

sub stances such as enzvm es, theformation of unique glasses, thepreparation of very pure materialsthrough the use of containerlcssprocessing and ultra-high vacuumpro cessing techniqu es, and thepreparation of unique chemicals.

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^ t c ^ S t e r oThe science of astronomy deals

with the most fundamental issue:that face reasoning man: how didm y world conk into being. what isthe order of the universe, and whatrole does my world play. what liesahead for me and my descendants:'

Answering these questions is theastronomer's challenge. He seeks tolearn and understand the laws gov-

erning the striwitire and evolutionof his universe by observation andinterpretation. Yet, the scale ofdistances to even the nearby stars isso great as to prevent modern manfrom visiting them for study. Theastronomer can onI% , be an observer not an experimenter. He canlearn only from observing whatnature is doing.

Never before have astronomershad such capabilities to obscne ascan now he provided through theuse of spacecraft. High above theFarth's blanket of obscuring atmos-phere, astronomical observatorieslike those tieing developed andflown by the Marshall Center cannow give astronomers a new kook a tthe heavens.

M yli En er-q r Astronornr Ohsen-amnMarsha!I's three-mission HighFnergy Astronomy Observatorypro ject has given astrono m ers newm eans of s tudying som e of the m ost

intriguing mysteries of the universepulsars, quasars, exploding; galaxiesand black holes in space.The high energy rays p roduced b ysuch sources cannot be studiedthrou gh E arth-hated telescop esbecause of the obscuring effects of oatmosphere. They were observedinitially by instruments on soundingrock ets and balloons, and by smallsatel li tes. Greativ im pro ved capab i l-i ies were bu i l t into the three space-craft of the High Fncrgy ,astronomyObservatory series.

The first was launched in I'M.D uring its extended 17 m onths inspace, it map ped the X-ray sou rces ithe heavens. The second satelliteprovided the earliest spacecraft-generated X-rtv images of selected"% k ide" objects, such as galaxies andnebulae. The role of the third missiois to collect c elestial gamma ray andcosmic ra y data.Som e other achievem ents of thisseries thus far arc: the discoven of auniversal hot plasma con stituting amajor fraction of the mass of theuniverse: the location of a ne%% blackhole candidate that hrings the totalknown to four: the expansion of thelist of the known X-ray sources from350 to nearly 1,5M. and the produc-tion of the first spacecraft-generatedX- ra ym ages of celestial o bjectsother than our own sun.As participating scientists continueto sift through the enormous volumeof information provided by theseobservatories, this list is expected togrow tremendou sly.

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Using Spamito Benefit Earth 40The knowledge and skills gainedfrom pioneering efforts in the initial

exploration and use of space is nowpaying off in some unexpectedways. Increasingly. Marshal l's sp aceexpertise is being applied to thenon-space sector as wel l ..So larEricrgr Profit,

One of the best examples of this isthe Center's participation in theNational Solar Heating and C(x)lingProgram and the Solar Demonstra-tions Applied to Federal Buildings

Program. both directed by theDepartment of Energy.The first of these two programs,the National Solar Heating andCooling Program. is itself a two,pronged effort. One objective is todevelop new types of systems; theether to demonstrate existing com-mercially available hardware. Underthese programs, the Marshall Centeris managing the installation andevaluation of solar energy systems inschools. homes, hospitals, officebuildings, hotels and a national parkwelcome center.Marshall engineers are alsoproviding technical management ofa mul t i -million dollar program tostimulate the use of solar energy to

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heat and cool federal buildings. Thisprogram is designed to demonstrateto the 1-ihlic the government'sconfidence in solar energy as aviable energy source b y installingoff-the-shelf solar equipment infederal buildings.The Center is well equipped forthis solar energy role. Its largeoutdoor test facilit y provides anoutstanding means for testing andevaluating solar energ y s y stems andcomponents in varying co nbina-tions. In addition to outdoor testing,tests are also co nducted ind,,x)rsunder controlled conditions with itsolar simulator, a ven large lamparray that provides the "continuoussunshine" necessary to permit com-

parison of collector performance.As part of the Solar Pealing andCooling program, the Marshall

Center is managing it overn-ment and industry effort to speeddevelopment and establishment ofrating, certification, and labelingstandard for solar collectors. Theend resu;t will he a catalog of solarcollector ratings to aid the con-sumer in selecting the right systemfor his or her particular need.

