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1977 NASA AUTHORIZATION
HEARINGS
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NINETY-FOURTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON
H.R. 11573
(Superseded by H.R. 12453)
JANUARY 28, 29; FEBRUARY 3, 4, 5, 13, 14, 16, 17, AND 19, 1976
[No. 65]
VOLUME I
Part 2
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Science and Technology -
US. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
70790 WASHINGTON: 1976
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COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
OLIN E. TEAGUE, Texas, Chairman
KEN HECHLER, West Virginia
THOMAS N. DOWNING, Virginia
DON FUQUA, Florida
JAMES W. SYMINGTON, Missouri
WALTER FLOWERS, Alabama
ROBERT A. ROE, New Jersey
MIKE McCORMACK, Washington
GEORGE B. BROWN, JR., California
DALE MILFORD, Texas
RAY THORNTON, Arkansas
JAMES H. SCHEUER, New York
RICHARD L. OTTINGER, New York
HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
PHILIP Ii. HAYES, Indiana
TOM EARKIN, Iowa
JIM LLOYD, California
JEROME A. AMBRO, New York
CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut
MICHAEL T. BLOUIN, Iowa
TIM L~ HALL, Illinois
ROBERT (ROB) KRUEGER, Texas
MARILYN LLOYD, Tennessee
JAMES J. BLANCHARD, Michigan
TIMOTHY E. WIRTH, Colorado
DON FUQUA,
THOMAS N. DOWNING, Virginia
JAMES W. SYMINGPON, Missouri
WALTER FLOWERS, Alabama
ROBERT A. ROE, New Jersey
JIM LLOYD, California
TIM L. HALL, Illinois
HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
MICHAEL T. BLOUIN, Iowa
CHARLES A. MOSHER, Ohio
ALPHONZO BELL, California
JOHN JARMAN, Oklahoma
JOHN W. WYDLER, New York
LARRY WINN, Ja~, Kansas
LOUIS FREY, JR~, Florida
BARRY M. OOLDWATER, JR., California
MARVIN L. ESCH, Michigan
JOHN B. CONLAN, Arizona
GARY A. MYERS, Pennsylvania
DAVID F. EMERY, Maine
LARRY PRESSLER, South Dakota
Florida, Chairman
LARRY WINN, JR., Kansas
JOHN W. WYDLER, New York
LOUIS FREY, JR., Florida
DAVID F. EMERY, Maine
JOHN L. SWIGERT, Jr., Executive Director
HAROLD A. GOULD, Deputy Director
PHILIP B. YEAGER, Counsel
F1tANK'R. HAMMILL, Jr., Counsel
JAMES E. WILSON, Technical Consultant
J. THOMAS RATCHFORD, Science Consultant
JOHN D. H0LMWELD, Science Consultant
RALPH N. READ, Technical Consultant
ROBERT C. KETCHAM, Counsel
REGINA A. DAVIS, Chief Clerh
MICHAEL A. SUPERATA, Minority Counsel
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS
(II)
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CONTENTS
WITNESSES
January 28, 1976:
Edward Z. Gray, Assistant Administrator for Industry Affairs and
Technology Utilization; accompanied by Clare Farley NASA Page
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Technology Utilization 1
Lyman M. Edwards, technical assistant to the president, petroleum
and mining operations, Dresser Industries, Inc., Houston, Tex 4
D. W. Barlow, general manager, 0. E. M. Products, Inc., Brandon,
Fla 9
Alan Lovelace, Associate Administrator, Office of Aeronautics and
Space Technology, National Aeronautics and Space Administration 21
Robert E. Smylie, Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Aero-
nautics and Space Technology, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration 23
R. D. Ginter, Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Energy Pro-
grams, National Aeronautics and Space Administration 34
January 29, 1976:
Roy Gibson, Director General, European Space Agency 169
Charles W. Mathews, NASA Associate Administrator for Applica-
tions 179
February 3, 1976:
John F. Yardley, Associate Administrator for Space Flight of NASA~ 370
February 4, 1976:
Dr. Noel W. Hinners, NASA Associate Administrator for Space
Science 479
February 5, 1976:
Gerald M. Truszynski, Associate Administrator for Tracking and
Data Acquisition 613
Arnold W. Frutkin, Assistant Administrator for International Affairs,
National Aeronautics and Space Administration 643
Field hearings:
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala 673
Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, La 777
Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex 785
February 17, 1976:
William E. Lilly, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Comptroller; accompanied by Charles T. Newman, NASA, Director,
Office of Resources Analysis; Gen. Robert H. Curtin, NASA,
Director, Office of Facilities; and Gerald J. Mossinghoff, NASA,
Assistant General Counsel for General Law 867
February 19, 1976:
Hon. Walter B. LaBerge, Assistant Secretary of Research and De-
velopment of the U.S. Air Force 1219
Elmer S. Groo, NASA, Associate Administrator for Central Operations 1239
(111)
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1977 NASA AUTHORIZATION
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 1976
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 8 am., in room 2318,
Rayburn House Office Building, Don Fuqua (chairman of the sub-
committee) presiding.
Mr. FUQUA. The subcommittee will come to order.
We are pleased to open the first of our second series of hearings on
fiscal year 1977 NASA authorizations. In initiating this series of
hearings it is clear that the potential for NASA's contribution to the
Nation is not being fully utilized.
As we proceed with these hearings, we need to closely examine
how to best gain the maximum utility from the program presented
be it scientific exploration or applications of technology.
Of equal importance is the need to look ahead and arrive at a
rational structure for future program plans, a structure that will be
unambiguous, understandable to the public, and of sufficient range
so necessary critical debate can occur.
We are pleased to have as the NASA witness to discuss the pro-
grams of technology utilization and space technology and energy-
related R. & D. May I add, we are pleased to have ERDA accompany
NASA as they discuss their interrelated programs.
The first witness will be Mr. Gray for technology utilization.
STATEMENT OF EDWARD Z. GRAY, NASA ASSISTANT ADMINISTRA-
TOR FOR INDUSTRY AFFAIRS AND TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION,
ACCOMPANIED BY CLARE PARLEY, NASA DEPUTY ASSISTANT
ADMINISTRATOR FOR TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION
Mr. GRAY. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to be with you this
morning. I am always pleased to have an opportunity to discuss
with you our activities in the NASA technology utilization program
[slide 1]. Today, in the interest of time, I will not describe in any
detail the basic elements of our program, which are shown on our
first slide, and with which you are familiar, but I will discuss the
progress we have made in each of these elements since February
1975 when I last had the privilege of appearing before the
subcommittee.
(1)
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2
TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION PROGRAM
PURPOSE TO PROVIDE FOR THE WIDEST PRACTICABLE AND
APPROPRIATE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION CONCERN ING
ITS ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS THEREOF
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS & SPACE ACT OF 1958
PROGRAM ELEMENTS
* PUBLICATIONS
* INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS CENTERS
* APPLICATION PROJECTS
* PROGRAM EVALUATION & BENEFITS ASSESSMENT
NASA HO KT761913 (1)
SLIDE 1
First of all, withm the publications program in 1975, we published
almost 600 innovations, which include NASA tech briefs and com-
pilations This brings the total to nearly 10,000 since the program's
inception
These innovations were carefully screened from the many more
new technology items reported by contractors and NASA l~1xu'~tories
for their potential utility to the nonaerospace sectors oftlfe economy
Interest stimulated by these new technology announcements
generated over 28,000 industry requests for further technical docu-
mentation Also, in 1975 we received nearly 17,000 inquiries from
interested individuals and companies generally seeking technical
information of some kmd on the nature and services of the TI-I pro-
gram [slide 2]
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Based on an analysis of the news clipping service we subscribe
to, almost 1,500 TU-related articles appeared in the trade press,
magazines, and newspapers during the year. The trade press is
known to be a very effective medium for transferring technology
and it is interesting to note that more than half of the articles ap-
peared there [slide 3J.
SLIDE 2
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Technology utilization publications and other TU services offer
a potentially valuable resource to entrepreneurs and established
companies alike. Today, our first witness, who represents one of our
country's larger companies, has had considerable experience in
acquiring externally generated technical information, and he will
briefly describe how this NASA resource has been particularly helpful
to his company;
At this time, I would like to introduce Mr. Lyman Edwards,
technical assistant to the president of the petroleum and mining
operations of the Dresser Industries, Inc., from Houston, Tex.
Mr. Edwards.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Edwards appears in Volume I, Part 3.]
STATEMENT OP LYMAN M. EDWARDS, TECHNICAL ASSISTANT TO
THE PRESIDENT, PETROLEUM AND MINING OPERATIONS,
DRESSER INDUSTRIES, INC., HOUSTON, TEX.
Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee
competition in the industrial world, especially in industries involved
in the development and production of somewhat sophisticated equip-
ment, services and hardware for the energy industry, requires that
considerable time, money and effort be expended in the search for,
creation and use of new technology.
In~house research is indispensable, not only to maintain a pro-
prietary position, but also to quickly solve problems essential for
SLIDE 3
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5
upgrading a company's products and to produce new designs from
new concepts, if the company wishes to be a leader in the field.
Technology can be generated locally by means of an innovative
research program. It can be procured from academic institutions,
industrial research groups and governmental sources whose charters
provide for the orderly dissemination of technology to the public and
private sectors.
From 1955 to the present time, the Federal Government has a]lo..
cated more than $175 billion for research and development in scientific
and technological programs.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, it appears to
us, above all others, has recognized its obligation to share the vast
amount of technology developed for its mission in space with industry
to improve the benefits to mankind.
The company I represent, Dresser Industries Inc. with a present
annual income of more than $2 billion is a highly technical, multi-
faceted company engaged in the development and production of
hardware and services for energy producing companies. Recognizing
the need for acquisition of technology, both our in-house research
facilities, of which we have several, and from all available outside
sources, we sought a method for reviewing and using the vast store-
house of technology produced by NASA.
Dresser has worked with several of NASA's Industrial Applications
Centers and has received special literature searches and related
information services. Through one of these centers alone we have
acquired extensive retrospective searches on some 20 specific scientific
subjects pertinent to our research needs.
We attended the symposium on heat pipe technology sponsored
by the NASA Industrial Applications Center in New Mexico. We
submitted a bid to perform engineering services in connection with
the construction of the Alaska Pipeline which, although not the suc-
cessful bid on that contract, proposed the use of these specially
designed heat pipes to conduct the heat away from the ground in
which the pylons support the pipeline. This prevents thawing of the
permafrost which would be disastrous. The line is now being con-
structed utilizing these special heat pipes for that very specific purpose.
Overheating of electronic components in sophisticated instruments
used for downhole measurements in deep hot oil wells and for logging
geothermal hot holes can be a perplexing problem. Technical informa-
tion acquired at the New Mexico symposium was instrumental in
enabling us to design a system using heat pipe conductivity principles
to control the heat generated by these critical components.
We also attended the NASA symposium in Salt Lake City on the
licensing procedures available to industry on NASA patents. At this
conference NASA encouraged industry to profit from these Govern-
ment-owned patents and explained how a company can take ad-
vantage of NASA-developed technology.
Dresser representatives also attended NASA's Technology Utiliza-
tion Conference for the Gas Industry at Lewis Research Center in
Cleveland. This conference reviewed NASA's literature, computer
programs, hardware and concepts specifically selected for interest and
value to those involved in all phases of the gas industry. The Tech-
nology Utilization Office subsequently published the proceedings of
this conference as a Special Publication.
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Several of NASA's publications pron~oting the awareness of new
technology provide excellent reference material for our company.
NASA's Computer Program Abstracts are received regularly. The
nature of each program is scanned and forwarded to appropriate
computer programing personnel in the con~pany.
Dresser receives NASA's Patent Abstra~ts listing their patents
and copies of update~l lists of new patents is~ued. Through my office,
patents pertaining to tly~ product lines of specific~ Dresser companies
are forwarded to thos9' companies for their information and use.
Likewise, we receiv'e NASA's tech briefs, and specific briefs are
duplicated and forwarded to appropriate Dresser engineering
departments.
We have also found the Technology Utilization Offices at NASA
Field Centers to be effective in making available the technical informa-
tion related to their Center's activities.
The Technology Utilization Officer and the staff at the Lewis
Research Center provided structural analysis information which we
used successfully in solving a fatigue problem occurring on the large
jack-up oil drilling rigs of Dresser Offshore. The NASA information
enabled us to analyze the cyclic action of sea waves causing the prob-
lem, and corrective measures were taken to repair and preserve the
integrity of these drilling rigs.
Information also made available through the Technology Utiliza-
tion Office and Earth Resources Program Office at Johnson Space
Center assisted Dresser Minerals Division and our geophysical com-
pany, Dresser Olypic, to gain an insight into the potential uses of space
imagery. Much of the multitude of space imagery Dresser needed
for study of the geology and oil and mineral potential for areas of the
world in which we had interests was obtained through the assistance
of one of NASA's Industrial Applications Centers. Through them,
we also obtained documentation necessary for the understanding,
use and application of this imagery to our geologic needs described
above.
* As chairman of the Houston Chamber of Commerce Science and
Technology Committee for 1974 and 1975, I organized a conference
sponsored jointly by the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis-
tration and the Houston Chamber of Commerce called "First Houston
Technology Transfer Conference."
This conference was quite successful in informing the public and
industry of the availability of technology and its application to their
business interests and product improvement.
The proceedings of this conference, which were widely distributed,
contained a number of NASA-sponsored scientific projects and their
successful application to new industry projects to benefit mankind.
This conference also included many of NASA's life sciences and
medical applications projects. Conferences similar to this are planned
annually.
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Our firm conviction in the search for new technology is that NASA's
vast technological storehouse fulfills a distinct need and valuable
assistance to industry in its quest for new products and services for
the betterment of mankind.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you, Mr. Edwards.
You mentioned some of the publications they have made available.
Can you put a dollar value on that to your company?
Mr. EDWARDS. I would say it is in the thousands of dollars, because
we have utilized portions of every one of them, some more than others.
The helpful ones, the tech briefs, which I do not have a copy of
here, contains certain technical solutions to problems that apply to
many of our electronic companies and circuitry can be evolved from
those. S
Tech briefs like these have been used extensively.
A number of improvements in our down-hole logging instruments
for oil wells have come from selected tech briefs and other information
received from NASA. S
We worked very closely with NASA. We frequently visit the John-
son Space Center and know all the people there; they have been very
kind to us and generous to us in helping us to secure this technology.
Mr. FUQUA. Would that information have been available to you
otherwise? Could you pay somebody to look it up for you?
Mr. EDWARDS. Not without NASA's assistance in putting the
information in the form where we could use it. There are areas where
you can go for technology but not in the vast storehouse that you
have at NASA. This is by far the largest and most general coverage.
I would say it has been one of our most helpful points of interest.
Mr. FUQTJA. Do you think they should be doing more than what
they are doing?
Mr. EDWARDS. They have plenty of technology; the problem is the
dissemination of technology. It is the fault of people like me not
knowing more about the availability of this technology. Perhaps by
publicly proclaiming this, as I have done in many of the conferences
where I have been, more people would use it.
I recently started two companies, and it is just a matter of getting
used to this information, and now they have formed a department in
the company to pursue the same thing we have been doing.
I think it is a matter of information, getting to the right sources.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you very much. We appreciate your being here
today.
Mr. GRAY. Thank you, Mr. Edwards.
The NASA Industrial Applications Centers have shown steady
growth in spite of the recession in 1975. Last year, the number of
clients served by the applications centers increased 76 percent over
the previous year. As a measure of the centers' activities, there were
in excess of 50,000 applications center-to-client interactions during
the year (slide 1).
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We have also expanded the centers' coverage in a number of new
areas of concentrated industrial activity. Existing centers have estab-
lished sales representatives in San Francisco, Chicago, Buffalo, Phila-
delphia, Cleveland, New York City, and Dallas to market their
services and provide technical assistance to firms in those areas.
Technology coordinators representing the applications centers have
been located at three NASA field centers during the past year to
facilitate responses to client inquiries.
We also have recently initiated a joint experimental program with
the Small Business Administration to provide the small and minority
business firms in the southern California area access to the technical
services available from our Applications Center in Los Angeles.
NASTRAN continues to be the most widely used computer pro-
gram available from our Computer Software Center at Athens, Ga.
However, sales of other programs increased substantially in 1975.
At this point, in order to give you a better understanding of our
program I will have our next witness describe for you how the tech-
nical information and services he recieved from an applications center
have assisted him in establishing a new company to manufacture new
solar energy heating systems.
He is Mr. D. W. Barlow, general manager, O.E.M. Products, Inc.,
Brandon, Fla.
Mr. FUQUA. Mr. Barlow, we are very happy to have you come up
here from Brandon.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Barlow, Sr., appears in Volume I,
Part 3.]
SriDE 1
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9
STATEMENT OP D. W. BARLOW, GENERAL MANAGER, O.E.M.
PRODUCTS, INC., BRANDON, PLA.
Mr. BARLOW. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee,
I appreciate this opportunity to share with you my thoughts on a
matter of great importance, not only to me and my small firm but to
many other persons and firms over this entire Nation. This matter
concern NASA's operation of technology repositories such as its
Industrial Applications Center at Research Triangle Park in North
Carolina, where businessmen or other interested people or firms have
access to an immense amount of technical information which can
have a profound effect upon those of us in the business community-
including individuals, firms of all sizes, or even entire industries.
As a result of a news release in a national business publication
which appeared in 1974, I learned that NASA had an immense
storehouse of technical information available for sharing with business
people.
The Washington, D.C., name and address was supplied, and I
wrote as suggested. I had a prompt answer which referred me to the
NASA Industrial Applications Center at Research Triangle Park
in North Carolina. Within a few days I had a telephone reply from
this Center concerning my specific needs. As a result of that con-
versation, the Center instituted a search for the material I desired
which had to do with energy-with particular emphasis on flat plate
solar energy receivers.
Within a few days I received a sizable packet of documents loaded
with information far more extensive and more detailed than I had
dreamed possible. As a result of careful investigation of this informa-
tion concerning work which had been done previously, we were able
to cut the Gordian knot of our own research and development to a
minimum, and begin to manufacture production prototypes in the
fall of 1974.
Additionally, as a direct result of our study of the information
supplied by the NASA Industrial Applications Center, we proceeded
directly to the design of aluminum extrusions for the solar collector
case and also the collector bed. We were able to compress time to the
extent that we have dies built, extrusion samples tested, and limited
production of complete solar collectors begun by late 1974.
Our products are the direct results of building on the base provided
by NASA, either in work NASA itself had previously done, such as
test results, design techniques and material specifications, or because
of the tremendous assemblage of knowledge which is being shared
by NASA.
In fact, the information provided by NASA led to my decision to
disband a trucking equipment firm of which I was president in order
to devote my energies and resources into the development of a product
line based on the use of solar energy. I can honestly state that I cannot
conceive how our small firm with its limited resources could possibly
have otherwise assembled the technical knowledge necessary for the
development of our Solarmatic Solar Heating Systems. These are
viable systems which work and work well, and have numerous indus-
trial, residential, and agricultural applications.
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We are shipping these products throughout the United States,
particularly in the southernmost tier, and we are now actively engaged
in an export program, with shipments to the Caribbean area and to
Europe on a test and evaluation basis We expect to have extensive
sales in these areas due to the high cost of alternative fuels
As I have stated before, we are a small firm, blessed with neither
sizable funds for research nor the time to laboriously track down
myriad facets of information required even to start in the solar
equipment business. Had we not had accessible to us quickly and at
reasonable cost the information needed for us to get our start in solar
energy-which I am convinced will have an enormous positive impact
on those nations learning to utilize it-it is doubtful that we would
have been able to enter the solar equipment business at all
At best, we would be many months behind and with a less efficient,
less desirable and less saleable product
I will therefore close with an acknowledgment of deep gratitude
that this NASA program existed when we had a need for it and the
fervent hope that you gentlemen will not only see to its continuance
but will enhance it.
Gentlemen, Mr. Chairman, thank you.
Mr FUQUA Thank you very much, Mr Barlow
Do you think that based on the information that you have received
from NASA that your company will be able to provide the technology
for it to continue to grow?
Mr BARLOW Yes, sir We are in the process of growing now,
providing information and literature We have been complimented
not only on the format of the literature, but also the content from
quite large firms around the country who are quite impressed with the
product and the way we talk about it
Very frankly, all of this information is a result of what we picked
up through NASA.
Mr FUQUA I asked a similar question of Mr Edwards, but do you
think that your company would have had the availability of this
information had it not been through this program?
Mr. BARLOW. I have thought about that a lot. I have no idea where
I could have gotten it otherwise.
Mr FUQUA It would have been a considerable expense to your
company, maybe to the point you would not have been able to even
have afforded it at that juncture in your infancy as a company
Mr BARLOW If I had known where to find it, sir, I am certain that
it would have taken such a long time and been such an expense that
probably we would have had to enter some other field, certainly not
enter this one
Mr FUQUA Thank you very much, Mr Barlow We appreciate
your being here this mormng
Mr. GRAY. Thank you, Mr. Barlow.
In the technology applications area, we continue to demonstrate
that many problems in the public sector can be solved using existing
NASA technology Based on the needs identified by our seven applica-
tion teams we now have 61 active projects underway in conjunction
with user institutions and our NASA field centers [slide 1].
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11
APPLICATION TEAMS
*BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS
* STANFORD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
* RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE
* UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
* LYNDON B. JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
* TRANSPORTATION
*STANFORD RESEARCH INSTITUTE
* URBAN CONSTRUCTION & SAFETY
*TECHNOLOGY & ECONOMICS, INC.
* PUBLIC SAFETY
* PUBLIC TECHNOLOGY, INC.
NASA HO KT76-1912 (1)
1-20-76
SLIDE 1
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It is interesting to note that 14 Federal agencies have co-funded
projects of this type with our office over the past 2~ years. The total
funds from other agencies over this period are now approaching $1.5
million [slide 2].
APPLICATION PROJECTS
USITERAGENCY COOPERATION ($1.457M)
* DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
* DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
* DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
* TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS CENTER
* FEDERAL RAIL ADMINISTRATION
* FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
* U. S. COAST GUARD
* ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ADMINISTRATION
* DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE
* VETERANS ADMINISTRATION
* SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
* U. S. DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE
* U. S. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
* NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
NASA HO KT76-1911 (1)
1-2076
SLIDE 2.
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SLIDE 3,
70-079 0 - 76 - 2
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14
[Slide 3] Representative applications projects include a high tech-
nology residential house at Langley Research Center [slide 4], a
cataract surgical instrument being developed at the Lewis Research
Center to reduce the hospital care time from weeks to days [slide 5],
a meal system for the elderly project at the Johnson Space Center to
SLIDE 4
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SLIDE ~;
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provide an easily prepared balanced diet for old people, and a ship-
board firefighting module at the Marshall Space Center to improve
the effectiveness of the Coast Guard [slide 6].
Others were described at the hearing yesterday.
A number of additional application projects are scheduled for
fiscal year 1977, including Project Fires. This project will be conducted
at the Marshall Space Flight Center for the National Fire Prevention
and Control Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
New materials developed for aerospace programs will be investigated
for their use and applicability to improve firefighters' equipment,
including protective garments and firefighting implements and tools.
We will report to you next year on these projects which may
greatly assist and enhance vital areas of public concern and we see
no reduction in the number of public sector problems that can be
solved with NASA technology.
The numbers are only limited by our available resources.
Our technology transfer followup activities continue, including
the documentation of verified cases of technology transfer. One
product of this effort is a space benefits notebook entitled, The
Secondary Application of Aerospace Technology. This is the latest
copy.
SLIDE 6
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17
I will leave with you a copy of the latest printed edition. This
document cites only a few hundred of the thousands of cases in which
NASA technology has been adapted or used on a continuing basis.
An updated version will b~ available early in the year with additional
cases.
We are also publishing a 1975 report of our technology utilization
activities called Spinoff, 1976. It will be ready for distribution in
February, and I will see that each of you receives a copy.
In conclusion, I would like to briefly highlight our proposed initia-
tives for fiscal year 1977.
We plan to modify our tech brief program and expand their dis-
tribution. For example, we will aggregate tech briefs into groups and
distribute them selectively on a quarterly basis in order to increase
their usefulness and impact. We will also expand their distribution,
in cooperation with the Small Business Administration, to selected
lists of small business concerns [slide 7].
TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION PROGRAM
NEW INITIATIVES FOR FY 1977
* INITIATE QUARTERLY TECH BRIEF JOURNAL
* EXPAND PUBLICATION DISTRIBUTION
SBA, TRADE PRESS, TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
* CONTINUE EXPANSION OF APPLICATIONS CENTER
NETWORK & AWARENESS PROGRAM
* ESTABLISH TWO (2) NEW APPLICATION TEAMS IN
AGRICULTURE & MANUFACTURING PROCESSES
* EXPAND EVALUATION PROGRAM AND IMPROVE
BENEFITS DOCUMENTATION
NASA HO kT761910 (U
SLUE 7
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We expect to establish arrangements with the trade press and trade
associations in order to achieve broader readership of NASA tech-
nology. We are committee to a major increase in the number of users
of NASA tech briefs during the coming year.
In fiscal year 1977 we will continue to expand the accessibility
of the Industrial Applications Center network by adding additional
offsite representatives and technology coordinators, and by experi-
menting with new institutional arrangements. Planned new starts
in the applications project demonstration area include the establish-
ment of two technology applications teams, one in the field of
agriculture and the other in manufacturing processes.
We plan to continue our application projects at the same level as
this year.
Finally, we know that the technology utilization program is
effective in accelerating the transfer of NASA technology and broaden-
ing its user base throughout the Nation. We also know that there is
room for continued growth and have plans to bring this abou~ in an
orderly way (slide 8).
TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION PROGRAM
FY 1977 BUDGET REQUEST
(IN THOUSANDS)
FY FY TRANS. FY
1975 1976 PD. 1977
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
PROGRAM EVAL. & BENEFITS
TOTAL....
$2,414
$3,145
$ 850
$3,245
2,373
3,500
950
3,640
713
855
200
1,015
$5,500 $7,500 $2,000 $7,900
NASA HQ KT76-1009 (1)
1-2076
SLIDE 8
The fiscal year 1977 funding level of $7.9 million will support a
modest growth in our plan, provided we are successful in increasing
the co-funding by other agencies of our program elements.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This ends my statement.
I would be glad to answer any questions you may have.
PAGENO="0023"
H
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you very much, Mr. Gray, for discussing ~
part of NASA that I think we are all very much in support of a~hd) :~ ~
although this is not intended as a criticism, but hope that more of
this information gets out to the public so they understand whèr~ ~
their tax dollars are being spent. It is a question of whether inforn~a~ ~
tion is available to them.
I wonder, you mentioned in the last slide of new programs ~OU
were talking about, how you were going to have more activity witI~
the Small Business Administration in working with those smail
businesses. Not all small businesses have affiliation with the Small
Business Administration, just those that borrow money
I think it would be good not to just limit to those through th~ ~
Small Business Administration. That is certainly good, becauset ~
certainly many small busmesses benefit from your organization
I was particularly impressed by the agriculture and manufacturing~~
I wonder, if you had more money, what would you do with it?
Mr. GRAY. As we told you last year, if we have increased funds, we~ *ij~A
have plans to have a nationwide network of these applications
centers. It is quite obvious wherever we locate one of these, there is.
a marked increase in the users of NASA technology in the geographi&
area that it serves. H
With additional funds, we would increase that coverage.
As you noted in my testimony, we have already increased it some.
We believe by an institutional relationship, we can even make it more~
effective, but that costs a little bit more money.
We also believe that we can improve the awareness of our program~
This year we intend to start a modest advertising program just to~
make people aware that there are these Technology Applications .`
Centers available to them and ready to serve them. We will try that
as an experiment, and we believe, based on the information provided,
a client such as Mr. Barlow, that by making people aware through
the various trade publications that we will get more people to partici.
pate. We also expect to increase our activities in the applications
area, and expect this effort to present new opportunities for the
application of NASA technology.
Mr. FUQUA. Very good.
You mentioned from your publications program that you had
28,000 industry requests.
Do you have any figures on the followup of the requested data?
Mr. GRAY. One of the organizations we are working for is called
the Denver Research Institute. We have had them following up on
the users of the Tech Briefs.
They have found that based on a sampling they have made that
about 14 percent of the people who are receiving our Tech Briefs
are actually receiving economic benefit by incorporating that in-
formation into their products or processes. We think it is a remarkably
high usage rate based on the normal usage that we find occurring
within industry for technical information.
Mr. FUQUA. You also mentioned in your printed testimony about
the clipping service program.
Have you analyzed this as to what the effectiveness of it is?
PAGENO="0024"
20
[Material referred to above follows:]
Clippings received via Bacon's News Clipping Bureau reveal steady coverage
of NASA technology in the trade press, regional and local newspapers, popular
magazines, and national papers and letters such as the Wall Street Journal and
Kiplinger Washington Letter. Five hundred and ninety-nine (599) different mag-
azines and newspapers published such articles in 1975, as shown in the following
breakdown: Trade Press, 306; Regional/local newspapers, magazines, 254; popular
magazines, 21; and National papers/letters/serials, 18.
Clippings recieved from Bacon's are placed in one of 7 categories; These are
(1) New technology announcements, (2) nonaerospace technology applications,
(3) benefits, (4) TILT program activities/services, (5) NASA general, (6) NASA
program activities, and (7) professional journal articles.
Of the 1,429 clippings received in 1975, 822 were classified in categories 1-4,
indicating a high proportion of readership interest in the potential or actual use of
NASA technology for purposes other than those for which it was originally created.
More than 100 articles appeared on Benefits, alone.
Effectiveness of the articles appearing in different elements of the media can be
difficult for NASA to assess. One trade magazine published by the American So-
ciety of Mechanical Engineers, Mechanical Engineering (circ. 56,000), devotes
one full page in each issue to NASA Tech Briefs. We assume the editor considers
that a worthwhile utilization of space in his magazine.
Occasionally, articles appearing in the press refer the reader to the NASA
Headquarters TU Office for further information. In May of 1975 we reviewed the
requests generated by such articles, and some typical results are shown here:
Industry Week (Feb. 3, 1975), "Solder Application Tool"-250 inquiries; Kiplinger
Washington Letter (May 31, 1975)-8,538 inquiries; Popular Science (March
1974), 11 Tech Briefs described-5,000 inquiries; Tampa Tribune-Times (Jan. 12,
1975), "A Practical Solar Energy Heating and Cooling System"-750 inquiries.
Mr. GRAY. That is a little more difficult to assess.
What we have done in those particular cases is made sample
followups from the clippings to find out how effectively those com-
panies are using that information. I don't have any figures there.
We could provide it for the record, if you like.
Mr. FUQUA. You said if you had more money you would put in
some more Applications Centers. You also mentioned sales representa-
tives. Would you like to elaborate on that?
Mr. GRAY. What we have done, in order to get greater coverage
at minimum cost is to start fanning out from our existing Applications
Centers, such as the one in Connecticut. They have now placed sales
representatives in New York City and Buffalo to start servicing the
people in those particular areas.
We have found that is an effective way to broaden our geographical
coverage in providing services to new industrial users. However,
I fundamentally believe that in order to really get the type of coverage
down to the small business as well as to the large business, we need
to have a better association with the State agencies involved within
the particular State boundary.
Therefore, we are planning to open discussions with State industrial
improvement agencies, which various States have, and also with
the State system of higher education and see if we could enlist the
support of various State agencies so that NASA technical information
can be widely distributed within the State.
For instance, we are talking with the State of Florida to see how
they might aggregate all of the State institutions in one network to
service the industry throughout the State. We think that could be a
very cost-effective way to make information available.
Mr. FUQUA. We would be happy to work with you on that.
PAGENO="0025"
21
I do not remember whether it was last year or sometime back, it
was suggested by someone on the subcommittee that there be some
kind of logo on your spinoff products. Have you considered that?
Mr. GRAY. You would be interested in knowing that the National
Space Institute is going to start a logo program in which they will be
putting a logo onto products that have been identified as having
space spinoff.
Mr. FUQUA. Very good. I am glad they are going to do that.
You mentioned in your closing testimony about a report that was
coming out shortly in February, I believe, Spinoff 1976. What are
the plans for the distribution of this report? Are you getting any
feedback on the merits of the report?
Mr. GRAY. Based on our experience last year, we printed 20,000
reports on our activities and we have distributed all of them. This
year we intend to increase that number somewhat, based on the
level of interest generated by last year's report.
We will probably end up making them available to the Visitors
Informatioii Center that we have at the Cape and at our seven
other centers, as well as to the users of NASA technology. We plan to
send the report out to them and also to rilech Brief users.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you very much, Mr. Gray. We appreciate
your testimony and the fine job that you are doing, and I think it is
one of the real selling points of NASA, that it is a spinoff of space
technology, and I am very pleased that industry is receiving this
and that more efforts will be made in this coming year.
Mr. GRAY. Thank you. It was a pleasure being here.
Mr. FUQUA. rpI~e next witness this morning is Dr. Alan Lovelace,
Associate Administrator of the Office of Aeronautics and Space
Technology.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Alan M. Lovelace appears in
Volume I, Part 3.j
STATEMENT OP ALAN M. LOVELACE, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR,
OFFICE OP AERONAUTICS AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY, NATIONAL
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Dr. LOVELACE. Mr. Chairman, it is a pleasure for me to appear
before you this morning. As you have observed, I have my deputy
at the table with me, Mr. Smylie.
We have prepared written testimony which I would like to submit
for the record; and in the interests of time Mr. Smylie and I will
outline the content of that this morning.
As I am sure you are aware, the Office of Aeronautics and Space
Technology has a unique role within NASA. Unlike the other program
offices that are responsible for systems and missions in space, we are
responsible for technology to support those activities.
Probably the most difficult task that we face in technology planning
is the matter of selecting the correct technology and seeing to the
development of that technology in a timely way.
A key to the accomplishment of those tasks is a good set of future
goals, and this past year, we were substantially assisted by two items,
the soon-to-be released "Outlook for Space" report; and your sub-
PAGENO="0026"
22
committee hearings on "Future Space Programs 1975." These activi-
ties have been and will continue to provide a basis for focusing our
planning and setting our new technology goals. We have started that
process already.
Let me conclude my statement with some brief comments on the
1977 budget shown in Figure 1. It reflects a modest increase in the
overall program, more specifically in the experimental programs which
contain some additional activity focused on Space Shuttle payloads;
a very modest increase in the other programs.
OFFICE OF AERONAUTICS AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY
SPACE FY 1917 BUDGET REQUEST
($M)
TRANS
1976 QUARTER 1977
SPACE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY $14.9 $19.3 $82.0
RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY BASE 61.1 15.7 62.1
SYSTEMS STUDIES 1.8 .4 1.6
SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS 2.2 .6 3.1
EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMS 3.1 1.1 6.9
LOW COST SYSTEMS PROGRAM 6.1 1.5 8.3
NASA HQ RM76-1960(1)
1-21-76
PIGUBE 1
Mr. FTJQUA. What is the low-cost systems program?
Dr. LOVELACE. I would ask Mr. Gray if he would like to respond
to the question.
Mr. GRAY. The low-cost systems program is set up in order to
spearhead activities in NASA to save money. The primary emphasis
the program has had is to get some standardization on the equipment
being used for our hardware. We have developed now, or are in the
process of developing, 12 different standard items.
The idea is that once the items are developed, let us use them over
and over again on succeeding programs.
Mr. FUQUA. How much of that is in the Shuttle program?
Mr. GRAY. The only thing we are deve1~oping, so far, is the tape
recorder, which will be used as a part of the Shuttle program.
PAGENO="0027"
23
Most of the equipment that is being developed will be used on the
payloads which will be carried on the Shuttle.
Mr. FUQUA. All right.
So it is indirectly related to the shuttle?
Mr. GRAY. Directly, if you consider that the Shuttle will carry
payloads.
Mr. FUQUA. What I was referring to was the Shuttle itself.
Mr. GRAY. As far as the Shuttle itself, the only item we are develop-
ing is the tape recorder.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you.
Dr. LOVELACE. The final comment I would like to make,
Mr. Chairman, is that clearly the long-term investment in space
technology must expand in the future to make sure that our national
space goals can be met. I think that Jim Fletcher also made reference
to that in his statement.
That concludes the remarks that I would like to make. Mr. Smylie
will now highlight our proposed fiscal year 1977 part of the space
technology activity.
Mr. FUQUA. Mr. Smylie?
[The prepared statement of Mr. Robert E. Smylie appears in
Volume I, Part 3.]
STATEMENT OP ROBERT E. SMYLIE, DEPUTY ASSOCIATE ADMINIS-
TRATOR, OPPICE OP AERONAUTICS AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY,
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Mr. SMYLIE. Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the sub-
committee.
I am here this morning to talk to you about technology, space
technology in particular; but it is clear, as the testimony by Mr.
Gray has emphasized, that technology cannot always be so neatly
categorized. It applies in many areas and it does not ebb and flow
like the tide, but flows more like a river, sometimes full, sometimes in
a trickle, but always from a reservoir from which we all can draw for
many Purposes.
I would say this morning that that reservoir is far from empty;
the technology stream continues to flow. It has brought us from the
25-pound Explorer to the 250,000 pound Skylab, and next to the
shuttle in some 15 Or 20 years.
Opportunities exist to increase our capabilities in space; and based
on the criteria that information is the primary product of our space
programs, at least in the near future, we believe that opportunities
exist in all the areas of space technology in which we have worked,
such as electronics, materials, propulsion, structures, and power, to
increase our space systems capability one thousandfold, and at the
same time reduce the real cost of utilizing space.
To illustrate what may be of some historical significance I would
like to refer to Figures 1 and 2 which, in technical terms, and with
popular analogies, show where we have come in the past 15 years and
where we think we can be in the next fifteen in imagery, data storage,
energy storage, and electronic devices.
PAGENO="0028"
24
FIGURE 1
PAGENO="0029"
27
&
I
I I I 1 1 I
TIME
NASA HO 6676-1863 (3)
116-76
FIGuRE 5
We believe that the opportunities exist to turn this current trend
around; and we are proposing a program in fiscal year 1977 to do that.
We believe that we can cause the software costs to fall rapidly enough
that we can turn that curve over and make it come back down, as
indicated by the overlay.
We do this by taking advantage of the increasing capability and
lowering cost of the hardware by producing simple higher order
languages, and automating the conversion from higher order language
to the computer language, and also by automating the checkout of the
software systems.
We believe that this program will show results in time for the
shuttle payload era and that it can be utilized in the 1980's.
MULTI-PURPOSE
USER ORIENTED
SOFTWAI~E.
TECHNOL~GY
HARDWARE
/
MICRO PROCESSORS
PAGENO="0030"
28
Propulsion is a key element in all of our space programs. It repre-
sents one of the major recurring costs. We believe that through
technology we can decrease this cost and increase the performance
of future space propulsion systems.
Our planned chemical propulsion technology is illustrated on
figure 6.
We have programs in advanced low-cost propulsion, building on a
substantial Air Force program and addressing peculiar and unique
NASA needs such as sterilizable solids for planetary landers, long-
term storability, and restart capability to add flexibility to the low-
cost advantage of solids.
In the area of retropropulsion for planetary orbiters, we are pro-
posing a program in space storable propellants which substitutes
fluorine for nitrogen tetroxide in the propulsion system. This offers
up to a 25- to 30-percent increase in specific impulse of such systems,
therefore, reducing the weight of the system for a given mission.
This improved performance can be traded off in terms of more
science at the planets, better orbits at the planet or shorter trip
times. We are proceeding with flight weight component designs this
year, leading to the assembly and test of a propulsion breadboard
in 1980, in time to be used in the planetary missions of the 1980's.
In near-Earth transportation, we are working on technology for
liquid oxygen/hydrogen, reusable systems for orbit-to~orbit transfer.
FIGURE 6
PAGENO="0031"
29
This work also contributes to future Earth-to-orbit transport vehicles
for complete reusability and `ow cost. We are working on life limiting
components such as pumps, regeneratively cooled thrust chambers,
high expansion ratio nozzles, and so forth. This work continues and
we will demonstrate performance, life, and reusability in fiscal year
1977.
The lower righthand portion of figure 7 indicates the potential
for Earth to orbit transportation which might be realized some day
from our very long-range propulsion research; we call it our New
Horizons propulsion technology.
INFLUENCE OF PROPULSION PERFORMANCE ON
SINGLE STAGE TO ORBIT GROSS LIFT OFF WEIGHT
(65,000 POUND PAYLOAD)
10 x io~ . CURRENT SHUTTLE
02/H2 PROPULSION
TECHNOLOGY
8x10
9
C,
~ 6x10 ADVANCED
CURRENT PROPULSION
SHUTTLE TECHNOLOGY
4x10
NI I I NEW HORIZONS
~2x10'. PROPULSION
1~GE f.Ø.~-SINGLE STAGE FULLY REUSABLE
REUSABLE NASHoRs76.2o55(,)
FIGuRE 7
The current shuttle, with the expendable tank~ and the reusable
solid motors has a gross lift-off weight on the order of 4 million
pounds.
If we used the impulse currently available from the skuttle lox
hydrogen engine in a single stage-to-orbit vehicle built with today's
technology, it would weigh on the order of 10 million pounds, with
the attendant large recurring and first costs for such vehicle. But
our studies are showing that with advanced propulsion technologies,
for example such things as mixed mode using high-density fuels in
parallel with low hydrogen systems, or utilizing two-position or
multiposition nozzles, it will be possible in the future to design a
single stage-to-orbit vehicle, with a 65,000-pound payload having
the same 4 million pound gross lift-off weight as the current partially
reusable shuttle vehicle.
70-079 0 - 76 - 3
PAGENO="0032"
30
In our New Horizons area, we are conducting basic research on
atomic and metallic states of hydrogen and other excited. species of
gases that have the potential to produce very high specific impulse at
very high thrust. If this very long-range program should produce
practical results, then there exists the possibility in the far distant
future of a gross lift-off weight on the order of 1 million pounds.
As figure 8 illustrates, we continue to work on auxiliary electric
propulsion and primary solar electric propulsion. These are very
low thrust systems that operate for very long periods of time.
The small engine is to be used for satellite north-south station
keeping applications. In this application it would improve the payload
capability by up to 30 percent over chemical systems, thus directly
adding to the number of communications channels on communication
satellites.
The primary propulsion systems would be used for planetary
missions, primarily. Some missions are otherwise impractical without
this kind of propulsion, for instance certain comet rendevous missions.
Many of the planetary missions would obtain greater science return
if this kind of propulsion system were avaflable. We are continuing
endurance testing of thrusters for these systems in this year. This-
the thruster itself, and the power conversion part of it, is applicable
to nuclear electric propulsion in the future, where you replace the
solar arrays with a nuclear reactor to provide the electrical power to
operate the system.
FIGuRE 8
PAGENO="0033"
31
Turning now to materials research, the materials program is very
broad, and is central to all advances in technology. This has been so
since the days of the steam engine, and will continue to be so, I believe.
We work in the area of solid state materials for electronics, materials
for high-temperature, high-pressure use in propulsion systems, and
materials for structures to increase their temperature stability, increase
their life, and reduce their weight. The one I would like to address
this morning is the composites program, illustrated in figure 9..
The current state of the art in resin matrices for composites is an
epoxy mi~terial that operates up to about 3000 to 350°F. Much of this
material is currently used in the shuttle.
~elop th
PAGENO="0034"
32
Fiscal year 1977 will be a planning year for us to understand
what research value We can get from the shuttle, and we will be pro-
posing to conduct aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic kinds of
experiments on the shuttle~itself in the future. This program will be
carried on during the orbit flight test program and after utilizing the
flight data system as well as added instrumentation.
We are continuing the definition phases of the Advanced Technology
Laboratory, which I hate discussed with you before. This Advanced
Technology Laboratory is our use of the Space Lab for carrying out
technology experiments in space.
The Long Duration Exposure Facility, which is the free flying
p~ssive satellite we have discussed previously, is reaching. m~turity.
We plan to issue an announcement of opportunity for experiments
to be flown on this spacecraft within this fiscal year.
I believe that the activities we have underway represent a healthy,
forward~looking program. Our planning, the Agency's ptanning, and
your support~and interest is helping* to focus this work. I think the
projection of a thousandfold increase in capability at reduced costs is
achievable, and I believe that if we continue the pro~ram and keep it
healthy we will contribute significantly to maintaining our Nation's
technological leadership in the world.
Thank you.
Mr. FuquA. Thank you, Mr. Smylie. We appreciate your testimony
and Dr. Lovelace's~
Dr. Lovelace, one ~conclusion of a recent report on your research
activities was that there was a tendency for the university as a tracii-
tional role of univer~ities on a source of innovation research ideas to
be overly inhibited.
Mr. FUQUAI What are you talking about?
Dr. L0vELACE. Mr. Chairman, the concern I have is that NASA, in
its support of the universities in their traditional role as a source of
knowledge and forward thinking, be very careful not to inhibit
that role in anyway by imposing the thoughts of our own scientists
and engineers on the content of the `university program.
We have taken steps to insure that the kinds of proposals that flow
to us from universities receive a fair and impartial assessment so that
we indeed maintain the health of' the university research programs
and the health of the relationship between NASA and the universities.
Mr. FUQUA. Did the review panel look at the research funded by
the other program offices, or only that in the OAST?
Dr. L0vELAcE. The review that you referred to, Mr. Chairman,
was performed only on the basic research program of OAST. The
programs conducted in the other program offices, not being as funda-
mental in nature, were not reviewed.
The OAST has the principal responsibility for the very basic
research within NASA, and the review was focused entirely on the
OAST basic research program.
Mr. FnquA. You mentioned the long range goal to extend OAST's
space research and technology program. What time frame have you
adopted for achieving this goal?
Dr. LOVELACE. As I indicated in my statement, we are looking at
using the prospectus of the "Outlook for Space," as well as the hear-
ings that your subcommittee held in July, as a basis for a 10- to
PAGENO="0035"
33
20-year view of the technology requirements to meet the kinds of
missions that we may see as national space goals. As I also indicated,
we will then scope the program to hopefully insure that we can deliver
the technology required to meet those goals in a timely way, not too
soon, not obviously too late, to allow for the missions of that time
period to be accomplished.
Our expectations and views have to consider at least 20 years into
the future, if not 30 years, in order to insure that we are adequately
considering the proper technologies.
Mr. FUQUA. Is this just within your office, or is this discussed with
the senior management of NASA?
Dr. LOVELACE. This is not just within OAST and really cannot
be for the reason that OAST is not the user of the technology. Our
customers reside in the other program offices and in industry. We
thus have set up a process of dialog, if you will, within the agency
and external to the agency to insure that we set goals that are in
consonance with national goals and with the agency goals to meet
those national needs. We have this year started a new process to in-
sure that we strengthen that dialog.
Mr. FUQTJA. What is the structure that you are planning?
Dr. LOvELACE, In space technology, we are setting up review com-
mittees from selected areas that will involve personnel from the
Centers and from the appropriate program offices within Headquarters.
This has several salutary effects. One, it allows us to insure that we
are focusing on the right goals. Two, it facilitates the process ulti-
mately of transferring technology to the potential user; so it is both a
planning and an implementation process that I view as a dynamic
and continuous way, not in a one-time way, of doing business in this
area.
Mr. FUQUA. Many experiments that are underway require an
advanced pointing control system. Are you serving as a lead office in
NASA in the development of such a system?
Mr. SMYLIE. We are conducting research programs that would be
applicable to both the sky-looking and earth4ooking needs of the OSS
program and the Office of Applications.
As I am sure you know, there is a pointing system which is part of
the Spacelab program. But there will be a need beyond the capability
of that system in the future, so the research we are conducting in our
program is looking beyond the capabilities of the basic system.
Mr. FUQUA. What new starts and proposals did you submit to
NASA, and subsequently to 0MB?
Dr. LOVELACE. Mr. Chairman, the process, as I am sure you are
aware, is one of selecting from inputs from our Centers and from all
sources. I have a responsibility to priorities and winnow those down
and present those selected to the management of NASA, the OAST
portion, and, in turn, we assemble the Agency's budget in that overall
process.
There were indeed several programs that we would have and did
originally propose to start in fiscal 1977 that are not currently con-
tained in the request before you.
I would say that principal among those, in my view, was a laser
information transfer experiment that we at NASA felt, because of the
overall pressures on our budget, could not be included. We also have
PAGENO="0036"
34
a program that we refer to as Sphinx B/C that is not contained in the
request this year, and some propulsion technologies that we had pro-
posed. In all cases, I participated in the prioritization of the programs,
and we did not remove from the program the highest priority items.
The programs that are contained in our fiscal year 1977 request are
the highest priority. These programs I just mentioned fell out, if you
will, of the submission.
Mr. FUQUA. Mr. Wydler?
Mr. WYDLER. Mr. Chairman, I have some questiOns, but I really
think these questions would be appropriately placed in the record;
with your permission I would like to submit them for the record.
Mr. FUQUA. We will be happy to have you do that.
I have one other question, Mr. Smylie. What have you been doing
in evaluating the benefits and risks?
How successful have you been?
Mr. SMYLIE. We do evaluate, particularly the neW start programs,
for the benefits to the scientific or other missions of the Agency, and
attempt to prioritize our technology program `according to their
benefit to these missions.
In the world of technology, we have `to be careful not to' overdo that
kind of thing, because the use of the `technology in the final analysis
may be different from what you thought it was going to be. when you
started in a given program.
When we get into an experimental program where we are concerned
with a particular mission application of that technology, we can do
fairly significant benefit analysis and relate that to the cost of bring-
ing that technology to the point where the user program can imple-
ment it.
We do use that process in our budget formulation.
That was' related to some of the things I was saying in my testi-
mony concerning the increased mission return, redtiOed trip time,
better orbits,, and so on.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you very much, Dr. Lovelace and" Mr. Smylie.
We appreciate your testimony.
Our next witness will be Mr. R. D. Ginter, NASA's assistant
Administrator for energy programs.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Ginter appears in Volume 1, Part 3:]
STATEMENT OP R. D. GINTER, ACTING ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR,
OPPICE OP ZN~ZGY PROGRAMS'
Mr. GINTER. Good morning, `Mr. Chairman. It' is a pleasure to be
here again.
I would like to introduce Mr. Ralph LaRock, my Director of Energy
Technology Applications Division.
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I am very pleased
we have the opportunity to update the progress of the Office of Energy
Programs. In November we stated that the broad go&l of the Office of
Energy Programs was to assure the effective" use of aerospace capabili-
ties and experience of the National Aeronautics and Space Admmistra-
tion in direct ~upport of the National energy' research and development
needs.
PAGENO="0037"
35
This is a long term effort because the aeronautics and space tech-
nologies continue to expand and mature, and because the energy
problems also shift in definition as the perception of future needs and
options are clarified.
This process, which we term "Technology Identification and
Verification," leads to the formulation of technology advancement
p~lans which may be accepted with confidence by agencies such as the
Energy Research and Development Administration-ERDA---'and the
D~artment of the Interior-DOT--for their consideration.
Reimbursable agreements are then negotiated to initiate and carry
out the technology advancement work.
We have established an effective dialog with ERDA, the DOl
and the Office of Management and Budget ~OMBj. Both middle and
senior management levels have been briefed on our perception of the
appropriate role for NASA in support of "customer" agency program
needs.
I am pleased to report that it appears these agencies understand the
concept of "Technology Identification and Verification" and agree
that such NASA work is a necessary initial effort.
I would like now to report a few of the mQre significant accomplish-
ments which have occurred since November.
First, the windmilF-MOD-O--., installed at the Plum Brook
Facility operated by the Lewis Research Center, has successfully
completed all tests to date and delivered the rated 100 kW of electric
power for the first time on December 18, 1975.
ERDA wants us to build two more of these machines and have
them in operation early in 1977 in order to obtain practical operating
experience by utilities as quickly as possible.
The next step in this project will involve the development and testing
of a larger and more cost-effective machine-MOD-i. This machine
will be similar in general concept to the present windmill, but will have
up to 15 times the generating capacity and will feed its power directly
into a commercial electrical distribution network. Requests for
Proposals .from industry will be issued in March for the detail design,
construction and testing by early 1978 in a utility environment.
The Low Cost Silicon Solar Array Project we are conducting at
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory-~JPL---a1so continues on schedule,
We now have a total of 20 contracts in force with 14 more in the final
stages of negotiation. These include an initial procurement of 46
kilowatts of state-of-the-art solar cell arrays from five different com-
panies, three of which are small business. Three contracts have been
signed with the remaining two contracts anticipated by the end of
January.
Requests for proposals for an additional 130 kilowatts were issued
in mid-December to 67 companies including 34 small business concerns.
A complementary effort which requires the development and
testing of concepts for integrating the solar cell arrays from the JPL
Project into a variety of practical applications has been assigned to
the Lewis Research Center.
First applications will be in remote ai~eas followed by demonstra-
tions in residences leading up to large commercial applications in the
late 1980s.
PAGENO="0038"
36
You will recall that ERDA has assigned the hardware development
portion of its role under the 1974 Solar Heating and Cooling Act to
NASA. This responsibility is being fulfilled by the Marshall Space
Flight Center-MSFC. Five requests for proposals were issued ii~
October and responses have been received for three of them. Our
current plan is to evaluate~ the proposals and let contracts in the
amount of about $4 million during the period from March to July.
In addition, we reached an agreement with ERDA inDecember to
assist them in the evaluation of the proposals they received in response
to Program Opportunity Notice DSE-75-2, the Commercial Demon-
stration Program. At this time, MSFC is evaluating the 300 pro-
posals submitted to ERDA, considering both the technical and busi-
ness factors. Results of this evaluation will be provided to an ERDA
Source Selection Board for their selection of contract awards. As you
can imagine, this represents a very sizable effort on our~part due to the
large number of proposals received by ERDA. MSFC will subse-
quently assist ERDA with contract negotiations and then manage the
resulting contracts.
We are continuing our efforts to define a specific rore for the Lewis
Research Center in the E~RDA solar heating and cooling advanced
technology program. ERDA has agreed in principle to the Lewis
Research Center's role and is supporting initial in-house work.
Agreement should be reached on the details of a more extensive,
long-range program in the next few months.
The experimental solar heating and cooling collector test field at
our Langley Research Center is in its final stage of construction. The
Lewis Research Center has contracted for a total of 600 solar collectors
based on seven different designs selected from proposals solicited from
industry. They should be in place at Langley by March and initial
operation of the 13 ,000-.square-fOot collector field is planned to start
in late spring.
In the broad area of energy conversion, we are continuing approxi-
mately on schedule with the Energy Conversion Alternatives Study
(ECAS). Results of the phase II, conceptual design effort are scheduled
for a presentation on February 17th and 18th. The presentation is to
the ECAS steering gro~ip, comprised of representatives from NASA,
NSF, and ERDA. We are still holding to our schedule for comple~
tion this very comprehensive investigation by next summer.
In addition, w~ have continuing discussions with ERDA concerning
utility gas turbine technology.
Outline documents have been transmitted and initial program
planning has been initiated. Also, we have recently agreed to support
an ERDA request to technically review a United Technology Corpo-
tion of ration proposal concerning the FT-50 utility gas turbine.
Discussions have been continuing with ERDA in the area of ground
propulsion and we have received authority to continue the gas turbine
automobile engine work keyed to the Chrysler engine which we have
been conducting kr the past several years. Our expectation is that
within the next few weeks we will complete negotiations with ERDA
to initiate a modest effort with regard to electric vehicles and may
also be able to continue some work with regard to the hydrogen
injection concept at JPL.
PAGENO="0039"
37
With regard to the work we are doing for the DOT, Bureau of
Mines, the Systems Analysis Definition Study of advanced coal
energy extraction has been initiated at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
and a new task concerning~4the study of reliability and maintainability
problems in the longwall mining system will start within the next few
weeks. Our project directed toward the automation of the tongwall /
Shearer at the Marshall Space Flight Center seems to be making
excellent progress. Of the methods currently used for underground
mining of coal in the United States, the longwall system appears to
offer the greatest potential for improving coal production efficiency
in the near future.
In addition to increasing production efficiency, this system should
also improve the quality of the mined coal, conserve coal resources by
obtaining more of the coal in the seam and improve miner safety.
Our first project objective is to determine the sensors and controls
which should be developed as part of the Bureau of Mines overall
effort to achieve automation of this system. Unless the coal shearing
portion of the system can automatically determine the coal interface
and appropriately correct itself, total automation of the system cannot
be achieved. Seven different interface detectors are curreiflly being
evaluated by MSFC. From these, the most promising will be selected
and developed for actual test in a mine environment. Our current
effort is designed to complete this evaluation and submit appropriate
recommendations for sensor and control system development to the
Bureau of Mines in October of this year.
Briefings and initial discussions have also been conducted with
ERDA in the interesting and important area of satellite power systems.
Since the majority of concepts currently under consideration involve
the conversion of solar energy to electric power for subsequent trans-
mission to earth, our coordination activities have been with ERDA
Division of Solar Energy.
In addition, the Senate Subcommittee on Aerospace Technology
and National Needs of the Committee on Aeronautical and Space
Sciences, chaired by Senator Ford, has recently conducted 2 days of
hearings on this subject. Witnesses included representatives of indus-
try, a university, ERDA, NASA, and the private sector. Interest in the
long-term potential of this concept for supplying a portion of the
Nation's future energy requirements remains high. The general
consensus of opinion is that within the next 25 to 30 years, this
source of power may be competitive with other future alternatives.
Because of the many technology advances required to achieve this
capability, a definite determination cannot be made at this time.
However, it is significant to note that no absolute barriers have yet
been identified.
Continued investigation of the technologies concerned requiring
only a modest funding commitment over the next few years, is war-
ranted to enable a more precise definition of the magnitude of the
effort and risks involved in making a commitment to a dedicated tech-
nology advancement decision.
The reimbursable project responsibilities we are fulfilhtig for ERDA
and the Bureau of Mines are continuing to expand. We received about
$3.5 million in fiscal year 1974; over $12 million in fiscal year 1975,
and the total in fiscal year 1976 will be very close to $50 million.
PAGENO="0040"
38
We believe this represents tangible evidence that the capabilities
of NASA are being recognized and applied to energy-related problems.
The NASA fiscal year 1977 budget does not request any R. & D.
funding for energy programs. This reflects a recent policy decision
by the administration that such direct funding for energy H. & D.
for terrestrial application will be provided by ERDA. Because this
decision was made in late December, there was insufficient time for
ERDA to include specific provisions for NASA energy R. & D.
funding in the ERDA fiscal 1977 budget request. However, we have
been discussing this problem with ERDA management and expect
that it will be possible to arrange for an appropriate allowance so
that the technology identification and verification function of the
Office o~ Energy Programs can be continued.
Our t$ssessment, at this time, is that we have a lot of work which
must b4 completed during the balance of fiscal year 1976, and we
have th~ funds to do that.
We h~ive reached agreement in principle with ERDA and the ad-
ministr~tion concerning the need for the technology identification
functi~.
We / also have the initial manpower required to effectively perform
this function at the centers doing energy-related work with the ex-
ception of the Jet PropulsiDn Laboratory.
We believe that during the balance of the fiscal year, it will be
possible for ERDA and NASA to reach agreement concerning the
level of B. & D. funding required to enable NASA, including the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, to continue participation in this critically
important function.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you.
You discussed* the fact that there were no energy funds in the
budget this year as proposed by the President.
Was there any discussion between NASA and ERDA prior to this
decision by 0MB not to include funds?
Mr. GINTER. No, sir,not to my knowledge.
Mr. FUQUA. So it was kind of an arbitrary decisio~i on their part-
you do not have to agree or disagree with that. I am only making a
statement-to make that decision without discussions prior to that?
Mr. GINTER. Mr. Chairman, of course, there were a number of
discussions between NASA and 0MB. Those I am familiar with.
Mr. FtJQUA. Prior to the decision?
Mr. GINTER. Yes, sir.
There was a considerable dialog about this. However, I cannot
state-
Mr. FUQIJA. Why was it not included in the budget?
Mr. GINTER. I cannot speak to the OMB-ERDA discussions.
All I know about are those that directly impacted NASA, sir.
Mr. FUQUA. You stated that the NASA energy-related funds were
used to develop the understanding of the user problem and narrow
the solution of options to those with the highest payoff potential in
program plans for support by the user agency. Since you do not have
any money, what are you going to do?
Mr. GINTER. At this point in time, we do have funds to allow us to
continue through the balance of fiscal 1976, including the transiti9nal
quarter. At this time of year we have to hope that we will achieve
PAGENO="0041"
39
some sort of an accommodation that will provide the essential "seed
money", to enable us to continue to perform this vitally important
function.
Mr. FUQUA. Dr. Teem of ERDA testified before the Senate last
week regarding satellite power and testified that there were no funds
in the fiscal year 1977 ERDA budget for these studies.
What in-house studies has NASA furnished to ERDA and so forth
to be evaluated? What other means are you working on, if you are,
to evaluate the satellite solar power?
Mr. GINTER. Mr. Chairman, I would like to emphasize that the
decision by the administration was made in late December, so there
has been a very limited amount of time to work the problem, if you
will, between ourselves and ERDA.
However, we did have a meeting with ERDA last Friday, We have
started the discussions and the initial preparatory work to com-
municate to ERDA what we know about satellite power system and
begin to understand from them what they will need to be able to
conduct the evaluation that was referred to last week.
Mr. FuQUA. Are they going to call on NASA to continue to manage
that program, or are they going to move the management completely
into ERDA and the contractor will report to ERDA, or to you, or
has that been resolved yet?
Mr. GINTER. That really has not been resOlved, but the general
outline of the way we are proceeding is that ERDA has established
a single point of contact for us to work with. They did that this week.
His name is Dr. Robert Summers.
We have not yet had an opportunity to talk to Dr. Summers. Our
expectation is that in the interest of moving with some quickness on
this that ERDA will primarily be attempting to evaluate and under-
stand those data which we have.
There has been no discussion at this point in time concerning trans-
fer of the management of this activity.
Mr. FUQUA. Mr. Wydler?
Mr. WYDLER. Talking about the solar heating and cooling part
of your testimony, as I understand what is going on, ERDA has turned
over to NASA all of the actual hardware development work that is
going to be done in this field.
Is that a correct statement?
Mr. GINTER. I do not think that is quite correct, Mr. Wydler.
They have assigned to us, as we stated, the responsibility for d~velop-
ment of systems for demonstrations. I do not think that we or ERDA
construe that to include all-of course, as you know, what is develop-
ment and what is something else sometimes generates interesting
discussions.
We do, however, have a very significant role to play.
Mr. FUQIJA. I think at this time-it is my understanding that the
ERDA representatives are here. It might be wise to bring them to
the witness table. Maybe they have some comments in relation to
that.
Mr. John Brogan, Director, Division of Transportation and Energy
Conservation, Dr. John Belding, Director, Division of Conservation
Research and Technology, and Mr. Don Beattie, Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Solar, Geothermal and Advanced Energy Systems.
PAGENO="0042"
40
Mr. WYDLER. If I understand what you have said, 1~RDA has
given this responsibility in some part or a major part to NASA and
you have given it to Marshall and Marshall is requesting it to be
done by industry.
Is this how it is working? Is anything being done at Marshall?
Mr. GINTER. Mr. Wydler, I would like to have Mr. Lt~Rock give
you a brief outline of the way that program is structured.
Mr. LAROCK. The primary responsibility for management of the
solar heating and cooling development for demonstration activity
of course, is invested in ERDA and the Marshall Space Flight Center
will be the operating agent for that agency.
In consonance with policy which has evolved over the years in
NASA, NASA will attempt to coordinate the industry efForts tht~t
we feel are necessary to make the solar heating and cooling demonstra-
tion program a success.
Mr. WYDLER. You say hardware development is now given to
NASA, NASA is doing it at Marshall. What are they doing at
Marshall?
Mr. LAROCK. Marshall will be primarily involved in-house with
the testing and evaluation of some of the hardware which has been
proposed for demonstration and seeing that the performance specifica-
tions which have been laid down for the equipment are met by the
participating contractors.
Mr. WYDLER. The system as Marshall tests it, they come up with a
result and then it comes back to headquarters and headquarters
goes over and tells ERDA about it?
Mr. LAROCK. No, it does not work that way.
Marshall will, in the operation of the program, be directly responsive
to the ERDA management. Our headquarters progr~tm office in NASA
is primarily responsible for insuring that the requisite NASA support
for Marshall continuing in this operation will be received. Head-
quarters does not directly manage the technical aspects of the
program.
Mr. GINTER. Mr. Wydler, if I may, I would like to add a little
emphasis on that. In the overall relationships we are establishing
with ERDA on this work, our office, called the program office at
Headquarters, has a fairly distinct responsibility during the seed
money and the initiation phases. It is the type of headquarters to
field center program Manager-Project Manager relationship that has
been characteristic of NASA
As that project matures and a reimbursible agreement is set up
then one of Don Beattie's staff becomes the program manager in our
terms-we make every effort to assure that the communications line
between the ERDA program manager, who has the overall responsibil-
ity for progress in his area, to the project managers at our field centers
is as direct, clean and uncluttered as it can possibly be.
That is merely a translation of our experience over the years.
My office tends to stand aside from any technical direction. We, in
effect, provide assistance to those more mature activities; in an assist
mode even including making sure that staff officers do not impede that
program project manager relationship.
Don, would you like to add anything?
Mr. FUQUA. Would you like to identify yourself for the record?
PAGENO="0043"
41
Mr. BEATTIE. Don Beattie from ERDA. I am Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Solar, Geothermal and Advanced Energy Systems.
The program is a rather complex program, Mr. Chairman, in the
solar heating and cooling demonstration. There are four key parts to
the program: demonstrations, development in support of the demon-
strations, research and development and technology utilization and
information dissemination.
Those are the four key elements of the demonstration program.
The Marshall Space Flight Center is supporting that program in one
area at this point in time, which is the development in support of
demonstrations, and the funding for that particular effort is included
at this time within the ERDA fiscal year 1977 budget.
I would suggest that if you have further questions on the roles of
the various agencies in the program that you refer to our document
ERDA 23A which is the solar heating and cooling demonstration plan.
We have attempted in that document to lay out rather clearly the
responsibilities of the various agencies, which include not only NASA,
but IIUD, GSA, DOD and a number of other agencies.
The NASA part is a very vital part since they are charged with
bringing the components and systems up to speed for later cycles of
the demonstration program. They are also involved, as was indicated
earlier, in evaluating the responses to our PON which will be demon-
strated in this fiscal year.
Mr. WYDLER. You say there are 300 proposals. Would you happen
to know-I remember receiving a proposal, I think it was, I am not
sure, from the County of Nassau in my congressional district, to do
some sort of a solar installation in a county building. Would you
know if that is one of these 300 proposals we are talking about?
Mr. BEATTIE. I am not sure, Mr. Wydler, if it is. We have also
been receiving unsolicited proposals.
We are preparing this week a listing of all the people who have
proposed in response to our PON. That will be available by the end of
the week to the Members of the Congress, so they will know if people
in their districts have responded to the PON.
I am not sure if that particular one is a response.
Mr. WYDLER. You say they are being evaluated.
How many of the 300 are going to be acted on? Is there a number
that we have?
Mr. BEATTIE. The funding we have available at this time is $4
million to fund the projects that have come in as a result of that
solicitation.
We are not in a position at this time to say how many projects will
be funded, because we do not know what they are requesting for funds.
Mr. WYDLER. The next thing I note in regard to your testimony is
the defining of the role of Lewis Research Center in the ERDA solar
heating and cooling technology program.
How is thatgoing to coordinate with the sol~ar energy research insti-
tute that ERDA is planning to establish? How are those going to
operate together?
Mr. GINTER. Mr. Wydler, I will make a couple of comments and
then ask Mr. Beattie again for help.
We are in the process, as I indicated, of defining a fairly specific and
well-bounded role for Lewis in their historic role of advanced research
and technology.
PAGENO="0044"
42
The concept is that that activity would be directly supportive of the
Marshall function of development for demonstration in the classical
advanced technology relationship.
I do not think we ourselves are in a situation where we can speak to
how that will relate to the solar energy research institute which is still
under consideration and has, to our knowledge, not been all that fully
defined as a function.
Mr. BEATTIE. Would you care to add to that?
Mr. WYDLER. I think it has been pretty well defined. They are in
the process hopefully-we had Mr. Seamans here a few days ago, his
testimony, as I remember it, was essentially in a few weeks they
would be putting out the actual guidelines of what they wanted in the
way of a site for the project.
He told me that they hoped in 5 months to be able to decide
where it was going to go. So it would sound to me that this construc-
tion could be going on a year from now, and we could have a center in
a couple of years.
I always understood that was essential. That was to be the focus
point of all the solar energy research in the country. I do not know
what you are doing at Lewis, but the language you use here, it seems
to me it is going to be doing something, some part of this work. I just
wonder how this is all going to work together when you finally have a
Solar Energy Research Institute in existence.
Can you answer that?
Mr. BEATTIE. Mr. Wydler, we see the Solar Energy Research Insti-
tute as having a very important function in the total program. How-
ever, I do not believe that the Solar Energy Research Institute will
be doing all functions of the program. There will be a number of other
laboratories involved. We see a continuing role for many government
laboratories as well as private industry and universities, even after
the Solar Energy Research Institute is functioning and operating
completely, which obviously would take some time.
The research and development that may be conducted by the Solar
Energy Research Institute will be coordinated through our Division
of Solar Energy with the other functions that are going on in other
parts of the country.
Mr. WYDLER. I understand that answer. It would seem to me that
you should have done this thinking before you assigned anything to
Lewis Research Center. You should know what you are going to do,
how this is all going to work.
This is what Lewis is going to do. This is what SERI is going to do.
These other laboratories and so forth, you should have that in mind
at this point before you assign any roles to this.
Mr. BEATTIE. If I gave the impression that we did hot know how
we were going to coordinate that, I am sorry. We do have a very clear
idea, I think,~of how we will coordinate it and where the roles will be.
The Lewis role is one that has been developing for 2 years.
Mr. WYDLER. What will it be. Tell me; that is what I would like
to know.
* Mr. BEATTIE. What will what be, sir?
Mr. WYDLER. The role, the defined role that you just told me yoti
know. I would like to know what it is. What is the defined role for
Lewis?
PAGENO="0045"
43
Mr. BEATTIE. The defined role for Lewis-
Mr. GINTER. Mr. Wydler, I think as you can appreciate, a precise
definition is not available. But, as we testified in November and
have previously here, Lewis Research Center has been working on
solar collectors in particular, materials associated with solar collectors,
test and evaluation, standardization of test data, so that it is
comparable.
Lewis has a number of high-quality test facilities for the testing of
solar collectors. As you know, they have a strong materials technoli~y
capability and I believe that I am correct that Lewis andMinneapolis-
Honeywell were last year, 1975, awarded one of the industrial research
magazines IR-ioo awards as one of the top research activities in the
country for their one particular solar collector activity.
So that the role, if you will, will be for making use of that unique
capability at Lewis as a Ipart of ERDA's overall program effort.
I guess at this point in time, that is about as tightly as we can define
this particular role.
Mr WYDLER. This is going to get very complicated. I personally
agree with the general theory of how this whole thing is going to be
managed.
I can see a great many problems arising. When you get into the
actual details of trying to assign out the various functions of solar
energy research and end up with anything in SERI at all.
This was something I was kind of interested in how they were
going to work this. That is why I asked the question.
I do not think that there has been too much real, down-to-earth
thinking about this. This is a general concept of coordination and it
will all work out and so forth. Maybe it will.
Obviously, before they can give Lewis anything or anybody else
anything, they have to be able to figure out what they are going to
have left themselves. Otherwise, you will have a center with nothing
to do but will probably take credit for everything that the other
centers do.
I would like to see SERI end up being something really significant
and productive and useful for the country.
You talk here about the ground propuli~ion program.
What are you doing with the gas turbine? I thought that was
something that private industry figured was no good.
Are we going to make them anyway? What is going on with the
gas turbine?
There is nothing new abqut that. That is an idea that goes back
to the thirties.
Mr. GINTER. I do not think the idea of gas turbines for ground
propulsion is particularly new. People have been working on that
for a long time.
My colleague Mr. Brogan can correct me, but I believe I am correct
when I talk about the Chrysler gas turbine that is in the Lewis Test
Center. I think that is a sixth generation Chrysler turbine, and they
are themselves working on a seventh generation.
Mr. WYDLER. Chrysler is doing this work? Is that what you are
saying?
PAGENO="0046"
44
Mr. GINTER. Yes; we are supporting John Brogan's organization
and have I been since about 1971 or 1972 making use of the gas turbine
technology base that exists at Lewis which was developed primarily
for aeronautical propulsion.
Certainly, with regard to materials, structures, dynamics, seals,
lubricants, all of those things that go into a turbine, they are not
all that different when you want to use a turbine in a different
application.
The technology base, the number of test facilities, overall design
concepts, are applicable.
Somewhat of a misconception that maybe I would like to correct
is that it appears that there is a large amount of interest in tJ~ie auto-
mobile industry of the potential of gas turbines. General Motors,
Ford, and Chrysler are all to one extent or another working on por-
tions of gas turbines.
It does offer one of a very attractive potential replacement for the
internal combustion that is currently in use. It has problems in cost,
reliability, some in fuel consumption, but inherently, it is a clean engine
and it has inherently good characteristics by virtue of the type of en-
gine. Those who maybe know it best, believe it can perform as suc-
cessfully on ground propulsion terms as it does in aeronautics.
I think it is fair to state that the production parts of the automobile
industry are not building gas turbines at a great rate. But in the
technology parts of the automobile industry, their research and
technology organizations are widely interested in that engine as a
potential for the future.
Mr. BROGAN. I would like to comment. You may recall back in
1964-65, Chrysler ran a 50-car demonstration fleet across the country.
That was a fourth generation engine. They started their development
work after World War II. It takes time to get that far.
Chrysler had progressed to the point by 1970 where they had
developed a sixth generation of that engine, still with~major problems
appearing in high cost and poor fuel economy and relatively high
NOX emissions. The ongoing ERDA gas turbine program which has
been greatly assisted by NASA started in 1970 in the Environmental
Protection Agency. The purpose was to de~c*e1op alternatives to the
internal combustion engine that were inherently clean and could then
meet the standards that were mandated in the Clean Air Act Amend-
ments of 1970.
The gas turbine was one of two systems that were selected as having
the potential for being inherently clean and in meeting these standards.
Using the 1970 version of the Chrysler engine as a baseline, the EPA,
Chrysler, and NASA proceeded into the development of the next
generation of this engine, which should prove to be energy efficient
and meet the stringent emission standards.
Mr. WYDLER. I am surprised Chrysler would go for an arrange-
ment like that, going into a joint venture like that.
Would it not be public property?
Mr. BROGAN. That is right. Engine design and development being
what it is, they are still ahead of the rest of the field.
To make a long story short, we have relied heavily on NASA, Lewis
Research Center, in particular, for the design of the rotating machinery
in the new engine. The new and improved engine will be tested in
May of this year.
PAGENO="0047"
45
Mr. WYDLER. Could you quickly give me some idea of what a long
wall shearer is, so it means something to me?
Mr. GINTER. It is one of two systems, either a plowlike arrange-
ment that is drawn across up to a thousand feet of a coal seam face.
The coal goes onto a conveyor belt and goes out through long shafts.
That is a longwall shearer. Also longwall shearers use rotating
drums. You probably have seen pictures, where there would be~ a rela-
tively wide drum going up and down a face. These are thinner drums,
usually two, one high and one low, which also runs back and forth
this track. The coal again goes onto a conveyor.
Its advantage is, when all lined up correctly advancing along the
face, if everything worked perfectly, you could just keep it going. They
have relatively few people close to the machine, and it is a much more
efficient production technique.
We attempted to show a picture of it when we were here in No-
vember, and the pictures are not much more clear than my description,
sir.
Mr. WYDLER. I think I have a general idea.
Finally, the satellite power system you are talking about. Is this
the type of thing where you pick the energy up in space and transmit
it to Earth? Is that what you are talking about?
Mr. GINTER. Yes, sir.
Mr. WYDLER. You say that is something that could be realized
20 or 30 years from now.
Mr. GINTER. Twenty to thirty, yes, sir, given a lot of other things.
Mr. WYDLER. I would have a question about that, but there is
another committee coming in at. 10.
I will stop questioning and just ask again that I have some other
questions that I would like to submit for the record, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. FTJQUA. Yes, I have some questions too that we would like to
submit to you.
We have another committee meeting, a full committee meeting here
at 10, and we do have to adjourn.
The subcommittee will be adjourned until tomorrow morning
at 9:30 in Room 2303 of this building.
We appreciate your presence here this morning, and your
contributions.
Mr. GINTER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[Whereupon, at 9:30 a.m., the subcommittee adjourned, to reconvene
Thursday, January 28, 1976, at 9:30 a.m.]
[Questions and answers submitted for the record follow. Also see
Volume I, Part 3 for additional questions and answers.]
70-079 0 - 76 - 4
PAGENO="0048"
46
~UESTIO~jiQ~ - Re your Publications Program and your 2~,00O
industry requests: Do you have any figures as to follow-up on
the requested data, i.e., license requests, etc.?
ANSWER: The Denver Research Institute has, under contract to
NASA, conducted an industry request follow-up activity for the
past several years. The purpose of the follow-up activity is
essentially two-fold: (1) to analyue the relative value of the
NASA TIJ PublicatiOns Program as a viable technology transfer
mechanism, and (2) to document specific instances of technology
transfer for subsequent industrial use.
Feedback from the follow-up questionnaires (mailed on a 10% ran-
dom sample basis) have yielded the following information:
o Fourteen percent (14%) of Tech Brief users have identified
economic benefits 6 months after receiving the NASA infor-
mation.
o Approximately 31% of users indicated that they used the
information for problem solving.
o Approximately 15% stated that the NASA technology received
contributed in part to a new or improved product.
o Approximately 14% indicated uses of the NASA information
in connection with new or improved processes.
o New technological concepts provided by NASA were useful
to 22% of the users.
In addition, approximately 64% of all questionnaires mailed (40, 240)
in the past six years have been completed ~nd returned. This high
rate of return has generally been considered to reflect positive
support and interest in NASA's efforts to disseminate new, arid
useful technology through its TU publications activity.
PAGENO="0049"
47
QUESTION NO. 2:
You mention your analysis on the news clipping service: Can you
elaborate on this analysis? Do you have any figures on effectivenes?
ANSWER:
Clippings received via Bacon' s News Clipping Bureau reveal steady
coverage of LASA technology in the trude press, regional and local
newspapers, popular magazines, and national papers and letters such
as the Well Street Journal and Kielinger We.shi~' ~ton Letter. Five
hundred and ninety-nine (599) different magazines and newspaoers pub-
lished such articles in 1975, as shown in the following breakdown:
Trade Press -306
Regional/Local Newspapers, Magazines -254
Popular Magazines - 21
National Papers/Letters/Serials - 18
Clippings received from Bacon's are placed in one of 7 categories;
These are:
1. New Technology Announcements
2. Nonaero.9pace Technology Applications
3. Benefits
4. TU Program Activities/Services
5. NASA General
6. NASA Program Activities
7. Professional Journal Articles
Of the 1,429 clippings received in 1975, 822 were classified in
categories 1 - 4, indicating a high proportion of readership interest
in the potential or actual use of NASA technology for purposes other
than those for which it was originally created. More than 100 articles
appeared on Benefits, alone.
Effectiveness of the articles appearing in different elements of the
media can be difficult for NASA to assess. One trade magazine pub-
lished by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Mechanical
Eqg~ineeri~g (circ. 56,000), devotes one full page in each issue to
NASA Tech Briefs. We assume the editor considers that a worthwhile
utilization of space in his magazine.
Occasionally, articles appearing in the press refer the reader to the
NASA Headquarters TU Office for further information. In May of 1975 we
reviewed the requests generated by such articles, and some typical re-
sults are shown here: Industry Week (Feb.3, l975),"Solder Application
Tool"- 250 inquiries; K~pllnger~ W~mshingbon Letter (May 31, 1975)- 8,538
inquiries; Poeuiar Science (March 1974), 11 Tech Briefs described-
5,000 inquiries; 7gqpa Tribune-Times (Jan. 12, 1975), "A Practical
Solar Energy Heating and Cooling System"- 750 inouiries.
PAGENO="0050"
48
QUESTION NO. 3:
On your Industrial Applications Centers you nention o~t
Page 2: What is the function and could you describe
what you mean by Center established Sales Representatives?
ANSWER:
Remote sales representatives have been attached to
individual Industrial Applications Centers (IACs) in order
to permit greater outreach to existing and prospective
users by the IACs. (On the average, a sales representa-
tive can cover a territory of only about 100 miles in
radius from his hace of operations). The remote sales
representatives are full-time employees of their respec-
tive IACs whose basic functions are to enlist new users
for IAC services and to assure that existing users are
being provided the services they require.
PAGENO="0051"
49
QUESTION NO. 4:
At one time the Committee made a recommendation that
NASA considered some kind of logo identifying the product
as a spin-off from the Space Program. Was this suggestion
ever considered? Are there plans to introduce such a
plan in the Technology Applications area?
ANSWER:
The suggestion was considered, including alternative
approaches to irnplerrentation. However, the National
Space Institute has initiated such a program which should
be adequate for this purpose.
PAGENO="0052"
50
QUESTION NO. 5:
On the top of page 4 of your prepared testimony you mention
the report on Spinoff 1976 ready for distribution in
February? What are your plans for this repOrt? What is
the dissemination? Do you plan to have any feedback
process?
ANSWER:
`Spinoff 1973' illustrates the many ways in which NASA
activities can and will impact life on Earth. For that
reason we expect it to be a popular report. Early in-
dicatio~c a~e th~t we will need to icorint it in about
six months if we are to meet the expected demand.
Initial plans for distribution of "Spinoff 1976" include
the general and trade press (4,000) copies, business and
community leaders (2,000), major libraries and federal
depositories (2,500), responses to inquiries (22,000)
and conferences and seminars (1,000). We plan to
establish a feedback mechanism to maintain pertinent
information for future analyses.
0
PAGENO="0053"
51
c~ucsL~on No. 1
Dr. John B. Teem of the ERDA in testimony before the
Senate Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee last
week (Jan. 21, 1976) stated that the ERDA was given
responsibility to exam:ine Satellite Solar Power but
that no funds are included in the FY1977 ERDA budget
for this project. Based on bhis: What studies both
in-house and contractor has NASA furnished to the ERDA
to evaluate Satellite Solar Power?
Answer
NASA has furnished to ERDA the following Satellite Power
Systeln-relate(j documents:
1. Feasibility Study of a Satellite Solar Power Station,
by Peter F. Glriser et ol., NASA CR-2357, February 1974
2. Copy of material presented by ECON to MSFC on Space
Based Solar Power Conversion and Delivery Systems Study,
durinq the Third Performance Review, Contract NAS8-3l308,
January 8, 1976. This material was the basis for ECON's
testimony before the Senate Aeronautical and Space
Sciences Committee, Janyary 21, 1976, now available to
ERDA.
3. Program Review, Satellite Power Systems, (NASAi
Off ice of Enerpy Programs, November 24, 1975.
4. Assessment of a Solar Photovoltaic Power Conversion
System for Central Station Application, by C. B. Bell,
Jet Propulsion Laboratory Report 900-702, Juno 1975.
5. Survey of Several Central Receiver Solar Thermal
Power Plant Design Concepts, by N. K. Selcuk, Jot
Propulsion Laboratory Report 900-714, August 1975.
6. Comuarative Assessment of Orbital and Terrestrial
Central Power Syatems, Quarterly Review for July, August
and September, 1975, published November 1975.
Recent ECON and Boeing testimony on Satellite Solar
Power bofore the Senate Aeronautical and Space Science
Committoc is also available in the record.
PAGENO="0054"
52
SC a laO No. 2
Do Lliosc studies .indicaLe that an early start should be
made on the demonstration of a Satellite Solar Power
Systom?
IUlsWer:
No, they (10 not. They do, however, indicate that an
aqqrossivc and detailed system definition effort is
required and that a niqnificant amount of advanced
technology work should be initiated.
PAGENO="0055"
53
Foqu.i - Queoti 00 No. 3
Whut NASA in-houso studios and experimental work directly
related to Satellibu Solar Power are underway in the NASA?
An swer
NASA's activibits directly related to Satellite Solar Power
have consisteLi oE system studies and microwave energy
technology investigations. In addition, a study to
compare the relative potential of satellite power systems
with terrestrial power systems of the future is now in
proccss.
PAGENO="0056"
54
Qucst:iori No. 4
WhaL work and what ~undinq sources are anticipated for
work in Satellite Solar Power development by NASA in
FY 1977?
