University Daily Kansan / Tuesday, March 24, 1992
11
Atlantis launch is delayed
Space shuttle takeoff rescheduled for 8 a.m. today
The Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Fuel leaks forced postponement of space shuttle Atlantis' launch, but NASA said it fixed the problem and rescheduled liftoff for today.
Launch director Bob Sieck said he was confident the trouble was not a recurrence of the hydrogen leaks that had grounded the shuttle fleet for almost half a year in 1990.
NASA hopes for an 8 a.m. launch today.
The seven astronauts had not yet boarded Atlantis when yesterday's launch was scrubbed.
Unusually high levels of hydrogen and oxygen were detected in Atlantis' engine compartment early yesterday shortly after fueling began.
The launch team tried to duplicate the seepage by loading more propellant, but nothing leaked.
Sieck said that indicated the problem was temporary and in Teflon seals rather than the extensive plumbing between the external fuel tank and the orbiter and its rocket engines.
In the past, metal components have been slow to adapt to the liquid fuel's temperature of 420 degrees below zero, but never has so much propellant leaked. Sieck said.
However, he said no leaks were detected outside the spaceship, unlike two years ago. Atlantis' external fuel tank and related plumbing had to be replaced because of the 1990 leaks. Columbia required even more repairs.
Sieck said officials planned to analyze data from Atlantis' latest leaks and review all the work performed on the fuel system to make sure that all was done properly and correctly documented.
NASA officials estimated yester-
days cost $800,000.
include:fuel and labor.
Until yesterday, preparations for the eight-day flight had gone well, and the weather yesterday morning was better than expected.
Forecasters said yesterday that there was a 70 percent chance of good weather at launch time today, improving to 80 percent through the morning.
The main concern was wind.
Scientists were disappointed by yesterday's delay, but sympathetic.
"We want to fly and we're ready," program scientist Jack Kaye said. "You hate to have to wait, but on the other hand you want things to be right when you go."
Researchers have been working on the mission since the early 1980s. It is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth program to study the environment from space and the first in a series of atmospheric research missions planned for the next decade.
Scientists want to measure ozone and other components of the atmosphere over an 11-year solar cycle, the most one peak of solar activity to the next.
NASA planned to launch Atlantis on March 14, but scientists asked that the flight be moved closer to the new moon on April 3. Many of the 13 scientific instruments aboard Atlantis are designed to work in darkness.
"In terms of the moon, this makes things a little better." Kave said.
Committee requests Pentagon investigation of bailout plan
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The head of a House committee is asking the Pentagon to investigate whether the Defense Department had a secret plan to bail McDonnell Douglas Corp, out of financial trouble in 1990.
Rep John Conyers, D-Mich., asked in a letter to department officials that the inspector general determine how much money was provided to McDonnell Douglas, the nation's largest defense contractor, and who authorized any such plan.
The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that the Pentagon had a confidential plan to help the financially strapped company and made questionable cash payments of more than $200 million.
"This is an extremely serious matter as it involves senior members of the Department of Defense who apparently devised and executed a plan involving hundreds of millions of dollars to benefit a single corporation without the knowledge or consent of the Congress," Conyers said in the Feb. 21 letter.
Barbara Anderson McDonnell Douglas representative
The newspaper said it was reporting the results of a confidential inspector general audit, which was issued last week. Other actions describing the bailout deleted.
Eleanor Spector, director of defense procurement at the department, testified in October that the department
Defense officials said in congressional hearings last year that there was no evidence of a crime.
had considered providing special aid to McDonnell Douglas but the plan was set aside when the company's cash accounts improved significantly.
Jan Walker, a Defense Department spokeswoman, said yesterday the inspector general's report had proprietary data excused from it that she had not seen.
McDonnell Douglas makes major weapons systems, including the F-15 fighter aircraft, the Tomahawk cruise missile and the Army's Apache attack helicopter. Douglas Aircraft, a division of McDonnell Douglas, located in California, is building the C-17 cargo plane for the Air Force.
Barbara Anderson, a representative of St. Louis-based McDonnell Douglas, said yesterday, "I am not aware of any secret bailout plan. Throughout the course of the C-17 program, McDonnell Douglas has received payments only for work it has completed."
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