All of these programs, of coursedraw on the experience Marshall'speople have gained through vears developing solar energy systems anthermal control measures for,,pacecraft.

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% !lilt-ral V v It t'lifirrIn another interesting venture, the

Marshall Center is applying tech-nology developed for space use tohelp reme0v one aspect of thenation's energy shortage by makingCoal mining safer, more prKluctiveand more economical.

The Center is working with theDepartment of Energy to apply aautomated g uidance and Controls y stem to it hearing ma-chine, used to grind Coal from theseam. Sensors will locate the canedge and digital electronic controwill direct the machine's cu!, alloing the machine to mine coal fasty ielding more coal per seam, andreducing cutter wear by preventithe machine from mining into adjcent rock and dirt. The techniquebeing applied to this project aread.-,pled from those used earlier tdevelop the guidance and controlsystem for the Lunar Rm ing VehiSh^rri r, f lr, - (i,rrn %

Solutions to everyday problemshere on Earth are often discoverein the process of soling problemsfor space sy stems. Marshal l isa gressive in communicating thesenew developments to Americanindusm and the public. A small,full-tints staff is dedicated to makthis kink! of technology known anmailable.In an average y ear, these peop le\% i l l pu bl ish abou t 1 i ll detai ledrel>.rtts on new technologydeNeloped m the Marshall CenterRecentl y , these reports have rangfrom it rogram for hofluid anal y sis, to i t 11 iJi H eight. lxoable firefi g hting moxlule.Two de% clopm ents th ;t t havegained much national ;utentionrecentl y are it Power Factor Con-troller and an Image FnhancemenProcess. The power deice is simand can he put together by even Iknowledgeable hobbyist with parfoou g ht at am electroirics store. Itcuts the electrical consumption omotors to which it is attached bym u c h as -0 percent: It does this b

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w^app', -`~4W

ulet^"(iF Pry9 f'F

automatically prodding onlN asmuch voltage as the motor needs todo its work. Power that would nor-m , Ily he wasted as heat from themotor is saved. Many privatecompanies have alreadN beenlicensed to manufacture and sellthese small devices. Soon, they willhe an important part of homeappl iances.The Image Enhancement ProcessWas discovered by a Marshal l chem-ist who had been asked to find itwa y to salvage undcrex1 xised astron-omy films. She nmd that sheCould irradiate the apparently blitAf i lm % % lth it harm less level of radia-tion, then sand% % ich it together % kithanother piece of uneAposed filet.Traces of silver in the original, toofaint ,o be seen, would then cause itstronger image oil econd film.A normal print c,!n he made fromthis nc^ ne,Mtkr. The process wasfound to wort. as \\cll \% i th o ld,hadl y faded photographs. Theill\cntor has sho"r that the processcan he used to res(orc earIN histor-ical photographs.The pro ess has since been foundto offer great possibilities in themedical and dental X-ra\ field. Thedosage o f X-rays used for diagnosiscan be cut by as mu ch as k lll percentand the films later enhanced tosho% % normal detail .

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PROBING THE FU7i-

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EyThrough their involvement inthe development of the agency'slong-rank plans, Center plannershave contributed, and continue tocontribute, to NASA's overall

objectives by focusing on thoseareas where Marshal l has specialcapability. Within Marshall andNASA, the overriding considera-tions in adkanccd program pianningare to fulfill national needs, makemaximum use of existing spaces y stems, and to advance the nation'scapabilities and obtectives in itIovica l m annel ' .

Power SystemsP erhaps the key sy stem that dem-onstrates this philosoph y is the

2 : -Kiltmatt P-.mer S y stem. TheI ,Kmcr s^stcm % sill he a free-fl% itigSolar power sou rce .% hich, % hendocked to the Shuttle Orbiter. canprovide it and an onboard Spacelah%%ith p0\ \cr that gi\cs thcnm extcnd-