An swo r
Satellite powor systems planning for FY77 includes
efforts in total ;ystem definition, and studies of SPS
cosLs, environmental effects, and other impacts and
benefits. As stated in the testimony, funding must
be obtained from ERDA.
PAGENO="0057"
55
Question No. 5
Which technologies are critical to the development of
Satellite Solar Power and what lead time is anticipated
for their development, given adequate funding?
Answer
Our in-house and contractual studies have identified
nine sub-program areas that are critical to the
development of Satellite Solar Power. system definition,
and potential environmental effects (as well as other
SPS impacts and benefits), comprise two of the nine
areas. The seven remaining critical areas are advanced
technologies, as follows: microwave energy tran~mission,
space structures, space transportation, attitude control
and station keeping, power conversion, and operations.
Given adequate funding, a ten year lead time is antici-
pated for achievement of technology readiness.
Question No. 6
Dr. William B. Lenoir of NASA in his testimony before
the Senate Aeronautical and Space Sciences Committee
on January 21, 1976, stated that a subscale, orbital
demonstration of a Satellite Solar Power System is
required. He further points out that a five year
program of approximately $230 million dollars is
estimated for the initiation of a program. Based
on this:
What funding for FY1977 would allow proceeding with
the program Dr. Lenoir discussed?
Answer
Dr. Lenoir referred to a five-year program to resolve
the critical technology areas. A FY77 funding level
of approximately $12.0 million would be required.
PAGENO="0058"
56
Q~JESTIQN No. 1:
W~iat were the number of innovations published in the
T~chnology Utilization Publications Program for FY'70
through FY'74?
a~w many industry requests stimulated by these new tech-.
r~ology announcements were received for those same fiscal
*ars?
W~at do the trends in these figures mean in terms of the
effectiveness of NASA's marketing in technology?
is the Small Business Administration currently involved
~n disseminating information on NASA'S technology utili-
~ation innovations?
1~NSWER:
Technology Total Publ.
CY Tech~~efs. Compilation Item~ Innovations_
L970 726 396 1,122
3~97l 536 270 806
1972 756 198 954
1973 528 256 784
i~974 301 495 796
1975 339 310 649
I~uring the period CY'1970-75, over 236,000 requests for
1~echnical Support Packages (TSP) were filled by the NASA
¶i~echnolo~Y Utilization Program, as follows:
CY TSP Requests
1970 16,996
1971 51,731
1972 68,144
1973 40,485
* 1974 31,067
1975 ______
TOTAL 236,528
The number of TSP requests is affected by three factors:
1) The number of innovations announcod~ 2) The completeness
of the information contained in the announcement medium,
and 3) The number of people receiving the announcements.
PAGENO="0059"
57
2.
You will note that TSP requests increased substantially
during the 1971-73 period at the height of a previous
NASA/SBA joint publication effort. During 1972-73, for
instance, over half of the TSP requests received resulted
from the NASA/SBA joint program. Subsequent study has
revealed, however, that less than 25% of the technology
transf~ which took place during that period resulted
from the NASA/SBA program. This reflects the different
types of announcement media used in this program which,
for the most part, described the technology in less detail
than does the Tech Brief. Thus the user was required to
request the TSP in order to determine the usefulness of
the technology to his business, whereas, in contrast,
Tech Briefs often contain information complete enough to
permit implementation of the technology, or at least
complete enough to permit the potential user to more
fully evaluate the innovation before requesting a TSP.
Nevertheless, the NASA/SBA program was considered success-
ful in that it did introduce a number of small firms to
the services of the Technology Utilization Program and
result in several technology transfers that would not
otherwise have taken place. Consequently, we have again
entered an agreement with SBA to cooperate with them in
announcing the availability of NASA Technology Utilization
services to small businesses.
TO get a clearer picture of the success of NASA's Tech-
nology Utilization marketing program, independent of the
NASA/SBA joint effort, it is useful to compare CY 1970
(before the NASA/SBA program) with the years after the
SBA program:
CY TB's Pub. Compilations Pub. TSP Requests
1970 726 22 16,996
1974 301 28 31,067
1975 339 20 28,105
These data reveal that although the number of Tech Briefs
published in 1974 and 1975 was less than half of the
number published in 1970, (due to decreased R&D activity)
the number of TSP requests has nearly doubled. Though
we are pleased with this trend, we are presently making
changes to make our publications more useful to the user,
and planning action to increase the number of recipients
of NASA Tech Briefs. These steps should substantially
increase the number of TSP requests as well as the number
of transfers which take place.
Part 4 of this Question is the same answer as Question
No. 15.
PAGENO="0060"
58
QUESTION NO. 2:
How do the 1500 technology utilization related articles compare
with the previous years' figures (i.e., 1970-1974)?
~Ihat fraction of the trade press journals which receive technology
utilization information published a related article during 1975?
The oc~umi number ef clinpings received via the Bacon's Clipping
Bureau Service in 1975, and which fell within the scope of the
classification criteria, was l,4?9. For the years 1974, 1973,
1972 and 1971 the numbers were 1,300, 1,435, 1,476, and 1,452,
respectively.
Based on clippings received from Ba4n's, 306 different trade
press magasines published one or moz4e of the 821 articles that
appeared in that element of the media during 1975.
PAGENO="0061"
59
QUESTION NO. 3:
Mr. Edwards, what arrangements do you make for systematically sur-
veying the technology transfer value of NASA innovations for your
business?
ANSWER:
NASA Technology is constantly being reviewed by peresal of current
documents such as NASA tech briefs, NASA patent abstracts, NASA
cotcputer pro~roms and other NASA-supplied documents. According to
content and their relation to specific products and services of the
various Dresser companies, they are forwarded to those appropriate
companies. After rcaie;~~ innovation and application bp thc speci-
fic companies, a follow-up report by those companies is sent back
to rca to determine the reletive value of that documentation to
Dresser's specific use. In this manner, the applicability of new
technology thus obtained can be evaluated.
PAGENO="0062"
60
QUESTION NO. 4~
* Please supply a breakdown of Industrial Applications
Centers (IACs) center-to client interactions by center?
~re certain centers more effective at marketing than
others?
What is the explanation for such differences in perform-
ance?
ANSWER:
The breakdown by center of Industrial Applications
Center client interactions for calendar year 1975 is
as follows:
Aerospace Research Applications Ceriter(ARAC) 12,437
Knowledge Availability Systems Center(KASC) 8,443
North Carolina Science and Technology Research
Center (NC/STRC) 3,439
New England Research Application Center(NERAC)...34,4l0
Technology Application Center (TAC) 2,917
Western Research Application Center(WESRAC) 892
62,538
Yes, certain centers are more effective in their marketing
efforts than others.
The variations in performance among the IACs in their
marketing efforts are 6ue to differences among the IAC
regions with respect to industrial density (it is more
difficult to market effectively in Wyoming than in
New York); the ratio of small and large businesses
among regions; and the distribution of businesses within
a given region, e.g. manufacturing vs. banking.
PAGENO="0063"
61
QUESTION NO. 5:
Can you outline any policy changes in the aistributior~
and/or sales of computer programs through COSMIC?
ANSWER:
Although we are constantly reviewing the effectiveness
of our programs, there has not been a policy change in
the distribution and/or sales of computer programs through
COSMIC.
70-079 0 - 76 - 5
PAGENO="0064"
62
QUESTION NO. 6:
In what areas have Industrial Applications Teams (IAT)
been most effective?
ANSWER:
We assume by the term "the Industrial Application Teams"
the Committee meags the Applications Teams, both, the
Biomedical and Technology Applications Teams. In the
Biomedical Applications Teams' the areas where the Teams
have been most effective have been in the following:
rehabilitation medici~ie, software and systems technology
and clinical instrumentation. With regard to the Tech-
nology Applications Teams the following areas most
effectively impacted are: public safety, State and local
government, and transportation.
PAGENO="0065"
63
QUESTION NO. 7:
What have you learned about necessary ingredients for
success of,the IATs?
ANSWER:
The principal necessary ingredients for success for
Applications Teams include:
1. thorough understanding of the user's need, the
NASA technology solution, the markets' aggregated
demand, and present economic structure;
2. early partnership with NASA technology gener-
ating center and industry partners to assure
widespread utilization through the potential
commercialization if the NASA solution proves
feasible; and
3. appropriate brokerage through the entire applica-
tions effort to assure successful addressing
of any social, legal, or econoaic technology
barriers.
PAGENO="0066"
64
QUESTION NO. 8:
The IACs are selling a service which is similar to
services provided for by other government agencies.
What are the general guidelines for obtaining such
reimbursement?
ANSWER:
To our knowledge there are no government-Wide guidelines
to offset costs charged to clients. The fees charged to
IAC users are applied to the cost of the computer time,
labor and supporting documentation.
PAGENO="0067"
65
QUESTION No. 9:
How widespread are the geographic areas covered by the
IACs? -.
ANSWER:
As can be seen from the attached map, the geographic
areas covered by individual IACs vary greatly im size.
This is generally due to differences in population
and industrial densities within individual regions.
PAGENO="0068"
(I)
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4)
11
a)
C)
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4)
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4)
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66
PAGENO="0069"
67
QUESTION No. 10:
Mr. Barlow, we understand that the ERDA prognosis for
the role of solar heating and cooling to the end Qf the
century is less rosy than previously accepted projections.
How does this change in climate reflect in sales pro-
jections for heating and cooling units?
ANSWER:
"In my opinion, most of the current predictions need to
be thrown up in the air for the moment, so that we can
wait ~ee what we can really do. Some of the larger
firms have already successfully installed solar panels
in ].arqe buildings for preheating purposes. Based on
their favorable results, we have received inquiries
from other large firms concerning the possibilities of
installing our systems.
"The market for home solar collector units has undoubtedly
been adversely affected by the recession, but substantial
energy savings in this market were nevertheless achieved.
As I indicated in my testimony, I am very optimistic
regarding the prospects for our Solarmatic heating systems.
PAGENO="0070"
68
QUESTION NO. 11:
We understand that the activity of the Aerospace Safety
Research and Data Institute at Lewis will probably be
discontinued. Is this a function that the Technology
Utilization Office night properly take over to provide
an industrial service.
ANSWER:
The ASRDI function, and its relationship with other NASA
programs, including Technology Utilization, are under
evdluation ard no d~ci~inn has yet been reached.
PAGENO="0071"
69
QUESTION NO. l2~
What criteria are applied to an applications project to
determine when is the proper time for marketing?
ANSWR:
Typically, for projects that are classified as commercial
applicatzons engineering projects the Technology Utiliza-
tion Office has started preJiminary marketing surveys to
identify valid market factors, projected needs, and
pertinent technical and economic competitive factors.
In :..ult~HJ.o yc~ir projects roverz3i market studies are
usually dome to revalidate market factors. The commercial
partner with NASA is the best judge of the proper time
to market their potential commercial product. NASA
involvement basically ends with completion of field
evaluation of the applications project.
PAGENO="0072"
70
QUESTION NO. 13:
What kind of progress has been made in technology trans-
fer to small minority-owned businesses?
ANSWER:
As a result of a series of Technology Transfer Conferences
held during 1975 in six major cities, minority firms
were exposed to the data, information and services
available throu~b for the dcvelopment and commerciali-
zation o~ pioducts or processes. The acminars had
certain developiaenthi and experimental aspects in search
of the beet rnethcx9 to facflitate the transfer of NASA
(including other fedsual PeJ;) technology to minority
businesses. As a result of the data and consultation
that was disseminated, it is much too early to determine
whether or not `commercial transfers were achieved.
Attending firms who initiated searches must independently
decide if they wish to incorporate the technical informa-
tion into their business operation.
PAGENO="0073"
71
QUESTION NO. 14:
Is `Scinoff i92~" the 1975 version of the 1974 publication called
"iechiolcr~y U cilization Program Report"?
las, `fi'~-ff~°76" the 1U75 verolon of the 1974 publication
called "Tcchnolo'fr Utilizatthn Procreai Roport". Since 1976 is
the bicentennial year, we broadened the scope of the publication
in Uu~h u J, :coap~aa:~re end a peorecbiwe cease. In that respect,
it diff era from earlier TU Program thports.
PAGENO="0074"
72
QUESTION No. 15:
Can you give us some detail on what measures you will
take to distribute technology through SBA?
ANSWER:
NASA and the Small Business Administration are presently
cooperating, under a one year agreement, in a joint
publication rrogram to disseminate NASA technology to
the smell business community. The purpose of this pro-
gram is primarily to introduce small manufacturing
firms to the publications and services available through
the i~hSA Technology Utilization Program and technical
assistance available from the SEA. Two types of publi-
cations are involved: Compilations of technology, which
are reprints of previously published NASA documents, and
flyers. Approximately 7,500 copies each of two Compi-
lations--Electrical and Electronic Devices and Cornponen~
and Analytical and Test Eguipment--will be mailed in the
near future to small firms identified by SBA. The
flyers will describe technical innovations developed by
NASA, offer Technical Support Packages to enable these
small firms to apply the technology to their own problems,
and provide convenient access to other NASA Technology
Utilization Program publications_-including Tech Brief s--
and services through the use of reader service cards.
These flyers will also be mailed to firms to be chosen
by SBA.
PAGENO="0075"
73
QUESTK)N NO. 1 In our hearings in November, Dr. Lovelace
discus3ed a report by the NASA Research and Technology Advisory
Council Panel on Research on the health of research within NASA.
a) Please provide a detailed summary of the conclusions
and recommendations of this report.
b) Dr. Lovelace stated that one conclusion was a tendency
for the universities' traditional role as a source of innovating
research ideas to be overly inhibited. Describe the steps
NASA is taking to more loosely couple university research
to strengthen their role in providing innovative ideas.
c) Did the Panel Review look at research funded by other
Program Offices or only the research funding by the Office
of Aeronautics and Space Technologfl
d) Does NASA have any plans to review the total research
funded by NASA?
ANSWER a): In its meeting on April 3 and 4, l97b, the Research
and Technology Advisory Council Panel on Research met to consider
sub-panel reports on the health of NASA-OAST Research Programs
and their relationships with universities in three areas: materials,
fluid mechanics, and gas-phase physics and chemistry. On the basis
of the oral reports and discussions, the Panel on Research arrived at
these general findings:
1. The research programs in the three areas studied
are generally sound, but there are weaknesses.
~. The climate for in-house research has improved
since the time the Panel on Research began its
activities 3 or 4 years ago.
a. The improvement is seen in the attitudes of the
researchers themselves.
b. It has resulted from the efforts of senior managers
who perceive and communicate the values in research.
c. The improved climate has compensated for the
tiaum of the early 1970's caused by cuts in research
and elimination of a Research Division in OAST.
PAGENO="0076"
74
2
3. There are wide differences among the research programs
studied in approach, program independence, and university
contacts. In many instances, however, university research
supplements thc in-house programs.
4. There are the well- recognized problems due to limited
budgets and inflation which cut into research programs.
5 rj~~ is general recognition of the need to infuse new
ideas and approaches into the CAST research effort
through the hiring of young engineers and scientists
which Ii in~t been generally possible in recent years
Based on the~c findings and the details of the sub-panel reports, the
Panel recommended that OAST should seek a better balance between
closely-coupled and loosely-coupled (more independent) research.
OAST needs to provide direction and added funds for a suitable program
in independent research that properly complements the in-house programs.
Specific recommendations were as follows
1. OAS'r should retain and strengthen the basic materials
research effort at the Ames Research Center.
2. University researchin fluid mechanics should be
increased and made more independent of direct support
for in-house programs
~ NASA should retain its research program in gas-phase
physics and chemistry which contributes to the entire
corpus of this research in the U. S.
4. Members of the Panel on Research will participate in the
detailed reviews of Center research programs conducted
annually by the OAST Research Council as appropriate.
ANSWER b): Starting with FY 1975, OAST established a separate
fund for supporting loosely-coupled, innovative research which would
be administered by the CAST Research Division and the CAST Research
CouncJ In FY 1975, this fund for independent research amounted to
$300, 000; in FY 1976, the planned amount is $i~ 000, 000; and that level
or slightly higher is scheduled for FY 1977. At the present time, we
rely on unsolicited proposals from universities as the source of ideas
to be supported by this fund.
PAGENO="0077"
75
`3
/
ANSWER c): Tue review conducted by the Panel on Research of
RTAC considered only OAST-funded research,
ANSWER d): Yes, the Agency does review its entire program in
basic research through in-house as well as external advisory groups.
For example, resoarch in the area of space sciences is reviewed and
evaluated through the Space Program Advisory Council, and the Space
Science Board of the National Academy of Science; in Aeronautics and
Space Technology, the basic research program is reviewed by a Research
and Technoloqy Advisory Council panel, the OAST Research Council
and the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board of the National
Academy of Engineering,
PAGENO="0078"
76
QUESTION 2: Dr. Lovelace has stated a long range goal
to expand OAST's space research and technology program.
(a) What time frame has been established to
reach this goal?
(b) Does NASA Senior Management concur with
this goal?
ANS (a) As stated in my testimony, the long range
goals will require expanded space research and technology.
The more specific goal of enhancing future space system
effectiveness by a factor of a thousand is directed
toward a nominal 1990 technology readiness date.
(b) NASA Senior Management is aware of and concurs with
the broad implications of OAST goals. We are currently
generating technology planning alternatives, associated
schedules and costs to accomplish these goals. This
effort should, during this coming year, provide
estimates of future resource needs. These options
will, of course, be evaluated to develop proposed long-
range plans for Agency approval and commitment.
PAGENO="0079"
77
~UESTION No. 3:
What OAST new starts, pr~g:am augmentations etc. were
submitted to upper management of NASA Headqiarters?
Please list with a 3hort description o~ objective, mile-
stonea, aod benefits. Which of these were submitted to
the 0MB?
ANSWER:
The following tablu provides the Space Research and
Technology new initiative proposals 0AS'~' made to NAS
management and which of the pc)posals NAS'~ submitted to
0MB and to Congress. Brief descriptions o~ each proposal
follow the table.
~ P00MB To~ress
P~osed_Prqj~ct FY77 TAC FY71 TAC FY 77 TAC
1. Space Plasma High
Voltage Interaction
Experiment Satelliten
(sPHINX B/C) .8 6.6 .8 6.6 - -
2. Advanced Space Trans-
portation Propulsion
Systems Technology 2.0 6.0 2.0 6.0 - -
3. Long Life Chemical
Propulsion Systems
Technology .7 2.9 .7 2.9 .7 2.9
4. Mukti-Purpose User-
Oriented Softwire
Technology .5 3.8 .5 3.8 .5 3.8
5. Space Technology
Shuttle Payloads
Auqmentation 2.5 Cont. 2.0 Cont. 1.7 Cont.
Total Proposed 6.5 Cont. 6.0 Cont. 2.9 ~
~aiec~. Descri~t ions
1. SPHINX BJC(~A" was lost when Tita~Centau~p~oof flight
failed)
SPHINX B/C would be shuttle launched in December, 1980.
The spacecraft (B and C) would separate when in orbit and
return data for two years sweeping through most of the
earth's electrical fields. The objectives of spacecraft
70-079 0 - 76 - 6
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2.
B would be to obtain design data for (1) high voltage
space power systems, (2) advanced solar cell experiments,
and (3) for advanced solar array experiments. The
objective of spacecraft C would be to demonstrate an
auxiliary ion engine system in terms of spacecraft com-
patibility and its capabilities for long life station
keeping and attitude control missions on geosynchronous
satellites.
2. Advanced Space Transportation Propulsion Systems Technol~gy
The objective is to conduct systems level testing on two
candidate advanced cryogenic tug engines for technology
readiness demonstration by FY 1980.
The justification for this effort is the need for more
reusability and higher performance on future transportation
systems.
3. Long Life Chemical Propulsion Systems Technology
The objective is to demonstrate technology readiness of
high performance, long-life spacecraft propulsion systems
for use on planetary orbital missions starting in 1983.
This project would provide an alternative to the expensive
high technology requirement of upgrading current space-
craft propulsion systems (i.e. Mariner `71/Viking `75)
to their maximum capability to accomplish future planetary
orbiter missions with earth storable propellants (N2 04-MMH).
4. Multi-Purpose User-Oriented Software Techn~logy (MUST)
The objective is to develop a lost-cost, reliable, machine-
independent flight software generation and verification
capability which permits simple use for a wide range of
mission and experiment applications.
Justification is based on cost savings resulting from
moving away from unique software for every project.
5. Space Technology Shuttle Payloads Augmentation
The objective of this proposal is to develop and fabricate
the necessary hardware to conduct research and technology
in space using the Shuttle, Spacelab and free flying space-
craft. This program will provide for a broad array of
space experiments and demonstrations which will be planned,
scheduled and developed. These experiments and demonstra-
tions will result in a more timely flow of technology into
the user realm by using the unique characteristics of space
as a technology laboratory.
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QUESTION No. 4 Have any new concepts for large erectable
rp~ce etructures such as .~olar arrays been identified? What
technology, if any, is needed to enable the construction of
large solar arrays? When can we expect the demonstration of
this technology?
ANSWER: Numerouc concepts for large erectable space structures
have been identified For antennas, variot~s xrdterials and
.~tructural configurations are being evaluated to determine
how best to provide the critical surface accuracie~ required
with large spae ~nternas which must be packaged in minimum
volumes for 1~unch For large aolar array~, urface accuracy
i~ le~ critic-al, roll-out or unfolding (crcepts appear the
most attractive for moderate sizes and erectable modules
for larger a;izes. The technology required for these arrays
is primarily involved in providing the necessary stiffness
in thin panel~; which will permit compact packaging and
developing effective methods for extension or assembly in
orbit. Becau~e of the low density and large size of these
structures, demon-'tration of the technology will require
orbital flight experiments to provide a low gravity environ-
ment. It is anticipated that such experiments will be
appropri~ate in the mid.40's utilizing the Shuttle
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QUESTION No. 5. Is OAST exploring techniques for reducing
the acoustic and vibration levels of payloads in the Space
Shuttle bay? Are any of these techniques being adopted by
th~ Shuttle program~
ANSWER The answer is yes OAST is investigating the
effectiveness of mechanical isolation in reducing the
vibration levels of payloads for the Space Shuttle This
work is being done at the Langley Research Center In
addition at Goddard OAST is studying the possibility of
protecting the noise critical areas of a payload from
acoustic loads by the use of shrouds.
These studies complement OSF studies to reduce the noise
and vibration levels in the payload by attenuating the noise
at the launch pad and by acoustically treating the cargo
bay
All of these studies are based on model tests and
calculations of anticipated noise and vibration levels
within the carqo bay While such calculations are
reasonably accurate in the high frequency range large
errors can result in the frequency range below 150 Hz and
they should be confirmed by experimentation. OAST is
planning to do this by instrumenting a payload known as
LDEF (Long Duration Exposure Facility) which will be flown
on one of the early Shuttle flights and which will permit
acoustic and vibration measurements to. be made throughout
the entire Shuttle exit flight These measurements will
subsequently be used as the basis for design data for
future payloads
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QUESTION NO. 6 - What is the status of the tunable diode
laser for méiiuring atmospheric constituents? Have flight
tests been initiated? When is development of this
instrument for use on satellites planned? What are the
benefits, if any, to be derived from using this technique
for measuring atmospheric constituents as compared to
other techniques in existence or under development?
ANSWER - Tunable diode lasers, operating in a heterodyne
mode, are being used in the laboratory for detailed
measurement of the spectral response of several gases.
The lasers emit radiation over the 4 to 15 micron region
of the spectrum and are capable of detecting gases such as
sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitric acid
(HNO3), nitrogen oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and
ozone (03). The detection of freons and chlorine monoxide
(CLO) radicals is also being investigated. Temperature
compensation techniques for packaging the tunable diode
lasers have been developed and we are now assembling a
breadboard system for flight evaluation. Aircraft flight
tests of a tunable diode laser operating in a passive
heterodyne mode are planned for mid FY 1977.
Development of a laser heterodyne spectrometer using
tunable diode lasers for satellite detection and measurement
of atmospheric constituents will be initiated in FY 1977.
A Shuttle Payload flight experiment to demonstrate this
technology is planned during CY 1981.
Use of the tunable diode laser in a satellite-borne laser
heterodyne spectrometer offers the advantage of remotely
measuring atmospheric constituents from sea level to over
60 kilometers altitude compared to present in-situ methods.
This approach permits rapid, broad area measurements at
costs estimated to be 20 times less than in-situ techniques.
It also permits the detection of atmospheric gases and
pollutants with extremely high specificity because the diode
lasers can be tuned to a unique wavelength for each gas,
thereby, minimizing interference from the spectral signature
of other gases and background noise. In addition, the
tunable diode laser technique provides near real-time
measurements over a full 24 hour period in both the upper
and lower atmospheres.
Other remote measurement techniques such as gas correlation
spectrometry and high speed interferometry are very complex
or require bulky equipment and expensive computers to produce
meaningful data. Passive radar techniques can complement
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2
the laser spectronieter approach by providing remote
measurements in the spectral ranges beyond infrared. The
use of these techniques and developnent of components
operable in the millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths
is under investigation.
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QUESTION NO. 7: It is our understanding that OAST is
~~ting~thé Shuttle Avionics Program with tests as
part of 01½ST's Fly-by-Wire Program. Are these tests
being funded by the Shuttle Program? If not, why isn't
this funding support included as part of the OAST funding
of technology in support of the Shuttle program?
N4SWER:
The portion of OAST's Fly-by-Wire Program that supports
the development of the Shuttle Avionics Program is being
funded by the Shuttle program, and, thus, is not included
as part of the OAST funding outline.
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QUESTI~!~8 - Several programs within NASA have
experiments which require advanced pointing and control
systems. Does OAST serve as the lead office in the
development of these systems? Are the requirements of
the different programs being coordinated to develop a
single systen for all users?
ANSWER - OAST is serving as a focal point for the coordi-
nation of all Shuttle Payload experiment pointing mount
efforts within NASA. The Instrument Pointing System being
developed by the European Space Agency is intended to
serve the majority of user requirements1 though
complementary systems may have to be developed for small
payloads and to meet Earth-pointing requirements. An
experiment pointing mount working group ~ all
interested parties and coordinating with the Shuttle
Payload Requirements and Analysis Group has been
established. User requirements and pointing systems
concepts are ~urrently being evaluated by this group to
develop a coordinated plan for time-phased pointing systems
development.
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QUESTION 9: OAST has been attempting to define a
methodology for measuring the benefit and risks of new
initiatives in research and technology base programs,
a) How successful have you been with these attempts?
b) Has the methodology been critiqued by economic
experts?
c) Have these efforts been helpful in gaining
acceptance of your new initiatives by the 0MB?
ANSWER: a) Our capability has advanced to the point
that we now incorporate analysis of the benefits
as one of several criteria used in assessing the larger
discrete system technology and experimental programs. The
R&T base work, which by its nature is further removed from
application, presents a more difficult problem. While
research is being conducted on potentially applicable
methodology for similar assessment of R&T base activity,
it is too early to judge when or whether such assessment
will be successful.
b) Experts in the areas of program formulation and
economic analysis are now and will continue to be involved
in this work. In addition to in-house staff, consulting
economists from Princeton University, the West Va. College
of Graduate Studies and Econ, Inc., have assisted us during
the past year.
c) In the case of the experimental programs and
system technology such analyses have proven useful in
refining, evaluating and advocating proposals at various
decision levels including the 0MB. It should be noted,
however, that these analyses are by no means the sole
criteria for decision.
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QUESTION 10: Please provide a breakdown of the major tasks
being funded from the systems studies program in FY 1976
and the major tasks planned for funding in FY 1977.
ANSWER: During FY 1976 the Space Systems Studies support
are directed toward:
1. For Future Earth-to-Orbit Transportation
identifying, particularly for single-stage-to-orbit
concepts the attendent, enabling technology and its
benefits cost and risk in achieving an order-of-
magnitude reduction in cost.
2. For Earth Application Satellites ---- information
system improvement candidates thru determining
long range technology requirements, performance
and cost sensitivities. Future Landsat and
Seasat systems are currently being studied.
3. For Future Planetary Mission Concepts ---- studies
of sample return from planetary bodies, solar-
sailing missions, and nuclear-electric powered
automated, planetary laboratories".
4. For Shuttle and Future Payloads ---- data system
requirements to determine end-to-end software
and hardware needs, limitations and high potential
technologies.
5. For Potential Long-Range Research ---- Search for
Extraterrestrial Intelligence Feasibility Study
includes the generation of a rationale and proposed
program for a national commitment to such a search.
These efforts will continue into FY 1977 with some change
of emphasis. Additionally, consideration is being given
to studies of libration point utilization, extra-solar
probe mission technology, earth orbital transfer techniques
and an automated station at synchronous orbit for earth
applications.
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QUESTION No. 11 - What major structural components are being
considered for laboratory testing in the Composites for the
Advanced Transportation Systems program? Will any of these
components be full-scale? If so, is the design such that
they can be easily accommodated for flight testing'?
ANSWER The components being considered include the Shuttle
elevons and body flap It is planned to select one compon-
ent for design and fabrication of a full-scale laboratory
test article One advantage of using a full-scale primary
control surface is that it could be substituted on the
Shuttle orbiter for flight testing with minimum impact on
the vehicle Such flight testing is not now included in
the program plan, however
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QUESTION No 12
Please describe the accomplishments of the Low Cost Systems
Program
ANSWER
Standard equipment efforts have primarily focused on the
needs of large L~arth Orbital missions As of December 1,
1975 fifteen flight hardware standard components have been
established for multi-mission spacecraft use These items
range from a simple pyrotechnic initiator to a very complex
transponder The standards are made known to potential users
through a Catalog of Available and Standard Hardware (CASH)
A major LCSO accomplishment involved the definition of a
multi-mission spacecraft bus for large earth orbital missions
This approach which has been accepted in the Agency is planned
for initial implementation under the Solar Maximum Mission
proposed in the FY 1977 Budget and for future new start
~rograms which come within this category En addition
improved program and business practices approaches are being
developed to achieve lower cost within the Agency
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3UhSTION No. 13
hi the FY 1976 NASA authorization hearings new lower gost
nethods of testing, reliability, and quality assurance were
dLScUssed as part of the Low Cost Systems Program. Please
describe in more detail these new lower cost methods~
ANSWER
Investigations are presently being conducted to determine the
relative cost effectiveness of testing at the component,
subsystem and system level. These studies are expected to
result in the development of a standard test specification.
The objective of the analysis of reliability and quality
assurance criteria is expected to result in a decrease
in the R&QA requirements imposed by NASA on its contractors.
It is believed that a reasonable decrease in R&QA requirements
can be achieved without a degradation in the confidence level
and with attendant savings in total program costs.
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QUESTION No. 14
Has the Low Cost Systems Office assessed the impact of
spacecraft retrieval and in orbit servicing on experiment
costs.
ANSWER
No, however, conceptual studies conducted by other elements
of NASA have consistently indicated cost benefits for both
retrieval and in orbit servicing approaches. This assessment
is being continued to determine the most cost effective operat-
ing mode.
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QUESTION No. 15
What is being done or planned to assure that the stan-
dardized equipment developed by the Low Cost Systems
Program is being planned for use to the extent possible
by all payload pro~ams.
ANSWER
An Agency policy has been established which requires new
projects to utilize declared standards or request a waiver
to use other equipment. The primary criteria for granting
waivers is lower cost although schedules and technical re-
quirements are considered. In addition, the Low Cost Systems
Office reviews candidate projects to ensure that available
standard equipment is considered and used, where feasible.
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QUESTION No. 16
How much of the effort in th~ Low Cost Systems Program
is in support of Spacelab payloads?
ANSWER
Spacelab payloads will be supported by our Program
Practices effort. Since improved practices will be
implemented for all NASA programs the development of
Spacelab Payloads, as well as other NASA projects, will
benefit from the cost effective changes from prior prac-
tices. In addition, about half of the experiment packages
standardization effort will be in support of Spacelab Pay-
loads.
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QUESTION No. 17:
Please list the OAST new starts, program augmentations
etc. which are included in the FY 77 budget requests.
ANSWER:
The new 1~iitiat1ves included in the OAST Space Research
and Technology Budget request are as follows:
o Multi-Purpose User-Oriented Software Technology
o long Life Chemical Propulsion Systems Technology
o Space Technology Shuttle Payloads Augmentation
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QUESTION 18 Has OAST attempted to assess the benefits
if any, which the capabilities of the Space Shuttle and
Spacelab will provide for your space research and
technology programs?
ANSWER: OAST will use the Shuttle/Spacelab systems for
in-space research and technology investigations under any
of the following conditions:
1. The environment of space is mandating for the
experiments (ground base simulation is not
possible or satisfactory).
2. Investigations in space are shown to be the cost
effective approach.
3 In-space demonstration will accelerate the
acceptance of new technologies by a large number
of ultimate systems operations. More detailed
evaluations of the benefits of experimentation in
space versus on the ground are planned on an
experiment by experiment basis.
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QUEST1Op :~, 19. OAST has received some criticism in the
past for expending more effort in support of the programs
of the Office of Space Flight than in support of the Office
of Applicr~tions and the Office of Space Science. What steps
have been taken to improve this situation? What percentage
of your program supports each of the other Program Offices
(OA, OSS, OTDA, OSf~ etc.)?
ANSWER: The proposed OAST program for FT 1977 has been
analysed to determine the breakout for the NASA Program
Office supoortcd. In such an analysis some parts of the
program support sore than one Program Office. For example,
the technology for an extended life altitude control system
for an OSS application would also have part of the technology
in common with an OA requirement and the portion of the
technology Judged to apply is charged to the OA breakdown.
In like mennor the entire program has been reviewed and
the totul dollars for each Program Office is added together
and divided by the total OAST space technology proposed
budget to obtain percentages. When this is done the
resultino percentages total approximately 123 percent
(synergism)
Using this method the following percentages by Program
Office supported is obtained:
of FT 77
Proposed Budget
Office of App) ications 33.0
Office of Space Science 36.6
Office of Space Flight 36.7
New Mission Capabilities* 17.0
*Research that, if successful, will open
up new capabilities beyond the scope of
programs currendy envisioned.
As you will note the tpchnology supports the three major
NASA Program Offices almost equally.
Several years ago the Space Technology Coordinating Office
was established to identify the most critical technology
requirements of the other Program Offices and to coordinate
the OAST programs with the other Program Offices. Improving
coordination and understandings between the offices has
helped to balance the OAST program support between the major
Program Offices.
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QUESTION No. 20: In the November Fl 1977 Authorization
hearings dual mode propulsion was discussed. What are
the major differences between dual mode propulsion and
mixed-mode propulsion? What are the advantages and dis-
advantages of these two propulsion modes?
ANSWER: The term "mixed mode propulsion" refers to a con-
cept in which a vehicle carries two fuels on board (liquid
hydrogen and a high density fuel like PP-I) that are burned
with one oxidizer (liquid oxygen). Ideally, the high density
fuel is first burned to completion with part of the oxygen
and then the rest of the oxygen is burned with the hydrogen.
The advantage of this concept is that for a given payload
delivery capability, the resulting vehicle is much smaller
and lighter than one designed for either oxygen/hydrogen or
for oxygen/RP-l. Since vehicle size and weight are a measure
of cost, a mixed mode vehicle will have correspondingly lower
recurring and non-recurring costs compared to the much larger
bipropellant designs. The mixed mode propulsion concept is
especially attractive for very large vehicles such as a
single-stage-to-orbit.
The term "dual mode propulsion" has also been used on occasion
to refer to tne same basic conept.
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QUESTION 21: When are the current studies on advanced
earth-orbital transportation systems scheduled for
completion? What is the level of funding for these
studies?
ANSWER: Current studies of Future Earth-to-Orbit
Transportation at Langley Research Center are planned at
least through FY 1977 and possibly to continue further
as a sustaining study effort. The contracted studies with
Martin and Boeing at about $200K each, are scheduled
for completion June 1976. Contract extensions are being
negotiated at approximately $l2OK each to explore varia-
tions from the LOX/Hydrogen baseline configuration. The
principal variation is based on the use of high pressure,
high density propellants for dual fuel engine systems.
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QUESTION 22 What is the anticipated reduction in the cost
of ownership of an advanced earth orbital transportation
system such as the single-stage--to-orbit concept?
ANSWER: The cost savings associated with the utilization
of a SSTO vehicle is not known at this tine but is being
addressed in the current studies of vehicle concepts by
NASA and industry Initial results of these studies will
be available next year Forecasts have been made that
predict as much as an order of magnitude cost saving
potential
It is anticipated that the SSTO launch vehicle will
reduce both operational and investment costs Operating
costs will be reduced by eliminating launch site assembly
operations Further reductions are anticipated from
appreciable savings in operations and spare part require-
ments Investment costs will be reduced because fleet
size requirements will come down significantly for any
given traffic model. This reduction is attributable to
an increase in flight time availability per launch
vehicle deriving from the gains in ground launch and
preparation time.
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QUESTION NO. 23 - Does OAST have any plans in the near
future to prepare a flight experiment to demonstrate the
use of lasers for communications?
ANSWER - OAST has no firm plan for testing laser communi-
cations in a flight experiment at this time. Our proposed
Laser Information Transfer Experiment to test a C02 laser
communication link in a joint program with the Air Force
was deleted from the FY 1977 program due to limited funds
and relative program priorities. We are continuing
development of the C02 laser transceiver as part of our
technology program and will propose to demonstrate it as
a Shuttle Payload flight experiment in the 1980 time frame.
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QUESTION No ?i~ How much of the effort of hedt pipe
coobng techniques is devoted to heat pipes that will
operate at cryogenic temperatures?
ANSWER In re~por e to the neede for cryogenic heat
pipe identified at the OAST summer work~hop, both the
technology for ~nd the flight demon~tration of cryogenic
heat pipe are being eirphasized In FY 76, ~`ity percent
of our heat pipe program will be devoted to cryogenic
heat pipe In FY 77 the cryogenic heat pipe erea will be
over ~O% of the heat pipe program.
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QUES~ION NO. 25 - Please discuss the potential of passive
radar techniques for stratospheric remote gas/pollutant
detection and measurement. What is the time frame required
for this technol'ogy to mature?
ANSWER - Passive radar techniques offer the potential for
highly sensitive detection and measurement of gases and
pollutants in the upper regions of the atmosphere and the
stratosphere (30 to 130 kilometers). Systems operating
at microwave frequencies, e.g. 0.001 to 30 gigahertz, have
very limited use for this application because most gas
sources radiate at frequequemcies in excess of 150 gigahertz.
Millimeter and submillimeter components and systems offer
the possibility of extending passive detection capabilities
to frequencies as high as 800 gigahertz. In these regions,
many gases radiate naturally and system studies indicate
detection to sensitivities of 0.01 parts per billion are
possible. Thus, passive radar techniques using very short
wavelength components offer the potential for detection of
minute quantities of gases such as are expected to be
encountered in the stratosphere, and extend the spectrum
of coverage from the optical and infrared frequencies of
laser sources into the upper regions of the microwave
frequencies.
Successful utilization of passive radar techniques requires
the development of antennas, receivers, local oscillators
and mixers capable of operation at millimeter and sub-
millimeter frequencies. Limited component development at
the lower end of these frequencies has been initiated.
System tests with these components in a laboratory or
aircraft environment should be feasible in 1 to 2 years
with flight qualified systems following in an additional
3 to 5 years. Development of components and systems at the
upper extremes of the submillimeter band have not yet been
initiated and will require a significant technical effort.
An estimated 5 to 7 years from the inception of component
development will be required to bring systems to operational
readiness in this frequency region.
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QUESTION No 26 In the Budget book discussion of low cos
solid propulsion an improved version of the interim upper
stage (IUS) is nentioned In what context should we view
this concept? Does NASA anticipate it will require an
improved version of the interim upper state?
ANSWER: One element of the OAST solid propulsion technology
program has been focused for several years on higher per-
formance, low cost solid motors designed for use on small
earth escape ctages for planetary missions With the
advent of the solid propellant.IUS, much of this technology
along with other technologies being advanced by DOD can b4
incorporated in the I1~S design to provide maximum performaz~ce
canability
Those advanced technologies not quite ready may be introduc~ed
at a later date as a. product improvement program to provid~
improved capability if it is cost effective to do so
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QIJESi ION NO. 0 What additional funds would be required to
proniol the cody Lpplication of nuclear electric propulsion to future
NASA YfliO5iOlLO?
ANSWER: Appilci Lion of nuclear electric propulsion to NASA
tb oJ9O; requires initiation of a development program
for uuch~r rook r power system in the early 1980's. For proper
executk n of d(Velopment program, the proper technological
basio most first be .;tablished through an expanded research and
toennoijy proqroin. Currently funded programs contributing to the
technok gy base include efforts on solar-electric propulsion, Brayton-
cycle power conversion, heat-pipe technology, ther.mionic power con-
version reso~rcli, md space nuclear power systems analysis. Additional
efforts are required, however, particularly in the areas of heat-pipes,
thermie~ Pc converters, fuel materials, and systems design analysis,
leodina k demonstration test (non-nuclear) of all elements of a
typic~d power conversion module in the early 1980's prior to commit-
ment t development program. These additional efforts would require
more funds, mpprooirnutely $1 M in FY 1977 and a total of $15 M -$17 M
throup~ FY 19ii1
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QUESTION No 28 In the November hearings OAST provided
a list of advanced propulsion concepts which are under
study. For each of these concepts, what level of manpower
and funds is being expended in FY 1976 and what level of
nanpower and funds is planned for FY 1977? What additional
funds would be required to accelerate methods for determinir~g
the feasibility of these advanced concepts'
ANSWER Funding and manpower being expended in FY 1976 andj
that planned for FY 1977 for the advanced propulsion conceptis
under study in OAST are listed below along with additional
funds that could be used where appropriate to accelerate
prograns towards determining concept feasibility Where no
additional funds are listed it is felt that the work is
progressing at a suitable rate and additional resources
would not significantly accelerate the program.
The funding levels vary considerably between concepts, depending
on the type of work being performed Some of these more
advanced concepts are in the theoretical study phase which
is performed under university grants and requires a low leve~
of resources expenditure at this time. When the research moVes
into the experimental phase, such as nuclear electric propul
sion, gaseous core nuclear reactor research, and atomic and
rietallic hydrocen expenditures for materials equipment and
test support become much greater as the listed funding level~
indicate
Additior~al
FY 1976 FY 1977 FY 1977
Conce~ $K MYS $K MYS
Nuclear Electric 1000 10 1000 10 1000
Propuls ion
Solar Sailing 50 1 * * -
Laser Propulsion 150 2 150 2 100
Gaseous Core 1000 2 1000 2 400
Nuclear Engine
Atomic and 500 20 500 20 -
Metallic
Hydrogen
High Pressure 65 1 65 1 50
Hydrogen Storacie
in Solids
PAGENO="0107"
FY 1976
___ $K MYS
Excited State 50
Helium
Magnetic Field/ 15 0.5
Electrically
Conducting
Fluid Inter-
actions
*Fy 1977 resource allocation will depend on the results of the
FY 1976 study.
105
-2-
QUESTION No. 28 (Cont'd.)
FY 1977
~ MYS
50 1
15 0.5
Additional
FY 1977
$K
50
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QUESTION NO 29 - Which of the more than 200 experiments
i~a7T~in the summer workshop have been selected for
fundinq~
ANSWFR
The experiments which have been selected for definitionl
studies in FY 76 are listed below by title. These studies.
will icsult in the determination of the feasibility of the
proposcd e>periment the justification for doing it in
space and the techniLal and programmatic recruirements to
develop and im~1oment the experiment At the completion of
the study, a determination will be made for continuing the
effort to the dcvclopmLnt and implementation phase
1 The Orbiter Research and Technology Experiments
Program which currently includes four experiment study
forts
a Development Flight Instrumentation data anaiys4
b Lee-side heating
c. Windward-side heating
d ~ir data system
2. The Atmospheric Sensing Module which includes:
-i Laser FJeterodyne Experiment
b. Microwave Radiometer Experiment
3 The Modulir Instrument Pointing Technology Laborato~y
which is ~ facility that accommodates these experiments
a Video Guidance Technology Experiment
b Annular Suspension System Demonstration
4. Propulsion Contamination Effects Module
5. Ion Thruster Exhaust Plume and Efflux Characteriza-.
tion Experiment
6 Cryogenic Propellant Management Module
7 Super-fluid Helium Cryogenic Properties in Zero-gravity
8 Column Density Monitor
9 Large Space Structure Experiment
10. Advanced Concept Heat Pipe Experiments
PAGENO="0109"
107
QUESTION No. 30. Provide a breakdown of the supporting
research and technology OAST is providing to the Shuttle
program in FY 1976; in FY 1977.
ANSWER:
FY76 FY77
Chemical Propulsion 0.5 -
Entry 2.9 2.8
Materials 1.0 0.8
Structures 1.4 1.0
5.8 4.6
PAGENO="0110"
108
Question No. l.a. NASA has submitted or plans to submit
several Program Development Plans to ERDA including:
a) Solar heating and Cooling Development for Demonstration
For this Program Development Plan provide the following
information:
1) When was the PDP submitted to ERDA?
2) What objectives and milestones were established in the
PDP?
3) How much manpower was requested for FY 76 and FY 77?
Were reimbursable R&PM funds requested for this manpower?
4) How much R&D funding was requested far FY 76 and FT 77?
5) To what sector of ERDA was the PDP submitted?
6) What, if any, has been the respofls* from ERDA? When did
the response take place? If none, when is response
anticipated?
7) How much manpower and funding has ERDA agreed or planned~
to provide for FY 76 and FY 77?
8) What objective and milestones in the PDP has ERDA agreed
to support?
Answers:
1) The PDP was originally submitted to ERDA in April 1975. -.
was later revised to reflect funding changes and resubm:
in September 1975.
2) The primary objective of the Development Program is to
develop cost-effective, reliable, and acceptable solar
heating and coolinq for use in the demonstration programs.
More detailed objectives were to:
a) Support the demonstration of residential and comeercial
solar heating and cooling systems. These will be both
retrofit and new applications and will be demonstrated in
the various U.S. Climatological regions.
b) Initiate the long-range development effort to support
large-scale applications and demonstrations in the next dec
c) Develop analytical tools, system analysis, and design
analysis techniques by which technical judgements can be ma4e
on the developmental and operational testing program.
d) Provide special design guidelines, standards, and criteria
for technical performance specifications, qualification,
testing, and manufacture of solar heating and cooling hard~
ware components, subsystems, and systems.
PAGENO="0111"
109
2
2) e) Support the overall development of a viable and
competitive solar heating and cooling industrial and
commercial capability in the United States.
Th~ major milestones were:
a)!Release requests for proposals in five technical areas.
October 15, 1975.
b) Award contracts in five areas March to June 1976.
c) Complete test facilities at MSFC - August 1976.
3) NA~$A requested 54 equivalent manyears of effort in FY 1976
ar~ 58 manycars in FY 1977. In both years, reimbursable
ft4ids were requested (same level in Transit. Quarter).
4) Ir~FY 1916 the funding request was $S.SM, in PY 1977 it
w ~ $9.OM ($2.SM in Transit. Quarter).
5) Th~ PD? was submitted to the Solar Energy Division under
th~ Assistant Administrator for Solar, Geothermal, and
Ad~ranced Energy Systems.
6) Ar~ Interagency Agreement was signed by ERDA and NASA on
October 8, 1975. It was based on the revised PD? and made
E~A FY 1976 funds available to N~SAS
7) Ir~ FY 1976 F;RDA has provided reimbursable funding authority
of~ $5.5M and agreed to 54 manyears equivalent level of
efIort. In FY 1977 ERDA has tentatively agreed to support
our request for $9.OM o- reimbursable funding authority and
a ~8 manyear equivalent level of effort.
8) Th~y have ajreed to support all the milestones and objectives
inj the PDP, contingent on receiving their planned future
buj~gets.
70-079 0 - 76 - 8
PAGENO="0112"
110
Question No. Lb. NASA has submitted or plans to submit
several Program Development Plans tO ERDA including:
b) Photovoltaics
For this Program Development Plan provide the following
information:
1) When was the PDP submitted to ERDA?
2) What objectives and milestones were established in
the PDP?
3) How much manpower was requested for FY 76 and FY 77?
Were reimbursable R&PM funds requested for this
manpower?
4) How much R&D funding was requested for FY 76 and F! 77?
5) To what sector of ERDA was the PDP submitted?
6) What, if any, has been the response from ERDA? When
did the response take place? If none, when is
response anticipated? . S
7) How much manpower and funding has ERDA . agreed or
planned to provide for FY 76 and F? 77? .* S
8) What objective ~mnd milestones in the PDP has ERDA
agreed to support? . . S
Answers:
NASA is supporting the ERDA Solar Photovoltaic Energy Con~
version Program in two prOject areas:
lb(1) Low Cost Silicon solar Array pro~eet (JPL) (advanced
production technology so that co8te of solar cell arrays
can be reduced to competitive `levels).
lb(2) Photovoltaic Test and DemOflettatiOfl project (LeRC)
* (complementary effort requiring the development and
testing of concepts for integration of the solar cel]. " ` `I
arrays stemming from, the JPL project into a variety of . .*.
practical terrestrial applications).
Answers to the eight questions are provided separately for these
two project areas as follows: .
* lb(l) Low Cost Silicon Solar Array Project (.WL)
(1) November 20, 1974 (to NSF) PDP
(2) The primary objective is to aeve].op, by 1985, the
technological and industrial capability to produce silicon
solar photovoltaiC arrays at a rate of more than 500 mega~..
watts per year at a cost of less than $0.50 per peak watt':"~
(constant 1974 dol lars) .
By 1980, demonstrate the technical feasibility of
the primary goal.
PAGENO="0113"
111
2
To achieve the above, the following intermediate
objectives must be accomplished:
(a) Develop a jrocess for obtaining solar cell quality
raw silicon material at a cost of less than $35 per
kilogram.
(b) Develop and demonstrate automated processes for
producing simple crystal silicon sheets.
(C) Develop and demonstrate automated processes for
the complete fabrication of solar cells into array
systems.
(d) Develop encapsulation materials and techniques for
arrays with a design operating life time greater than
20 years.
(e) Develop a capability and produce single crystaL
silicon cells for tests of 200 KW, 400 KW, and 600 KW
systems with decreasing unit coat goals (subsequently
changed to increasing annual procurements of solar
cell arrays) as follows:
Fiscal Year Q~antit~
1976 170KW
1977 150KW
1978 270KW
1979 510KW
1980 1,010KW
1981 2,000KW
1982 3,000KW
1983. , 4,000KW
(3) . Reimbursable JPL Man~er irernents -
~anyears Ray. I4ànyears.
!4i~~L O~jna3~,~D~ p~y 1976 ~
1976 & 76T 35"' 48
1977 To be `identified in FY 1977 AOP
(approximately 8/76)
(4) * $M.' . . $M .
Fiscal Year Origin~PbP Revised FY 76 A0P'.,"'.'~
1976 & 76T 24.5 ,": . 22.3
1977 To be identified in FY 1977 AOP (approx~
8/76)
(5) The PDP was sent to NSF Pró~~~t was transferred to
ERDA when established. SUb*~jUentFY 1.976 Annual ,.
Operating Plan was sent to Di~jsion of Solar Energy
Research, ERDA. " ``
PAGENO="0114"
112
3
(6) ERDA approved initial PDP on January 17, 1975.
ERDA approved revised AOP on December 12, 1975.
(7) Negotiations for FY 1976 manpower and funding are
only partially accomplished. It is anticipated
that ERDA will provide support as follows:
Approximate Approximate
Fiscal Year Man~ear8~ Funding,~$M
1976&76T 48 15
1977 * *
* Nego~iátiOn5 for FY 1977 manpower and funding to begin
approx4mately August 1976.
(~) ERDA has approved the objectives and milestones as
presented in the PD? and subsequent detail for the
FY 1976 Annual Operating Plan.
lb(2) Photovoltaic Test and Demonstration Project (LeRC)
(~) Draft POP submitted to NSF November 6, 1974.
FY 1975 Annual Operating Plan (AOP) submitted March 5,
1975. FY 1976 AOP submitted January 9, 1976.
(2) This has been a dynamic process. Detail objectives,
milestones, and funding needS are strongly dependent
on the prior definition of the complementary Low Cost
Silicon Solar Array project at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. These are now in negotiation with ERDA. *
Major objectives are: .
(a) Determine operating characteristics for a variety .~
of photovoltaic convetaioit'BYstelfl* and sub5yStM$.:~
Confirm by tests and demOfl$tratiofl$ that these
systems can satisfy potentially attractive appli~;
cations having National impact.
(b) Insure availability of reliable test methods arid.
univeristy participants in the ERDA National
Photovoltaic Conversion program.
(c) Determine the endurance of solar cell modules, and
module materials under bOth accelerated and real-
time environmental conditiOns of intended use.
(3) NASA manpower requirements* ares
Fl 1976 - 26 manyeare
Fl 1976T - 12 manyear$ .~.
Fl 1977 - approximately SOrnanysara
*reimbursable from ERDA
PAGENO="0115"
113
4
(4) FY 1976 -` $2.106M
rv 1976r - 678M
t\ 1977 $3-4M (present estimate)
(,) Draft £(W was sent to NSF Project was transferred
to LRDA when ~stab1ished Subsequent APO modifica-
tions ~nL to DLvision of Solar Energy, ERDA
(6) I~Y 197j Aol approved by ERDA on May 15, 1975 PY 1976
AOP in neqotiation (approval expected by mid-February
1976)
(7) Negotiations for FY 1976 manpower and funding support
are in proccss It is anticipated that ERDA will
provide support as followas
Fis~a1 Year Macyears Funding, $M
1976 26 2 106
1976r 12 678
1977 Approximately Approximately
50 3-4M
(8) ERDA has approved major objectives as presented in
rv 1976 AOl Detail milestones are in process of
negotiation
PAGENO="0116"
114
Question No. l.c. NASA has submitted or plans to submit
several Program Development Plans to ERDA including:
Wind Energy
For th i_s Progr~tm Dcvelopmont Plan provide the following
information:
1) When was the E~DP submitted to ERDA?
2) What objectives and milestones wore established in the
POP?
3) 110w much manpower wa:3 requested for FY 76 and FY 77?
Were reimbura~th1e R~PM fund3 requested for this manpower?
4) How much R~D fundinj was requested for F'? 76 and F? 77?
5) To what s~cLor 01 ERDA was the PDP submitted?
6) What, if any, he; bo~'u the response from ERDA? When did
the rCspQn3e Lake p lace? (L none, when is response
anticipated?
7) 11o~i much eln~u).fe r and lund i nj has ERDA agreed or planned
to provide l:or "f /( and F'? 77?
8) What object. `i lea_eaca in the POP hts ERDA agreed
to fUpl)Ort?
Answers:
1) December 19, 1974 (to NSF)
2) Develop the technology for practical, cost competitive wind
generator systems that can be used for supplying significant
amounts of energy to help meet the Nation's energy needs.
The milestones were:
a) 100KW (MOD-0) machine in operation at Plum Brook Station
in early F? 1976.
b) Improved 100KW (~10D-0) machine in operation at some
suitable site (optional) last quarter of F? 1976.
c) First of several contractor designed 100KW sized (MOD-i)
machines in operation in first quarter F? 1978.
d) First contractor-designed megawatt~sized machine (MOD~l)
in operation first quarter F? 1978.
e) Advanced (MOD-2) machines in operation mid-F? 1979
3) NASA Manppwer ReciuirelnentS
F? 1976 & 1976T - 25 manyears
F'? 1977 - 21 manyears
Reimbursable funds were not requested. for NASA manpower at
time POP was submitted. ERDA is reimbursing all NASA man-
power costs starting in FY 1976.
PAGENO="0117"
115
2
4) Original Present Goal
FY 1976 $6 SM $8M
F? 1977 $5 4M $ØM
5) PDP1 was sent to NSI I zoject was transferred to ERDA when
est~iblished SubsLqucnt IDP modifications and updates sent
to Division of Solar Energy Research, ERDA.
6) PDP was approved by N'F on January 22, 1975 (subsequently
transferred to LRDA)
7) Neg~tiations for F? 1976 manpower and funding support are
in j~ocess It is antt~ipated that ERDA will provide
support as follows: .**.
Approximate Approximate
_Manyears Funding~. $11
1? 1976 & F? 1)76 1 27 8
IV 1977 (Estxmatcd) 24 8
8) ER~A has approvcd objcLtives and milestones as presented in
PDP~ and subsequ~nt th.tn~l F? 1976 Annual Operating Plans
(AOP)
PAGENO="0118"
116
Question No. l.d. NASA has submitted or plans to submit
several Program Development Plans to ERDA including:
Solar Heating and Cooling Advanced Research and Technology.
For this Program Development Plan provide the following
information:
1) When was the PDP submitted to ERDA?
2) What objectives and milestones wore established in the
P1W?
3) How much manpower was requested for FY 76 and FY 77?
Were reimbureabth R&PM funds requested for this manpower?
4) flow much R~1) fundin(J was requested for F? 76 and FY 77?
5) To what sector ot ERDA was the POP submitted?
6) What, if any, has been the response from ERDA? When did
the response take place? If none, when is response
anticipated?
7) 11ev much sanlewe:: an.t lunding has ERDA agreed or planned
to provide br F? 7e and F? 77?
8) What objcti.va ant :.i.lontoncs in the POP has ERDA agreed
to support?
Answers:
1) The PD? was submitted to ERDA in March 1975, then revised
and resubmitted to ERDA?
The answers to questions 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 are not available
until negotiations with ERDA have been completed.
5) It was submitted to the Assistant Administrator for Solar
Energy, Geothermal, and Advanced Energy Systems.
6) There has been no formal response from ERDA, but since H
December 1975, there have been active discussions with ERDA.
concerning the role of the Lewis Research Center in this
program. We anticipate a formal NASA~-ERDA agreement in this
area by March 1976.
PAGENO="0119"
117
Question ~1o. i.e. NASA his submitted or plans to submit
several irogram D&~ve1.opiiient Plans to ERDA including;
Solar Heating ani Cooling Commercial Building Demonstration
Program Management
For this Program Development Plan provide the following
information:
1) When was the PDP submitted to ERDA?
2) What objectives and milestones were established in the
PDI~?
3) 110w much manpower was requested for FY 76 and FY 77?
Were reimbursable R&PM funds requested for this manpower?
4) How much R&D funding was requested for FY 76 and PY 77?
5) To what st~ctor of CIDA was the POP submitted?
6) What, if any, has boon the response from ERDA? When.did
the respQn:;e take place? If none, when is response
artt~cipated'?
7) How much manpowor and funding has ERDA agreed or piannea
to puovida lw: IV 76 and FY 77?
8) What objeli.ve wi lilc~itones in the POP has ERDA agreed
to :;uppurL2
Answers:
1) This program was not preceded by a PDP but was initiated oA
the basis of an FY 1976 Operating Plan submitted by NASA to
ERDA on December ii, 1975. A formal Program Plan will be sub~
mitted to ERDA in February 1976.
2) The FY 1976 Operating Plan has as its objective the support
of ERDA's Commercial Solar Heating and Cooling Demonstration
Program. Initially, NASA will evaluate proposals received by
ERDA, assist in negotiation of contracts to be signed by ERDA,
then manage the resulting program.
The Operating Plan milestones are to have the Program Plan
approved by February 12, have the initial proposals evaluated
by February, and to complete negotiations with contractors
selected by ERDA in May 1976.
3) Sixteen equivalent manyears of effort were requested in
FY 1976 and 55 in IV 1977. All of the funds for this manpower
were to be reimbursable.
4) Since ERDA is funding the contracts under this program, NASA
only requested funds to reimburse manpower and other direct
program Support at MSFC. $600K was requested for FY 1976 and
$3.2M in F? 1977.
PAGENO="0120"
118
2
5) Th~ FY 1976 Opratlncj Plan was submitted to the Division
of Sour lnerq~, under the Assistant Administrator for Solar,
(~..oth rmal md Advdri~cd F~nergy Systems
6) An Interagency Agreement was signed by NASA and ERDA on
~Decemh~r i~ 1~7~ int~-i~ting the program It included the
Operating P1 ~n I or I V 1)11 and made the requested FY 1976
funds ~vai1abh to NA5A
7) ERDA has piovidcd rt~irnbursable funding authority of $600K
and agx~ed to i 16 nranyca~ equivalent level of effort in
FY 19Th IRDA has tcnt~itively agreed with our $3 2M request
for FY 1977 at an equivalcnt manyear level of effort of 55,
contingent upon furth.r dcfinition of the program plans and
receipt of their planned budget
8) ERDA has acjrced to support all the ob]ectives and mile~
Stones in the FY 1976 Op'.rating Plan, contingent on further
definition in the I rogram Plan to be ready in February and
on recciving thcit planncd budget
PAGENO="0121"
119
Question No. l.f. NASA has submitted or plans to submit
several Program Development Plans to ERDA including:
Solar Thcrmal Electric
For this Program Development Plan provide the following
information:
1) When was the POP submitted to ERDA?
2) What objectives and milestones were established in the
POP?
3) How much manpower was requested for FY 76 and FY 77?
Were reimbur~;ab1.u R&PM funds requested for this manpower?
4) How much R&D fundinq was requested for FY 76 and FY 77?
5) To what sector of ERDA was the PDP submitted?
6) What, if any, has been the response from 1~RDA? When did
the response take place? If none, when is response
ant.Lcipated?
7) How m'tch manpower and funding has ERDA agreed or planned~'~
to provicic br lY 7' and L'Y 77?
8) Wh~i L objt:cI. LV~ ted fl LieS tones in the PD? has ERDA agreed
to WppotL?
Answers:
1) Preliminary POP submittal to ERDA was on December 18, 1975
(combined JPL and LeRC effort).
2) Objectives were to verify by test the component, subaysts*,
and system technology for advanced distributed collector solar
thermal electric powel plants based on existing space~derived
technology.
3) faflXears
~eRC ____
F? 1976 and F? 1976T 6.4 10.0 16.4
F? 1977 12.0 5.0 17.0
Reimbursable funds were requested for ~PL and
LeRC manpower in F? 1977. NASA offered to nrovide LeRC
manpower in F? 1976 and F? 1976T.
4) Dollars j~n~.Thousands
FY 1976 532
FY 1976T 176
FY 1977 1,570
PAGENO="0122"
120
2
5) Preliminary PDP was submitted to Sola.r Thermal Electric
Branch, ERDA.
6) Response anticipated by March 1976, per telecon with
Chief, Solar Thermal Electrjc Branch, ERDA.
The answers to questions 7 and 8 are to be determined at a
later date.
PAGENO="0123"
121
Question No. 2. NASA has submitted or plans to submit
several Program Development Plans to ERDA including:
Surface Propulsion
For this Program Development Plan provide the following
information:
1) When was the PDP submitted to ERDA?
2) What objectives and milestones were established in the
PDP?
3) Row much ru~inpo~er W~iS requested for Fl 76 and Fl 77?
Were I reir1bur~l)io It~PM tunds requested for this manpower?
4) How much It~1) tUfl(lifl(J wan requested for Fl 76 and Fl 77?
5) To what scetor of tRDA was the PDP submitted?
6) Wh~tt~ if wy, h~; b0h the response from ERDA? When did
the respon~e take plaee? It none, when is response
an I.. i ~ Ipt t:td?
7) How ~ ii i wcr md Iundi n:j has k~1~DA agreed or planned
to pCC)Vid' er: I:Y /6 dOd lY 77?
U) Wh~t: obje:;. Lv~ mt ni I r';l:ouer; in the l'DI' has ERDA agreed
to .;uppot'L?
Answers:
A) Advanc~d Automotive Gas Turbines
1. Submitted November 21, 1975.
The answers to questions 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 are not available
until negotiations with EF(DA have been completed.
5. As~istant Administrator for Conservation
6. No formal response. Discussions with representatives of
the Transportation Division indicate basic agreement with
the PDP and a desire for extensive NASA participation in
this program. However, funding limitations in Fl. 1976
and tentative funding limitations for Fl 1977 allow for
only a very limited start.
B) Power Train and Vehicie Systems
1. and 5. No formal, submission to date. Preliminary meetinqe
to develop an understanding of ERDA's desired approach
were held with ERI)A Transportation Division representatives
in October and November.
The answers to questions 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 are not available
until negotiations wiUi EItDA have been completed.
6. Funding limitations have required ERDA to revise their
plans. CurrentLy there are no plans for NASA activity
in this area in FY 1976-1977.
PAGENO="0124"
122
2
C) Advanced Surface Propulsion Research and Technology
1. No formal submission.
The answers to questions 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 are not available
until negotiations with ERDA have been completed.
5. and 6. Several drafts of this plan have been reviewed
with representatives of the ERDA Transportation Divisio~.
On January 28, 1976, basic agreement was reached concetn'
ing the content of the plan. Transportation Division
personnel have expressed an interest in NASA partic?ipatLOfl..
in this area. Uowever, 1976 and 1977 funds are
not available.
D) Hydrogen Injection Vehicle Verification
1. Submitted November 18, 1975.
The answers to questions 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 are not available
until negotiations with ERDA have been completed.
5. Director, Transportation Energy Conservation Division.
6. No formal response. Distussions with representatives of
the Transportation Division indicate an interest in
pursuing this activity. However, adequate 1976 and 1977.
funds do not seem to be available.
E) Electric Vehicle
1. Submitted August 29, 1975.
The answers to questions 2, 3, 4, 7, end 8 are not available
until negotiations with ERDA have beefl completed.
5. Deputy Assistant Administrator for Cdnservation.
6. No formal response. DiscussiOfli with representatives
the ERDA Transportation Division have led to an agreeas4
regarding areas of NASA participation in the progran.
best, only limited funding is ~nticipated.
PAGENO="0125"
123
QUESTION NO. 3: "The decision to request no direct energy
related funding by NASA appears to be an
arbitrary decision by the 0MB."
a) W re there any discussions concerning
this issue between the NASA and the ERDA
prior to the 0MB decision?
b) If ow much direct energy related funding
did the NASA submit to the 0MB?
ANSWER 3 a No
b. The request was for $8.,5 million; $3.5
million for Tcchnology Identification and Verification
and $5 0 million for Satellite Power Systems
PAGENO="0126"
QUESTION4
NASA has statLd that NASA energy related funds were used to
develop understanding of the user problem, to narrow the
solution options to those with highest payoff potential, and
to prepare program plans for support by the "user" agency."
a) Since the decision by the NASA to request no direct.
energy related funds for FYl9l7, have there been discuss:LonS
with Ek~DA to bupport the above activities?
b) What is the status of these discussions? How much
manpower and funding if any, has ERD~ agreed to provide to
NASA in FY1977 for these activities?
c) How can NASA effectively plan these activities
without firm commitments from ERDA?
ANSWER:
a) Inititi discussions with ERDA have been conductd
during the past few weeks.
b) Due to the short time since the decision, no
decision has been reached concerning whether funding can
be madL availabic by LRDA ERDA has stated, as was
indicated in thL NASA testimony that the decision was
made too latc to be included in their budget so there are
no funds currently identified.
c) Tentative planning for FY1977 can, of course,
be performed using a rational estimate of the support
which might be obtained. However, some form of commitment
or indication of R&D funding must be obtained within the
next few months if this planning is to be effective.
124
PAGENO="0127"
125
QUESTION NO. 3: "NASA has completed the Program Definition
effort required by the Geothermal Research,
Development, and Demonstration Act of
1974:
1) Is the NASA aggressively pursuing
this program?
b) What does NASA consider to be its
role Lfl the development of Geothermal
Energy?
ANSWER: a) NASA is Participating as a nember of the
Geothermal Advisory Council which has been formed
by ERDA.
b) NASA believes its role should be technical
and generally constrained to support of the ERDA
program in those areas where previoué NASA
experience is most appropriate. This includes,
for example, materials, energy conversion systems,
and structures.
70-079 0 - 76 - 9
PAGENO="0128"
126
QUESTION NO. 6. In briefings at NASA centers and by some
aerospace companies, the Committee has
received positive indications for the
potential ot geothermal energy. What
milestones and objectives did NASA include
in its program definition effort?
ANSWER
In response to the above question, it was decided that the
Staff would review the testimony given before the Subcommittee
on Energy Research, Development and Demonstration on
January 20, 1976.
PAGENO="0129"
127
QUESTION NO. 7: As recently as November, NASA was asked
what the Committee could do to make a
strong ERDA/NASA partnership. NASA
stated that the continuing support for
a small, independent NASA R&D budget,
including manpower, is believed critically
important.
a) What has changed since November
to decrease the need for a small,
independent NASA R&D budget?
ANSWER: In our view, nothing has changed since November
which decreases the need for a flexible, small R&D budget
so that NASA can properly perform the technology
identificatio,~ and verification function.
PAGENO="0130"
128
QUESTION NO 8 In a rcview of Future Space Programs the
Subcommittee concluded that Hazardous
Waste Disposal in Space was potentially
an important future space activity
Is the NASA continuing to study the
feasibility of space disposal techniques?
Is NASA attemtping to understand the
various implications of such an
alternative?"
ANSWER: Yes. A previous study, performed under the leader-j
sI~ip of the Lewis Research Center and at the request of the
AEC, ôoncluded that space disposal of hazardous wastes is
technically and economically feasible
At the present time, NASA is analyzing system
requirements and the risks and benefits of three different
mission destinations: earth orbit (retrievable storage),
solar system escape (permanent disposal), and solar orbit.
Included in this analysis is the identification of the
elements of the system which have the major risks. These
ejements will be studied in more detail to improve the
accuracy of overall risk profile estimates.
What other agencies arc involved in these studies"
NASA is working with the Energy Research and
Development Administration and contacts are established
with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Emviron~
mental Protection Agency.
"Who is playing the lead role?"
The study described above is being conducted by
NASA Information is bcing exchanged with ERDA and the
other Agencies.
PAGENO="0131"
129
Question No. 9
Is the NASA aqqressively pursuing the definition and
development of the dato base needed for evaluation of
satellite power systems?
Answer
Current efforts ire directed to investigation of technical
feasibdity, economic viability, competing system
comparability and t:ochnology advancement requirements. The
work has been primarily contractual with a relatively low
level of funding support. (i.e. $l~2 million per year)
PAGENO="0132"
130
QUESILON NO 10 lhc NASA appears to continually agree
with i so-called "conventional wisdom
that satellite power stations will not
b fL isible until the turn of the
century. What is a more optimistic time
f nine to have a satellite power system
demonstration? What is the anticipated
cost of such a demonstration system?
Whcn ould a satellite power system be
operational?
ANSWER: The 1995 timeframe estimated by Dr. Lenoir in
his testimony before the Senate Subcommittee is very
optimistic bi d on curient and anticipated budget support
for tlu progrtm 1)moristration system costs and projected
operationil d~t ~ for a satcllite power system will remain
extremely speculative until the required system definition
and technoloqy advancement determination have been completed.
PAGENO="0133"
131
QUESTION NO. 11: What are the concepts which are being
studied for satellite power systems?
ANSWER:
o Solar Power Cor~version Systems
Photo~o,1tajc (SSPS)
Brayton
Thermjon ic
o Nuclear Power Conversion Systems
Brayton
Thermion ic
o Reflecting Systems
Power Relay Satellite (PRS)
Large Orbiting Mirror
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132
QUESTION NO.
12: NASA has recently completed a Hydrogen
I n rqy Systems Technology Study What
has been the ERDA reaction to this report?
Did ERDA participate in the review group
for this study?
ANSWER: A briefiny of. the NEST Study effort was presented
to ERDA on January 15, 1976. There has been no formal
reaction.
HowcvLr informal discussions have indicated an
interest in dovlopinj future activities involving NASA
after the HESI' Study md LRDA's in~-house planning
activities are completed.
Four individual' from ERDA were members of the
Review Group and partic~pated in the two formal reviews
of the NEST Study report.
PAGENO="0135"
133
QtJtS'lION NO. 13: "NASA states in the budget submission that
a rinthursable agreement has been negotiated
with ;RDA for NASA support of the Geothermal
Energy Program. Please provide a summary
of the details including NASA lead center,
reimbursable manpower and R&D funding,
objectives, and milestones."
ANSWER; The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is conducting the work
on a helical rotary screw expander power system utilizing
geothermal brine. Approximately 5 manyears of reimbursable
effort are included for Fl 1976 and the transition period.
Approximately $700,000 dollars is estimated for this same
period. The primary objective of this work is to evaluate
the potential for utilizing geothermal brine for electric
power production through the use of a commercial size
helical rotary screw expander power system.
Milestones included in this period include procure~
ment of the power system, which is scheduled to be delivered
to JPL by the supplier in early calendar 1977, selection of
the test site ~s scheduled for the fall of Cl 1976 and
functional testing is expected to be complete in early
spring, 1977.
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134
QUESTiON NO. 14: Since NASA is requesting no direct energy
r~ lstd funds are there firm commitm~ntS
from IRDA for reimbursable funds to
support the energy systems technology
~tivities including the satellite power
system study team? At what level
(manpower R&D funds) does ERDA intend
to support the satellite power system
activi ties~
ANSWER As stated in the testimony negotiations with
ERDA for Fl 1977 funds in the area of technology identification
and satcllite power systLms are under discussion Conse-
quently there are no firm commitments from ERDA at this
time
PAGENO="0137"
135
QUESTION NO. 1 We understand from the recent review of basic
research in CAST, that although the quality is excellent, there is
some concern about the balance across sub-programs in CAST. Would
you elaborate on this and also provide us with the Summary Report of
the OAST Research Council?
ANSWER: The OAST Research Council observed that, of the 20
subprograms in the CAST R&T base, 7 subprograms contain 6596 of
the work reported measured in terms of papers presented during the
reviews of basic research, The Council thought that this possible
imbalance was important to note, There are reasons for a concentra-
tion of basic research in a few subprograms because of differing
emphases and maturities of technology and the inherent structure of
the CAST program, For example, the subprogram Fluid and Flight
Dynamics' involves a large amount of basic research by design,
whereas the subprogram "High Speed Vehicle Aerodynamics" emphasizes
technology demonstrations and applied research, Also, the subprogram
"Propulsion Components' is a mature technology with little opportunity
for basic research while a great deal of research is conducted in the
subprogram dealing with the environmental impact of propulsion
systems,
Enclosed is a copy of the Summary Report of the CAST Research Council.
PAGENO="0138"
136
OAST
BASIC
RESEARCH
SUMMARY REPORT
Prepared by the
OAST RESEARCH COUNCIL
December 11, 1975
Nahonal
Aeronautics and
Space
Administration
WASHINGTON, 0. C.
PAGENO="0139"
137
TABLE OF COETENTS
INTRODUCTION
OVERVIEW 2
HIGHLIGHTS
Fluid and Flight Dynamics 4
Materials 5
Structures 8
High Speed Vehicle Aerodynamics
and Flight Dynamics 9
Propulsion Components 11
Stability and Controls 12
Propulsion Environmental Impact Minimization 13
Chemical Propulsion 15
High Power Lasers and Energetics 16
Applied Mathematics and Computer Sciences 18
CONCLUDING REMARKS 19
APPENDIX A - Membership of the OAST Research Council 20
PAGENO="0140"
INTRODUCTION
The CAST Research Council was established in 1970 by NASA
Management Instruction 1152, 43 as an integral element of NASAtS
overall management and organization structure to ensure that a
strong, viable, coordinated, well balanced and responsive basic
research program is fostered and nurtured in OAST. Council member-
ship is given in Appendix A of this report. One of the responsibiLities
of the Council is to conduct annual reviews of all basic research
activities in OAST This 1 eport summarizes the results of these
reviews which were conducted in September and October,
The reviews consisted of one or two day meetings at each
Center during which presentations were made to the Council by the
Center staff. In addition, each Center prepared a publication of
abstracts under the title of Basic Research Review for the OAST
Research Council. Selection of material to be included in the Center
publications was left `to `the discretion of Center management. Copies
of these publications have been distributed throughout the Agency and
the research community.
Because much of the basic research conducted in CAST is
diffusely integrated into the various programs conducted under broader
Research and Technology Operating Plans (RTOPs), the Council did
not attempt to develop details on funding and manpower levels for basic
research. Rather, Council efforts were directed at assessing the
overall quality and balance of the work reported. The Council also
examined: the extent of coordination that did or did not appear to exist
relative to multi-Center programs; the extent of duplication of effort,
if any, and, qualitatively, the degree o.f support for basic research by
Center management.
Presented in the sections which follow are an Overview, Highlight
discussions of some of the major areas of basic research that were
reported, and Concluding R~marks
138
1
PAGENO="0141"
139
2
OVERVIEW
In general, the Council was well pleased with the Center reviews.
CAST's basic research activities appear to have gained in strength over
the recent past. This observation was based, in part, on the wide
diversity of the subject matter presented and on the enthusiasm displayed
by the researchers in presenting their results. The overall quality of
the work reported was excellent. There are some very broad areas
of research in which more than one Center participates, but there
appears to be very little, if any, duplication of effort. Multicenter
programs, such as the Wake Vortex Program, are well coordinated.
Many of the discipline oriented programs appear to be making good
use of university talent through research grants, And, while it is true
that funding constraints have tended to drive university supported work
in the direction of program coupled activities, the new CAST Fund for
Independent Research is providing an opportunity to fund some of the
more innovative, loosely coupled ideas that emanate from the university
community.
The Council did have some concern with regard to the balance
of the basic research among the various CAST programs. This was
revealed by an overall summarization and grouping of the papers
presented in the Center review books by CAST subprogram. Over
300 abstracts are contained in the Basic Research documents prepared
by the Centers (including the Tet Propulsion Laboratory). Based on
the subprogram identification, these papers may be grouped as follows:
No. of Papers
Aeronautics R&T Base 169
Space & Nuclear R&T Base 118
Other 30
317
The papers in the above grouping labeled Other were, in the main,
associated with the Systems and Experimental Programs work, illus-
trating to the Council that the need for basic research frequently can
and does arise in the applied area,
PAGENO="0142"
140
3
A further examination of the Aeronautics and Space & Nuclear
R&T Base data shows the following:
Thus, 30~ of the work reported appeared in the subprograms, FluLd
& Flight Mechanics and Materials. A further extension of this analysis
reveals that about 65% of the work reported appeared in 7 OAST sub-
programs As there presently are more than 20 subprograms in CAST
in the R&T base alone, the Council thought this possible imbalance, at.
least with regard to the reported work, important to note. In the
Highlights section that follows are presented brief summaries on the
work reported in the major subprogram areas, Council recommenda-
tions are em~ hasized in this section by underlining
Before turning to the next section, two procedural changes which
the Council incorporated this year in conducting the reviews are noted
Both changes were designed to enhance the communications among the
researchers at the Centers and among the OAST Headquarters staff..
This year the Center review books were printed and distributed
to the Council members approximately one month in advance of the
review Council members, in turn, distributed the books to the st iff
at their Centers and solicited comments on the work reported. The
Council transmitted the comments so received to the researchers at
the Center meetings and, where appropriate, encouraged the initiation
of a dialogue between Centers,
Also, a teleconference set-up was arranged with OAST Headquarters
during the Center reviews enabling the OAST staff to participate in the
reviews A total of 45 attendees from Headquarters took advantage of
this arrangement which worked well,
Subprogram No.
505-06
506-16
505-16
Title
Fluid & Flight Mechanics
Materials (S&N)
Materials (A)
No. of
______ Papers
50
32
14
Total 96
PAGENO="0143"
141
4
UIGHLIGHTS
Fluid and Flight Dynamics
(50 papers)
The basic research efforts presented to the CAST Research Councü
and supported by the Fluid and Flight Mechanics subprogram include a
large number of analytical and experimental activities The majority
of these activities are carried out at Ames and Langley, with a limited
number of efforts at the Flight Research Center and JPL In broad
terms, these activities include the development of new, improved and
more rapid methods for predicting complex flow processes, the attempt
to better understand and reduce undesirable aerodynamic phenomena,
such as noise and wake vortices, the synthesis of new and more reliable
methods for the design and analysis of airfoils and configurations, the
development of advanced experimental methods and aerodynamic
facilities, and the pursuit of a limited number of basic research efforts
related to flight mechanics
Approximately one half of the presentations to the Council in the
Fluid and Flight Mechanics subprogram relate to predicting complex
flow processes In the area of transonic flows, basic research efforts
include such topics as: effect of lift on the area rule, numerical solu-
tions to flow over bodies in wind tunnels, an analytical method for high
angles of attack, a computer code for three-dimensional transonic wing
design, flow compu ations over wing-body configurations, implicit
m~thods for unsteady transonic small disturbance equations, experi-
mental results of transonic flow over thick airfoils, and the develop-
ment of turbulence measurements in transonic flew Basic research
dealing with various aspects of turbulence include turbulence modeling
including an effort to incorporate sub-grid scale models, several
experimental studies to evaluate turbulence models, turbulent shear
flows, compressible turbulent separated flow, and numerical and
experimental turbulent free mixing, Additional activities include: S
employment of vortex lattice methodology, jet-flow interactions, three-
dimensional numerical simulations using vortex filaments for wake
vortices, and several efforts to develop more efficient use of advanced
computers in computational fluid mechanics
The development of advanced experimental methods and aerodynamic
facilities includes: a continuing development of the laser velocimeter
as a research tool and efforts to apply it to specific test conditions,
the development of concepts and tests related to a quiet wind tunnel
70-079 0 - 76 - 10
PAGENO="0144"
142
5
for boundary-layer transition measurements, an attethpt to define the
minimum wind tunnel Reynlds number required for fiJi-scale flight
characteristics, studies of the condensation limits in cryogenic tunnels,
and work related to using test gases heavier than air to increase test
Reynolds numbers
Based on the Basic Research Reviews at the NASA Centers over
the last five years, there appears to be a high degree of desirable
continuity in much of the basic research supported by the Fluid and
Flight Mechanics subprogram This continuity is, of course, required
for the long-term more fundamental research The basic research
carried out under this subprogram has broad application to a number
of important aeronautical systems Potential applications of this research
have been well defined
Gi eater emphasis should be given to research on new and innovatwe
instrumentation techniques for aeronautical research applications New
and significant advances in experimental research are usually strongly
dependent on advances in measurement and instrumentation capability.
Furthermore, these advances in instrumentation are most often achieved
through a long-term dedicated effort It is therefore suggnsted that
perhaps separ~t~ and sigmfic~nt support be given to long-term innovative
research for instrumentation techniques for aeronautical applications -
As a second recommendation the work dealing with the develop
ment of turbulence models and the experimental testing of the proposed
models should continue to receive strong support Research dealing
with a more basic understanding of the coherent structure of turbulenc
along with detailed measurements should also receive strong support
in order to better guide the construction of turbulence models for more
general applications.
Materials Research
~p~ce and Nu (32 papers)
The need for new and improved materials for future space
missions requires that NASA maintain a viable program in materials
research Not only must a proper level of funding and manpower for
inhouse research be allocated but the program should be broad enough
in scope to address a variety of problems. These include the develop-
ment of materials which are more efficient, lighter, stronger, less
corrosive, and radiation hardened, to mention a few
PAGENO="0145"
143
6
In support of an increased emphasis on atmospheric research,
the Council found significant contributions from the Centers. Chemi-
luminescence is being studied as a means of detecting atmospheric
pollution. The stability of chemical species of NO3 and Cl are being
investigated in relation to pollution and ozone depletion. The size
distribution of man made space debris is being studied to determine
hazards to spacecraft confined to long residence times in geocentric
orbits, Theoretical studies of the interaction of nuclear radiation
with matter show how the weight of spacecraft can be minimized by a
reduction in radiation shielding weight
Advanced techniques of physics and chemistry are being employed
to solve the problems of hot corrosion Related problems of producing
stronger composite materials are being attacked, The lubrication of
titanium surfaces by ion bombardment was a noteworthy achievement
The Council was pleased to note the combination of solid state research
and materials engineering to solve some practical problems, Bias-
tomers for binding propellants are continuing to be investigated in
order to better predict the performance under load, An Interdiscip-
linary Laboratory (IDL) study at three universities provides comple-
mentary expertise in metals, composites and ceramics
Programs designed to produce more efficient solar cells for
future missions are being conducted at two Centers The goal of
obtaining a 2O9~ efficiency in GaAs solar cells is a worthwhile objective.
University sponsored research in this area is proceeding at a productive
level
The widespread use of state-of the-art surface analysis tech-
niques at a number of Centers attests to the importance of surface
properties, especially for small electronic components, In order to
provide reliable, radiation hardened electronic parts for future deep
space probes, an effort has been undertaken to provide the technological
base for producing the desired end items Because electronics will be
a key ingredient of spacecraft of the 1980's, the Council is of the
opinion that electronics related materials research should be increased
The development of new materials, such as high temperature
superconductors and Josephsen Tunction Infrared Detectors involves
a unique theoretical and experimental effort The results are
promising in the search to obtain room temperature superconductors
PAGENO="0146"
7
Such materials should result in lighter space vehicles, because of a
reduction in power and cryogenic equipment. Here again is shown an
excellent combination of inhouse research and unh~erthity participation
through grants
The overall space and nuclear materials programs at the
research centers is conducted in a timely and efficient manner There
is an awareness at each Center of the pertinent work conducted outside
NASA as well as at other NASA Centers. No evidence was found of
duplication of effort of specific research but rather a healthy intera( tion
among Centers The Centers are making effective use of the NASA
grant program with univei sities for both theoretical and experimental
support Continued support of this basic research is required to
develop the full potential for earth and space exploita~q~.
Aeronautick~(ld papers)
The basic research on aeronautical materials, conducted at ARC,
LaRC and LeRC, includes work in metals (including alloys), polym rs,
adhesives, and composites The emphasis in each area is to obtain
an understanding of the underlying physical or chemical phenomena
which are responsible for fracture and embrittlement of metals,
thermal degradation, and fire resistance of polymers, and such
characteristics as void formation and low permeability of adhesives
Hydrogen embrittlement studies have established that the rate
controlling process is due to a precursor state of molecular hydrogen.
An analysis of the coating process for protectively coating alloys has
yielded some prediction techniques for surface composition determin-
ation The chemical nature of cracks in superalloys has been deter-
mined
Polymer research in aircraft safety is aimed at developing an
understanding of the production of non-toxic and fire resistant intenor
aircraft coatings, and window materials The chemical structure of
cured polymers is studied in order to develop materials whose fire
resistance does not thermally degrade Laboratory evaluations are
conducted to screen dry chemical fire extinguishers
Adhesives for binding polymers are also being studied to under-
stand the prediction of polymerization reactions, the chemistry of low
144
PAGENO="0147"
145
8
permeability, and void formations. Chemical reactions are being
investigated to crosslink polymer adhesives for high temperature use.
Reduction in permeability reduces the aging properties of adhesives
which are exposed to a corrosive environment, Molecular structures
are investigated to determine the effects on permeability, Fundamental
understanding of void fqrmations is being pursued in order to develop
high temperature resins
Based on their high strength, the utilization of composites in
aerospace structures is accelerating. Research in this area addresses
such topics as toughening of brittle composites and identifying fatigue
mechanisms. Whereas progress has been made in understandin~g
composite behavior, the Council recommends an increased emphasis
in this area in view of the potential advantages for weight and fuel
savi~gn.
Structures
(8 papers)
The Council was pleased with the work reported in this area
It appears that there is strong support for basic and applied research
in this important area, an emphasis which has been strongly recom-
mended by the Council in the past. There is a continuing need for the
structural exploitation of new materials, such as composites, and high
temperature metals that require operation at temperature extremes
and in outer space. In order to accomplish these goals, continued
work will be required in structural analysis and automated methods
for structural designs, This work must take into account the effects
of environmental loading, such as structural response to the temper-
atures and loads of flight, The aeroelastic effects and unsteady aero-
dynamics must be considered in order to yield design methods that
can take advantage of advances in active control systems for the
control of loads and structural response
Although the work reported was of excellent quality the Council
believes that the effort is insufficient to meet the challenges and the
needs for aeronautics and space programs that can be expected to
develop in the1980's,
PAGENO="0148"
146
9
High Speed Vehicle Aerodynamics and Flight I~ynamics
(18 papers)
The high speed vehicle aerodynamics basic research program
seeks to improve the efficiency of aircraft for high subsonic and
hypersonic speed flight The effort at Ames Research Center is
applied to the oblique winged aircraft, whereas the major effort of
the program at Langley is concerned with hypersonic speed flight and
with a broad range of technology problems that underlay the definition
of the overall vehicle configuration, the details of the propulsion system
and its integration into the overall configuration, and the structural
design in the presence of aerodynamic heating
Studies of the influence of varying an essentially elliptical plan-
form on the transonic drag rise performance of an oblique wing indicated
no significant improvement as the straight chord of the wing was moved
successively from the quarter chord to the half and the three-quarter
chord position The variation of the rolling moment with lift is much
more sensitive to position of the straight chord of the wing than the
drag characteristics~
Langley has been studying the effects of varying twist and camber
of wings with supercritical airfoil section to reduce the drag over the
range of the angle of attack A wing of fixed geometry has been produced
which at M=O 6 achieves the design goal but is less effective at M=O 9
A second wing of variable geometry achieved by four moveable surfaces
at the leading and at the trailing edge indicated similar trends for
induced drag reduction
Wind tunnel tests in the Langley Low Turbulence Pressure Tunnel
have produced significant results that indicate that compliant walls
can reduce the friction drag as much as 61 percent Effort is being
concentrated on finding appropriate materials and combinations of
them to place surface natural frequencies near the fundamental
turbulent burst frequency, which condition is believed to be the critical
state for drag reduction, and on increasing the understanding of the
flow mechanism responsible for the drag reduction Studies of drag
reduction by slot injection into the boundary layer are also underway
to try to utilize the potential of a 50 percent reduction in skin friction
Efforts are being made to optimize slot geometry and to reduce mixing
of the turbulent s'ot flow and the turbulent stream boundary layer
PAGENO="0149"
147
10
Theoretical and experimental studies are being made of the face
pressures and drag on for~yard facing steps in a supersonic boundary
layer The theoretical wo k indicates that when appropriate empirical
corrections are applied there is satisfactory prediction of the drag
and of the pressure distribution for a wide range of the ratio of step
height to boundary layer thickness
An experimental study of the interaction of shocks and supersonic
boundary layers at M = 6 and for a range of Reynolds number, based
on length, has been made in the Langlej Mach 6 High Reynolds Number
Facility from RN = 5 x 106 to 440 x lOU The data indicate a simple
power law correlation between the ratios of the pressure and the
heating rate in the flow with shock interaction to their respective
values in the undisturbed flow
At Langley a broadly based program is being executed to provide
the basis for the design of hypersonic cruise aircraft A computer
program is under development to calculate the steady supersonic
inviscid flows about realistic configurations, The program includes
the capability of incorporating forebody inlet interaction, inlet spillage,
nacelle external drag and airframe-external cowl-nozzle interactions
The program will be sufficiently general to apply to any hypersonic
cruise vehicle, but is now being focused on the design of the X-24C
which would be capable of scramjet engine research and advanced
structural development
Computer programs have been developed to analyze the transient
heating of aerodynamic surface and leading edges with active cooling.
Additional analytical capability to compute inviscid supersonic inlet
flows of two-dimensional and axisymmetric ducts are now available
as well as the capability to calculate. the three-dimensional hydrogen/
air equilibrium flow in a nozzle from combustor exit to the exit plane
of the nozzle,
Experimental techniques are being explored to obtain the capability
of simulating scramjet exhaust fields in order to obtain creditable data
on complete hypersonic vehicles and to design and optimize afterbody
surfaces which act as high expansion ratio nozzles Appropriate
binary mixtures of Freon and Argon have been found which adequately
simulate hydrogen/air combustion products Analyses are available
to select the proper mixtures of simulant gases when the geometrical
and nozzle exit Mach number selections are satisfied Additional
analytical tools are available to aid in nozzle design and to extend test
results to cover the entire range of exit Mach numbers
PAGENO="0150"
148
11
The technique of obtaining heat-transfer data from phase-change
coating data has been extended beyond the simple one-dimensional
analyses to more complex configurations These include those parts
of wind tunnel models for which lateral conduction is present and which
have finite thickness with heating from both sides
The Langley program in hypersonics is the only active program
now underway in the country It is focused on a potential research
vehicle and is addressing itself not only to the basic technical. problems
that contribute to effective design, but also to those experimental tools
required to explore and validate the theoretical understanding of the
aerodynamic, propulsion, and structural problems of this flight speed
It should be supported
Propulsion Components
(14 papers)
The basic research on propulsion components that was reported
to the Council included work on inlets, fuel atomization, diffusers and
boat tail drag Also reported were investigations on film cooling,
lubricatior and various measurement techniques
A statistical analysis technique for precjicting maximum instan-
taneous inlet distortion was described which shows excellent promise
of being a useful quasi-analytical tool which will provide substantial
reduction in instrumentation requirementu in inlet test programs
Steady state data from a 4 probe rake was utilized in this technique to
predict within 109b the maximum distortional levels obtained with a
40 probe rake.
Two analytic papers dealt with efforts to advance computational
fluid dynamics techniques for supersonic inlets at angles of attack
Good progress is being made in incorporating viscous-inviscid inter-
actions and angle of attack effects
A well conceived experimental and analytical effort was reported
on subsonic diffuser design The work is aimed at finding short diffuser
designs that will exhibit total pressure recovery as good as conventional
longer diffusers which, in turn, will provide a substantial diffuser
weight savings A removable, variable geometry centerbody is
PAGENO="0151"
149
12
employed in the experimental apparatus 1~xperiments thus fa~ snow
that a 50 percent reduction ir diffuser length aid riot cau~e ~ iy sigmficant
reduction in diffuser performance
Unburned fuel droplets and vapor in engine exhaust gases contribute
to wested energy and atmospheric pollution Work was reported on a
new laser light scattering instrnment to determine mean drop size
which is yielding excellent results Also, a new air-atomizing fuel
nozzie has been tested which appears to reduce combustion mefficiency
by a factor of two ovei~ conventional nozzles in component tests.
Several papers on various aspects of the problem of boattail drag
were presented which, when examined in total~ appeared rather in
co'ic]usive These papers included the exam nation of the effects of
bou~'dary layer characteristics, the effects of Reynolds number and
so forth Wind tunnel results do not appear to agree with flight tests
results and, although this is a very difficult problem, sensitive in
~nany ways to the aircraft configuration influences as well, no strong
progres~ was evident Progress in this area m~y be enhanQed~yg
closer coordination of effort among the CAST Centers involved and
CAST Headquarters
Outstanding among the papers on various measurement systems
was the high speed infrared pyrometry system for measuring turbine
blade temperatures during engine operation The instrument employs
a fiber optic nonintrusive probe with 80 fibers aligned and focused on
the blade in a radial direction Each fiber has an image diameter of
0. 0~ cm at the blade. Output is computerized and displayed at a
terminal for nearly real time study or recording.
In summary, the propulsion components research is addressing
a wide variety of fundamental problems through both analytical and
experimental techniques. Substantial progress was evident in most
of the areas reported,
Stability and Controls
(10 papers)
Recent advances in digital computers I-~ave led to better under-
standing of flight mechanics and control systems fpr aerospace vehicles.
This has allowed designers to incorporate and study the interactions
PAGENO="0152"
150
13
between aerodynamics, atmospheric disturbances~ rigid body dynamics,
vehicle elasticity, pilot dynamics, automated dystems, and digital
flight control systems, Though the research programs in control
throughout NASA are limited, the activities deal with various elements
on theory of digital flight controls, flight management research, space
vehicle control concepts, control designs for flexible aircraft and
landing and terminal area guidance and navigation systems.
In general, the research programs throughout the NASA Centers
appear to be well coordinated and balanced with the proper blend of
theoretical development and flight testing. Although much of the work
covers a broad field of control, there are several research projects
underway that are worthy of special mention; one deals with developing
flight control and guidance systems that are aimed at improving flight
efficienc~i th~ough the use of advanced guidance and air traffic control.
This work is needed to help reduce congestions and delays in terminal
areas as well as efficient control to desired flight paths anywhere in
the flight trajectory.
Another area of study is the application of modern control theory
to the propulsion system. Work in this area is very important for
aircraft where propulsion system interactions are pronounced such as
for power lift, supersonic cruise vehicles, and aircraft with vectored
thrust. Work on advanced control laws and redundancy management
is judged to be a logical and systematic approach to important problem
areas for application to advanced vehicles including the Shuttle Orbiter.
Work on low sample rate digital control systems to relieve computer
time requirements should prove to be very valuable and appears to be
well coordinated with theoretical work being conducted throughout NASA.
The Council believes that progress in this category has been
excellent and urges_that a strong basic re~earch program including
continued complementary research in universities be maintained in
this important area. It is important that actual experience gained
in the NASA programs, which identifies praciical problems, feeds
back into the university programs to strengthen th~s important work.
Propulsion Environmental Impact Minimization
(28 papers)
Both the CAST Research Council and the RTAC Panel on Research
have offered strong encouragement in the past for a NASA program on
PAGENO="0153"
151
14
noise rE~search Among the CAST research programs it is apparent
that a strong effort is emerging in this field ad evidenced by the
designation of a Lead Center and by the presentations thade to the
Council The subprogram includes (1) sources of noise-especially
engine noise-and the basic mcchanisms involved in its production,
(2) the reduction or elimination of the noise, and (3) combustor
pollutants
A strong and diversified University program in this field was
apparent In addition, a fair sampling of the results from these grants
and contracts were presented by a number of the investigators and this
mode of research has been most fruitful
Although the major research emphasis is on understanding
propulsion noise and its reduction, important ancillary studies are
also being pursued, such as, the study of acoustic propagation in the
non-homogenous medium of the atmosphere and the effect of meteoro-
logical conditions on aircraft noise measurements
One problem area that does not seem to be receiving adegnate
attention is that of ground distortion effects on static tests of fans and
the Council has suggested that concepts for alleviating this problem be
studied These concepts might include modified test techniques or
development of new facilities Flight testing of new acoustic components
early in their development should be an important part of the overall
noise research
The environmental impact of combustor pollutants is being
addressed on several fron~g~, A unique j~ortion of this program is the
Global Air Sampling System (GASP) Although subject to some serious
c onstraints, e g sampling altitudes, a data base is being developed
which can be used to determine changes in the amounts of atmospheric
pollutants including those from combustors, The Council believes
that this program will be invaluable in helping to resolve the present
controversy concerning atmospheric pollutants The relation of such
measurements to the study of combustor pollutant production needs
no comment Reduction of combustor pollutant production by using
lean mixtures is being investigated, for example, by adding hydrogen
to the system In view of the national problem in this area the Council
recommends continued strong support of the program, especially in
view of the combustor expertise available at Lewis
PAGENO="0154"
152
lb
Chemical Propulsion
(13 papers)
Chemical propulsion remains tI~ main method of propulsion for
earth to orbit and deep space operations of the future. It is therefore
fitting that there exist within CAST a strong program dealing with
chemical propulsion research problems. Most of the information
reported was in one of the following three categories: combustion
processes and phenomena in what can be termed as conventional
rocket motors, unconventional chemical propulsion systems, and the
environmental impact of space shuttle booster rockets.
The mapping of the spatial distribution of combustion products
in an N2H4/N204 engine as function of fuel-oxidizer ratio was described.
The insights being gained in this work should increase our ability to
produce complete and stable reactions at high temperatures and to
contain these reactions in materials at temperatures thousands of
degrees lower than those of the reaction. The work should impact
future designs of liquid propellant rocket chambers, internal combustion
chambers, turbojet engines and commercial power plants.
Work specifically related to the understanding of combustion
instability was also presented. The main thrust of that effort is aimed
at developing the ability to measure the coupling between the combustion
process and acoustic oscillations. Lack of this ability is, at this time,
felt to be the key obstacle to solution of the instability problem.
A knowledge of the fluid dynamics of liquid jets in zero gravity
is required for a variety of problems associated with fluid flow within
propellant tanks in space. Theoretical and experimental work aimed
at understanding of the zero g liquid jet impact process occurring when
liquid impinges upon baffles or tank walls is a good start towards
solutions of those problems.
Problems related to solid propellant combustion are also being
investigated. Excellent work on low frequency instabilities, salt quench
for stop-restart, and igniter development was reported.
A concept which may enable operations in planetary atmospheres
is the one of detonation propulsion. At high background pressures the
specific impulse is much higher than that obtainable by chemical means.
A factor of at least five has been experimentally measured at pressures
in th? order of 100 bar, The good progress being made in the experi-~
mental and theoretical study of detonation propulsion could lead to viable
alternative propulsion systems.
PAGENO="0155"
153
16
The concept of a metastable H-H2 rocket is being pursued through
a fundamental investigation of atomic H in an H2 matrix near 0. l°K,
Solid rocket motor boosters for the space shuttle are expected to generate
exhaust clouds containing aluniina particles and HC1 gas Good work
is in progress evaluating the environmental impact of those chemicals
The question as to whether the ahunina particles would serve as.a
catalyst for significant destruction of ozone has been answered The
effect of alumina on ozone decomposition can be neglected. However,
alumina seems to have a high catalysis for hydroxyl destruction. The
absorption of the HC1 on the alumina particles is under study as is the
mechanisms of transfer of the HC1 to the ground by rainfall.
Work that is associated with space safety research includes
studies of how fire spreads and how it can be extinguished in a zero g
environment Results should be invaluable for the shuttle The same
is true for studies of material ignition in oxygen and oxygen rich
atmospheres which will establish ignition thresholds and safety margins
High Power Lasers and Energetics
(29 papers)
The fundamental research supported by CAST in this subprogram
falls into four broad categories: plasma research, magnetics and
cryophysics, high energy lasers and remote sensing.
Plasma research includes investigations of both the basic physics
of plasma generation and the relative technical and economic feasibility
of alternate generating systems Better understanding of X-ray emission
and electron dynamics in the plasma focus phenomenon are important
not only to energy generation by thermonuclear fusion but also to astro-
physical studies of solar flares The problems of achieving fusion
conditions in plasmas are being addressed by studies in four areas
hypocycloidal pinch, a superconducting magnetic mirror, improved
electrode design, and modified Penning ion discharge Design and
construction techniques for reliable long-life generator components in
both nuclear and fossil-fired magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) applications
are also being investigated. Finally, the potential.of H2-02 combustion
driven MHD generators is being evaluated for applications in relatively
small, mobile power sources where high specific energy content is
desirable The Research Council is very favorably impressed with the
qual~ofthe~plasma research pro~rarn and the im~ortant results being
PAGENO="0156"
154
17
obtained The excellent experimental diagnostic tools being developed
and employed are particularly noted. The Council does recommends
however, that more attention be given to the understanding of sourcqp
and effects of plasma impurities. The plasma research effort appears
to be highly relevant not only to NASA's specific needs but also to the
broader national program in MED power generation; thus continued
support of these efforts is encouraged.
Magnetics, cryophysics, and superconductivity research both
support the work in plasmas and lasers and provide better understanding
of the fundamentalC of these phenomena. Theoretical and experimental
investigations are underway of the temperature - entropy pt~operties
of rare-earth based ferromagnetic and paramagnetic materials for use
in magnetic refrigerators, and the development under grant of new,
high-temperature superconductors is being supported for use in high
field magnets. In addition, the heat-transfer properties of liquid neon
have been studied with applications to the design of cryogenic cooling
of high field magnets. The Research Council found these research
efforts to be innovative, well-planned and worthwhile, contributingj~hl~
~p4yto NASA's programs but as well to the technical bases in their
respective fields,
High-energy laser research includes work in both the development
and optimization of existing laser systems, and studies of the feasibility
of advanced laser concepts. The primary thrust of the effort in copper
chloride metal vapor and gas dynamic lasers is the definition of cooling
modes, geometry and operating conditions which will promote long-lived
and reliable operation with increased peak power. Because of the long-
range applications of these devices to power transmission, the Research
Council feels that these studies should be pursued vigorously. Research
into the basic aspects of the chemical and physical interactions involved
in lasing phenomena serves to broaden thq boçly qf knowledge in the
areas of electron scattering and molecular interactions and may provide
the foundation for new laser concepts. At the same time, the results
support current laser development work, The Council finds these
efforts to be particularly interesting in view of the development of
powerful analytical tools, such as the chemiionizatiOfl mass spectrometer,
which they have fostered, The Council recommends that the electrgp
scattering measurements at .IPL be extended to lower energies ("c lOe V)
~gp~ovide additional support to current work in laser and plasma physics
and isotope separa~4gn.
PAGENO="0157"
18
Also included in high energy laser research, f~r the purpose
of this review, are studies of techniques to cohvei~t laser enercy into
useful forms Fundamental knowledge of the photochemistry of water
is being pursued with the aim of definirg efficient catalytic ~ystems
to produce hydrogen by photolysis for energy conversion and storage
Experiments are also being performed to study the surface chemistry
of gallium-arsenide type MOS semiconductors, with em~ha5is on
treatment processes which show promise of sigmficantly increasing
the conversion efficiencies of these devices for laser and solar radia-
tion The Council feels that this work has high potential in an area
needing much work and was impressed by the use of advanced surface
gng~ysis technioue~
Remote sensing is another area of research in which lasers are
finding wide application, The high-resolution and tunability of a diode
laser have been used to obtain the first high resolution spectra in
portions of the 11 2 micron band of nitric acid Data obtained using
this novel technique will permit the evaluation of tunable diode laser
measurements of stratospheric nitric acid, To provide information
required for the design of diode laser systems, techniques are being
developed to efficiently determine the laser beam spatial characteristics
The Council finds these research efforts to be of higI-~ quality and ma~o~
p~otentia~ impact in this technical field
Applied Mathematics and Computer Sciences
(7 papers)
The basic research effort in this area is intended to provide a
better understanding of the mathematical aspects of aerospace research
and to improve the ability to model physical phenomena To accomplish
these tasks requires transformation of problems into forms that are
amenable to computer solutions and the development of algorithms for
more accurate and efficient computer solutions, Much of the effort
leading to more reliable and effective use of computer systems requires
the development of special purpose languages and more effective
programming and data management techniques The work reviewed
by the Research Council in this category has broad application to the
general field of aerospace technology. Much of the work pertains to
computational fluid mechanics, Many interesting flow problems today
are computationally impractical because of limitations of numerical
analysis techniques, physical modeling, and computer hardware and
155
PAGENO="0158"
156
19
software~ The work reported in this category appears to be a well
balanced attack to overcome these limitations~ This work is cleariy
needed and the Council sees considerable progress being made althog~g~~
much additional work remains to be hation and dis
semination of results are particularly encouraged in this area~
CONCLUDING REMARJ~
The Research Council found that, in general, basic research being
conducted in CAST is of high quality, well coordinated, well integrated,
utilizing university researchers and contractors and strongly supported
by Center managemenL An analysis of the work reported, when
grouped by CAST subprogram, revealed that over 65% of the work was
contained in only 7 of more than 20 subprograms in the CAST R&T base~
In the Highlights section, work reported in 10 subprogram areas
was summarized~ Sixteen Council recommendations were given~
These recommendations were denoted by underlining~ For additional
detail on the full spectrum of CAST basic research, the reader is
referred to the Basic Research Review documents that were prepared
by each Research Center~
PAGENO="0159"
157
20
APPENDIX A
Membership of the CAST Research Council
Chairman: Mr~ Francis C~ Schwenk, Director,
Research Division, CAST
Members: Dr. Iohn E~ Duberg, Associate
Director, Langley Research Center
Mr~ Edward A~ Richley, Acting Chief
Scientist, Lewis Research Center
Dr~ Leonard P~ Zill, Senior Research
Scientist, Ames Research Center
Dr~ Eldon IL, Kordes, Director, Vehicle
Dynamics end Control Division,
Flight Research Center
Executive Secretary: Dr, Lynwood Randolph, Staff. Member,
Research Division, CAST
Alternates: Dr. Wayne D, Erickson, Senior Scientist,
Langley Research Center
Dr, Harry D, Crr, Technical Assistant
to Senior Scientist, Langley Research Center
Ad hoc: Dr. George W. Lewicki, Manager for
Research, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
70-079 0 - 76 - 11
PAGENO="0160"
158
Ql.JE~SPiON NO. 2
las there been any recent review of the status and level
of basic research in the Office of Space Flight and the
Office of Applications similar to the review conducted
in OAST by the OAST Research Council?
What fraction of OSF's basic research is being conducted
in OAST?
MISWE 1~:
NASA's basic research efforts are primarily concentrated
in the Office of Space Science (055) and OAST. The OSS
basic research is concerned with those activities relating
to the physical and life sciences and is carried out under
the Physics and Astronomy, Lunar and Planetary, and Life
Sciences Programs. OAST's basic research is concerned
primarily with technology, that is, the discipline
areas of materials, structures, propulsion, aerodynamics,
etc.
The Life Sciences Program of OSS, in particular, supports
OSF activities (manned space flight). OAST's basic research
supports all NASA program activities including OSF programs.
PAGENO="0161"
159
QUESTION NO. 3: "Although there is an increase of 11%
in your request for space technology, there is very
little increase in R&T base funding. Is this erosion
in "real" R&T base budget expected to continue or will
it be corrected in the near future?"
ANSWER: The R&T Base funding for FY 1977 is 2% above
the FY 1976 funding. This increase is not enough to
maintain the purchasing power of FY 1976 and it does
concern us in that the Research and Technology Base
efforts are the primary sources df our future space
programs.
It is hoped that funding can be increased next year
to combat the inflationary impact of the past several
years on the Space R&T Base.
PAGENO="0162"
160
.htES'liI,)N No. 4: ~HLdoJ: Space Energy Systems Research and
`Iechiiolt;gy; is the NASA/USAF ~rogram directed at under-
:L~rii.uu~ the generaL p:robiem ~f spacecraft charging?
Thu budget increase of $520,000 for high-voltage studies
ic ouch a significant number compared to the entire SPHINX
program cost that it raises questions about the need for a
space experiment. Are there any plans to do a SPHINX-type
experiment in space in the near future on the part of NASA
or the Air Force?
ANSWER: There is a joint NASA/USAF program directed at
understanding the general problem of spacecraft charging.
The budget increase was for the initiation of the NASA
portion of this effort in FT 1976.
With regard to the SPHINX A flight which was lost on the
Titan/Centaur proof flight on February 11,1974, its objective
was not aimed at understanding the general problem of
spacecraft charging. Specifically, its objective was aimed
at obtaining engineering data for use in the design of high
voltage (100 volts to 16,000 volts) power systems and com-
ponents (i.e., solar arrays) operating in the space
environment. Initiation of development of a space experiment
in this area was deferred, because of fiscal constraints,
for reconsideration during the FT 1978 budget process. This
type of experiment would provide a bench mark for correlation
with ground tank results and opportunities will be continually
souqht to conduct such a* flight experiment.
PAGENO="0163"
161
QUESTION NO. 5 Can you give us a list of some technical mile-
stones achieved in the thermionics programs in FY `76 and milestones
set for FY `77?
ANSWER: Yes. In FY 1976, the research on thermionic diodes
has shown that a 2O9~ efficiency in conversion of heat to power can be
achieved in a properly-designed converter, In addition, experiments
have shown that materials known as inetal-hexaborides are excellent
candidates for use as both the emitters and collectors in thermionic
converters.
For FY 1977, we plan tests of planar thermionic diodes using lanthanum-
hexaboride, and we want to test a cylindric thermionic converter coupled
i~ith heat pipes to demonstrate a 2O9~ overall efficiency in a practical
configuration. Furthermore, the research portion of the program will
seek means to increase efficiency to 25%.
PAGENO="0164"
162
QUESTION NO 6 Is the SUMMA facility going to be directed at
only providing data for fusion applications in space rather than any
fusion reactor engineering data or diagnostic technique results for
terrestrial fusion power?
ANSWER The SUMNA device is used by OAST-funded research
to explore the potential use of fusion energy in space Any other use
of SUMMA relative to terrestrial fusion power would be supported by
ERDA We are not aware of any plans for this use of SUMMA by ERDA
at this time, however, it should be noted that SUMMA is limited to
non~fusing plasmas due to its design and location
PAGENO="0165"
163
QUESTION NO, 7 What new laser concepts is OAST exploring
besides the fission fragment laser approach?
ANSWER: OAST is investigating a number of new laser concepts
(besides the fission fragment laser) which would apply to potential
NASA uses in
laser radars
atmospheric probing
laser ranging
power transmission
materials investigations
basic research.
The types of lasers being investigated include:
tunable diode lasers
high-pressure carbon-dioxide lasers
metal-vapor lasers
magneto-plasma-dynamic lasers
high-pressure helium lasers
PAGENO="0166"
164
8 Question Under G C&IS Technology, in what manner
are the rapid new developments in micro-computer
technology (e g Intel Inc ) being incorporated in
your R&T Base planning for FY 77'
8 Answer We believe micro-computers (now primarily aimed
at the industrial and automotive market) offer major cost
saving potential for any space application requiring
distributed processors or limited programming capacity
Accordingly, we are now evaluating microprocessors (such
as the Intel 8080) in future space systems (solid-state
star tracker, unified data system) being developed by
our technology programs In FY 77 these applications
will be expanded to data processing and control functions
However considerable work needs to be done to assure
that these devices meet space environmental criteria
(i e radiation hardening) we are addressing this through
a joint NASA/DOD program to space-qualify promising
commercially-developed microprocessors (including Intel
8080 Motorola M6800 Rockwell PPS8 Texas Instruments
8080 National Semiconductor Pace, Signetics 2650 etc
PAGENO="0167"
165
QUESTION No. 9: Is ERDA providing reimbursement for mini-
Brayton work in OAST?
ANSWER: There is no reimbursement to NASA from E~DA for mini-
Brayton work.
A technology program on the Brayton type power conversion
system for use with either isotope, reactor, or solar
collector heat sources has been a continuing long range
effort in NASA aimed at providing the technology for
advanced power systems for NASA's potential future needs.
As the AEC was in the past, ERDA is responsible for develop-
ment of the nuclear heat source for such systems.
In the joint NASA/ERDA isotope mini-Brayton program, which
is covered by an interagency agreement, NASA is responsible
for the development, testing and delivery of the Brayton
system components to ERDA while ERDA is responsible for
conducting a ground-based demonstration of the complete
system using a simulated (i.e., electrically heated) heat
source as a substitute for the isotope. Each agency is
responsible for providing funds for its area of responsibility.
PAGENO="0168"
166
QUESTION No. 10: Are any studies of fundamental chemical
reactions (e.g., ion-molecule) being done at JPL to support
the planetary atmospheric work under Entry Research and
Technology?
ANSWER: OAST's Entry Research and Technology program is
supporting JPL scientists in their studies of the thermo-
dynamics, physics, and chemistry of shock heated gases that
correspond to the compositions of the atmospheres of the
outer planets. This work is being supplemented by the Ames
Research Center with theoretical calculations. Langley Research
Center is also studying planetary gas reactions in the presence
of ablative species.
PAGENO="0169"
.167
QUESTION NO. ~1a
What have been the major accomplishments of the Low Cost
Systems Office thus far? Please provide savings obtained
in space systems as a direct result of Low, Cost Systems
work.
ANSWER
A major accomplishment has been the progress mac~o in the
standard equipment program. As of December 1, 1075, fiftc~n
flight hardware standard components have been establishec~ for
multi-mission .spacecraft use. These range from a simple pyro-
technic initiator to a very complex transponder. Another
accomplishment has been an evaluation with total ~ancy porti-
cipation to define a multi-mission spacecraft bus for large
Earth orbital missions. The Solar Maximum Mission Progra~i
proposed in the FY 1977 Budget submission is the first user
of the spacecraft bus, and large Earth orbital mission prooro,
approved in future years will use this same multi-mission bus.
The savings obtained in space systems to date has prirt~arily
resulted from th~ Standard Tape Recorder. Approximately five
million dollars savings has been obtained through the procurer~
of this standard component.
PAGENO="0170"
168
QUESTION NO. liB:
Has there been any transfer of low cost technology developed
in low cost satellite programs like SPHINX to future
advanced space systems?
ANSWER:
NASA has consistently emphasized the application of
technology developed for its programs to follow-on
activities in an effort to keep development costs at a
minimum. However, NASA has only recently systematized
this approach through the operations of the Low Cost
Systems Office. The LCSO is charged with the task of
standardizing components, subsystems, and possibly,
entire spacecraft, to maximize the return on investment
in the development of technology. This standardization
program reserthles prior practices in that existing
technology is reviewed for applicability to a variety
of programs (with some modification involved at times),
but, more significantly, the program also involves
planning for standardization of technology in advance
of actual development.
The SPHINX flight program was one element of a long range
program aimed at developing the technology for high
power, high voltage systems. As indicated in the answer
to question 4, SPHINX, which was lost on the Titan/Centaur
proof flight, was to have provided space data for correlation
with ground test results to resolve existing uncertainties
in these data. A space flight is still required as well
as additional effort on the ground before this technology
can be applied to future space systems.
PAGENO="0171"
1977 NASA AUTHORIZATION
THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 1976
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m., in room
2208 of the Rayburn Building, Honorable Don Fuqua (chairman)
presiding.
Mr. FUQUA. The subcommittee will be in order. This morning we
are continuing our second series of hearings on the fiscal year 1977
NASA. authorization.
This morning we turn our attention to a very exciting program
known as Spacelab, which is scheduled to be flown in various con-
figurations on the Space Shuttle vehicle.
The Spacelab is being developed by the European Space Agency,
and we are very pleased to welcome for the first time before the sub-
committee the distinguished Director of the European Space Agency,
Mr. Roy Gibson, the Director, who has brought a wealth of experi-
ence to that agency, having served in several key executive positions.
Upon completion of Mr. Gibson's testimony, we will hear from Mr.
Charles Mathews, of the NASA Office for Applications, a person very
familiar to this subcommittee.
Mr. Gibson, we are happy to welcome you here this morning, and
you may proceed.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Gibson appears in Volume 1, Part 3:]
STATEMENT OP ROY GIBSON, DIRECTOR GENERAL, EUROPEAN
SPACE AGENCY
Mr. GIBSON. Mr. Chairman, it is a privilege for me to appear
before this committee to present the status of the European Spacelab
program. We greatly appreciate the interest that this committee
takes in this cooperative ESA/NASA program, which has a particu-
larly important place in the program of the European Space Agency.
This report I am about to give covers the year 1975.
Before coming specifically to the Spacelab program, I should like
to recall that for European space activities in general a most notable
event occurred during 1975; the creation in May of that year of the
European Space Agency, ESA, formed out of the two former space
organizations-ESRO and ELDO. May I have the first viewgraph,
please [viewgraph 1].
(169)
PAGENO="0172"
170
ESA SPACELAB ORCANISATION
1 ~N~40, `~;\
,~O ,/ j SPACELAB I N. ;i\
~ "7 1PROGRAMME BOARD
CQVNCIL
I L~1I~I1~ _____
tNDUS~jT1 I C rIcE [ADMINISTRATIVE
I Poucv I PROGRAMME AND FINANCE P t~
COMMITTEE I [ COMMITTEE COMMITTEE
L.._.IJ~L_.._.J - - ISPC) IAFCI -~ *
ERA bodios deciding in Spacel,b related matters
Council Ooerall decisions and major decisions affecting also other programmes
Sp.icrlih Prnqr~mm, Boerd: Programme aod budget decieions( Smeden cot represented)
Science Programme Committee: Eaperiment planning in science
Industrial Policy Committee contract decisions.
Administrative and Finance Committee Juridical and principle fin.n~ial questions
VIEWGEAPH 1
By the end of 1975 11 European countries had signed the Conven-
tion, the 10 ESRO member states plus Ireland; and Norway,
Austria, and Canada had been granted observer status with the
Agency. I should briefly like to note that the new Convention endowed
the Agency with significant, new functions, which were not those of
the previous organizations, primarily designed to enable a coordLinated
European space program to be developed making the maximum use
of the resources of the Agency itself and of its member states. The
viewgraph simply shows the Council of the organization, and the
program boards by which the individual programs are controlled.
ESA ORGANISATION
DIRECTOR GENERAL
II GIRSON
PURLiCIIELGTiONS TECHNICAL INSPE~TO1
_______ ~ -i- .1 ___
I I 1ó~REcToR 1 GIRECTRO 1 [~ 1 1~TRECTOR 1
DIRECTOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR PLANNING SCIENTiFIc f ARIANE i ~ JCOMMUNICATIONI
AOMIf4I$TRATION ESTEC ESOC PROGRAMMES PROGRAMMES PROGRAMME PROGRAMMES
GEAR REETH J.D(RGHUIS [~R.FOR~~j _~A.I.EREAOj EATRENPEL(EGUR~ It RRY~J L~ OELOFFRE LUKSCH
VIEwGBAPH 2
PAGENO="0173"
171
The Agency was given a new internal structure {viewgraph 2], of
which one of the most important characteristics has been the intro-
duction of three program directorates to manage our different kinds
of development projects.
One of these is the Spacelab program directorate of which the
Director is Bernard Deloffre of France. He has also been made respon-
sible for the program implementation during the production phase of
the Spacelab program and for the coordination and integration of
European Spacelab experiments. There sir, you see the three pro-
gram directors at the end of the viewgraph for the communications
satellite program, and next the Spacelab program, and a little bit
further along, the Director for Scientific and Meteorological
Programmes.
I will not here repeat the basic Spacelab objectives and requirements,
nor describe in full the selected design concept for you are certainly
aware of these. If I may, I should prefer to use the time to point out
the major events and decisions achieved during 1975 and to indicate
those which we expect to achieve in the coming months.
The program has advanced and matured substantially during 1975.
Among the main milestones achieved was the signing of the main
development contract which had been awarded the previous year,
as you may recall, to the German aerospace firm VFW-Fokker/ERNO.
VFW-Fokker/ERNO had established a very competent industrial
consortium to handle this important task. You see there the Agency
giving the main contract to ERNO, and under ERNO, the various
cocontractors and subcontractors charged with various parts of the
Spacelab.
And I am glad to say that the negotiation of the individual contracts
between the prime contractor and his cocontractors is now virtually
completed. This, together with the completion of the subsystem
requirements review conducted in 1975, signifies that we have well
and truly left the definition and documentation phase of the develop-
ment and have entered the detail design and hardware development
phase.
As to the status of the Spacelab development itself, I can report
major progress in the management of the all-important interface with
the Shuttle. That particular interface was of great concern to us as a
source of uncertainty in our control of the Spscelab design. Very
recently NASA, ESA, and their respective main contractors on both
sides have signed an interface control document which places this
interface under joint control. We are very satisfied with this achieve-
ment. Agreements between NASA and ESA were also reached in the
definition of ground support equipment and the command and data
management system.
By the end of 1975 the ESA contractor had produced most of the
documentation necessary for the hardware manufacturing. The full
scale soft Spacelab mockup was completed on schedule for the sub-
~ystem requirements review and the Spacelab integration building at
Bremen was practically finished. This means that on the European
Spacelab side, the working platform will very soon be completed
[viewgraph 3].
PAGENO="0174"
172
SPACELAB INDUSTRiAL TEAM ORGAN!SATION
IIIOPEAN SPACE AGEUc~1I
(ESA/ESTEC)
~ CUSTOMER
~~FOKKER IERNO~~[J
Ch~h~b~y 11 PRIME
$~I~/~k~p CONTRACTOR
_ ~ Li~i
-
S~~) ~ !C~~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2 o o
~ * 9
.*PE,~SIP4GOELNTIQN/ASQITIQN.
COlE ~lSE
VIEWORAPH 3
I have left the viewgraph on in order to refer to the complicated
management system we need to have involving companies in Germany,
France, United Kingdom, and several other European countries,
and this represents a challenge to the agency and the prime contractor.
Insuring the effective operation of a complicated management
system involving companies in Germany, Italy, France, United
Kingdom, and several other European countries, clearly represents a
challenge both to the prime contractor and to the Agency. I am happy
to say that good progress hkis been made in giving the whole cOml)leX
industrial project team the motivation and the incentive to make
Spacelab a real success apart from the mere procedural fulfillment of
contractual obligations. The manpower buildup in industry is pro-
ceeding very close to estimation and has practically reached its
maximum, and the industrial companies concerned are very dedicated
to the program. If one just runs his eyes along the horizontal boxes,
it would not be possible to point to one that really did not rate Space-
lab as a most important program for them personally.
Mr. FUQUA. How many people do you have working on the
program?
Mr. GIBsoN. About 1,500.
As a consequence of the finalization of the design definition and the
establishment of the Shuttle/Spacelab interface, several design changes
have been injected, all of which either improved the service to users
or were of cost advantage. By way of example, a CII computer, built by
a French manufacturer, of higher performance than the baseline pro-
posal was selected. The concept of the remote control of subsystems
was introduced so as to make better use of valuable crew time. Further,
PAGENO="0175"
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it was arranged that the orbiter will also provide the oxygen needed
for the Spacelab environmental control. These and other agreed
changes are all in line with the basic philosophy of Spacelab, that is,
to achieve a low cost-development and operational-space research
facility available to as wide a range of experimenters as possible.
The changes in requirements, in particular those imposed by the
Shuttle development, by Spacelab operational requirements, and by
the users, produced a change traffic which became so overwhelming
that schedule slippages occurred in some of the subsystems. We were,
of course, concerned by this and we initiated an overall schedule re-
view. This review has now been completed and it is certain that the
first Spacelab flight will occur when the Shuttle becomes operational
in the third quarter of 1980. The master working schedule agreed be-
tween ESA and NASA during the past year remains unchanged.
Forthcoming milestones in this master working schedule are the
preliminary design review in 1976, an intermediate design review in
1977, the critical design and qualification review in 1978, and the ac~
ceptance reviews and deliveries of the engineering model and the flight
unit in 1978 and 1979 respectively.
In addition to the flight hardware, two sets of ground support
equipment and of spares are on the list of deliverable items. We also
plan to deliver to NASA an instrument pointing system, IPS, in time
for the second Spacelab flight in late 1980 for which the intended
configuration is pallet-only, and suited especially to astronomy experi-
inents. There has, I am afraid, been some delay on our side in the tech-
nical definition of the IPS, but we expect an early agreement with
NASA on the IPS development and we have made the necessary
financial provisions.
Coming now to the financial situation I can report that the program
is in a sound condition. Austria foiiiially joiiied the participating
countries during 1975, and will provide 0.8 percent of the total Space-
lab program cost. The viewgraph shows the participating member
states, and the contributions they make. You can see it is a sort of
hodgepodge, but it is all good money. rfhe overafl financial envelope
had been updated to 396 MAU-approximately 515 M U.S. dollars-
in mid-I 975 prices to account for escalation according to the estab-
lished rules of ESA. This updating not only takes into account the
cost-of-living increase in the various countries but also the variations
of the exchange rates between the national currencies.on the one hand,
and the accounting unit, which represents the official ESA monetary
unit, on the other. This accounting unit is redefined for each calendar
year.
Our system of levying contributions from participating States is
extemely complicated, particularly for those who are not obliged-on
a daily basis-to deal with a dozen different and independent cur-
rencies and the same number of rates of inflation, and it is deceptively
easy to translate the increase from the original program cost of 308
MAU as a straight cost overrun. rfhis is not so: the program is
required to remain within the newly calculated ceiling of 396 MAU
and all our planning for modifications and reserves indicate that this
can be expected. Current spending for the industrial work is at a
rate of approximately 5 to 6 MAU-6.5 to 8 M U.S. dollars-per
month.
70-079 0 - 76 - 12
PAGENO="0176"
174
I should like to add that a special and successful effort has been
made to reduce our own ESA internal-and support-costs in order
to increase our program reserves, which are within our ceiling.
The program cost ceiling agreed by the participating countries does
not include funds for the development or integration of Spacelab
experiments. These will be procured and funded `separately from
interested governments. The first round of discussions with our mem-
ber states on this score has been encouraging, and the executive of the
Agency will be coming forward with proposals shortly for the first
experimental Spacelab payload, which, you will remember is foreseen
as a joint NASA/ESA flight. Major progress was made in 1975 con-
cerning this first flight. The experimental objectives and the con-
straints imposed by the verification testing were formulated, and the
NASA/ESA management structure was decided.
In Europe the development and integration of the European experi-
ments will come under the direction of the Director of Spacelab-M.
Deloifre, and a special ESA management group for this purpose is
being set up. Its location has not yet been decided, but it may well be
situated alongside the German aerospace research and testing facilities
near Cologne, and indeed we have put it there temporarily, while
awaiting approval-expected for *the end of February-from our
council.
On the basis of the currently available data and user interest, ESA
has established a 1980-85 mission model for Spacelab utilization,
showing European participation in several flights through 1983 and
full European payloads for five flights during the years 1983-85. The
major European interests for Spacelab utilization presently lie in the
disciplines of space processing, Earth observation, and astronomy.
One further remark regarding the utilization of Spacelab. ESA's
role will be as the mission planner for European payloads-whether the
experiments originate from universities, or institutes, or industry, or
national agencies. In this way ESA will become the focus for harmoniz-
ing European ideas and proposals, while at the same time drawing on
the reservoir of resources available throughout Europe for its func-
tional support. In all these plans, ESA fully recognizes the role of the
experimenter himself as being vital, and considerable responsibilities
will be assigned to him for all phases of the mission-from experiment
conception, through instrument development and payload mnibegra-
tion, even to the equipment operation and data handling durmg the
Spacelab flight and to postflight operations.
PAGENO="0177"
17~5
With the planning for the operational phase, the terms for follow-on
production and procurement of additional Spacelab units have to be
more precisely defined. Here ESA will be acting as procurement
agent for NASA vis-a-vis European industry. At NASA's request, we
are preparing detailed cost estimates for three procurement cases. The
contractors have set up cost calculation procedures and have submitted
to ESA a cost proposal which is currently under evaluation and
further negotiation. ESA's role in these procurements and the charging
policy for ESA's involvement are to be discussed with NASA.
We are convinced that in the course of the next years the Spacelab
concept will evolve and grow and we plan to initiate appropriate
planning in terms of extension of mission duration, autonomy from
Shuttle and improved services to the user.
In summary, I believe that the progress made with the Spacelab
program is satisfactory and I am confident in our ability to bring the
program to a successful conclusion. Perhaps I might show a few
pictures of actual hardware in order to emphasize that we have now
left the paper stage. rrhis is the mockup of the Spacelab, and could we
pass to the next viewgraph, please (viewgraphs 4, 5, and 6 follow).
VIEWORAPH 4
PAGENO="0178"
176
VI1~WGRAPH ~5
VIEWORAPH 6
PAGENO="0179"
177
Thank you.
I confess that we have been very preoccupied by difficulty of
freezing the Spacelab design and of achieving a more satisfactory
interface control-but the closing weeks of 1975 brought very satis-
factory results in these areas.
Permit me, as I near the end of the presentation, to recall that during
the intergovernmental negotiations which lead to Europe's under-
taking the Spacelab program, my member states stressed the impor-
tance of considering this joint venture not only as an end in itself but
as a prelude to further joint space programs. Indeed the development
of the first Spacelab is increasingly regarded as the first slice of the
joint program to be followed and overlapped by the Mtilization of the
Spacelab/Space Shuttle system, the follow-on production and .extension
of the Spacelab capabilities. In this connection we follow with interest
NASA's studies on potential space station concepts. We are extremely
interested in being associated at an early stage with NASA considera-
tions concerning further developments directly derived from the
present Spacelab design.
In conclusion, I very much want to emphasize the excellent spirit
of cooperation we enjoy with NASA. It has helped us to resolve many
problems and I am confident that this fine spirit will also be the key
to the many more problems that we will have to resolve in the future.
If such problems did not exist, the program would not be so exciting
and potentially valuable. Let me assure you of our total commitment
to this program; in Europe we are aware of our responsibilities and
I have no reason to believe that we will not be able to acquit them to
our mutual satisfaction. Thank you for your attention.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you very much, Mr. Gibson.
I want to introduce for the record Doug Lord, who is setting up the
NASA phase of Spacelab. We are happy to have you with us, Mr. Lord.
Mr. LORD. Thank you.
Mr. FUQUA. Mr. Gibson, you are, under the agreement of the
European Space Agency with NASA, furnishing the first Spacelab
at no cost to the United States, and it is, probably one of the most
important aspects since the founding of NASA, and I am sure that
multispacelabs will be used in future years.
Can you give us an estimate as to the cost, and best schedules for
the building of an additional spacelab?
Mr. GIBSON. No, sir; we are obliged under the agreement that
was signed at the Intergovernment level, and confirmed by NASA
agreements to obtain for the United States an additional Spacelab
at the same price that we wo~ild have to pay, or Spacelabs if we ordered
them, so we are really at grips with the contractor at the moment,
regarding timing, regarding costing, and it would be a little premature
at this time to give figures.
We are literally in the middle of negotiations. What I can say is
that in the spirit of the agreement* that we have with the United
States, we are trying to get as good a price as possible.
We have absolutely no interest in seeing the price inflated, and we
are putting just as much, perhaps even more effort, in getting a
satisfactory offer from the firm, than as if we were doing so for
ourselves.
PAGENO="0180"
178
We very much appreciate that the price of the second arid sub-
sequent Spacelabs, particularly in the early days, are really the key to
utilization of Spacelabs.
Mr. FUQUA. To what extent does the schedules of a building of a
second Spacelab effect the cost and schedules of the first Spacelab?
Mr. GIBsoN. It won't effect either the cost or the schedules, sir.
I think this is one of the main reasons why we insisted very strongly
that the agency be involved in the procurement of the second and
third, since if the control is not in the same hands, it would be easy
or tempting for a contractor to play off his two customers, and perhaps
at the end of the day, neither would be really fully satisfied, but we go
from the starting point of our major commitment which is in respect
to the time commitment of the first Spacelab.
We will hustle the second one along as quickly as we can, compatible
with those undertakings.
Mr. FUQUA. I gather from your statement, that both the schedule
and costs are running as projected.
Mr. GIBsoN. Yes, sir; we had worried frankly about the timing.
We have been grappling with what looked like possible time slip-
pages, but I am happy in the last few days to be able to say that we
can handle it. We are all right.
Mr. FUQUA. Mr. Hall, do you have any questions?.
Mr. HALL. Other then to thank Mr. Gibson for his fine statement,
and bid him welcome, I have no questions.
Mr. FUQUA. Are you doing any work to identify the use of the shut-
tle, and particularly Spacelab and space processing, and Earth
observation and astronomy?
You mentioned that in your testimony in going into the 1980's.
Mr. GIBSON. Yes, these are the three areas in which in Europe
we are most interested.
Mr. FUQUA. I was particularly interested in space processing.
Mr. GIBSON. Space processing seems to be at the moment at two
levels of interest.
One is the level of interest of university groups, who are looking
at metallic research, and similar things, and the other level, which is
not really showing itself yet, is the industrial interests.
They are not unrelated, of course, but there are beginning to be
signs that space processing is a success, and if the price of space proc-
essing can be brought down, there would be more than just the simple
experimental interest of the universities.
Mr. FUQUA. Have you been able to organize, the integration
function?
You mentioned that in your statement.
Mr. GIBSON. Yes, indeed, we have a group which is starting work
as of now in Germany, and we are getting functional support from
the German space agency, and from our own agency.
We think it is sensible to put it in Germany, because a tremendous
amount of work has been done in Germany, and we have the assurance
of the German Government that the work which has been done in this
field, will be directly made available to the agency, and through the
ag~ency to the other member states, which makes it a very attractive
offer.
Mr. FUQUA. After the first experimental Spacelab, are you and
NASA having any negotiations about future payloads and how they
may vary?
PAGENO="0181"
179
Mr. GIBSON. Yes, we have already started to talk to NASA flrst,~.
about the general use, and access to shuttle, and composition of pay-
loads, and there are specific discussions going on as to the second of
these payloads.
Mr. FUQUA. Well, we do thank you very much. I hope sometime
later this year, that some of the members of the subcommittee may be
able to visit in Europe, and have a chance to see some of the metal
that you are bending; hopefully that can come about.
Mr. GIBsoN. It would be a great pleasure for us.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you. We appreciate your being here.
Mr. GIBSON. Thank you very much.
Mr. FUQUA. Our next witness is Mr. Charles W. Mathews, Associate
Administrator for Applications for NASA.
We are glad to have you, and you are certainly one of the more~
valuable parts of the space application program.
Do you want to introduce for the record those accompanying you
or maybe speaking for the record.
[Prepared statement and biographical sketch of Mr. Mathews
appears in Volume I, Part 3.]
3TATEMENT OF CHARLES W. MATHEWS, NASA ASSOCIATE ADMIN-
ISTRATOR FOR APPLICATIONS, ACCOMPANIED BY LEONARD
JAFFE, NASA DEPUTY ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR APPLI-
CATIONS; DR. DUDLEY G. McCONNELL, ASSISTANT ASSOCIATE
ADMINISTRATOR FOR APPLICATIONS; SAMUEL H. HUBBARD,
DEPUTY DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM; RUSSELL L.
SCHWEICKART, DIRECTOR, USER AFFAIRS; MAR-TIN P.
SEDLAZEK, DIRECTOR, RESOURCES MANAGEMENT; I. DUKE
~3TANFORD, BUDGET OFFICER, RESOURCES MANAGEMENT;
WILLIAM E. STONEY, DIRECTOR, EARTH OBSERVATIONS PRO-
GRAMS; DR. MORRIS TEPPER, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, EARTH OBSER-
VATIONS PROGRAMS, AND DIRECTOR OF METEOROLOGY; PITT G.
THOME, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, EARTH OBSERVATIONS PROGRANS;
FRANCIS L. WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR, SPECIAL PROGRAMS; AND
J~EROME D. ROSENBERG, DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS
PROGRAM
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I have with me at the table
Mr. Jaffe, my Deputy Associate Administrator for Applications; and
Mr. Martin F. Sedlazek, Director of Resources Management. The
other officials of the Office of Applications are seated behind me, and
they will answer specific questions as needed.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to submit my prepared statement for
the record, but depart from that statement, and talk rather informally
about the program while covering the same general area.
Mr. FUQUA. We will make it a part of the record.
Mr. MATHEWS. Thank you. I will be showing some illustrations of
things that we are doing, and some of the new initiatives that we have.
As you are aware, the applications program has operated, and
continues to proceed at a very modest budget level.
PAGENO="0182"
180
APPLICATIONS FUNDING
BY PROGRAM
IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
FIGURE 1
FY 1917
The first chart, if I could have it, (figure 1) shows the funding level.
There is a relatively small increase from $178.2 to $198.2 million in
the level between fiscal year 1976 and fiscal year 1977.
Mr. FUQtA. Where is the significant increase?
Mr. MATHEWS. I will try to cover that, Mr. Chairman.
Actually, that increase is a little better than compensating for
inflation, but not much better. If you look at the last 3 years, you
will find out that the program essentially has been a level program
in constant year dollars.
However, the increase was not enough to cover adjustments made
in the program, so there also have been both increases and decreases
in the program content.
I will attempt to outline those for you now. We are aggressively
pursuing the earth resources detection and monitoring discipline. As
you well know, it has tremendously valuable possibilities, and in
some cases actual benefits have been achieved with regard to the use
of remote sensing in providing information for resources and energy
management, and the determination of resources, such as extractive
minerals. The increase that you see is largely related to two factors,
one is involved with our applications transfer and demonstration
program.
This is a very deliberate attempt to involve the people that actually
will use the existing capabilities in a very responsible way.
Mr. FUQUA. Where is that on the pie?
Mr. MATHEWS. It is in the earth resources detection and monitoring,
and the amount in fiscal year 1977 is $67.3 million, as compared to
$59.7 million in fiscal year 1976.
Now, the user involvement is very important, because NASA will
not be the ultimate user of this capability. It will be many other
people. The capability is so multi-disciplined, and involves so many
FY1916
TOTAL 198.2
TOTAL 118.2
NASA HO EP76-19560)
1-21-76
PAGENO="0183"
181
agencies, and other organizational elements, that a program has to
be developed to transfer this capability and train the people to under-
stand the technology and be able to utilize it.
That is what is involved in the applications transfer and demon-
stration program.
The second factor is a new initiative, the thematic mapper.
The thematic mapper is a considerable jump in improvement over
the existing LANDSAT instrument, the multispectral scanner, I will
explain some of the advantages of the TM in a moment.
If you move down to the applications explorer missions, that also
shows an increase. These are small payloads launched on the Scout,
which is the smallest launch vehicle in the NASA stable. We have
had two of these applications explorer missions approved in the past.
These two programs are just getting under way. A contract has been
let to the Boeing Co. for the procurement of the spacecraft bus.
Now, we are proposing to initiate a third applications explorer
mission this year, which is call a Magsat, a satellite for precisely
mapping the magnetic field of the world. This is not only important
to other Government agencies like the USGS, in terms of some of
their required functions, but it can also be important for minerals
and petroleum exploration.
I will go into that in a little bit. If you move down to the materials
processing in space, Mr. Chairman, you did ask about that during
Mr. Gibson's testimony, you see an increase there.
This is involved again with two aspects, one is the initiation of a
program that can conduct brief tests in a weightless environment in
the interim period between now and the shuttle time period. The
brief duration tests are conducted on what is known as a sounding
rocket, which is a rocket that goes straight up, and then falls back
down. You can get about 5 to 10 minutes of weightless flight that way,
and it has proved to be fairly effective.
The other aspect is a definition activity associated with Shuttle
payload systems. The Shuttle will be the facility that has the long-
term capability, needed to conduct a space processing program.
There are some other programs that have increased. However,
there is really no new start significance to the increases in that they
are related to previously approved initiatives that are very important
programs, one of which, for example, is SEASAT. This is a program
involved with ocean forecasting, that was approved 2 years ago.
Another is the NIMBUS G, which is a satellite designed to monitor
the atmosphere from the standpoint of the minor constituents, or
contaminants in the atmosphere, particularly the stratosphere, and
that program was approved some 3 years ago.
Those programs are at their peak funding requirements. rphat
produces the particular increase in the funding, you see and is not
related to any new initiatives in that area.
Now, in addition to those increases, you will see that our communi-
cations effort sta.ys at the same level, as it was last year, and the same
is true with the related discipline, information management. Then
there are two areas where the activities have actually decreased in
scope and dollar value.
The weather and climate decrease is primarily related to the fact
that the NIMBUS 5 and 6 satellites have completed their develop-
ment. So in general, the decrease does not really relate to a change in
other elements of the weather and climate program.
PAGENO="0184"
182
Mr. FUQUA. It does not mean a deemphasis, does it?
Mr. MATHEWS. It does not mean a deemphasis in one sense, because
the satellites are producing the data as intended and the big dollars are
in getting the satellites up in the first place. We have deemphasized
the weather programs slightly in one respect, in that the global
atmosphere research program shows a small reduction from its
previous level, from about $7 million, down to about $6 million, and
we have been able to-
Mr. FUQUA. You understand enough about the weather so we can
cut back on it.
Mr. MATHEWS.FrOm my point of view, I do not feel we understand
very much about the weather. I think most people would feel this way.
There is considerable more work to be done, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. FTJQUA. Why are we in effect changing the priority, even though
you have the satellites up ther e working, we are not coming along
with a new generation of spacecraft, of trying to explore phenomena,
we do not understand.
Mr. MATHEWS. Mr. Chairman, in a constrained program, priorities
must be highlighted. We are trying to rearrange the program in such
a way that the aspects involving the more mature elements, like
weather forecasting, are not necessarily put in low-priority categories,
but areas like Earth resources, that are new, and have high potential,
haven't a higher priority.
We would like to have a high priority on all of these things, because
I think they are all important.
Mr. WYDLER. The information you get from ERTS satellites, is
that all distributed free of charge to everybody?
Mr. MATHEWS. All of the imagery produced by the LANDSAT
activity are placed into the public domain; and are immediately
made available to each and every citizen of the world at the cost of
reproduction of the image.
We shortly are going to initiate activities to get some additional
compensation to amortize the investment in this capability, Mr.
Wydler. We are giving consideration to that in terms of the foreign
ground stations and in terms of the charge made at the dissemination
centers.
The major dissemination center is at Sioux Falls, S. Dak., which is
run by the Department of the Interior. There are two others, one in
Suitland, Md., run by the Department of Commerce, and another one
in Salt Lake City, run by the Department of Agriculture.
Mr. WYDLER. When television shows us all of the satellite photos,
they pay nothing for those, is that right?
* Mr. MATHEWS. Actually, the weather satellite photos that you
see were obtained from satellites that were developed by NASA, but
purchased and operated by NOAA of the Department of Commerce.
My understanding is that these photos are provided as a federally
funded service.
Mr. WYDLER. Well, I see it is not in your department, but it in-
trigues me.
In other words, they get these pictures down to earth, they rep:roduce
them, how do they distribute them from that point, where they are on
Earth, and they have a picture, to all of the news stations, who pays
foi~ that?
PAGENO="0185"
183
Mr. MATHEWS. They are generally distributed to NOAA weather
centers that are scattered throughout the entire country, and my
general understanding is that they are then made available to news
services on a pickup basis at those centers.
Mr. WYDLER. They come and get it.
Mr. MATHEWS. That is my understanding.
Mr. FUQUA. I do not want to prolong this.
Did you ask for more money in this area, and it was cut by 0MB?
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes; we did.
Mr. FUQUA. How much additional did you ask for than the $67.3?
Mr. MATHEWS. We asked for about $2 million more in the Earth
resources area.
Mr. FUQUA. You asked for an increase over what you got last
year?
Mr. MATHEWS. That is correct. Overall, the fiscal year 1977 ap-
plication request is $10.5 million below our submission to 0MB.
Mr. FUQUA. Was that decision made at 0MB or at NASA?
Mr. MATHEWS. That decision was a negotiated decision, Mr. Chair-
man, over the period of several months. Of course, one of the factors
here was the general budgetary reductions that the President an-
nounced, I believe in the September or October time period, and then,
of course, all of the agencies and the various subelements of those
agencies went through a reduction exercise. The reduction I spoke of
occurred in that process.
Mr. FUQUA. Go ahead, please.
Mr. MATHEWS. That number of $10 million I quoted was the total
number for the Office of Applications, and not for the weather and
climate area.
The other area we had to reduce was the Earth dynamics monitor-
ing and forecasting discipline.
Now, this is a more long-term-objective program, looking at the
dynamics of the solid Earth; movement of the big crustal plates, and
the movements along faults like the San Andreas Fault, with the idea
to understand earthquake mechanisms and do something about
predicting them, but there are many other desirable features of this
particular program.
However, we have had to cut it back again on the basis of priority.
It is a program that is now aimed largely at evaluating and validating
the measuring systems. These systems can measure, across a continent
with a precision of centimeters. These are very accurate measurements.
Our emphasis is now aimed at validating those measurement systems,
but not really emphasizing the application oi those measurements.
So certain programs have been reduced, like the program we had on
the San Andreas Fault. We have delayed other, programs that study
the motions of these faults. Those are two areas that have been
somewhat compromised in terms of carrying on and expanding some
of the other activities.
I would now like to go into some of the new initiatives that we have,
and let me talk first about the applications transfer and demonstration
activities.
These tend to be fairly large-scale projects, but they do vary in
size, and they have as a criteria the responsible involvement of the
organization who is going to use that capability.
PAGENO="0186"
184
This responsible involvement has to be in the form of manpower,
money, or a combination of the two, or other ways of demonstrating
an intention to take over the technology of the project il successful.
I will show some cases where this is actually being accomplished
in several projects. The first one I want to illustrate is the biggest
one, and perhaps the most interesting. It has got all of the elements
previously discussed associated with it. It is a project called LACIE-
large area crop inventory experiment.
Mr. FUQUA. Before you get to that, I see the Director of User
Affairs back there. I do not even see it on this chart. It is so small, he
cannot get on there.
Mr. MATHEWS. A portion of the money associated with the appli-
cations of transfer and demonstration program, goes into Rusty
Schweickart's activity, but I would not want you to have the im-
pression, Mr. Chairman, that we in NASA really have a strong capa-
bility to perform the breadth of the transfer activity that Rusty is
involved in.
Mr. FTJQUA. How much money is going into user activities?
Mr. MATHEWS. Rusty, do you want to try to answer that question?
Mr. SCHWEICKART. Many of the activities we do, Mr. Cha:irman,
are actually implemented by the direct management within the other
divisions of the Office of Applications, and, therefore, show up within
their budgets.
An example of that is the Applications Systems Verification Tests.
The actual money assigned to my office per se, is relatively small.
The total Office of Applications expenditure over which I have some
awareness, and influence, is in the vicinity of, 14.8 million, in fiscal
year 1977.
Mr. FtTQtTA. But it comes from some or all of it?
Mr. SCHWEICKART. That is correct. Obviously, the largest portion
is in the Earth's resources area, since that is where we see the greatest
immediate potential in terms of user activity.
Mr. MATHEWS. The money that Rusty has more or less direct
control over in terms of economic studies, market analysis, and some
other programs I will go into, like the States Visits Program, is more
like about $5 million.
Mr. FTJQTJA. I just wanted to say I am very disappointed that you
could not expand on that, because we were beginning to make real
break throughs in the earthquake forecasting, in weather, and those
are some areas that did have great potential, and certainly economic
considerations to the people, if you can predict the weather, whether
it be agriculture, construction, aircraft, whatever it might be, it
would be a sound improvement for all the people.
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes, I think these activities should be pursued in
a stronger way. I would hope that in future years these activities
would not be pursued as slowly as they have been, but would culminate
in the things you are talking about, more precise and useful informa-
tion to people like in the building trade and people like the farmers.
Mr. F1JQUA. Thank you.
Mr. MATHEWS. Continuing with these applications demonstra-
tions programs like LACIE. LACIE is the Large Area Crops In-
ventory Experiment, whose aim is to predict in a precise and timely
fashion the wheat production of the world.
PAGENO="0187"
Of course, we do not start out with the world. We start out with
the United States, and then move to other areas. Last year's activity
was largely concerned with the Great Plains area of the United
States.
I would like to tell you about LACIE, (figure 2) to give you a view
of how large this thing works. If we were to take very small sections
of the Great Plains area, up on the top figure, you see a regular
LANDSAT frame which is 100 by 100 miles, and you can see it
includes the corner of Colorado, Oklahoma, and Kansas. You can also
see a number of little squares, interspersed in that area, and the size of
Kansas, and Colorado counties in the picture.
These little squares are 5 by 6 mile sample segments, with one seg-
ment enlarged as shown down here, at four different times during the
year, these times are related to the growing season of winter wheat.
Winter wheat is actually planted in the fall, and grows green in
the fall, and then more or less goes dormant. Then it comes back
in the early spring, and ripens, in this area and is harvested by the
July time period.
Now, what is happening here is the following: that little 5 by 6
mile sample segment is obtained from the Goddard processing system,
and sent to the LACIE organization at the Johnson Space Center.
A photo interpreter then attempts to take a certain number of fields
something like 30 fields where this 5 by 6 mile scene might contain
300 fields, and to identify what is down there, not only the wheat, but
also the things that are not wheat.
FIGURE 2
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Having made that identification, then he interacts with a computer,
which has all the direct information and I will not go into the details
of that interaction but when the interpreter has identified these
fields the computer will identify all the others, and essentially classify
the wheat from the nonwheat.
So the interpreter only takes about a tenth of the fields that are
in the scene, and then perform the same process in a few of the other
segments. You can see, in the area here, we might have the photo
interpreter look at this one, and this one, and the rest will be handled
by the computer. We do not look at all of the wheat, but in a statistical
sense, we look at the many segments, and we can make an estimate
for all of the wheat in that particular area. What is involved is in-
dicated on the next chart (figure 3), and you see, the photo interpreter
looks at about 10 percent of the fields, that he is going to have the
computer train on. Then only 20 percent of the sample segments will
be needed to train in on the computer. Then only ~ percent of the
CLASSIFICATION AND MENSURATION CONCEPT
COMPUTER ESTIMATES TOTAL
LACIE WHEAT-GROWING AREA 6,000,000 SQ MI AREA IN WHEAT (ACREAGE)
* (WITHIN 8 COUNTRIES) 15,000,000 SQ KM FROM SAMPLING MODEL
2-1/2% OF THE AREA WILL BE
COMPUTER EXTENDS CLASSIFICA-
IDENTIFIED AS SAMPLE SEG 150 000 SQ MI lION TO ALL OTHER SEGMENTS.
C c c c MENTS FOR LANDSAT DATA
~ c C c ACQUISITION (ABOUT 5,000 385,000 SQ KM DATA PROCESSING ANALYST
c c c SEGMENTS, EACH 5x6 N MI) ASSURES REASONABLE RESULTS.
C C~ ~
Q
C C COMPUTER CLASSIFIES EACH
C
20% OF THE SAMPLE SEGMENTS PIXEL OF TRAINING SEGMENT
WILL BE IDENTIFIED AS 30,000 SQ MI AS WHEAT OR ANOTHER CATE-
TRAINING SEGMENTS (ABOUT 77,000 SQ KM GORY. DATA PROCESSING
1,000 SEGMENTS) ANALYST ASSURES GOOD
DATA QUALITY.
ABOUT 10% OF THE FIELDS IN
COMPUTER IS TRAINED ON
EACH TRAINING SEGMENT WILL
3,000 SQ MI DATA FROM
BE IDENTIFIED AS WHEAT OR
7,700 SQ KM 10000
ANOTHER CATEGORY (30 OF OF TOTAL LACIE AREA.
APPROXIMATELY 300 FIELDS).
FIGtnZE 3
area will actually be classified, and then extended by a sampling
technique to the world. So that in dealing with a 6 mile square area of
agriculture worldwide, we only have the photo interpreter dealing
with about 3,000 square miles and the computer with the rest. That
is the way you handle a very tremendous data gathering, by making
this capability man-computer so large. That basically is the technique
that is used by LACIE.
As you know, LACIE is a cooperative project with the Department
of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration.
They are heavily involved with their own personnel, and are
putting considerable amounts of money into the activity. The activity
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last year was encouraging. We did not quite make our goals but we
came very close and we know where the problem areas are. We
generally understand the problem, so we are prepared to go into the
second phase of, what you know, it is a three year program.
This year the Department of Agriculture will be defining an opera-
tional type system that they might ultimately will use.
Mr. FUQtTA. Are they going to fund it?
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes, they will be funding their efforts.
Mr. FUQUA. LACIE II?
Mr. MATHEWS. What this will amount to now, is a definition of
what the system will be. Their decision to implement the system
will come at a later time and will be based on next year's and the
followingyear's experience.
LACIE is a big project, but there are projects of other types,
Mr. Chairman, that are smaller, and aimed at other types of organi-
zations, and I would like next to show you a State-oriented type of
project.
This involves a natural resources inventory. Actually, we have
activities of this type going on with two States in a fairly major way.
One is Mississippi, where the customers are, the State agencies,
involved with resources inventory and then the second type of activity
is really in Louisiana and is run under the sponsorship of the Corps
of Engineers. It is more environmentally oriented looking at what is
happening to the wetland area from an environmental standpoint
I will only deal now with the Mississippi case, where we are. working
with State agencies, in classifying the land in Mississippi in various
ways as shown in figure 4.
FIGURE 4
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This is a typical example of a rural land use classification, involving
crops, water, forests, and so forth. This is done by a machine process,
whereby the data are put into a computer, more or less directly,
and come out with this kind of information. Then, the information
is studied by people in the State who are interested in analyzing
overall State crop production of various types: cotton, rice, soybeans,
and so forth; by people who are interested in rural development and
urban development, and the relation of the two, to make sure that
urban growth is not overtaking good agriculture land; by other
people who are interested in managing the forests resources of the
State, and by other people that worry about the wildlife habitats
that are available in the State of Mississippi. Each of these users
one has a special computer program to classify these things they are
interested in, the way they are interested in it. Then they use the
information in conjunction with other data sources in the resource
management process.
Now, where do we stand on this right now? We have come along well
in this demonstration, and the State of Mississippi is now in the
process of programing their own computers with this capability so
that they can take over the function.
The next area I want to mention, is where another Federal agency
(EPA) is entirely funding an activity, involving monitoring of Western
surface mining activity.
* As you know, the Western States are quite worried about the fact
that with the valuable resources they have out there, people are going
to ruin the environment in their extraction activities. The Environ-
mental Protection Agency approached us, with the desire to use remote
sensing for keeping track of what is going on out there.
Figure 5 is an early example.
FIGURE 5
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The next slide, please.
By overlying an area, we can classify the various things that are
happening. This is the Belle Ayr mining area in Wyoming, which is
a very mineral rich area. This is coal, which is pretty important these
days from an energy standpoint, and which is mined generally by
strip mining.
You can see we have identified cultivated vegetation, natural
vegetation, the ares where the Earth is bare from stripping operations,
and where the coal seam is.
It also identified a spoil pile and areas where the mining company
has piled the top soil. This can be replaced to recover the land after
the operation is done. So we not only can monitor what is going on in
terms of the mining activity, we can monitor the recovery operation,
and see the area being revegetated. We cansee if the whole operation
has been accomplished properly. The information is essentially ob-
tained from a computer process and does not have a whole lot of human
involvement in the classification process.
The human only has to know and analyze the thematic signatures
on the image to determine whether the operation is occurring properly.
As I mentioned, this project is being funded in its entirety by the
Environmental Protection Agency.
Now, another area which is of considerable interest, involves water.
The next chart (figure 6) shows some activity that we are doing
in this area. This is watershed in the Wind River Basin area, specifi-
cally the Dinwoody Creek, which becomes a torrent at certain times of
the year. Down below is the reservoir, which people have to manage
to hold the water when they want it, and to prevent flooding.
FIGURE 6
70-079 0 - 76 - 13
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1~o
Now, the outline there is the outline of that watershed. By actually
measuring and areal extent of the snow cover, in those mountains,
which has been done for 3 years in a row, the total seasonal flow of
water can be estimated. For the 3~year comparison of snow cover in
the May time period, we estimate 68.8 million cubic meters, 81.2
million cubic meters, and 98.8 million cubic meters, respectively. It
corelates with the other measurements, and using other techniques,
we can determine what the maximum daily water flow is.
This year, the eastern slopes of the Rockies have a heavy snow cover,
and the Corps of Engineers are worried about flooding conditions
down the Mississippi during' the spring and summer, and we are very
concerned about that.
We have another project that measures the ice in the Great Lakes,
and this data is communicated directly to the ships. We have about
20 ships with receiving equipment. They use it to determine where
to go to avoid thick ice situations, and to keep, their transportation
lanes open as late in the season as possible.
This project has proved very effective during the past 2 years. This
year should be a good test, because it has been a relatively cold winter
m the east. This year, NASA is only in a consultant capacity. The
Coast Guard has taken over the operation, almost in its entirety,
and will pursue it from here on out. So these are some examples of
our ongoing demonstration programs.
Mr. Chairman, I might mention also, we are considering many new
demonstration programs of this type that may involve for example,
work on water management, and work in strip mining monitoring
and reclamation in the eastern United States.
In addition, I do want to illustrate a Census Bureau project. The
Census Bureau wanted to come and talk to the full committee about
it, but there just was not time to schedule it. However, let me give you
a feel of what it is.
Figure 7 shows an area that might be familiar to anybody that has
been up around the Capital Center in the Washington, D.C. suburbs.
PAGENO="0193"
191
The area is Largo, Md., located in Prince Georges County, where,
there has been a tremendous urban build up.
Still, the area has cropland, and pasture, and forested areas. The
main residential areas around Largo have just expanded tremendously
in the 2-year period, between 1971 and 1973.
Now, the Census Bureau takes a census only once every 10 years.
This information is used in taxation and many other things affecting
an area like this, such as Federal programs, which depend on current
population patterns.
So the Bureau is interested in finding some easier way of updating
their information.
Figure 8 gives an illustration of what might be done.
Areas like Prince Georges are generally divided into a series of
census tracts. These are very odd shaped things, because they happen
to be parcels of land. They might have been a farm for instance, wheat
just happens to now retain the old farm boundaries as a census tract,
even though it is now an urban area.
FIGuRE 7
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192
COMPARISON OF 1913
LANDSAT AND CONVENTIONAL
URBANIZED AREA BOUNDARY
~ LANDSAT AND CENSUS BUREAU
AGREED UPON URBAN AREA
AREA OF DISAGREEMENT
REQUIRING FURTHER RESEARCH
163 LANDSAT-DERIVED POPULATION
DENSITY, PEOPLE PER SQUARE MILE
CENSUS BUREAU-DEFINED URBAN
AREA BOUNDARY
CENSUS TRACT BOUNDARY
-- - - BLOCK PARCEL BOUNDARY
These boundaries might be delineated by streets, or water, but it is
a very varied set of areas that you deal with.
As these tracts shift from rural areas into urban areas, obviously
things are happening to the population in them, and the Census
Bureau has a hard time keeping track of what is going on in them.
It is a very expensive proposition to send people out there.
If you take those land use classifications, and just overlay them
across these urban area tracts, then you can say part of that tract is
classified rural, part is single family dwelling, part is industrial. In
each case, they make an estimate based on experience. For instance,
if it is an area of single family dwellings, they assign about 1,000 people
per square mile, and thus can estimate the population.
Now, in the solid color area, the Landsat data checks out reasonably
well.
In the cross hatch area there is a discrepancy. The Census Bureau
will send people in on the ground to see what the problem is, and up-
date their information.
They plan to use this capability in a pilot project in the Austm,
Tex., region. This project is a typical example of the new things we are
getting into.
I would now like to turn from the user area to the area of new devel-
opments. I mentioned we are planning to develop a new instrument
that would improve our capability over the existing Landsat system.
The Landsat capability is not, just like everything else, the last
word. We need to take important new steps.
The next important new step is the Thematic Mapper which is a
multispectral scanner with certain very important improved perform-
ance features.
Fiaui~ 8
NASA HO E6761617 (1)
(5.,. 1)11-14-76
PAGENO="0195"
1.3
Typically, the Thematic Mapper will be able to make images with
a resolution, two or three times greater than is available with the
Lansat Multispectral Scanner.
The smallest thing that can be seen with the Multispectral Scanner
is about an acre, and the smallest thing that the Thematic Mapper
will be able to see is about a fifth of an acre.
To classify what is down there, you have to have a number of these
little units of resolution aggregated together. So basically the thematic
mapper probably can determine what is down there, if it is corn, or
wheat, if the field area is about 5 acres whereas the multispectral scan-
ner can do so only if it is about a 25-acre field.
Figure 9 shows the importance of that difference because of the
distribution of field sizes in the world. In terms of percentages of fields
involved, the MSS can only discriminate about half of the field sites.
WORLDWIDE ESTIMATED FIELD SIZE DISTRIBUTION
Now, in a way, that sounds bad; however in another way it is not
so bad.
It can do a pretty good job an anything that is grown in large fields
like wheat. But if you want to go to rice, you cannot do too much
because rice paddies are small. However, the thematic mapper will
see about 80 percent of the world's fields, and it works out that it
can process most of the fields that produce food involved in world
trade. This is a primary reason why we want the thematic mapper.
We also need to be able to classify more precisely, and indeed that
can be done by providing more color bands.
The LANDSAT MSS system senses in four color bands. The the-
matic mapper, senses in six color bands.
100
80
MULTISPECTRAL
SCANNER
(SEES 50%)
~4)
~ 60
"a
`U
CD
`U
C.,
"a
a-
20
THEMATIC
MAPPER
0
2,500
25
FIELD SIZE IN ACRES
FzGu~ 9
NASA NO ER76-2027 (1)
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194
REFLECTANCE FROM VEGETATION
I I I I I I `
.~
-~-~--
I I i t___~_
1 1.5 2
WAVELENGTH IN MICROMETERS
NASA HO 511761575 (1)
122375
Fiau~ 10
I do not want to get into detail here, but the color bands are repre-
sented by the bars in figure 10. Some of these, you cannot see with the
human eye, but we will call them colors anyway. What we are measur-
ing is the intensity of the reflection off a surface. If it is wheat or an-
other crop, the intensity of the reflection in these color bands varies
as you can see by the various curves. The idea is to select bands that
would most appropriately determine that variation, and differentiate
it from some other crop, like soybeans or corn.
Now, the wavelength is about eight-tenths of a micrometer is very
important to sensing vegetation.
The LANDSAT does have the eight-tenths of a micrometer, as well
as the 3 bands below it, but it does not have that one out at 1% micro-
meters which is sensitive to the water content in leaves and thus helps
determine whether a crop is stressed or whether it is growing p]roperly.
In addition to that band, the thematic mapper will have a heat
sensor, which is in a band way off the scale of figure 10.
Looking at the left of figure 10, the first band goes lower on the
spectrum than LANDSAT does. The feature of that is that it can
penetrate water better, which has obvious advantages.
Now, of course, these instruments are measuring the brightness
level: how much reflectance. The thematic mapper will have a more
accurate way of measuring the brightness, about four times as
accurate.
The preliminary designs for this instrument have been completed
by three different companies, and this spring we will be issuing a
request for a proposal to develop this instrument.
I I I I
70
60
50
LU
C.)
~4o
10
0
TYPICAL
REFLECTANCE
CURVES FOR
* WHEAT
SOYBEANS
CORN - - -
I I.
0.5
I
PAGENO="0197"
195
Obviously, this instrument will be very good in detecting smaller
agriculture fields; for improving our urban land use activities which
involves looking at smaller elements. It will be very good for precisely
mapping flooding, and many other additional uses in addition to the
capabilities of LANDSAT.
Now, let me cover one other instrument. This will be a shuttle-
based instrument. If you remember, Mr. Chairman, back in the fall I
mentioned we had made measurements of hydrogen chloride, which
is a real worry in the stratosphere, These worries are largely associated
with possible ozone depletion through freon release. But in addition
to freon, anything that involves the chlorine in the stratosphere can af-
fect ozone. Chlorine tends to absorb the ozone in a catalytic fashion, and
the ozone is our shield against the harmful ultraviolet radiation reach-
ing the surface of the earth.
However, the chlorine element compounds have been very hard to
measure. The first time we actually made a stratospheric hydrogen
chloride measurement actually it was with a 15-2 aircraft flying an
instrument called a high speed interferometer (HSI).
This is a big cumbersome instrument, and is not the kind of instru-
ment we necessarily would fly on a satellite, or even fly in space.
We intend, however, to put this type of instrument into a practical
space configuration. The instrument is to be known as the Mark II
(HSI). It is still a big instrument, so it will fly on a shuttle as shown
in figure 11. This instrument is capable of measuring almost any type
of constituent in the atmosphere.
FIGURE 11
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It would not be used for normal routine monitoring, but rather, to
determine what is there in the atmosphere and then determine what
should be monitored routinely from a satellite. Then we can develop
an instrument to go out and monitor that particular constituent. The
Mark II HSI can make measurements of all of the things you heard
about: Carbon monoxide, the chlorine compounds, hydrogen, and
so forth, either by looking straight down, or by looking at the horizon
of the Earth.
It would be put into Mr. Gibson's Spacelab, and deployed out of
an airlock (figure 11).
Because the instrument can gather so much data, the operator on
board would monitor its output to determine what data he should
be relaying to the ground. In other words, not all of the data would
be critical and needed. He would perform an editing and management
function aboard the Spacelab in this particular case. Then when we
determine what elements in the stratosphere are critical to us, we
would then design a satellite with special purpose instruments to
monitor that element. The satellite would provide continuous monitor-
ing. So this is one of our new initiatives this year.
Let me go on to Magsat. People have been measuring the magnetic
field of the Earth for some time. Perhaps you will remember, when
Professor Scharon talked about mineral exploration, he said the
LANDSAT information was the greatest improvement since World
War II when people first thought of monitoring the magnetic field
from aircraft. But there are some advantages to monitoring the
magnetic field from space.
In the first place, our friends over in the U.S. Geological Survey
have a requirement to provide magnetic field data for wor]Ldwide
maps every 10 years, and to have maps for navigational purposes
updated every 5 years.
Those maps have not been as precise as the USGS would like,
but from a navigational standpoint, and perhaps from another
viewpoint the magnetic field measurements from space might be
even more important.
This is a worldwide magnetic field map which shows how the local
field differs from the main field. The color codes indicate the magnitude
of these differences.
In general the local field is relatively uniform, but in certain spots
you can see that the magnetic properties of the Earth change very
sharply, and in many cases, this is in remote areas, and in the oceans.
Now I want to talk about some local fields we see in central Africa.
Let us turn to figure 12.
PAGENO="0199"
197
was
re, nobo
addition it c
~ravity ano:"
P9
we found that there was
look at it in the overall
the l-~
ous explana
bed to mi~
FIGuRE 13
PAGENO="0200"
198
Other people think it is more related to the fact that there are tec-
tonic plates that intersect right at that point. It is a very interesting
feature that has now excited much interest among many people, and
they are going out to see what is there.
Mr. DowNING. Is the gravity stronger than in other places?
Mr. MATHEWS. This is a gravitational depression. The gravity
field is weaker at that particular point,, and the. magnetic field is
weaker at that particular point. However there are other cases where
there are things that are just the opposite.
We have had inquiries from many of the mining and petroleum
exploration companies, and other people having an interest in getting
good accurate maps from the Magsat satellite. About 1,50)0 have
expressed an interest.
When I say we, I mean the U.S. Geological Service, and not NASA.
FIGuRE 14
Now, to get precise maps, it takes a certain amount of doing.
The next chart shows the satellite (figure 14). You can see iibs main
feature is a big boom. The instruments are `mounted way out at the
end of that boom. They consist of very precise magnetometers, one
that will measure the strength of the magnetic field, and the other will
measure the direction of the magnetic field. We have to get them away
from the satellite, because the magnetometers are so sensitive that
electrical current in the satellite will affect their readings, hence the
big boom. However, we have to worry about where the boom is looking,
because it is flexible. So there has to be a very good optical system to
PAGENO="0201"
199
determine very precisely the attitude of the sensors, relative to the
space craft. This is the way Magsat will make very precise measure-
ments on a global scale of the Earth's magnetic field.