ed mission duration capability. Thpo wer syslcnm \% i l l ; l ist) provideattitude control and stabilization, a% % ell as additional heat rejectioncapability for the Orbiter andti hatever payload is aboard. Theseaurgnm enta(ions wil l increase indi-vidual mission durations from tht-current 7-12 days toa}'s it .at the same time, provide a niaiorincrease in the Ix)wer a% ailahle tooperate onboard experiments.The power s y stenm \% ill also \% orin a free-fl y ing payload mode. Ex-perinments o r spacecraft can be lefattached to the system in spacewhile the Orbiter returns to EarthThis nmtxle is cxtrcmcl y attractive a large number of users, particulathose % % hose instrum ents requ irelom:g flight duration and need highlevels of power. The po% % er systemuses it nc\\ concept in solar ener,Qycollectors, it concept that is also itke y part of time Solar FicctricP ropu lsion S y stenm % % hich is dis-Cussed Imer.

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ti

Build a1PSpaceAnother concept being pursuedby Marshall which may prove to be

a simple and cost-effective solutionto achieving lung-terns flight, in-solves the use of al l paceplatform oil cience andapplications instruments can hemounted. Power, telemetry , stabili-zation, and othcr support serviceswo uld he pro% ided !o each of these

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attached payloads by the platform'owr,tx)wer system. Effort is concetrated now on small, simple plat-form concepts, but it number ofm ore so phisticated pl - . rt form con-cepts, like those for itcommunications platform or amulti-discipline platform, have beeexamined.In order to provide the caf:abil-i t ies necessary to constru r t andmaintain such platform~ and otherlarge space s y stems, a large struc-tures study activity h.ts been underN % av for sonic t ime. Chis activit y hathree areas of effort: definitionstudies of varous modes of con-struction for .lepiovable structuressuch as antennas; development antesting of it ground demonstr;rlionmodel of an autonrucd beans buildwhich makes triangular truss beamfrom rolls of thin alnntinum stock.and simulations of various assenthkand joining techniques in it Uniqueundemater Neutral Buovanc\Simulator.These large structures. platformand power sy stems activities arecomplementary and. %\ hen coup le\%ith the Marshall Ccntcr's e\per-icnce on Spacelah and in Spacelabpa y load planning and integration.the\ form a solid foundation forplanning near tons utiliiatiun andaugmentat ion o f NA SA'% Shut tle -hased transportatr in system.


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O

nning for ". enceThere are. however, other areasof p lanning which are equall y im -lxlrtam. One of these is the prepar-ation of science and app lications

payloads.The Advanced X-ray AstrophysicsFacilit y is a gotxf example. It isviewed as the next step in X-rayastronom y after the H igh 1= nergyAstronomy Observatory series. Thisnew facilit y will extend current X-r a y surve y s to greater distances anelwill allow the stud y of presentlyk.lown sourc,reater detail andresolution.Another ver y cha l lenging projectwith which the Marshall SpaceFlight Center has been in y olred forsome tin g e is the Grinit\ Probe B.A scientific research and testingprogram is undemii\ to develop anultra-precision cr y ogenic gyroscopecapable of testing specific predic-tions o f Finstcin's Gencral Theoryof Itclati y it\. Recent ob servationsmade \% ith the H igh F-:nergy Astron-omx t )bsern atorx spacecraft haveincreased (he Wientific conlmunity',lnterest in establishing it ta-nonal theor that will best describevarious phenomena in our physicalun1% erse including pulsar-, quasars.and black holes. Gra y it\ Pro be Bwou ld help to do that.In addition to these science pax-loads, Marshall is stud y in g ,c%craladeanced space materials pro cessingpa\ lo ads including it Space \ acuunlResearch Facilit y and it MmeriakFitperlinem Carrier. These paylo ads% % ou ld utilise the unique prop ertiesOf ti,JXK ' - imcrogr:nil \ :1110 NZ1011 l 1 1to accom plish xaried mitteri:.lsresearch to help pri% ate industndevelop unique : u 1< ! i,etter pharn,aceutleak, ,tllo\s, hlologii;tls. Midother pro ducts for terrestrial use.

In Search ofNew EnergyNational p roblems in energy havehighlighted the need nor m ajoradvances in the nation's abilit y todevelop alternate energy sou rces at

acceptable co sts and with minlintimeffect o il nvironment. To meetthis need, the Marshall Center hasbeen working within NASA, e%iththe Department of Energy, and withother government agencies to

define alternative energy p rogram sthat would take advantage of thetechnolog y of [tie spare program .One potential solution to easingthe world's increasing demand fo relectrical energy is the SatellitePower S y stem. The Marshall Centeris now studying the feasibility anddefinition of this concept, whichwould use it ith it verylarge blanket of so lar cells toconcert solar energy directl y intoelectrical energy via thephotovoltaic ntelhod.

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This Jectrical energy would then heconverted into microwaves andbeamed from an antenna on thepower satellite to itcalled a rectenna. on the groundwhere it would he recon v erted toelectrical energy and fed into utilitypower l ines.The near-terns phase of this pro-ject in Olves it nunlher of techno-logy and engineering activities, aswell as ground and space experi-ments or demonstrations to In esti-m tate critical areas. The technicalfcatsihilit y and environmental

impact% of the microwa e systemhave to he determined, and theproblems of making energy con-version devices and build i ng suchlarge structures are being assessed.p his energ y % ou rce offers greatprom ise as one of the future stepstoward diminishing the rapid deple-tion of the wm-id's fossil fuel supply.Although the % acfe im anagement ofnuclear waste generated by nuclearpower plants and nuclear weaponsprotluction does not fall in thecategory of alternate energy so urces,i t is an area of % [tal l imp ortance to

the continued or incre : tsed use o fnuelear power in this nation. Inconcert with the Department ofEnergy, the Marshall ('enter isassessing the desirabili(v of disposingof certain high-level nuclear wastesin space as an augmentation of thecurrentl y planneJ national nuclearwaste management program. Vari-ous spare disposal concepts havebeen considered including solars^% tern escape, injection into theSun. placement on the Moon, and;njection into it olar orbit.The currentl y favored concept isinjection into a circular solar Orbitahc^ut halfwa y betucen Earth andVenus. Orbital calculations indicatetha; this Orbit is stable for at Icam itmillion vears.

Now Vehicle ConceptsShtdies are also underwa\ !It heMarshall Space Flight ('enter on thspecia', translxirtation requirements

of the Satellite Power Svstem andother rnksik.ns of such an era.CO nCepts being in e% tigatcd includethose for nc hcav lift launchvehicles and Shuttic improvementor growth options. such as replacingthe Solid Rocket Booster with re-u% athle l iqu id bt iosters. These cou ldincrease the Shuttle's payloadweight-to-orbit capabilit y b apprommatel y50 percent. Anotheroption could he used a hen payloadreturn-toEarth capahilitlo is notrequired. The Shuttle Orbiter at'ghhe replaced b y a special cargocarrier to acconlnlodate larger orhca ier pad loads. than t he `. )rhiter i%capable of handling. Lutnch facili-lie%. ulth modemic m^xlliicatiom.could he capable of handling an othe% r one ua chicle%.

m other c la ..% O f % pacccraft know.i% the ( )rhital 1' ra-n%fc r V ehicle i%required It mo e cargo and P eOP lchChXCL I1 sou Farth orbit oboe theShUll le op erate% and gct,, nchrlr'n+u% orht l. Such chicle% a.rc af%i.needc I I. + Place payloads on plan-ct,lr nalcclorlc%. I he%c chic lc%ulll offer important fewure%n,A

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available with the Inertial UpperState descrihed earlier: reusahili!v,greater pa y load capahility, and theabilit y to carry astronauts. A broadspectrum of transfer vehicle con-cepts arc being studied in an attemp tto identif y the sy stem that %% III bestmeet the nation's future dclkeryrequirements.Main vehicles of the future "'IIIuse solar electric propulsion. Flec-tric prop uls ion system s. whichgenerate thrust by passin g ntcrcur\ions throu g h an electrostatic field.have been under study for nutmyears.Based on seven y ears of conceptdefinition and applications studies,the Marshal l concept o f a standardSolar E lectric Prop uls ion Systemhas emerged as itcost-effecti%eapproach to accomplishin the "idey arict y of missions that require thehigh efficienc y , low thrust capab i l-i t ies pecu l iar to electric pro pu lsion.

the tcchnoloo\ needed to build itlarge deployable solar arra y for thesolar electric stage Kati LIOCIopeld aspart of Marshalk electric propulsion

activities. This -so lar arra y has be-conic the basis fog- it o lararras development program atMarshall designed to support notonly the Solar Electric PropulsionSystem program. but also the 25 kW

Power System. The currently plan-ned first mission for the Solar Elec-tric Propulsion System is a dualcomet mission it f Halley'sComet in 1985 followed by a 1988rendezvou s wi th the com et. Temp el 11 .