Mr. Chairman, these three developments, the Thematic Mapper,
the High Speed Inferometer, and the Magnetic Field Satellite, are
the ones we are proposing to initiate in fiscal year 1977.
Mr. FUQUA. Why do you have it in a slightly elliptical orbit?
Does that affect your measuring?
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes.
We are interested in getting the satellite, looking as low as possible.
This requires an elliptical orbit.
The 6 months lifetime is what you need to have repetitive informa~.
tion, because external disturbances like solar flares, affect the magnetic
field, and you do not want to be confused by the solar flares.
Mr. FUQUA. Within a 6-month time period, do you get a cross scan
of the entire Earth?
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes; several times, so you can eliminate these
external effects.
I might mention the Earth's magnetic field is continually changing.
Over a 10-year time period, I think it changes 7 percent, which is
very significant in terms of exploration or navigation.
Mr. DOWNING. Does this affect compass bearings?
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes, it does. The maps that the USGS is required to
put out, and to update every 5 years is recognition of the fact it affects
the direction the compass is pointing on ships.
Let me move on to materials processing. I know the committee is
interested in this.
We are trying to interest the highly industrialized organizations in
materials processing. We think this is something on which private
industry really should take a lot of interest. They are used to doing
research of materials and it has a big payoff in new materials in such
things as plastics, high temperature alloys, and things like that.
We know that research has a big leverage, and we think industry
ought to move to space materials processing in a big way.
Now, in a way, before they can, they will have to wait for the
Shuttle, but we can stimulate their interest right now. Of course, we
have had some opportunities, like Skylab and ASTP ahead to do some
work within the area, and I would first like to cover one of the ASTP
results.
This is an experiment using the process of electrophoresis to separate
biological materials found in the body. The interest in doing this is
the ability to separate materials that have particularly special useful
properties, for example, a substance called urokinase. This is an
enzyme that actually can dissolve blood clots. It has been obtained in
Earth-based processes, but it is very expensive because it is so hard
to get any large quantities from the processes.
Urokinase is obtained from living kidney cells, but only from a
certain class of kidney cells, and the question was, could the electro-
phoresis process, which is an electrical separation process, separate
out the kidney cells that dominantly produce urokinase. Abbott
Laboratories flew an experiment to answer this question and the
answer from ASTP, is yes it could do that.
I think Abbott Labs and everyone was extremely encouraged by
the result.
PAGENO="0202"
200
Now, there is also bad news along with the good news, and that
is that although these separated kidney cells were returned alive, the
process of handling them did not leave them too lively, and as a result,
we were not able to sustain a culture of them once we got them back
on the ground. We are confident, however, that this problem can be
solved. The important thing is we were able to separate out the cells.
Now, we want to keep on going with these kinds of things, and
the only way we know to do it, while we wait for the shuttle is through
the sounding rockets that I mentioned, the little rockets that go
straight up, and come back down. They have about 5 to 10 minutes
of weightlessness, and then put out a parachute and land the payload.
We do this out at the White Sands Proving Grounds in New
Mexico. We have already flown one flight, which was a highly success-
ful one. The payload actually is small, but can accommodate a large
number of experiments.
That payload shown in figure 15 is about 18 inches in diameter,
and about 8 feet long. It happens to be investigating alloys and
similar materials, various types of processes in which there is a big
gravity effect that is detrimental to the process. As you can see there
were about nine different experiments carried out.
FIGuRE 15
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201
This flight was flown in mid-December. We do not yet have the
quantitative results, except to say all of the experiments worked
functionally. We are in the process of analyzing them. We intend to
fly about three or four of these flights a year, maybe a little more,
depending on the interest. We will try to involve nonaerospace
industry more in this activity as we proceed.
OK. Now, to take up one other subject.
Mr. FUQIJA. You have one there about the behavior of metal.'
I assume that is something that affects the stress.
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes, people are interested in foaming metals.
Metals are so heavy, you cannot foam them on Earth very well.
The bubbles flow to the top, but you can foam a metal up in space,
and greatly change its mechanical properties.
We are well aware of the value of plastic foams. Metal foams would
be just as valuable if you could make them. If you get away from grav-
ity, you can make metal foams. This experiment was a kind of basic
study, and another one did involve foams.
I want to talk a little bit about communications, if I might, Mr.
Chairman.
I will start out by saying we launched the Communications Tech-
nology Satellite (CTS) just a couple of weeks ago. It is a little bit
different looking communications satellite, but one which I think you
have seen before.
Most of the satellites you have seen did not have those big wings
(figure 16) that seem to completely dominate this satellite.
PAGENO="0204"
FIGuRE 16
Those wings are actually solar cell arrays which on communii ations
satellites are usually found on the body of the satellite.
The reason CTS has to have such big wings is that it transmits
such a tremendous amount of power relative to its size that it takes a
lot of power to run it.
This is a cooperative program between Canada and the United
States, in which the high-powered transmitter was developed by the
United States, and the satellite by the Canadians.
Now, as a result of that, and the fact we launched it, we get half the
time on the satellite, but I think it is also significant that the Cana-
dians have the most powerful communications satellite in the world
nght now
202
PAGENO="0205"
203
That will not last too long, because the Japanese are procuring a
more powerful satellite, and the Germans are also planning to procure
a still more powerful satellite.
These satellites will be able to communicate in both directions
simultaneously. They are called broadcast satellites.
The bottom line on figure 17 represents the more conventional satel-
lite system. The top line indicates broadcast satellites.
EARTH STATION ANTENNA DIAMETER
FOR VARIOUS COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES
10~
GERMAN BROADCAST SATELLITE
JAPANS BROADCAST SATELLITE (BS)
~ 80 CANADIAN COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY SATELLITE (CTS)
TV BROADCAST AT 12GHz
~50.
INTELSAT V WEST SPOT BEAM
~ . *NASAATS-6
.INTELSAT IV SPOT BEAM
~-$~ANADA'S ANIK
30 . ~`~RENCH/GERMAN SYMPHONIE
TYPICAL CONVENTIONAL
INTELSAT III COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITES
(1 * I I -
10 20 30 40 50 80
MINIMUM EARTH STATION RECEIVER ANTENNA (DI& IN FEET) NASAHQEC7~1IS5(1)
FIGURE 17
Now, you see the ATS-6 on the bottom line. The chart shows it
could transmit to small community type receiving antennae, as com-
pared to say a big 30 foot dish or something like that.
These are getting then to antenna smaller than 10 feet and that is
about when people call it a broadcast satellite.
The ATS-6 achieves that by having a great big antenna up in orbit.
The CTS achieved that by having a very powerful transmitter, and
future systems will achieve more power by a combination of those
two features.
These satellites will broadcast in a different frequency range from
conventional communications satellites. The Canadians are the first
ones to use new 12-GHZ frequency band.
If you go to the top of the curve (fig. 17) you will notice there is a
Japanese broadcast satellite, which can use a ground antenna that i~
just a few feet in diameter, the kind of thing you can set on the top of
your TV set, or put on the roof of your house. They indeed intend to
broadcast to their homes, directly from their satellite into home
receivers.
This Japanese satellite has another interesting feature, a shaped
beam that just covers their islands. When you lay down this very
PAGENO="0206"
204
powerful signal, you want to keep it contained so that it won't spill
out into adjacent countries, and that is a new technology.
U.S. industry is building that satellite for the Japanese, but again,
the Japanese are the ones that are going to use it, use this technology.
The Japanese are building the small ground terminals. The high
production potential involves the small ground terminals, and not
with the satellites.
There would just be one satellite up there, but there may be millions
of ground stations that will use this capability. The Germans are
planning even to go to smaller receiving antennas.
Now, let me talk a little bit about where this leads us. The tendency
is to go to very high power, big antenna systems in space, because
the receivers can then be produced for a few hundred dollars, and you
can provide broadcast to anybody in the world that can afford a
receiver costing a few hundred dollars. This is the direction everybody
is going, and that is the drive of our NASA technology program,
except we are not putting it together in satellites, at the present time.
Now, in addition, I should point out that there will come a day
pretty soon when the satellites will have much higher power, and size
for their antennas. This will probably be in the Space Shuttle time
period, because the antenna will probably have to be assembled in
space. This will enable us to have two-way mobile communications.
You are aware of the fact that the taxi people, and the police, and
everyone else are using mobile communications. It will be very nice
in the future to have the ground-based equipment small enough so
that people can carry portable units with which they can call back
and forth, through the satellite. Indeed, it would be very possible to
have extremely small equipment in your pocket, or even ultimately,
as a wrist communication system. If you wanted to use your tele-
phone when you are walking down the street, you could call arid talk
to the appropriate people.
That is in the not too far distant future, and there can be a tre-
mendous market for that ultimately.
Mr. FIJQUA. We are catching up with Dick Tracy.
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes, he had that idea.
That is the direction the technology is going, and it is an important
thing for the United States to keep up with that technology.
We have a position of leadership at the moment, and we should try
to keep that position.
In closing, I just want to mention one other thing, Mr. Chairman,
that is, that we are making every attempt to increase our interactions
with the people that have use for these capabilities. We are lookiing for
a much earlier involvement of what we call user groups in planning our
programs, establishing requirements, and so forth.
As a result, we are developing a set of user working groups, in which
we will attempt to bring together people in the areas of agriculture,
water resources, land inventories, the area of mining and petroleum
technology. We will have them involved in our operations early and
more or less continuously, as groups we can call on, and say here are
some new developments coming on the scene; can you help us establish
the associated requirements for practical use.
In addition, we are going to the States, and talking about the
programs they have, and talking to them about their problems, and
how this capability we have relates to the problems they have. Actually
PAGENO="0207"
205
we are trying to develop the situation where the States that have
already employed the technology in a practical way can work with
other States that have not yet employed this type of technology, to
show them about how they could do this.
We are also very interested in getting industry more involved in
the user activities, bccause they have services to provide, as well as
equipment.
In addition, we have found that many of the users, do not feel that
our documentation is adequate. They are very interested in a given
program, but there is no way to get handbooks on how to use the
technology. So we have started developing handbooks. For instance,
in strip mining areas, we have already developed a handbook for users,
to explain the potential uses of LANDSAT in carrying out that type
activity.
We are also concerned with training, and although we have done
limited training ourselves, we are working primarily with the people
in the Department of the Interior, in their Earth resources observa~
tions systems program, to implement training. We are also attempting
to provide direct user assistance in many cases. This can be to industry,
or it can be State government, or it could be Federal agency.
Figure 18 shows an operation going on at the Goddard Space Flight
Center just outside of Washington, D.C. Here the Census Bureau
people have come in and they are working directly with the Goddard
equipment in a facility called Intra-Lab as part of working out the
problems I have already described to you in updating census infor-
mation. This facility is open to many other people as well.
FIGuRE 18
70-079 0 - 76 - 14
PAGENO="0208"
206
The St. Regis Paper Company came in and said they wanted to
use this in terms of their forests, so we are working with them. We are
also working with the Federal Power Commission, which has to
worry about routing of power transmission lines.
The State agency user activity is largely centered down in Mis-
sissippi, where a similar facility at NSTL is used to suppo:rt the
States.
Mr. FUQTJA. Are you doing any work with the U.S. Forest Service?
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes, we are, and that is being done at the Johnson
Space Center.
Mr. FUQUA. One of the problems they have is trying to get accurate
acreage, of how much wood reserve we have, and I mentioned the
fact that they ought to talk to you people, that I thought you could
help them, but nobody there that day appeared to have any knowl-
edge about it.
Mr. MATHEWS. Most of these agencies are relatively big, but some
of the people know about these techniques. In fact, there is a Forest
Service man in residence down at JSC working that exact problem.
But there is a definite problem of really getting the word out as
broadly as it should be. It takes manpower and dollars to do that,
and that is what Rusty Schweickart referred to.
Mr. FUQUA. You are talking about wheat, the age of timber,
whether it be for pulp or for sawdust, and the condition of it, diseased
or otherwise, and it is all very important to the national reserves.
Mr. MATHEWS. That is right, and, of course, there are new legal
requirements for better timber inventories right now, as a result of
recent legislation.
I hope, Mr. Chairman, I have been able to convince you that we
are trying very hard not only to create capable space technology that
has practical use, but that we are also trying to get this technology
out and into use.
There is much work to be done, but we are working very hardl at it.
Thank you very much.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you, Chuck.
We were at Marshall Spaceffight Center a year or so ago, and they
were explaining to us the project that might affect the Spacelab, or
in satellites, relating to clouds and fog and smog, and experiments
on some type of lab.
4s that project still going forward?
Mr. MATHEWS. That is an activity we have underway, which has,
I think, great importance, because it is related severe weather phe-
nomena, such as thunderstorms, hail, and so forth. This activity is
to try and understand what is happening inside the clouds, why do
some clouds produce severe atmospheric activity and other clouds
do not.
Why out of a thousand thunderstorms, only one produces a tornado?
Nobody really understands that very well. One of the reasons is
that it has been very difficult to observe the very basic phenomena
that is associated with the development of cloud droplets, from a
microscopic phase, into a size of a drop that turns into a hailstone or
raindrop.
Mr. FUQUA. Do you use your sounding rockets?
Mr. M~tTU~W~, It is not sufficient for that type of observation
because of the short time of weightless flight.
PAGENO="0209"
207
Mr FUQUA You will need something like Spacelab
Mr MATHEWS We will need Spacelab We have been working on
this particular project We would like to work on it faster, but at the
present time, we have had a very good definition program going on.
We also have a very good involvement of the scientific community
that deals with that type of activity They are very active in the
program.
We would like to push it along so it is available for an early flight
on the Shuttle
Mr FUQUA That would be very important
You mentioned about LACIE, and you passed over it real fast,
but I gather probably some of your goals will not be met this year.
Will that have any effect on any of our other programs?
Mr. MATHEWS. No; let me go into that in a little bit more detail.
As one would expect in a program of that type, we have encoun-
tered both success and problems
One of our early concerns was whether we could handle the large
mass of data After some early difficulties, indeed, we got that all
under control, and it is no longer a problem
We also had some problems in terms of activities associated with
the wmter wheat States, like Kansas, Nebraska, Texas and so forth
Those problems are understood and solved, and the solutions
pretty well demonstrated
There is one winter wheat State that does have some anomalies
that we have to solve, but we did meet our goal We have aggregated
the States to a Great Plains estimate
In the spring wheat States, which involves States like North
Dakota and Montana, we have still some problems It appears that
our sample distribution was not quite right It does not appear to be
a technical problem from the standpoint of misclassification or
something like that However it is important that we solve that
problem now because in the next phase we are moving up to Canada,
which is essentially spring wheat, and of course climatically very
similar to some of the major wheat growing areas of the world like
the Soviet Union So we need to solve those problems, and we are
confident we can
Mr. FUQUA. You mentioned the climatic effort, and we were at
one place last spring where they were showing some work that they
were doing with aircraft in identifying some parasitic vines, growing
in the artichoke fields, which is very detrimental
Mr MATHEWS A melon
Mr FTJQUA Yes, and they were able to distinguish even though
both were green, between the good and the bad
Now, is that what the thematic mapper does?
Mr MATHEWS No, that is something we will continue to do with
airplanes
In developing a system that had a global capability, you have to
be fairly careful that you do not gather more data than you handle.
The space system will go only to a certam point, and then it becomes
a question of practicality As time goes on, the resolution is improving,
but you eventually reach the point where you are generating tre-
mendous amounts of data, that are impractical to handling in a
timely fashion With the thematic mapper we are prepared to gp
in a system that has 10 times the data gathering capability of LAND
PAGENO="0210"
208
SAT when you want to look at more precise things over small areas,
you need an airplane The satellite is only part of a total system
involvmg airplanes, and people making measurements on the ground
There are therefore relatively few things in which the satellite makes
the measurements completely mdependent of everything else
Mr FUQUA What are you domg with other Government ag ncies,
and how much effort?
You mentioned the Geological Survey, the Census Bureau, what
other agencies, the Agriculture Department, what other agencies are
you working with?
Mr MATHEWS We can have Rusty answer that
Mr SCHWEICKART Mr Chairman, as a matter of fact, it is interest-
ing that I just asked some of my people to come up with a tentative
listing of that this morning as I left I could give you some idea of the
number of agencies We are working at the present time with just
about three quarters of the agencies m the Federal Government
Certainly, I could mention the major ones, the Department of Interior,
and many of the agencies withm the Department of Interior, such as
the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife We are also
working with many agencies in Commerce, and in particular those
like NOAA and also those of the Bureau of Census, and we of ourse
are workmg with the Corps of Engineers on a great variety of projects
With EPA, we have the western strip mining monitoring gomg on,
as well as looking at other monitoring activities within EPA
I would say those are a few of the major agencies that we are
working with Then there are many other agency mvolvements at a
much lower level We are presently looking at our ability to assist
agencies such as HEW and HUD, and some of the responsibilities
they have in community development, urban planning, that kLnd of
thing
In addition to that, there are many of the State agencies They are
just too many to really get into depth here, but we can supply you
with a listing
Mr FUQIJA I am really glad to see you are working with the State
agencies and the regional commissions That is excellent
Mr MATHEWS We can give you a good update, and there is some
very interestmg work gomg on m the Pacific Northwest region, which
covers a great number of State agencies
Mr FUQUA Thank you, Rusty
Mr Downing?
Mr DowNING Thank you very much, Mr Chairman
Mr Mathews, that is an excellent presentation I always thought
your section was the most important section in NASA
Mr MATHEWS So do I, Mr Chairman
Mr DOWNING I think you are underfunded, and a part of that
might be of your own doing
What are you askmg for this year, about $200 million?
Mr MATHEWS Yes, that is correct
Mr. DOWNING. And you do not get much above that.
Mr MATHEWS No, we have never gotten above that In the
history of the program, we have never gotten above $200 million.
We are at $198 2, million and so we are commg close
Mr DOWNING If you had more, could you use it?
Mr MATHEWS Yes, sir
PAGENO="0211"
209
Mr. FUQUA. Ask him where.
Mr. DOWNING. That is a good question.
Where?
Mr. MATHEWS. I think one of the biggest needs there is in this
area is user interaction.
NASA in general is dealing with flight hardware and it tends to be
the higher dollar value activities. But it turns out that there is a
fairly massive effort required to take new, relatively sophisticated
technology, and get people familiar enough with it that they can
evaluate and adopt, it. Those kinds of problems occur in the advent
of the computer, which is in wide use now. But there was a time when
people did not understand it very well. Developing up~derstanding is
a major effort, and it is a manpower consuming effort. Of course, we
can do a lot from within the agency, but we need help. We need to
have organizations, in terms of industry, nonprofit organizations,
and so forth, in preparing materials and documents, conducting
surveys, and so forth.
In terms of technical capability, we see this very clearly. We could
make tremendous progress where we are not.
I think in terms of severe storm observations, we are prepared to
move out more aggressively on that.
In terms of the Pollution Monitoring Program, we are prepared
to move out more aggressively on that.
Hopefully, in the general area of Earth Resources, we will be moving
out.
Mr. DOWNING. As a comparative layman, I am interested in how
you select your programs.
For instance, if you had a decision to make between a program
which would eventually lead to a cure of cancer, (to use an extreme) or
the exploration of the magnetic field of the earth, I would tend to go
toward the cancer program.
Who selects your programs?
Mr. MATHEWS. Well, Mr. Downing, we, of course, select the pro-
grams. They are related to our evaluation of the nature of the problem,
and our expertise in contributing to the solution, and also to the in-
stitutional arrangements, which are practical to this pursuit.
For instance, if there is a space capability that can be applied,
to a cancer problem (and there has been) then most certainly we would
work in that area, but it is not really practical from an institutional
standpoint for us to work in an area, that is' not really a space related
area. There are other institutions of the Government that are chartered
to do that.
Without making suitable arrangements, and really having them
support us by means of funding, and so forth, we can't get into those
things.
Mr. DOWNING. Who selects the programs?
Mr. MATHEWS. The programs, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Downing,
are actually selected by a number of processes.
Sometimes it is grass roots, that is, the field centers of our agency
come up with various ideas that are related to the work they have
been doing, or perhaps even new ideas.
Those are brought into an activity that involves a synthesis of the
idea from first indications of applications, into the applications pro-
gram. Does it fit? Doea it not fit? Should it be done by somebody else
PAGENO="0212"
210
in NASA, or should it be done NASA at all? Then of course these
programs are ultimately reviewed up through the management cycle
in NASA, and on to the executive branch of the Government.
Mr. DOWNING. Who says, I will take this program, this one, we
will take this one, and discard that one, somebody has to make that
decision, who does that?
Mr. MATHEWS. This is really done by the program organization in
the particular discipline area with the support of many outside groups
and inside groups.
Mr. FtrQUA. Do you have a peer review?
Mr. MATHEWS. That is correct. We have a Space Applications
Board, which is entirely independent of NASA, that pretty well
reviews everything we are doing. They are looking right now at the
communications area, to determine whether we are doing enough.
Mr. DOWNING. Does the Space Applications Board make the
decision as to the program?
Mr. MATHEWS. They advise and recommend to us. If this is a
program in communications, for example, it would come under the
jurisdiction of my office, Mr. Downing; then my divisions would
make proposals to me, and we would interact back and forth to
determine whether we would bring activity forward.
Sometimes, of course, we are told from the top that we are to do
something but most of the time, it comes from the grassroots, people
coming up from the centers, or suggestions coming in from the outside,
and then the synthesis is basically done within my office.
Mr. DOWNING. I do not know that I quite understand that.
Do you make the decision?
Mr. MATHEWS. I make the initial decision.
Now, things that get dropped from the program after that, of course,
are decisions on the part of other people in general, and sometimes
things are added, but most of the time my divisions go forward with a
program to me, and then I synthesize that program with their help to
go forward to our management, where it is synthezised in the total
NASA program.
Mr. DOWNING. You do not consult with the American housewife
in your decision?
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes; we consult with the user organizations, and if
the American housewife is involved, we should and would consult
with her.
* I mentioned these user working groups, which are a mechanism to
bring in the outside requirements of people. We did this very effec-
tively in the SEASAT pr~gram. We brought in the American Institute
of Merchant Shipping. We brought in the other Federal agencies.
We brought in the various Oceanographic agencies, and right from the
beginning of the program. We do certain things. We asked, do you
think you could use it, and then how well would these things have to
perform, if you could use them, tell us how you could use them, and
then iterate back and forth sometimes pretty painfully, because of the
dollars, and compromise does enter into coming up with such things as
the SEASAT program.
That activity is stifi in force and going on.
Mr. DOWNING. Incidentally, you did not mention SEASAT m your
prepared testimony.
Is that coming along all right.
PAGENO="0213"
211
Mr. MATHEWS. Yes; it is coming along very well. We recently let
the contract for the spacecraft bus, and all of the instruments will be
under contract soon.
The support from the other Federal agencies is coming along very
well, such as with NOAA, and the Department of Defense, and we are
about to enter into agreement with the Fleet Numerical Weather
Service, for their support with the data processing activities related to
ocean forecasting. So it is coming along very well.
Mr. DOWNING. When will that program be launched?
Mr. MATHEWS. It will be launched about the middle of 1978.
Mr. DOWNING. I notice in your testimony, you mentioned the possi-
bility of programs emphasizing search and rescue at sea, and, of course,
this brings to mind last summer, one of your colleagues was lost at
sea, between Bermuda and New York for a period of 14 days, and I
received many requests of whether NASA has the capability of scan-
ning that area of the Atlantic Ocean, and the answer came back no.
Do you think we will ever get to the point where that will be a
possibility?
Mr. MATHEWS,. Mr. Downing, we have the technical capability to
do it. We do not have the operational responsibility, and there is no
system in place, but the technical capability in fact does exist and has
been demonstrated. Mr. Hubbard, you might talk about the recent
experience in this area.
Mr. HUBBARD. The common emergency beacon device that I am
sure you have heard about, called emergency locator transmitter
beacon, that some aircraft and offshore boats carry, usually put out a
relatively low powered signal that can be intercepted by aircraft and
other listening stations.
We ran an experiment very recently with one of these beacons. We
admittedly elevated the power to half a watt, located the position of
this beacon with the satellite, and a ground computing technique to
within about 11 kilometers. What this means to us is that a satellite
technique of that type could indeed be useful with these beacons.
The unfortunate situation in the event you referred to, the beacon
was lost overboard. As a consequence, there was no indication that
they could have been detected remotedly to indicate that the boat
was in trouble.
Mr. DOWNING. I understand there was a cloud cover during the
entire period.
Mr. HUBBARD. Yes. There was a series of events that worked against
us in that incident and resulted in a tragedy.
Mr. DOWNING. Thank you very much. I must confess, I still do not
believe I understand how you select the programs, but perhaps we can
get together and you can tell me.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. FUQUA. We want to thank you. We will have some questions to
submit to you for the record, to tie up some of the lose ends that we
may have.
That will conclude the meeting this morning. We will reconvene on
Tuesday, February 3, at 10 a.m., in room 2318, with John Yardley,
the Office of Space Flight.
The committee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, the committee was adjourned at 12 noon.]
[Additional questions and answers for the record. Also see Volume I,
Part 3 for additionial questions and answers:]
PAGENO="0214"
212
QUESTION 1~ In figure 4$l, which contains percentage break-
downs of FY 1976 vs. the new FY 1977 figures,
I notice a drop in the Weather and Climate
Observation and Forecasting area of 6.4% for
FY 1977 and a drop in the Earth Dynamics
Monitoring and Forecasting of 42.5% for FY
1977. Does this mean a deemphasis? What
plans, if any, were changed?
ANSWER: Wit~~p~ct to Weather and Climate Observa
tion and Forecasting:
The change of funding support to the Weather
and Climate Program from $42.7M for FY 1976 to
$36.3M for FT 1977 is primarily due to the
following:
- A funding decrease in the Nimbus 5 & 6
satellite program because of the launch of
Nimbus 6 on June 12, 1975. FY 1977 effort
does not include any work on a new Nimbus
satellite specifically for the Weather &
Climate Program.
- A funding decrease in the Global Atmo-
spheric Research Program (GARP) where we
have reduced our funding support by $1.OM
through the elimination of a second summer
Data Systems Test (DST) period. The first
summer DST has produced the data required
to characterize adequately that season of
the year.
- The funding decrease in the Severe Storm
Research Program which has impacted only
the future satellite systems area through
the reduction in funding of studies of
Stormsat and slowed the rate( of develop-
ment of its primary instrument, the
Advanced Atmospheric Sounding and Imaging
Radiometer (AASIR).
With re~~t to Earth Dynamics Monitoring and,
Foreca~
The reduction of 42.5% does represent a de-
emphasis of the Earth Dynamics Monitoring and
Forecasting Program, and the primary reason
for this is the need to constrain the FY 1977
budget. This program is one of the newest
PAGENO="0215"
2
ones in Applications, thus it was possible to
slow the pace ofits buildup. With some of
the other programs like Ocean Dynamics which
includes the development of a major flight
system, Seasat-A, such a reduction would not
be possible
In the Earth Dynamics area we have delayed
our field measurement program for the
San Andreas Fault Experiment (SAFE) which
uses the satellite laser ranging technique.
The initiation of certain developments for
very long baseline interferometry (VLBI)
and the measurement program for VLBI using
the fixed stations and one portable will be
reduced considerably.
We were planning additional studies in order
to define a gravity field mapping satellite,
Gravsat This mission would be a companion to
Magsat and would also be of value in resource
assessment studies. The plan to do this study
at this time has been changed.
213
PAGENO="0216"
214
QUESTION 2 On page 3 of your testimony on Natural
Resources Information area Do you anticipate
any support funding from anyone to implement
activities~
ANSWER It is our policy to enter into an ASVT with
one or more user organizations on a cooperative
basis. This requires both NASA and the user to
commit resources to the project in terms of
manpower equipment and/or new expenditures
NASA therefore does not receive any support
funding for an ASVT but shares in the total
cost The referenced projects were initiated
in FY 1976 and will continue through FY 1977
PAGENO="0217"
215
Question No. 3:
On page 3 at the bottom on New ASVT's: Are you actively
seeking support funding for these efforts?
Answer:
Yes NASA is actively seeking support funding (not as reim-
bursement to NASA, but in the form of cooperating agency
funding) *for these new ASVT's, and we believe it will be
obtained in virtually all cases. In fact, one of the criteria
we apply for the acceptance of a new ASVT is whether or not
there is sufficient user agency interest to co-fund the
project with NASA.
PAGENO="0218"
216
QUESTION 4: Regarding the general area of Applications
Systems Verification Tests (ASVT): What
other ASVT s could you undertake if addi-
tional funding was available?
A significant ASVT budget increase would
provide better means to more closely meet the
users' needs and to cover a broader field of
users and applications. Possible additional
ASVT subject areas include forest inventory
and management, coastal zone management,
geodetic control, pest damage detection and
eradication disaster warning disaster
damage assessment, future power demand pre-
diction and rangeland management.
A few examples of the work that could be
accomplished in potential new ASVT's but
which are not encompassed in the FY 1977
budget include the following:
- Interferometric Earth Surveying for
Civil Application
NASA, in conjunction with the National
Geodetic Survey (NGS) has evaluated the
application of NASA developed Very Long
Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) for
precise location of geodetic control
points This ASVT would be directed
toward combining the VLSI approach with
standard surveying techniques to develop
a substantially improved datum at lower
costs, and transferring the equipment
and technology to NGS for operational
use.
- I~plementation of a Data Collection and
Satellite Relay System for Agricultural
Pest Management
The Data Collection Platforms (DCP's)
would be used during the growing season
in a cooperative experiment with the
U S Geological Survey and Michigan
State University in agricultural pest
control using real time telemetry of
pertinent meteorological and soil
+ parameters via Landsat. The objective
ANSWER:
PAGENO="0219"
217
2
would also be to determine optimum time
to deploy pesticides.
- Forest Resources Information System
This ASVT would be performed in concert
with the St. Regis Paper Company and
Purdue University, and would apply
machine processed Landsat data as a
significant component of a forest
resource information system. The
end objective of this project would
be to develop new techniques of utilizing
remotely sensed data as a tool in quan-
tifying timber resources which could be
implemented into operational use by
companies such as St. Regis.
PAGENO="0220"
218
QUESTI ON 5: In the New Development Efforts area on the
Thematic Mapper: What is the difference
between this and the thermal channel being
developed for Landsat-C? Is this new Thematic
Mapper really Landsat-"D"? What is the
projected cost of this instrument?
ANSWER:
Studies have shown that an instrument with improved
capabilities will significantly increase possible
application of remotely sensed Multi-Spectral Scanner
data. The increased resolution as well as improvement
of the other instrument parameters will improve our
analytical ability in crop production forecasting,
forestry inventory, land use monitoring, wet land
surveys, and geological interpretation. The improve-
ments needed to increase the information content of
Multi-Spectral Scanner data are as follows:
- The resolution of the Thematic Mapper will be 30
meters instead of the present 80 meters available
in the Multi-Spectral Scanner (MSS). Six or seven
optimized spectral bands will be available in the
Thematic Mapper instead of five bands on the Landsat-C
MSS, and the precision of the measurement of the
radiation intensity in the Thematic Mapper will be
a factor of four better than in the MSS. The thermal
channel on the Thematic Mapper will have 3 times
the resolution of the same channel on the MSS.
The Thematic Mapper will be the next generation earth
resources remotesensing instrument. It is planned
that it will eventually replace the Landsat Multi-
Spectral Scanner (MSS) and be the basic earth resources
instrument of the 1980's. The Thematic Mapper, as
requested in the FY 1977 NASA budget, is proposed as
an off-line development with no flight commitment.
However, NASA is presently engaged in planning for use
of the Thematic Mapper in the 1980's.
The planning estimate for the Thematic Mapper instrument
is in the range of $40 to $50 million.
PAGENO="0221"
219
QUESTION 6: Regarding the Mark II Interferometer on page 5
of your prepared testimony: A. Could you fly
this earlier than Space].ab? B. How will this
data be significant since it will only be used
during a Spacelab mission? C. What is the
cost? D. Did you consider any other instru-
ments before picking this one?
ANSWER: We intend to conduct balloon experiments this
fall and aircraft tests next spring in order to
verify the performance of the Mark II instru-
ment and to determine which atmospheric con-
stituents are important to the stratospheric
ozone cycle, and can be detected and monitored
globally when the instrument is flown on Space-
lab. In addition, the Spacelab mission provides
the first opportunity for this sensitive, defini-
tive instrumentation to be located above most
of the atmosphere so that we may evaluate its
ultimate pollution detection capability.
The HS1* is designed as a forerunner for a more
specialized global monitoring instrument and
its high spectral resolution and broadband
coverage, which allow simultaneous detection
of many atmospheric constituents, will be used
to determine which trace constituents are
present, in what concentrations, and whether
or not the constituents are distributed around
the globe at low to middle latitudes. Thus,
the Spacelab High-Speed Interferometer mission
will provide information and should not be
viewed as if it were a monitoring experiment
with limited geographic ooverage.
We expect that the cost of developing and
fabricating the Mark II HSI will be in the
range Gf $3 to $4M. Current work on the 1151
Mark II centers around the pre-shuttle flight
tests, balloon and aircraft tests, and data
analysis.
The Mark II Interferometer was selected for
development as a Spacelab constituent survey
experiment because of its unique capabilities
to provide detection of the most tenuous atmo-
spheric constituent (1 part in 10 trillion)
over the spectral region from 1.3 to 12 microns
where the most important stratospheric trace
constituents are detectable. This instrument
(*High.speed Interferometer)
PAGENO="0222"
220
2
concept has already been proven through flight
of the Mark I, an earlier laboratory version,
aboard aircraft as part of the DOT Climatic
Impact Assessment Program and the NASA Upper
Atmospheric Research Program, which result-
ed in the detection of hydrogen cloride (HCL)
in the stratosphere. This instrument is the
logical successor to several generations of
spectrometers and interferometers such as the
IRIS (flown on NIMBUS 3) and the Mark I HSI
and is the best instrument available in this
time frame which will provide for the early
detection of unknown stratospheric constituents.
It will provide us with the measurement ranges
over which future global monitoring devices
must work in order to provide accurate long
term measurements.
PAGENO="0223"
221
QUESTION NO. 7:
On the question of Materials Processing you cover on page 6
of your testimony: Is there any activity going on for a
cooperative International venture? Do you intend to set up
a separate office to coordinate the some 60 different types
of experiments you say are being proposed for early shuttle
missions?
ANSWER:
International cooperation in Materials Processing in space
is a complicated subject because the acknowledged aim of
every national program in the field is to generate pro-
prietary data and competitive advantages for the sponsoring
nation's industries. Thus, no nation has an interest in
unlimited cooperation. On the other hand, there are a num-
ber of basic science activities and space technology develop-
ments that are necessary to all parties and only generally
related to industrial end applications. Cooperative activities
in these areas have an obvious potential for mutually beneficial
cost savings, but they have to be approached with care to keep
them within the bounds of genuine national interest.
We are currently carrying on two cooperative rocket experiments
with the German government in the SPAR project because such
experiments are expected to provide basic preliminary data
that are relatively far removed from practical applications.
In addition, we have been considering how to resolve the
issues involved in possible patent rights arising from future
experiments, and the forthcoming solicitation for new SPAR
experiment proposals includes a request for foreign proposals
and a statement of the policy NASA has developed to handle
the proprietary issues they may raise. Possibilities for
international Materials Processing ventures on the STS missions
have been discussed informally during the past year, but so
far no foreign agency has definitely identified an area of
mutual interest in which it wishes to cooperate with the NASA
Materials Processing program. NASA has also decided for
technical and programmatic reasons not to fly Materials
Processing experiments on the first Spacelab mission, and
so there are no joint activities related to STS missions in
the field at present. However, we are not opposed to such
activities in principle, and we expect that some will be
developed after appropriate limits have been defined for them.
-?OtY~7~ 0 - 76 - 15
PAGENO="0224"
As regards experiment coordination for the early Shuttle
missions NASA will of course set up appropriate management
arrangements at Headquarters and the involved field centers
for the experiment program as it finally develops At this
point however actual flight experiment proposals have not
yet been solicited for the Shuttle m.~ssions because the
program is still in the final stages of defining the capabil-
ities that can be offered
The 60 types of experiments mentioned in our testimony on
January 29 1976 are concepts that are being analyzed to
define requirements that should be met by the Shuttle pay-
loads we are planning and this effort is being managed by
the Program Development Directorate at MSFC
222
PAGENO="0225"
223
QUESTION NO. 8:
You mention on page 6 the results of the electrophoresis
experiments: it appears that the German experiment turned
out to be somewhat better, is that so? Are you exchanging
data? What is the next step?
ANSWER:
NASA and the German Ministry of Research and Technology
have been keeping each other informed of progress in the
analysis of the two ASTP electrophoresis experiments, and
the results of both will be published when complete.
Both experiments experienced engineering difficulties in
flight and did not produce all of the data expected of
them. In both cases, however, the difficulties were things
that have straightforward solutions, and each experiment
would undoubtedly work with no anomalies if it were flown
again. The German experiment experienced only one anomaly,
but that one occurred in the data acquisition system and
compromised all of the results. On the other hand the NASA
experiment encountered several difficulties but actually
succeeded in returning one sample of living cells that was
shown to have been separated with reasonably high resolution.
Both groups obtained enough data to verify the potential of
the techniques they tested on the ASTP mission and learned
how to make them work as intended on the next trial. Thus,
there seems to be no valid basis for saying that either
performance was better than the other.
The static electrophoresis technique used in our ASTP experiment
requires relatively long running times and may not be possible
to repeat before the first available Shuttle flight opportunity.
In the interim, however, we intend to proceed with development
and testing of continuous flow methods using rocket flights.
The German government has announced plans to fly the continuous
flow apparatus it developed for ASTP again on the first Space-
lab mission. It may also undertake some technology development
tests on the series of German rocket flights that is to begin
in 1977.
PAGENO="0226"
224
QUESTION NO. 9
Re Magsat: Is there any potential for some money from
the USGS to support the Program? What is the cost of
this program'
ANSWER
The USGS support to the Magsat Program will be in the
form of reduction to a usable form of NASA processed
data as well as production of an updated model of the
earth's magnetic field. The data reduced by USGS will
be made available to NASA and will also be made available
to the National Space Science Data Center for further
study by other organizations and investigators
The planning estimate for the Magsat mission, excluding
the Scout launch vehicle and the NASA tracking and data
processing support is in the range of $l7-$25 million
PAGENO="0227"
225
QUESTION 10: On page 9 of your prepared testimony regarding
Communications Research, you mention the NASA
activity in research in high-power transmit-
ters, sensitive receivers, and other essential
system components, such as antennas, etc. Is
this a ~eparture from NASA's position of get-
ting out of the Communications business and
leaving this to the commercial market? What
is the amount of funds for this area versus
FY 1976? Is industry pursuing similar areas?
Are you competing?
ANSWER: When the decision to phase-down space communi-
cations activity was made, it was predicated
on the assumption that U.S. industry, stimulat-
ed by the demands of the growing communications
satellite market, would be able to independently
develop the technology and components required
to keep this nation in a commanding economic
position. At that time, we were not able to
predict the economic turn-down that signifi-
cantly reduced the funds available to U.S.
industry to privately finance such research.
We are watching developments sponsored by U.S.
industry and these appear to be still exploit-
ing technology introduced on ATS-3 although
with many refinements and improvements. Ex-
ploitation of high-powered broadcast technology
introduced by ATS-6 and CTS, while involving
U.S. industry, is sponsored by foreign govern-
ments, Canada, Germany, and Japan.
The NASA efforts in this area are being provided
through the Advanced Communications Research
program. This relatively small program only
attempts to provide enough technology to assess
the practicality of the new techniques and the
use of new frequencies only in areas where there
is no current information otherwise available.
Where there is a direct potential use ~or this
technology, the work is tailored as much as
possible to fit the needs of the eventual user.
The Advanced Communications Research program was
funded at a $l.4M level in FY 1976 and is pro-
posed to be funded at a $l.9M level in FY 1977.
NASA is supplying less than one percent of the
Communications Satellite R&D funds expended in
the U.S.
PAGENO="0228"
226
QUESTION 11: The Subcommittee has expressed concern that
the User Affairs Activities was underfunded
for the activity you mention on page 9 and
10: Do you feel you have adequate funds?
If you had more money, how could you use it?
ANSWER: If more money was made available the Office of
User Affairs would use it in the following
manner:
(1) Increase the level of support personnel
at Headquarters and Field Centers
associated with user demonstration and
technology transfer projects. At
Headquarters, increased support personnel
would provide the basis to conduct market
analysis, prepare promotional plans and
materials, evaluate cost/benefit studies
and technology transfer projects, and
interface directly with more user~ in
the federal, state and local government,
university, industry and international
sectors. Increased support personnel,
experienced with technology transfer
and customer (user) relations, would
provide the opportunity to strengthen
NASA-user relationships and to work
more closely with a larger variety
of users than can be done at present.
(2) Contract with industry to conduct
cost/benefit studies in advance of user
involvement as well as during joint
demonstration projects; conduct objective
surveys on product needs and narket posture.
(3) Increase the number and size of Applications
User Working Groups to include all
disciplines within the Applications
Programs.
(4) Conduct additional seminars and meetings
to acquaint users from all communities
with available NASA technology/system
and on-going projects; provide for follow-
through activity.
PAGENO="0229"
227
2
(5) Study the need for and possibly establish
a pilot Regional Space Applications
Training and Transfer Center. Such a
Center would provide hands-on capability
in a local setting, in which a potential
user can become acquainted with instruments,
facilities, and techniques which may be
applicable to his particular operation.
If proven desirable, these training
centers could provide assistance to the
full realm of Applications Program users,
including remote sensing data interpreta-
tion (in conjunction with the Department
of Interior EROS Data Center), infor-
mation management, data collection
systems, communications, meteorology,
etc. The number of such centers and
their location/administration would be
dependent upon further study and the
results of a pilot center.
(6) Prepare additional promotional and
educational material to distribute to
users. This material would emphasize
the Applications Programs and would
provide visibility for all types of
user groups into available technology/
systems and possible applications.
(7) Conduct a larger number of Applications
Systems Verification Tests (ASVVs) in
more areas than we can now support. These
projects are the functional mechanism to
demonstrate a particular technology/system
PAGENO="0230"
228
3
applications within the framework of the
user's operation and to generate sufficient
technical, cost, management, and assessment
infornation for the user to decide if he
wants to adopt the technology/system for his
operational use If the user s decision
is positive a second phase the technology
transfer phase, would be initiated. The
success of a demonstration and technology
transfer project has been shown to depend
on adequate preliminary planning committed
involvement of the user(s), industry
participation where appropriate, management
visibility and control operational
(or scaled down) equipment a transfer
mechanism to the remainder of the user
community, and sufficient funds to
guarantee the above.
(8) Increased funding levels would permit
the establishment of additional facilities
similar to the Information Transfer
Laboratory (INTRALAB) located at Goddard
Space Flight Center The INTRALAB
facility offers users an opportunity
to work directly with NASA to evaluate
the potential of remote sensing data
to meet their needs.
PAGENO="0231"
229
Material requested for the record on page 68, line 6 by Mr. Fugue during the
hearing before the Subcommittee on Space Science and Application of the Committee
on Sciences & Technology on January 29, 1976.
QUESTION: In addition to that, there are many of the state agencies, and they
are just too multiple to really get into depth here, but we can supply you with
a listing.
RESPONSE: This document presents a profile of organizations and projects with
which NASA is presently involved in on-going Office of Applications Programs.
The listing includes projects in all application disciplines and users from all
sectors such as state, regional, and local governments. The identified organi-
zations and projects are limited to present on-going activity and do not include
previous and possible future projects or user interfaces which are presently not
formal projects.
Within the document,the projects are grouped on the basis of the following nine
aggregate disciplines:
(1) Agriculture
(2) Land Use Survey and Mapping
(3) Environmental Monitoring
(4) Geology
(5) Water Resources
(6) Marine Resources and Ocean Surveys
(7) Meteorology
(8) Data Management and Communications
(9) Multidisciplinary Applications
Projects within a particular discipline are further subdivided by user sectors:
(a) federal government, (b) state, regional and local, (c) universities, (d) foreign
(including international organizations), and (e) industry. Each project is then
described on the basis of the organization involved, the specific application, and
a brief description of project work.
Table 1 presents a summary of the 801 application projects and associated users
described in this document. A user is defined as the specific organizational
element or group which is directly involved with NASA in a project. Hence, a
major organization such as the U.S. Geological Survey may represent a number of
specific using entities. The sujsmary matrices are followed by a listing of the
specific projects.
MOTE: In order to provide a tim~ly response to the Committee, this compilation
of activities was assembled in a very short period of time. As a result,
there may be some duplicaçion and overlap between the projects listed
while conversely there may likely be some omissions. However, the listing
is comprehensive and substantially correct.
PAGENO="0232"
TABLE 1. SUMMARY OF EXISTING OFFICE OF APPLICATIONS PROGRAMS
Federal - 12
State, Regional - 6
and Local
Universities - 22
Fore±grr- 28
Industry - _2.
Total 75
Federal - 24.
Stats, Regional - 8
and Local
ITni~ersitiss
Yoreign
Industry
Total 57
mineral and hydrocarbon exploration; volcanology;
avalanche and landslide hazards; regional tectonic
models; mine safety hazards; surface composition
of geological units; identification of major
drainage~basins~ ~ hdrot-~nai- -~ -
features; solid earth dynamics; gravity models;
discrimination of rock and soil units; use of
Data Collection Platforms in volcano surveillance
network seisonicity; computation of gravimetric
geoids; detection and mapping of faults; pinpoint
drilling locations for groundwater sources basic
structural studies
snow cover mapping; themal pollution modeling;
snowmelt/water run-off modeling; near-shore ice
monitoring; flood hazard mapping; hydrologic land
cover; surface water mapping; watershed surveys;
river monitoring; darn and reservoir management;
ground water exploration; seasonal changes in
evapotranspiration and soil moisture; irrigation
water supply estimation; location of free flowing
artesian wells; flood damage assessment; pollutant
discharge monitor; laser sensor development
correlations between wind, wave and sea condition;
sea current analysis; sea and lake ice monitoring;
coastal water depth; water quality; ocean tides;
coastal land form changes; bathymetry studies;
sediment transport; river discharge; improvement
of fishery productivity; sea state and salinity
tides, mean sea level, storm surges; wave modeling;
ocean geoid measurement; mapping submarine topo-
graphy; navigational hazards mapping; plankton
distribution mapping; plumes of urban wastes;
surface circulation and turbidity; location and
motion of pollutants
NUMBER OF USERS
OF PROJECT APPLICATIONS
DISCIPLINE
o Geology
o Water Resources
o Marine Resources and
Ocean Surveys
12
-4
Federal
State, Regional
and. Local
Universities
Foreign
Industry
- 46
-6
- 36
- 29
-l
Total 118
PAGENO="0233"
TABLE 1. SUMMARY OF EXISTING OFFICE OF APPLICATIONS PROGRAMS
DISCIPLINE NUMBER OF USERS
BY SECTOR
Federal - 6
State, Regional - 0
and Local
Universities -
Foreign - 8
Industry -
Total 23
SYNOPSIS OF PROJECT APPLICATIONS
meteorological input to crop forecasting models;
global forecasting; atmospheric sounding system;
cloud seeding; modeling of tropical wind profiles;
meso scale weather pattern studies; determination
of wind vectors; use of data collection platforms
in experimental hydrology-meteorology monitoring
networks
archaeological explorations; cancer research; bio
synthesis systems; development of Landsat ground
receiving and processing stations; soil erosion
and sedimentation; drainage basin mapping; drought
predictions and flood warning; parks and recreation
area planning; environmental impact statements;
improvement of geodetic control; energy use assess-
ments; delineation of heat loss in urbanized areas;
educational materials development; data compression
and display techniques; water hyacinths use as fuel
source and fertilizer; national resource inventories
by foreign nations; space processing; space altimetry
highpower HF and VHF satellite broadcast capability;
design and flight readiness reviews of commercial
satellites; studies of frequency, power flux density
requirements, orbital and spectrum utilization and
requirements for communications satellites; frequency
management and spectrum planning for national tele-
communications policy; consultation in automated
ground processing; detection and position of downed
aircraft and ships in distress; health and bio-
medical communications; transportable earth stations
for communications to and from disaster areas; low
cost Broadcast Satellites Ground Stations; use of
communications to stimulate development in lesser
developed nations; automated picture transmission
from operational weather satellite; digital video
college curriculum sharing experiment; emergency
medical conununicatiom; state-wide communications
System'
o Meteorology
o MUltidisciplinary
Federal - 19
State, Regional - 37
and Local
Universities - 19
Foreign 25
Industry - 3
Total 103
Federal - 26
.abions State, Pegiomal - 14
and Local
Universities - 14
* Foreign - 126
* Industry -7
Total 187
PAGENO="0234"
TABLE 1. SUM.MARY OF EXISTING OFFICE OF APPLICATIONS PROGRAMS
o Land Use Survey
and Mapping
o~ Environmental
Monitoring
Federal - 16
State, Regional - 29
and Local
tlniversities - 27
Foreign - 18
Industry -
Total
91
Federal - 18
State, Regional - 25
and Local
Universities - 30
Foreign - 8
Industry -
Total
83
SYNOPSIS OF PROJECT APPLICATIONS
crop inventory and yield estimates; soil moisture
mapping; plant vigor and stress analysis; insect
and pest infestation monitoring; soil salinity;
vegetation phenology monitoring; irrigated land
acreage statistics; timber volume inventory;
optimization of insecticide and fertilizer appli-
cations; soil acid and nematode stress; freeze
warning system; delineation of mosquito egglaying
habitat; detection and forecast of environmental
conditions conducive to forest fire
state-wide natural resources/land use information
systems ;urban/rural delineations; urban geographical
information system; route and site selection; inter-
relationship between transportation systems and
land use; regional and urban planning; monitoring
of land use development patterns and land use
changes; math modelina for land use prediction;
thematic overlays e.g., forestland; orthographic
mapping; land capability analysis; photomap produc-
tion; cartographic map updates; critical area
delineation and mapping; effects of land use change
on water quality watershed land use analysis
monitoring of stripped mined lands and reclamation~
environmental impact on stratosphere; pre- and post-
construction land cover inventories; wildlife
habitat mapping; pesticide run-off; lake eutrophica-
tion; wildlife migration monitoring; ocean dumping
monitoring; monitoring of turbidity, salinity, sedi-
ment transport, modeling of water pollution to
turbidity and sediment transport; detection of oil
slicks; wetlands inventory and mapping; effects of
pollutants on troposphere; recreation site selection;
extent and outfall from channel dredging; develop-
ment of filtration systems for municipal wastewater
treatment system; monitoring of algal movement;
fire damage assessment; thermal outflows from power
plants
DISCIPLINE NUMBER OF USERS
* BY SECTOR
o Agriculture Federal - 19
State, Regional - S
and Local
* tniversities - 15
Foreign - 21
Industry - 4
Total 64
PAGENO="0235"
233
DELINEATION OF SPECIFIC PROJECTS
AND USING ORGANIZATIONS
PAGENO="0236"
Mat eriat ruquosted for the u'cord on p-tgc (8 line C by Mr I uquo ciw mg th~
h tiring bc forc toe Subcommittee on Space cci enco ind Applicmtmon of the (cTnmittee
on Scicncei & rcchno]ogy on January 29 1976
QWSTION In addition to that there are many of the state agencies and they
are just too multiple to really get into depth here but we can supply you with
a listing
hi srowcr This document presents a profile of organizations and projects with
which NASA is presently involved in on-going Office of Applications Programs.
The listing includes projects in all application disciplines and users from all
sectors such as state, regional, and local governments. The identified organi-
zations and projects are limited to present on-going activity and do not include
previous and possib].e future projects or user interfaces which are presently not
form ii projects
Within the document the projects are grouped on the basis of the following nine
aggregate disciplines:
(1) Agriculture
I~nd Use Survey and Mapping
(3) Cnvtronmental Monitoring
(4) Geology
(5) Water ~esources
(6) Marine Resources and Ocean Surveys
(7) Meteorology
(8) D~ti IPtn~goment and Communications
(9) Multidisciplinary Applications
Projects within a particular discipline are further subdivided by user sectors:
(a) federal government, (b) state, regional and local, (c) universities, Cd) foreign
(including international organizations) and (e) industry Fach project L5 then
described on the basis of the organization involved, the specific application, and
a brief description of project work.
Table 1 presents a summary of the 801 application projects and associated users
described in this document. A user is defined as the specific organizational
clemcnt or group which is directly involved with NASA in a proiect flenc a
major organization such as the U.S. Geological Survey may represent a number of
specific using entities The summary matrices are followed by a listing of the
~pecific projoctb
SOIL In ordcr to provide a timely response to the Committue this compiL'~tion
of activities was assembled in a very short period of time. As a result,
th&rc may he some duplication -md overlap between the project li led
wimilL conversely there may likely be some omissions However the listing
is comprehensive and substantially correct.
234
PAGENO="0237"
TABLE 1. SUMMARY OF EXISTING OFFICE OF APPLICATIONS PROGRAMS
DISCI?LI~E NUMBER OF USERS
Federal
State, Regional
and Local
Universities
Foreign
Industry
SYNOPSIS OF PROJECT APPLICATIONS
mineral and hydrocarbon exploration; volcanology
avalanche and landslide hazards; regional tecton
models; nine safety hazards; surface composition
of geological units; identification of najor
drainage basins; detection of hydrothermal
features; solid earth dynamics; gravity models;
discrimination of rock and soil units; use of
Data Collection Platforms in volcano surveillanc~
network seisonicity; computation of graviretric
geoids; detection and mapping of faults; pinpoint
drilling locations for groundwater soirces basic
structural studies
o Water Resources
o Marine Resources and
Ocean Surveys
Federal - 24
State1 Regional - 8
and Local
Universities
Foreign
Industry
Total
-g
- 12
-4
57
Federal - 46
State, Regional - 6
and Local
Universities - 36
Foreign - 29
Industry - _j
Total
118
snow cover mapping; themal pollution
snowoelt/water run-off modeling; neer-s-~tre ice
monitoring; flood hazard mapping; hydrcccic Ian:
cover; surface water mapping; watershed scrveys;
river monitoring; dam and reservoir nanape:ent;
ground water exploration; seasonal chanpes in
evapotranspiration and soil moisture; irrige:_~:~
water supply estimation; location of free flowir:
artesian wells; flood damage assessment; collutar
discharge monitor; laser sensor develocrent
correlations between wind, wave and see tt~d:tic~.
sea current analysis; sea and lake ice
coastal water depth; water quality; ocean tides;
coastal land form changes; bathymetr:
sediment transport; river discharge; ~;rc:e~ent
of fishery productivity; sea state and salinity
tides, mean sea level, storm surges; ware
ocean geoid measurement; mapping su~e~e topo-
graphy; navigational hazards mapmir.c;
distribution mapping; plumes of urban
surface circulation and turbidity; lccac::c and
motion of pollutants
c Geology
- 12
-6
- 22
- 28
-7
Total 75
PAGENO="0238"
TABLE 1. SUMMARY OF EXISTING OFFICE OF APPLICATIONS PPGGPJ~~MS
DISCIPLINE NUMBER OF USERS
BY SECTOR
o Data Management and
Communications
Federal - 6
State, Regional - C
and Local
Universities
Foreign
Industry
-5
-8
-4
Total 23
Federal - 26
State, Regional - 14
and Local
Universities - 14
Foreign - 126
Industry -_2.
Total 187
SYNOPSIS OF PROJECT APPLICATIONS
meteorological input to crop forecasting models;
global forecasting; atmospheric sounding system;
cloud seeding; modeling of tropical wind profiles
meso scale weather pattern studies; determi~aticr
of wind vectors; use of data collection platfornz
in experimental hydrology-meteorology monitoring
networks
archaeological explorations; cancer research; bic
synthesis systems; development of Landsat ground
receiving and processing stations; SOIl erosion
and sedimentation; drainage basin mapping; droug~
predictions and flood warning; parks ard recreati
area planning; environmental impact statements;
improvement of geodetic control; energy use asses:
ments; delineation of heat loss in urbanized ares
educational materials development; data conpres~
and display techniques; water hyacir.ths use as SL
source and fertilizer; national resource inventor:
by foreign nations; space processing; space altime
highpower HF and VHF satellite broadoast carabil~
design and flight readiness reviews of corosercial
satellites; studies of frequency, power flux dens
requirements, orbital and spectrum utilization ar
requirements for communications zatelli~ea; frequ~
management and spectrum planning for national tel
communications policy; consultation in automated
ground processing; detection and poaiticr. of dow:.
aircraft and ships in distress; health ant bio-
medical communications; transportable earth stat:
for communications to and from disasoer areas; b
cost eroaacast sateiiites ~rouna stat~oE5; use or
communications to stimulate development in lesser
developed nations; automated picture trsnsnissio-
from operational weather~satellite; digital vito
college curriculum sharing et eminent; anergenc
medical communication; state-wide t~~nicaticn
system
o Meteorology
o Multidisciplinary
Federal
State, Regional
and Local
Universities
Foreign
Industry
- 19
- 37
- 19
- 25
-3
Total 103
PAGENO="0239"
TABLE 1. ~U~2A?~1 OF EXISTING OFFICE OF APPLICATIONS PROGRAMS
0
DISC:?LINE
o Agriculture
o Land Use Survey
and Mapping
o Environmental
Monitoring
NUMBER OF USERS
BY SECTOR
Federal - 19
State, Regional - 5
and Local
Universities - 15
Foreign - 21
Industry - 4
Total
64
Federal - 16
State, Regional - 29
and Local
Universities 27
Foreign - 18
Industry -
Total
91
Federal - 18
State, Regional - 25
and Local
Universities - 30
Foreign - 8
Industry - ~
Total
83
SYNOPSIS OF PROJECT APPLICATIOBS
crop inventory and yield estimates; soil moisture
mapping; plant vigor and stress analysis; insect
and pest infestation monitoring; soil salinity;
vegetation phenology monitor!ng; i~rrigated land
acreage statistics; timber volume inventory;
optimization of insecticide and fertilizer appli-
cations; soil acid and nematode stress; freeze
warning system; delineation of mosauito egglaying
habitat; detection and forecast of environmental
conditions conducive to forest fire
state-wide natural resources/land use information
systems;urban/rural delineations; urban geographi
information system; route and site selection; irit.
relationship between transportation systems and
land use; regional and urban planning; monitoring
of land use develogment patterns and land use
changes; math modeling for land use prediction;
thematic overlays e.g., forestland; orthograp~ic
mapping; land capability analysis; photomap produ.
tion; cartographic map updates; critical area
delineation and mapping; effects of land use chaun
on water quality watershed land use analysis
monitoring of stripped mined lands and rec1amatio~
environmental impact on stratosphere; pre- and po
construction land cover inventories; wildlife
habitat mapping; pesticide run-off; lake eutrophic
tion; wildlife migration monitoring; ocean dumpin-
monitoring; monitoring of turbidity, salinity, se
ment transport, modeling of water pollution to
turbidity and sediment tra~ancrt; detection of o~
slicks; wetlands inventory and napping; effects o
pollutants on troposphere; rezreation site select
extent and outfall from channel dredging; develop-~
ment of filtration systems for nunicipal wastevat
treatment system; monitoring of algal movement;
fire damage assessment; thernal outflows from pc
plants
PAGENO="0240"
238
AGRICULTURE
PAGENO="0241"
FEDERAL
OR'LANIZATIO!~ APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTI~N
ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE (ERS), IRRIGATION SYSTEMS Evaluation of the use of Landsat data
USDA in the delirieatio~ of irrigation systems
and irrigated lands in the People's
Republic of China, as iccut to ERS's
foreian crop production estimates
prcqrams
USDA - APR15 COTTON DETECTION Develop technicues for use of remote
PLANT PROTECTION AND QUARANTINE sensing to detect cotton fields and
aid in cotton boll weevil eradication
trial
FOREST SCIENCES LABORATORY FUSIFORM RUST IN SOUTHERN PINES Apply remotely sensed data to research
U.S. FOREST SERVICE on fusiform rust in southern pines,
GULFPORT, MISSISSIPPI particularly to explore the relation-
ship between the distribution of oak
species and the intensity of rust
infestations in pine
USDA SOIL NAPPING Identify the techniques and procedures
required to map saline soils by use of
remotely sensed multiscanner and
photographic data
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PEST (SCREww0RM) Development of a technique, using
& MEXICAN GOVERNMENT ERADICATION meteorologic satellite data and
sparse ground data, to predict
favorable habitats for screwworrn
infestation
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WHEAT PRODUCTION ESTIMATION Development of a Landsat-based system,
also using meteorologic data and
historic data, to test feasibility
of producing wheat production estimates
at various times on a country-by-
country basis. (Large Area Crop
Inventory Experiment-LACIE)
PAGENO="0242"
FEDERAL
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
U.S. FOREST SERVICE FORESTRY APPLICATIONS PROJECT Development of techniques and procedures
for using remote sensor data for
assisting in conducting forest and
rangeland inventories--including soils
inventory, timber inventory, land use
planning assistance processes and
resource base surveys
uSDA FOREST LAND AND RANGELAND Classify forest and land use and
INVENTORY measure changes; identify microecc-
systems of mountain valley area for
rangeland inventory from data collected
at orbital altitude
USDA/SRS CROP INVENTORY Landsat data used to help with crop
inventory/classification throughout
the entire growing season of selected
regions of Illinois, Kansas, and Texas
1JSDA/ARS (AGRICULTURE RESEARCH CROP SURVEY Crop identification, acreage estimation
SERVICE) yield determination, and other functions
related to crop production assessment
USDL/SRS (STATISTICAL REPORTING CROP INFORMATION SERVICE Satellite Data examined for
SERVICE) construction of sampling frames,
selection of sample segments, and
enumeration of crops with segment
boundaries. Errors and costs will
be compared with those of present
(non-satellite data use) method
USDA/FOREST SERVICE FOREST INVENTORY Landsat, high flight aircraft, and
ground data used in a multistage
sampling concept to locate and
monitor forest resources
PAGENO="0243"
FEDERAL
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (BLM) RANGELAND SUR'TFY Value of Landsat imagery to determine
relative plant populatioi~, map develop-
merit of plants, and predict future
production based on past growth and
weather conditions
NATICNAL CAPITOL PARK SERVICE FORESTRY STRESS Study of most effective remote sensing
techniques for early identification
of stressed elm trees infected with the
Dutch elm disease
USDA LARGE AREA CROP INVENTORY Benefit cost analysis of a crop estima-
NOAA EXPERIMENT (LAdE) tion system based on LACIE
PAGENO="0244"
STATE, REGIONAL AND LOCAL
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
LOUISIANA MOSQtITO CONTROL MOSQUITO CONTROL Develop and dexsnstrate resEte sensing
ASSOCIATION techniques to produce marsh vegetation
naps from which prime moscuito egg
laying habitats will be inferred so as
to focus control operations
STATE OF OREGON FOREST DAMAGE ASSESSMENT Landsat data used to measure wind storm
damage assessment to timber lands in
Oregon
TEXAS PARDS & WILDLIFE LARGE AREA VEGETATION Use of Landsat data and automatic
DEPARTMENT MAPPING processing techniques to map the
major vegetal assemblages of Texas
for use in wildlife habitat deter-
mination
CALIP'ORNIA DIVISION OF FORESTRY FOREST FIRE PREDICTION Automated sampling, transmission,
reception and dissemination of
weather data suspectible to initiation
of forest fire (wind speed and direction,
temperature, etc.) using satellite Data
Collection System (DCS).
ALABAMA TORESTRY COMMISSION FORESTRY DISEASE DETECTION Studies of Southern pine beetle and
disease damage detection and predic-
tions in state and private forest
lands
PAGENO="0245"
UNIVERSITIES
ORGANIZATIONS
School of Forestry and
Conservation
University of California
Department of Agricultural Economics
Michigan State University
Texas A&M University
University of California
Remote Sensing Institute
South Dakota State University
APPLICATION
Regional Crop Inventory
Regional Crop Inventory
Vegetation Phenology
Monitoring
Water Utilization
Soil Moisture
Mapping
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Assess usefulness of Skylab data
in agricultural resource evalua-
tion and inventories
Evaluate the utility of manually
interpreting Skylab imagery for
crop inventory on a regional
scale, and test an automated
pattern recognition and area
computation system
Regional monitoring of the vernal
advancement and retrogradation
of natural vegetation
Satellite imagery used to provide
periodic irrigated land acreage
statistics on a regional basis
Develop techniques and procedures,
using multispectral systems, to
identify from remotely sensed
data the physical and thermal
characteristics of plants and
soil
Correlation study of southern
pine beetle infestations and
geophysical conditions using
remote sensing
Develop a remote sensing system
to identify, by number and
location, Oitrus trees suffering
from young tree decline
North Georgia College
University of Florida
Flordia Citrus Mutual
Forestry
Citrus Young Tree
Decline
PAGENO="0246"
UNIVERSITIES
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Virginia Polytechnic and State Agriculture (Agro- Development of an integrated
University Environmental System) sensor,data processing and crop
model system which provides the
agricultural industry with
forecast information to optimize
crop yield, insecticide and
fertilizer applications for
select crop species
Georgia Institute of Technology (1) Agriculture Computer processing of Georgia
peach tree decline data in
cooperation with USDA Agricul-
ture Research Service
(2) Land-use Demonstrate automated land-use
mapping from Landsat CCT's to
Georgia Office of Planning and
Budget and Georgia Dept. of
Natural Resources. Use data in
math model developed by Georgia
Dept. of Transportation and
Univ. of Georgia
(3) Information Retrieval Assist Georgia State Aqencies
in implementation of automated
land resources information
retrieval system
Virginia Polytechnic Institute Agricultural Resources A~plication of remote sensing
and State University to provide plant vigor and
stress comparisons under winter
conditions at the Blackstone,
Virginia Research Station
PAGENO="0247"
UNIVERSITY
APPLICATION
(1) EARTH RESOURCES
(1) FORESTRY
(21 WATER QUALITY
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Engineering Design Studies in
earth resources information
systems and energy areas
Demonst-ratioi project- investigating
the value of remote sensing in
detection of soil acidity and
rematode stress in cotton, peanuts,
and tomatoes in cooneration with
USDA agriculture
Study of Southern Pine Beetle infes-
tation and prediction and other forest
5tre~s detection using remote sensing
as a tool
Study of water quality baseline
at site of future Bellefonte. Nuclear
Plant on the Tennessee River in
Alabama
(31 GROUND TRUTH
VNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA (IFAS) FREEZE WARNING SYSTEM
NOAA-NALIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
FLORIDA CITRUS MUTUAL
General ground truth collection in
support of remote sensing research
Develop improved freeze prediction
model to allow more efficient and
timely decisions required for
protection of agricultural croos
from freeze damage
Perform cluster analysis and full-
frame supervised classificati~- of
Landsat data in Illinois
Develop means to spectrally meanure
a drainage area and predict Soil
Conservation Service runoff curve
numbers
(21 AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZATION
AUBURN UNIVERSITY
ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL CROP ACREAGE
(IN COOPERATION WITH USDA/STATISTICAL
REPORTING SERVICE
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SOIL RUNOFF
PAGENO="0248"
FOREIGN
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
1N FOOD AND AGRICULTURE REGIONAL CROP INVENTORIES Study of the Sudan, North Africa;
ORGANIZATION (FAO) AND INFESTATION MONITORING Columbia, South America; and the
Philippine Islands with the purpose
of crop inventory and insect infes-
tation monitoring
INSTrrUT0 NACIONAL DE TECHNOLOGIA SOIL MAPPING Identify the techniques and procedures
AGROPECUARRA, ARGENTINA required to map saline soils by use
of remotely sensed multiscanner and
photographic data
ARGENTINA AGRICULTURAL SURVEY Crop identification, quantification
and census
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC GENERAL AGRICULTURE Soil mapping, vegetation mapping,
forest resources mapping, forest
disease monitoring
KENYA RANGE SURVEY Combining Landsat-derived data with
regular inflow of research ground
truth data for updating ecosystems
models and generating area manage-
ment plans
LESOTHO GENERAL AGRICULTURE & GEOLOGY Use of Landsat for inventory of land
use, crop production, range manage-
ment, soil conservation, and geology
NIGERIA FOREST INVENTORY Examine usefulness of Landsat data
for mapping location of forested
areas and monitoring deforestation
UNITED NATIONS (FAO) SOIL SURVEY Utility of Landsat data for preparing
1:5,000,000 soil map examined
PAGENO="0249"
FOREIGE
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PW)JECT DESCRIPTION
!LNE PLAN ORGANIZATION NATIONAL RESOURCE INVENTORY Assess Skylab imagery usefulness in
IRAN - contributing signif&cant data to
agriculture, forestry and rangeland
- inventory in Iran
INPE * REGIONAL RESOURCE INVENTORY Obtain data to identify crops and
BRAZIL crop~eas of Brazil
INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE TECHNOBGIA REGIONAL RANGE INVENTORY Improve present knowledge of the
AGRGPECUARRA, ARGENTINA natural and agriculture-livestock
resources of the Humid Pampa
INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AGRICULTURE Landsat data used as information
AND DEVELOPMENT adjunct to agronomy studies of rice
crops in major food source area of
Eastern India
uSSR ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AGRICULTURE AND VEGETATION Remote Sensing of agriculture crops
and natural vegetation at analogous
US and USSR test sites involving
exchange of ground truth and
inultispectral data from aircraft
and spacecraft
NEW ZEALAND TIMBER SURVEY Indigenous forest assessment to be
- investigated using a six-stage sampling
approach of which the initial stage
is satellite imagery
UPPER VOLTA GENERAL AGRICULTURE, WATER Crop production areas, soil types,
& MINERAL moisture distribution, vegetation
and vegetation pattern, underground
water sources, update of existing
geological maps
PAGENO="0250"
FOREIGN
OROANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
ITALY CROPS & FORESTRY Crops: Rice field inventory, disease
recognition
Forestry: Species identification,
volume inventory, disease identification
AUSTRALIA RANGE SURVEY Capeweed distribution mapping
AUSTRALIA AGRICULTURE LAND USE Cleared, semi-cleared, and cropland
to be mapped
SRI LANKA GENERAL AGRICULTURE Land use, timber survey, general
cartociraphy, geologic information
SWAZILAND GENERAL AGRICULTURE Soils mapping, land use, forest
inventory, ground water and identif i-
cation, coal resources evaluation
PAGENO="0251"
INDUSTPY
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
EARTH SATELLITE CORPORATION TIMBER PRODUCTION AND Design a multistage eutomatic pattern
FOREST MANAGEMENT recognition system to perform forest
inventories using data from Skylab
aircraft and ground maps
WEYE~MAEUSER LUMBER COMPANY COMMERCIA]~ PINE Development and transfer of an informa-
N CAROLINA REGION FORE~T INVENTOPY tion extraction process for Landaat data
to supplement the aerial surveying
methods now used to undate forest stand
records
EARTH SATELLITE CORPORATION VEGETATIVE MAPS Develop a uniform legend and Drocedure
for the napping and classification
of the natural resources on a global
basis
PAGENO="0252"
250
LAND USE SURVEY AND MAPPING
PAGENO="0253"
FEDEPAL
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
TOPOGRAPHIC DIVISION M~P flEVISION Determine degree of correlation
USGS between Skylab space image details
and map culture details for purposes
of nap revision.
NOAA-NATIONAL OCEAN SURVEY (NOS) MAP CONTROL Investigate the feasibility of utilizing
Skylab inagery for analytic aerotri-
angulation methods to provide low-order
high-density control network suitable
for small-scale napping applications.
USGS. CAHTOGRAPHY Evaluate the cartographic accuracy
and the geometric characteristics of
the Skylab S192 multispectral scanner
system images.
USGS CARTOGRAPHY Evaluate Skylab sensor (SI9O) as a
cartographic system relative to aeometricai
fidelity, spatial fidelity, spatial
resolution, spectral discrimination and
fidelity, and resultant cartographic
products and their utility.
USGS PHOTOMAPPING Demonstrate the use of Skylab film
images in pioduction of photomap products.
Investigate methods of enhancements and
use of image color to determine best
parameters for the base products and
production.
BUREAU OF THE CENSUS URBAN CHANGE Monitoring urban change annually of
GEOGRAPHIC APPLICATION BRANCH Washington, D.C. Distinguishing pre-
dominantly, urban census tracts from
those predominantly rural.
PAGENO="0254"
DEPT. OF HOUSING AND
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
HARVARD UNIVERSITY/MIT JOINT
CENTER FOR URBAN STUDIES
HOUSTON, TEXAS
WORCESTER, MASS.
DAYTON, OHIO
RGCHESTER, NEW YORK
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
USGS THEMATIC MAPPING
PRGJECT DESCRIPTION
Research in mathematical modeling
for prediction of land-use.
Monitor change from remotely sensed
data and prepare thematic maps organized
by census tract. Using MILUS (Multiple
Input Land Use System) to incorporate
statistical data into files.
FEDERAL
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION
OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY LAND-USE
URBAN CHANGE
Produce thematic graphics which can be
conveniently related to the ground and
to existing maps in formats that will
permit analysis of thematic and or
temporal changes from Skylab photographic
data.
PAGENO="0255"
0 FEDERAL
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
NOAA ORTHOGRAPHIC NAPPING Evaluate the utility of Landsat
imagery in deterr~ination and
delineation of vegetative
boundaries.
USGS ORTHOGRAPHIC NAPPING Evaluation of Skylab and Landsat-~2
imagery as inputs to the generation
of specifications for an operational
earth resources survey satellite.
USGS ORTHOGRAPHIC NAPPING Develop a line of imoroved photographic
diazo and lithographic materials.
USDA SOIL CONSERVATION SOIL CLASSIFICATION Investigate the use of remote sensing
SERVICE technology in the preparation of soil
classification maps.
GEOGRAPHIC APPLICATIONS URBAN CHANGE DETECTION Assess the role of Skylab's remote
PROGRAM & INFORMATION SYSTEMS sensors forthe comparative study of
USGS selected U.S. urban areas. Test the
utility of the satellite sensors and
sensor platforms to monitor gross
changes in urban environments.
GEOGRAPHIC APPLICATIONS REGIONAL INFORMATION Using Skylab data as an input to the
PROGRAM SYSTEMS design and test of the feasibility of
USGS a regional environmental information
system.
PAGENO="0256"
STATE, LOCAL AND REGIONAL
TOP OF ALABAMA REGIONAL
COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS
(TARCOG) HUNTSVILLE, AL
CITY OF LOS ANGELES, CALIF.
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
COMMUNITY ANALYSIS BUREAU
TENNESSEE VALLEY LAND USE
AUTHORITY
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
(1) Develop, and establish a state-wide
land use natural resource data and
information system base on satellite data.
(2) Study of land use effects in West
Tennessee Wetlands.
Develop and establish a state-wide land use
and natural resources data and information
retrieval system based on earth satellite
data.
Demonstration production of land use maps
front Landsat Computer Compatible Tapes
(CCT's).
Use of census urban atlas file and Landsat
data to generate two thematic maps on utban
- land use and on resi4ential land use
(quality of housing).
(1) Cooperative research in land use mapping
using aircraft and satellite imagery.
(2) Study of land use effects in and near
public owned land--in cooperation with
NASA and Oak Ridge National Laboratories
CORNL).
rA~IZATI(,~ APPLICATION
IENflESSEE STATE PLANNING OFFICE LAND USE
ALABAMA DEVELOPMENT OFFICE LAND USE
LAND USE
LAND USE
PAGENO="0257"
STATE, LOCAL AND REGIONAL
ORGANIZATION
MISSOURI INTERAGENCY
COUNCIL ON NATURAL
RESOURCES INFORMATION
MISSOURI DEPARTMENT
OF NATURAL RESOURCES
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
(COLUMBIA)
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
AT ROLLA
APPLICATION
LAND USE
GEOLOGY, EARTH RESOURCES
INFORMATION SYSTEM
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
User applications demonstration project to
investigate res~te sensing as the primary
tool to develop a state-wide natural
resources information system with emphasis
on (1) land resources classification,
(2) mined area identification and monitoring,
(3) charge detection in forest and grass
areas, and (4) permanent versus seasonal
wetlands identification and management.
CITY OF TACOMA, WASHINGTON
NEW ORLEANS REGIONAL
PLANNING COMMISSION
TENNESSEE-TOMBIGBEE
WATERWAY DEVELOPMENT
ASSOCIATION (COLUMBUS
MISSISSIPPI)
STATE OF FLORIDA GAME AND
FRESH WATER FISH COMMISSION
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
BETHUNE-CQOENAN COLLEGE
LAND USE, WATER
TRANSPORTATION, AND
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
LANDSAT UNSUPERVISED
SIGNATURE DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM
Development of an urban-geographic information
system, integrating user census and U-2
remote sensing files. This project will be
extended to Pierce County using Landsat data.
Thematic classification of areas of St.
Tammany Parish from Landsat images and
incorporation into files using Multiple
Input Land Use System (HILUS).
Use of remotely sensed data to aid in
planning of a water route connecting the
Tennessee river and the Gulf of Mexico
via Mobile Bay.
Develop an unsupervised (autcmatic) classifi-
cation system for Landsat MSS scenes which
can be used by users with modest computer
resources and technical expertise.
LAND USE
LAND USE
PAGENO="0258"
ORGANIZATION
NEW ORLEANS REGIONAL
PLANNING COMMISSION
TULANE UNIVERSITY
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
IN NEW ORLEANS
SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY
DILLARD UNIVERSITY
XAVIER UNIVERSITY
PROJECT DFSCPIPTION
Application of satellite-deri7ed land use
information to highway planning, using a
state-developed math model.
STATE, LOCAL AND REGIONAL
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPOFTATION
APPLICATION
HIGHWAY PLANNING
URBAN PLANNING AND
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS
COLOR THEMATIC MAPS FOR
SUBSEQUENT RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
IOWA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
A joint demonstration activity ~as conducted
with the Regional Planning C~miiission, (RPC)
representing the five parishes of the entire
New Orleans metropolitan area, to determine
potential applications of remote sensing
to the interrelationship of transportation
and various urban environn~ntal troblems.
A NASA scientist was assigned to the
RPC on intergovernmental loan to
continue assisting them in applications
of remote sensing data to urban plann-
ing and development.
Pk~epare maps of materials, landforns and
land use encompassing an 11 county area in
South Central Iowa from computer enhanced
Landsat 2 digital data.
PAGENO="0259"
ORGANIZATION
MINNESOTA STATE PLANNING
AGENCY
FEDERATION OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN
STATES
BREVARD CO. (FLA.)
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
STATE, LOCAL AND RF~IONAL
APPLICATION
LAND USE CLASSIFICATION
LAND USE CLASSIFICATION
LAND USE CLASSIFICATION
PRO3ECT DESCRIPTION
Investigate the potential of
Landsat data as input in a
statewide resource data system.
Continuous land use survey of
six characteristical interstate
sites by a consortium of six
Rocky Mountain States.
Regional and Urban planning
applications in the surroundings
of Disney World.
PAGENO="0260"
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION
NEBRASKA OFFICE OF PLANNING & LAND USE CLASSIFICATION
RESOURCES
OHIO DEPT. OF ECONOMICAL LAND USE
AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
BREVARD COUNTY PLANNING URBAN & LOCAL PLANNING
DEPT. (FLA.)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Develop uses of Landsat imagery
to obtain & update resource data
for land use plannina by state
and local agencies.
Post earthquake disaster
assessment techniques.
Fire assessment techniques
Development of proorams for the routine
use of satellites data in land use
resources management and environmental
activities in Ohio.
Evaluate the potential of Skylab imagery
for environmental auality, agricultural
and forestry, and geographic applica-
tions in the state of Ohio.
Detect and identify significant land
use development patterns and monitor
land use changes for regional planning
purposes from Skylab photography.
Determine the utility of various
spectral bands for land use analyses
from Skylab's pnotograpnic data.
STATE, LOCAL AND REGIONAL
STATE OF CALTFORNIA
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
EARTH RESOURCES
EARTH RESOURCES
OHIO STATE DEPARTMENT NATURAL RESOURCES
OF DEVELOPMENT
TRI STATE TRANSPORTATION REGIONAL PLANNING
COMMISSION
PAGENO="0261"
UNIVEPSITY
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY USER AFFAIRS APPLICATIONS Seminars directed toward ozerational
EDUCATION IN LAND USE, FORESTRY application of Landsat data for
U.S. NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE federal, state, local and regional
agencies.
NORTE CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY LAND USE ACTIVITIES Use of Skylab data in three different
geomorphic and geographic areas in
North Carolina in statewide regional
land use planning, geoloaic mapping
programs.
LARS LAND USE MAPPING Use of Skylab imagery to obtain data
PURDUE UNIVERSITY on the forest cover, raricelands, and
alpine cover.
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE LAND USE (1) Establish liaison with state agencie~
(KNOXVILLE) concerned with agriculture, forestry,
and land use to determine their data
requirements and demonstrate the utility
of remotely sensed data to their needs.
(2) Perform an indepth and rigorous
testing of Landsat data as a multiscale,
multispectral, seasonal geography tool
for delimiting, monitoring, and mapping
wetlands in West Tennessee.
LARS LAND USE MAPPING Use of Skylab data with emphasis on
PURDUE UNIVERSITY crop identification, acreage mensura-
tion and urban studies.
UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO LAND USE Development of digital automatic data
processing techniques to establish a
quasi-operational land use analysis
model.
PAGENO="0262"
UNIVERSITY
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION
SCHOOL OF FORESTRY AND
CONSERVATION
TJNIVEPSITy OF CALIFORNIA
NEW YORK STATE COLLEGE
OP AGRICULTtJRN
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
SCNOOL OF FORESTRY AND LAND USE MONITORING
CONVERSATION
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
PH)JECT DESCRIPTION
Map selected vegetation-soil
systems and land forms in the
southern Califor'~ia desert
Determine the amount of land use
information retrievable from satellite
derived data.
Detection of the land use chanqes
including the general morphology
and spread of urban areas. Mapping
of the spatial effects of pollution
in the basins of southern California.
Determine the applicability of
enhanced Skylab multispectral
photographic and scanner data for
mepping ecological, geological, and
oceanographic parameters of Delaware
Bay.
(1) Study investigations of land use
spectral signatures
(2) Study to~ develop a three-dimension&
time dependent flow field model.
Studies of effects of land use on
water quality in forested and strip
mined areas in eastern Kentucky and
the evaluation of this capability to
Kentucky state agencies.
LAND USE EcOSYSTEM
DEFINITION
LAND INVENTORY
COLLEGE OF MARINE STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
LAND USE INVENTORIES &
BAY AREA
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY Cl) LAND USE
(BATON ROUTE)
(2) WATER QUALITY
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY LAND USE
PAGENO="0263"
UNIVERSITY
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
VIP MENTAL RESEARCH RECREATION SITE ANALYSIS Identify and map categories of land
INSTITUTE OF MICHIGAN use, vegetation, soils, and water bodies
THE ~NIVE?SITY OF MICHIGAN and natural and cultural features of
special interest in recreation site
analysis.
TJ&IVERSITy OF TENNESSEE LAND USE Perform an indepth and rigorous testing
of Landsat data as a multiscale, multi-
spectral, seasonal geography tool for
delimiting, monitoring, and 1'~apping
wetlands in West Tennessee. Evaluate
the data requirements of state agencies
and demonstrate the utility of remotely
sensed data to their needs.
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER URBAN LAND USE Use of remote sensing to detect urban
environmental quality.
SCIENCE ENGINEERING COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT Relate on site radiometric ground
RESEARCH GROUP spectra measurements to space
C.W. POST CENTER acquired imagery.
LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE LAND USE AND STANDING WATER Perform a land use and standing-water
OF MICHIGAN INVENTORY inventory of portions of the Lake
Tfli~ UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Ontario drainage basin, measure soil
moisture content in selected areas
of the basin, and map the pattern of
surface currents in the western part
of the Lake.
PAGENO="0264"
FOREIGN
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
COMISION DE ESTUDIOS LAND USE Determine land use classification
DEL TERRITORIO using Skylab data.
NACIONAL
MEXICO
SECRETARIA DE LAND USE/IRRIGATION Identify areas in Mexico where cropland
RECURSOS irrigation is or should be used and
HIDROULICOS, when such irrigation should be applied.
MEXICO
DIRECCION GENERAL LAND USE PLANNING Identify soil types and land use,
AND MANAGEMENT locate areas of improper land use,
erosion, etc., determine locations
suitable for land or forest reclamation
projects
INTER-AMERICAN PHOTOMAPPING MAP REVISIONS Introduce the use of Skylab imagery to
GEODETIC SURVEY the Latin American Cartographic Community
CANAL ZONE by tailoring specific area experiments
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY, PHOTOMAPPING Assess the imagery, accuracies and cost
MINES AND RESOURCES effectiveness of photography from the
CANADA Skylab S19OA and S19OB sensors, for
1:50,000, 1:100,000 and 1:250,000 scale
mapping and/or revision activities
HUNTING SURVEYS LTD MAP CONTROL AND Evaluate the use of Skylab multispectral
ENGLAND ThEMATIC MAPPING photographic imagery of Nepal for
(1) photogrammetric control. (2) the
production of original and revision
mappinq and (3) the interpretation of
special features such as forest areas and
limits of snow and ice-fields
PAGENO="0265"
FOREIGN
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PRDJECT DESCRIPTION
MEXICO LAND USE CLASSIFICATION Evaluation of Landsat imagery for
updating maps and ~e~erating non
existent thematic naps.
SPAIN LAND USE CLASSIFICATION Multidisciplinary studies and land
use mapping in Central Spain.
LAND USE CLASSIFICATION Multidisciplinary studies and mapping
(NAT'L INSTITUTE OF GEOGRAPHY) of the Dorean Peninsula and its waters.
BOLIVIA (GEOBOL) ORTHOGRAPHIC MAPPING National land use surveys and mineral
resources development.
ROMANIA LAND USE CLASSIFICATION Evaluation of Landsat data to inventory
(NULTI.AGENCY) and monitor changes in the multidis-
ciplinary characteristics of the
Danube Delta.
VENEZUELA THEMATIC MAPPING Regional Resources inventory in the
(MULTI-AGENCY) unexplored hinterland.
MINISTRY OF MINES AND ENERGY LAND USE ACTIVITIES Use of Skylab generated information in
DNFM - PROJECT RADAM BRAZIL the overall understanding and control
of national resources in the Amazon
Basin by the Brazilian government.
DEPARTMENT OF MINES & GEOLOGY NATURAL RESOURCES INVENTORY Delineate natural resource character-
MINISTRY OF INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT istics and their temporal and spatial
AND PUBLIC WORKS changes in Mali from Skylab data.
REPUBLIC OF MALI
SECRETARIA DE RECURSOS LAND USE Determine land use classification
HIDRAULICOS using Skylab data.
MEXICO
PAGENO="0266"
P1~)JECT DESCRIPTION
National Resources Inventory
National Resources Inventory
Study of the landforms and soils
of New Zealand.
OI~3PNIZATION
BOTSWANA
(MULTI-AGENCY)
PERU
(MULTI-AGENCY)
NEW ZEALAND
(NULTI-AGENCY)
FOREIGN
APPLICATION
LAND USE CLASSIFICATION
LAND USE CLASSIFICATION
LAND USE CLASSIFICATION
PAGENO="0267"
INDUSTRY
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIpTION
EARI'H SATELLITE CORPORATION LAND USE MAPPING Examination of the practical issues
in improving semi automatic land use
mapping from Skylab data.
PAGENO="0268"
266
ENVIRONMENT MONITORING
PAGENO="0269"
FEDERAL
ORGANI ZATION
United States Army Corps
of Engineers
Baltimore District
Environmental Protection
Agency
Cold Regions Research
Laboratory
US Army Corps of Engineers
Hanover, New Hampshire
USA Corps of Engineers
US Department of
Transportation
National Center for
~Atmospheric (NCAR)
Research
Environmental Protection
Agency, Office of Research
and Development
APPLICATION
Environmental Quality
Western Energy Remote
Overhead Monitoring System
Environmental Monitoring
Environment
Stratospheric Research
Stratospheric Research
Air Pollution Monitoring
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Monitoring and enforcing environ-
mental laws and regulations in the
vicinity of Ocean City, Maryland
Demonstrate operational remote
sensor techniques to rapidly monitor
the extent to which an energy ex-
traction site has been, or is being,
rehabilitated to a state suitable
for its intended or previous land
useage.
Experimental applications of Data
Collection Platforms to monitor
Alaska pipeline route.
Predict changes occurring during
construction and stage filling of
reservoirs
Evaluate the environmental impact
of high flying aircraft on the
stratosphere
Aircraft and balloon flights to
measure stratospheric gaseous
and particulate species
To measure environmental parameters
associated with the generation of
electrical energy and other pollu-
tion sources
PAGENO="0270"
FEDERAL
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
US Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Impact Monitoring and characterizing the
US Army Construction Engineer- ecology and environment before,
ing Research Laboratory during and after the construction of
a reservoir
Bureau of Sport Fisheries & Wildlife habitat To determine quantity and quality of
Wildlife inventory waterfowl production habitat in the
USD.t northcentral US from Skylab Sl92 date
EPA (ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY) Pesticide Run-off Investigate the application of re-
USDA (DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE) mote sensing techniques for deter-
mining stream contributions of
pollution from pesticides and
nutrients
Environmental Protection In-situ remote coliform Develop remote, in-situ coliforn
Agency, Region II Division bacteria monitoring monitoring system incorporating
of Surveillance and Analysis in the New York Bight NASA coliform sensor on data collec-
tion platforms
EPA, Las Vegas, Nevada Water Quality Classification of lake eutlofication
(ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY) from remotely sensed data
USD1, Fish & Wildlife Wildife habitat Use of Landsat data for prediction
Service surveys of wildfowl breeding population
based on availability of surface
water and quality of vegetation
cover in wetlands
Division of Wildlife Research Wildlife Monitoring Follow movements of selected polar
US Dept. of Interior bears to determine habitats
Anchorage, Alaska
Chincoteague National Wildlife Ecology Provide measurements of a freshwater
Refuge reservoir on Assateague Island
PAGENO="0271"
FEDERAL
ORG~NIZAT1O APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Environmental Protection Remote Monitoring of Evaluation of remote sensing
Protection Ocean Dumping techniques for monitoring ocean
Agencj Region II dumping in the New York Bight
PAGENO="0272"
STATE
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Maryland Geological Survey Strip mine monitoring and Determine the ability to detect,
& Bureau of Mines inventory classify and monitor strip mines
through computer processing of
Landsat Data
West Virginia Dept. Natural resource Inventory and evaluate natural re-
Natural Resources inventory sources throughout the state for
planning and protection of lands for
recreational use
Hydrological and environmental Use of in-situ data collection
Louisiana Wildlife & Fish surveys platforms with satellite data relay
Commission to monitor remote areas of the
Atchafalaya Basin Commission Atchafalaya Basin
Mississippi Air & Water Environmental monitoring Use of in-situ data collection
Pollution Control Commission platforms with satellite data relay
to monitor water quality in Pearl
River
Maryland Department of Natural Environmental Quality Synoptic studies of the extent and
Resources outfall from channel dredging at
Chesapeake Biological Labora- the mouth of the Patapsco River
tories
Chesapeake Bay Institute
Alaska Dept. of Wildlife habitat Identify and map habitats critical
Fish & Game surveys to well-being of cribou, moose and
Dall sheep populations in northeast
and east-central Alaska
PAGENO="0273"
STATE
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
State of Florida Department Biological Control of Develop a remote sensing system to
of Natural Resources Aquatic Weeds detect and determine the biomass of
noxious submergent and floating
aquatic vegetation
Kentucky Dept. of Surface mine mapping Use of Landsat data to map, measure
Natural Resources & & inventory and inspect surface coal mining opera
Environmental Protection tions in Kentucky
States of Kentucky Water Quality Remote determination of soil charac-
and Ohio teristics in strip mined areas
Commonwealth of Virginia, Atmospheric Measurements To assist the state in their atmo-
State Air Pollution Control and Modeling spheric monitoring programs
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi and Use of aquatic vegetation to Develop final filtration system for
Orange Grove Mississippi remove pollutants from muni- wastewater sewage lagoons using
Sanitation Departments cipal sewage lagoon aquatic vegetation to remove pollu-
tants.
Calif. Water Resources Lake & River Pollution Use of Landsat as a monitoring and
Control Board surveys surveillance system for regular
assessment of the condition of waters
in the state
Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Municipal, community waste Development of a system for providing
Authority water treatment facility water quality monitoring in "real
time" as opposed to lengthy tests
presently required.
LAKE COUNTY (CALIF.) FLOOD CONTPCL Water quality Aerial photography to monitor algal
and Water COnservation Dis- movement
trict/ Clear Lake Algal
Research Unit
PAGENO="0274"
STATE
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
State of Pennsylvania Strip mining monitoring Examination and analysis of current
Department of Environ- Landsat data for enforcement of
mental Resources Pennsylvania surface njn~!~g Conser-
vation and Reclamation Act
Orange County Sanitation Municipal Wastewater Support construction and performance
Districts, Orange County, Treatment System evaluation of 1,000,000 gallons per
California day municipal pilot plant using NASA-
Activated Carbon Treatment System
(ACTS)
State of Kentucky Environment Feasibility Analysis of the Employ-
ment of satellite imagery to monitor
and inspect surface mining opera-
tions
State of California Environment Development of a comprehensive
statewide monitoring and surveil-
lance system to detect incipient
water quality problems before pollu-
tion damage becomes critical
PAGENO="0275"
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Study to define points of entry for
potential contaminants in Limestone
Acquifers
Study to establish baseline water
quality and environmental condition
of Tennessee River at site of Browns
Ferry Nuclear Plant (Alabama)
Development t echniques to examine th
reflection of clean and contaminated
water surfaces
Aircraft and satellite re~ote sen-
sing data of the Hampton Roads area
will be used in pollution medels
Studies of use of earth satellite
remote sensing data together with
ground truth information for moni-
toring of turbidity, salinity,
sediment transport, and other pollu-
tion parameters in Mobile Bay
Math modeling of Mobile Bay water
pollution relationship to turbidity
and sediment transport. This pro-
ject is in conjunction with the
activity with Alabama Marine Sci-
ences Consortium
UNIVERSITY
ORGANIZATIO~ APPLICATION
University of Alabama Water Quality
(Huntsville)
University of Alabama Water Quality
(Huntsville)
DC Teachers College Water Quality
Old Dominion University Environmental Quality
Alabama Marine Environmental Water Quality and Environ-
Sciences Consortium mental Pollution
University of Alabama Water Quality
(Tuscaloosa)
PAGENO="0276"
UNIVERSITY
ORGANI ZATION
Jackson State University
Jackson, Mississippi
APPLICATION
Research in marshland ecology
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
To relate salinity, water depth, and
other ecological parameters to marsh
plant species associations that can
be detected with ren~te sensors
Environmental Research
Institute of Michigan
The University of Michigan
Water Quality and Oil spills
Determine the feasibility of using
remote sensing from space to detect
extent of oil slicks on water
Virginia Institute of Marine
Science
Department of Biology
The American University
University of California
Davis
Cranbrook Institute of
Science, Michigan
Water Quality
Wetland Mapping
Water Quality
Lake & River Pollution
surveys
Investigate applicability and feasi-
bility of space sensing of the south-
ern Chesapeake Bay environment and
its changes
Utilizing Skylab data t~' ~eIineate
and map wetlands communities
Use of aerial photography to map
sediment plumes entering Lake Tahoe
Demonstrate use of Landsat for opera-
tional monitoring of late eutrophi-
cation
Univ. of Wyoming, Univ. of
Colorado, Univ. of Maryland
Massachusetts Institute of
Tech., Harvard University,
Univ. of Michigan, and George
Washington University
Univ. of Rhode Island, Univ.
of Delaware, Univ. of Cali-
fornia at Berkley, Old Do-
minion Univ., and Virginia
Institute of Marine Sciences
Stratospheric Air Quality
Water Quality
Use of NASA support, satellite and
aircraft measurements to improve
the state of knowledge on strato-
spheric composition and processes
Use of NASA support, satellite and
aircraft measurements to improve the
state of knowledge on the effects of
pollutants in water bodies
PAGENO="0277"
ORGANIZATION
Old Dominion Univ.,
Cleveland State Univ., Univ.
of Maryland, Columbia Univ.,
Univ. of California at Los
Angc~1es, and National Center
for Atmospheric Research
UNIVERSITY
APPLICATION
Tropospher~~Air Quality
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Use of NASA support, satellite and
aircraft measurements to improve
the state of knowledge on the effectE ~
of pollutants in the troposphere
PAGENO="0278"
Chicago Field Museum Ecology
of Natural History &
Mexican Natn'l. Inst. of
Biotic Resources
Central Lab. for Geo- Environmental Surveys
photogrammetry, Germany
Japan Forest Agency; Environmental Surveys
Tokai Regional
Fish Research Laboratory
Botanical Research Institute Environmental Surveys
of South Africa
Mexico - Comision Nacional Multidisciplinary
de; Espacio Exterior (CONEE)
and various Mexican agencies
Canada Centre for Inland
Waters
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Landsat data used to evaluate ecolo-
gical effects of dam construction
and flooding, and deforestration in
tropical Mexico (area of Vera Cruz)
Use of Landsat data for hydrologic,
geologic & oceanographic interpre-
tations of areas in Germany
Investigation of environmental chang
patterns in Japan; focus on water
pollution vegetative changes air
pollution
Use of Landsat to observe and mea-
sure extent of fires, to assist in
range land management
Familiarization of Mexican personnel
with US Earth Resources Program;
Agriculture, Forestry, Geology, Hy-
drology, geography, cartography, and
oceanography
Exchange of US and Soviet satellite
data in effort to understand such
factors as temperature, moisture,
and topographic changes over conti-
nents, polar ice, and oceans
Evaluate Skylab data for water man-
agement studies
FOREIGN
ORGANI ZATION APPLICATION
USSR - Academy of Science Earth Resources
Water Quality
PAGENO="0279"
FOREIGN
OP~ANIZATIONS APPLICATION PROJECF DESCRIPTION
INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL MONITORING ENVIRSNMENTAL Monitor the temperature
SCIENCE CHANGE distrthution of heated water
UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO caused by the outflow of cooling
water from thermal power plants.
PAGENO="0280"
INDUSTRY
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION PRGJECT DESCRIPTION
WOLF RESEAI~N & DEVELOPMENT STRIP MINING MONITORING Detect strip mines and ascertain
CORPORATION their ecological effects using
remote sensing data.
CAT.SPAN, INC. WATER QUALITY Develop interpretation techniques
NEW YORK for satellite monitoring of lake
turbidity and eutrophication.
PAGENO="0281"
279
GEOLOGY
PAGENO="0282"
FEDERAL
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
U.S. Geological Survey Structural Mapping Using Landsat, mapping geological
International Geology Branch structures of Saudi Arabia for
mineral resources
U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Geologic mapping of Landsat
Mapping & Mineral imagery over many test sites in
& Hydrocarbon S. America will include the study
* Exploration of regional and local structural
and tectonic patterns and their
relationships to known ore and
petroleum deposits
U.S. Geological Survey Regional Geologic The preparation of Landsat geologic
Mapping for Resources and hydrologic maps will aid in
Development such development programs as mining
and irrigation. Major product will
be a geologic photo map for the
entire area of the Yeman Arab
Republic
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Microwave Signatures Utilize the Sl93 radar altimeter
and Terrain to identify terrain characteristics
Characteristics from space.
U.S. Geological Survey Geological Mapping Uses of Skylab data to discriminate
rock and soil units and zones of
S mineralization
PAGENO="0283"
Geologic Division
U.S~ Geological Survey
Denver, Colorado
National Weather Service
__________ PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Detect and identify areas
susceptable to rapid soil
erosion and sheetwash, for
use in planning urban develop-
ment, zoning, and in reclamation
of watersheds, farmlands, and
rangelands in Central Arizona
25 data collection platforms
are used in a prototype volcano
surveillance network in the U.S.,
Central America and Iceland
5 DCP's are being used in the
cascades to investigate thermal
properties of volcanoes in
conjunction with Landsat imagery
studies
To determine the feasibility of
using RF techniques for the
identification of tornado
bearing storms
FEDERAL
ORG?~NI ZATIONS
U S Geological Survey
National Center for Earthquake
Research
Menlo Park California
APPLICATION
Geologic Mapping
Environmental Geology
Volcanology
Volcanology
Tornado Detection
PAGENO="0284"
FEDERAL
OP2ANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
tJSGS, RESTON, VIRGINIA MINERAL EXPLORATION Detection and mapping of mineralized
areas in Utah and Nevada, using
computer enhanced Landsat data
TJSGS, DENVER, CULORADO PETROLEUN EXPLORATION Utilization of Landsat data to study
alteration aureoles in surface rock
overlying petroleum deposits
PAGENO="0285"
MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL
RESOURCES
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
DIVISION OF GEOLOGY MINERAL EXPLORATION
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE DEVELOPMENT
BOARD
MAINE STATE HIGHWAY COMMISSION DRAINAGE BASIN & GEOLOGY
--GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ALABAMA STRIP MINING AND GEOLOGIC
HAZARDS
P1~DJECT DESCRIPTION
Visually analyze SIPOA, S19OB, and S192
iinaqery to detect aeologically signifi-
cant structural linean~ents
Basic geologic mapping will be used
in study of potential mineralizedzones,
fault systems, and structural and tec-
tonic features. Other tasks include
water resources mapping, seismicity, land
use pattern analysis and erosion problems
Rock type and structural mapping to extenc
knowledge of major ecologic characteris-
tics of the state, identify potential
ore deposits, and update existing maps
Determine the usefulness of Skylab
satellite photographs for geologic
mapping and mineral exploration
Detect, identify and delineate land
surface features in the state of Maine
as related to environmental quality!
ecology, geology, hydrology, and geo-
graphy using Skylab photographic data
Studies of strip mine effects on
environment. Study of underground
limestone caverns and other hazards
through use of remote sensing
STATE
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION
DEPARPMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES GEOLOGIC LINEAMENTS
INDIANA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
NEW MEXICO BuREAU OF MINES REGIONAL GEOLOGIC MAPPI ~G
REGIONAL GEOLOGIC
RECONNAISSANCE AND MAPPING
PROJECT FOR RESOURCES
EXPLORATION
PAGENO="0286"
UNIVERSITIES
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
DEPARTNENT OF GEOLOGY GEOLOGICAL MAPPING Interpret Skylab imagery data to detect
THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA and map (a) possible rejuvenated crustal
fractures; (b) suspected township-sized
structural blocks; (c) correlations
of olacial land forms and ancient non-
flacial surfaces and (d) major rock types
GEORGIA SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE GEOLOGIC HAZARDS (1) Investigation of use of remote
sensing to locate geologic hazards by
detecting vegetation stress
- (2) Utilize remote sensing to map
metamorphic regions of Georgia using
vegetation stresr
LANONT-DOHERTY GEOLOGICAL GEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION GEOS-3 is a geodetic and oceanographic
INSTITUTE OF GRAVITY DATA FROM GEOS-3 satellite in support of NASA's Earth
ALTIMETER EXPERIMENT and Ocean Dynamics' Program. The
demonstration of satellite altimetry
and the improvement of satellite borne
and ground-based tracking systems are
part of this project
PAGENO="0287"
UNIVERSITIES
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION P~3ECr DESCRIPTION
0
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH MINERAL EXPLORATION Prolect will employ aircraft, Landsat,
and other remotely sensed data to
study the metallic mineralization patterns
in two major mineral belts in the U.S.
S ,W. MISSOURI UNIVERSITY GEOLOGIC MAPPING Use of Landsat data in geological mapping
of N.W. Greenland and Ellismere Island
areas
Ti. OF ALASKA VOLCANOLOGY Landsat data used to study effects of
recent eruption of volcano at St.
Augustine on Cook Inlet, Alaska
U. OF COLORADO GEOLOGIC HAZARDS To identify avalanche and landslide
hazards in areas of expanding population
growth, and to identify techniques for
identifying and mapping these areas
GEOPHYSICAL INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY ANALYSIS OF TECTONIC STRUCTURE To combine naps of seismicity with
OF ALASKA Landsat data to identify unmapped
tectonically active faults, previously
unrecognized major structural relation-
ships, and develop a coherent regional
tectonic model
UNiVERSITY OF UTAH MINERAL EXPLORATION Remote sensing in mineral exploration
from Landsat imagery
COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES GEOLOGICAL MAPPING, MINERAL Use Skylab to map geological features
SURVEYS
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY GEOLOGICAL MAPPING Analyze Skylab imagery using
UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING stereoscopic viewers and color additive
viewers for a first look evaluation of
the data for geologic analysis
PAGENO="0288"
UNIVERSITIES
ORGANI ZATIONS ___________
Environmental Research Institute
of Michigan
The University of Michigan
Department of Geological & Mineral Exploration
Geophysical Sciences
University of Utah
Office of Remote Sensing of Earth
Resources
The Pennsylvania State University
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Determine whether or not Skylab
data can be used to differen-
tiate silicate rock types and
produce recognition maps of
ferric and ferrous c~~ounds
in exposed rocks amd soils
Test the feasibility of
determining the surface
composition of geologic
units in large vecetatior-
free areas of the earth's
surface
Interpret Skylab imagery
visually and by means of
densitometry and additive
color viewing for geologic
purposes.
Study the various scales of
Skylab, Landsat and aircraft
imagery of the Susquehanna
River Basin to characterize
and classify gross geologic
structure and tectonic
features for purposes of
mineral exploration.
School of Earth Sciences
Stanford University
APPLICATION
Geological Mapping
Geological Mapping
Mineral and Groundwater
Exploration
PAGENO="0289"
UNIVERSITIES
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
University of Virginia Marine Geology Preparation of a predictive
National Park Service model of barrier island
physical feature changes
through the correlation of
past storms and their overwash
activity using remote sensing
technology
Mackay School of Mines Geological Mapping Use field studies, RB-57 multi-
University of Nevada band photographs, and Skv1a~
Sl90 photographs to evaluate the
utility of multiband photographs
for distinguishing between
geological units, mapping
geological structures, and
identification of major
draimage basins features
in Nevada
Department of Earth Sciences Volcanic Hazards; Interpret nighttime S192 Skylab
Dartmouth College & Geological Mapping thermal infrared imagery of
Central America to determine the
relationship between volcanos,
active faults, and hydrothermal
features
PAGENO="0290"
ORSANIZATION
INSTITUT FUR ALLGEMEINE AMD
ANGEWANDTE GEOLOGIC UND
NINERALOGIE DER UNIVEPSITAT
MUCHEN
WEST GERMANY
VIRGINIA INSTITUTE OF MARINE
SCiENCE
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVEPSITIES
APPLICATION
GEOLOGICAL MAPPING
MARINE GEOLOGY
SOLID EARTH DYNAMICS
GRAVITY MODELS
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Investigate the use of Skylab data for
the geologic, hydrological and oceano-
graphic interpretation of the Tuscan
AppenineRegine of Italy
Prepare chronological m~ps of sand
dune locations and their vegetative
surroundings for use in correlating
the interaction between dune migrations
and vegetative coverage
GEOS-3 is a geodetic and oceanographic
satellite in support of NASA's Earth
and Ocean Dynam' Program. The
demonstration of satellite altimetry
and the improvement of satellite borne
and ground-based tracking syRtonc are
part of this project
PAGENO="0291"
FOREIGN
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
CSIRO, Govt. of Australia Mineral Exploration Potential mineralized zones
will be identified through
structural, lithologic, tectonic
and other studies
Geological Survey of Malaysia Mineral Exploration Landsat will be used to map
najor structural features in the
central belts and also to study
coastal features
Engineering & Water Supply Ground Water Surveys Landsat data will be correlated
Dept., Australia with lysineter data for estimates
of seasonal changes in evapotrans-
piration and soil moisture, and
results checked against catchinent
of rainfall and run-off data
Government of Turkey Mineral Exploration Landsat will be used to identify
and Engineering major structural patterns in a
Studies key copper ore region, and study
engineering problems associated
with karst terrain as related to
fracture zones
State Hydraulic Works, Groundwater Explora- Landsat will be used to identify
Government of Turkey tion and Agricultural fracture zones in limestone, and
Studies to pinpoint drilling locations
for additional groundwater sources.
The agricultural task will include
irrigation, plant disease and
pest control
PAGENO="0292"
FOREIGN
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
(~eological Survey of Iran Regional Geologic Mapping of large areas to identify
Turkey and Pakistan Mapping and map major fracture structural
and tectonic zones volcanic and
igneous regions and to identify
possible sources of ml?teralization
related to these features
I T C Geological Mapping Evaluate the potential of Skylab
The Netherlands data for geological mapping in
Spain
Instituto Mexicano del Petroleo Petroleum Exploration Determine the applicatLon of
Mexico space remote sensing data to
hydrocarbon exploration
Geolab Geothermal exploration Prepare a series of thematic
Italy volcanic hazards maps based on Skylab data of
volcanic and related phenomena
tectonic characteristics and
environmental quality.
Geological Institude du Clausthal Geological Mapping Make 1 500 000 scale geological
West Germany and tectonic maps of Ethiopia
from the interpretation and
compare to existing field
geology and geophysical maps
PAGENO="0293"
ORGANI ZATIONS
Research Institute of African
Geology
University of Leeds
England
Univ. Nal. Aut. De Mexico
Instituto De Geofisica
De Exploracion
CD. Unjversitaria
Mexico
Geological Survey of the Federal
Republic of Gernany
FOREIGN
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Study and develop the uses to
which satellite imagery can be
used for geological purposes in
a large area of Ethiopia
Determine the usefulness of
Skylab data for metals exploration
and nining activities in Mexico.
Analyze (with multispectral
techniques) geological structures,
distribution of rock types, marine
sediment transport, interaction
between industrial and urban
pollution and land use, distribu-
tion of glacial sediments and
their soils.
Assess aircraft, balloon and
Skylab imagery at various scales
to develop a synthesis of the
major geologic alignments
Use S19OA, SI9OB, and S192 data
for preparation of geologic and
geomorphic maps.
APPLICATION
Geological Mapping
Resource Inventory
Resource Inventory
Institute Francais Du Petrole Petroleum Exploration
France
Geographisches Institut Resource Inventory
University of Technology
Federal Republic of Germany
PAGENO="0294"
EGYPT, ACADEMY OF SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY
FOREIGN
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Landsat will be used cc identify
major structural patterns in a key
copper ore region, ar..d tc study
engineerina problems associated with
karst terrain as related to fracture
zones
To use aircraft, ground truth and Landsat
for use in several engineering tasks
as well as for basic structural studies
To couple Landsat data with airborne
geophysical and ground studies to
identify potential radio-active deposits
To identify major structural zones in
New Zealand and relate them to volcanic
activity, volcanic, prediction, active
faults, geothermal energy potential,
and mineral and petroleum potential
To support ongoing resource exploration
projects designed to map structural,
tectonic, geologic features in support
of Guinea Third Development Plan
Study volcanic activity and thermal
patterns in N.W. Mexico
ORGANIZATION
GVERNHENT OF TURKEY
APPLICATION
MINERAL EXPLCRATION
& ENGINEERING STUDIES
MINISTRY OF PLANNING, LIBYA'S
ARAB REPUBLIC
PLANNING AND NATURAL RESOURCES
DEVELOPMENT &GEOLOGIC
RECONNAISSANCE NAPPING
EXPLORATION OF RADIO-ACTIVE
MINERAL DEPOSITS
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NEW ZEALAND SEISMOTECTONIC AND VOLCANIC
STUDIES FOR EARTHQUAKE &
ENERGY PLANNING
BUREAU OF MINES & GEOLOGY,
GUINEA
RESOURCES EVALUATION &
PLANNING
COMISION FEDERAL DE ELECTRICIDAD GEOTHERMAL EXPLORATION
MEXICO
PAGENO="0295"
FOREIG
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF IRAN REGIONAL GEOLOGIC ~kAPPING Mapping of large areas to it~entify
TURKEY & PAKISTAN and map major fracture, structural
and tectonic zones, and to identify
possible sources of mineralization
related to these features
GOVERNMENT OF BOLIVIA MINERAL EXPLORATION User support by processing of remotely
sensed data for purposes of mineral
exploration
PAGENO="0296"
INDUSTRY
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
ILS. PETROLEUM AND MINERAL GEOID INFORMATION Computation of detailed gravimetric
EXPLORATION COMPANIES geoids over land areas as well as
over the oceans based ~pcn a combina-
tion of satellite-derived and surface
observed gravity data
(CALESCO) CALIFORNIA EARTH EARTHQUAKE HAZARDS Processing Skylab imagery f or analysis
SCIENCES CORPORATION of fault tectonics and earthquale
hazards in California
THE AEROSPACE CORPORATION STUDY OF GRAVITATIONAL GEOS-3 is a geodetic and oceanographic
YIELD satellite in support of NASA's Earth
and Ocean Dynamic' a Program. The
demonstration of satellite altinetry
and the improvement of satelite borne
and ground-based tra&ira ~vstems are
part of this project
ARGUS EXPLORATION COMPANY MINERAL FXPLORATION Evaluate and compare Skylab deta with
existing data including Apollo earth-
looking photography, Landsat imagery,
NIMBUS High Resolution Infrared data,
geophysical data X-l5 photography
Side Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) for the
interpretation of geology and tectonics
in the test site areas
KERR-MCGEE MINERAL EXPLORATION Evaluation of Landsat data for mineral
CCTh1OC'0 expior~o'~ b c~'eck..g tec'-~rc~es o
fully explored site
PAGENO="0297"
INDUSTRY
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Eason Oil Company Petroleum Exploration Compare the content of geological
information in Skylab imagery of
the Test Site Area with that of
Landsat and aircraft imagery
specifically for the location of
potential accumulations of
hydrocarbons
Earth Science Research Corporation Fault Hazards Detect and map previously
unrecognized faults in southern
California and develop criteria
for the detection of active
versus inactive fault zones
North American Rockwell Geological Mapping Determine the utility of Skylab
Corporation S190 photographs for the detection
of fault and tectonic line
intersections, and analyze in
terms of the distribution of
mineral depositis, and the
location of active fault zones
PAGENO="0298"
296
WATER RESOURCES
PAGENO="0299"
ORGANI ZATION
USGS
Environmental Protection
Agency, Office of Research
and Development
Environmental Protection
Agency, National Environmental
Research Center, Corvallis,
Oregon
Great Lakes Water Quality
Board and EPA Region V
USGS
University of Miami
US Navy
NOAA
Reservoir Control Center
US Army Corps of Engineers
APPLICATION
Water Data System
Water Quality
!EDE~L
Lake Eutrophication
Reinot~ Sensing of River
Discharges
River Siltation
Laser Sensor Development
Reservoir Management
!RO~CT DESCRIPTION
Simulate an automatic water data
collection and processing system
Evaluation of remote sensing techni-
ques for monitoring coastal and
estuarine waters
Use of remotely sensed data to
classify the trophic state of lakes
Use of remote sensing techniques to
monitor pollutants discharged by
major rivers into the Great Lakes
Investigate the use of remote
sensing to determine the suspended
sediment load in inland rivers and
reservoirs
Develop a method for remotely sensing
subsurface water temperature, tur-
bidity, and salinity
Correlate the apparent extent of
floods as shown on skylab imagery
with data from an extensive network
of stream and reservoir gauging
stations
Determination of snow cover, snow
melt using Landsat imagery
NOAA/NESS
Snow cover mapping
PAGENO="0300"
FEDERAL
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
TJ. S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS FLOOD ASSESSMENT Landsat imagery used to determine extent
(VICXSBURG) of flooding resulting from 1975 spring
floods ofthe lower Mississippi River
(below St. Louis)
CORP~ OF ENGINEERS FLOOD CONTROL Develop remote sensing techniques
VICKSBURG WATERWAYS EXP. STA. to detect and assess leakage in
levees along Mississippi River.
U, S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, SURFACE WATER DETECTION AND Transfer and user application of an
TEXAS MAPPING operational procedure for using
Landsat data and computer processing
techniques to map areas of surface
water ten acres or larger
U.S. CORPS OF ENGINEERS HYDROLOGICAL MONITORING SYSTEM Assist the Corps of Engineers in
developing an insitu system for real-
time monitoring of lower Mississippi
River
SATELLITE DATA COLLECTION PROJECT HYDROLOGY, METEOROLOGY AND WATER 25 USGS distructs are participating
QUALITY MONITORING in an investigation to evaluate the
satellite Data Collection System
(DCS) for water resources monitoring.
RESERVOIR CONTROL BRANCH HYDROLOGY, WATER QUALITY The Corps New England District is
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS using 30 Data Collection Platforms
NEW~ ENGLAND DIVISION (DCP's) and a satellite DCS application'
to flood control and reservoir manage-
ment.
WATER RESOURCES DIVISION GROUND WATER EXPLORATION Correlate regional fracture zones
USGS with the location of abundant
ground-water supplies
PAGENO="0301"
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Landsat data and NOAA Very High
Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) data
are being evaluated to ascertain
their contribution in sno~melt/runoff
prediction for improved reservoir
management, hydroelectric power
production, and irrigation water
supply estimation
FEDERAL
APPLICATION
SNOW MAPPING
SNOW MAPPING
ORGANIZATION
BONNEVILLE POWER ADMIN.
SALT RIVER PROJECT (ARIz
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
- BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
- GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
* - NATIONAL OCEANIC AND
ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
U.S * DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
- SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE
U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
PAGENO="0302"
STATE/REGIONAL/LOCAL
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Northern Virginia Planning Hydrology Comparison of Landsat data and
Commission conventional data related to flood
control and waterworks design
PAGENO="0303"
ORGANI ZATION
State of Colorado
- Div of Water Resources
State of Florida Game' and
Fresh Water Commission
Brevard County (Florida)
Department of Health
Virginia Water Control Board
State of Florida Department
of Environmental Regulation
Inventory of Vegetation
Adjacent to Lakes
Develop a remote sensing system to
to determine the distribution of
various plant communities growing
adjacent to lakes
Determine the feasibility of using
renote sensing to detect, identify,
and locate underwater characteristic:
effecting water quality and marine
productivity potential
Demonstration of Operational Use of
Lands at Imagery to measure water
area, water quality, and land use
in reservoir watersheds
Determine the feasibility of locat-
ing free flowing artesian wells whic
are submerged in the shallow waters
off Florida's Gu)f Coast by remote
sensing techniques
California Dept. of Water
Resources
APPLICATION
Snow Mapping
STATE
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Landsat data and NOAA Very High
Resolution Radiometer (VHRR) data ar~
being evaluated to ascertain their
contribution in snowmelt/runoff
prediction for improved reservoir
management hydroelectric power
production, and irrigation water
supply estimation
0
Water Quality
Water Quality and Land Use
Identification of Artesian Wells
PAGENO="0304"
STATE
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Governor's Office of State Flood Assessment Landsat imagery used to determine
Planning, extent of flooding resulting from
State of Louisiana 1975 spring floods of the lower
Mississippi River (south of Baton
Rouge)
C
PAGENO="0305"
UNIVERSITY
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY HYDROLOGY Remote sensing of effects of cloud-
seeding on water run-off
~U. OF ALASKA/GEOPHYSICAL NEAR SHORE ICE ANALYSIS To study the behavior of near-shore
INSTITUTE ice and prepare a map of the Arctic
Coast of Alaska indicating predictable
near-shore ice conditions
ti. OF ARIZONA WATERSHED ANALYSIS Assist local users in applying Landsat
data to solve problems relative to
watersheds
WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING HYDROLOGIC LAND USE Use of Landsat and traditional land
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND use delineation methods for hydroloqic
runoff modelling (Four Mile Run
watershed, VA).
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY WATERSHED ANALYSIS Landsat, aircraft and ground truth data
will be collected for the Belle Fourche
Watershed of South Dakota
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGICAL FLOOD HAZARD MAPPING Perform a stream network analysis of th
SCIENCES THE UNIVERSITY OF Guadalupe River Basin in Central Texas
TEXAS
SCHOOL OF FORESTRY AND HYDROLOGIC LAND USE Provide hydrologic land cover
CONSERVATION classifications
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
PAGENO="0306"
INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATION
UNDP/FAO, Nth'l
University of Lesotho
State Hydraulic
Works, Govt. of Turkey
USGS/Govt. of Iceland
Mali, Direct. Mines
et Geologie
U. of Zurich
Canada Dept. of
Environment
WAPDA, Pakistan
Mekong Committee of the
Secretariat, Thailand
APPLICATION
Surface Water
Groundwater exploration
Geology/Water Resources
Watershed surveys
Watershed surveys
River Monitoring
(water levels)
Watershed Surveys
Watershed Surveys
PROJECT DESCRI PTION
Use of Landsat data to determine
seasonal variation of extent of
surface water in Okanango Delta,
Botswana
Landsat will be used to identify
fracture zones in limestone, and to
pinpoint drilling locations for
additional groundwater sources
Landsat data request for continued
study of tectonics, ice and snow
coverage of Iceland
Landsat imagery will be used in
support of defining the Niger River
hydrographic characteristics
Landsat imagery will be used to nap
and inventory natural resources and
watersheds in Switzerland
Data collection platforms are being
used to transmit water level data
from remote sites in Canada
Landsat imagery is being used to
determine snowcover in northern re-
gions of West Pakistan
Landsat data is being utilized for
inventorying forest cover irrigable
lands, floods, drainage pattern and
and other land cover
PAGENO="0307"
FOREIGN
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
U. OF OSLO, NORWAY SNOW SURVEYS Snowcover information from Landsat
imagery is used for predicting run-off
amounts, flood warning and reservoir
operations
INLAND WATERS BRANCH HYDROLOGY, METEOROLOGY 25 Data collection platforms are
being deployed throughout Canada
in an experimental Hydrology-
Meteorology Monitorinq Network
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE GROUND WATER EXPLORATION Search for fresh ground water in the
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY Pampa of Argentina using imagery
from the S19OA, S19OB, and S192
Skylab instruments
ENGINEERING AND WATER SUPPLY GROUND WATER SURVEYS Landsat data will be used for
DEPARTMENT estimates of seasonal changes in
AUSTRALIA eva~o-transpiration and soil moisture
PAGENO="0308"
INDUSTRY
ORGANIZATION APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH & SNOW MAPPING Evaluate Skylab data for mapping
TECHNOLOGY, INC. of snow cover
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI THERMAL POLLUTION MATH Develop math model for predicting
* EPA MODEL temperature distributions resull4ng
DUKE POWER COMPANY from po~~er plant thermal discharges
FLORIDA POWER AND LIGHT CO. into water bodies
PAGENO="0309"
307
MARINE RESOURCES AND OCEAN SURVEYS
PAGENO="0310"
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Determine sea state from passive
microwave data.
Calibrate radiometers, determine
sea state & salinity, emphasis on
L-Bank.
A bio-optical assessment of
southern California coastal
waters (ocean chlorophyll)
Monitor the characteristics of the
Gulp Strean.
Study of Geostrophic currents
in the Eastern North Atlantic using S
GEOS-3 data.
Extraction of Sea State Descriptors 5:
from GEOS-3 Altimeter Data.
Hurricane Surge, Sea State and
Wave Analyses
Investigations to make ocean Geoid
determinations and gravity model
improvements.
Determination of Tidal Parameters
from Orbital Perturbations of
GEOS-3.
Research into determining Ocean
Geoid using GEOS-C Altimeter Data.
ORGANIZATION
NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC &
ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
ATLANTIC OCEANOGRAPHIC &
METEOROLOGICAL LABORATORY
MICROWAVE REMOTE SENSING SECTION
NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY
NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC &
ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC &
ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION
NOAA - ATLANTIC OCEANOGRAPHIC &
METEOROLOGICAL LAB
NOAA - ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LAB
NOAA - OCEAN REMOTE SENSING LAB
NOAA GEODETIC RESEARCH & DEVELOP-
MENT LAB
FEDERAL
APPLICATION
SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
COASTAL ZONE STUDIES
SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
NOAR - GEODETIC RESEARCH & DEVELOP- SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
MENT LAB
SMITHSONIAN ASTROPHYSICAL SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
OBSERVATORY
PAGENO="0311"
PROJECT DESCRIPTION ~
Short Arc Analysis for determining
detailed undulations in the North
Atlantic.
Studies of Radar Pulse Shapes,
Sea State, and Wave Field Dynamics
in the North Atlantic.
California Near-Shore Processes
Study
Airborne Oceanographic Lidar
System Application Flight.
Airborne Oceanographic Lidar
System Application Flight
Airborne Oceanographic Lidar
System Application Flight.
Airborne Oceanographic Lidar
System Application Flight.
Field Tests for the Remote sersing of
Ocean Currents
Improve the Laser Profilometer ~ata
Reduction Program.
FEDERAL
ORGANIZATION
APPLICATION
AFCRL
SEA STATE MEASURFMFNTS
NOAA - ATLANTIC OCEANOGRAPHIC
&
SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
HEI'POROLOGICAL LAB
U S ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
COASTAL ZONE STUDIES
OFFICE OF NAVAL RESEARCH
COASTAL ZONE STUDIES
NAVAL OCEANOGRAPHIC OFFICE
COASTAL ZONE STUDIES
DEFENSE MAPPING AGENCY
COASTAL ZONE STUDIES
NATIONAL OCEAN SURVEY (NOAA)
COASTAL ZONE STUDIES
NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY
OCEAN DYNAMICS
NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY
OCEAN DYNAMICS
PAGENO="0312"
PEDERAL
National Marine Fisheries
Service
Naval Oceanographic Office
(NAV OCEANO)
U.S. Navy Fleet
Weather Facility
NOAA/LaRC
APPLICATION
Oceanography
PROJECT DESCRIP~»=!~
Landsat imagery used to study
large grounded floeberg in
Beaufort Sea (North of Alaska)
Investigation of Landsat and
Aircraft data for successful
prediction of location and
abundance of two important
fish species
Use of Landsat data to support
joint U.S./Icelandic study of
Denmark Strait
Landsat imagery used to observe
pack-ice dynamics as related to
shipping safety considerations
in Antartica
Landsat imagery used to study
surface circulation and turbidity
distribution in New York Bight
Landsat imagery used in connection
with study of oceanic internal
waves in Bermuda, Bahamas, and
Antilles
ORGANIZATIONS
U.S. Navy - NAVOCEANO
MARINE RESOURCES
Oceanography
Oceanography
O~E~OGRAPHY
Oceanography
Deft~nse ARPA/AOML (Miami)
C
PAGENO="0313"
FEDERAL
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
,USGS, tJ~ of Washington Sea Ice Landsat imagery used to study
(NSF, ONR) (AIDJEX Pioject) sea ice dynamics for genera]
applications such as arctic
shipping off-shore oil drilling
off Alaskan Coast
IJSGS/NOAA Bathymetry To determine utility of Landsat
imagery in high-gain mode for
potential bathymetric applications
throughout Gulf of Mexico from
Florida to Panama
U.S. Coast Guard Oceanographic Oceanography To study ocean currents and ice
Unit flow along the continental
Washington,, DC shelf of EaStern United States
Environmental Science Group, co~s~r~i~ ZONE STUDIES Analysis of existing data
NOAA/NESS for spectral classification of
Suitland, Maryland
NOAA/AOML cOAsTAL ZONE STUDIES Analysis of data for correlations
Miami Florida between temperature and color,
especially in the area east and
north of Cape Hatteras;
PAGENO="0314"
FEDERAL
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
National Marine Fisheries Service, MARINE RESOURCES Development of a satellite remote
NOAA/Nat'l Fish Meal and Oil sensing technique to delineate
Asscciation areas of high probability of
finding Menhaden and Thread
Herring - commercially important
fish in the northern Gulf of
Mexico
National Marine Fisheries Service COASTAL ZONE STUDIES Experiment to develop satellite
U.S. Coast Guard based (SEASAT) fishing vessel
surveillance system
NOAA/MESA (Marine Eco-Systems COAST ~ONE STUDIES Flights with Ocean Color Scanner
Analysis) Expedition over New York Bight to determine
location and motion of pollutants
dumped into the New York Bight
and to determine behavior and
material contained in the plume
of the Hudson River
Fleet Weather Facility Sea Ice Monitoring Passive microwave data from
U S Navy the Niinbus-5 and Nimbus-6
satellites are utilized in
preparing weekly charts of
global ice cover for military
and civilian shipping interests
operating in polar regions
USGS Arctic Experiments Develop a computer model of
NOAA AIDJEX sea ice dynamics
ONR
NSF
PAGENO="0315"
FEDERAL
ORSPNIZATIONS
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
UNIVERSITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI
U.S. ENGINEER DISTRICT
SAN FRANCISCO
`USACE
CzCS
U-2
PI~DJECT DESCRIPTION
Establish feasibility of utilizing
satellite data to assess and monitor
the distribution of game fish.
Use orbital remote sensing to study
coastal water circulation, river
plumes and effluent discharge of
the Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands.
Determine the applicability of
Skylab sensor data to studies of
near-shore currents and sediment
transport.
Flights with Ocean Color Scanner
over New York Bight to dmtermine
location and motion of pollutants
dumped into the New York Bight and
to determine behavior and material
contained in the plume of the Hudson
River.
NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES
SERVICE
NSTL
APPLICATION
MARINE RESOURCES
COASTAL ZONE STUDIES
COASTAL ZONE STUDIES
NOAA/MESE (MARINE ECO-
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS)
EXPEDITION
PAGENO="0316"
STATE
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
DELAWARE STATE PLANNING OFFICE MANAGEMENT OF MARINE & Use Landsat-2 to monitor changes of
WETLAND RESOURCES hydrological and ecological para~ters
over a longer time period including
mapping of wetlands, oil slick
movement models, sediment transuort,
and acid waste disposal.
STATE OF ALABAMA COASTAL ZONE STUDIES Tidal shoreline measurement by
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OFFICE satellite techniques.
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF COASTAL ZONE STUDIES Identification and quantificatiom
NATURAL RESOURCES, MARINE of red tide organism in waters off
RESEARCH LAB., ST. PETERSBURG, west coast of Florida.
FLORIDA
BREVARD COUNTY BEACH EROSION COASTAL ZONE STUDIES Investigate the use of remote sensing
CONTROL BOARD for the measurement of beach erosion
and accretion.
STATE OF FLORIDA, RED TIDE RESEARCH Evaluation of Landsat and/or Ocean
DEPARTMENT OF PROGRAM Color Scanner (OCS) data to monitor
NATURAL RESOURCES and predict the onset of Red Tide
blooms (Gymnodinium breve) off the
west coast of Florida.
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ~ TIDE RESEARCE Identification and quantification of
NATURAL RESOURCES, MARINE red tide organism (G. breve) in waters
RESEARCH LAB., ST. PETERSBURG, FL off west coast of Florida.
PAGENO="0317"
ORGANIZATIONS
The Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University
North Carolina State University
at Raleigh
North Carolina State University
at Raleigh
U. of Alaska/Geophysical Institute
University of Delaware
College of Marine Studies
UNIVERSITY
APPLICATION
Ocean Dynamics
Survey of Arctic Ice
(Alaska)
Airborne Oceanographic
Lidar System Applica-
tion Flight
~ROJECT DESCRIPTION
Development of theoretical
relationship between wind and
waves
Theoretical Study of the
Propagation of Wave Groups in
Current Syteins
Theoretical Study of Waves
Incident on an Abrupt Current
Change (Ocean Front)
Theoretical Study of the Interraction
between Unsaturated Components in
Wave Spectra and Ocean Currents
Conducting Field Tests for the
Remote Sensing of Ocean Currents
Prediction of Major Current Boundary
Location from Surface Thermal
Signature
To study the dynamic behavior of
near-shore ice and prepare a nap
of the Arctic Coast of Alaska
indicating predictable near-shore
ice conditions
Overflight of Airborne Oceanographic
Lidar for use in coastal water depth
mapping and other water quality
studies
PAGENO="0318"
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Study of the Tectonics of Ocean
Regions Using `~EOS-C Data.
Mapoing of Ocean Tides in the N.E.
Pacific Ocean Using GEOS-3 Data.
Invettigation for Rectifying the
Vest Existing Graviemetric Geoid.
Determine the feasibility of using
Skylab passive microwave systems
in space to measure and monitor
the characteristics of sea and lake-
ice and to compare ice parameters
with numerical models.
GEOS-3 Ocean Geoid Determination and
Orbit Improvement Experiment.
Determine sea state & infer winds
over the ocean from active microwave
data.
Sbpirical Evaluation of the Global
Tide Response Function
Application of Landsat to the planning
and development and promotion of
Delaware marine and wetland resources
Development of a multilevel program
of remote sensing of dynamic coastal
land forms
UNIVEPS ITt
ORGANIZATIOI
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
OCEAN DYNAMICS
LAMONT-DOHEPTY GEOLOGICAL
INSTITUTE
SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
BA~2ELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE
- GEODYNAMICS
ICE DYNAMICS PI~)JECT - USGS
UNIVERSITY OF PUGET SOUND
SEA & LAKE ICE MONITORING
JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
GEODYNAMICS
CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
SEA STATE MEASUREMENT
SCRIPPS INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT
SAN DIEGO
SEA STATE MEASUREMENTS
UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE
MARINE RESOURCES
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
MARINE RESOURCES
1~
PAGENO="0319"
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Overflight of Airborne Oceano-
graphic Lidar for use in
coastal water depth mapping
and other water quality
studies
To develop the high speed high
resolution timing and data
acquisition system for hydro-
graphic lidar
Study the use of NASA technology
to coastal processes and mans
interaction with these processes
Use of Landsat data for bathy-
metric studies of Australian
Great Barrier Reef region
Multilevel program for
monitoring of rhyt1m~ic and
crescentic coastal landforms
and overwash sites
To investigate Gulf Stream Eddies
in the Western Sargasso Sea
Measure oceanic currents,
temperatures, and meterologica].
variables in Antartic Circum-
polar Circulation with drifting
buoys.
ORGANIZATIONS
University of Maryland
Chesapeake Biological Lab
Hampton Institute
Virginia Institute of Marine
Science
Cranbrook Institute of Science
(Michigan)
U. of Va./Dept. of Environmental
Sciences
Graduat.e School of Oceanography
University of Rhode Island
Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory
Columbia University
UNIVERSITY
APPLICATION
Airborne Oceanographic
Lidar System Application
Flight
Ocean Dynamics
Applications of Remote
Sensing to Estuarine
Pràblems
Bathymetry
Shoreline Form Analyses
Oceanography
Oceanographic
PAGENO="0320"
UNIVERSITY
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION
University of California, Oceanography
San Diego
Scripps Institute of
Oceanography
Texas A&M University COASTAL ZONE STUDIES
Department of Oceanography
Visibility Lab., Scripps COASTAL ZONE STUDIES
Institution of Oceanog.,
University of California at
San Diego
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Determine importance of horizontal
heat advection to heat budget of
Central North Pacific; data
collection by 20 drifting buoys
To guide scientific community
in use of algorithms for ex-
traction of temperature, chloro-
phyll a, gelbstoffe, and other
particulate concentrations to
demonstrate utility of CZC~ data
formarine biologists, fisheries
research, and oceanographers
Spectral signature investigations
to include interpretation of
nearshore currents, sediment
transport, river discharge, and
estuarine surface characteristics.
Bigelow Lab. for Ocean Sciences,
W. Boothbay Harbor, ME
COASTAL ZONE STUDIES
Establish spectral signatures
for the major factors responsible
for coastal water color for purpose
of: (a) recreatIon of characteris-
tic water color and (b) `calibration
of CZCS sensors to detect the
contribution by each color
component
*COASTAL ZONE COLOR SCANNER
PAGENO="0321"
UNIVERSITY
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Environmental Research Institute Determine sea bottom Develop multispectral data
of Michigan topography in clear processing methods for
University of Michigan water areas deternining water depths.
PAGENO="0322"
FOREIGN
ORGANIZATIONS APPLICATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION
GERMAN FEDERAL MINISTRY FOR GEODETICS Analysis for tracking station coordinate
RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY improvement for GEOS-3. Use of GEOS-3
data for off-shore geoid determination
in the North Sea
1~OYAL NOI~~IEGIAN COUNCIL FOR ARCTIC OCEANOGRAPHY Read out in real time of Nimbus 5 and 6
SCIENTIFIC & INDUSTRTAL RESEARCH ESMR* instrument to determine ice
conditions
CENTRE NATIONAL D'ETUDES SPATIALES OCEANOGRAPHY Experiment using instrumented platforms
(CNES) - FRANCE deployed on icebergs and the Nimbus 6
Random Access Measurement System to
study the Antarctic circompelar current
OCEANOGRAPHY Experiment using the Nimbus 6 Random
METEOROLOGY Access Measurement System (RAMS) to
improve understanding of the capability
of drifting buoys to provide accurate
information on oceanographic and meteoro-
logical parameter through a spacecraft
data collection system
SOUTH AFRICAN COUNCIL FOR OCEANOGRAPHY Drifting buoy experiment using the
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL Nimbus 6 Random Access Measurement System
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The total planetary situation (chart SL76-1754) is not one with
which we are very happy, frankly. The glories of the past year-
Mariner Venus/Mercury, Viking on its way, Pioneer to Jupiter-were
the result of a program started back in the late sixties.
So I can stand here and tell you about the good results we have had,
but I am really living off what other people started 5 to 10 years ago.
After the MJS and Pioneer Venus launches, the planetary program
will be iu a very drastic going-out-of-business situation. When you
look at the runout of funding for the space flight projects in lunar
PAGENO="0513"
5111
and planetary, you see very little left in here. This, I think, dramati-
cally indicates to us, and I hope to you, the situation that, if we don't
do something very soon, we are in great danger of losing the entire
base of our planetary exploration.
We can go on for awhile with a data analysis type of activity, but
without the acquisition of the new data, without looking toward the
comets, toward the chemistry of the inner planets, toward the in-
vestigation of the atmosphere, of Jupiter, Saturn, and Titan. Per-
sonally I think that we have abrogated our responsibility as outlined
in the Space Act. We will not be a leader in space science.
OFFICE OF SPACE SCIENCE
FISCAL YEAR 1977 BUDGET
LIFE SCIENCES
(DOLLARS iN MILLIONS)
TRANSITION
FY 1975 FY 1976 QUARTER FY 1977
SPACE LIFE SCIENCES 15.0 16.0 4.3 17.3
PLANETARY BIOLOGY 3.3 3.3 .6 3.3
PLANETARY QUARANTINE 1.5 t5 15
TOTAL: 19.8 20.8 . 5.2 22.1
NASA HO SP76-1946(1)
In the life sciences area (chart SP 76-1946) recently transferred to
OSS, we see a small change as we put the planetary biology and
planetary quarantine in the total life science efforts.
We are starting some activity to get ready for a spacelab, which I
will talk about a little more later. In planetary biology, which will be
concerned in large part with Viking, we expect to see continued
activity. It is through the efforts in the planetary quarantine program
that we implement our responsibility to assure that our outer planet
missions do not contaminate the outer planets. This is an international
responsibility.
PAGENO="0514"
We are also, of course, looking downstream What if? Suppose
Viking gives us indications of life on Mars? What is our next step?
(Chart SB76-1672) One approach is to use follow-on missions to
Mars. We have in our SRT program a very basic design phase of
instrumentation that takes the next step' beyond Viking experiments
to characterize any life that might be there, giving us a greater
variety of options to deal with such life forms
The other possibility would be to bring a sample of Mars back to
Earth. Biologists want to look at the stuff. Of course, the implications
of bringing a sample of life-containing material back to Earth are
quite formidable
The biologists now are having a problem of how to work with what
they call recombinant DNA When they start to fool with putting
different kinds of genes together, they are concerned that the resulting
materials are contained so they won't have any possibility of altering
the normal terrestrial pattern of life
We are faced with the same problem We are in touch with those
people and looking at what sort of containment facility is necessary
to assure ourselves that bringing back other life forms will not be
detrimental to life.
PAGENO="0515"
513
A Mars sample return is something which is, we feel, probably
reasonably far off, but we have to do the basic reseaarch, the basic
thinking on the problems you could get into; How would you do it?
How would you analyze? Would you sterilize on the way back?
We do have some of that effort going at a low level to be ready to
respond to the "what ifs."
Next, (chart MM73-5063) life sciences is concerned, of course,
with how are we getting ready for shUttle. From the total science
aspect, we want to fly scientists on shuttle, to have them up there
operating their experiments.
We would like to have women, men, passengers of all ages. Part of
Dr. Winter's program now is aimed at setting the medical standards
for shuttle crews. We want that to tell us how we can fly what we
would call "normal" people-some people object when I say that
about scientists-in the shuttle missions.
We are concerned that we do not set standards arbitrarily so high
that we can not get the working troops up there. Along these lines,
the effects of reentry gravity forces are being studied.
PAGENO="0516"
514
(Chart SB76-1898.) In Apollo there was a very high short duration
of the entry G-force across the body. In shuttle, we will have a lower
total acceleration, but for a much longer duration, in the long axis
of the body.
After a few hours in orbit, the fluids redistribute and we have to
look at the effect of this change in relation to the entry of acceleration.
The zero G effect on the circulatory system could alter the tolerance
to G forces in the long axis of the body during entry.
Motion sickness is potentially very troublesome. Many of our crew
members (chart MM74-6297) have experienced motion sickness,
PAGENO="0517"
515
including five out of the nine Skylab astronauts. The trouble is, it
seems to last for 2 or 3 days, during which your ability to do work
is hampered.
The basic shuttle mission is for 7 days. We don't want to be in a
condition where our crew essentially is on the bag for 3 days when we
expect them to do good science. We are trying to derive criteria to
detect sensitivity of people: What kind of people are immune to this
kind of motion sickness? What kind are particularly susceptible to
it? (chart SB76-1646).
PAGENO="0518"
516~
Next, we have underway development of hardware for Spacelab.
As I mentioned before in the astrophysics and solar terrestrial pro-
grams, Life Sciences is now working on bafrication of equipment to
hold plants, rats, mice and other animal forms, in a speciman holding
facility.
We are going to get a start on what we call common operating
research equipment (CORE), which can be changed between mis-
sions and will supply the basic instrumentation for Life Science
researchers. We expect to fly on every Spacelab mission; probably
on every shuttle mission.
This ends the discussion that I have in the presentation, Mr.
Chairman. I will be happy to answer specific questions to any of the
programs.
Thank you.
Chairman FUQUA. Thank you very much, Noel. As usual, a very
fine job.
The solar maximum mission involves development of a multiple
mission modular spacecraft. Have any other spacecraft been con-
sidered for this mission that would be adaptable, such as the OSO,
or OAO?
Dr. HINNERS. I'll turn to Dr. Calio on that, if I may.
Dr. CALI0. As you know, we have a low-cost-systems activity
within the agency where several spacecraft concepts have been looked
at and surveyed to determine which kind of spacecraft bus might
evolve into a standardized system.
As a result of that, a standardized modular spacecraft bus is cur-
rently being developed, for the solar maximum mission. It appears
that a standardized modular spacecraft bus will be the best. HEAO
PAGENO="0519"
517
has been looked at, and several other spacecraft have been evaluated
as alternatives.
Chairman FTJQTJA. You have not reached any conclusions yet?
Dr. CALI0. Well, there is a standardization program going on
within the agency, a program to allow us to build a basic modular
spacecraft bus. These other proposed alternate spacecraft have been
looked at and an assessment has been made.
Chairman FUQUA. Have you estimated any cost savings on the
mission-type spacecraft?
Dr. CALm. There are some studies underway. I cannot recall those
estimates.
Chairman FUQUA. Could you provide them for the record?
[Material referred to follows :J
Question. Have you estimated any cost savings on the mission-type spacecraft?
Could you provide these cost savings for the record?
Answer. The studies of modular spacecraft buses have suggested several
alternative implementation modes for development of the spacecraft buses. The
potential savings per mission are affected in a major way by the method of con-
tracting, the number of spacecraft buses in the initial and follow-on procurements,
and the unique requirements of specific missions. While the range of possible cost
savings is till being evaluated, we are firmly convinced that the impact of stand-
ardized modular spacecraft approach will result in significant economies.
Dr. CALIO. There is an evaluation, I think, from which we might
be able to extract those estimates and give them to you for the record.
Chairman FUQTJA. Noel discussed the space telescope and the
present phase B contracts which will be concluded in March or April.
By the last of March or first of April, will you have a decision on
whether to have a contractor competition?
Dr. HINNERS. That is correct. We have not looked previously at
an option involving early contractor selection. We do not want to be
too hasty, but the basic idea sounds good. We understand the con-
tractors' desire not to keep teams together on speculation. If they
should not be the winner, they want to get on to other projects where
they might have a payoff.
It is not clear that this option is completely advantageous to the
Gove.rnment. When you have an early selection, you are obligated to
the selected contractors and so we do have to be very careful to insure
that we proceed in the best interest of the Government.
Chairman FUQUA. Certainly.
Have you looked at a Faliback position? You asked for $12 million.
That was eliminated by 0MB. Have you considered what would be a
less amount that you could operate at a minimum level of activity in
the space telescope?
Dr. HINNER5. We did take a quick look at that. The areas of
greatest concern to us are in the detector and experiment development.
That appears to be the long lead item.
When we looked at that, it looked as if it would take $2 to $3 million
to keep the development going.
As far as the major contractor-type effort, we had already pretty
well come down, to what was the minimum proi~ram. Initially, we
had looked at a much larger figure than the $12 million for a first year.
The $12 million represented a slow Rt.art on thA space telescope.
We tried to drive the fiscal year 1977 fimdino' down fn where we could
fit it into our budget.
PAGENO="0520"
518
Chairman FUQUA What would be your fiscal year 1978 funding
level? And what was your total runout cost estimate on the program?
Dr HINNERS It looked like about $30 million for fiscal year 1978,
and in the neighborhood of $400 million on the runout.
Chairman FUQUA Four hundred total?
Dr. HINNERS. Correct.
Chairman FUQUA. On the runout.
Dr. RuNNERs. We have always worked with a range from about the
$370 to $400 million range.
Chairman FUQUA. That is in fiscal year 1975 dollars.
Dr. RuNNERS. 1977 dollars.
Chairman FUQUA In dollars of the fiscal year 1977 budget
Dr HINNERS Yes
Chairman FUQUA Storage facilities for representative samples
amounting to 20 to 30 percent of the lunar rocks has been arranged at
Brooks Is there any space available for additional storage at Brooks
Air Force Base?
Dr. CALI0. Actually, the Brooks Remote Storage Facility con-
templates storing about 15 percent of the samples and possibly you
could get an additional 5 percent in there, but it's basic construction
and we are trying to keep it at a minimal cost
Chairman FUQUA Total of about 20 percent?
Dr CALI0 A total of about 20 percent is the maximum you can
get in there
Chairman FUQIrA That is the maximum you can store?
Dr CALI0 Yes, just about They are trying to officially use that
area and also protect against any terrestrial contamination.
Chairman FTJQUA. Now the remainder, which is 80 percent, I guess,
is still at Johnson Space Center How much of that is stored in
buildings other than Building 31?
Dr. CALI0. There are three other storage areas outside the main
curatorial facility, each containing about 10 percent, for a total of
about another 30 percent Then there is about 5 percent of the col-
lection that is out to the scientific community
So, altogether, there is about 50 percent, or will be about 50 per-
cent of the sample that will be removed from the main curatorial
facility, leaving about 50 percent.
Chairman FUQUA Would any of the underground levels of Building
37 facilitate any diversion to a vault for additional storage?
Dr. CALI0. You know, the Houston area has a very high water
table There is one area, the low-level counting facility that was in
the original lunar curatorial, the lunar sampling-handling facility,
that's about 40 feet below the surface
It is a sort of mine shaft and it has gunnite construction around it
It is a very small area and I don't think very many samples could be
put in there If we did use the area and we did have rising water
that flooded out the area I am not sure we would be able to pump it
out, or keep that area dryenough.
Chairman FUQUA. How about areas at the Marshall Center in
* Huntsville?
Dr. CALm. That is correct.
Chairman FUQUA. We have talked before of the possible advantages
of getting them distributed. I wouldn't think you would have as high
a seal level at Hunstville as at Houston.
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519
Dr. CALI0. There has been a study which looked at other sites,
other NASA centers, and we could get the results of~ that study. I
think Marshall was one of the places that was looked at.
[Material requested for the record follows:]
Materials requested for the record on page 173, lines 18-21, by Chairman Fuqua
during the hearing before the House Subcommittee on Space Science and Appli-
cations on February 4, 1976.
Question. Dr. Calio. There has been a study performed looking at other sites,
other NASA centers, and we could then get the results of that study. I think
Marshall was one of the places that was looked at.
Answer. Attached are the hazard analyses made on three candidate buildings
at NASA centers that were considered for the remote storage of lunar samples:
Building 22 at the Goddard Space Flight Center, Building N-213 at the Ames
Research Center, and Building 4646 at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Sig-
nificant hazards, especially the danger of flooding, were found at all three sites.
A Remote Storage Facility has subsequently been completed at Brooks Air Force
Base, San Antonio, Texas, and lunar samples are now being transferred into it.
MEMORANDU~E
To: JA/Director of Center Operations, TA/Acting Director of Science and Ap-
plications.
From: TN/Chief, Planetary and Earth Sciences Division.
Subject: Remote storage of lunar samples.
An analysis of the hazards associated with Building 22, Goddard Space Flight
Center and how they could affect the remote storage of lunar samples has been
completed by Dr. U. S. Clanton of the Geology and Geophysics Branch. The use
of target room 1, the proposed storage area, violates one of the guidelines of the
Curator's Working Group that samples should not be stored in a basement
location. Although the proposed area is not a designated basement, the location
is underground and some water damage to the building could be expected from
flooding in a 20-100 year interval through the vent system in the electrical
equipment room. Flooding would result if existing storm drains are overloaded or
become congested with debris. In addition, the underground walls and roof are
subject to water seepage. Dr. Clanton's report is attached. Lead bricks and other
types of contamination are present, and considerable effort would be necessary
for their removal. Furthermore, the area is apparently still needed for its origi-
nally intended purpose.
Three buildings have been offered by various NASA centers for remote lunar
sample storage: Building 4646 at MSFC, Building N-213 at ARC, and Building
22 at GSFC. The hazard survey of each location has indicated the presence of
one or more hazards that could significantly jeopardize the safety of the lunar
samples during long-term storage. There are no other buildings at NASA centers
that have been offered for consideration to fulfill the need for remote storage of
lunar samples. Thus we feel that it will be necessary to construct a new facility
expressly designed for this purpose. As stated in a previous memo, the site should
not be subject to the same natural disaster that could affect the storage facility
at NASA-JSC.
The White Sands site 1 (the knoll) meets this criterion and has already been
approved by the Curator's Working Group.
There probably exists sites at Goddard Space Flight Center that would be
relatively free from hazards, particularly from flooding associated with a major
hurricane. To locate such a site would require substantial additional assessment
of hazards. Dr. Clanton was told by one Goddard official that a new addition to
Building 10 was about to be designed and that perhaps the remote storage facility
could be incorporated into that structure. Building 10 appears to be relatively
free from flooding because of its elevation and favorable location in the drainage
pattern. The existing building appears to be the locus of a number of heavy,
vibration-causing activities. An additional study would be required, however, to
determine what hazards the equipment and activities in Buildings 7, 10, and 15
may present for sample safety. The addition is not scheduled for completion
before January 1977.
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520
We request your guidance on how we should now proceed Our preference
based on our findings so far, would be to erect a minimum dedicated facility on
site 1 at WSTF We are concerned about the long delay in arriving at a suitable
solution to the problem of remote storage.
Enclosure.
LAIiBY A. HASKIN.
NATURAL HAZARDS ANALYSIS, U S CLANTON, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER,
HOUSTON, TEX.
Natural hazards can be grouped into four basic scientific disciplines Meteorol
ogy, hydrology, geology, seismology.
Because of the interrelationships between the sciences a natural hazard may
fall within the boundary of two sciences Consequently the following discussions
tend to emphasize the hazard rather than the science discipline
Hazards assessed under meteorology include Temperature extremes, precipita
tion wind tornadoes hurricanes
Hydrological hazards evaluated included Floods tides, wind driven waves
subsidence because of ground water withdrawal.
Geological hazards that were assessed both by field observation and literature
review were Faulting ground subsidence, expansive soils, Karst topography
Seismic hazards that were assessed included: Earthquakes, faulting, tsunamies,
seiches, liquefaction and lateral spreading.
Although information was obtained in each of these areas, only those hazards
that appeared to be significant and perhaps beyond the design limits of the struc
ture are considered in this report.
GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
Building 22 is a 4 story structure with ground 1st 2nd and 3rd floors Entrance
to the building is from 3 sides on the east and south entrance is at ground level
On the west side the entrance is at the 1st floor level although there is no entrance
on the north side, the ground elevation is at the second floor level. The accelerator
area is constructed at ground floor level (193 0 ft) on the north end of the building
and is covered by some 7 to 9 feet of soil. Drawings GF-A-4200 and GF-S-4238
(1) provide elevation and construction details Target Room 1 the proposed
storage area, is separated from the cobalt 60 source by the west control room. Be-
cause of flooding in the neutron pit area and the lead brick in the east wall of the
room, some contamination should be expected
Several nuclear power stations have been sited in this general area (2, 3 4, 5)
and natural hazards have been well documented
METEOROLOGY-FLOODING
Annual rainfall averages about 45 inches per year, a minimum value of 18 and a
maximum of 60 inches of rainfall have been recorded (6) Rainfalls of 7 19 and
7.82 inches have been recorded in a 24 hour period at Washington and Baltimore
(7). The 10 year value is approximately 6 inches (8).
Building 22 is located on the divide between two drainage basins; Beck Branch
to the north and west and Bald Hill Branch to the south (9). The natural drainage
in the area has been compromised by the location of some of the buildings. Much
of the natural runoff is now fed into a storm sewer system Information furnished
by GSFC indicates that the storm sewer system is designed for the 10 year flood
(6) A partial survey of the site indicates that with the failure of the storm sewer
system either by blockage or by rainfall in excess of the design parameters water
may be forced into Buildings 3, 6 12 14, 22 and 23 Some of the buildings, es
pecially 6, 12 and 23, would act as major dams across the natural drainage in the
event of failure of the storm sewer system
In such periods of high rainfall or loss of storm sewer drainage, a pond in
excess of 3 feet deep and approximately 250 by 300 feet could form at the north
end of Building 22 Water elevation could be in excess of 205 feet MSL in the
ponded area Ponding may also occur along the west side of the building but to
a lesser depth water to elevations in excess of 204 feet may overflow through the
louvered vents into the electrical equipment room located on the ground floor.
A conflict appears to exist between some of the contour maps (1) i.e., GFA--
4200 and GF-M-4243 and the existing construction. The contour maps indicate
PAGENO="0523"
521
that the north pond would overflow the curb at an elevation of 205 feet. The
impression one gets from viewing the area is that the water would drain through
the driveway along the west side of Building 22 and further compound the west
pond flooding. Mr. Larry Brown, Assistant Division Chief, Facilities Engineering
Division, GSFC was advised of these findings; additional leveling data wiil be
obtained to clearify elevations.
Access to the accelerator area for large equipment is by a series of removable
concrete beams that form a hatch in the roof. After 7 to 9 feet of soil is removed,
the roof beams are exposed and can be lifted out. The dimension of the hacth
opening is 18 by 13 feet; two such openings exist (1). One of the openings has
been utilized successfully and there have been no sealing problems. The second
opening located adjacent to the proposed storage area has leaked extensively
and repair has been required. The cause of failure is not clear.
Some limited sanitary sewers exist in the accelerator area but separate floor
drains do not exist. Utility trenches are provided and are utilized foa drainage
in emergency situations. Such a situation has occurred in the past with the failure
of a water line and some 5 to 6 feet of water collected in the pit area of Target
Room 1. A shallow sump and pump are provided to remove water that may collect
in the neutron pit. A well developed water mark on the walls of the pit documents
previous water depth.
The common wall between the building and the underground accelerator area
remains a source of water leaks during heavy rains. Rooms and halls adjacent
to this wall are stained and water marked. The north wall in Target Room 2
also shows some evidence of water leaks.
SUMMARY-BtJILDING 22 GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
(a) Although GSFC sits on a divide between two drainage basins, several
buildings block the natural drainage in the area. A total dependence on a storm
sewer system designed for a 10 year maximum indicates that perhaps 6 buildings
may be damaged by runoff in excess of the design parameters.
(b) With the failure of the storm sewer system, water would pond at the
north and west sides of Building 22 and may flood the ground floor through
vents into the electrical equipment room.
(c) Additionally, storage for extended periods may have to contend with water
leaks along the underground walls and through the roof openings.
(d) Because of previous flooding in Target Room 1 and the lead brick wall,
some higher than normal level of contamination should be expected.
REFERENCES
(1) (1965) Mechanical Test Facility and Quality Assurance Laboratory, Bldg. 22
Accelerator and Cobalt 60 Facility: Drawing No. GF-S-4238, GF-A-4200,
GF-S-4237, GF-M-4243, GF-M-4258.
(1975) Photographs of Target Room 1, Bldg. 22, Goddard Space Flight Center:
G-75-02108 Neutron Pit Area,
G-75-021 10 Door Mechanism, south wall,
G-75-021 12 West wall,
G-75-021 13 North wall,
G-75-021 14 East wall with Lead Brick,
G-75-021 15 South wall with door.
(2) (1975) Safety evaluation of the Summit Power Station Units 1 and 2~
Docket Nos. 50-450, 50-451, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Division of
Reactor Licensing, Washington, D.C. NUREG-75/004.
(3) (1972) Safety evaluation of the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company's
Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2, Docket Nos. 50-317 and
50-318, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Directorate of Licensing, Washington,
(4) (1972) Safety evaluation of the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station
Units 2 and 3, Docket Nos. 50-277 and 50-278, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Directorate of Licensing, Washington, D.C.
(5) (1973) Safety Evaluation of the Virginia Electric and Power Company
North Anna Power Station, Units 3 and 4, Docket Nos. 50-404 and 405, U.S.
Atomic Energy Commission, Direcorate of Licensing, Washington, D.C.
(6) (1971) Environmental Impact Statement for the Goodard Space Flight
Center, NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center.
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522
(7) (1975) Telephone conversation with Mr Norman Poultney National
Climatic Weather Service
(8) (1963) Rainfall frequency atlas of the United States for durations from
30 minutes to 24 hours and return periods from 1 to 100 years Technical Paper 40
Department of Commerce, U S Weather Bureau
(9) (1951) Geologic Map of Prince Georges County and the District of Columbia,
State of Maryland, Department of Geology, Mines and Water Resources.
(1971) Washington, East, MD DC 73/i minute quadrangle map U S Geo
logical Survey
(1971) Lanham, Md, 7~ minute quadrangle map U S Geological Survey
(1971) Laurel, Md., 734 minute quadrangle map. U.S. Geological Survey.
(1971) Beitsville, Md., 734 minute quadrangle map. U.S. Geological Survey.
AMES RESEARCH CENTER
Building N213 is a two story structure with basement The vault area would be
constructed in the basement the floor level is 10 feet below ground level The
ground elevation in 1967 was 17 feet and the basement floor was 7 feet above
MSL (1) Ground elevations may be as low as 14 feet with a basement level of
4 feet as of 1975 (2) Some discussions are underway to provide an accurate and
current survey of the bench marks in the area
Precipitation
At the Ames Research Center precipitation averages about 15 inches per year
and runoff averages about 1 inch per year. The upper reaches of the Stephens
Creek drainage basin have values that exceed the values quoted for the Ames
area by a factor of 4 to 5(3) Precipitation is highly seasonal almost 90 per cent
of the annual rainfall occurs during the 6 month period of November to April
Most of the precipitation occurs in a series of general storms (4)
Runoff flooding
It is significant to point out that the 100 year flood design standard as deter
mined by the Santa Clara Valley Water District for Stephens Creek at Highway
101, just as the creek crosses on to Ames property, is 8 700 cubic feet per second
(cfs) The levees that channel the creek flow have not been built to the 100 year
standard but instead are only designed to contain the 25 year floods (4,500 cfs)
Failure of the present levee system can be expected when flow rates exceed the
25 year flood capacities (5).
In addition, the upper portion of the drainage basin has been dammed to provide
a percolation lake to recharge the depleted groundwater aquifers. The failure of
this reservoir, which could contain as much as 3,600 ac. ft. of water, would add to
the flooding hazard (6).
The 100 year flood levels are complicated by land subsidence and continuing
channel improvements in some of the flood prone areas along Stephens Creek. A
report by the USGS indicates that the 100 year flood would produce water to
elevations of approximately 15 feet MSL in the ARC area (7) Some plans have
been made by the Santa Clara Valley Water District to upgrade the dike and levee
system to the 100 year flood elevations, however, flood and erosion problems in
the ARC area are to be the subject of a future planning study Right of way
acquisition has been scheduled through 1980 construction will begin at a later
date and start in the more flood prone residentia1 areas (6)
Saltwater flooding
Tides Based on a review of statistical data and an analysis of tidal heights the
Mean High water level is + 4 6 feet the highest tide in any six month period would
be +6 2 feet The Highest High Tide which would occur once every two years
would be + 7.0 feet MSL. Low tide values are similar but negative numbers (5, 7).
Waves: Wave action for the southern end of San Francisco Bay is complicated
by bay geometry, the shallow marshland and salt ponds Caculations based on a
40 knot northwesterly wind indicate that wave heights approaching 6 0 feet could
be expected Wave runup the vertical height above still water to which water
will rise on the face of a slope ranges from 6 2 to 7 8 feet, depending on the rough
ness and angle of the levee slope The salt pond areas would have wave runup
values approaching 3 0 feet based on similar wind conditions If the maximum
tide values are added to the maximum wave runup values, salt water could be
moved to elevations in excess of 14 feet. Based on the greater frequency of Mean
PAGENO="0525"
523
Higher High Water, however, values of 10 to 11 feet are more likely (5, 7). Cur-
rently, the only protection against salt water flooding in the ARC area is provided
by a system of levees that enclose a series of salt evaporation ponds. Should Leslie
Salt Corp. discontinue maintenance of this levee system there would be essentially
no salt water flood protection for the portion of ARC below elevation 6.5 feet
MSL, the approximate highest tide in any six month period (5.)
Earthquakes
This seismicity evaluation is only intended to point out the obvious, the three
major fault systems and several smaller faults, the historic record of the more
damaging events, and the distance of the Ames area to the fault (9, 10, 11, 12, 13).
The San Andreas fault, 8 miles southwest of ARC, has produced major shocks
in 1838, 1865 and 1906. The maximum recorded value was 8.3 on the Richter
scale in 1906. The Hayward fault, 9 miles northeast of ARC, has produced major
shocks in 1836 and 1886. The maximum event occurred in 1886, at an estimated
7.0 on the Richter scale. The Calaveras fault, 13 miles northeast of ARC, produced
major events in 1897 and 1911. The maximum event occurred in 1911, with an
estimated value of 7.0 on the Richter scale (5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13).
The Silver Creek fault, 5 miles to the south of ARC, displaces Pleistocene
deposits but has not been active in historic time. Three unnamed faults in the
subsurface occurring at distances of ~, ~ and 2~ miles from the site have no
historic record of activity (12, 13). A more complete evaluation and discussion
of the earthquake hazard for the ARC area has been made (11); however, data
from the 1971 San Fernando earthquake were not included in the evaluation.
The maximum acceleration measured for the 1971 San Fernando earthquake
was 1.25 g, nearly double the maximum acceleration recorded prior to this event.
The acceleration along the fault was projected to be 1.5 g. These values are not
inconsistent with theory but because of the single point value, some question has
arisen regarding a possible anomalous value (9).
The design parameters for Bldg. N213 should be reevaluated using the higher
acceleration values before any decision is made regarding the storage of lunar
samples in this structure.
Liquefaction and lateral spreading
During earthquakes, when lateral accelerations exceed 0.15 to 0.20 g soft soils
will move downslope in areas where a free face is exposed, especially near excava-
tions, canals, drainage ditches, shore lines and ship channels (5, 13, 14). Lateral
spreading may be expected in the vicinity of Stephens Creek and may damage
the levee system (13).
Liquefaction, the transformation of a granular material from a solid state into
a liquid state as a consequence of increased pore pressures, is also activated by
lateral accelerations in excess of 0.15 to 0.20 g. Test borings show the occurrence
of sands and gravels in the subsurface (5, 13, 14, 15, 16); a more detailed drilling
program would be required to fully define this hazard. The Ames area has been
rated at low to moderate by the various studies that have been made (5, 13, 14).
Subsidence
Subsidence is caused by the dewatering of clays and some limited compaction
of the sands in the aquifers that are tapped to produce groundwater. The 1967
releveling survey, the base for the current topographic map, indicated that there
was 5.5 to 6 feet of subsidence in the Ames Research Center-Moffett Field
area between 1938 and 1967 (1). Some reports suggest that the 1971 elevations
may be 8 feet below the 1912 elevations (17). Various reports state that subsidence
has been stopped (5, 6, 13, 17) based on the recharge of the aquifers.
An extensometer located near the south end of the runways at Moffett Field
indicated a continuing compaction of about 0.34 feet in the upper 1000 feet of
sediments between 1967 and 1973 (18). A leveling program by the Santa Clara
Valley Water District (SCVWD) shows that in general subsidence had stopped
by 1972; some benchmarks showed a limited rebound in 1973 and 1974. Two
benchmarks in the ARC area (Elli and 2J(B)) continue to show declines in
1974. The total additional loss in elevation since 1967 appears to be about 0.6
feet based on SCVWD leveling data (19).
The Santa Clara Valley Water District suggest that an additional 2 feet of
subsidence is possible if a high use of ground water again occurs. The total de-
velopment of surface water depends on several bond issues yet to be passed by
the voters. A failure to pass the bond issues will force a return to subsurface
water and additional subsidence may occur (17, 20).
PAGENO="0526"
524
SUMMARY-BUILDING N2i3-AMES RESEARCH CENTER
(a) This site is located in an active seismic zone An analysis of earthquake
history indicates that events in the 7 to 8 (Richter Scale) range are not uncommon
and can be expected to occur in the future. Additionally, the higher acceleration
values from the San Fernando event need to be applied to the design of the
existing structure (Bldg. N213).
(b) Subsidence is ~ significant problem an elevation loss of 8±2 feet has oc
curred in the ARC area. Additional subsidence can be expected if a heavy demand
is again placed on groundwater
(c) Water to elevations of 15 feet MSL is predicted for the 100 year flood.
The present levee system along Stephens Creek is designed to contain the 25
year flood. A failure of the present control system could discharge water into
the ARC area at elevations of approximately 36 feet MSL. The dike system
around the bay and salt ponds is inadequate to protect the lower elevations from
salt water flooding
(d) Liquefaction and Lateral Spreading pose some limited hazard to the area
A more complete evaluation would require a more detailed analysis of existing
data and a drilling program
(e) Floor elevation in the proposed vault area is 4±2 feet MSL
SUBSIDEI~CE IN UNITED STATES DUE TO GROUND WATER OvERDRAFT-A REVIEW'
ABSTRACT
(By J. F. Poland 2)
The 67-percent increase in population of the United States since 1930 has
greatly accelerated the demand for water. Ground-water pumpage doubled from
from 1950 to 1970. In many areas, overpumping has drawn down water levels
100 ft to as much as 600 ft (30-180 m). Where these declines have occurred in
unconsolidated aquifer systems containing many fine-grained compressible
interbeds, the increase in effective stress has caused extensive land-surface
subsidence.
Significant subsidence due to water level decline occurs in five States Louisiana,
Texas, Arizona, Nevada and California Subsidence is greatest [29 ft (9 m)] and
most extensive [5,200 m12 (13 500 km2)} in the San Joaquin Valley but is at least
13 ft (4 m) in San Jose, 8 ft (2.4 m) near Houston, and 7.5 ft (2.3 m) southeast of
Phoenix. Principal problems caused by the subsidence are (1) changes of eleva-
tion and gradient of natural drainages and water-transport structures, (2) failure
of water wells from compressive rupture of casings, due to the compaction, and
(3) tidal encroachment in lowland coastal areas.
Large imports of surface water to several subsiding areas in California have
greatly reduced ground-water pumpage, resulting in dramatic recoveries of
artesian head that have slowed or nearly stopped the subsidence
sources, water imports to Santa Clara County increased nearly fivefold from
1964-65 to 1972-73-from 30,000 to 144,000 acre-feet (3.7-17. 7x107m3). The
dramatic recovery of artesian head, 70 ft (21 m) from 1967 to 1971 (well- 7R1,
fig 14), was the result of the reduction in ground water pumpage caused by the
import.