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ID REsw am1 0Organizat ionThe Mam hal l Center'% organr-cation slruclure is hard onclear

definition of function% Io hi Ilcr-fol lm . d. It I% htwd to the CCIIICr'%cwk inw 1111%%11011, and has been%ubslann llh rcconfigured in reicnl,c:u-. to ceCtIall/t- and conlhint-fu l l 11o I1%, %hor lC l l C0111111t1111cal iOI1lines. ,Ind reduce ol, anlr u o n a lenlllle%.

\I the head of the organisation i%tilt- l )ifice of Iltt Center Director.I he kill Cilor s % t. lt1 o ther% pro, Ids.I l koaluk-d ad, ice ,11ld %upporl illsuch aica% as ltelionnel llmliagc111011 ,Ind Iiscal aff.11ls

1`11, 11 of I lse forn1.111, cst.1i ' l lshidp lo lC c 1 % de %C H I N Cki 111 Ills CtInvillI)C,clopllloll P roici l% scololl ofthis lxx N 1 , I% 1 1 1 . naQcd h, .1 1 1 1 ' 0 1 C C toffice rcspomiblc to Iht- Centerdlrii for 1 ht- prolt-cl office rt-%lioll%Ib110 Include', Oh' ,Inrcuon of1 ,olll I11-ht % tl 1 W di % I I1 . 11111111c111 k Ik III I .I ho the I I1 .111a:;cIllCI11 oI . 1 111 111 11 I^ I Ic ' Ih of 1 .11 : ' ( .1114%III II i mlI ac( % \ \1111un ,11c 111,111.11,.1 .1c11 pro,lclt-% I Lulnnr;, control.IcJIllW.11 kill (itlIll And Ic,lcItlnc'ln ills, Ind blend lolTlhcl Ihii ffor l% o f k 111 , ,\ \ 11 0111111001 I I IQ1. Ibo l .1 ( , ` l lc % 1 1 1 1 I h o % c ' of ot11 CollII.lilol 1 , I, ,lol Ill .1 W.lnl 01011

1 hcl0 if I . rhl rc 11 1 ,110 1 dll0.101.Ile% \ \ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1he CCIIWI %II ticrl11e1 1 1 '.. I,+b of 111 L . h oizl mll I )c, e!oll111cnt I ) IICCIoI'.IW %10ad,.nlit- ne\\Idc.1 % Auld torn0r.ui pl,ul% folpl,'llll%111!' IIiN 1110Q1,1111"

I he V1111I111'.11mit'll and lilot'I.1111S 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I t1 11eilol.11CCO11%I%l%o) Ihi, , 1 1111 / .111 , 1 11% it I l l il l 111,11111.111 1 I I lk-I'll\ %I, - . I I ( 1 . 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 I l l, RIC %CI, lie%%t l l11 .1% I l l oilllClllClll, opCl.ltloll ofi011WI c, 1 Illplllil%,Ilkl% C C 1 1 1 I I \ I l l % ACCl lo1

I he thins major orpint/ation1 %tilt- Science :Ind higillecrillg DirCi-loraw, 1101 c n lp lo rs m ore . than 41VI Cent of 1lars11:11 1' . Ix-ol ' Ie. I I llsdirrctorl le 1% di% cipl ine-orlorl ted andprovide% tec hnical %upllt,rl l 0 O w%arious lask eams and pro jectoffices. It :Its furnishes :I rtwarchbase for the adlaniimim of lochlit) lov; -

I he NUN- ill tilt:lce I. light ( ' c mcr'%%tlt :unlined % true turc has enabled itto meet the c1mlictigt- of e,er-rimill!com% wilh increased pl,rluclilril\.