The decrease in the rate of subsidence in response to the head recovered since
1967 is demonstrated by the bar graphs of annual compaction at wells
1,000 ft (305 m) deep in Sunnyvale and San Jose (fig. 15). In San Jose, at wells
C5 and Cli, the rate of compaction decreased from about 1 ft (30 cm) a year in
1961 to 0.05 ft (1.5 cm) in 1972. In Sunnyvale, compaction decreased from about
0.5 ft (15 cm) in 1961 to 0.02 ft (0.6 cm) in 1972. Thus, public agencies in Santa
Clara County by providing for imports equivalent to about 00 percent of the
pumpage of the early sixties, have succeeded in almost stopping the subsidence
as of 1973.
CONCLUSIONS
Subsidence of serious magnitude due to ground-water overdraft has occurred
in nine areas in the United States For five of these areas in which maximum sub
sidence has ranged from 4 feet (1 2 m) in Nevada to 29 feet (8 8 m) in California,
subsidence is now being ameliorated (or stopped) by surface water imports that
have largely replaced ground-water withdrawals. For two more, the Houston-
Galveston area and south-central Arizona, where subsidence has been 8 and
1Publication authorized by the Director, U.S. Geological Survey.
2 U.S. Geological Survey, Sacramento, California.
PAGENO="0527"
525
7 5 ft (2 4 and 2 3 m) , respectively, import facilities are under constructioti,
these facilities when completed, will supply surface water adequate to replace
respectively one half and one quarter of the present ground water drain for
the remaining two areas in Louisiana where subsidence is less than 2 feet
REFERENCES
(1) (1968) Mountain View, California 7 34 Minute Quadrangle Map U S
Geol Survey
(2) (1975) personal communication Mr George Holdaway, NASA Ames
Research Center
(3) Rantz S E (1974) Mean Annual Runoff in the San Francisco Bay Region,
California 1931-1970 USGS Basic Data Contribution 69
(4) Rantz S E (1971) Precipitation Depth Duration Frequency relations for
the San Francisco Bay Region California USGS Basic Data Contribution 25
(5) (1973) Baylands Salt Water Flood Control Planning Study, a report to the
Santa Clara County Flood Control and Water District by Tudor Engineering Corn-
pany, etal.
(6) (1974) Amended Planning Study for Stephens Creek, Santa Clara Valley
Water District.
(7) Lernerinos, J. K., Lee, K. W. and Lugo, P. E. (1973) Flood Prone Areas
in the San Francisco Bay Region, California, USGS Interpretive Report 4,
Water Resources Investigations 37-73.
(8) Personal communication Mr James Satcliffe Santa Clara Valley Water
District
(9) Page R A, Boore, D M, Joyner W B and Coulter, H W (1972)
Ground Motion Values for Use in the Seismic Design of the Trans Alaska Pipeline
System USGS Geological Survey Circular 672
(10) (1961) Geologic Map of California San Francisco Sheet California Divi
sion of Mines and Geology
(11) (1966) Geologic Map of California San Jose Sheet, California Division of
Mines and Geology.
(12) (1974) Earthquake Ground Motion Criteria for NASA/Ames Research
Center, prepared by Pregnoff, Matheu and Beebe, Inc., Contract NAS2-8123.
(13) (1973) Consultation Re. Geologic, Foundation and Groundwater Con-
ditions Ames Research Center Moffett Field California by Cooper Clark and
Associates for NASA-ARC.
(14) Youd T L (1973) Liquefaction Flow, and Associated Ground Failure,
USGS, Geological Survey Circular 688.
(15) Nichols, D. R. and Wright, N. A. (1971) Preliminary Map of Historic
Margins of Marshland, San Francisco Bay, California USGS Basic Data Con
tribution 9
(16) (1974) Modification of the 40 by 80 foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel a report
to Ames Research Center by John A Blume and Associates Engineers et al
(17) Poland J F (1971) Land Subsidence in the Santa Clara Valley Alameda,
San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties, California. USGS Technical Report 2.
(18) (1975) telephone conversation record, Mr. George H. Holdaway, NASA-
ARC and Joseph F Poland Coast and Geodetic Survey
(19) (1975) Leveling Profile, BM 11175 to G148, Santa Clara Valley Water
District
(20) (1975) personal cQmmunlcation W F Carlsen, Santa Clara Valley Water
District
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION,
AMES RESEARCH CENTER,
Moffett Field, Calif , April 4, 1975
To Johnson Space Center Attn JA/Mr Joseph V Piland
From Loren G Bright Director of Research Support
Subject: Natural Hazards Analysis Report on Ames by Dr. Uel S. Clanton.
Dr Clanton has submitted to you a Natural Hazards Analysis Report including
the Ames Research Center site, a copy of which has been sent to Mr. George H.
Holdaway of my staff. Although Dr. Clanton has done a thoroughly professional
job of obtaining data on natural hazards in this area, certain of the analyses and
summary statements and the inferences therein cause me considerable concern
insofar as they may adversely affect Ames Research Center s competitive position
in putting forth proposals for future facilities construction Although some of the
engineering staff here have reacted rather violently to Dr Clanton's analysis, I
70-079 0 - 76 - 34
PAGENO="0528"
526
have chosen to record with you through this letter and enclosure an expurgated
version of those comments in the expectation that these will become companion
documents to the Clanton report when it gets "stuck into" and recovered from
the archives for other purposes in the future.
While there do appear to be spurious statements in the report, I rather suspect
that we are seeing the results of somewhat overzealous advocacy on Dr. Clanton's
part and righteous indignation on the part of my people. I doubt that it would be
possible or even profitable to try to resolve these differences and would hope that
the matter can simply be laid to rest with this exposition of the differing points of
view. In any event, I would expect the basic decision on storage of the lunar
samples will proceed irrespective of these differences. As indicated above I have
attached the expurgated rebuttals for the record.
LOREN G. BRIGHT.
Enclosure.
COMMENTS BY MR. GEORGE H. HOLDAWAY ON AMES RESEARCH CENTER PORTION
OF NATURAL HAZARDS ANALYSIS REPORT BY DR. U. S. CLANTON
The summary sheet (Building N-213, Ames Research Center) from page 7 of
the Natural Hazards Analysis Report is attached hereto, and each of the five
paragraphs are addressed in order.
Paragraph a
Ames Research Center is located about ten miles from known faults and thus
in a region of seismic activity, but it is not true that severe earthquakes are
common, i.e., ". . . events in the 7 to 8 (Richter Scale) range are not uncommon
and can be expected to occur in the future." Also, our buildings are being evalu-
ated with latest information and techniques. At present, a structural engineering
firm, acknowledged as specialists in earthquake risk analysis (ERA), is perform-
ing such analyses on selected critical facilities including associated buildings.
Using the latest ERA procedures for establishing seismicity at Ames and in-
putting the postulated ground motion to a mathematical model using finite
element techniques, the dynamic responses and structural adequacy of the 12-
Foot P.W.T. facility were determined. Even with a maximum, credible (200-year)
event (8.3+ Richter) such as that which occurred in the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake, Buildings N-206 and N-206A were found to suffer no damage as
the maximum shear stress in the walls was less than ~10 psi. Building N-213,
which is of very similar construction, is stronger because it has smaller windows.
In any event, it is extremely unlikely that the vault with its 4-foot reinforced
concrete wall will suffer any structural damage.
Paragraph b
Subsidence has occurred in the past, has not been a problem to any of our
facilities, and is not expected to continue. This has been discussed with Mr.
Joseph F. Poland, Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, in Sacramento,
California (Phone: 916-484-4258), who is a recognized expert on the subject of
subsidence. Mr. Poland is encouraged by the present importation of water, the
restoration of artesian well pressures, and this year believes that subsidence in
the region of Ames (Santa Clara County) has stopped. The abstract of his
report of a year ago (Enclosure 2) said, ". . . almost stopping the subsidence as
of 1973." Dr. Clanton was given a copy of this report.
Paragraph c
The first two sentences and the last sentence of this paragraph are correct;
however, Dr. Clanton could have mentioned that the fiscal year 1975 CoF Project
to install a perimeter road with elevations up to 19 feet will provide protection
from all types of salt water flooding and minimize and possibly eliminate the
hazard of a possible 100-year flood. His third sentence is spurious, and we hope
it is simply a typographical error. An analysis has been done by the Santa Clara
Valley Water District which shows that even failure of the Stevens Creek Reser-
voir would have no effect at Ames because of the large areas that would b~ flooded
and the water retained prior to reaching Ames. The elevated sides of Stevens
Creek would prevent the water from returning to the creek channels.
Paragraph d
Contrary to the implication of this statement under the heading used, there
is no hazard for liquefaction and lateral spreading in the almost level ground of
the site of Building N-213 or for the majority of Ames property. Test borings
PAGENO="0529"
527
made prior to the construction of this stable, U-shaped building gave no reason
to be concerned about liquefaction. Dr. Clanton's statement has possible truth
for the Santa Clara Valley Water District property along Stevens Creek, i.e., the
creek side of some of the dikes could possibly slump into the creek. The District
is careful in the sel~tion of materials and cross-section of its dikes to minimize
this possibility.
Paragraph e
The floor elevation in the proposed vault area may he as low as four feet above
MSL based upon maximum subsidence; however, the surrounding ground ele-
vation is at least 14 feet above MSL. If our elevated perimeter road (under
construction) does not give protection from the 15-foot-above-MSL, 100-year
flood, the possible one foot of water in the region of Building N-213 could very
practically be protected against by elevating by six inches for a length of about
12 feet an existing concrete edge at the end of the areaway leading to the base-
ment. Available emergency standby power and pumps can remove any water
reaching the basement. Present 100-year flood maps do not show the water
reaching Building N-213, and the vault can be water-proof.
MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
Building 4646 is a two story blockhouse, the ground floor elevation is 572.5
and second floor elevation is 584 feet MSL. The original ground surface was 568
feet; the area was filled to its present level of 572 feet for the construction of the
blockhouse and swingarm facility (1). The major drainage basin is formed by the
Tennessee River; Indian Creek and Huntsville Spring Branch form smaller and
more local drainage basins.
Flooding
Building 4646 sits near the confluence of Indian Creek and Huntsville Spring
Branch. Water moves into Wheeler Lake and then down Indian Creek into the
Tennessee River which has beed dammed to form Wheeler Reservoir. The water
level in Wheeler Lake, Wheeler Reservoir and the swamps above Wheeler Lake is
normally maintained at an elevation of 556 feet above MSL. Wheeler Lake is
some 3000 feet from Bldg. 4646 and slopes in the area are typically 1 to 2 percent
(2).
The Tennessee Valley Authority has calculated that the 50 and 100 year flood
for Indian Creek in the vicinity of Bldg. 4646 would be 570 and 571 feet MSL
(3). Within a 10 year period (1964-1973) the MSFC area had two floods to
elevations of approximately 570 feet (3, 4, 5, 6).
The March 16 and 17, 1973 flood flow rates exceed the 100 year projections for
three rivers in Alabama. Flow rates for the Paint Rock River near Woodville was
1.6 times the estimated 100 year flood; the Flint River near Chase was 1.9 times
the estimated values and the Tennessee River at Florence peaked at 1.2 times the
estimated 100-year flood flow rates (5).
A map prepa.red by TVA for Redstone Arsenal was thought to have raised the
100 year flood level to 572 feet MSL (7). This "increase", however, turns out to be
a problem of presenting data to one foot elevations on a 5 foot interval contour
map and not to an increase in flood heights (3).
Nuclear power plants in the Tennessee drainage basin have required an extensive
study of flooding hazards (8, 9, 10). Browns Ferry and Bellefonte are located within
a 40 mile radius of MSFC, a third site about 15 miles southwest is also under
consideration. Flood analysis is complicated along the Tennessee River by 22
TVA dams and 6 private dams. At mile 325 on the Tennessee River, a point
about 5 miles south of Bldg. 4646, the TVA has projected a "maximum possible"
or using the Corps of Engineers and AEC terminology, a "probable maximum"
flood. Such a flood requires a series of closely related events, i.e., maximum
precipitation, sustained winds, wave runup, etc., such that maximum water depth
is obtained. Such a, flood on the Wheeler Reservoir would reach an elevation of
598 feet above MSL; MSFC and Bldg. 4646 would be flooded but to a lesser
extent (3), perhaps to 593 feet above MSL. This value is based on a water slope of
1 foot per mile on the flooding Tennessee River (11).
Geology-Karst topography
The exposed geologica.1 section in the Madison Quadrangle contains about 700
feet of limestone. The most extensive unit is the Mississippian age Tuscumbia
Limestone which attains a thickness of about 200 feet. The Tuscumbia is under-
PAGENO="0530"
528
lain by the Fort Payne Chert and the Chattanooga Shale; these units tend to
limit somewhat the downward movement of groundwater. The limestones are
extensively fractured, and, because they are subject to solution, may be quite
porous (12, 13). Rainfall in the area averages about 51 inches per year and an
excellent correlation can be established between rainfall, groundwater level and
spring flow in Madison County (12).
A Karst topography is well developed in south and central Madison County
(12, 13). The extent and development can perhaps be best placed in perspective
by noting that the 1975 International Association of Hydrogeologists, Conference
on Karst, will be held in Huntsville, Alabama (14).
The Alabama Geological Survey has produced a hazards map of the Madison
Quadrangle and has indicated the locations of over 30 sinkholes and 5 caves.
The largest sinkhole is over a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide (13).
The MSFC has had some extensive problems with what is locally called "drop-
outs", the sudden appearance of a sinkhole at the surface. During 1973, Buildings
4647 and 4656, some 1400 feet west of 4646, had dropouts; the largest was 12 to 15
feet in diameter and 20 feet deep (15). Cores from this area indicated cavities over
5 feet in diameter at a depth of 35 feet (16). During December of 1974 two dropouts
occurred near Building 4670, the Saturn Test Stand, one half mile south of Bldg.
4646 (17).
The rechanneling of excess cooling water and surface runoff in the vicinity of
Bldg. 4646 may have some adverse long term effect on ground-water movement
and solution of the limestone. Because of recent dropouts in the immediate
vicinity of Bldg. 4646, drilling or geophysical methods should be employed to
more completely define this hazard.
Seismology
The Southern Appalachian seismotectonic province encompasses MSFC.
The nearest local earthquake was centered about 35 miles to the east and had a
Modified Mercalli (MM) intensity of V; the nearest known epicenter of a damaging
quake (MM VII) was approximately 75 miles to the southeast (9). The maximum
intensity at MSFC was probably no higher than MM V.
A Safe Shutdown Earthquake (SSE) acceleration of 0.18 has been proposed for
the Belief onte Nuclear Power Plant (10), a value of 0.20 g was used for the Browns
Ferry Nuclear Power Plant (8). The SSE event is very conservatively defined and
has an extremely low probability of occurrence and a very low recurrence
probability.
Meteorology-tornadoes
MSFC has a temperate climate that is characterized by warm humid summers
and cool winters. The record high of 102°F occurred on July 12, 1966 and the
record low of - 18°F on January 29, 1966. The mean monthly temperature ranges
from 39°F in January to 78°F in July (18).
Warm moist unstable air masses from the Gulf of Mexico contacting cold, dry
continental air masses pressing southward and eastward are the primary cause of
severe weather. During the period of 1955-1967, 38 tornadoes were reported in
the one-degree latitude-longitude square that covers MSFC (1, 19). The most
current data (20), based on reports of tornadoes occurring within a 100 mile
square area centered on MSFC (total area 10,000 square miles) indicate that
there were 150 events in a 23 year period. Damage estimates are incomplete for
25 events; 50 tornadoes caused damages in the $50,000 to $500,000 range; 18
tornadoes were in the $500,000 to $5,000,000 range and two tornadoes caused
damage in the $5,000,000 to $50,000,000 range. The frequency of tornadoes in
this 10,000 square mile area ranges from one in 1960, 1966 and 1969 to twenty nine
in 1974, the maximum on record for this area. For 1974 there were 64 fatalities,
768 injuries and damage estimates are still incomplete for 20 of the 29 tornadoes
(20).
Several buildings (4200, 4201, 4202) at MSFC were damaged by a tornado on
April 11, 1974. The tornado was rated Fl on the Fujita Scale and wind speeds
were estimated to be in the 70-90 mph range (19, 21). A more complete discussion
of hazards caused by tornadoes and extreme winds, and engineering practices to
design for tornadoes and extreme winds has been prepared by the Institute for
Disaster Research and The Department of Civil Engineers, Texas Technical
University (19); one of the examples used in this report is the 1974 tornado at
MSFC. There was no major structural damage to Bldg. 4200 but there was ex-
tensive damage to window mullions, metal panels and window glass (21).
PAGENO="0531"
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BUILDING 4646 STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
The addition to Bldg 4646 the area under consideration for the storage of
lunar samples is constructed so that the attachment point is poured concrete
separated from the preexisting structure by a half inch expansion joint There is
no indication of rebar or attachment between the two structures The foundation
of the two portions of the building are of equal design but again, are not attached
(22, 23)
A ircraft hazards
Building 4646 is about 7300 feet from the end of the Redstone Arsenal runway
The building is 900 feet inside the approach zone and 1200 feet from the center
line of the runway
C5A aircraft have landed at this facility and the NASA modified 747 with
"piggyback orbiter is also scheduled to land at this airport (7) The approximate
gross weight of these aircraft during takeoff and landing would be 500,000 to
560,000 lbs, velocities would be 140 to 200 knots (24 25)
In response to an inquiry to Redstone Arsenal the answer returned was
"Redstone Arsenal does not now use this airport in the transport of nuclear
weapons but this is a military base and the possibility exists at some time in the
future" (7)
SUMMARY-BUILDING 4646-MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
(a) First floor elevation (572 5 feet) is 1 5 feet above the projected 100 year
flood level (571 feet) Flood water elevations in 1964 and 1973 were approximately
570 feet Additionally the low ground slope in the area combined with the more
local drainage system poses some hazard in periods of extreme rainfall, the
first floor elevation is only about 6 inches above ground level
(b) The second floor elevation of 584 feet is well above the 100 year flood
projection but well below the "maximum possible projected by TVA
(c) A Karst topography is well developed in the area Dropouts the rather
sudden appearance of a sinkhole at the surface, have been sufficiently frequent
and close to Bldg. 4646 that further investigations (drilling or geophysical) are
required to determine the extent of this hazard.
(d) Seismic activity should present no direct hazard but may accelerate
dropout formation or some limited foundation movements (see f below)
(e) Tornado frequency is highly variable ranging from 1 to 29 in a one year
period Structural damage fatalities and injuries are sufficiently frequent that
permanent structures should be constructed to withstand this hazard
(f) The two parts of Bldg 4646 are separated by an expansion joint there are
no attachments in walls or foundation
(g) Building 4646 is well within the approach zone to the Redstone Arsenal
Airfield Limited use by aircraft up to and including C5A and 747 can be antici-
pated
REFERENCES
(1) (1964) NASA-MSFC Drawing No FE-A-4646-A8
(2) (1964) Madison, Alabama, 7-1/2 Minute Quadrangle Map, U S Geological
Survey
(3) (1975) letter correspondence from Mr Bob Buehler, Chief, Flood Control
Branch Tennessee Valley Authority
(4) (1973) Floods of March 1973 in the Tennessee River Basin, Tennessee
Valley Authority Report No 0-7129
(5) (1973) 1973 Water Resources Data for Alabama, Part 1 Surface Water
Records U S Geological Survey
(6) (1964) Floods on Tennessee River Aldridge Creek and Huntsville Spring
Branch and Tributaries in Vicinity of Huntsville, Alabama Tennessee Valley
Authority Report 0-6384
(7) (1975) personal communication Mr Joseph Graham NASA, MSFC
(8) (1972) Safety Evaluation of the Tennessee Valley Authority Browns Ferry
Nuclear Plant Units 1, 2 and 3, Docket Nos. 50-259, 50-260, 50-296, U.S. Atomic
Energy Commission
(9) (1974) Environmental Statement, Bellefonte Nuclear Plant Units 1 and 2,
Tennessee Valley Authority, Docket Nos 50-438, 50-439, U S Atomic Energy
Commission
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(10) (1974) Safety Evaluation of the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, Units 1 and 2,
Tennessee Valley Authority, Docket Nos. 50-438, 50-439, U.S. Atomic Energy
Commission.
(11) (1975) personal communication-Mr. Bob Buehler Chief, Flood Control
Branch, Tennessee Valley Authority.
(12) Malmberg, G. T. and Downing, H. T. (1957) Geology and Ground-water
Resources of Madison County, Alabama. County Report 3, Geological Survey
of Alabama.
(13) (1.973) Environmental Geology and Hydrology Madison County, Alabama,
Madison Area. Geological Survey of Alabama, Intern. Report 1973.
(14) (1974) First Announcement, International Association of Hydrogeologist,
Conference on Karst, Huntsville, Alabama.
(15) (1973) Surface Subsidence Study, Bldg. 4647 and Hydrogen Vaporization
Area, Marshall Space Flight Center, Report Number B-1857, Law Engineering
Testing Company.
(16) (1962) Advanced Saturn G.S.E. Test Facility. Logs of Borings, NAS8-
5552, Sheets 1 and 2.
(17) (1975) personal communication Mr. Laroy Caddy, NASA MSFC and
MSFC photo number 564403.
(18) Gilchrist, L. P. (1974) Marshall Space Flight Center Climate Calendar,
NASA-MSFC office memorandum S&E-AERO-Y-2-74.
(19) McDonald, J. R. et al. (1974) Engineering for Extreme Winds and Tor-
nadoes, A Short Course, Institute for Disaster Research and Department of
Civil Eng., Texas Tech. Univ., Lubbock, Texas.
(20) (1975) letter correspondence and computer printout, Albert Pearson,
National Severe Storms Forecast Center, Kansas City, Mo.
(21) McDonald, J. R. (1974) letter report, McDonald, Mehta dn Minor,
Consulting Engineers to Mr. James Shephard, Assoc. Director, Marshall Space
Flight Center.
(22) (1975) personal communication, Mr. William A. Parkan, NASA-JSC-TL.
(23) (1964) addition to GSE Test Facility, Blackhouse Addition, Foundation
Plan and Details and Section and Details, file no. MSFC-9391 and MSFC-9393.
(24) (1975) personal communication-Mr. Will F. Hoyler, NASA-JSC Space
Shuttle Office.
(25) (1975) personal communication-Mr. Albert H. Crews, NASA-JSC,
Aircraft Operations Division.
Chairman FUQUA. We have many buildings at Marshall and some
of the other centers that are vacant and have been closed. Surely
with modification, some of these buildings would be adequate for
storage.
Dr. CALI0. That is true. And there are two aspects to the study, as
I recall it. One was natural hazards and the other was cultural hazards,
from the standpoint of movement and activity around the area where
a storage facility would be located. Those things were assessed at
other NASA centers.
At Brooks, the activity provides us with no cost for operation
there, so it is a dead storage and the Johnson people can actually
have access to that on an as-needed basis.
Chairman FUQIJA. Somebody even suggested Fort Knox. With the
gold being gone, there is probably room there.
Dr. CALI0. There's a peculiar story associated with that. Right.
But we also understand they flood some of those vaults.
Chairman FUQUA. We wouldn't want that to happen.
Mr. Frey.
Mr. FREY. I just have a couple of questions. What is the completion
date of the Skylab data analysis project? While you are getting that,
I will ask another question.
A lot of us are concerned about the fact that we don't seem to be
doing as much as some of us would like in the upper atmosphere with
continued research.
PAGENO="0533"
531
There is a definite tradeoff between continuing existing programs
and starting new programs Yet, it seems to me that we hear of
instances where we got so much data from some of these things that
we never are going to get through them anyway.
I guess everybody is doing the best they can. I just hope we look
at everything to make sure we are trying to maximize both I wish
we had money to do both.
Dr HINNERS We continually do that The Skylab data analysis
is funded through fiscal year 1979 We do make this annual evalua.-
tion of the data analysis programs
One of the misconceptions sometimes you can get into here is that
if you look at the total amount of data it is overwhelming, but there
is a difference between total amount of data and information
So we have got to be very careful that we indeed get the real in-
formation out and don't go so far into it that we are dealing with
trivial data
Mr FREY How much, in terms of inflation and everything else is
the real increased funding for fiscal 1977 budget request for the upper
atmosphere research?
Dr HINNERS $4 2 million
Mr FREY $4 2 million?
Dr HINNERS Right
Mr FREY What is the balance between the in-house, university,
and contractor funding for the upper atmospheric research funds in
1977? Do you have any breakdown on that?
Dr. HINNERS. I can give you a fairly close one. To date, in the 1976
program, prior to putting in the new $3 5 million, it was about 45
percent university versus contractor and NASA in-house.
Of the new money we put in, about 60 percent of the $3 5 million is
in university research work
Mr FREY Will we continue the ozone studies after the next year or
so? Are there plans to continue those things over a period of time?
Dr HINNERS Yes, as I say, we did add the experiment to the
Atmospheric Explorer E The applications spacecraft, the sage, will
be making ozone measurements, and the Nimbus G
It would be our intent thatea ch spacecraft of that type which goes
up would probably have an ozone-type monitor on it, so that we could
indeed look at this long-term continuous variation of the ozone
Dr HINNERS Dr Rasool would like to add to that
Dr RASOOL Yes, one of the problems that we are having right now
in evaluating the freon problem is that the stratosphere of the Earth
was sort of ignored for the last two or three decades with respect to
the upper atmosphere and lower atmosphere
The problem was that we didn't have the measuring techniques in
the upper atmosphere The satellite made the measurements in the
upper atmosphere, ionosphere, so on, and looked back at the Earth
and made measurements of the clouds, and so on
Mr FREY You didn't have the right model to work from, in essence?
Dr. CALI0. Right; we did not have measurements. We did not have
computer techniques to do the global modeling, and so on. So the
stratosphere has suffered as far as science is concerned.
With thib funding that we have we are trying to build up a strato-
spheric research program, at least for the next few years, so we will get
PAGENO="0534"
532
a better basic understanding, so that any other time a problem like
this develops we can quickly find the solutions to it.
Mr. FREY. Well, like a lot of things that have had a great emotional
outpouring, every committee in the Congress, I think, has been look-
ing into this. That is why I didn't even push you on even a ball park
guess, because I think the way you are going about it makes sense,
when we have the answers to do it To do it otherwise, it is a bunch of
nonsense
When you are talking about the Saturn mission, f everything works
well-and I like the idea of it by the way-I am just trying to think
out loud I suppose there are going to be some people who are going
to say, "Look, that's a bunch of money to spend up there on a second
mission, if we are going to get everything we can from the first mission
anyway. If you're just going to really take a pass and look at it and
go on, is it worthwhile?"
Maybe you could expand that a little bit for the record, because
I think it is a question that will be asked
Dr HINNERS Yes Basically, we have structured the outer planets'
missions with two flights each time The investment in such a mission
is usually such that, first of all, we want to guarantee that we get
results for the work put into it
So the delta cost of the second spacecraft is low relative to the
total program-if you were to do one-~JI can't give you a percentage
now, but a high part of the cost is in the basic engineering, the desgin
So by buying the additional spacecraft--
Mr. Fiii~y. Throw the second one in, in essence.
Dr HINNERS Right Spacecraft have failed before So we are just
awfully queasy about-
Mr. FREY. So you are going to do a backup second one. It just
wouldn't make any sense not to We w ould have a real chance of
wasting the money So we are not doing anything extravagant, we
are just doing something that makes sense, that we have to do
Dr RuNNERS That's number one, correct Number two, the mis-
sions are structured to complement each other There is usually no
way you can do everything you want to with one mission, particu-
larly in the fly-by mode.
So we usually would emphasize on one to look at planets and certain
satellites and target the other one for a different set of satellites You
are going past Jupiter and Saturn fairly rapidly
So the basic missions are structured to complement each other in
that sense They see the planets, et cetera, at different times We
space them apart so that what one spacecraft sees may have changed
by the time the second one gets there
We can start to look at time effects say of Jupiter's radiation, et
cetera
Mr FREY Why can't you do the same thing with the first one?
Dr. ETINNERS. You are just limited to what you can do with a
given spacecraft If you take your second look at a different time,
you look at different features
Mr FREY But I mean Why can't you go whizzing past going
out on the first one also?
Dr RAsooL When you say "Mariner Jupiter Saturn mission,
you are actually saying "Jupiter and its satellites" There are 13
satellites of Jupiter Four of them are almost as big as Mercury and
Moon.
PAGENO="0535"
5313
And one of them To, has recently been found to have an atmosphere
of sodium, which is very amazing When you go to Saturn, there are
10 satellites, one of which, Titan, is as big as Mercury and has an
atmosphere of methene-ammonia , and the rings So you are actually
doing a 20-object mission.
Mr FREY That wasn't spelled out while you were talking I think
I understood what you were getting at, but I thought you ought to
be able to make it clear, so it wouldn't look like you were going up
there and, you know, whiz past and go on to the second one
Dr RASOOL So you can arrange it in such a way that you can see
part of an object with one and the other part with another
Dr FREY So what we are doing is The second one will do most of
the work anyway It is a backup that has to be done And what we
are trymg to do is squeeze a little extra out of it by getting more for
our money when, actually, it is something we have to do anyway
Dr HINNERS Basically, we have two different, good missioijs going
Mr FREY Thank you
Chairman FUQUA. Thank you, Mr. Frey.
Noel, what is the balance between the NASA, university and
contractor funding for the upper atmosphere, the percentage? Did
you already give that?
Dr HINNETtS I think we got most of that with Mr Frey's questions
About 60 percent of the new $3 5 million is for university research
Chairman FTJQUA The results of the Space Science Board study on
priorities in space research, have they considered the space telescope
project to be the highest priority in astronomy?
Dr. HINNERS. Yes. For several years now, the Space Science Board
has had the Space Telescope as a top priority item Their report for the
last session in October 1975 has not yet been released from the academy
review process, but indeed they still vigorously support the Space
Telescope
Chairman FIJQUA I don't recall the exact funding they had for
Viking, but you had the transition quarter more than one-half the
funds for the entire fiscal year 1976 Can you explain that? One of the
blue charts
Dr HINNERS I'll call on Mr Kraemer, from the Lunar and plane-
tary programs, for that question
Mr KRAEMER Mr Chairman, are you referring to the total budget,
or just the project management.
Chairman FIJQIJA. The project management.
Mr KRAEMER That item really contains quite a bit more than just
the mangement of the project We have all of the science support,
the analysis of the science data, included under that portion of the
budget
In the transition period, for instance, where we show a total amount
of $2 3 million under project management, actually, only $0 6 million
of that is for the management of the project The rest supports the
scientists in all of their analysis of the data.
That is our most intense period on the entire project It is during
that period that we will have two orbiters and two landers, in a very
intensive operation and we will be analyzing the data as fast as we can
We can then send up new commands to optimize the next day's
performance on each vehicle
PAGENO="0536"
534
Chairman FUQUA. What would be the effect of a reduction of, say,
in the neighborhood of $2 million in the Viking program?
Dr. HINNERS. Most of our request in fiscal year 1977 is for the ex-
tended mission, which is a little over $20 million. The request that came
in from the centers was for about $37 million.
We pared that down, and said there was just no way we could see
to fit that in. So we pared down and reduced the operational team,
say from 750 down to 250, and their bare bones request was $23
million, I believe, and we said, "Still can't do it," and took that down
to about the $20 million level.
We believe we have whipped that one about as dry as we should.
There is some question about whether we will get through the total
year of operations with that. We are working hard trying to do it with-
in that limit. But I believe any further cut would be unwarranted and
would be very detrimental to the operation of those four spacecraft.
Chairman FUQUA. You couldn't even consider a $4 million cut?
Dr. HINNERS. You are going the wrong way on that one.
Chairman FUQUA. One final question. We do have some questions
to submit for the record.
In order to perform the research signals, particularly the group that
is in the water-Ho region of the spectrum, and I guess around 1,300-
1,700 megahertz, are you going anything to make sure that spectrum
is going to be available to you should you need it, and not have inter-
ference from other Earth-based signals?
Dr. HINNER5. Dr. Rasool.
Dr. RAsooL. Yes; the whole question of which part of the fre-
quency is to be used for extraterrestrial detection of intelligent life
is being discussed actually this week or so by a workshop which is
convened by Ames at our request and headed by Morrison, from MIT.
The have discussed in great detail the band widths, and so on, that
they will need. The studies, the workshop-part of the science, part
of the study-is funded by OSS. The technology part is from OAST
mainly.
So in this week or so we will determine how much you would have
to work in trying to keep the water band available.
Chairman FUQUA. So you are pursuing that now?
Dr. RAsooL. We are doing that now.
Chairman FUQLTA. That's good. I think it is most important.
Dr. RAsooL. The first standpoint they come up with will happen
next week.
Chairman FUQUA. Thank you very much, Noel. As usual, you have
done a very fine job. I want to echo the remarks you made about the
future of our planetary funding. I don't like what I see on the chart
as far as diminishing funds. I think it is a very important field, and I
hope that NASA and 0MB, and Congress in its wisdom, will improve,
recognize the importance of those programs.
Dr. HINNERS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman FUGUA. Thank you very much.
We will adjourn until tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock in this room,
when we will hear from Mr. Gerald M. Truszynski, NASA Associate
Administrator for Tracking and Data Acquisition, and Mr. Arnold
W. Frutkin, NASA Assistant Administrator for International Affairs.
PAGENO="0537"
535
[Whereupon, at 11:33 a.m., the subcommittee recessed, to reconvene
at 10 o'clock, Thursday, February 5, 1976, in room 2318, Rayburn
Building.]
[Questions and answers submitted for the record follow.
See also Volume I, Part 3 for additional questions and answers.]
PAGENO="0538"
536
General Questions on Interstellar Intelligence submitted
by the Subcornniittee on Space Science and Applications on
February 4, 1976.
QUESTION 1:
We understand NASA is performing a series of workshops
discussing the possibility of searching for signals
from other civilizations in the universe. What is NASA1s
official position on this type of program?
ANSWER:
The Science Workshops in Interstellar Communications you
refer to, and accompanying studies, are designed to
produce a feasibility assessment and program plan before
the Agency makes any further commitment. Preliminary
output from these studies points to the desirability of
supporting limited technology developsent
and more detailed evaluation studies
before committing major resources to an extraterrestrial
intelligent life search. The next 5 to 10 year period
would thereby a~low the initiation of a modest search
program and the orderly appraisal and planning of a
future enhanced national, or international commitment.
PAGENO="0539"
ANSWER: If both programs, after appropriate
prelilr-Lrdry studies appear to be viable
pursuii s foi the Agency then possibly
compe~t~on for funding might occur
~Thi1e a commitment to the Search for
lxtratcrre.,trial Intelligence (SETI) would
requir fairly substantial funding the
resource implications for an 0 Neill space
colony are of a far larger order of magni-
tude. In terms of exploratory studies.,
both piogiams might be pursued simultaneous-
ly
QUESTION 2:
537
Do you considei. this piogram competitive
for fur di~ig with say U~e 0 Neil space
colony concept in the post-Shuttle funding
years c~flead~?
PAGENO="0540"
538
QUESTIO\ Did your Outlook ~o.c Space report addre~s
itself to the possibility of a Cyclops type
array for interstellar searches, or did you
consider it too far in the future, as you
d with tne ~
ANSWER LloOk for Space does address the search
extraterrestrial intelligence as a
or theme providing a significant
cc ii~ution to human knowledge The
co anion volume A Forecast of Space
Tee otogy identifies Cyclops for this
p ~. which is felt to be within our
teL~1ology horizon Our current studies
indicaLe alternative approaches exist to
the Earth-based Cyclops concept that
appear attractive and adequately competi-
tive to warrant further study
PAGENO="0541"
539
QUESTION 4: How much support does the Interstellar
Communication Study Group have at Head-
quarters? That is, how much more funding
do you plan to spend on these types of
activities?
ANSWER: The Amas Research Center Study Team and
*the co~.tinuing Science Workshops on the
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
(SETI) are crucial to the development of
a NASA program plan and the identification
of altcrnatives for action. Spin-off
workshops such as the Extra-Solar Planet
Detect:Lon, have been added to the study.
We will probably continue this activity
and ara in the process of determining its
funding level.
PAGENO="0542"
540
QUESTION
ANSWER:
5 Would you be willing to devote some of your
funds ar background £esearch in astronomy
and antenna desiç,n related to the Search
for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)2
Yes, we would like to initiate a limited
commitment to the search, and are
consid ring programs in extra-solar planet
detectLon The Office of Aeronautics and
Space i~echno1ogy (OAST) is considering the
development of super sensitive receivers
and multi-channel analyzers
PAGENO="0543"
541
QUESTION 6: We have become aware that if this country
is to perform an actual search for signals,
that a consensus has been reached within
your group that the "waterhole' region of
the sp~ cLrum, from about 1390 - 1720 MHz
would I ~he best place to start a search.
Are y.~ doing anything to ensure that this
portiox. of the spectrum will remain
relati\~:J.y free of interference from other
ground-h~ed and space-based systems so
such a search can be performed?
ANSWER: As protection of the "waterhole" is
critical to certain aspects of an Earth-
based signal search effort, the studies
have generated a proposed position paper
now under consideration by NASA for
transmission to the appropriate Federal
bodies for presentation at the General
World Administrative Radio Conference
(GWARC) in 1979. However, some of the
space-based alternatives to Cyclops offer
an "escape" from the problem by electro-
magnetic isolation.
70-079 0 - 76 - 35
PAGENO="0544"
542
(~eneral Questions on Lunar Sample Curatorial Facility
:ubmitted by the House Subcommittee on Space Science
and Applications on February 4, 1976.
QUESTION NO. 1:
How many scientists used the present lunar curatorial
facilities in FY 75 and FY 76? How many scientists
were denied use of the present lunar curatorial facili-
ties in FY 75 and FY 76 because of lack of space?
ANSWER:
During FY 75, 16 scientists made at least one visit
inside the Curatorial Facility to plan interdiscipli~-
nary studies on specific lunar samples or to make
essential observations when large or unique samples
were being cut. So far in FY 76, six scientists have
made such visits. Because of the limited space in the
Curatorial Facility, each such visit interrupts normal
facility operations and sample processing.
During FY 75, 39 outside scientists visited the lunar
sample thin section library outside the Curatorial
Facility to examine prepared slices of lunar rocks
under the microscope. All these individuals requested
access to the Curatorial Facility itself to expand
their studies by examining the original samples. Be-
cause of lack of space, none of these requests could
be granted. So far during FY 76, 21 scientists have
visited the thin section library; no requests from
these individuals for access to the Curatorial Facility
could be granted either.
These are minimum figures for the number of requests
refused. Most lunar scientists, aware of the diffi-
culty of access to the Curatorial Facility, make brief
informal requests of which no permanent record is .kept,
or make no requests, assuming that the answer will be
negative.
PAGENO="0545"
543
QUESTION NO. 2:
Hew many scientists do you envision requesting use of
curatorial facilities in FY 77? How many scientists
will NASA have to deny use of lunar curatorial facili-
ties in FY 77 if the proposed C of F facility is
denied?
ANSWER:
We expect that the number of requests for access to the
Curatorial Facility will be about the same in FY 77 as
in the previous two years. If the proposed C of F
facility is denied, we expect that at least 35 to 40
requests for access by established scientists will have
to be denied. This number is about one.-third of the
number of Principal Investigators now involved in lunar
sample research.
We expect that many more requests would be made once
the proposed C of F addition is completed. At present,
many scientists with worthwhile projects do not request
access because they are aware that such requests car~
rarely be granted.
PAGENO="0546"
544
QUESTION NO. 3:
Storage of a representative sample (20 to 30%) of the
lunar samples has been arranged at Brooks Air Force
Base. Is there space available for additional sample
storage at Brooks Air Force Base?
ANSWER:
Approximately 15 percent (by weight) of the lunar
sample collection is now planned for storage at Brooks
Air Force Base. With extreme crowding, the present
Brooks facility could store no more than about 50
percent (by weight) of the ôollection. The main prob-
lem with such storage is that there are now more than
20,000 different "splits" or subsamples of the original
specimens, all of which would have to be stored in
individual containers. Furthermore, the samples stored
there cannot be easily removed for study or for distri-
bution to scientists.
PAGENO="0547"
545
QUESTION NO. 4:
Of the remaining 70 to 80%, how much of the lunar
material is stored at JSC in facilities other than
Building 31?
ANSWER:
Approximately 30 percent (by weight) of the lunar
samples are now in interim storage in Johnson Space
Center buildings other than the Curatorial Facility.
The material so stored cannot be easily recovered for
scientific study.
Distribution of the remainder of the sample collection
is as follows: 15 percent is planned for secure
storage at Brooks Air Force Base, 50 percent remains
in the present Building 31 Curatorial Facility, and
5 percent has been distributed for scientific studies
and public displays.
PAGENO="0548"
546
QUESTION NO. 5:
Would not some of the underground levels of Building
37 facilitate easy conversion to a vault~
ANSWER
Conversion of the underground levels of Building 37
to a vault to store the lunar sample collection is a
highly undesirable alternative to the requested
addition to Building 31. The greatest natural hazard
estimated for the Johnson Space Center area is flood-
ing associated with hurricanes, and underground storage
of the collection would greatly increase the danger
to the samples from such flooding
The underground levels of Building 37 are also unsatis-
factory because they presently lack vault-type con-
struction and contain only one-quarter of the floor
space required for the vault in the requested C of F
facility. Usable floor space in the Building 37.
sublevels is only 670 square feet, whereas the C of F
facility design requires 7000 square feet, of which
3100 square feet are required for the vault itself
PAGENO="0549"
547
General questions for Lunar and Planetary Programs
submitted by the Subcommittee on Space Science and
Applications on February 4, 1976.
QUESTION NO. 1:
In response to a query by the Subcommittee in November
1975, regarding the cracked mirror for the infrared
telescope planned for Mauna Kea, NASA stated that a
decision was anticipated in mid-December and the sub-
committee would be informed. Since the Subcommittee
has still received no answer, I would again ask: What
is the cost impact of the cracked mirror for the infra-
red telescope planned for Mauna Kea?
ANSWER:
Negotiations are presently underway to replace the
fractured mirror blank for the infrared telescope
facility planned for Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Owens-Illinois
has provided a quote "on an acceptable replacement blank
which they had in inventory. The "quote' includes an
allowance for the trade-in of the fractured blank; and
the rough configuring of the replacement blank to ready
it for the grinding and polishing operation which will
be done ~by Kitt Peak National Observatory. It appears
that the net additional cost to replace the fractured
mirror will be between $150,000 and $200,000. A more
significant increase in cost of the total facility has,
however, been introduced by the unavoidable delay in the
facility completion date caused by the need to obtain the
replacement mirror.
The revised total C0F cost increase of the project is
$6,644,000 or a $604,000 increase which has been accom-
modated by a realignment of funds as provided for in the
annual authorization acts.
PAGENO="0550"
548
QUESTtON NO 2
What is the anticipated lifetime of the Apollo Lunar Surface
Experiments Packages?
ANSWER
The anticipated useful scientific lifetime of the Apollo Lunar
Surface Experiment Packages are as follows
Apollo 12 June 1979
Apollo 14 September 1979*
Apollo 15 August 1979
Apollo 16 June 1980
Apollo 17 August 1979
Estimated lifetimes are calculated by monitoring the decreasing
power output of the Radioisotope Thermal Generators (RTGs) that
provide power to the ALSEP experiments The date given is the
estimated time at which the power provided to the ALSEP will
become insufficient for essential temperature control, experiment
operation, and data transmission
*Apollo 14 ALSEP ceased to transmit data on January 18, 1976
It may have been detected faintly on February 7 and February 8,
1976 This ALSEP once before stopped transmitting and then
recovered within a few days and started to send valid data
We will continue to monitor this frequency to determine if the
possible current recovery will continue
PAGENO="0551"
549
QUESTION NO. 3:
What would be the impact of a reduction of $2.2 million
for Viking in FY 77? What would be the impact of a
reduction of $4.2 million?
ANSWER:
This question was answered in the testimony on page 182,
lines 15-25, and on page 183, lines 1-7.
Almost all of the FY 77 request, $20.3 million, is for the
extended mission. This number already represents a
significant reduction from the initial request of over
$30 million and the "bare bones' estimate of $23 million.
To have stayed at the $23 million level would have
required that the existing flight team be reduced from
its present level of 750 people to 250-275 people. We
are now working on how we can get through the year on
$20.3 million.
If we should have to take a further cut, it would probably
force a termination of the mission before the end of the
fiscal year. Approximately one month of operations would
be lost for every $2.0 million reduction. Following a
termination, it would not be possible to restart the
mission in F~ 78 because of the loss of people. The
science objective of obtaining data over the length of
a Martian year would be lost.
PAGENO="0552"
550
QUESTION NO. 4:
Describe in detail the expected impact of the oven mal-
function which has been reported on VIKING.
ANSWER:
The Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) instrument
on each Viking Lander contains three identical ovens for
the organic chemical analysis of three different samples
of surface material. If the sampling area available to
the 10-foot-long surface sampler at the landing sites is
homogeneous, the loss of the ability to do an analysis in
triplicate is not significant. If the available area
appears varied, it will be studied with the cameras and
a decision will then be made as to sample selection. In
a varied area, it would be desirable to have three rather
than two samples. However, it is not possible to assess
the impact of the loss of one analysis until we have more
information about the chemistry of Mars' surface material.
PAGENO="0553"
551
QUESTION NO. 5:
Why does project management for Viking for the transi-
tion quarter entail more than one-half the funds for
project management for the entire FY 1976?
ANSWER:
This question was answered in the testimony on page 181,
lines 18-25, and on page 182, lines 1-11 (Transcript of
hearing before the House Subcommittee on Space Science
and Applications on February 4, 1976).
PAGENO="0554"
552
Qtft~S'1'.[ON NO. 6:
have any problems other than the oven malfunction been
identified on the VIKING spacecraft?
ANSWER:
Durinq the cruise period, there have been two other
anomalies on the Viking 2 Lander:
1. A battery charger circuit failed in the Bio-
shield Power Assembly (SPA). It did not operate the
first time it was tried after launch. The charger is
used only during cruise to charge the Lander's batteries
with power from the Orbiter's solar panels. After a
thorough investigation into the probable cause of the
failure, a backup charger circuit in the BPA was switched
on and operated correctly. There should be no further
impact on the mission due to this failure.
2. An ambient temperature sensor in the meteorology
instrument is reading erratically and about 10°C low.
The potential mission impact is to reduce the accuracy
when measuring Martian air temperature and wind velocity.
It may be possible to reduce these errors by a computer
software change to substitute the measurement of another
external temperature sensor for the erratic sensor.
PAGENO="0555"
553
QUESTION NO. 7:
Are there any remaining development problems with the Mariner
Jupiter/Saturn spacecraft or experiments?
ANSWER:
Remaining development problems with the Mariner Jupiter/ Saturn
(MJS) spacecraft and experiments are:
1) The traveling wave tubes for the MJS radio represent a
major development still remaining for the MJS Project. There
are two items of concern. One has to do with the lack of
stability of the S-band tubes under certain operation
conditions. Evaluation of a fix for these tubes is currently
in process. The second concern has to do with tube leakage
which is thought to be related to the manner in which the
tubes are encapsulated and affects both the S- and X-band
devices. Analysis of the possible stresses associated with
the encapsulation process is underway.
2) The trajectory correction attitude control propulsion
unit thrusters have development problems with respect to
plugging of the capillary lines between the thruster and the
Valves. This problem is currently under investigation.
3) Reticon detectors used in the Ultraviolet experiment are
not compatible with the expected Jupiter radiation environment.
A redesigned detector is under development.
Such problems are not unusual in a developmental project of
this nature, and progress in the overall program is considered
good.
PAGENO="0556"
554
QUESTION NO. 8:
DOeS the Pioneer Venus Project still have support from the
scientific community? Have the science experiments been
descoped since the project initiation? Is the project
on schedule and within cost? What total funds will have
been spent on the project by the end of FY 76? What type
of contract is being used on Pioneer Venus?
ANSWER
Pioneer Venus has been strongly supported by the scientific
community for a number of years,evidenced by the fact that
it has had high priority endorsement by.the Space Science
Board of the National Academy of Sciences. In its most
recent report, "Opportunities and Choices in Space Science,
1974," this support was again reiterated A more recent
indication of scientific support for Pioneer Venus was the
widespread concern expressed by scientists when a one~year
deferral of Pioneer Venus was voted by the House Committee
on Appropriations. There has been no apparent reduction
in this support to date.
No science experiments have been descoped since the project
initiation. The science experiments have been continued as
planned at the initiation of the project.
While detailed schedule adjustments have been made, as is
to be expected, the overall program is continuing on
schedule and costs have remained within established budgets
Total cost of the mission is estimated to be in the range
of $160 OM to $190 OM By the end of FY 76, approximately
$83.5M will have been obligated for the Pioneer Venus
project.
The contract with Hughes Aircraft Corporation for. the
spacecraft is CPAF (cost plus award fee.):.
PAGENO="0557"
555
QUESTION NO. 9:
Provide the distribution by Center of the Supporting
Research Technology and Advanced Studies for FY 75,
FY 76, and FY 77.
ANSWER:
LUNAR & PLANETARY
$JJPPORTING RESEARCH AND TEcHNOLOGY/ADVANCED STUDIES
(~Q0Q_~)
gENTER ~Y 7~ E~ 76 ~ 77
Ames Research Ctr 4414 1269 565 1370
Goddard Space Flt Ctr 653 3165 145 700
Jet Propulsion Lab 2544 3055 1255 5350
Johnson Space Ctr 225 125 35 125
Langley Research Ctr 165 185 45 185
Marshall Space Flt Ctr 20 0 0 0
Wallops Flt Ctr 55 55 15 50
Headquarters contracted ~j4 ~ 440 3820
TOTAL 11000 11000 2500 11600
PAGENO="0558"
QUESTION NO. 10:
How many new scientists are expected to enter the Lunar
Data Analysis and Synthesis program in F? 77? How many
new scientists entered the program in F? 76?
ANSWER:
In F? 76 seven new projects involving about 30 scientists
were funded by the Lunar Data Analysis and Synthesis
(LD&S) Program, out of a total of about 70 projects
funded to date. Five of these proposals were new to the
Program, the other two represent redirections of effort
by scientists already involved in lunar research Six
other projects, involving a total of about 25 scientists,
are now being evaluated for possible funding in F? 76
four of these projects are new to Lunar Programs
We expect that the LD&S Program will receive about 10 new
proposals in F? 77 Each proposal will probably involve
three or four scientists, so that involvement of a total
of 30 to 40 new scientists is anticipated in F? 77
556
PAGENO="0559"
557
QUESTION NO. 11:
What progress has been made on the development of the
portable Lunar Laser Ranging Station?
ANSWER:
Construction of a portable Lunar Laser Ranging Station
has not yet begun. The University of Texas at Austin
was invited on January 9, 1976, to submit a proposal to
provide the design, construction, and testing of such a
transportable Lunar Laser Ranging Station. It is antici-
pated that a contract for construction of the portable
ranging station will be signed with the University of
Texas by May 15, 1976. Construction of the station is
expected to begin immediately after the contract is
signed.
70-079 0 - 76 - 36
PAGENO="0560"
558
QUESTION NO. 12:
How much have the-ALSEP experiments degraded? How much
degradation is considered acceptable before the data is
no longer useful?
ANSWER:
At present, sixteen of the original twenty-eight
experiments on the ALSEPs are operating and returning
valid data. This includes four experiments on the
Apollo 12 ALSEP which have lasted five years beyond
their nominal one-year lifetime. The principal areas
in which these experiments are returning data are lunar
seismic events and heat flow, which contribute to our
understanding of the interior processes of the terres-
trial planets; and meteorites, interplanetary dust, and
solar wind measurements, which contribute to our under-
standing of the solar system. Of the experiments which
are no longer operating, eight failed. Two were turned
off because they were returning invalid data; one was in
stand-by when the command receiver failed, and one was
turned off because the expense of operation was not
justified by the data being returned. Two of the
operational experiments are on the Apollo 14 ALSEP which
is currently either not transmitting or transmitting very
weakly.
The quality of the data being returned from each ALSEP
is monitored constantly. When an experiment is found to
be providing invalid or questionable data, it is either
turned off or carefully followed so that only periods
during which the data is completely valid are used. In
addition, there is an annual review by NASA Headquarters
in which the status of each operating ALSEP is carefully
examined to determine (a) whether the data being returned
is valid; (b) whether continued operation and reduction
of data from that experiment will contribute to further
understanding of the Moon and the solar system; (c)
whether the value of the possible additional data
justifies the required expenditure of funds; and, (d)
whether competent scientists are interested in working
with future data. The last such annual review took place
on October 24, 1975.
PAGENO="0561"
559
2
Recommendations to turn an experiment off because of
invalid data can be made at any time either by the
scientists reducing the data or by the engineers at the
Johnson Space Center who monitor both the quality of the
data and the housekeeping telemetry from the ALSEPs
PAGENO="0562"
Genera)? Question on Life Sciences Submitted by the
Subcommittee on Space Science and Applications on
February 4 1976
Question What efforts are made to augment the transfer
of technolo~y developed in the Life Sciences
Program to the civil ~
Answer The principal activity for transfer of NASA
technology to the civil sector including
that technology developed in the Life Sciences
Program is the NASA Office of Technology
Utilization The Technology Utilization
Office interacts directly with health care
institutions to identify opportunities where
the work of the institution can be assisted
by the application of NASA technology These
interactions are carried out by NASA personnel
including representatives of the Life sciences
Program, and by special contractor-operated'
Biomedical Applications Teams built around
professionals in the medical or biomedical-
engineering field As a result of these
interactions specific projects are frequently
undertaken combining the talents and resources
of both the health care institution and NASA
to adapt existing NASA technology to fit the
needs of the institution Such projects have
resulted in improved instrumentatiori diagnostic
procedures and other devices and processes
for use by the civil sector health care
community.
NASA's Life Sciences program supports the
Technology Utilization Office in this effort
by advising and consulting on the work of the
Biomedical Applicatons Teams by evaluating
and advising on `~pecific projects and by
providing a biomedical engineer from the Life
Sciences Offices to work directly in the
biomedical program of the Technology Utilization
Office.
560
PAGENO="0563"
561
General questions for Physics and Astronomy submitted
by the Subcommittee on Space Science and Applications
on February 4, 1976.
QUESTION NO. 1
A Dual Air Density (DAD) Explorer was launched in
December, but did not achieve orbit due to malfunction
in the launch vehicle.
(a) Is there a backup spacecraft available for a
backup mission?
~b) What equipment is available for a backup
mission?
Cc) Were there any lauzich window constraints on the
DAD launch?
Cd) What is the projected cost of a backup mission?
(e) Do you plan to reprogram? Where will the funds
for the backup mission come from?
ANSWER:
(a) Because the Explorer program is conducted at
minimum cost, no backup spacecraft is available.
(b) A substantial number of subsystems are
available as spares, such as the very high frequency
transmitter. Many key. elements have to be procured,
such as the solar cells, and one of two command receivers.
(c) December 1976 was considered the latest
desirable launch date, because feasibility of coordinated
observations with the Atmosphere Explorer would have
become questionable and NASA telemetry stations are
phasing over to S-Band.
(d) A backup mission would cost $4.1 million ($2.4
million for spacecraft and data analysis, and $1.7 million
for the Scout launch vehicle).
Ce) A final decision has not been made on whether
or not to fly a backup mission. Hence, no funds have.been
identified for reprogramming.
PAGENO="0564"
562
QUESTION NO. 2:
In November, Dr. Hinners testified that the investigation
by the Dual Air Density (DAD) Explorers would complement
other studies being performed by Atmosphere Explorers
AE/C, D, and B. Will this also be the case for any backup
mission?
ANSWER:
A final decision has not been made on whether or not to
fly a backup mission. If there is a backup mission, it
will complement the Atmosphere Explorer studies.
PAGENO="0565"
563
QUESTION NO. 3~
You have increased the budget estimates for the High Energy
Astronomy Observatories (HEAO) by $2.6 million in FY 1976
and $1.5 million in the Transition Quarter. Does the FY 1977
Budget Estimate also reflect an increase from earlier estimates?
What is the total increase in the cost of HEAO over the estimate
at the time of project approval? Break this increase down by
HEAO-A, B, and C.
ANSWER:
The FY 1977 budget reflects an increase of $6.8 million over
the Agency's preliminary estimate at this time last year.
Of this amount, $5.5 million is for Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite Systems (TDRSS) compatibility and for Shuttle
retrieval modifications to HEAO-C.
We now anticipate that the runout cost for HEAO will fall into
the range of $230 to $250 million compared with the previous
range of $200 to $220 million.
We do not have a breakdown by mission beacuse the three
missions are budgeted as one project. However, $8.3 million
of the increase is for TDRSS compatibility and Shuttle retrieval
of HEAO-C.
PAGENO="0566"
QUESTION NO. 4:
NASA is requesting funding for a new start called the Solar Maximum Mission. What is
the total estimated funding and manpower requirements of the mission by Fiscal Year?
Give a breakdown by spacecraft and experiments.
ANSWER:
SOLAR MAXIMUM MISSION
PROGRAM R&D ESTIMATES (MILLIONS) *
Fl 77 FY 78 Fl 79 Fl 80 Fl 81 TOTAL
SPACECRAFT 7.3 12.1 7.9 1.2 28.5
EXPERIMENTS 8 * 3 4.3 3.4
TOTAL 21.3 30.6 16.2 5.5 3.4 77.0~~
C;'
MANPOWER ESTIMATES
(DIRECT AND INDIRECT)
Fl 77 Fl 78 Fl 79 Fl 80 Fl 81 TOTAL
SPACECRAFT 119 150 135 36 5 445
EXPERIMENTS 55 39 195
TOTAL 166 204 190 75 5 640
* Excludes Delta Launch Vehicle
**This point estimate is preliminary only, pending award of contracts for the spacecraft
modules, experiments, etc. Our current planning estimate, expressed in terms of a range
of $75-90 million9 recognizes the uncertainty of estimates for projects in the early stages
of their implementation.
PAGENO="0567"
565
QUESTION NO 5
It is our understanding that the Solar Maximum Mission
involves the development of a multi-mission modular
spacecraft'
(a) What other spacecraft if any have been
considered for this mission?
ANSWER
During the conceptual design phase a number of space-
craft designs were considered These include OSO,
OAO OGO IUE, SATS, IMP, EOS, ITOS, RAE, HEAO, and
ERTS (LANDSAT)/NIMBUS Many of the design concepts
and components developed on these programs are
incorporated in the SMM system designs
(b) Why were the OSO, OAO, and the HEAO spacecraft
ruled out?
ANSWER
The 050 series of spacecraft was initiated in the early
1960's It featured a spin stabilized structure with
a despun platform for solar pointing The scientific
instrument capability for continuous solar pointing is
limited to a maximum of 250 lbs (115 Kg) The Solar
Maximum Mission instrument complement is estimated at
1250 lbs (570 Kg)
The OAO, also designed in the early l960'~ features
a large 3 axis stabilized structure designed for stellar
observations The basic OAO spacecraft combined with
the SNM instrument complement would not be compatible
with a Delta series launch vehicle The cost of
modifications necessary to use the OAO in the SMM mode
coupled with the costs of a much larger launch vehicle
was the basis for not considering it further
The HEAO spacecraft designed in the mid 1970's is
also a large observatory like the OAO The HEAO-B
spacecraft system was the one considered Geo-
metrically a modified version of the flEAO could
squeeze into a Delta launch vehicle but the combined
weight of the service equipment module supporting
structure experiment module TDRSS antenna, solar
arrays and SMM experiment complement would exceed
the weight capability of the Delta 2910 to place the
observatory into the designed orbit A lower orbit
because of an overweight spacecraft would affect the
observations by the instruments
PAGENO="0568"
566
(c) Is it possible to decrease spacecraft cost by
using an existing spacecraft and therefore,
avoiding the development costs of a new
spacecraft"
ANSWER
A number of existing spacecraft designs were evaluated
to determine their suitability for the SMM Since there
is a requirement that the spacecraft be Shuttle corn-
natible as well as orovide for launch on a Delta 2910
considerable modifications to existing designs would
be necessary The engineering design changes would
then only provide a spacecraft that would be tailored
to 5MM requirements at a cost approximately the same
as the estimated cost or the SMM spacecraft
Cd) Please provide the Subcommittee with additional
information on this new spacectaft
ANSWER
The SMM Observatory (Figure 1) is divided into two
major elements which are
o The Service Spacecraft
o The Experiment Module
The Service Spacecraft will provide the essential sup-
port subsystems which maintain the support and overall
functioning of normal spacecraft activities. The
Experiment Module will contain the instrument comple-
ment and its electronics capable of meeting mission
objectives Both elements will be fully integrated
but their modularized design has the capability
of easy separation through simple mechanical and
electrical interfaces This permits greater flexibility
and independent element design
Service Spacecraft
The Service Spacecraft element contains the main support
structure and the primary support subsystems which are
o Power Subsystem
o Attitude Control Subsystem
o Communications and Data Handling (CDH) Subsystem
The modules are grouped in a triangular arrangement
within the main structure Primary features of the
configuration include
PAGENO="0569"
degree of standardization for the support
and structure such that the same design
may be used for many types of missions;
o A well defined mechanical and electrical inter-
face with the experiment module
The Service Spacecraft module design will be adopted as
a NASA standard to eliminate redesign and added cost for
future missions. Primary consideration will be given
to the maximum use of flight-tested and NASA standard
components to enhance spacecraft integrity
In the initial design of the Service Spacecraft the
following points were considered
o Compatibility with Delta Laun~h Vehicle interfaces
o Compatibility with Shuttle interfaces
o Compatibility with TDRSS
o Three-axis stabilization by proven techniques
o Modular design to facilitate system checkout and
integration
In addition there is mission-unique structural hardware
The solar paddles which are structurally connected to
the instrument support plate and electrically interfaced
with the Service Spacecraft power module are bifolded
flat panels which deploy to a fixed position The
paddles are equipped with retraction mechanisms to
facilitate Shuttle retrieval The aft-looking girnbaled
TDRSS antenna is mounted in the ce~ ter area of the
triangular arrangement and is deployed to an operational
position after launch vehicle separation
Experiment Module
The experiment module until mechanically and electri-
cally mated to the service subsystem module is a
completely independent structure The experiment
module is designed to accommodate from seven to nine
candidate payload instruments To implement the basic
* solar-pointing objectives of the set of diverse
instruments, the following requirements have been
defined for the experiment module:
o A rigid, stable platform for mounting a set of
diverse instruments requiring precise angular
coalignment
o Maximum
modules
567
PAGENO="0570"
568
o A common mounting interface to provide coalignment
and to simplify mechanical mounting of a wide
variety of instrument configurations
o A thermal control housing placed around the instru-
ment complement and its mounting *plate to provide
a stable thermal environment producing minimum
structural distortions
o Accommodation of additional components including
instrument electronics and mission unique systems
components
o Flexibility in design to accommodate many types of
experiment configurations
The requirements for precise coalignment of instruments
dictated the use of a support structure that would pro-
vide strength rigidity and dimensional stability under
dynamic and thermal loads The thermal stability
requirement suggested simplicity in the design to reduce
thermal and structural discontinuities thus producing
a configuration capable of reliable theoretical analysis
and prediction
The need for a single structural element to accommodate
various experiment complements suggested the use of a
maximum mounting for a given volume with a minimum of
radiation blockage.
The instrument support plate of aluminum sandwich-plate
construction with aluminum alloy face sheets with a core
of aluminum web separators was selected Skin and core
are assembled and joined by hot dip-brazing techniques
Mounting pads are provided in the plate for attachment
of instruments This design concept is being employed
by a DOD weather satellite program
Instrument Mounting Design
The selected mounting approach decouples the experiments
mechanically from the mounting plate via flexible mounts
and thermally by multi-layered insulation. The instru-
ment mounting design can be summarized as follows
o The instrument is insulated and provided with
three attachments~ two flexible mounts and one
fixed mount which prevents transmission of loads
due to dimensional changes between the support
plate and the instrument baseplates
PAGENO="0571"
569
o InstruMent elect,~onics are mounted on the heat
rejection surface of the ex~riz~tent module
h9uainq. H H
o Instr~iment coaligriment is me~s4ed via alignment
cubes on the bas~p1ates and is pre~-1auncI~
adjusted via mounting pads on t~e fle~c mounts.
Tbermal Subsystem
The ther~mal~ subsystem of the S~4M Expe1~iment Module
utilizea heaters and appropriate surface q~oatings to
maintain exp~riment and e]~ek~tronics temperatt~es within
acceptable 1i~mit3s.
Po~,er Su1~sybtem
The power subsystem is an unreguiated~system opera~ing
at ~8+7 vdc~ negative ground. The priz~ar~y source of
pow~r is a 8olar array consisting of twc~ deployabi
paddles mounted to the space~raft st9ctlure..
EclIpse power ~nd ~aytime poLer e~deec~ir~g the sole.
array outpu~ ~re obtained frpm ~wp ni4k~l.c~dmium
batteries th t are connected to~ the l~a b~s.
Power Regnlation U it~. The PRU ac~cept~ u lat~ed PC
power from the sol~r array "main" secti~r~, s~ipplies the
spacecraft ~us (28 ± ~ vdc) requirement~, ~ controls
battery c1~iajrge currents ]py d~uty cycleii~ ar4d~filtering
techniques.
1~attery. The power su1~s~jstem ~i]~l use ~he L~w Cost
Systems O~f ice (LCSO) 20 ampore 1~ouràt~ndard NiCd
cells. T1~ese bai~teries `~d~ll each conta~n 22.se~iea
connectec~ cells.
Solar Ar~ay
i The~ SMM sc~lax~ array `is ~onsidere~ missior~ t~r~iqu~ and ~
new solar~ceIl layout will be us~d, All `d~34gn~ details
used in t1~e donstruction of the ~olaz~ array ~ consist
of flight~-proven t~chniques fqr this part~ic~lak o1~bit.
The solar arra~'s are externally fl!oun1~ed on either side
of the spac~ecraft~ body ~mnd wil]t ~ 4~l~2q0:wa~ts at
beginning of lif~ an~ 1167 w~tts; at. t1i~. e~4 df two vear~ -
PAGENO="0572"
570
Communications and Data Handling (9&pH~ ~ubpystem
The Communications and Dat~ Handling Subsystem provid~s
a means for ground and on-board control of ~ll space1
craft and sensor data. This subsystem consists of the
Communication Equipment and Data Handling which' is
composed of a command group, a telemetry groqp, ~ind an
on-board computer. Redundancy is implemented in the
basic subsystem through the use of stangb~' spare equip-
ments. Two NASA Standard Recorders (10 ~it capacity)
are included. A. key feature of 1~he subsy~tem imple-
mentation is that alimajor compd~nenta are existing Or
planned NASA standard:units.
Communications Equipi$nt. communications with the
spacecraft is achieved through use o~ afi omnidirectional
antenna system and the NASA standard STDN/TDRSS trans-'
ponder. Command and forward ranging signals1 will be
received t~irough the omni antenna whLLe telemetry and
the return r~inginq signal will be transmitte~ thr9ugh
either the omni antenna to STDN ground statithis or a
missiofl peculiar directivei(high gain) antenna to TDRSS.
Data ~1andling Equipmer)t . The comman~i and data h~ndli~g
hardware design is based on lhe concept of rdmotE~
multi~exing of telemetry data and remote distribution~
of comd~ands. Cbmmand and telemetry data are routed to
and frq!m other spacecraft and ins1trument subsystems vie'
a seri~. digital multiplex data bus to minimi~e inter-
conneciV problems and to allow sizing the system to
a~tual~equirem~nts. The telemetry format is contro~led
1 by eip~zer the computer or a read-only memory. TelIemét~y
~1 and cnommand formats fully comply with GSFC Aerospace I
Data System Standards. `
U~e of the on-board NASA StandardSpacecraft Computer
(NSSC) wi~ll provide low cost implementation of many on-
board ~unctibns and will permit autonomous operation.
çQmmun~4çations between all subsystems and the ccmputer
~re ac~eved by time sharing the multiplex data bus.
such as stored commands, cont~rol law ~omputa-
tions, jTDR$S antenna pointir~g, battery charge control,
suxnxnar~' message generation, and parameter limit checking
can be routinely implemented.
AttItude control Subsystem (Aç$j
To accomplish its scientific objectiye the ~ ~.s
equipped with a three-axis stabilized space observatory
meeting the following requirements:
PAGENO="0573"
571
o Ability to point the optical axis of a telescope
to any selected point on the solar disc (implies
± 16 minutes of arc pointing range in each of
two axes);
o Pointing accuracy of +5 s of arc (rms) about each
of two axes.
o Pointing stability of +1.2 s of arc (rms) for more
than 5 mm of time in each of two axes;
o Stabilization accuracy and knowledge of inertial
attitude within 0.10 (rms) about the third axis
(rotation about line-of--sight to sun);
o Reorientation in response to attitude commands.
A two-axis slew through 5 mm of arc in 30 s of
time with a design goal of 15 seconds.
o Maintenance of inertial attitude memory during
orbit night and rapid reacquisition at orbit
dawn;
o Ability to acquire from any orientation.
The ACS uses reaction wheels in a momentum exchange
control system with magnetic torquing to remove secular
torque-impulse. The attitude sensors include a three-
axis strapdown inertial reference. assembly using inertia].
grade rate-integrating gyros, a group of acquisition
sensors consisting of a set of sun sensors and two
stellar aspect sensors, and a three-axis magnetometer.
These elements comprise the basic ACS.
(e) What benefits and cost savings are expected from
this multi-mission modular spacecraft?
ANSWER:
The SMM program will develop a spacecraft that can serve
a wide variety of mission requirements. This will
result in savings of non-recurring design of specialized
spacecraft. It will standardize interfaces to experi-
ment modules resulting in reduced integration time and
cost. It will provide the Shuttle Transportation System
with a standard automated payload interface reducing
Ground Support Equipment costs and time. By controlling
interfaces and specifications on performance multiple
buys of subsystems can be made for a number of missions
at greatly reduced costs to the government.
PAGENO="0574"
SERVICE
SPACECRAFT
C;'
EXPERiMENT
(INSTRUMENT)
MODULE
Figure 1. Exploded View-SMM Observatory
PAGENO="0575"
573
QUESTION NO. 6:
Please provide by center the distribution of funds in
the Spacelab Science Program for FY 1975, FY 1976,
and FY 1977.
ANSWER:
PAYLOAD DEFINITION
GSFc
MSFC
ARC
JPL
HQ
FY 1975
FY 1976
TRANS.
FY 1977
1,330
1,450
400
1,695
700
1,300
275
1,505
*
400
400
125
500
DEVELOPMENT
-- 50 --
900 300 100 300
3,330 3,500 900 4,000
PAYLOAD
MSFC
IIQ
StJMNARY
GSFC
MSFC
ARC
JPL
IQ
--
912
2,550
5,255
--
--
188
1,100
50
2,600
745
6,000
1,330
1,450
400
1,695
700
2,212
2,825
6,760
400
400
125
500
--
50
--
-~
900
3,330
488
4,600
150
3,500
1,045
10,000
70-079 0 - 76 - 37
PAGENO="0576"
ANSWER
The Atmospheres, Magnetospheres, and Plasmas-in
Space (AMPS) program is currently in Phase B
definition study, and is a very strong candidate
for initiation of the implementation phase within
the Spacelab Payload Development Program in FY 1978
A final determination of its status in the FY 1978
budget will be made. as the Phase B study results
materialize, and as other candidate payload
program requests are identified and prioritized
AMPS, as a program, is not being considered for
Spacelab 2, but it is quite likely that some of the
experiments which will be proposed and flown on
Spacelab 2 will be from the disciplines represented
by AMPS, and if this is the case, such experiments
may then become part of AMPS
574
QUESTION NO 7
When does NASA plan to request a new start for the
Atmospheres, Magnetospheres, and Plasmas-in-Space
(AMPS) payload for the Spacelab? Is AMPS being
considered for the second Spacelab Payload?
PAGENO="0577"
575
QUESTION NO. 8:
What parameters and requirements have been established
for a pointing system for astronomy and solar physics
investigations in the 1980's? Are these requirements
being coordinated with OAST or is 055 pursuing independent
development of a pointing system?
ANSWER:
The requirements and parameters established for pointing
systems for the 1980's cover a wide range, and will probably
dictate more than one kind of pointing system. Certainly,
the ability to point experiments to less than one arc
second accuracy and stability has been established as a
requirement for the Space Telescope (7,000 kg) and the
Large Solar Observatory planned for the mid 1980's. Less
accurate body pointing may be satisfactory for Spacelab
payloads of about 4,000 kg.
At this time, the European Space Agency (ESA) is developing
a pointing system for Spacelab use. We are reviewing the
design of the ESA system for performance characteristics,
and will make a decision this year on the need for NASA
to start development of an alternate or complementary
pointing system. Some dynamic analysis simulations
indicate that major new technology may not be required,
but that some new techniques may be required.
The Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology is
supporting general development of gyroscopes, reaction
wheels, and control moment gyroscopes. OSS has been
working on adapting these subsystems to the specific
Space Telescope requirements. The fine guidance sensor
will be used with the 2.4~meter telescope and is, thus, a
mission peculiar development.
PAGENO="0578"
576
QUESTION NO. 9:
What definition studies and detailed designs in the
Solar Terrestrial Explorer programs were deferred
by the decrease in funds for the transition quarter?
ANSW~:
Definition studies were deferred for the following
missions:
Solar Mesosphere Explorer, Active Magnetospheric Particle
Tracer Experiment, Hawkeye Auroral Physics Explorer,
Equatorial Ionospheric Irreg~i].arity Study Satellite.
PAGENO="0579"
577
QUESTION NO. 10:
What are the high priority missions discussed in
the Budget Book which are being considered for
funding by the Solar Terrestrial Explorer program
in P11977?
ANSWER:
Eleci~rodynanics Explorer, Solar Mesosphere Explorer,
Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Experiment,
Havkeye Auroral Physics Explorer, Equatorial
Ionospheric Irregularity Study Satellite,
San Marco D & E.
PAGENO="0580"
578
QUESTION NO 11
When does NASA expect to proceed with the Ga~nma Ray Explorer? What
spacecraft is beir~g considered for this mission?
ANSWER
The Gamma-Bay Explorer Mission (OnE) renains under consideration for
t~ture implementation However, the que~tion of how we may proceed
with this mission or on which spacecraft is presently under revxei~
PAGENO="0581"
579
QUESTION NO. 12:
How nuch of the funds in the Sounding Rocket Program
is managed by univer~ities? How much is used to
support inhouse sounding rocket programs?
ANSWER:
In FY 1975, universities were allocated about
$l~.8 million br sounding rocket experiments and
NASA Centers used $i.I~ million for the same purpose.
The balance of sounding rocket funding was used to
purchase the vehicles, provide payload integration,
launch, tracking, and recovery services, and provide
support for experiments from industry and other
Government agencies.
No major changes in relative funding levels for'
university and field center experiments are
anticipated in FY 1976 and FY 1977.
PAGENO="0582"
580
QUESTION NO. 13:
What is the total cost of the Gravity Probe-A project?
How does this compare with the estimated cost in FY
1972 when the project was initiated?
M~SWER:
It is now estimated that the total cost for Gravity
Probe-A will be $4.4 million plus $1.7 million for the
Scout vehicle. The FY 1972 estimate was $2.4 million
plus launch vehicle. Major technical difficulties had
to be overcome in order to insure that the accuracy of
this experiment would not be degraded by environmental
effects.
PAGENO="0583"
581
QUESTION NO. 14:
Please provide ~ breakdown of the Airborne Research
Program funds between operations and experiment
development for FY 1975, FY 1976, and FY 1977.
2~NSWER:
The distribution of funds for the Airborne 1~esearch
Program is as follows: ($K)
FY 76 FY 77
FY 75 Current Budget
Actual Estimate Trans. Estimate
Aircraft
Operations 1,415 1,280 350 1,300
Experiments 1,070 1,170 300 1,150
Instrumentation
and Support 1, 373 1,350 350
3,858 3,800 1,000 3,800
PAGENO="0584"
582
QUESTION NO. 15:
How many scientific balloon flights are planned in
FY 1977'
ANSWER:
After the highest priority flights have been selected,
we anticipate supporting 45 flights.
PAGENO="0585"
583
QUESTION NO. 16:
Please provide the distribution by center of the SR&T
funds in FY 1975, FY 1976, and FY 1977.
ANSWER:
The distribution of SR&T funds by center is as follows
(dollars in thousands):
FY 1975 FY 1976 FY 1977
CENTER ACTUAL CURRENT EST. TRANS. BUDGET EST.
GSFC 3.392 2,714 700 2,700
MSFC 808 995 250 1,000
JPL 466 473 120 400
JSC 947 958 300 958
ARC 200 85 30 100
LaRC 80 15 15 20
HQ 7,977 9,160 2, 185 9.522
TOTAL 13,870 14,400 3,600 14,700
PAGENO="0586"
584
QUF~STION NO. 17:
Whtt is the.balance between Data Analysis program funds
between PSI `5 at field centers and P.1 * `s at other
institutions?
ANSWER:
Approximately 50 percent of the Data Analysis Program
funds allocated for Principal Investigators (P.1. IS)
are provided directly to universities, other government
agencies, and nonprofit institutions The other 50 per~
cent is provided to NASA centers, primarily for support
of analysis by P.1. `s at the centers. However, a
significant portion of the center funding (up to 25
percent) is sent by the centers to universities for
analysis of data from older spacecraft projects and for
a cooperative analysis program involving center and
university ~ `5.
PAGENO="0587"
585
QUESTION NO. 18:
When is completion of the Skylab Data Analysis project
Planned?
ANSWER:
Skylab Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) solar experiment
analysis activities are currently underway at fourteen
institutions. It. is. planned that the ATM analyses will
be continued thrcugh FY 1979.
The primary analysis activities are proving highly
productive and a number of collaborations have already
been initiated with other ground based observers and
theoreticians not originally involved in the Skylab
project. In addition, a new activity, called the
Skylab Solar Workshops, has recently been initiated to
encourage a focussed effort on various important areas
of solar physics studied by the ATM scientists.
PAGENO="0588"
586
QUESTION NO. 19:
Please provide a breakdown by program element for the
funds under Upper Atmospheric Research for FY 1976
and FY 1977.
QUESTION NO 20
What elements and amounts (FY 1976 and FY 1977) were
transferred from other Program Offices'
ANSWER (19 & 20)
The attached chart gives a breakdown by program element
for the funds under Upper Atmospheric Research for
FY 1976 and FY 1977 The chart also reflects the funds
which were transferred to the Office of Space Science
from other NASA Program Offices
PAGENO="0589"
UPPER ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH
(Dollars in Millions)
FY-76 TRANS. FY-77
OSS - DIRECT 3.5 1.0 11.6
FIELD MEASUREMENTS (2.1) (0.3) (6.9)
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS (0.9) (0.3) (2.5)
THEORETICAL STUDIES (0.4) (0.4) (2.2)
TRANSFERS TO OSS 3.9 1.1 -
OSF 1.0 0.4
FIELD MEASUREMENTS (0.9) (0.4)
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS
THEORETICAL STUDIES (0.1)
OAST 2.9 0.7
~ MEASUREMENTS (1.8) (0.4)
LA~ORATORY EXPERIMENTS (0.4) (0.1)
THEORETICAL STUDIES (0.6) (0.2)
TOTALS 7~ 2.1 1]~6
FIELD MEAS. (4.8) (1.2) (6.9)
LAB EXP. (1.4) (0.5) (2.5)
THEO. ST. (1.1) (0.5) (2.2)
PAGENO="0590"
588
QUESTION NO. 21:
What real increase in funding does the FY 1977 budget request
represent for Upper Atmospheric Research?
ANSWER:
The F? 1976 funding level for Upper Atmospheric Research
consists of the $3.5M of new effort shown in the budget,
plus $3.9M transferred to the Office of Space Science
from other Program Offices for continuation of going
effort for a total of $7 4M Hence, the FY 197/ budget
request of. $11.6M represents a real increase of $4.2M
over F? 1976. The major effort of F? 1976, the Chiorofluoro-
methanes (CFM) Assessment Program, will grow by about $2.OM
(to $5.5M) and is aimed at assessing the effects Of CFMs
on stratospheric ozone. NASA plans to issue a report.on
the impact of CFMs in September 1977. The balance of the
funding increase will be utilized to establish a broader
base for study of the upper atmosphere
PAGENO="0591"
589
(JtIt I ION No 22
Whit is LIie balance beLween in-house universiLy and
coritracLor funding for the Upper Atmospheric Research
funds in FY 1976 and FY 1977'
ANSWER:
Approximately 55 percent of available FY 1976 and
FY 1977 funding will be provided to NASA centers The
balance of funding will be divided between universities
(30 percent) and industrial contractors (15 percent)
70-079 0 - 76 - 38
PAGENO="0592"
590
QUESTION 23:
There appears to be a hiatus in continuous worldwide
measurements of ozone after the Stratospheric Aerosol
and Gas Experiment (SAGE) mission. What are NASA's
plans to provide continuous measurements of ozone
following the SAGE mission?
ANSWER:
Satellite global monitoring of ozone was initiated in
1970 with the launch of NIMBUS 4 carrying the Back-
scattered Ultraviolet (BUy) spectrometer. This in-
strument is still operating today and was augmented
in 1975 with the launch of Atmosphere Explorer-E (AE-E),
also carrying the ]3UV spectrometer. With the planned
:Launches o:E NIMBUS G in 1978 and the Stratospheric
Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) missions in 1979,
continuity in satellite ozone monitoring should be
maintained into the early 1980's. The NIMBUS G satellite
will carry the Solar Backscattered Ultraviolet/Total
Ozone Mappinq System (SBUV/TOMS) spectrometer, an improved
version of the basic BUy. SAGE will monitor stratospheric
ozone by a different technique based on observing the
sun through the earth's limb.
We recognize the need for continuing ozone monitoring
beyond SAGE and are actively looking at alternative
follow-on missions. These include small dedicated
satellites and Spacelab-based instruments. In addition,
we are holding discussions with NOAA regarding the
possible inclusion of an instrument such as the SBUV/TOMS
aboard one of next generation of operational
meteorological satellites, TIROS-N, planned for launch
on two-year intervals beginning in early 1978. During
the next year, we will focus on defining the best
approach to assure continuity in the ozone data.
Meanwhile, NOAA is operating a network of six to twelve
ground stations with Dobson photometers for total ozone
measurements; this network is expected to continue
through the 1980's.
PAGENO="0593"
591
QUESTION NO 24
Provide a distribution by center of the Upper Atinos-
pheric Research funds for FY 1975, FY 1976 and FY 1977
(Reflect the fact that part of these funds were in
other Program Offices in FY 1975 and FY 1976.)
ANSWER
The attached table reflects the currently planned center
distribution of Upper Atmospheric Research funds
PAGENO="0594"
UPPER ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH
(Dollars in Millions)
FY-76 TRANS. FY-77
OSS - DIRECT 3.5 1.0 ~1l.6
FIELD MEASUREMENTS (2.1) (0.3) (6 .9)
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS (0.9) (0.3) (~ .5)
THEORETICAL STUDIES (0.4) (0.4) (2.2)
TRANSFERS TO OSS 3.9 1.1
OSF 1.0 0.4
FIELD MEASUREMENTS (0.9) (0.4)
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS -- --
THEORETICAL STUDIES (0.1) --
OAST 2.9 0.7
FIELD MEASUREMENTS (1.8) (0.4)
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS (0.4) (0.1)
THEORETICAL STUDIES (0.6) (0.2)
TOTALS 7.4 2.1 11.6
FIELD MEAS. (4.8) (1.2) (6.9)
LAB EXP. (1.4) . (0.5) (2.5)
THEO. ST. (1.1) (0.5) (2.2)
PAGENO="0595"
593
QUESTION NO. 25:
Provide a breakdown of the Uppe.r Atmospheric Research
funds for FY 1976. and FY 1977 between field measure-
ments, laboratory measurements, and theoretical
studies.
ANSWER:
This question has been answered in the chart provided
to answer questions 19 and 20 (copy attached)
PAGENO="0596"
UPPER AT~)SPHERIC RESEARCH
(Dollars in Millions)
FY-'76 TRANS. FY-77
OSS DIRECT 3.5 1.0 11.6
FIELD MEASUREMENTS (2.1) (0.3) (6.9)
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS (0.9) (0.3) (2.5)
THEORETICAL STUDIES (0.4) (0.4) (2.2)
TRANSFERS TO OSS 3.9 1.1
OSF 1.0 0.4
FIELD MEASUREMENTS (0.9) (0.4)
LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS --
THEORETICAL STUDIES (0.1) --
OAST 2.9 0.7
FIELD MEASUREMENTS (1.8) (0.4)
LMORATORY EXPERIMENTS (0.4) (0.1)
THEORETICAL STUDIES (0.6) (0.2)
TOTALS 7.4 2.1 11.6
FIELD MEAS. (4.8) (1.2) (6.9)
LAB EXP. (1.4) (0.5) (2.5)
THEO. ST. (1.1) (0.5) (2.2)
PAGENO="0597"
595
QUESTION NO. 26:
NASA has been studying a Space Telescope project which Is a very
large complex space observatory. The following questions relate to
matters identified in a General Accounting Office study of the Space
Telescope Project:
(a) Will NASA's funding requirements for the ST divert
funds from other projects deemed necessary to main-
tain a balanced space astronomy program?