FacilitiesI ,IollllC% \\ " Ih nn,lt- 111.111 N111 )11 r11 ho-I . Ire il l use .0 \ Iarsh,I lfI lmit",111 c and m Its olht-r lnst.11 1a

(tort%. I (lc-,cIlls IIIdC I:Ic'lllnC% totIl %t I I l>r 1 .111 ;e % parr %\ % l i 111% , f:li II It lc'%cills h .n l l^h; . spt-cl.111 mk l. 1.11%0Isnorts% c,Iulpl,c d for a \,Idc\arlo\

of % lush, and off-% i le fac' l l it ie% a,ail -abl e for the am enlbl , of large % (tact-hard,,: lrc and large % \% [enl% I 'ro ptl l%loll l l % tlllt;.\ nulnl lrr of these facilities arcun ique % % i lhn l NASA. Som e are no tduplicated ilMMIClr chi in thenation or free orld. I'Iti Mar%ha!ICell r'% maiol tier facilities, foreValnl,IC. err built for tits1lti llo Satur11 program I hit \\c1Cnloclifit-d for use in Shuttle dewloll-nlc nt at a fraction of ill_ co%t of l ie%%la:ilit^rs. I'hc Ccnter's 'Nlt IICC andI '11^ '111Ce1I11> I : I IA,ra l , l rles are hotl%c,lill '.I million sclualk . feel of conyb nl yd , ffici %pace, hlh b,n .ur:l.lab % pacc. ,Ind a% G q 'I:Itt d \,or{,,ueas.

\1:ultal!'% %pe. L11 fa. 1111 1e% ins ludia LIrQC \ I.r, lilc%copi callbl.'Ino11,uld tc%I s\%IC111 ..111 u11 tl%tea1 Nculr:llBuo\anc, sinullmor, a sl,cci:tl 1 1 1 L h -

1 1:i,nohi% rllnbcr Ind tunnel. anda % O laf hc,I l lI IQ and CA 1 1 1 1 1 " % , %ICnIand %u l , s\ % I, nl tc% 1 t,ICilli,

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3 -77' III )r leans, Lo u isiana. Mar-shall's Michood Assembly Facility isno% % heing used i t) fabricate andassemble the External Tank for theSpace Shuttle. This S1,11 nti l l ionplant, Mitchh formerll pnxiucedSaturn rocket staves, provides ittremendous capability for the pro-duction and assembly of larie spares y stcros. Readv access at IIuntmWc(0 file lcnnemee River. andMic hol ld's access to the Mississippi.means that the mo sites are lin'.edb% economical barge franslx)rtationBoth also have access by deep-% % m etransport it) the launch facilities atKennedy Space Center.File MaINIIall Centcr also t)peratethe $20 million Slidell ComputerComplex at Slidell, Lotilsi:ur 1 1 0runtplcntent us 1 Iuntss111C L0ntpu-ter capabihtc. Slidell providesMarshall. tilichoud, and other\ASA activities with critical auto-m atic data pro essing scr% ices. "Thegeneral purpose rt,mpullmon rcm-cept empkwed hs Slidell serves toeliminate unnccessan duplicatit'n(if facilities and computer eyuihnirntand Nieldsgrater total capahih(Nthan %% ou ld be ac htc\alh lc tc ithseparme facilities at each location.Mar% hal l's ntam p h y sical assetsctaIstitute a nati0nal resource. arrad\ re% o u rc c ct hi: h can hebrought to hear on a aide variet y ofspare-related projects within it shortperitkt of time.

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PeopleMarshal l's p eop le, however, are itsstrongest assets. They are well-trained and unu sual ly exp erienced.This is also an exceptional lyseaumed %korkforce. It is not unusualt0 find employ ees wot king oncurrent pro jects, such as ShareShutt le. Mio also X% orked o n theearl% R edstone Ju piter pro jects thatmarked ou r m inim"s entrance '11 11 0the share age. Such experience is therule. rather than the exception.This talent and ski l l has m app edthe C em er t0 make the transitionfrom the earh rockets to Saturn:front o Sk y lah and the Lu narRoving Vehicle: from those pro-

o rams to ((,da y 's Share Shuttic.Spacc Telescope. Spacelah. HighFti-rg\ Astronom y Observatories.MMerials Pro ee-mtw in Share. and,other pa y loads. Thcsc are fursiQhtcdpeop le who haw had it g limpse 11 1(0the future and haw seen a potentialetc\% \wrld \%hich reaps 'enefi'sa^ail:thlc Irnn space cxplotlation.I he\ no\% arc h clp nt to o 111 11d

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Documents

The Marshall Center Its Place in NASA