(b) What are the results of the recent Space Science
Board's study on priorities in space research? Does
this organization still consider the ST project to be
the highest priority program in astronomy?
(c) What is the current life-cycle-cost estimate for the
ST project? Does It Include all cost associated with
the project?
(d) What specific research data cannot be obtained with
the 2. 4~-meter ST that could have been obtained with
the 3.0-meter instrument?
(e) What is the current status of the work on (1) develop-
ment of the primary mirror and detectors for the
scientific instruments, (2) fine pointing and stabili-
zation controls, (3) definition of contamination
controls, and (4) development of thermal controls?
Can these areas be satisfactorily resolved without
performance degradations?
(f) Since certain factors, such as the ST's physical
size, prevent full operational testing prior to launch,
how much technical risk is NASA taking? Explain
the limited test program presently planned.
(g) What are the specific duties and responsibilities of
the ST Science Institute? How much control over the
operations will NASA have? What are the estimated
annual funding requirements for the Institute?
ANSWER:
(a) NASA believes that the ST funding can be phased properly to
maintain a balanced space astronomy program. In their response to
PAGENO="0598"
596
tiis question, the Physical Sciences Committee stated
that they believe that NASA can fly the ST without up-
s3tting the balance. However, in some fiscal years,
e~phasis will be given to the ST just as we are now
devoting a substantial fraction of astrophysics resources
to the High Energy Astronomy observatory (HEAO).
(b) The Space Science Board still considers the ST
pcoject to be the highest priority program in astronomy
because of its ability to make critical observations not
possible in any other way.
(c) NASA has concentrated its efforts on ascertain-
leg the feasibility of the ST concept and the definition
of the optical telescope assembly and the support system
medule. tn addition, NASA and its contractors have pur-
sued advanced technological development tasks to resolve
technical uncertainties and develop realistic cost esti-
mates. This is normally done on NASA projects prior to
reaching a decision to request Congressional approval to
proceed with development.
The GAO report quotes a planning estimate for the ST of
a cost range from $370M to $445M (FY 1977 dollars). This
cost range was used in FY 1976 cost estimates. The present
cost estimate for the design, development, test and engineering,
and in-orbit verification of the ST is still within this
range.
Present studies are not complete, but early estimates
show an annual operations cost of $lO-l5M~which includes
the cost of the Science Institute. The ST will benefit
from the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite and other NASA
capabilities. Costs associated with maintenance and in-
orbit refurbishment which will occur approximately three
years after launch have not been studied in detail.
(d) The 2.4-meter ST will be able to study all of
the celestial objects which we are now aware and plan to
study. However, the smaller light gathering capability
will reduce the efficiency of our observations by virtue
o~ the longer tine required to obtain the same data, In
addition, it is highly probable that the new objects
would be discovered by the 3.0-meter ST which cannot be
observed by the 2.4-meter ipstrument.
PAGENO="0599"
597
(e) A 1 * 8-meter ultra-low-expansion fused silica light weight
mirror blank was ground and polished to a better figure than required
(,A/64 where 7t~ is 6328~). This mirror was from three to five times
b:~tter than a ground-based telescope mirror and verifies that the re-
qtired technology for the ST mirror has been developed. Present day
dctector technology must be advanced to take full advantage of the
Sr; however, detector development for space astronomy is continuing
with the anticipation that it will be available in sufficient time.
In the other technology artas, work performed to date has given us
high confidence. Fine pointing and stabilization controls are in
breadboard form at both Itnk and Perkin-Elmer undergoing bench tests.
Total system simulation models have been run on the computer. Vibra-
tion characteristics and damping coefficients of candidate reaction
wheels have been measured. It is further planned to assemble a total
control loop using candidate reaction wheels, a breadboard fine
guidance sensor, and other components placed on a low noise air
bearing table for a complete test. The thermal control technology is
state of the art. Contamination studies are continuing in other parts
of NASA, especially in the Space Shuttle area.
(f) NASA will test and calibrate the ST at the highest practical
a:;sembly level on the ground. The ST will be thoroughly tested in its
space environment which can never be simulated on the ground. Any
modifications required can be accomplished by a Space Shuttle visit.
The performance risk associated with reduced ground testing is con-
sidered acceptable.
(g) As now envisioned, the ST Science Institute will
be responsible for planning the observing program. This
includes identification of objects to be observed and
definition of the observations to be made. NASA operators
will control the in-orbit operation of the telescope.
The Science Institute is to be managed for NASA by a
consortium of universities. A study of the Institute
is currently in progress and is expected to be completed
in April 1976, along with estimates for the options and
cost.
PAGENO="0600"
598
QUESTION NO 27
The following questions rclate to the Space Telescope
(a) What are your plans for the Space Telescope
competition?
(b) Will the program be completely defined at the con-
clusion of the Phase B studies (March 15, 1976)?
(c) Is it not needless waste of contractor s expense
maintaining teams while waiting for a competition
when the program Is already well defined~
(d) When are you going to supply us with firm data on
new starts for FT 1978'?
(e) Isn t it to NASA s advantage to have the earliest com-
petition once you define the program'? The losing
contractor's talents would then be available to help
other important future NASA programs.
(f) Are there any valid arguments for further delaying the
contractor selection~
(g) What would be your reaction if Congress were to recom-
mend holding the Phase C/D competition this fiscal
year~
ANSWER~
(a) Present plans for the initiation of the Space Telescope pro-
ject call for the release of the Request for Proposals (RFP's) to
Industry as early in CT 1977 as Is consistent with the budget cycle
(b) The Phase B definition studies will be completed by
the contractors in March 1976 The Marshall Space Flight Center
will then synthesize the specifications for the major Space
Telescope systems in preparation for release of the Request
for Proposals. Current advanced technological development
tasks being performed by the two optical firms will be com-
pleted by June 1976.
PAGENO="0601"
599
(c) At the Committee `s request, we are reviewing the
feasibility and the problems of releasing the Requests for
Proposals and holding the competition in 1976 to select
contractors for each of the major modules
(d) Based upon current processes, data on new starts
will be included in the President's Budget in January 1977
(e) It is generally to NASA s advantage as well as to industry s
to hold a competition as early in the program cycle as the definition
of the program will permit. An early competition allows the losing
proposers to move on to other areas of interest and allows the winning
proposer to concentrate on the project rather than on winning the
competition Much of the advantage to the Government of an early
competition is lost, however if the program cannot be implemented for
a long period after selection since the contractor s efforts is seriously
limited until Congressional action We are studying the advantages
and disadvantages of an early competition and will advise the Corn-
mittee in about sixty days
(f) An early release of the RFP s would require the contractors
to expend a substantial effort on the preparation of their proposal
before there is reasonable assurance that the ST will be initiated in
F? 1978
(g) As requested by the Committee, we are exploring the
feasibility and the associated problems of releasing the
Request for Proposals and holding the competitions this year
to select contractors for detailed definition of Space
Telescope subsystems and interfaáes with no further comp-~
etition for the hardware phase. Our reaction depends upon
the results of our assessments which should be completed
in about two months.
PAGENO="0602"
600
General questions for the Office of Space Science sub-
mitted by the House Subcommittee on Space Science and
Applications on February 4, 1976
QUESTION 1
Have Headquarters personnel from OSS program offices
Expendable Launch Vehicles and OMSF offices in Life
Sciences been transferred to OSF and OSS respectively2
ANSWER
Yes On September 28, 1975, responsibility for the
Launch Vehicle and Propulsion Program was transferred
from the Office of Space Science to the Office of Space
Flight and retitled Expendable Launch Vehicle Programs
At the same time responsibility for the Life Sciences
Program was transferred from the Office of Space Flight
(previously called the Office of Manned Space Flight) to
the Office of Space Science Funds and Headquarters
personnel associated with these programs were trans-
ferred at the same time
/
PAGENO="0603"
601
QUESTION NO 2
The lunar science program is still funded at over $20
million including $5 million for sample analysis How
much longer do you see the need for significant funding
in this area~
ANSWER
The lunar science program was the first in which NASA*
made a firm commitment to long-term post-missiOn science
activity As a result, the scientific momentum of this
program has continued since completion of the Apollo
missions Although expansion of our currently available
data is still necessary in specific areas, the emphasis
in lunar science has now shifted from the collection of
data to the synthesis of the data into theoretical models
of the origin and evolution of the solar system Since
we have more information on the Moon than on any planet
other than the Earth it plays a critical part in our
study of the solar system. Support at a significant
level of much of this activity will be required for
many years
The level of support for lunar sample analysis has been
declining and will continue to contract for the next few
years However, a core program in this field must be
maintained since results from these measurements provide
increasingly stringent boundaries on the proposed theories.
Data from the lunar samples, together with similar measure-
ments performed on meteorites and Earth rocks, contribute
essential basic information to our study of the solar
system A yearly review of all lunar activities is con-
ducted to assure ourselves that we are getting a good
return on the investment and that we have a clear view
of the relative priority of this work
PAGENO="0604"
602
QUESTION 3
Isn t it necessary for NASA to be careful about long-
range commitments to data retrieval and reduction for
space science programs'? Isn t there a danger that
considerable budget fraction will get tied up in such
commitments so that new programs have limited dollars
to compete for'?
ANSWER
There is a definite trade-off between continuing to
fund data retrieval and reduction from existing
satellites and the initiation of projects to provide
data in new scientific areas We review very carefully
the potential value of the information which may be
obtained by continuing retrieval of data from existing
satellites If there is an opportunity to obtain new
information which will contribute materially to the
mission objectives it is to our benefit to continue
operation of the satellite and thus increase the
return from our investment The Apollo Lunar Surface
Experiments Package (ALSEP) operation and the third
Mercury encounter for the Mariner Venus/Mercury 1973
(MVM'73) mission are examples wherein the decision to
continue operation has significantly enhanced the
mission return and our knowledge in the science areas
involved On the other hand we have turned off the
return from several satellites such as the Atmosphere
Explorer-C and San Marco C-2 when our conclusion was
that the information to be screened from the data
retrieval would probably not be of significant value
Data retrieval and analysis activities have constituted
approximately five percent of the total Space Science
budget for the past several years Our FY 1977 budget
request is consistent with that level
PAGENO="0605"
603
QUESTION 4
Are scientific instruments bought for university
investigators with OSS funds? What is the procedure
for disposition of such items when an investigator's
grant or contract runs Out~ Is OSS seeing to it that
such instruments are recycled through university
departments and/or placed on surplus lists for claim
by interested parties?
ANSWER
The scientific instruments used by university investi-
gators purchased with OSS funds are normally highly
specialized instruments constructed to meet specific
scientific objectives They are government property
and are accounted for under normal government procedures.
When an investigator s grant or contract is completed
NASA procedures insure that all equipment is made avail-
able to that university in-house NASA needs and other
NASA projects before it is placed on surplus lists for
claim by interested parties through the General Services
Administration property disposal system This procedure
implements 42 U S Code 1892
PAGENO="0606"
604
QUESTION 5
Are there new priorities in space science which will call
for major increases in funding in supporting R&T9
ANSWER
After a detailed review of supporting research and
technology, the Physical Sciences Committee has recoin-
mended significant increases in funding We hope to
provide additional funding as soon' as budgetary constraints
permit
PAGENO="0607"
605
QUESTION NO. 6:
Major aspects of physics, astronomy and planetary R&T
have to do with plasma physics. Funding by center
indicates that there is little participation by Langley
or Lewis in these progr~mis despite considerable compe-
tence in plasma physics at those centers. What is the
nature of the OSS/OAST interface in this area?
ANSWER:
Plasma physics covers a wide range of phenomena, from
the very tenuous plasmas in interplanetary space to the
very dense plasmas used in experimental energy conver-
sion machines. The Office of Space Science (Oss) is
primarily concerned with the plasmas of space, and the
Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) is
primarily concerned with the plasmas used by power and
propulsion machines. Expertise in these different areas
is therefore concentrated in different NASA Centers. To
ensure proper coordination, summaries of the research
tasks performed in each area are circulated in the form
of "Research and Technology Operating Plans" (RTOP's).
The RTOP's are annually coordinated between OSS and OAST,
to ensure that the skills available to NASA at different
Centers are appropriately recognized and that no need-
less duplication occurs. Specifically, Lewis concen-
trates on "Plasma Dynamic Energy Systems" and Langley on
"Plasma Core Reactor Research," bo.th of which concen-
trate on dense plasmas, and therefore the research has
limited utility to space plasma research.
70-079 0 - 76 - 39
PAGENO="0608"
606
Technical questions for the office of Space Science
submitted by the Subcommittee Ofl Space Science and
Appii~tiofls for the hearinq held on February 4, 1976.
QUESTION NO. 1:
What do you mean by "hot spots in the magnetic field" on
page four? Are they regions of high field intensity or
simply locations of intense radio waves?
ANSWER:
The Crab Nebula emits a complex beam of radio waves and
X-rays. The theoretical explanation of these phenomena
requires local confinement of energetic charged particles
in a very strong magnetic field. The hot spots are
formed where the magnetic field lines of the neutron
star converge toward a magnetic pole.
PAGENO="0609"
607
QUESTION NO. 2:
What kind of assumption about, the nature of the universe is
made in calculating the age of the cosmic rays?
ANSWER:
Cosmic rays represent a direct sample of material which
originated in energetic events occurring in different
astronomical objects, such as the Sun, distant stars,
supernovae arid pulsars, both within our galaxy, and perhaps
in other galaxies. They are charged particles moving through
the interstellar medium with velocities near the speed of
light. In their travel the radio-active atoms decay and all
atoms- interact with the inter-stellar material to.form -
different elements' and isotopes. The detailed chemical and
isotopic constituents of the cosmic rays are affected
di~ferently by the amount of material encountered, and by
the time elapsed sir~ce their `formation. This makes it -
possible to determine the age of cosmic rays by using
laboratory data and making few assumptions. An example of
such a case is the determination of the age of cosmic rays
from Be1° observations. The initial abundance of Be~° ~
derived from models of nucleosynthesis which agree with the
elemental abunc3ances found in nature. After leaving the
source, the Be~-° isotope decays with a charactristic time
or "half-life." By comparing actual Be~1-° abundances observed
at earth to the original values, one' obtains the age of the
cosmic ray sample being studied.
PAGENO="0610"
608
General questions for Life Sciences submitted by the Sub-
committee on Space Science and Applications on February 4,
1976.
QUESTION 1:
To what extent is the Office of Technology Utilization
involved in the measures OSS is taking to speed the
transaction of life sciences developments into the private
sector?
ANSWER:
The principal activity for transfer of NASA technology
to the civil sector, including that technology dev~1oped
in the Life Sciences Program,. is the NASA Office of
Technology Utilization. To expedite the flow of applicable
Life Sciences developments to uses outside of NASA, the
OSS Life Sciences Division has always maintained a close
interface with the Office of Technology Utilization's
Biomedical Applications Program.
The NASA Office of Technology Utilization is responsible
for providing for the rapid and effective transfer of
NASA technology to other federal government agencies,
state and local governments, and private industry. The
Office of Technology Utilization, through its biomedical
applications engineering program, four Biomedical Applica-
tions Teams, and six Industrial Applications Centers,
maintains a close liaison with the Life Sciences Division,
and the OSS life sciences R&D activities at NASA Field
Centers
To assure the medical soundness of the Technology Utiliza-
tion Biomedical Program, the Director for Life Sciences
provides technical and medical consultation regarding
Life Sciences projects, and regularly reviews ongoing
Technology Utilization Biomedical projects and candidate
projects for the following year. When required, the
Director for Life Sciences has assigned technical per-
sonnel to work directly with the Technology Utilization
Office on an extended basis to provide technical expertise
and guidance to the Technology Utilization's biomedical
program and provide continuing review for the Director
for Life Sciences.
PAGENO="0611"
609
QUESTION NO. 2
Does NASA have contact at all levels with NIH to review
developments in life science research?
ANSWER:
NASA has multiple contacts with the NIH at different
levels to review developments in life science research.
The Director for Life Sciences sits on several inter-
agency coordinating committees under the sponsorship
of the NIH; for example, the Interagency Technical
Committee on Heart, Blood Vessel, Lung and Blood
Diseases and Blood Resources (IATc). A function of this
committee is to review and compile all ongoing research
throughout the federal system relating to these problems.
Program officers in NASA work with their counterparts
in the NIH to compile and review such information in
order to insure that new developments are recognized
and redundancies eliminated.
Program directors within the OSS Life Sciences routinely
participate in working level committee meetings with
counterparts from the NIH in research areas of interest
to NASA.
PAGENO="0612"
610
QUESTION NO. 3:
Are there plans to follow up the KOSMOS 782 Program with
more substantial experiments having more complicated
nterface with Russian spacecraft?
- TSWER:
We are presently negotiating with the Soviets a set of
U S experiments to fly on the KOSMOS 1977 mission Flow-
ever we do not plan to follow up the KOSMOS 782 Program
with experiments having morecomplicated interfaces than
that which has flown, except for one experiment. If it
is accepted by the Scviets, it would require a simple
telemetry capability that must be compatible with their
sys tern.
PAGENO="0613"
1977 NASA AUTHORIZATION
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1976
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS,
Wa8himgtom, D.C.
The subcommittee met at 11 a.m., pursuant to notice, in room
2318, Rayburn House Building, Hon. Don Fuqua (chairman of
subcommittee), presiding.
Chairman FUQUA. The subcommittee will be in order.
We are pleased to have with us this morning Mr. Gerald M.
Truszynski, Associate Administrator for Tracking and Data
Acqusition.
Following Mr. Truszynski will be Mr. Arnold W. Frutkin, Assistant
Administrator for the Office of International Affairs.
We are happy to have you here this morning. You may proceed
any way you choose.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Before I start, I
would like to introduce two members of my staff who will be with me
this morning: Mr. Richard Stock, Director of Resources, and Mr. Fred
Bryant, Director of Network Systems Development.
Mr. Chairman, I have a prepared statement which I would like
to subn~dt for the record and summarize through the use of vugraphs.
Chairman FUQUA. We will make it part of the record.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. In addition, we will be discussing our activities
on the tracking and data relay satellite system. I have a narrative
report on the methodology used in our lease versus purchase analysis
which I would also like to submit for the record.
Chairman FUQUA. We will make it part of the record.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. This is the analysis that we had discussed with
your staff before today's meeting.
[Prepared statement, document appears in Volume I, Part 3. The
biographical sketch of Mr. Truszynski follows:]
GERALD M. TRTJSZYNSKI
Gerald M. Truszynski is responsible for planning, development, and operation
of global tracking networks, facilities, and systems for communications and data
acquisition for all NASA ffight programs.
NASA's Office of Tracking and Data Acquisition is charged with support of
manned and unmanned spacecraft in the scientific exploration of space near the
earth and beyond the moon and planets; commercial and foreign space projects;
and support of other U.S. agency spacecraft such as scientific satellites of the
(611)
PAGENO="0614"
612
Department of Defense. The office also has agency-wide functional responsibility
for automatic data processing activities, administrative communications, and
frequency management.
Mr. Truszynski was appointed to his position in March 1968. He succeeded
from the post of Deputy in the same office, which he ha.d held since its creation
in 1961. 1-Ic caine to NASA Headquarters in 1960 from NASA's Flight Research
Center, Edwards, California.
In his career at I-Ieadqua.rters, Mr. Truszynski has directed the design and
construction of: the Spaceflight Tracking and Data. Network (STDN) which
supports all earth-orbital flight projects, including manned missions such as
Apollo and Skylab; the Deep Space Network (DSN) which supports flights to
the planets and beyond; and the global NASA communications system.
Beginning his career upon graduation from Rutgers University in 1944, he
joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NASA's predecessor),
at the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, hampton, Virginia, a.s an engineer in
instrument research and development. Three years later he was transferred to
the NACA station at Edwards, California, as instrument project engineer on the
rocket-powered X-1, first a.irpla.ne to breach the speed of sound.
In 1954 Mr. Truszynski became Chief of the Instrumentation Division at
Edwards. 1-Ic headed development and operation of instrumentation and tracking
systems for the national research airplane program under NACA-including a
series of jet- and rocket-powered aircraft such as the X-1, X-2, D-558, and X-J 5,
which pioneered supersonic and hypersonic flight.
In 1969 Mr. Truszynski twice received NASA's highest award, the Distinguished
Service Medal, for support of Apollo manned flights to lunar orbit (Apollo 8)
and man's first landing on the moon (Apollo 11). He is a member of Taim Beta Pi.
In June, 1973, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) elected Mr. Truszynski
as an AAS Fellow for his significant contributions to astronautics.
1-Ic was born in Jersey City, N.J. I-Ic and his wife, the former 1-lelen Bennett,
of East Millstone, N.J., and two children live in Chevy Chase, Md.
PAGENO="0615"
613
STATEMENT OF GERALD M. TRUSZYNSKI, ASSOCIATE ADMINIS-
TRATOR FOR TRACKING AND DATA ACQUISITION, NATIONAL
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
OUTLINE OF PRESENTATiON
* CURRENT PROGRAM STATUS
* NE1WORK CONFIGURATION
* SUPPORT ACTI VITY
* FUTURE MISSION PREPARATION
* LAGEOS
* WE
*MJS
* SHUTTLE
* FY 1977 FUNDING REQUIREMENTS
* TRACKING AND DATA RELAY SATELLITE SYSTEM
* STATUS
* LEASE VERSUS PURCHASE ANALYSIS
*SUMMARY
NASA HO IC 76-2116 (1)
2-2-76
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. I will proceed then with the use of the vugraphs
(T 76-2116). What I would like to summarize for you today is the
status of our program currently, the updates since our November
hearings, some preparations that are going on for upcoming missions,
and a summary of our fiscal year 1977 funding requirements. Also,
I'll discuss the activity on our tracking and data relay satellite system,
and the results of our lease versus purchase analysis.
PAGENO="0616"
614
The next chart (T 76-1949) summarizes the tracking and data
acquisition functions. These are the types of activities that our
office is responsible for and which are familiar to the committee
members.
PAGENO="0617"
615
On the next chart (T 76-1019A), is shown the worldwide network
that we use currently for support of the flight programs. If you were
to count the stations, there are 13 land stations in the network,
supplemented by one instrumented ship and instrumented aircraft.
We expect this network configuration to remain stable until the time
period of the TDRSS system.
PAGENO="0618"
616
SUPPORT ACTIVITY
NASA NETWORK HAS HEAVY WORKLOAD
* EARTH ORBITAL MISSION SUPPORT
* SUPPORT TO 40 IN-ORBIT SPACECRAFT
* DATA BEING ACQUI RED FROM ABOUT 250 EXPERIMENTS
* PREPARING FOR UPCOMING MISSIONS SUCH AS HEAO,
IUE, AND SHUTTLE
* PLANETARY MISSION SUPPORT
* SUPPORTING 2 VIKING SPACECRAFT, 2 HELlOS MISSIONS,
AND 6 PIONEER SPACECRAFT
* PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY FOR MJS'77 AND PIONEER
VENUS `78 MiSSIONS
NASA HO iC 76-2115 (1)
2-2-76
Summarizing our support activity, we continue with a heavy work-
load in both Earth orbital missions and planetary missions. As
shown on this chart (T 76-2115), in the Earth orbital area we are
supporting some 40 in-orbit spacecraft. This represents some 250
experiments from which we are receiving information. At the same
time we are supporting these spacecraft, of course, we are preparing
for upcoming missions.
In the planetary area, again we have very heavy support require-
ments. As you might expect, we will be very busy with the Viking
later this year, while at the same time preparing for upcoming mis-
sions such as the Mariner Jupiter/Saturn, and the Pioneer Venus
1978 missions.
PAGENO="0619"
617
The next chart (T 76-1113) reminds us that we are going to have
a busy support activity with Viking. As you recall, the network will
be supporting four spacecraft simultaneously, two orbiters circling
Mars and two landers on the surface of Mars. We will be receiving
three information streams simultaneously as well as manipulating
the various spacecraft through the command systems in the network.
This support is essentially the mission objectives, as I am sure the
committee is well aware.
PAGENO="0620"
618
FUTURE MISSION PREPARATIONS
*LAGEOS
* INTERNATIONAL ULTRAVIOLET EXPLORER
* MARiNER JUPITER/SATURN
* SHUTTLE
NASA HQ TC 76-2119 (1)
2-2-76
The next chart (T 76-2119) lists some of the upcoming missions.
I would like to talk very briefly about preparations for Lageos, a
satellite soon to be launched which has an extremely increased re-
quirement for tracking accuracy. Our activities involving the inter-
national ultraviolet explorer provides a good example of the new
types of missions that we must support. There is an actual realtime
interaction from the ground experimenter via the network system to
the experiment onboard. Next, I'll note some activities that are
underway for the Mariner Jupiter/Saturn mission, particularly as it
relates to the navigation requirements for this mission. It is an area
which is generally not very well known, but which is extremely
critical. I would like to just summarize that, and then mention the
early support planned for the Shuttle.
The Lageos is a satellite which is essentially an optical reflector.
It is a very dense satellite and will have a very stable orbit. In order
to get the extreme accuracy that is required of the orbital parameters,
we need to go to laser-tracking systems.
One of these systems is illustrated on this chart (T74-4018). We are
currently operating three of these systems and have five more under
PAGENO="0621"
619
construction. Thus, there will be a complement of eight for support of
the Lebeos satellite as well as the upcoming Seasat program.
The emphasis here, as I say, is on tracking accuracy. This type of
system consists of a powerful laser transmitter and receiver. It is
basically an accurate radar which gives us tracking accuracies of the
order of 10 centimeters. Hopefully, we can extend that to the order of
2 centimeters in the coming years.
The international ultra violet explorer, as I mentioned, is a good
illustration of the interactive experiment missions that we are getting
more of. We have illustrated here (T76-2050) that the explorer is
essentially a powerful telescope in synchronous orbit.
PAGENO="0622"
620
Information is sent down to the network and then displayed in the
control center in a way that an experimenter can actually pick out a
particular star, or celestial object, that he wants to observe through the
telescope. He can command the telescope to the point where it is
actually looking at the specific object. Essentially then, he can pro-
gram the telescope from the control center..
You have heard us mention these kinds of experiments and the type
of systems that we must provide to allow the experimenter to be in
control of the experiment while it is aloft.
PAGENO="0623"
621
The next chart (T75-15652) depicts the Mariner Jupiter/Saturn
mission and illustrates the distances that we are facing more of in
support of the planetary programs.
For example, the Mariner spacecraft, when it gets to Saturn will be
some 1.5 billion kilometers from Earth. As you know, there is a plan
now to send it to Uranus, which will be on the order of 2~ billion
kilometers from Earth. Yet, it is imperative that the spacecraft get
to the right point when passing the planet to get the required informa-
tion. I would like to review the navigation accuracies that we have been
required to provide the flight missions and the improvements that we
have been able to make in this particular tracking field.
70-079 0 - 76 - 40
PAGENO="0624"
622
GROUND BASED NAVIGATION - REQUIREMENTS TREND
4 5 667 9 10 I/S
I- I I I I I ~-1
1962 1964 1967 1969 1971 1974 1977
I have illustrated the improvements on this chart (P76-2062).
What we see here is, starting from 1962 to the present time, how we
have been able to increase the navigation accuracies by illustrating
the decreases in the aiming boundary through the course of time.
For example, in 1962, about the best we could do was put the
Mariner 2 spacecraft inside this area as it flew by Venus. It is a very
large area. To get a relative size comparison, the dashed line circle
is the equivalent size of the Earth.
So all we could do was put the Mariner 2 spacecraft somewhere in
this large area. In the course of time, however, we have improved the
ground system by going to higher frequencies, extremely accurate
timing systems, and other tracking techniques.
For example, at about the time of the 1969 Mars missions, we
were able to put the spacecraft in this area, and the relative size of
this area is about one-third the size of the TJnited States.
Going on to 1977, the final point on the chart, this is what we are
required to do in terms of the aiming.boundary at the location of one
of the Moons of Saturn, Titan, specifically. The equivalent area at
this point is some 60 by 60 kilometers at the distance of Saturn,
which is 1.5 billion kilometers.
This is a good illustration of the improvement in capability that we
have been able to provide over the years. As I say, it is not an area
that is well known, but it does illustrate, I think, the significant
improvement in what our networks have gone through in the course
of this timespan.
o oQ
VENUS MARS VENUS
MARINER
MARS
NASA SQ 1762062 (3)
PAGENO="0625"
623
`j" On the~next chart (T76-1115), we show the early support needed
by the Shuttle. As'you know, the first Shuttle operations that we are
planning to support are the approaching and landing tests at Dryden
Flight Research Center. Sketched here is the kind of overall system
we plan.
As I mentioned previOusly to the committee, we have redeployed
what used to be the Newfoundland Station for use at the Dryden
Flight Research Center and we will operate in a somewhat different
technique in terms of how we furnish Shuttle support.
For example, all the information that will be received from the
Shuttle will be sent directly to the Johnson Space Center, which is
the mission control center. The plan is for the Shuttle operations to be
controlled from the Johnson center through our station at the Dryden
Flight Research Center. Our activities have started in terms of
preparing that station for the first flight.
PAGENO="0626"
624
TRACKING AND DATA ACQUISITION PROGRAM
FUND REQUIREMENTS
(IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS)
TRANS.
FY 1975 FY 1976 PERIOD FY 1977
* RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
* OPERATIONS $192.6 $193.5 $50.1 $206.8
* SYSTEMS IMPLEMENTATION 42.5 38.1 11.0 42.5
* ADVANCED SYSTEMS 9.3 9.2 2.3 8.7
* TRACKING AND DATA RELAY
SATELLITE SYSTEM 3.6 - - -
TOTAL R&D $248.0 $240.8 $63.4 $258.0
NASA HQ T76-2045 (1)
1-16-76
On the next chart (T76-2045) we have summarized our fund re-
quirements for fiscal year 1977. You can see we are requesting an
increase of some $17 million. Essentially, $13 million of this increase
is in our operations line item, and I will speak, in a minute, to the
reason for this increase. The remainder of the increase, some $4
million, is in our systems implementation line item. These increases
are associated with preparations for some of the upcoming missions
that I reviewed with you earlier in the presentation.
TRACKING AND DATA ACQUiSITION
IMPACT OF INFLATION
* AS DISCUSSED IN THE NOVEMBER HEARINGS, COST ESCALATION DUE
TO WORLDWIDE INFLATION ISA SIGNIFICANT FACTOR
* SPAIN AND AUSTRALIA PARTICULARLY HIGH (15 TO 20%)
* DOMESTIC OPERATIONS ALSO IMPACTED
*ALASKA - 25%
*GOLDSTONE - 13%
* ESTIMATED COST ESCALATION FOR OVERALL NETWORK OPERATIONS
IS 6~% ABOVE FY 1976
NASA HO Ic 762111 (1)
2-2-76
PAGENO="0627"
62~
As I mentioned, we are experiencing quite an inflation problem.
The next chart (T76-2 111) lists the major increases. We have the
"luxury", I guess, of having to combat this problem, not only in the
United States, but worldwide. There are some particularly high
escalation rates in some of our foreign stations, for example: In Spain
and Australia, we are facing inflation factors on the order of 15-20
percent per year.
We are also facing certain areas of high escalation in the United
States, particularly Alaska, where, as you might expect, the influence
of the construction of the pipeline is being felt. Consequently, we are
experiencing quite an inflation factor increase in Alaska, as well as
places such as our Goldstone station.
On a total basis we expect this to be about 6.5 percent above
fiscal year 1976 operations.
Mr. WYDLER. What do those figures represent? What does 25 per-
cent mean? Is that the inflation rate in Alaska, or what?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. That is the inflation we are experiencing in
terms of our operation contract, and in that sense reflects the basic
inflation rate in the State. These are unionized stations, and these
increases represent the wages paid in Alaska for this kind of operation.
Chairman FUQUA. There has been a 25-percent increase in wages?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes, in Alaska.
Chairman FUQUA. For 1 year?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes, the first year of a 2-year contract.
Mr. WYDLER. I am still not clear. For example, you say the last
chart showed certain rates for-there it is-the span for Australia
has 15-20 percent. Is that the national inflation figure?
Mr. TRTJSZYNSKI. That is both ours and the national. The stations
are operated in those countries by host-country contractor personnel
and our increases reflect the average inflation in those countries.
Mr. WYDLER. That is logical, but I am asking you: Is that a
factual? For instance, I would doubt that Alaska has suffered a
25-percent inflation increase in the last year. If that is their inflation
area increase in the State of Alaska-it may be so, but I would be~
very surprised if it were true.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. This represents the actual increase in our par-
ticular operations contract, Mr. Wydler.
Mr. WYDLER. That is what I am trying to find out. Which is it
now? Are we talking here about the amount of the increase in infla-
tion in the area, or the amount of your inflation? And, of course, you
cannot justify a budget by saying your prices went up a lot, because
that is what we are here to try to stop from happening.
You cannot lift yourself up by your bootstraps by saying "We need
more money because we are spending more money." I mean, that
doesn't make any sense at all. What you have got to do is tell me
what those figures are. Is that the rate in that area that you have to
deal with, or is this just your problem? I still don't understand.
I cannot believe that Alaska's inflationary rate was 25 percent
last year.
Mr. DowNING. Do you know what they are paying truckdrivers
in Alaska? $1,500 a week.
Mr. WYDLER. I understand that. But I am still saying I would
like to know, when people give you figures; what they mean. I still
don't know what those figures mean.
PAGENO="0628"
626
When you write, "Alaska: 25 percent", what does that mean?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKL That percentage, Mr. Wydler, is the actual per-
centage increase due to escalation that we have faced, that we are
facing in our operations contract. It is an actual number and what is
representative of the increase that is existing in the particular area.
Mr. WYDLER. Increase for what? Cost of food?
Mr. ThUSZYNSKI. Yes, indeed. The cost of food, the cost of labor
and other items. There have been large increases-very large in-
creases-in the rates of pay in Alaska, generated by the requirements
on the pipeline, in all categories of labor. The increases in labor rates
are arrived at by union and contractor negotiations and are based upon
a salary survey in the area. And in that sense are quite related to the
increase in escalation in the area.
Mr. WYDLER. Your civil service rates haven't gone up like that.
They are controlled by a different standard, aren't they?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes, Mr. Wydler, they are since these stations
are operated by contracted personnel.
Mr. WYDLER. Under some sort of agreement, though, aren't they?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. These increases are a result of union agreements.
Mr. WDYLER. And you gave the workers in Alaska a 25-percent
increase last year, that work on your installations?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. This was the result of a union contractor negotia-
tion, yes.
Mr. WYDLER. OK.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. And, again, these are not unique increases to the
NASA station. They represent comparabilities to increases in similar
labor categories in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Mr. WYDLER. And Goldstone? You gave the workers at Goldstone
a 13-percent increase last year? Is that what that chart indicates?
Mr. TRTJSZYNSKI. That is what that chart indicates, yes. Again, it
is a matter of increases that are based on wage surveys and compara-
bility with area wage rates.
Mr. WYDLER. Is each year your contract with the operators of these
bases subject to whatever the labor negotiations are? I mean, in other
words, you have to pay whatever they agree to? Is that the idea?
Are you operating these stations yourself, or are they being done under
the contract, or what?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. These are done under contracts. There is an
operations contractor, and these wage negotiations go on periodically.
As you know, the union agreements last for certain periods of time,
2 or 3 years.
Mr. WYDLER. You are not involved in those negotiations. What you
are involved in is negotiations for the contractor. What does that
provide?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. The contractor does carry out the negotiations
through the union structure for these kinds of rates.
Mr. WYDLER. Your agreement with the contractor is: Whatever
you settle with the unions for, we pay? Is that it?
PAGENO="0629"
627
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Mr. Wydler, we have to exercise our proper
management responsibilities, and are in touch with our operations
contractor in all of these situations.
We do have a choice. We can accept a strike at a station, and we
have, in fact, gone into these kinds of modes. These are normal
management considerations.
Mr. WYDLER. What I am still trying to drive at is: If I was a union
negotiator, and I realized that whatever arrangement was made by
the company I worked for was going to be picked up automatically
by NASA, and paid, brother, I would iusist on tremendous increases,
because I could realize there is no limit practically to what we could
ask for here. The sky's the limit.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Mr. Wydler, you are exactly right. But I aseurs
you, we do not settle, nor does our operations contractor settle, for
any initial suggestion on the part of wage increases.
These increases are negotiated, and there is a lot of negotiation
that goes on. I might say, the initial suggestion on their part is always
simply higher than the final numbers. This does not represent some
lack of negotiation effort, I can assure you.
Mr. WYDLER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. I would like to go on to a discussion of our track-
ing and data relay satellite activity as indicated on the next chart-
T76-2110.
TRACKING El' DATA RELAY SATELLITE SYSTEM
TDRSS
* SYSTEM CONCEPT
* PROCUREMENT APPROACH
* CURRENT STATUS
* LEASE/PURCHASE COMPARISON
NASA HQ TC 76-2110(1)
2.2-76
I would like to talk about four areas: the system concept; our
procurement approach; the current status of our procurement; and
the methodology of the lease versus purchase analysis.
The next chart illustrates the TDRSS-T74-4020-systems
PAGENO="0630"
628
concept. Bascially it is a system to provide a tracking and data
relay service through the use of two satellites in synchronous orbit
transmitting information to one ground station in the United States.
On this chart-T75-15626-shown, I have the ground network as
PAGENO="0631"
G29
it will appear in the TDRSS time period. This represents the number
of land stations that will remain at the time the tracking and data
relay satellite system services become available.
As you recall, we have~ been pursuing the acquisition of TDRSS
services through a leased service arrangement, and our plan is to enter
into a long-term contract to provide this service. As noted on this
TRACKING Et DATA RELAY SATELLITE SYSTEM (TDRSS)
PLANNED PROCUREMENT APPROACH
* ENTER INTO LONG-TERM CONTRACT WITH COMMUNICATIONS CARRIER
TO~ PROVIDE TDRSS SERVICE
*1O YEARS SERVICE PERIOD
`CONTRACTOR TO DEVELOP, I MPLEMENT, AND OPERATE
THE SYSTEM TO PROVIDE SERVICE TO NASA
`SERVICE TO BEGIN JANUARY 1980
. PAYMENTS BEGIN WHEN SERVICE BEGINS
NASA HO TC 76-2107 (1)
2-2-76
PAGENO="0632"
630
chart-T76-2 107-the service period is 10 years.
The contractor would develop, implement, and operate the system
to provide 10 years of service. Our schedule calls for service to
begin early in January, 1980, and payments, of course, would begin
when service begins.
The next chart-T76-2 106-shows the status of our procurement
STATUS
* TWO PROPOSALS FOR TDRSS SERVICE RECEIVED - JANUARY 15, 1976
* RCA GLOBCOM AND WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH CO.
*TECHNICAL DESIGN AND FIXED PRICE PROPOSALS
* PROPOSALS BEING EVALUATED AT GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
*SELECTION BY MID 1976
* CONTRACT AWARD - LATE 1976
* DURING THIS COMPETITIVE EVALUATION PHASE, CONTRACTORS
PROPOSAL DATA CANNOT BE RELEASED
*COSTS
*TECHN I CAL
*OTHER PROPRIETARY INFORMATION
NASA HO IC 76-2106(1)
2-2-76
activities. We have now received two proposals for providing TDRSS
service on the 15th of January. You will recall that there are two
teams involved in this competition, one RCA Globcom, the other
Western Union Telegraph Co.
The proposals provided a technical design and fixed price cost
proposals for the service period. The proposals are currently being
evaluated at Goddard Space Flight Center and will proceed for some
time. We expect contractor selection to occur about the middle of
this calendar year, leading to a contract award later this year.
Since we are in this competitive mode, we are not able to discuss
the proposal data in terms of actual cost, detailed technical configura-
tion of the system, or other proprietary information.
PAGENO="0633"
6~31
CONTENT OF CONTRACTOR PROPOSALS
* PROPOSALS PROVIDE CONTRACTOR LEASED SERVICE COSTS
*TECHNICAL DESIGN DETAILS
* HARDWARE DETAILS AND COSTS IDENTIFIED AT
SUBSYSTEM LEVEL
*IN SHARED SYSTEM APPROACH HARDWARE RELATED
TO THE NON-TDRSS COMMERCIAL SERVICE IDENTIFIED
NASA HQ T76-2128 (1)
2-4-76
CONTENT OF CONTRACTOR PROPOSALS (CON'T)
* CONTENT PERMITS IDENTIFICATION OF EQUIVALENT
PURCHASED SYSTEM
*LEASED SERVICE SYSTEM DESIGNED TO DETAILED NASA
TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION
*PURCHASED SYSTEM WOULD BE BASED ON SAME NASA
PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION
*SAME BASIC HARDWARE SYSTEMS WOULD BE
- REQUIRED
*COSTS IDENTIFIED WOULD BE APPLICABLE TO
EQUIVALENT PURCHASED SYSTEM
The next two charts-T 76-2 128 and 2127-list the content of the
contractors proposals in terms of the kinds of detail that we requested
and that was provided I would like to review this part of it with you
The proposals received from the contractors, of course, provide
the lease service cost. In addition, they provided detailed technical
design where the hardware and costs were identified at detailed
subsystem levels, and to the extent that the system is shared, the
hardware related to the non-TDRSS commercial service was also
identified. /
PAGENO="0634"
632
Proceeding further then, with this information in the proposals
it does allow identification of an equivalent purchased system The
leased service was designed to a very detailed NASA technical per-
formance specification The purchased system, if we were to proceed
with one, would be based on the same performance specification
Accordingly, the same basic hardware systems would be required,
and the costs identified, in general, would be applicable to an equiv-
alent purchased system
PROCEDURES FOR LEASE VS PURCHASE ANALYSIS
* LEASE VS PURCHASE COMPARISON USES WIDELY ACCEPTED
CONVENTIONAL ECONOMI C ANALYSIS TECHN IQUES
* TECHNIQUES APPLIED
* USING CONTRACTOR PROPOSAL DATA
* ESTABLISH TOTAL COST OF LEASE APPROACH
* INCLUDE COST OF NASA CIVIL SERVICE STAFF
FOR CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
* ESTABLISH TOTAL COST OF PURCHASED SYSTEM APPROACH
* INCLUDE COST OF NASA CIVIL SERVICE STAFF
FOR CONTRACT AND TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT
* FOR SHARED SYSTEM, REMOVE COSTS RELATED
TO COMMERCIAL SERVICE
NASA HO TC 76-2114(1)
PAGENO="0635"
633
* PROCEDURES FOR LEASE VS PURCHASE
ANALYSIS (CON'T)
* IN BOTH LEASE AND PURCHASE APPROACH, EXPRESS COSTS THROUGH
LEASE TIME PERIOD IN CONSTANT DOLLARS
*PROVIDE COMMON BASE FOR COMPARISON
* IN EACH APPROACH, REMOVE FEDERAL INCOME TAXES
* GIVES NET COST TO GOVERNMENT
* FOLLOWS STANDARD GOVERNMENT PROCEDURES FOR CONDUCTING
LEASE VERSUS PURCHASE ANALYSIS
** IN EACH APPROACH, DETERMINE PRESENT VALUE OF TOTAL COSTS
* THROUGH LEASE PERIOD
*PROVIDES A PROPER ECONOMIC COMPARISON OF COMPETING
APPROACHES HAVING GREATLY DIFFERENT YEAR BY YEAR
COST STREAMS
* COMPARE TOTAL COSTS OF EACH APPROACH
The next two charts-T 76-2114 and 2129-outline the methodology
of how we conducted our lease versus purchase analysis. We used
techniques that are in wide use, in government and industry. They
are not unique to the TDRSS system. We used standard lease versus
purchase comparison techniques.
The techniques we applied were as follows: Using the contractor
proposal data, we, of course, established a total cost of the lease
approach. And by "total," I mean including other costs, such as the
cost of NASA's civil service staff that would be required in the
management of the contract for the lease approach.
Likewise, we established a total cost of a purchase system approach,
again including the necessary number of NASA civil service staff
for contract and technical management. In the case of a shared
system, we removed those costs related to any commercial service
that might also be included.
In both the lease and purchase approach, to provide a common
basis for comparison purposes, we expressed the costs through the
lease time period in constant dollars. This removes the differing
effects of estimates of inflation in each proposal.
PAGENO="0636"
634
In each approach, we also removed Federal income taxes to provide
a net cost to the Government as the basis for comparison. This step
again follows standard procedures for conducting these kinds of
analysis.
Finally, in each approach, we determined the present value of the
total cost of the lease period in order to derive a proper economic
comparison of two competing approaches with greatly different cost
streams over time.
And, finally, of course, we compared the total cost of each approach
to get the lease purchase comparison. This then is the technique we
used in conducting our lease purchase analysis.
The next chart-T76--2 126-shows the results of this analysis. - As
LEASE VERSUS PURCHASE COMPARISON
*FOREGOING PROCEDURES HAVE BEENAPPLIED TO DETERMINE LEASE
VS PURCHASE COMPARISON
*BECAUSE OF COMPETITIVE CONFIDENTIAL NATURE OF CONTRACTORS'
COST DATA PRIOR TO FINAL SELECTION,
*COMPARISON IS PRESENTED IN TERMS OF
LEASE-TO-PURCHASE COST RATIO
* RESULTS:
*COMPOSITE RATIO 4- = .98
*ASSESSMENT
*LEASE APPROACH CONTINUES TO BE VIABLE
NASA HQ T76.2126 (1)
2 4-76
we mentioned, we cannot provide the results in terms of specific cost
information. Therefore, we are providing a comparison in terms of a
lease versus purchase cost ratio.
The result we have come up with is a composite ratio. The composite
ratio, lease to purchase, is 0.98, indicating a slight amount in favor
of a leased approach.
Our assessment continues to be that the lease approach is viable
and we would pursue this approach.
PAGENO="0637"
635
SUMMARY OF NEAR-TERM TDRSS ACTIVITIES
*COMPLETE EVALUATION AND PROCEED WITH CONTRACTOR SELECTION
*NASA REVIEW FiNAL RESULTS WITH COMMITTEE BEFORE AWARD OF
CONTRACT
*REQUEST CONTINUATION OF EXISTING LEGISLATIVE LANGUAGE
IN FY 1977 AUTHORIZATION BILL
NASA HQTC76-2118 (1)
2-2-76
A summary of our near term activities is shown on the next chart-
T76-2118. We plan to complete the evaluation and proceed with a
selection. And as we indicated in previous testimony, we plan to
review the final results with the committee before final award of an
actual contract. This year, we are requesting continuation of the
existing legislative language in the fiscal year 1977 authorization bill.
The last chart-T76-21 13-summarizes my presentatioh. We
T&DA PROGRAM SUMMARY
* WORKLOAD ON NETWORK REMAINS HIGH
* ONGOING
* NEWAPPROVEDMISSIONS
* ESCALATiON MAJOR PROBLEM
* PARTI CULARLY AT OVERSEAS LOCATIONS
* TDRSS ACTIVITiES PROCEEDING
* LEASE APPROACH VIABLE
* NASAHQTC76-2113(1)
2.2-76
PAGENO="0638"
636
indicated that we have a continuing heavy workload on the network,
while at the same time are preparing for new missions. We have
noted that we have a major escalation problem, particularly at over-
seas locations. Also, we are proceeding with our TDRSS activities,
and the lease approach continues to appear viable.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my summary presentation. Thank
you.
Chairman FUQUA. Thank you, Mr. Truszynski.
You are requesting $206.8 million for operations in the fiscal year
1977 budget. Does this reflect inflation only, or is that some increased
costs that you have incurred, or an expansion of activities?
Mr. TETJSZYNSKI. This represents a minor increase in support activity,
and essentially is all related to inflation.
Chairman FUQUA. What was the estimated value of the closing of
the Madagascar station?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. At the time it closed, we were operating about
a $3.5 million level.
Chairman FUQUA. So you would save about that much then?
That would be an additional savings you would make?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Mr. Fuqua, that saving was largely experienced
in fiscal year 1976.
Chairman FUQUA. That would be an obligation that you would not
have to incur this year.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. I should point out that we were required to
replace that capability through increased use of our tracking ship
and offloading the workload to other network stations.
Chairman FUQUA. Were there any cost savings then?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. The net effect was actually slightly more ex-
pensive. The Vanguard ship, as you know, is an expensive facility. In
that sense, we were required to increase other operations as a result
of the loss of that station.
Chairman FUQUA. In the international launches, are you recouping
your tracking and data costs from those? Or, is that computed into the
cost?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes, we are, Mr. FUQUA. Where we support
a wholly owned international or commercial vehicle, we get reimbursed
for that effort. And that amount of reimbursement is netted out of
our budget.
Chairman FUQUA. Mr. Downing.
Mr. DOWNING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
You show a cost ratio of 0.98 percent between lease and purchase
of the tracking and data satellite system. What does that mean?
Mr. TRU5zYN5KI. That means, in comparing the cost of getting this
service through a leased approach as opposed to building this system
and operating it by the Government, the cost of the service through
a leased approach is essentially the same as that if we were to build
it and operate it through the Government.
Mr. DOWNING. Will NASA be prepared to provide a detailed cost
anslysis at the completion of the competition and prior to the award
of any contract?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes, we will, Mr. Downing.
* Mr. DOWNING. Competitive bidding is still the preferred route
over cost plus approach, is it not?
PAGENO="0639"
~37
Mr. TRTJSZYNSKI. We think there is a place for competitive bidding
of fixed price approaches, Mr. Downing. And in this particular in-
stance, we requested a fixed price proposal for the tracking and data
relay system services.
Mr. DOWNING. And the company itself will absorb the R. & D. costs?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Initially, yes. In this kind of arrangement, the
company would provide the funds for development and operation
of the system, to provide the service to NASA.
Chairman FTJQUA. You said there was a fixed fee?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Fixed price lease.
Chairman FUQUA. For the whole 10-year period?
Mr. TRTJSZYNSKI. Yes.
Chairman FUQTJA. They will have escalation clauses in it, like you
are talking about on your 25-percent increase in Alaska, and 13 percent
at Goldstone? Will this have increases of that magnitude?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Mr. Fuqua, for a contract of this time period,
we would have to include escalation clauses, whereby escalation
effects. would be negotiated year by year so as to get a real measure
of the actual escalation.
Chairman FUQUA. Are you including that in your factor of 0.98?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes, we are in that effect would be about the same
in either approach.
Chairman FUQEJA. All right.
Mr. DOWNING. Only two companies are competing for this bid?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes, Mr. Downing. We did go out on a com-
petitive procurement and two teams formed and decided to bid on it.
As you recall, this is a request for a service and, in that sense, gen-
erally, you would expect the teams formed to be a communications
carrier and a technical satellite construction firm. These are the
teams that are formed.
Mr. DOWNING. Why do you think only two companies would agree
to take this project?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Mr. Downing, we wondered about that. I think
it gets directly down to the particular business activity of the momentS
in the various companies. I think it is a matter of their activities, such
as whether they have enough technical people to take on yet another
fairly big R. & D. job. I know personally that that was a consideration
in one of the companies. I think it is primarily that type of con-
sideration.
Mr. WYDLER. Would the gentleman yield to me?
Mr. DOWNING. Yes, Mr. Wydler.
Mr. WYDLER. Specifically, why didn't A.T. & T. bid for this? It
seems this would be something, I would think, they would be inter-
ested in. -
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. All I can report, Mr. Wydler, is their sort of
response. They did indicate that a large amount of their resources in
this time period were required elsewhere, and they chose not to put
them into this particular program.
Mr. WYDLER. I mean, really, from the shared service approach, it
would seem almost ~ natural for them to have those two satellites up
there that could reach any point in the world.
Something there seems to be so appealing to me from a business
point of view, I don't know why. They must have something better.
That is the only thing I can conceive.
70-079 0 - 76 - 41
PAGENO="0640"
638
Why wasn't Comsat involved in this?
Mr TRUSZYNSKI There, again, I think it is primarily the amount
of work that the Comsat Corp. is involved in in the near term. As you
know, they are committed very heavily with several programs. They
are involved with the Aerosat program They are involved with a new
combined business venture satellite with two other companies They
are also heavily involved with the maritime satellite
I think there comes a time when one has to evaluate whether he
has enough technical resources to take on yet another job I think
these are the primary considerations involved in these decisions
Mr DOWNING I didn't realize that Western Union had this capa-
bility. Have they been in the li. & D. field to a large extent?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes, indeed, Mr. Downing. As a matter of fact,
they are one of the first operators of a communications satellite, the
Westar
Mr DOWNING Thank you very much
Mr WYDLER Let me take this page of your report, whatever you
call this one It is not numbered You talk about entering into a
long-term contract with communications carrier Does that word
"contract" mean a lease? Is that what you are talkmg about?
Mr TRUSZYNSKI Yes, it is It is a contract for a leased service
Mr WYDLER Why is it a 10-year lease?
Mr TRUSZYNSKI We chose 10 years as a proper length of time in
terms of our operations requirement, yet not to be so long that we
would be faced with obsolescence of systems that were initially
developed
It appears to us that about 10 years is a reasonable time period to
look to in terms of the kind of system you would put up initially
Mr WYDLER Are there going to be options to renew the lease at
the end of the 10-year period?
Mr TRUSZYNSKI Yes There will be options, and we would look
at that situation, of course, as we get close to the end of the contract
period
Mr WYDLER Well, but the point is you have to look at it right now
You get into the contract now You cannot look at the end of the
contract period You have to determine right now whether you are
going to have an option, and, if so, what the option is going to be,
and so forth You cannot wait until the end of the period to start
thinking about that
Mr TRUSZYNSKI We will certainly include options in the initial
contract.
Mr WYDLER Well, when you say that, you haven't negotiated
any part of this contract yet, have you? Is that a fact? I don't want
to put you on a spot as to what you are going to say or do, if it isn't
already known to the two companies that have bid. Has this been in
negotiations yet?
Mr TRU5ZYNSKI No, it hasn't, but in our request for proposals,
we included a 5-year option as a part of the basic contract
Mr WYDLER So, in other words, you would have really, in effect,
a 15-year period of the lease Is that what you are saying?
Mr. TRU5zYN5KI. That is one way to look at it, I think. Yes.
Mr. DOWNING. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. WYDLER. Yes.
PAGENO="0641"
639
Mr. DOWNING. Option extension would be a much lesser cost then,
wouldn't it?
Mr. TRTJSZYNSKI. Yes, indeed, Mr. Downing, because we would
expect-
Mr. DOWNING. Because the company would cost it out at the end
of the 10 years.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes.
Mr. WYDLER. Well, I'll tell you this: I really am not going to try-
first of all, let me say generally, I know you have been working hard
on this. And I'm not trying to be obstructive to NASA's objective,
which I fully understand is basically one of dollars, in trying to get a
program which they consider important. I think it is important to
their budget in such a way so that you don't get overwhelmed by the
cost. I am not going to try to obstruct you from that objective as long
as the Government gets a fairly reasonable deal out of the whole
proposition.
But I am concerned very much with what happens at the end of
these 10 or 15 years, because you would be literally without a system
at that point, and at the mercy of the owner of the system. That
thought kind of bothers me. Ten years seems like a long time now. It
has a way of going by, and then you are sitting there with a great big
problem on your hands.
And that is what I am very concerned with in this whole situation.
Now I have no reason to doubt the manner in which you went around
costing out these two approaches. But I am suspicious of it. I will say
that because, apparently, you have used the normal government
way of doing it, which sounds all right when you first hear it, except I,
personally, am not sure that using an approach which GSA might use
for buildings really is valid when you approach a project of this kind.
Now it may be, but it may not be, too. So I am going to ask-I'm
just going to tell you this so it won't come as any surprise. I am going
to ask the General Accounting Office to review the methodology of
what you have done here and give us some kind of an idea of whether
they really think it is valid to do it this way, which may be a perfectly
normal, proper way to do it under certain circumstances. But I am not
totally convinced, without going into every detail myself, that it is
the proper way to do it for a project of this unique kind.
So I am not doing that for any purpose of obstruction, because, if it
works out the way you say, I'll be glad that you can get this project
built and in your budget, and can handle it without having it over-
whelm you, which I understand is your basic problem.
Other than that, I have no questions, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman FUQUA. Thank you, Mr. Wydler.
Could you update us on the status of your negotiations with the
Federal Communications Commission regarding this?
Mr. TRTJSZYNSKI. Mr. Fuqua, we have always planned to interface
with the FCC at the proper time. We have had a study prepared on the
question of whether FCC would have cognizance over this system, and
we made that study available to both contractors, and also the Federal
Communications Commission.
Chairman FUQUA. Are they anticipating requiring a tariff?
Mr. TRTJSZYNSKI. Mr. Fuqua, this is not yet decided. The way this
will proceed is that, at some point soon, we will be able to present the
characteristics of this system to the FCC, and a decision will be made
at that time.
PAGENO="0642"
640
Chairman FUQUA. I assume that you are considering the impact
that, if a tariff is required, the impact that will have on the system?
Mr TRUSZYNSKI Yes, indeed
Chairman FUQUA. You are considering that?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes, we are.
Chairman FUQUA. I notice in the authorization, in one of the charts,
about the high data rate in the handling equipment, and you had
another peak year of support, Viking being one among others, and
yet, I notice no increase in funding since 1975 fiscal year
Mr TRUSZYNSKI Yes, Mr Fuqua However, as you might expect,
our systems implementation line item does vary in its internal distri-
bution So what is happening there is, as we complete systems for
projects, that funding drops off and is replaced by requirements for
new projects
It turns out that although the emphasis in our implementation line
item changes, it has remained constant on a total basis. But the em-
phasis is certainly changed in terms of equipment that is required for
wide band communications and other new capabilities.
Chairman FUQUA In the operations costs for OTDA, since they are
the same m 1975 and 1976, this year you have gone up some What was
your reason for that?
Mr TRU5zYN5KI Mr Fuqua, the change from 1975 to 1976 was
essentially constant because, as you recall, we closed some stations
The effect of those station closures was offset by the inflation factor in
that time period
We are not planning any more station closures So in 1977, we are
seeing the full effect of the inflation in operations.
Chairman FUQUA. In the advanced systems, there is a reduction in
the 1976 program of $9 2 million to a level of $8 7 million And a
level of $8 7 million is planned for this year Did you request more for
this and it was reduced by 0MB?
Mr TRUSZYNSKI In this line item, this was the amount that we
went forward to 0MB m our budget It does not represent a specific
decrease by 0MB
Chairman FUQUA You didn't request anymore then?
Mr TRUSZYNSKI Not in this area
Chairman FUQUA Could you use additional moneys in this area?
Apparently not. You didn't request them.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. No, Mr. Fuqua. I have to say we could use more.
The type of activities that we would emphasize would be our normal
progression to higher frequencies, primarily in our planetary deep
space network
Chairman FUQUA If there was a decision not to proceed with the
TDRSS, what cost would be mcurred, additional cost, to upgrade
your ground base system? And, also, would you need additional
tracking systems?
I am thinking primarily of the shuttle operation plus your other
requirements.
Mr TRTJSZYNSKI Mr Fuqua, we would require substantial increase
in our budget to upgrade the network if we were to go ahead without
the TDRSS system. Our requirement to go to a higher frequency
band because of the shuttle and spacelab data rates would require
some $50 to $60 million in implementation budget between now and
the time of the shuttle flight tests.
PAGENO="0643"
641
But I think there is an even more significant part to that question.
If we weren't to go with TD BSS, we are facing, as you might expect,
quite an increasing obsolescence factor in our network. For example,
our tracking ship was equipped in the middle sixties, and by 1980 it
will be 15 years old.
We maintain it, of course, but the point is that, to replace that
tracking ship in the 1980 time period, will represent a major capital
investment. Similarly, we are facing the same general kind of situation
in our tracking stations. We would be facing significant cost increases
were we not go to the TDRSS route.
Chairman FUQUA. One of the things I am sure is of concern to your
office in your operations is that of operating frequencies, satellite, and
increased activities. So that, going on, does NASA play a role in
determining how many operating frequencies there are, and the as-
signment of those?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes, we do. We play a fairly major role, as you
might expect, in considerations for space research frequency bands.
We participate in the World Administrative Radio Conferences that
determines the allocations. We provide a considerable amount of
technical information that allows these assignments to be made.
Once frequency bands are established, our office acts as the agency
representative in procuring the actual operating frequencies.
Chairman FUQUA. Do you foresee any problem of inadequate
amount of frequencies?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Mr. Fuqua, I think, in general, the different
requirements can be satisfied. We find that more and more the situa-
tion is one of finding ways to share frequency bands between different
services; for example space services versus ground services. This
really is the only way to try to live in this highly competitive area of
frequencies. And you find that this is the emphasis that we are taking
in trying to cope with this problem. In this sense, I think we can find
ways in which to have adequate frequency allocations.
Chairman FUQUA. With more and more operational satellites, do
you see this as a problem to interferences with radio astronomy?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. There is this consideration and it is not a new one.
It is one that has been around for some time. We continue to try to
solve that problem, and we have an active coordination structure with
the radio astronomers. We try to plan our frequencies with them.
We have two instances right now where we moved our frequencies
to prevent insipient interference with radio astronomy frequencies.
This is on the Seasat program and the prospective Landsat follow-
on program. So we do try to work on these problems before they
happen.
We had incidences in the past where we haven't quite done that.
But I think, again, we have invited the users' participation and co-
ordinated with them to try to solve those problems.
Chairman FUQUA. The funds for the systems implementation
were reduced in the fiscal year 1976 by $3.3 million. Was there any
reduction in the quality or quantity of work that was experienced?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. What we have to do in a situation like that,
Mr. Fuqua, is essentially delay the readiness stage of the new systems.
So, in that sense, yes, we face a decrease in the quality of our activity,
because it pushes closer to the launch date the time when we can check
PAGENO="0644"
642
out our. new systems. So, yes, there has been that kind of increased
risk.
Chairman FUQUA. You have the funding in the fiscal year 1977
budget that is the same as in the 1976 budget, or 1975 budget, at
this time. Is that workload in mix going to compare with what you
had in 1975 in 1977?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Yes, we think so. It represents the change in
the internal distribution of that line item. And we feel we can operate
with this level.
Chairman FUQUA. Thank you.
Mr. Frey.
Mr. FREY. No, thank you.
Chairman FUQIJA. Mr. Emery.
Mr. EMERY. No questions.
Chairman FUQUA. Mr. Downing.
Mr. DOWNING. As I understand it, you will come back to this
committee later on and present the details of the lease system vis-a-
vis the purchase system. Then this committee will make the decision
as to which course we will follow. Is that correct?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Mr. Downing, we have always agreed to come
back to the committee with the final results based on the actual
proposals, and the committee can certainly-
Mr. DOwNING. The committee would have to authorize a 10-year
lease, would it not?
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. In effect, yes, Mr. Downing. And the mechanism
we have used is the language in our authorization bill that permits
NASA to undertake this kind of contract. That is the mechanism.
Mr. Dowxixo. Thank you very much.
Chairman FUQUA. Thank you, Mr. Truszynski. We may have some
additional questions. We may want to submit them for the record.
We appreciate your indulgence with the subcommittee this morning.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Thank you.
Chairman FUQUA. I want to assure you, as Mr. Wydler and all of
us, that we certainly have no questions of impropriety or in any way to
mislead the subcommittee on the TDRSS. We do have some concerns
about it.
You have been most cooperative and I want to tell you that we
certainly appreciate your openness and candor with the subcommittee.
Mr. TRUSZYNSKI. Thank you. Mr. Fuqua.
[Witness excused.]
Chairman FUQUA. The next witness will be Mr. Arnold Frutkin,
Assistant Administrator for International Affairs.
You may want to introduce your associate for the record.
Mr. FRUTKIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to introduce Mr. Lloyd Jones, of my office, who will
assist me this morning.
Chairman FUQTJA. You may proceed.
Mr. FRUTKIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I do have a printed
statement for the record, which I would like to leave with you with
your permission.
Chairman FUQUA. We will make it part of the record.
Mr. FRUTKIN. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Frutkin appears in Volume I, Part
3. The biographical sketch of Mr. Frutkin follows:]
PAGENO="0645"
643
ARNOLD W. FRUTKIN
Arnold W. Frutkin, Assistant Administrator for International Affairs since
November 1, 1963, has spent over a decade in international scientific affairs. He
has had responsibility for NASA's programs of cooperation with foreign govern-
ments and agencies in space science and technology since September 1959, when
he was appointed Director of the Office of International Programs.
He has served with U.S. Delegations to the U.N. Committee on the Peaceful
Uses of Outer Space and as U.S. Representative to that Committee's Scientific
and Technical Subcommittee. In 1969 and 70 he was Adjunct-Professor of Inter-
national Studies, Center for Advanced International Studies, University of
Miami.
Before joining NASA, Mr. Frutkin served with the U.S. National Committee
for the International Geophysical Year (1957-1959).
Mr. Frutkin did his undergraduate and graduate work at Harvard College and
Columbia University, respectively. He is the author of "International Coopera-
tion in Space" (1965) and has contributed numerous articles and papers to journals
and other publications. Awards include the NASA Distinguished Service Medal
(1973), the NASA Exceptional Service Medal (1968), La Medaille de Vermeil
du Centre National d' Etudes Spatiales of France (1965), the Cruzerio do Sul
Medal of Brazil (1967), and the Order of Merit of the Italian Government (1972).
He is a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics
and an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
STATEMENT OP ARNOLD W. FRUTKIN, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRA..
TOR FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, NATIONAL AERONAUTICS
AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Mr. FRUTKIN. I would proceed, by advice of your staff, to speak to
the few slides I have, reviewing very quickly the background of our
international activities, the recent programs conducted and our pros-
pects for the future.
May I say the international programs we conduct are, as you know,
covered by congressional mandate expressed in the National Aero-
nautics and Space Act. We have developed a very simple set of policies
to implement these programs.
Very briefly, we evaluate foreign proposals on the basis of their
contribution to our national program.' Our collaborators then im-
plement the agreed projects on the basis of paying the costs of their
activities while we meet the cost of our own, so we do not export
dollars.
Their proposals are selected on the merits, and with this very simple
set of guidelines, we have had virtually uniform success over a period
of some 15 years.
I would like now to suggest what this approach has a~hieved in the
past years. I would like to have the first slide, if I may (slide 1).
PAGENO="0646"
644
SUMMARY OF INTERNATIONAL
COOPERATIVE PROJ ECTS
* FOREIGN CONTRIBUTIONS OF SATELLITES 8 COUNTRIES
29 SPACECRAFT
* FOREIGN EXPERIMENTS CONTRIBUTED TO NASA SPACECRAFT 9 COUNTRIES
45 EXPERIMENTS
* COOPERATIVE SOUNDING ROCKET PROJECTS \ 25 COUNTRIES
f 900 VEHICLES
* LUNAR SAMPLE ANALYSES \ 21 COUNTRIES
f 250 INVESTIGATIONS
* LANDSAT INVESTIGATIONS ~. 55 COUNTRIES
* 5 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
150 INVESTIGATIONS
NASA HO 76-2017 (1)
1.23-76
SLTDE1
This represents the major categories of activity that we have carried
out. There have been the foreign contributions of satellites that num-
ber now some 29 spacecraft that we have launched. According to the
guidelines I have just described, those satellites were paid for by `the
countries involved. Of course, we paid for the launchings.
The same thing is true of individual foreign experiments contrib-
uted for flight on our spacecraft. It is true also of the very large
foreign participation in sounding rocker projects over the whole
Earth, which gives us access to geography of particular interest for
researchers. There is a variety of other programs in which scientists
abroad have utilized the products of our space programs for researches
which contribute to the objectives of the programs involved, as in
the lunar sample case, and again in the Earth resources program.
Of course, there are other programs of this sort that I have not
listed here. These are essentially the principal activities.
May I have the next s1ft~e please? (Slide 2.)
PAGENO="0647"
645
ESTIMATED COSTS OF INTERNATIONAL
COOPERATIVE PROJECTS
* EXPENDITURES OF ALL PARTICIPANTS IN PAST AND CURRENT PROJECTS c. $1100M*
FOREIGN c. $825M
NASA c. $275M
* BENEFITS
FAVORABLE COST SHARING
REDUCTION OF NASA COSTS
RECIPROCAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR U. S. EXPERIMENTERS (c. 20)
EXPORTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES
* Excludes ASTP
NASA HQ 176-2018 (1)
1-23.76
SLIDE 2
I thought it would be interesting to you to look at the dimensions
of this program in money terms. If we compute the expenditures of
NASA and our foreign collaborators in programs already carried out,
or committed for the future, we come to something above a billion
dollars.
The foreign eomponent of the total, you can see, is roughly $825
million, whereas NASA's component is considerably less. So the bene-
fits of the program in money terms, and apart from the scientific
and technical benefits involved, give us quite clearly a very favorable
cost sharing ratio. This reflects the fact that satellites which represent
the foreign contributions generally cost several times the cost of the
launcher, which is normally our contribution.
Since these programs are evaluated on the basis of their contri-
butions to our national program, they reduce our cost for those
national programs.
We have increasingly obtained from our foreign collaborators the
opportunity to fly experiments of U.S. experimenters on their satellites.
This number, as you can see, is about 20, so far.
Then, the performance of these cooperative projects by our col-
laborators inevitably, involves them in certain purchases of goods and
services from the United States. So there is, in effect, a reverse of flow
of dollars into the country.
Chairman FUQUA. Arnold, is that a cumulative figure?
Mr. FRUTKIN. That is a cumulative figure.
Chairman FUQUA. For what time frame?
PAGENO="0648"
646
Mr FRUTKIN From the effective beginnings of our international
activities in the early sixties and continuing through the runout cost
of presently committed programs.
May I have the next slide, please? (Slide 3)
NASA INTERNATIONAL
PROGRAM MILESTONES - 1975
* APOLLO SOYUZ TEST PROJECT COMPLETED
* FOUR U S BIOLOGICAL. EXPERIMENTS FLOWN ON COSMOS 782
* INDIAN SATELLITE INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION EXPERIMENT (SITE) INAUGURATED
* SPACELAB PROJECT WITH EUROPE PROGRESSED ON SCHEDULE
* LANDSAT COST SHARING INITIATED
* CANADIAN COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY SATELLITE (CTS) LAUNCH READIED
* RMS AGREEMENT REACHED
* HELlOS GERMAN SOLAR PROBE REACHED PERIrIELION 2nd LAUNCH READIED
* ARIES
* NEW SAN MARCO PROJECT AGREED
* SIX INTERNATIONAL REIMBURSABLE LAUNCHINGS CARRIED OUT
NASA HQ 76 2019 (1)
1 23-76
SLIDE ~
We were asked to give you a quick review of the most recent pro-
grams. I don't want to take time to cover all of these items, but several
of them are worth some mention. I think most of you gentlemen are
most familiar with the Apollo Soyuz project I should say only that
this worked out with complete success from the point of view of an
international cooperative effort
Here we were working with a country whose interest in the world
doesn't always square with our own, a country which is often not the
easiest one to work with, but, nevertheless, very far-reaching com-
mitments were made for this project and all were completed
satisfactorily
There were intangible benefits which I won't attempt to evaluate,
but I think it is sufficient to say that the demands of the project
brought personnel on both sides together on a very wide scale and
produced very favorable treatment for the United States in the
Soviet press during the project and in its aftermath
I should mention also that we did have a first in 1975 with the
flight of four U S biological experiments on Cosmos 782 That flight
has been completed Our experimental materials have been returned
to us We can say that that has been a most successful relationship
PAGENO="0649"
647
Since we do not have biological programs in being, or in early
prospect, this represents an opportunity for us that we would not
otherwise have.
And we expect that we will be following up with some further flights
on Soviet spacecraft.
Mr. FREY. We saw those out at Ames, I guess, when they were
putting them together. They were pretty simple things, just sort of a
door opener than, the way you looked at it, to see if it could work.
Mr. FRUTKIN. Yes; that's true. One of the reasons for the sim~
plicity of the experiments was that the arrangement was made only
very shortly before the flight. There was no time. to do anything very
complex.
There was some merit in testing the relationship with fairly simple
experiments. We now have the opportunity to fly on another Soviet
spacecraft. I believe that effort will be more ambitious.
Mr. FREY. Thank you.
Mr. FRUTKIN. Another landmark in the year was the inauguration
of the so-called site experiment in India. You will recall this is the use
of ATS-6 for the broadcasting of Indian TV programs to some 5,000
Indian villages.
I went out there on August 1 for the inauguration and visited a
number of villages to observe the implementation program. It is an
extraordinarily successful program with enormous implications of a
complex kind.
Our early reports of results from this program indicate some quite
interesting things. For one thing, attendance in the schools which are
served by the receivers in this program has gone up some 30 percent.
Second, the enthusiasm with which the villagers received this un-
precedented look into the outside world has continued very high. There
has been no falling off and no indication that there is a novelty syn-
drôme here.
There have been other social effects which will be reported on
fully by teams that are out in the villages. I would like to comment on
the fifth item in that `list: The initiation of Landsat cost sharing.
We view this as an innovation in our international relationships.
As I indicated, we have pursued cooperative programs without ex-
change of funds in the past.
However, in the case of the Earth resources program, it is apparent
that, even during the experimental period, we are conveying benefits
of a tangible kind to other countries which have built ground stations
for the direct reception of Landsat data. Some six countries have
agreed to build such stations.
Our original motivation in entering into such agreements was that
we were really negotiating insurance for foreign coverage in event
our tape recorders failed in the satellites.
When we take into consideration the benefits conveyed and the real
value represented by them, we felt it appropriate to initiate cost-
sharing. We have done that on a token basis.
In our agreements we included an option to charge the stations a
fee for access to the satellites. Last December we gave formal notice
that we were taking up that option and would begin with a token fee
of $200,000 per year per station.
PAGENO="0650"
648
The reception of that action is one that we will have to observe
very carefully. The first payments are due at the end of the third quar-
ter of this calendar year. We expect it will go well.
A number of the station operators abroad have told us that they
regard this action as entirely a fair and proper one The only problem
or concern that one should bear in mind is that we are still in an ex-
perimental period, and the hard commerical values of the Landsat
program are still to be assessed
I would like to mention the RMS agreement, which represents the
agreement with Canada under which they will provide the remote
manipulator system for the Shuttle. That agreement was signed last
year and represents upward of $30 million that the Canadians will
opend for an RMS system and a ground simulator for the design and
sperational traimng for the use of the RMS with the Shuttle
The terms are similar to those established for the space lab agree-
ment with the European Space Agency
Finally, I would mention the Anes program, simply because it is a
different type of effort on our part In this case there was an oppor-
tunity for us to modify a Minuteman stage, surplus Minuteman stage,
for sounding rocket use.
The Minuteman offers quite extraordinary sounding rocket cap-
abilities, as against the Aerobee, for example. You get nearly double
the altitude, and instead of about 4 minutes of observing time, you
get 10 minutes of observing time and you can carry a very much
larger payload.
The funding was simply not available here for this modification
We determined there was strong interest in Germany for a rocket with
this capability, and the result was a shared funding of the cost of
modifying the stage
That project is essentially completed and most satisfactorily
May I go to the next slide, please? (slide 4)
PAGENO="0651"
649
NEXT STEPS IN NASA'S
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM
* FUTURE US/USSR COOPERATION
* SPACELAB/SHUTTLE USE PLANNING
* COOPERATIVE PROJECTS UNDER STUDY
* INFRARED ASTRONOMY SATELLITE (NETHERLANDS)
* INTERNATIONAL X-RAY EXPLORER (UK)
* GAMMA RAY EXPERIMENT (GERMANY)
* ACTIVE MAGNETOSPHERE PARTICLE TRACER EXPERIMENT (GERMANY)
* SPACE TELESCOPE (ESA)
* OUT-OF-THE ECLIPTIC PROBE (ESA)
* LANDSAT GROUND STATION NETWORK EMERGING
NASA HQ 176-2020 (1)
1-23-76
SLIDE 4
In this slide I have listed those prospects for next steps inter-
nationally which have not yet been resolved. I have not given any
attention here to those projects which are in train under existing
agreements.
For example, there is ISEE, the so-called mother-daughter program.
which would involve three satellites, one provided by Europe; Tiros-
N, in which the French are providing the data collection system and
the British a temperature sounding system, not only for the experi-
mental program, but for a future operational program. That, too,
is a first-in other words, continuing contributions from foreign
governments through instrumentation provided for operational
systems.
Then there is IUE, the ultraviolet explorer. Those are continuing
programs which I think you have heard testimony on. I won't repeat
anything about more them except there is substantial international
participation. -
But, turning to the less certain prospects, of course, the future of
cooperation with the Soviet Union is very much on our minds. We
should have liked to have defined a follow-on project to Apollo-
Soyuz before the Apollo-Soyuz program itself was completed.
The Soviets looked at it somewhat differently. They wished to
complete that project before committing to a follow-on. We did succeed
in discussing the matter quite frankly with them in May and did find a
strong feeling, sharing ours, that the dynamics of this cooperation
should be preserved.
PAGENO="0652"
650
There is every reason to believe that what we will do here is build
on the capabilities developed in Apollo-Soyuz and look to applying
it in future programs involving the Shuttle and the Salyut, or whatever
system the Soviets are flying in that time period.
We should be having a formal meeting with the Soviets to begin the
definition of such a program in a matter of weeks.
With regard to the Spacelab, this, of course, is a key element in our
international work, representing a $500 million European contribution
in current dollars to the Shuttle program.
The emphasis for the future is on how we will use Spacelab. Since
the Europeans have built it, or are building it, they have considerable
interest in its use. We had in Canada yesterday a NASA team which
spent a full day before some 60 to 70 Canadian Government officials
explaining the operational requirements for use of the Spacela.b and
Shuttle as well as our thinking on the terms and conditions of that use.
I believe we will be working extensively with Europe in the same
way. The idea, of course, is to permit the widest access to Spacelab and
Shuttle as in everybody's interest.
It is in our interest to attract customers. It is in other countries'
interest to be able to use this unique facility.
I will mention just a few of the other these cooperative projects
under study. I should say they have been defined as a result of our
standard announcements of flight opportunities, which we circulate
very widely.
Some 20 of the responses have been selected for careful study.
Some of the leaders in this "competition" are the following. The
infrared astronomy satellite would be built on the very considerable
expertise the Netherlands developed in connection with the cooperative
ANS satellite, successfully launched over a year ago. This satellite
would be the first infrared satellite to do a whole sky survey in infra-
red from space.
I should mention next the space telescope. Here, the Congress itself
has urged us formally to develop international contributions to the
space telescope program. We have been in discussions with the Euro-
pean Space Agency for over 3 years on this subject, and have defined
possibilities, not yet committed, according to which ESA would
provide detectors for the telescope and a faint object camera.
They would also contribute to operations on the ground, the cost of
them, and participate in the viewing program. The prospect here is
for something upward of 10 percent of the total cost.
It would be desirable, of course, to increase that contribution, but
we are limited fundamentally by the funding available in Europe.
Finally, I *should say another word about the Landsat ground
station network. I mentioned that six countries have committed to
Landsat ground station for direct reception of data: Canada, Brazil,
and Italy are now operating. Iran, Zaire, and Chile have agreed to
establish stations in Chile, and are in the process of doing that.
Africa, then, would have virtually complete coverage. All of the
African countries will be able to receive Landsat data through one or
the other of the stations that has been, or will be, established.
PAGENO="0653"
6~51
This would bring about a regional character for worldwide participa-.
tion in Landsat data use. It has proven very attractive to the Outer
Space Committee and the United Nations, which have recognized
this program and commended it to the attention of other countries
for their participation.
Mr. FREY. Could I just stop you for a moment?
I have been up to those meetings a few times. And with all due
respect, I don't think anyone ever resolves anything.
Mr. FRUTKIN. Well, I would be happy to express my view of that
situation up there, Mr. Frey.
Mr. Fiu~y. Is it better than I think? I hope.
Mr. FRUTKIN. I think it's much better than meets the eye.
Mr. FREY. That's good. It has to be, actually.
Mr. FRUTKIN. I understand the reaction one would get up there.
I suppose that is obvious in the actions of others who perform duty
up at the U.N.
But let me say just a few things that may be helpful. The problem
is entirely one that arises from a very few nations' view, that is, less
than a handful ~of nations' viewpoint, that the ultimate dissemination
of Landsat data of a given country should not be carried on without
permission of that country.
Although. that issue has continued under discussion for some 10
years, this viewpoint has never succeeded in attracting any substan-
tial support. The countries which have been identified with that point
of view have turned over rather rapidly, so that the countries which
originally expressed it are no longer doing so. They are now partici-
pants with us in an open program and have committed to open
handling of data in agreements with us.
So this means that the ranks of those countries taking that view
change as the countries are educated to the realities of the situation.
Now, in this last session of the United Nations, there was a unani-
mous action by the General Assembly approving a report of the Outer
Space Committee that, as I said, recognize the Landsat program,
and urges countries to participate in it through direct reception of
data.
The committee identified three objectives of such a program. One
of them was the full and open disclosure of data without discrimina-
tion. The interesting thing is that over 40 countries, including all of
the countries that had been objecting to the open dissemination of
data, cosponsored that resolution. And the resolution was passed
without objection in the General Assembly.
So you are quite right in thinking it is a. slightly irrational world
out there, Mr. Frey.
Mr. FREY. They're slower than we are.
Mr. FRUTKIN. That's right. Actually the foreign interest in Land-
sat exceeds, I think, the domestic interest in Landsat.
Now may I go to the next slide, please?
PAGENO="0654"
652
CONTRIBUTION OF SPACE ACTIVITIES
TO U. S. BALANCE OF PAYMENTS
TOTAL ESTIMATE 1968 - 1978 $1,425 MILLION
BASED ON -
* JAPANESE PURCHASES 250M
* BRAZILIAN, BRiTISH, CANADIAN, INDONESIAN, 860M
IRANIAN, INTELSAT, AND NATO-RELATED PURCHASES
* OTHER REIMBURSABLE LAUNCHINGS 150M
EARTH RESOURCES 45M
* REVERSE DOLLAR FLOW GENERATED BY COOPERATIVE 120M
PROJECTS
CURRENT ESTIMATED RATE 175M
NASA HQ 76-2094 (1)
1-30-76
SLIDE 5
I thought it might be useful in closing these brief remarks on our
activities to note their contribution to the U.S. bala~ice of payments.
Here we are not talking about the total that we and our collaborators
spend on programs. We are talking about the amount of money that
comes into this country, as a consequence of foreign space programs,
our own cooperative programs, reimbursable launchings, et cetera.
We have identified only those expenditures which we can find. We
are not estimating those that we connot identify. So I consider this a
rather conservative estimate.
It is necess~irily crude but I am confident that it is conservative.
In this period 1968-78 we believe the income to the United States
is about $1Y2 billion.
I have indicated some of the principal sources of that income. The
Japanese purchases, for example, represent three programs, three
satellite programs, which have been contracted for in this country with
American firms, the satellites to be launched on a fully-reimbursable
basis by us. And, of course, it includes also the expenditures the Jap-
anese are making in this country with American firms assisting them in
the development of the Japanese launch vehicles.
The second item there represents for the. most part domestic com-
munications satellite programs that are being generated throughout
the world and supported largely through foreign purchases from this
country.
I list other reimbursable launchings there. This means reimbursable
launchings in addition to those that are incorporated in the two
previous items. The total is roughly half a billion dollars in this
1 0-year period, coming into the United States for reimbursable
launchings f or foreign account.
PAGENO="0655"
f~53
Earty resources is a separate item and should have had a "bullet"
before it. The Landsat program that I mentioned is generating de-
mands for ground station, terminal equipment antenna, processing
equipment, and so on.
Then, of course, I indicated that the cooperative, programs also
generate requirements for purchases for different services in this
country.
The current estimated rate, we believe, is about $175 million a year
coming in.
Chairman FUQUA. Arnold have you ever shown that to 0MB?
Mr. FRUTKIN. Yes; it has been shown to 0MB. Some interest has
also been expressed in the press. Aviation Week and Business Week,
for example, covered this picture very, very well, I think. And I do
believe that this is appreciated. It is not comparable to the income
generated, for example, by military sales. But on the other hand, it is
relatively benign and I think positive in every respect.
Just a final word on these reimbursable launchings, because they
are, I think, an interesting factor. Could I see the last slide, please?
INTERNATIONAL REIMBURSABLE LAUNCHES
1965-74 1975 1976 1977 1978-80
INTELSAT 19 3 2 2 O+4
ESA 5. 1 4 0+3*
U.K. 5 1
NATO 2 2 1
CANADA 2 1 1
FR/FRG I 1
FRG 1
JAPAN 2 1
INDONESIA 1 1
BRAZIL 2+1*
ITALY 1
ARAB TELECOM UNION 0+2*
TOTAL 35 6 5 5+10*
* TENTATIVE LAUNCHING PLANS
NASA HQ 76-2022 (1)
1-23-76
SLIDE 6
We thought you might be interested to see where these reimbursable
launchings come from abroad. The last column, of course, is not all
committed but is in good prospect. I daresay that there will be more
launchings to foreign account in that period. They have simply not
materialized yet.
70-079 0 - 76 - 42
PAGENO="0656"
654
Now that benefit is quite a bit broader than simply the dollar inflow.
For one thing, the requirement for U.S. launch vehicles is considerably
increased by this listing.
This means that our own companies have a bigger pipeline and a
more consistent and steady pipeline to work with. The result is also
to reduce the unit cost for the launchings that we require.
So, all in all, it-
Mr. FREY. Could I ask you something on that, too?
When we get reimbursed on that, we have never put any factor in
for R. & D. have we?
Mr. FRUTKIN. We never did until the recent upgrading in quality
assurance for the Delta program. The cost of that effort is being
reflected in the current rate for Delta launchings.
Mr. FREY. Are we going to keep the same base for the future now,
or is there any different way we are going to handle the reimbursement
in the future, any new way of doing it?
Mr. FRUTKIN. When we think of the Shuttle, we are thinking of
some improvements in the approach. Now those are not finalized yet
so they are entirely tentative.
But some of the thinking would involve giving greater assurance of
the launching.
Mr. FREY. A double your money back kind of thing?
Mr. FRUTKIN. No, not double your money.
Mr. FREY. I know what you mean.
Mr. FRUTKIN. Unless the committee wants to authorize-
Mr. FREY. The committee will not authorize. Don't worry about
that.
Mr. FRUTKIN. But there may be an assurance that if you purchase
a launch you'll get a launch, and without having to purchase another.
In addition, there is thought being given to a firmer price. We have,
quite frankly, been embarrassed because of the large escalation in
Delta prices during the course of a reimbursable launch agreement.
It is clear to our customers that they must pay the full cost of the
launching, whatever it turns out to be. But it was not expected, when
the contracts were entered into, that cost might escalate over 20
percent.
Mr. FREY. In doing these things in the future, too, there would be a
factor, whether it's amortization, R. & D. or whatever you would
want to call it, there would be an additional factor in the base price.
I assume if we are going to guarantee these things and do it, there's
got to be some basic return to us for it.
Mr. FRUTKIN. Right. Yes, sir. But there are some improvem~thts
fundamentally, however. We would be providing launch access on the
basis of the President's launch policy 2 years ago and charging the
full cost to us.
I hope, Mr. Chairman, that this very brief account suggests to you
that we are running a very practical and useful program. If you have
any questions, I would be happy to try to answer them.
Chairman FUQUA. Thank you very much, Arnold.
You mentioned in the Landsat that it was cost sharing and there
were some six countries, I believe, firmly committed thus far, and that
they are paying about $200,000 per station.
Mr. FRUTKIN. They will, yes, sir.
PAGENO="0657"
6.55
Chairman FUQUA. How was the $200,000 arrived at, rather than
some other figure? A 999 figure, or-
Mr. FRUTKIN. The figure is an arbitrary figure, as I indicated, a
token one. If you take some very crude measures, the cost of the
Lanthat space segment is roughly $20 million a year. A measure can
be derived for the foreign use of the space segment, and based on the
collection of image frames earlier this year, some 40 percent of our
take was for the use of foreign interests.
Now if you applied that, you might say in some sense that you would
look for $8 million from the foreign participants. There are many con-
siderations that would work on both sides of that figure.
For one thing, these people are beginning a very new effort and their
own costing is not clear to them. We felt it was important first to
establish the principle of cost sharing.
So we wanted to take a figure that could be digested by them in the
very early years of their effort. It may cost from $1 to $2 million to
run a Landsat ground station.
Chairman FUQUA. Per station?
Mr. FRUTKIN. Per station, yes, depending on how elaborate the
station is. That $200,000 fee would add from 10 to 20 percent of the
cost of the activity. We did not want to discourage foreign participa-
tion at this point. We get a number of benefits through these stations,
such as insurance in the event of tape recorder failure, the assumption
by the foreign station of any burden on us for distributing data to our
own experimenters in that region, as well as to the public, reducing our
cost twofold for that kind of thing.
So, balancing all of these considerations, we felt a good first step
would be about this sort of magnitude. We hope the program develops
in such a way that in time you could contemplate a larger number of
ground stations meeting `the full cost of the foreign interest in the
Landsat Program.
Chairman FUQUA. You mentioned the ATS-6 and your being in
India, and the succss of the program: increased school enrollment,
village participation.
Do you see a follow-on to the ATS-6 program? Do you think that
the Indian Government woulcj be willing to buy their own satellite?
Mr. FRUTKIN. The Indian Government had planned a follow-on
program a number of years ago. My understanding is that their foreign
exchange situation, complicated by the fuel crisis situation, has
forced them to postpone the follow-on program.
The follow-on program at that time contemplated that India would
buy the satellites required in this country `to begin with and `purchase
the launchings here. They would hope to be working with the American
contractors to develop in time a capability to continue the satellite
effort in India.
That has been postponed. However, the great success of the program
in India this year has prompted a revival of that plan. My under-
standing is that it again looks like there is a serious intention of the
Indian Government to undertake a follow-on program sometime in
the next 3 years. `
In the meantime, steps are being taken to use conventional TV
broadcasting techniques to continue these programs in at least half
of the villages that are now being reached.
PAGENO="0658"
656
There is an important recognition there that they have got to con~
tinue that service in some way.
Chairman FUQUA. You mentioned the Communications Technol-
ogy Satellite that we did with Canada. That was a test pad of NASA
development, and so forth. What else did we share, or what else did
we share in that project?
Did we pay for the launch or did they contribute?
Mr. FRUTKIN. We paid for the launch. It was Canada's satellite.
We had a conventional cooperative agreement under which Canada
pays the cost of the satellite, which is considerably more.
Chairman FUQUA. The entire cost of the satellite?
Mr. FRTJTKIN. The entire cost of the satellite, exëept as you men-
tioned, we use the satellite as a test pad for our 200-watt traveling
wave tube which we flew on a proprietary basis. We pay for the launch.
Then, in addition, we get 50 percent of the time of the satellite for
broadcast programs of our own in this country. So we think we have a
very good deal there.
Chairman FUQUA. And the remote manipulator system is being
developed by the Canadians for the Space Shuttle. Did we supply
them with any up-to-date technology?
Mr. FRUTKIN. The premise for entering into that program, just as
the premise for entering into the Spacelab program with Europe, was
that the Canadians had the essential technical capability to carry out
the program on their own.
Chairman FUQUA. Do they plan to hire U.S. companies?
Mr. FRUTKIN. They do most of the work themselves. However, for
the hardware components, they expect to spend as much as 20 percent
of the cost in this country, purchasing elements here.
They find it easier to buy some components here than to develop
them for themselves. That's a matter of convenience and economy.
We are not transferring technology to them.
Chairman FUQUA. Where will the general purpose simulator be
available? In Canada or the United States?
Mr. FRUTKIN. Under agreement with Canada, Canada builds the
general purpose simulator at its own expense and locates it in Canada.
That simulator will be used first for the design of the remote manipula-
tor system, then for operatio~ial testing and training.
Our program people felt that the simulator ought to be more
readily accessible to us for our own operational training. So we have a
provision in the agreement that permits us to purchase elements of
the simulator, with the prices to be mutually agreed, for installation
here in our own country at one of our centers.
The program office has not determined yet how much of that simula-
tor we need. That will be determined and we will purchase some ele-
ments from Canada. That will be a lot cheaper than developing it all
over again down here.
Chairman FUQUA. You were present when the previous witness
testified and we discussed about the role of NASA in the allocation
of international frequencies for satellites.
Is your office involved in that, and, if so, how much?
Mr. FRUTKIN. We are peripherally involved, Mr. Chairman. For
example, where, in an international program there is a frequency
issue, we do interest ourselves to make certain that it is resolved
equitably and meets both our interests and the foreign interests.
PAGENO="0659"
657
For example, in the case of the Indian broadcast program, they are
broadcasting at 860 thegacycles This is a frequency which can cause
interference in the European theater, so we made it quite clear to
begin with that India would have a responsibility for clearing that
frequency in her own interests And it was done that way
We are involved in this way, but not centrally
Chairman FUQUA Mr Winn
Mr WINN Thank you, Mr Chairman
On the subject matter a moment ago the chairman was talking
about, where do the Canadians have the facilities to test a simulator?
Mr. FRUTKIN. I don't know whether they will locate the simulator
at industrial facilities-the prime contractor there is the Spar Corp -
or at the National Aeronautical Laboratory, which is the lead agency
on that project in Canada
I don't know where they will locate that simulator If you wish,
Mr Wmn-
Mr WINN I just wonder if they had the facility You are not in
doubt about whether they have the facility?
Mr FRUTKIN No The Canadian capability was very carefully
surveyed twice before we entered into this agreement by teams that
included American industrial representation.
Mr. WINN. On another subject, you talked briefly about your
figures being submitted to 0MB I just wondered what level of inter-
action and how frequently do you meet the representatives of the
State Department
Mr FRUTKIN We have essentially daily interaction with the
State Department Many of our communications to our foreign
contracts go through the State Department
We copy virtually all of our correspondence to the State Depart-
ment, so as to obtain a contmurng concurrence in what we are domg
internationally
Mr. WINN. Your contacts are basically with OES?
Mr. FRUTKIN. I'm sorry, I am not familiar with that.
Mr WINN They are Oceans in International-
Mr FRUTKIN Oh yes, that has been through the years our principal
point of contact with the State Department But we also are in direct
contact with the Soviet desk, with the Bureau of Economic Affairs
on communications matters and aviation matters, and with other
bureaus and offices as required
Mr. WINN. Have you had detailed discussions with the Office of
Science and Technology policy with regard to matters such as the
export technology and bilateral science agreements?
Mr FRUTKIN The question of policy on export has been a con-
tinuing one throughout all my experience m this work with that office
and other offices
It has generally been conducted on an interagency basis It is, m
my view, one of the most difficult questions we deal with in the Govern-
ment And I think we have made some contribution to the effective
policy being pursued
Mr WINN You don't sound very convinced, Arnold
Mr FRUTKIN As I say, I think it is a very extremely difficult area
Mr WINN I got that
PAGENO="0660"
6~58
Mr FRUTKIN I thmk everyone would hope that it were possible to
follow a more consistent and simple policy as against a case-by-case
policy, but it's never proved possible to my knowledge to rise very far
above the case-by-case consideration of difficult export questions in
the area of advanced technology
Mr WINN Are you saying that you don't really have much to say
about policy?
Mr FRUTKIN No, I am not saying that
Mr WINN I am not reading you somewhere
Mr FRUTKIN I'm sorry, I am being obscure You must forgive me
I mean that no one seems to have been able to come up with a broad
policy guidelme that could be applied easily to all cases of export of
advanced technology
In the absence of a clear policy that can be easily applied to any
case that might come along, we find ourselves m the executive depart-
ment looking at difficult cases on a case-by-case basis.
So it makes life a great deal more difficult.
Mr WINN In other words, it is so broad that it is pretty hard to
spell out a specific policy, so you have to take it case by case, break
down as it comes along
Mr FRUTKIN Yes, it is so complicated I have generalized notions
of my own in this area, Mr Wmn If you ever have the patience to
hear them, I'd be glad to convey them to you
Mr WINN I have the interest, I have the patience, I don't know
if I have the time
Is OTDA constantly apprised of the diplomatic developments that
might affect the operations of network sites in foreign countries?
Mr. FRUTKIN. Yes, Mr. Winn, Mr. Truszynski's office and my office
work very, very closely We have representatives in his staff meetings
and we immediately pass on to his office any information that affects
the climate of operations of any of the stations overseas
Mr WINN How do you keep track of the constantly changing
world in our constantly changing diplomatic negotiations with these
countries?
Mr FRUTKIN We have, I think, excellent support and service from
Department of State We are in the communications channel on politi-
cal developments in all of the areas where we have stations, or any
other activity, and we receive those through the overseas posts and
the appropriate State Department offices.
So I think we are very well informed very currently. I think this is
one of the things the Department does very, very well.
Mr WINN We always hear that scientists and engineers can talk to
each other a lot better than politicians can communicate with each
other Do you find that true in this instance?
Mr FRTJTKIN I think that is possibly a true statement but I
don't think it means what most people think it means I think people
often assume that this means that scientists could resolve political
problems if they addressed themselves to them.
Mr. WINN. Maybe they can, but I've never looked at it that way.
Mr FRTJTKIN I am sure the politicians and diplomats have much
more difficult problems to deal with in the human sphere Certainly,
we were able to work very effectively-we have worked very effec-
tively with countries at any given moment having some political
difficulty with the United States
PAGENO="0661"
Mr. WINN. Have you noticed any change in the attitude of the
Indian Government since their most recent leaning toward Russia
and communism, as far as dealing with them on ATS?
Mr. FRUTKIN. No, sir, whatever problems may have arisen ln the
political sphere have not affected our relationship so far as I can see
of this time. In no way.
Mr. WINN. How about any access to any information, or scientific
meetings that we might attend jointly in their country?
Mr. FRUTKIN. We have problems in no way that I know of. In
fact, one of the problems we have had for some time seems to have
disappeared. India was one of the countries that had some reservation
on the open availability of Earth resources data. That reservation
has now been removed. India is now sponsoring agreements covering
the experimenters that worked with us. And they have established a
national Earth-sensing agency, which is seeking to enter into some
arrangements with us, comparable to the arrangements with other
countries,
Mr. WINN. So you don't see any problems at the present time?
Mr. FRUTKIN. No, sir.
Chairman FUQUA. Mr. Frey had two questions.
Mr. FREY. No; I asked mine during his talk, so I yield back my time.
Chairman FUQUA. I appreciate it.
Thank you very much, Arnold, for your testimony. We appreciate
it very much.
The subcommittee will adjourn until Tuesday, February 17, in
this room. We will hear from Elmer S. Groo.
[Whereupon, at 11:57 a.m., the subcommittee adjourned, to be
reconvened at 10 a.m., Tuesday, February 17, 1976.]
[Questions and answers submitted for the record follow. Also see
Volume I, Part 3 for additional questions and answers.]
PAGENO="0662"
660
QUESTION NO. 1:
In your prepared testimony you discussed the policies
* ~ou. .h~iv~ developed for foreign participation and you
m~è~'iti.bned that foreign proposals for space cooperation will
be ju4ç~ed on their i~terits: Who does this judging and what
üe tFie~criteria?
ANSWER.:
(1) Most foreign proposals are in response to NASA
"Announcements of Opportunity" which, in addition to domes-
tic distribution, are mailed to about 1300 scientists and
agencies around ~he world. Foreign' `responses are evaluated
in the same manner as those from U.S~ scientists. They are
~Uirst referred to spec~ally constituted ad hoc advisory
groups made up of persons of recognized stature in the
relevant theoretical, scientific data analysis, instrumenta-
*tion, and/or engineering fields. These groups determine
whether a proposal is suitable for acceptance or not, and if
it is, what its priority should be with respect to other
meritorious proposals. A package of such recommendations
is then forwarded to the appropriate NASA SQ Steering
Committee (Science or Applications). This Committee in
turn makes its recommendations to NASA management.
(2) Criteria such as the following are used as dis-
criminators in evaluating proposals:
(a) Relevance to NASA program objectives.
(b) Scientific and technological merit.
(c) Competence of the investigator and his
ability to follow through the investigation
to its end.
(d) Adequacy of the proposed instrumentation
to carry out the investigation.
(e) Reputation of proposer's institution and
the support it will provide.
Cost, which i' a discriminator for domestic proposals, is
not considerad because foreign investigations are funded
by their own sponsoring agencies.
PAGENO="0663"
661
2
(3) Unsolicited foreign proposals, whether *for entire
spacecraft~to be undertaken on a cooperative basis, indi-
vidual experiments for flight or ground-based application,
sounding rocket or balloon flights, or data analysis investi-
gations, are evaluated by the appropriate program office
with informal advice from the scientific community. Major
proposals (entire satellites, large experiments etc.) are
also considered by either the Space Science or Space Appli-
cations Steering Committee prior to acceptance. In all cases
the foreign proposal is given the same evaluation as a
domestic one.
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662
QUESTION NO. 2:
You mentioned the four US biological experiments flown
on Cosmos 782: Were these NASA or private experiments?
Was the data shared?
ANSWER:
Three of the US experiments on the Soviet biological
satellite (Cosmos 782) were developed by scientists at US
universities. A fourth was developed by NASA and university
scientists. All of the experiments were funded and managed
by NASA. Three of the US experiments involved biological
tissues, approximately one-third of which was given to Soviet
scientists for analysis. The fourth experiment, involving
radiation dosimetry, was conducted in parallel with a
similar Soviet experiment, and the results will be compared
and jointly reported. In all cases, the results of each
side's analyses will be exchanged. In addition, both US
government and university scientists are conducting seven
investigations with tissues received from Soviet flight and
ground-control animals.
PAGENO="0665"
663
QUESTION NO 3
You mentioned project SITE which is Satellite Instruc-
tional Television Experiments in cooperation with the Indian
Space Research Organization What do you see as a follow-~on
to this ATS-6 program~ Is there any chance that the Indian
government would buy their own satellite?
ANSWER
The Indian government had planned a follow-on program
a number of years ago Our understanding is that their
foreign exchange situation, complicated by the fuel crisis,
has forced a postponement of the follow-on program
The follow-on program at that time contemplated that
India would buy the required satellites in this country to
begin with and purchase the launchings here India hoped
in time to work with the American contractors to develop a
capability to continue the satellite effort in India
That has been postponed However, the great success
of the program in India this year has prompted a revival of
that plan Our understanding is that there again looks to
be a serious intention of the Indian government to undertake
a follow-on program sometime in the next three years
In the meantime, steps are being taken to use conven-
tional TV broadcasting techniques to continue these programs
in at least half of the villages that are now being reached
There is an important recognition in India that it is necessary
to continue the service in some way
PAGENO="0666"
664 1
QUESTION NO. 4:
In your discussion you mentioned Landsat cost sharing,
you also ~nention foreign countries paying $200,000 per
station per year Why $200 000 vs any other figure' Will
this money be used to help defray operations costs? Do we
have to help process as a result of them paying something ?
ANSWER
The $200,000 was arrived at as a reasonable figure to
help offset operational costs taking into consideration
certain gains we would realize in the form of extended data
collection in the event of a tape recorder failure and
distribution of data to our experimenters and the public
in that country
We do not process Landsat data for the operational foreign
stations However, the orbital elements used for NASA's
requirements are made available at no additional costs.
PAGENO="0667"
665
QUESTION NO. 5:
On the Communications Technology Satellite area you
state that it serves as a test bed for NASA development
How else does the US share in this project'? Did we pay
for the launch?
ANSWER
NASA did pay for the launch under a conventional
cooperative agreement with Canada in which Canada pays the
cost of the satellite, which is considerably more In
addition, we use the satellite as a test pad for our 200
watt traveling wave tube which we are flying on a proprie-
tary basis We also get 50 percent of the time of the
satellite for broadcast programs of our own in this country
PAGENO="0668"
666
QUESTION NO. 6:
The Subcommittee has always taken a special interest
in the foreign.agreements with the United States and the
exchange of data: Do you see a large flow of high technology
being transferred by the US to the foreign countries as ~
result of its cooperative agreements?
ANSWER:
A fundamental principle which NASA has consistently
followed in entering into cooperative agreements with
foreign partners for joint projects is that each side is
exclusively responsible for its own contribution. Thus
the tasks undertaken by foreign cooperative partners are
fundamentally those which are within their basic capabil-
ities. It frequently turns out that the foreign partner
will resort to use of space-tested, high reliability
components produced by our industry. In such cases, NASA
encourages the export of hardware, rather than know-how.
Availability of the necessary end-item from US industry
assists successful implementation of a project of mutual
interest and benefit. Foreign purchases of US space
hardware for use in the foreign segment of a joint project
can be significant--up to 20% of total foreign costs in
some instances.
In the few cases where US know-how, as opposed to
hardware, is necessary for the successful completion of a
joint project, consideration is given to commerical compe-
tition factors and, where appropriate, access is provided
but restricted to the specific purpose of the specific
cooperative project.
PAGENO="0669"
667
QUESTION NO. 7:
In your discussion on the remote manipulator system
being developed by Canada for use on the Shuttle: Did we
supply them with our up-to-date technology? Are any com-
panies involved with Canada? Where will the general purpose
simulator be available, in Canada or the United States?
ANSWER:
The premise for entering into the Remote Manipulator
System program, just as the premise for entering into the
Spacelab program with Europe, was that the Canadians
had the essential technical capability to carry out the
program on their own. They will do most of the work them-
selves. However, for the hardware components, they expect to
spend as much as 20 percent of the cost in this country,
purchasing elements here. They find it easier to buy some
components here than to develop them for themselves. That's
a matter of convenience and economy. We are not transferring
technology to them.
Under the agreement with Canada, Canada builds the general
purpose simulator at its own expense and locates it in
Canada. That simulator will be used first for the design
of the Remote Manipulator System, then for operational
testing. Also, by agreement with Canada, the general
purpose simulator is to be available in Canada for NASA Space
Shuttle Program use at no cost.
PAGENO="0670"
668
QUESTION NO. 8:
Does your office participate in United Nations meetings
on international space law?
ANSWER:
The Office of International Affairs always participates
in the coordination of positions guiding US delegations for
UN meetings on space law. Working closely with the General
Counsel and the program offices concerned, we serve as the
NASA point of contact with the Department of State for
clearing position papers and instructions. As a general
rule, the Office of the General Counsel provides NASA
representation on US delegations to United Nations meetings
on international space law. Personnel from the Office of
International Affairs serve on these delegations whenever
they are in a special position to contribute to the consid-
eration of issues with significant implications for NASA
programs.
PAGENO="0671"
669
QUESTION NO. 9:
Characterize the support which the State Department
requests from NASA in positions and negotiations leading
to the formulation of space treaties.
ANSWER:
The Department of State always asks NASA to participate
in preparing positions leading to the formulation of space
law. On some subjects, NASA takes the lead; on others we
assist and concur. NASA's responsibilities are directed
primarily to technical and programmatic aspects, but our
views are offered and considered on broad policy facets
as well. From the first UN discussions on international
space law, State has asked NASA to assist in staffing US
delegations.
70-079 0 - 76 - 43
PAGENO="0672"
670
QUESTION NO. 10:
Is your office formulating policy related to domestic
versus international interests in commercial activities on
Shuttle flights?
ANSWER:
At present, the President's Launch Policy of October
1972 governs this area. It provides for nondiscriminatory
launch service to both foreign and domestic customers
(other than US Government agencies.themselves). Thus,...
policies prepared for domestic and foreign use of the
Shuttle must be coordinated. We are, at present, planning
to protect our proprietary interests in US domestic payloads
where commercial interests are at stake.
PAGENO="0673"
671
QUESTION NO. 11:
Does your office identify and pursue potential
opportunities for international cooperation or do you
simply serve as a service organization to assist in
carrying out international cooperative projects? How
do you divide your efforts between these two types of
activities?
ANSWER:
The Office of International Affairs carries out both
types of activities. The methods by which we identify and
pursue potential opportunities for international coopera-
tion include (a) informing foreign agencies of opportuni-
ties for collaboration which the NASA program affords,
(b) encouraging proposals from abroad, (c) seeking coop-
eration required by the NASA program--for example, access
to special sites and resources and broadly-dispersed
ground-based observations, and (d) pressing specific
propositions of major potential value--such as European
contribution of the Spacelab. This goes hand in hand
~with our continuing activities to assist NASA program
offices in carrying out projects already agreed. These
activities are so~ closely interrelated that it would be
very difficult to say which demands the greater part of
our attention.
PAGENO="0674"
PAGENO="0675"
FIELD hEARINGS
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1976
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TEChNOLOGY,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS,
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
STATEMENT OF DR. W. R. LUCAS, DIRECTOR, GEORGE C. MARSHALL
SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
Dr. LUCAS. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Winn, we are highly pleased and
honored you could schedule a visit to the Marshall Space Flight
Center today. It will be my privilege to brief ~OU personally on an
overview of the center activities and then we have other presentations
planned in accordance with the agenda that we provided to you. If
you have any comments or suggestions for changes on that, we will
be happy to do as you like. If not, we would like to proceed as we
have indicated there.
Before I begin my briefing, I would like to introduce to you Dick
Smith, whom I believe you met as you came in, who is Deputy
Director of the Center, and John Potate who is the Associate Director
for Management. Other key people are here at the table also and,
with your permission, I would like to present them at the time I
present the organization chart and give you a better idea of where they
fit in the program.
I have prepared a statement to submit for the record and, with your
permission, I will summarize my statement here this morning in the
interest of saving time.
Chairman FUQUA. We will make it a part of the record. Do we have a
reporter?
Dr. LUCAS. Yes, we have a reporter and the proceedings are being
recorded.
The Marshall Space Flight Center was established officially on
July 1, 1960 and last summer we were able to celebrate our 15th
anniversary. With the help of outstanding industrial competence and
with strong support from the research institutions and the university
community, the name of the Marshall Space Flight Center has come
to be identified with large launch vehicles, but also importantly with
the development of significant payloads. While the dominant role in
the early sixties was the development of launch vehicles, at the same
time there were important payloads assignments, including the
Explorer and Pioneer satellites, the Pegasus meteoroid detection
satellite and, later in the decade, the development of the Lunar
Rover Vehicle and the beginning of Skylab.
(673)
PAGENO="0676"
674
During these first 15 busy years, the Marshall team including,
of course, the contractors, produced the Saturn family of launch
vehicles-the Saturn I, the Saturn TB and the Saturn V-which
were used in launching the missions to the Moon and also the Skylab
and the Skylab crew. On last July 15, probably the last Saturn launch
occurred when we launched the 32d consecutive vehicle successfully,
the 32d one since October 27, 1961. Flight data revealed that that
vehicle performed with great precision as had been the case of all its
31 predecessors.
Our primary contributions to the skylab program, completed in
1974, were the orbital workshop, the multiple docking adapter and
the airlock, constituting the laboratory and the habitat; that Apollo
telescope mount, which made important contributions to the areas
of solar astronomy; the materials processing facilities and other
corollary experiments and, of course, important data analysis. The
importance of this program continues to grow with the continuing
evaluation of the data.
The early launch vehicle and spacecraft experience and accomplish-
ments have placed this center in a position of confidence with regard
to the seventies and beyond in providing transportation systems and
meaningful payloads. Particularly important from that era came the
experience of integrating a large number of diverse experiments in a
single space station.
As a matter of interest, the Laser Geodynamic Satellite, so-called
Lageos, and the Gravitational Redshift Space Probe, GP-A, two
projects assigned to this center, are the only fully NASA-funded
spacecraft to be launched this year on a Scout or larger rocket.
The Marshall Space Flight Center conducts its operations at three
locations. The primary element of the Center, of course, is located
here in Huntsville. (Figure 1.) You have visited the Center before
FIGURE 1
PAGENO="0677"
and therefore I will use the next few charts prim~
memories. We occupy about 1,840 his spo
Arsenal. We utilize some faci1itie~ iamon wit
Arsenal-the ~L and the R
tion Center, for favor
the Tennessee Th
-~iart will
FIGURE 2
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676
In addition to the facilities 1~ere in Huntsville, we are responsible
for the Michoud Assembly Facility outlined here. (Fig. 3.) You
will visit this facility tomorrow and I will not dwell more on that.
It is located, as you know, in the area of New Orleans.
A third location is the Slidell Computer Complex located northeast
of New Orleans, about 20 miles away from Michoud, and this is
an overview of that facility. (Fig. 4.) This facility provides computer
support for the Michoud Facility, for the National Space Technology
Laboratories, for other government agencies in that area, for our
contractors and also provides computer support to the Marshall
Center in Huntsville.
FIGURE 3
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677
Chairman FUQUA. Are all of your computers located in* Slidell?
Dr. LUCAS. No, we have other computers here in Huntsville.
The Slidell facility takes some of our overload but we have significant
computer capability here at the Center.
FIGURE 4
PAGENO="0680"
678
MSFC MAJOR CONTRACT AND RESIDENT OFFICE LOCATIONS
L~DROCKETMOTOR 1 I~~?Et~ELi [ NEThERLANDS j
N~/
~ NM UPPER STAGE cAMNMDGE.MAEcI
MSFC
L~DONEA~J~ __
NGCKETDVNE KENNEDY
~M 1 ___
EXTERNAL TANK GAINCNVILLE 30N-76
FIGURE 5
In addition to these locations, we have resident offices scattered
around the country where our programs are in progress. (Fig. 5.)
Most of the resident offices that you see located around the country
are associated with our shuttle activity and the high energy astron-
omy Observatory at TRW and also at the American Science and
Engineering Center in Massachusetts. I have also indicated that we
have a resident office at Noordwijk, the Netherlands, in conjunction
with our Spacelab activity at the European Space Technology Center
which is located at that place.
PAGENO="0681"
NATIONAL AERONAUTiCS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
DIRECTOR
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR (MANAGEMENT)
FIGURE 6
Turning now to the organization. The Marshall organization is
essentially the same as was shown to you in 1975. (Fig. 6.) What
you saw at that time followed a major reorganization of the Center in
1974. Small changes have been made during the last year. With the
completion of the Skylab program and the Saturn program, these
offices have been abolished and the people have been transferred into
other activities within the Center.
DATE: A.'4 11~, `q~r
PAGENO="0682"
6~SO
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
We have recently added two offices. (Fig. 7.) With the assignment
of the mission management. role for Spacelab 1 and 2 missions, that
assignment having come from the Office of Space Science, we have
established a Spacelab Payload Project Office to manage that activity.
Heading this office will be 0. C. Jean, whom you met as you came
into the room. 0. C. was formerly the Deputy Director of the Program
Development Directorate and he has been a key individual in laying
out the plans for this activity.
We have also established a Special Projects Office to provide a
focal point for the management of several of the smaller projects
such as Lageos and the solar heating and cooling activity. Lowell
Zoller, who was formerly the Deputy Director of the External Tank
Project of the Shuttle Projects Office and more recently an Assistant
to the Center Director, is the head of that Office.
Those are the significant changes. I might use this occasion to
introduce the other people around the table. The Director of Program
Development is Jim Murphy, who has been here on your previous
visits. The Director of Science and Engineering is Jim Kingsbury, who
has been appointed to that office within the last year. Unfortunately
Jim had to be out of town today on another assignment and he is
represented by Leland Belew, who is the Deputy Director. Leland
moved up recently to become Deputy Director of Science and En-
gineering from his former assignment as Deputy for Operations, and
prior to that time he managed our very successful Skylab Program
Office. The Director of Administration and Program Support is Jim
Shepherd, whom you've met on previous occasions. The other person
in the room who will not be presenting is Joe Jones, our Director of
APPROVE~F~.7~ ICLA4r
DATE: 8 c1~~±~'
FIGURE 7
PAGENO="0683"
681
Public Affairs. We have a new Director of our Safety Office, Bob Smith,
who also had to be out of town today on a special assignment. He and
Jim Kingsbury regret that they were unable to be here for your visit.
Now, I will turn to the program and project assignments for the
Center. The program and project assignments for the Marshall Space
Flight Center encompass a very diverse field, ranging across practically
all of the major program offices of NASA.
For the Office of Space Flight, as I have just mentioned, we have
completed in the last year the Skylab program and the ASTP project;
however, there are continuing activities in both of these areas in data
analysis.
The active programs that we have underway for the Office of Space
Flight include elements of the Space Shuttle, the Spacelab, the In-
terim Upper Stage (IUS), and certain selected advanced planning
activities.
Our involvement in the Space Shuttle activity is shown on this chart
in blue. (Figure 8.) You probably have seen this chart before. The
hardware elements of the Space Shuttle for which we are responsible
are the Shuttle Main Engine, the External Tank and the Solid Rocket
Booster. These will be discussed in more detail later in our presenta.-
tions today.
In addition to these hardware elements, we also have a heavy
responsibility in the area of testing. We are responsible for the system
testing and the static firing testing of the main propulsion system,
which will be conducted at the NSTL. We are responsible for the mated
vertical ground vibration testing of the total Shuttle vehicle, which
FIGURE 8
PAGENO="0684"
682
will be conducted at a facility here at the Center, and we are respon-
sible for the testing of the External Tank and the Solid Rocket Booster
here at the Center also. This testing is being accomplished in facili1~ies
that are residual to the Apollo program, which are being modified at a
fraction of the cost for new facilities. In addition to these hardware
elements and test, we also have a role of supporting the Johnson Space
Center in systems assessment and integration activity for the total
vehicle.
The Spacelab program continues to be a key assignment of the
Marshall Center. (Figure 9.) This cooperative venture between NASA
and the European Space Agency will provide manned laboratory
modules and unpressurized instrument areas, or pallets as we call
them, as shown in the viewgraph.
In addition to our responsibility of representing NASA for the
hardware development, we have the responsibility for developing the
initial operational capability, for performing the engineering analysis
and software development required to integrate experiments for the
early missions, as well as the initial procurement of flight hardware,
the initial logistics planning and certain selected sustaining
engineering.
FIGURE 9
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We are the lead center, as I have mentioned previously, to represent
the interest of NASA in the development of the Interim Upper Stage
(IUS) (Figure 10), a development that is being done by the Department
of Defense. This is important to us because approximately one-third
of the NASA Shuttle missions in the 1980's will require the use of an
upper stage along with the Shuttle.
FIGuRE 10
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For the Office of Space Science, our primary efforts are the High
Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO) and the Space Telescope.
We have the total management responsibility for the scientific pro~
gram known as HEAO. (Figure 11.) This includes the development of
the spacecraft and also the management of the great diversity of
experiments that will be flown on the three spacecraft. This is a peak
year for HEAO inasmuch as we are preparing for the first launch in
1977. Concurrently, we are also conducting studies for a Block II
HEAO program that may materialize at some later time.
FIGURE 11
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We have been designated as the lead center for the management of
the Shuttle-launched optical telescope, called Space Telescope.
(Figure 12.) This will be an observatory appropriate for international
use-a very exciting program which we believe affords the possibilities
of extending man's knowledge of the universe. Definition studies are
continuing on this program, hopefully toward a development start in
1978. We will be discussing more details of that later in the morning.
In addition to these hardware assignments for the Office of Space
Science, we have, as I have mentioned previously, been given the
role of managing Spacelab missions 1 and 2. This will include that
cc~ordination activity attendant to implementing the science payloads
and assuring that the total mission goes well.
In support of the Office of Applications, Marshall has been assigned
the discipline base responsibility for space processing and for data
management; for the development of the laser geodynamic satellite
which will be launched later this year; and for project definition
responsibility in the atmospheric cloud physics laboratory.
We consider the space processing applications activity to be very
important. It is an extension of the kind of work that has been done
on a very preliminary basis on Apollo, on Skylab and on the ASTP
programs~ We are presently involved in a sounding rocket program
to fill the gap between the end of ASTP and the beginning of Shuttle,
and our preliminary experiments have been most encouraging. I
believe that space processing will be one of the next highly visible.
contributions of the space program that are understandable to the
FIrnRi~ 12
70-079 0 - 76 - 44
PAGENO="0688"
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average citizen, and I think it may rank along with communicat:ions
and meteorology in that regard. I don't propose to discuss details
now, because we have a presentation later and we have a demonstra-
tion downstairs, but we have been particularly encouraged in the
area of biological separations by the process known as electrophoresis,
by certain crystallization of special compounds that are suitable for
semiconductors important to the computer industry and for super-
conductors, and also we believe there is great potential in the area
of producing very pure glasses.
The atmospheric cloud physics laboratory will be used to further
the basic understanding of atmospheric microphysical phenomena,
which, of course, could lead to improved understanding and perhaps
modification of certain weather phenomena such as hailstorms.
For the NASA Office of Energy Programs, we have what appears to
be an expanding role. For example, we are working presently to
improve coal mining techniques for the Department of the Interior. We
are also supporting the J~nergy Research and Development Agency
in developing solar heating and cooling systems for residences and
more recently we have begun supporting ERDA in the demonstration
of solar heating and cooling equipment for commercial applications.
All of these activities in support of other Government agencies are
being conducted on a fully reimbursable basis to NASA.
As a matter of interest, we are aware that a forceful community
effort is underway to locate the proposed Solar Energy Research
Institute in Huntsville.
In the area of research and technology the Center will be active
in the fields of advanced propulsion systems, space materials and
structures, space processing, data management, space guidance and
control technology and fundamental electronics.
We are deeply involved with several of the program offices in advanced
planning. Marshall has long been recognized as having a total systems
capability, for the ability to conceive and to define and to develop
total systems.
One important facet of our planning activity is in support of the
Shuttle utilization planning-the focal point for developing the mis-
sion model and doing that preliminary work necessary to identify the
most productive early missions to be flown on the Shuttle.
Currently, we, along with the Johnson Space Center, are entering
into a study contract for a future space station. We hope this study
will provide a total systems view of the space station and will be
the basis for later decisions on developing an operational base in
space.
In the important area of power, the Center has a satellite power
system under study, a system which would utilize solar energy to
generate power in space for transmittal to the ground. Other ad-
vanced studies now underway, and which we hope to inform you of
later in the morning, is a heavy lift capability launch vehicle and a
solar electric propulsion system. This statement, admittedly very
hurried and brief, was to give you an impression of the diversified
programs and studies that we do across the agency. More compre-
hensive discussion of certain of these areas will follow.
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MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
CIVIL SERVICE AND SUPPORT CONTRACTOR MANPOWER
FIGURE 13
And now I would like to turn to the area of personnel. At this time,
the Marshall Space Flight Center has 4,090 permanent civil service
employees. (Figure 13.) The civil service employment ceiling is 4,113
for the end of fiscal year 1976 as you can see on the chart. At the time
of our last statement to the subcommittee, a reduction in force was
in process to bring us down to that ceiling of 4,113. That action was
completed last March. The total Marshall reduction in civil service
personnel from the peak of 7,327 in 1965 has been 3,214 or about
44 percent.
The Center has been assigned a new ceiling to be effective at the
end of fiscal year 1977 of 3,925. So, this means that over the next 20
months approximately, we will have to reduce by another 188. We
do not at this time anticipate a centerwide reduction in force because
we believe we can reach this ceiling by normal attrition; however,
with the large number of reductions in force that we have experienced
since 1968, it is extremely difficult to maintain and develop -the
proportionate balance of skill mixes (figure 14) required to do our
diversified missions and, thus, we will have to fill some vacant spaces
as they occur in order to obtain the appropriate skill mix.
2
~llDllllll
3994 3410
.:.:.:.:~ll.:~:llfl:.:. ~
~:5377 5114
FY-72
FY.73 FV-74 FY.75 FY76 FY-77
PROJECTED
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MSFC MANPOWER RESOURCES
CIVIL SERVICE DISTRIBUTION
The support contractor workforce will be reduced from the fiscal
year 1976 level of about 2,100 as you can see on the chart (figure 13),
by more than 500 man-years. Only about 360 of these technical
support contractors will be available for direct support of Center
programs and projects. The reduction in support contractors will be
effected over the next 21 months as the current tasks and requirements
are completed. The overall reduction in support contractor employ-
ment level is from a peak of about 8,000 during the Apollo program
for a net reduction of over 6,400, or about 80 percent~
1305-75
FIGURE 14
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MSFC EDUCATION LEVELS
(as of 12/27/75)
o DEGREE LEVEL 2440
- DOCTORATE 91
- MASTERS 413
- BACCALAUREATE 1936
o NON-DEGREES 1656
- TECHNICIANS 642
- CLERICAL 632
- ADM SPECIALISTS & 356
NON- DEGREE ENGINEER
- WAGE BOARD 26
AM31 1/15/76
FIGURE 15
The'Marshall Center ranks high among the 10 NASA centers and
the headquarters in the number of civil servants who have professional
degrees (figure 15). There are 2,440 degree-holding civil servants in
the Center. Of this total, about 2 percent have doctorates, about 10
percent have masters degrees and over 47 percent have degrees at the
baccalaureate level. Of the 413 people with masters degrees, 26 of
these have 2 masters degrees and of the 1,936 at the baccalaureate
level, 60 of the these have at least 2 bachelors degrees and 1, I find,
has 3 B.S. degrees.
During 1975 Marshall continued to make significant gains in the
equal employment opportunity area. The number of minority and
women employees increased while the Center's overall strength
decreased. Considerable progress was also made in the promotion
of minorities and women. Minorities and women are well represented
in programs such as the worker trainee program that we have and the
upward mobility program. The Center has also made excellent progress
in the minority business enterprise program, exceeding our fiscal year
1975 goal of $2.5 million by approximately $0.2 million. Additional
statistics on our equal opportunity programs will be included in the
prepared statement.
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MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
FUNDING LEVELS BY APPROPRIATION
1000
900
600
700
8600
0
400
300
200
100
FIGURE 16
The fiscal year 1977 budget proposed for the Marshall Center is
$604.8 million (figure 16), an increase of just over $35 million beyond
the fiscal year 1976 figure of $551 million, but this is accounted for
almost entirely by the research and development appropriation due
to increasing progress and maturity in the Shuttle and the Spacelab
areas and offset to a small extent by decreasing requirements from
the HEAO program which is approaching a launch in 1977.
During fiscal year 1977 we will continue to give attention to facility
utilization. We have consolidated and incurred considerable savings
in the utilization of our facilities.
Energy conservation will also continue to be a matter of great
attention by us. It is very difficult to keep abreast of the increasing
cost of energy by reducing requirements.
Over the years, Marshall has demonstrated, I believe, the ability
to implement difficult technical programs and technical management
assignments encompassing an agency wide interface and involving
several other centers. Also, a high degree of flexibility in adjusting
to the diversified requirements of the space program has been evident.
The effectiveness of the Center in achieving its missions is due in
part, I believe, to its ability to adapt to and to focus its engineering
and program expertise on the major tasks at hand.
Mr. Chairman, the Center is dedicated to a continuation of the
technical excellence which I believe has characterized our past.
This concludes the overview, and now we are prepared to present
more details on our other programs unless you have questions at this
time.
R&D
*
* C OF F (ESTIMATED)
*PRESIDENTS PROPOSED BUDGET
FY-73 FY-74 FV-75 FV-76
TRANSITION
QUARTER
FV77~
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Chairman FUQUA. Bill, 1 have a couple of questions, and Mr. Winn
may have some. You mentioned briefly the ongoing programs that
you have for NASA here, and we will get into that later. What do
you see as the future role of Marshall. What's ahead? You mentioned
the space station and the solar power satellites and large boosters.
Could you elaborate on that?
Dr. LUCAS. Yes; I would be happy to do that. We have a very full
complement of programs in this year and the immediate future;
however, we will have significant numbers of people becoming available
for new programs near the end of this decade and it would appear
to me that the space station would fit excellently into the background
of the Marshall Space } light Center, based upon our experience in
Skylab and other programs of that nature. We are entering into a
study and, of course, we are most hopeful that we will be assigned a
key role in that area. In addition to that, I believe that if we move
into the area of space based solar power, we have the background for
that area also. The utilization of space for the generation of power,
in my opinion, will require a space station. It will probably also require
a heavy lift launch vehicle capability which we would be able to
develop. So, I see these three important activities in the future as
being very attractive assignments for the Marshall Space Flight
Center.
Chairman FUQUA. Another question. You mentioned facilities. Are
you utilizing all of the facilities to the maximum? Don't you have some
buildings that you closed? We were here, I think, 2 years ago and
you had closed one facility.
Dr. LUCAS. Yes; that is correct. We have closed certain substandard
facilities which are not being used at the moment. We have put in a
standby condition building 4755, which I believe, is the large hangar.-
type building to which we referred on your previous visit, and we
expect to use that for preparing the orbiter for the mated ground
vibration test. We have some other facilities that are in standby
condition and some facilities, frankly, that are not utilized to their
maximum.
Chairman FUQUA. ;Do you have room that you could store some
of the lunar samples here with some modification-that they could
be stored in a more-not in an active capacity until after use of the
samples, but that they can be stored similar to what we are doing
at Brooks?
Dr. LUCAS. Yes, sir, we do have facilities that might be modified
for that. We had one blockhouse-type facility that was~ surveyed as
a potential site for storing certain of the lunar samples, and I believe
it could be modified to make it suitable for that activity; however, I
don't know how it would compare with other available facilities.
Chairman FUQUA. What's the sea level here?
Dr. LUCAS. It's about 600 or 700 feet. I think about 700 feet.
(Note: For record purposes, the elevation at the Redstone Airstrip
is 685 feet above sea level.)
Chairman FUQUA. Would it take a major modification of the block-
house?
Dr. LUCAS. I am afraid that I can't give you a good answer on that
because I am not acquainted with all the reouirements that one would
have for protecting the lunar samples. I will try to get an answer
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on that for the record if you would like, sir, based upon a better
understanding of the requirements.
(Note: For the record, the modifications that would be required
for the blockhouse under discussion would be considered as minor.)
Chairman FUQUA. If you would, Colonel Gould, I think maybe you
had better take a look at that as an alternative. The other question.
What is your projected utilization of the large buoyancy tank?
Dr. LUCAS. We are presently using the tank to a small extent
in developing space hardware concepts.. We will be using it in train-
ing payload specialists for activity in the Spacelab. I believe that
it would be incorrect to say that we would have 100-percent utilization
of that facility.
Chairman FUQUA. About what percent utilization would you have?
Dr. LUCAS. Let me ask Leland Belew to help me on that. Do you
know about what that percent would be? We've made a study of that
and that information is available. If we can't give it to you immedi-
ately, we'll supply it for the record. Leland, do you know?
Mr. BELEw. It would be less than 50 percent, Bill.
Dr. LUCAS. If I might, Mr. Chairman, I would like to check that
figure and submit for the record an accurate figure.
(Note: The following information on the anticipated utilization of
the neutral buoyancy simulator is furnished for the record. Based
upon Skylab experience, the neutral buoyance simulator would
support a range of approximately 470 to 660 productive/beneficial
testing and training hours per year on a single-shift basis. The range
depends on whether the activity is for development or training pur-
poses.)
Increasing to multishift operations would entail a loss of 10 to 15
percent per added shift from the single-shift capability. Proj ected
utilization for MSFC over the next 5 years shows that it peaks at less
than 50 percent of a one-shift operation. By fiscal year 1981, the
requirement would .be more on the order of 30 percent of a one-shift
developmental operation.)
Chairman FUQUA. Colonel Gould would also be interested. In taking
your share of these personnel cuts for fiscal year 1977, axid you have
been able to increase the total number of direct positions by probably
absorbing a larger cut in indirect positions, what kind of economy
measures did you take to do this?
Dr. LUCAS. Do you mean over the last several years or-
Chairman FUQUA. Yes. Yes.
Dr. LUCAS. Well, we have consolidated our activity into fewer
facilities. We formerly had pepple offsite and we have all of our people
onsite now. We have reduced in every area of indirect that we can.
One of the things that has concerned us is that we have reduced
maintenance of our buildings and our facilities to a very significant
degree. We have stretched out our painting schedules, for example,
and we have delayed other needed maintenance. We have made cut-
backs on local transportation, telephones, custodial services, and
things of that nature.
Chairman FUQUA. Has any of the Privacy and Freedom of Informa-
tion Act caused you any administrative problems?
Dr. LUCAS. Well, responding to the requests does add an additional
administrative burden. That is correct. The Freedom of Information
Act is what I refer to. I am not aware that the Privacy Act has caused
us great strain. John Potate, can you comment on that?
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Mr. POTATE. That's true, Bill. I think in the Privacy Act we have
had very few inquiries, but in the Freedom of Information Act we
have had a lot of activity in that area and we are keeping accurate
records on the amount of time that we've spe~it on it and we are
spending a considerable amount of time on research and providing
some of the data.
Representative WINN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Are we going to
hear later, Bill, about the power station?
Dr. LUCAS. Yes sir, we plan to cover that under the topic of "Ad-
vanced planning" later in the morning.
Representative WINN. OK., well, I'll save my question for that
subject matter till later. On the field of energy research and develop-
ment, what is the status of NASA's proposed program for Marshall
in the coal mining technology field?
Dr. LUCAS. We are doing two things in the area of coal mining. We
are making some contribution to the automation of what they call
the long wall shearer. In the mining of coal, as I understand it, they
mine automatically with large cutters mounted on rotating drums.
There is a problem of detecting the interface between the coal and the
rock overburden. As this cutter hits the rock, it wears it away very
quickly. This then forces the industry to leave a substantial amount
of coal in the seam rather than run the risk of encountering this inter-
face. We are developing for the Department of Interior a detector
which will allow one to control the cutter and get very near to that in-
terface. In addition to that, there is a problem in cutting a coal seam
with this automatic shearer of keeping perpendicularity of the seam
from top to bottom and also from one side to the other. There is a ten-
dency for it to become concave in both directions. We are trying to
apply some of the simple techniques of navigation such as used on the
lunar rover to enable the shearers to cut a straight seam for some
several hundred feet and also to have it entirely straight up and down.
Representative WINN. You don't have any money in the budget for
1977 on that, do you?
Dr. LUCAS. We don't have any NASA money. This is being supplied
to us on a reimbursable basis from the Bureau of Mines.
Representative WINN. All the way?
Dr. LUCAS. Right, sir.
Chairman FUQUA. AbQut how much is it running, Bill?
Dr. LUCAS. I think it is probably on the order of $300,000 or $400,-
000, isn't it, Jim?
Mr. MURPHY. That is correct. About $400,000 this year, fiscal
year 1977.
Representative WINN. :Do you have any research and development
money in ACPL for fiscal year 1977?
Dr. LUCAS. Yes, sir, we have some definition money for the atmos-
pheric cloud physics laboratory to define that project further. It's
not a new start program. It's the SRT type of funds.
Representative WINN. You mentioned the vocational cooperative
training program a little earlier. What's been your experience with
that? You touched on it very lightly.
Dr. LUCAS. We have found the experience to be very good. We
have some vocational schools here in the general area from which
we have gotten some people who are willing to train in this area and
they have been most responsive to the training offered and I think
PAGENO="0696"
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it would be declared a successful program. The problem that we have,
of course, is that with changing roles and missions, we don't need a
great number of that type of individual any more.
Representative WINN. Is it a good source of new employees?
Dr. LUCAS. It is a good source for new employees and for training
workers to enhance their skills for the technician level.
Representative WINN. If your assignments were more consistent,
would you suggest it would be expanded?
Dr. LUCAS. Indeed. I recommend the program as being most fruit-
ful. I think this is a contribution that can be made in working with
people to enable them to advance themselves and prepare themselves
for better work.
Representative WINN. I just have one more question. What is the
average age of the civil service personnel that you referred to on the
chart there?
Dr. LUCAS. I think we are competing for the highest average age in
the agency. I believe it is about 45.
Chairman FUQUA. It's not 39?
Dr. LUCAS. Our technician work force is considerably higher, about
50.
Chairman FUQUA. And going up every year?
Dr. LUCAS. It's going up about a year per year.
Representative WINN. What is the average grade of the civil
service complement?
Mr. POTATE. It's GS-ll.
ANSWERS FOR THE RECORD TO THE ABOVE QUESTIONS
(a) Average age of all Center employees: 44.7 years.
(b) Average age of technicians: 50 years.
(c) Average grade of all Center employees: 10.9995.
(d) Average grade of technicians: 9.9466.
(e) The average age for the technician work force has increased by 1.2 years from
June 30, 1974, to February 13, 1976. The average age for the total Center work
force has increased by .6 years during the same period of time.
Representative WINN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman FUQUA. Thank you, Bill.
Dr. LUCAS. All right, sir. If there are no more questions, then we
would like to proceed to a discussion of our Space Shuttle activity,
and I would like to introduce to you Bob Lindstrom, who is the
manager of our Space Shuttle Projects.Office. He, in turn will introduce
his associates. Bob.
STATEMENT OP JAMES A. DOWNEY III, MANAGER, SPACE TELP~-
SCOPE TASK TEAM, GEORGE C. MARSEALL SPACE PLIGHT
CENTER
Dr. LUCAS. I would like to present Jim Downey, who is our task
team manager for the space telescope.
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SPACE TELESCOPE PROGRAM
MSFC PRESENTATION
TO
HOUSE AUTHORIZATION SUBCOMMITTEE
FEBRUARY 13, 1976
FIGUR1~ 1
Mr. DOWNEY. Thank you. (fig. 1) My subject is the space telescope
program and in starting I would like to introduce Mr. Jean Olivier,
chief engineer of the program.
FIGUBE 2
PAGENO="0698"
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This (fig. 2) is an artist's concept of the current configuration of the
space telescope. I will discuss some of the principal design features
of this system in a moment. Basically, as you are aware, the purpose
of the space telescope is to provide an orbiting astronomical observa..
tory capability in earth orbit above the obscuring effects of the Earth's
atmosphere, a long-term capability for the use by the international
science community.
You have had recent testimony from Dr. Noel Hinners of NASA
headquarters, and in that testimony he discussed the science objectives
of the LST. Also, I refer to my statement to this subcommittee last
year. I don't propose to go over the scientific objectives at this time.
I would like to draw your attention to a book that is just coming :off
the press, Eyes on the Universe, by Isaac Asimov. Asimov is a very
interesting and prolific science writer. In this book he traces the
history of the telescope from the earliest days, from the time of
Galileo, up to the present and into the future to the space telescope.
A key theme of this book is that with each significant step forward
in the evolution and technology of the telescope, new knowledge and
insights have been derived, most of which were unexpected. Asimov
also makes the point that present groundbased telescopes have reached
a maximum practical upper limit in size, with our 200-inch Hale
telescope on Mt. Palomar and the gigantic 236-inch telescope which
the Russians are attempting to get into operation at this time. Asimov
concludes the book with the point that the space telescope is obviously
the next significant step in optical astronomy. Of course, this sibep
is made possible through the tecl~nology of the space program.
Chairman FUQUA. I received a very interesting letter the other day
from the president of Johns Hopkins University. The significant
thing that he said was this same viewpoint, and that the whole world
is looking to us to develop it. Without destroying your presentation,
somewhere we will want to talk to you about a little money for it.
Mr. D0wNEY. Yes, sir, I think when we get into the schedule of
events, that would be appropriate.
PAGENO="0699"
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SPACE TELESCOPE PROGRAM
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SYSTEM
PRIMARY MIRROR DIAMETER 2 4m (8 Fr)
MASS 8600 kg (19, 000 LBS)
LENGTH 13m (43 Fr)
DIAMETER (MAX ) 4 3m (14 FE)
POWER 2000 WATTS
WAVELENGTH COVERAGE ULTRA-VIOLET VISIBLE AND
I NFRA-RED
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT POSITIONS 5
LAUNCH VEHICLE SPACE SHUTILE
OPERATING MODE UNMANNED
DATA RETURN TELEMETRY VIA 1RACKING AND
DATA RELAY SATELLITE SYSTEM
RETRIEVAL VEHICLE SPACE SHUTTLE
FIGURE 3
Regarding these characteristics of the system (Figure 3), you
probably recall that our early studies were based on a primary mirror
aperture of 3 m (10 ft) However, as a result of further definition
actnitv, both in-house and from our contractors, we determined that
the best balance between development complexity, or cost, and science
performance was the 2 4 m system So this aperture size has been
selected
Chairman FUQUA The Air Force didn't have anything to do with
that?
Mr DOwNEY No, sir No, it was strictly a NASA selection, I
strongly endorse that selection
The mass of the system, 19,000 pounds is comfortably with in the
capability of the Space Shuttle system We have a lot of weight
margin available The overall length is 43 ft, maximum diameter
14 ft Solar arrays produce up to 2,000 watts of electrical power As far
as wavelength coverage is concerned, we will view celestial objects
not only in the visible region of spectrum, but also in ultraviolet and
infrared The ultraviolet and infrared are largely inaccessible to
ground-based astronomers
At the focal plane of the telescope we have positions for five instru-
ments-cameras, spectrographs, et cetera-the type of conventional
instruments you would see in any astronomical observatory With our
concept we would have the opportunity of interchanging these
instruments or updating them throughout the long operational
lifetime of the space telescope As mentioned, the launch vehicle is
the Space Shuttle It will deploy space telescope to a 500 km altitude
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698
orbit, and after deployment the space telescope will operate in an
`unmanned mode, an automated mode, sending the data to Earth
via telemetry using the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.
If the space telescope should become incapacitated on orbit, it could
be retrieved by Space Shuttle. Repairs would either be made on orbit
by the astronauts, or for major repairs, the system returned to earth
for refurbishment and relaunch by the Shuttle.
SPACE TELESCOPE PROGRAM
MAJOR MILES TONES
COMPLETED FEASIBILITY STUDIES DEC. 1972
SELECTED SCIENCE TEAMS FOR DEFiNITION PHASE JUNE 1973
AWARDED CONTRACTS FOR DEFINING TELESCOPE ` AUG. 1973
AND INSTRUMENTS (ITEK CORP. & PERKIN-ELMER
CORP.
AWARDED CONTRACTS FOR DEFINING SPACECRAFT DEC. 1974
(BOEING, LOCKHEED AND MAR11 N})
S ELECTED TELESCOPE APERTURE SIZE MAY 1975
COMPLETE DEFINITION CONTRACTS MAR. 1976
INITIATE DEVELOPMENT PHASE . FY-78
LAUNCH 1983
FIGURE 4
This chart (fig. 4) indicates some key milestones in the program.
We completed our phase A work, the feasibility studies in 1972. We
began definition early in 1973. The science teams for the definition
phase were selected in June 1973. I might add the scientists have
played a very active role and participated with us in defining the
program. We awarded phase B contracts for defining the telescope
and the instruments to Itek and Perkin-Elmer Corporations in August
1973. The initial definition work on the Spacecraft to accommodate
the telescope and instruments was done in-house at MSFC. This
in-house work was then followed by a subsequent contractual phase
where we awarded phase B definition contracts to Boeing, Lockheed,
and Martin-Marietta in December 1974. I mentioned the selection of
the 2.4 m aperture size which was made in May 1975. We will be.
completing these five definition contracts and getting final results
from the contractor teams in March of this year.
PAGENO="0701"
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Of course, we have aimed and hoped for and planned for a fiscal
year 1977 new start. We are regrouping and targeting to initiate the
development phase in fiscal year 1978. We are replanning our schedules.
We will hope that we can have a launch approximately in late 1983
based on a fiscal year 1978 start.
SPACETELESCOPE PROGRAM
EXAMPLE OF ADVANCED TECHN I CAL DEVELOPMENT WORK
ACCOMPLISHED IN DEFINITION PHASE
o MIRROR SURFACEFINISH
- IMPERFECTIONS IN.MIRROR SURFACEMUSTNOTAVERAGE
MORE THAN ONE-HALF MILLIONTH OFAN INCH.
- l.8m MIRROR, MEETING SPACE TELESCOPE SURFACE FINISH
REQU I REMENTS, HAS BEEN COMPLETED BY I TEK CORPORATI ON,
LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 6
PAGENO="0702"
700
In addition to our definition studies that I mentioned, we have
accomplished advanced development work during the definition phase,
that is, proof of concept type efforts (fIgs. 5 and 6). Let me preface this by
saying I am going to give you two examples of advance development
work that give us high confidence the major technical problems have
been solved. We are convinced space telescope is a practical and
feasible program.
Space telescope, in order to take full advantage of the unob~cured
viewing capabilities in Earth orbit, has to have a very high quality
optical system. The Earth-based telescope designs are not so demand-
ing because the atmosphere is the limiting factor. For example, for
the primary mirror of space telescope the average imperfections in
the mirror surface relative to a theoretically perfect curve, must not
average more than one-half-millionth of an inch-a very demanding
specification. However, the Itek Corp. has successfully completed the
polishing and grinding and testing of the mirror that indeed not only
meets the space telescope specifications but exceeds them. Admittedly
the 1.8-meter mirror Itek completed is somewhat smaller in diameter
than the 2.4-meter system planned for the space telescope, but both
of these are large mirrors, and are in the same "ball park" from a
standpoint of size. We have very high confidence that there will be no
problem in grinding and polishing the 2.4-meter primary mirror to the
accuracy requirements of space telescope.
SPACE TELESCOPE PROGRAM
EXAMPLE OF ADVANCED TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT WORK
ACCOMPLISHED IN DEFINITION PHASE
o MIRROR ALIGNMENT UNDER VARYING TEMPERATURE CONDITIONS
- TO PROVIDE SHARPLY FOCUSED PICTURES, THE PRIMARY MIRROR
AND SECONDARY MIRROR OF THE TELESCOPE MUST BE ALIGNED TO
LESS THAN ONE MILLIONTH OFAN INCH.
- THIS ALIGNMENT MUST BE MAINTAINED THROUGHOUT VARYING
TEMPERA1IJRE CONDITIONS, e.g., DIRECTSUNLIGHTAND IN EARTH'S
SHADOW.
- GRAPH I TE-EPOXY MATER IAL HAS BEEN DEVELOPEd THAT HAS VERY
LOW EXPANSION OR CONTRACTION WITH TEMPERATURE.
- BOEING AEROSPACE COMPANY, KENT, WASH ING~ON, HAS MANUFACTURED
A FULL SCALE SPACE TELESCOPE TRUSS OF GRAPHITE-EPOXY,
MEASURED THE DIMENSIONS WITH VARIATIONS IN TEMPERATURE AND
CONFIRMED IHAT THEY ARE WITHIN ACCEPTABLE LIMITS FOR SPACE
TELESCOPE.
FIOtRE 7
PAGENO="0703"
701
Another example (figs. 7 and 8) of some of the proof of concept
testing that has been accomplished relates to this structure, the basic
telescope structure. The primary mirror will be at the bottom, the
small secondary mirror at the top. It is necessary, in order to obtain
proper focus, that the primary mirror and secondary mirror be main..
tamed within alinement to less than i~iOOOth of an inch, while science
observations are being made on orbit. And this alinement, I might add
FIGURE 8
70-079 0 - 76 - 45
PAGENO="0704"
702
must be maintained while the spacecraft is subjected to a variation in
thermal environment as it goes in and out of the Earth's shadow. Now,
fortunately, for this application, the technology of graphite epoxy
materials has evolved very rapidly in recent years. The principal
feature of graphite epoxy that is of interest to the space telescope
program is that it can be made to have very low expansion or con-
traction with changes in temperature. And indeed this full-scale truss
we see here, almost 200 inches in length, which was manufactured by
Boeing, has been tested dimensionally with variations in temperature.
It Was confirmed that the truss' dimensions remained in acceptable
limits for the space telescope program requirements.
In the time available I was able to provide only two examples of
technological areas that gave us concern when we entered the program.
I thrnk we have put these "to bed" now, so to speak, along with other
areas of concern investigated during the definition phase.
SPACE TELESCOPE PROGRAM
NEAR TERM ACTIVITIES
o BASED ON RESULTS OF PHASE B STUDIES, SPECIFICATIONS
FOR SPACE TELESCOPE WILL BE PREPARED.
o PROGRAM IS BEING REPLANNED AND VARIOUS SCHEDULE
OPTIONS ARE BEING CONSIDERED FOR FY-78 START.
FIGURE 9
Now here (fig. 9) is where I think we may want to dwell on where
we are and where we are going. Of course, as I mentioned, we are
receiving the final reports on our phase B studies from our five principal
industrial contractor teams in March. Using this material we will
be preparing our final specifications and requirements, refining our
development cost estimates, and preparing to initiate the design and
development phase. So, between the time of March and this summer,
we will be reviewing all of the material submitted by the contractor
teams, updating our cost estimates, and preparing specifications and
requirements for the design and development phase. At the moment
we are in the midst and throes of replanning things, working with
NASA Headquarters in proposing various schedule options, and
how we would initiate the fiscal year 1978 start. So that is where we
are at the moment-replanning based on a later start of development.
PAGENO="0705"
703
Chairman FUQUA. I have talked with Noel Hinners about the
possibility of going ahead and completing phase B, concluding the
contracts. I think that all contractors want to do that. I think it is
in the best interests of NASA to do that, and it will certainly save
money.
Dr. LUCAS. If you refer to the phase B contracts, they will be
concluded about March.
Chairman FUQUA. Now, what if you had, this is all contingent on a
lot of "if's," but if you had $2 to $3 million left in this year, what
could you do with it? What I am getting at is, one of the problems
we are having is not the $12 million you asked for for this year, but
what you are asking for in 1978 and 1979. Now, if you go ahead and
select contractors, what could you do with $2 or $3 million this year
and limited funding next year? What we are trying to do relates to
the Shuttle funding curve; fiscal year 1977 is a peak year and 1978 is
going to be a heavy year and then it will start coming down. I believe
you should plan your major buildup for the telescope after fiscal
year 1978, probably in fiscal year 1979, not a large buildup but a
gradual buildup starting at $2 to $3 million this year and then $9
million or something like that next year, of that order. What could
you do with that?
Mr. DOWNEY. In my view the $2 to $3 million certainly would not
cover the complement of the industrial teams that would have pro~
posed. They would have high manpower buildup for the proposal
and then the level of $2 to $3 million would not sustain that level of
manpower. At that level one would have to, after they render their
proposals, cut back to some smaller scale, low level of activity until
the full start was authorized.
Chairman FUQUA. You could go ahead and get your optics and
things of that type; could you not?
Mr. DOWNEY. It is possible we could go out on some long leadtime
items. We have thought about that. But the problem there is that
the buy on the primary mirror blank would be in excess of $1 million
itself. When an order is put in to Corning for the mirror blank material,
that would take a large fraction of a $2 million budget to cover the
order of the blank. Unfortunately that is a long leadtime item in the
program, the primary mirror is. I frankly, at this point, would not
recommend placing the order for that mirror on circumstances of
only $2 million availability.
Chairman FUQUA. How about $3 million? What is the minimum
amount you could use?
Mr. DOwNEY. Well, there are a lot of variables here. One plan would
be if we went out on the RFP's this summer and awarded contracts
in January, and that was our plan for the fiscal year 1977 start, and I
have been addressing your questions based on that consideration. If,
however, we delayed the RFP's, say until fall and then awarded the
contracts later, with the resulting slippage in award of contracts from
early next year to the middle of next year, then, of course, a lower
budget level could be utilized and a larger team sustained in industry.
What I think would be unwise really is if we went out on RFP's and
required industry to build up a big manpower loading to respond to
our REP's, and then they had to back off again and do some other
things, and then come back on loading the program again with people.
PAGENO="0706"
704
Chairman FUQUA. Can you get by without that big increase and
drop down? We are not asking for that. We are trying to really keep
it alive but within that curve when the curve starts coming down on
shuttle. Then we could start building up, but prior to that time have
it gradual.
Mr. DOWNEY. In my personal opinion I think it is possible to provide
the architecture of a program that would accomplish that feature.
Dr. LUCAS. I think what you are saying is that you have several
contractors, or some contractors working on each item and spending
money. Now, you could make a selection, narrow that down, and let
them move off slower and hold the money down below the $12 million.
I think you can make meaningful steps in that direction without the
big buildup that you are talking about. I think you could achieve that
by delaying the release of the RFP's a few months, as Jim Downey
mentioned.
Chairman FUQUA. I realize that the previous plan is probably the
optimum thing and I know that you have pulled it back to the bones,
but when you can't get the funds, what could you do to get the pro-
gram going? To let the world know that we are committed to it
and to keeping some of the team together that has been working on this
by whomever is the successful contractor. Start at a gradual pitch and
gradually build up, then after shuttle comes off the curve, you can
build back up all the way and still probably recoup the schedule you
have lost. At least keep some effort going on the program.
Mr. DOWNEY. I think there is a viable approach along those l:ines
and certainly we can make that kind of planning for the program. The
additional time does not cost money as long as we plan that buildup
and don't stretch the program after it is started.
Chairman FUQUA. I'm talking about not going up because, see, they
are talking about $12 million this year and then $30-$40 million or so
next fiscal year and that is what has everybody scared-not the $12
million this year, but what you've indicated in 1978. So we should
avoid that and start at a minimal effort this year, and a marginal effort
in 1978, and then in fiscal year 1979 get into "full production." I wish
that you would get us some information and some options on what you
could do on varying levels this year, particularly, try to keep it at a
minimum, and I think the committee would consider it. We could have
some problems with Appropriations Committee as we did last year,
but I think even with the tight budget, maybe we can find some money
for a minimum start-$2-$3 million-somewhere in that neighborhood.
Noel Hinners indicated that he could start a program with maybe
$2-$3 million as an absolute "barebones," and we are hoping also that
we can think of some kind of language in the bill and indicate an
authorization for it, maybe no money, but something that should at
least give you a ray of hope.
Mr. DOWNEY. Yes, sir, I think it would be a very important step
that would give industry confidence to respond to an RFP.
Chairman FUQUA. I think that there is enough interest for it. I
think, I don't know, I only speak for myself, the committee would be
sympathetic to something along those lines. But we do have to worry
about the level of fund.ing now. We are also worried about 1978.
Mr. DOwNEY. Yes, sir, certainly we will be working those options
with plans that do not involve rapid buildup and phaseout.
PAGENO="0707"
705
Chairman FUQUA And we are probably going to need something
soon Apparently you have done some work along those lines We are
going to need something for markup on the 25th of February, and we
need it sooner than that
Dr LUCAS Dr Hinners has actions on us to identify various plans
and options We can work with Noel and get a plan to you through
NASA headquarters
Chairman FUQUA Thank you
STATEMENT OP ROBERT E LINDSTROM, MANAGER, SPACE SHUT
TLE PROIECTS OFFICE, GEORGE C MARSHALL SPACE PLIGHT
CENTER
Mr LINDSTROM Mr Chairman, Mr Winn-I will present to you
the Space Shuttle in a series of four briefings We will brief you on the
three primary projects at the center and I'll introduce these people
as they come up A briefing on the Shuttle facility projects will be
given by Colonel Wessels Our briefing on the external tank will be
rather short We expect that you will get a full briefing from the Martin
Co on your visit to Michoud tomorrow
In my overview, I will touch on other Shuttle efforts that Marshall
is conducting that perhaps is not as well known Dr Lucas has men-
tioned that we have three primary responsibilities The development
of the Space Shuttle main engine, the external tank, and the solid
rocket booster Not quite as well known is the fact that we are par-
ticipating rather heavily in the overall Shuttle system activity, es-
pecially in the area of system level engineering analysis and integra-
tion I would like to show you on this chart (fig 1) a listing of the
types of activities or analytical work we are doing in support of JSC
in the overall systems effort I think as you view these activities, you
will see that they reflect basically the booster launch performance and
dynamics activity. It reflects our experience from Saturn and Skylab;
Johnson Space Center and NASA are making use of this MSFC capa-
bility
PAGENO="0708"
706
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING ANALYSIS AND INTEGRATION TASKS
* ASCENT PERFORMANCE
* AERODYNAMIC ANALYSIS AND TE STING
* UNSTEADY AERODYNAMICS ANALYSIS AND TESTING
* AEROTHERMODYNAMICS ANALYSIS AND TESTING
* STRUCTURAL DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS, LOADS
AND INDUCED ENVIRONMENTS
* POGO SYSTEM STUDIES
* ASCENT CONTROL AND SEPARATION
FIGURE 1
Chairman FUQUA. How are your POGO systems studies coming?
Mr. LINDSTROM. I think that they are coming along quite well. Our
progress to date indicates that we are not too sensitive to P0 GO. We
have a good analytical and test program and we have an accumulator
on the engine; Mr. Thompson will cover that development.
We have been conducting these tasks, or tasks such as these, for
the last 1~ years. Just recently we have increased our effort in the
systems area. We have taken a step in connection with JSC and head-
quarters to focus some of our strength and capabilities and have formed
an ascent flight systems integration working group. This was done
jointly with the Johnson Center; it is chaired jointly by the two. If
you will recall in the overall management presentation from JSC in
the systems area, there are four technical areas. It is the purpose of
this group to integrate these and to see that they are working together.
The groups are flight performance, loads and structural dynamics,
guidance, navigation and control, and integrated propulsion and fluids.
Each of the areas is headed by a JSC man as technical manager.
Another step we have taken is to form a propulsion systems office.
This is not a new organizational element but an office within the as-
PAGENO="0709"
707
sociate director for engineering of S. & E. Again we are expanding our
responsibilities to overview the total Shuttle main propulsion system.
The main propulsion system consists of the external tank, the orbiter
engine, plus the associated ground equipment. We are conducting an
overview of this total system, looking at its capability, and we are
doing some independent analysis. Here again the Shuttle program is
taking advantage of the capabilities at Marshall.
I believe you are aware that all space flight centers are forming a
program assessment group.
I would like to discuss the major test activities that Dr. Lucas
mentioned. I believe Mr. Yardley also presented this in his testimony.
I would like to point out again that Marshall is responsible for the
management and direction of main propulsion testing at NSTL
including facility and all support equipment development. We are
providing and installing all of the special test equipment and we are
responsible for the conduct of the test operations. The primary con-.
tractors involved are Rockwell International/Space Division and, of
course, Martin, and Rocketdyne. I think that it. is of interest that we
are managing a Space Division effort under a JSC contract. This is
working quite well.
Based on our propulsion test and propulsion systems capability, we
were asked to take over this main propulsion test program. Again we
are responsible for the management and direction, development of the
test facility and support equipment requirements, and direction of the
integration contractor. Now, unlike the mated vertical ground vibra-
tion test where we are doing more direct effort in the test program, the
primary effort being done at NSTL is by Rockwell, and again we are
managing this effort. You may note that in recent budget submissions,
we have transferred the dollars for this Rockwell effort from the JSO
budget into our budget and the increase in systems support budget at
Marshall is attributed to this.
PAGENO="0710"
708
MSFC MANPOWER CATEGORIES OF EFFORT
* PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
* ENGINEERING TECHNICAL DIRECTION AND CONTROL
* BACKUP DEVELOPMENT EFFORT - HIGH RISK AREAS
* DIRECT INLINE PROJECT EFFORT
* INTEGRATION * TESTING
* ENGINEERING AND ANALYSIS * FACILITY OPERATION
AT MSFC PERSONNEL, DOLLARS, FACILITIES, AND EQUIPMENT ARE
PLANNED, APPROVED, AND CONTROLLED FOR EACH OF THESE
CATEGORIES, AND AT A TASK LEVEL WITHIN EACH
FIGURE 2
I would like to take just a minute to talk about how we use our
people on the Shuttle program The chart on your left (figure 2) lists
four primary categories of effort. Of course, you are well aware that we
manage the program and that we use engineering for technical support
and direction of our contractors We at this Center, as well as other
centers, conduct a small amount of backup development effort in our
laboratories, and we as well as other centers, contribute directly to the
proj ects-not as an overview or management assessment, but we make
a direct work contribution As of today, more than 50 percent of our
manpower is dedicated to this direct project work I would like to
discuss just briefly what we in Shuttle and Marshall consider as
principles in program management, and those that we believe we are
eff~ctively using in the Shuttle We believe that we must approach the
job `with contractors as a partner. We feel that the management
program must have a balance of management, technical, procurement,
and other skills The point I would like to make is we feel very sti ongly
from a project view that engineering people must be in a "doing"
function or a "dirty hands" or working function in order to really
have the skills to manage a program
In summary, I would like to give you just briefly my assessment of
our accomplishments in the last year I think that we had a very good
year, and I would like to point out a few things that I feel highlight
that. We are very pleased that our cost and schedule projections have
held rather constant over the last 18 months I think that we are
reaching a stable point in our program We are making some adjust-
PAGENO="0711"
709
ments of milestones and we are making some cost adjustments, but by
and large, we are becoming very stable. We are very pleased with
Rocketdyne's performance in the engine in the last year and I think
you will see this when Mr. Thompson briefs you.
Chairman FUQUA. Is that it? Can you catch up any slack in the
schedule that you lost by the test stand out at Santa Susana and some
of the problems that they originally had?
Mr. LINDSTROM. I think we have caught up the slack that occurred
in the facility problem 1~ years ago. We had an accident out there
last Thursday night which is going to cause us some difficulties. Mr.
Thompson in his briefing will discuss that particular incident with you;
but I think we have the engine back on schedule. We have started
testing at NSTL and we are due to deliver late next spring the engines
for the main propulsion test and I believe that we will do so.
We are very pleased with Martin's performance which you will see
tomorrow. Martin has done a very good job in design and we had a
very fine CDR (critical design review) in November. Martin has done
a very effective job in procurement. They have placed a great number
of their subcontracts on a fixed price basis. They seem to get very
competitive pricing and they manage their procurements quite well
and we are very happy with Martin's approach. You will see one
large tool down there tomorrow built by LTV, which I think a great
job in completing was done in less than a year.
Thiokol has done a good job and of course they are just getting
started in terms of facilities and early design. As you know, in-house
we have the overall integration effort on the solid rocket booster. We
are taking the motor and adding structures and other systems. Mr.
Hardy will show this implementation, and we are right on schedule
in this job. We are very pleased and I think that all in all we have had
a good year. This concludes my introduction; do you have any
questions Mr. Chairman?
Chairman FUQUA. Yes, Mr. Lindstrom, I just wondered what will
the new Program Assessment Office do for the Shuttle and is this
program assessment program similar to the old Boeing systems inte-
gration effort that was done on the Apollo, I am a little vague on it?
Mr. LINDSTROM. I prefer that Dr. Lucas comment on the systems
integration effort. The Program Assessment Office will give center
management, program management, and NASA an overview function
over the projects, and I believe that it will help. They have some very
good people that can probe into any area of the Shuttle and raise
issues and questions and I think that in time it will be advantageous
to the program. Dr. Lucas would you like to comment?
Dr. LUCAS. Yes; let me comment. It is not nearly as extensive as
the Boeing systems integration effort.
Chairman FUQUA. Yes; but I was wondering.
Dr. LUCAS. This is our own people primarily. For example, we will
have a small number of people who are independent of the program
offices and who can overview what is going on and advise me. The
centers have similar activities, and the three work together with John
Yardley. It is sort of an internal audit, rather than like the Boeing
contract.
Mr. LINDSTROM. Thank you, sir. Now I would like to introduce
Mr. Bob Thompson, the project manager of the SSME.
PAGENO="0712"
710
STATEMENT OP NAMES R. THOMPSON, ER., MANAGER, SPACE SHUT-
TLE MAIN ENGINE, GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE PLIGHT
CENTER
Mr. LINDSTROM. I would like to now introduce Mr. Bob Thompson,
MSFC manager of the SSME.
Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Chairman, as Bob indicated, I am the man-
ager of the Shuttle engine project at Marshall.
AGENDA
* PROJECT OVERVIEW
* RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
o TECHNICAL STATUS/SCHEDULE
O COST/CONTRACT STATUS
* MAJOR ISSUES AND CONCERNS
FIGuRE 1
This is the agenda (fig. 1) that I will be following, although I would
like to add one item. Bob indicated that we had an incidentup at the
Cocoa test site last Wednesday, February 4. At the conclusion of my
briefing, I would like to give you a very brief summary of what hap-
pened and what our findings are to date.
PAGENO="0713"
711
F~I~~HTST M~LRT~?~R SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM
S~ I ~ -~-I SPACE SHUTTLE MAIN ENGINE
PROJECT SCHEDULE 1.5-75-02-01 I
T1~F~4 lJVJ~ I 1 ~ I~Y7~ ~
PROGRAM MILESTONES I s. %.OS d~ ~OREE
I ~ ~
PROJECT ATP~ POE CDR PFCJ'
I
PRERURNER AND START CO SJE CON 8 AT F L I
AUGMENTED SPARK M_~~Q~PLI.YY POEPUHNRRI YFOE~~ ON AT S
IGNITER ASI) TEST
COCA 4A
THRUST CHAMBER
TEST
COCA 48
TURBOPUMP TEST
-
-
~
-
~
-
ST 055 PREHURI
`
START CONSTE
~L
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-
I ~
~
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I CONSTE CORPS FIRST SIl~ 1
CORPS THRUSTCHAMRER
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~ V COMPLETE 1ST
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I
LCQR5RJJ~ EST I
ROPOWEELES rr ] ri~
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HPRESSUREI TEEN TURROP ~iPL1
-
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NSTL A-S STAND
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ITIATI FUG~T APE
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MAIN PROPULSION
TEST ARTICLES MPTA
FLIGHT ENGINES 211
OPERATIONALAPLIGHT
SUPPORT ACTIVITY
&J
I
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OSIPREY 1 ~
C ~4' T~
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LLY~.. ~1_
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FIGu1~ 2
This is an overview of our project schedules (JIg. 2), just to high-
light several of our major milestones. We've scheduled a critical de-
sign review in September of this year (1976), the preliminary flight
certification is in November of 1978 and we have our final flight certi-
fication out in April of 1980. Bob indicated that we would be delivering
the main propulsion test article engines in the spring of next year. We
are on schedule for that delivery and we are to deliver our first flight
engines to KSC in August of 1978. I feel that we can meet those major
dates. You can see from the chart some of the major test activity that
I will be going into a little later concerning some of our component
development testing at four of our Cocoa test positions, as well as
NSTL. We have one test stand operational at NSTL now, and have
been in test for about 8 months. Within the next month, we will be
initiating testing on the second test position down there (the A-2
test position). I will cover later the status of our four major test
positions at Cocoa. They have been active for some time and we are
quite well along in our testing.
PAGENO="0714"
712
SSME PROJECT
SUMMARY OVERVIEW
* GOOD PROGRESS ACROSS PROJECT DURING PAST YEAR PARTICULARLY DURING
LAST SIX MONTHS
* SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENT IN COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT TESTING AT SANTA
SUSANA
* SOME PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN ENGINE TRANSIENT DEVELOPMENT RECENT
RESULTS ENCOURAGING
* NSTL A 2 TEST POSITION ACTIVATION WELL ALONG TARGETING FOR LATE
FEBRUARY FIRING
* ENGINE 0002 COMPLETED ASSEMBLY AND CHECKOUT. INSTALLED IN A-2 TEST
POSITION UNDERGOING ENGINE/FACILITY CHECKOUT.
* ENGINE 0003 PROJECTED COMPLETE IN APRIL.
* CONTROLLER ENVIRONMENTAL TEST RESULTS ENCOURAGING. PP-3 UNIT INSTALLED
ON ENGINE 0002
* 42K COMBUSTION CHAMBER 100 CYCLE PROGRAM COMPLETE GOOD RESULTS
LIMITED ADDITIONAL TESTING PLANNED TO EVALUATE HEATING RATES.
* MAJOR LEVEL I MILESTONES COMING UP:
* FEBRUARY - 60 SECOND DURATION ENGINE FIRING AT RATED POWER LEVEL.
* MARCH DEMONSTRATE THROTTLING CAPABILITY OVER RANGE FROM
MINIMUM TO RATED POWER LEVELS
* OVERALL PROJECT SCHEDULE TIGHT BUT ACHIEVABLE
FIGURE 3
In summary (fig 3), to give you an overview of the project, I think
that we have made substantial progress during the past year in all
phases of our activity, and I think you will see from some of the subse-
quent charts that the rate of progress in the project across the board
has been very good, particularly during the last 6 months This, of
course, is because we are getting into the real "meat" of our test pro-
gram, both at the component level, and at the engine level The major
focus of our test activity during this period of time has been at Santa
Susana, where we are testing the components I would like to give you
a quick update-I know Jim Wilson and some of your staff were
down here in September of this past year
PAGENO="0715"
713
COJ~4P0NENT AND ENGINE
THRUST LEVEL ACHIEVED
110
100-
~ACHIEVED SINCE SEPTEMBER, 1975
---------~-ji-1~
HIGH 1100 1/2 OXID 1/2 FUEL FUEL OXIDIZER FLIGHT
0001 COMB INJECTOR PRESSURE PRESSURE PRESSURE PRESSURE POWER POWER POE. POE- NOZZLE
(ISTB) CHAMBER OXIDIZER FUEL OXIDIZER FUEL HEAD HEAD BURNER BURNER 77.5:1
TURBO TURBO TURBO TURBO
PUMp PUMP PUMP PUMP
A A A MAJOR AREASOF CURRENTEMPHASIS
FIGuRE 4
I've cross hatched on this chart (fig 4) with single lines exactly
where we were at that time on all the major components In the left
hand column, I've identified the accomplishment in terms of thrust
level achievements as a percent of full power level operation, the full
power level (FPL) which you see at the top, RPL (rated power
level), which is 100 percent of thrust, and the minimum power level
(MPL) which is at 50 percent of thrust What you see in the single
cross hatch is where we were in the September time frame for each
of the major components The double cross hatch indicates the pro-
gress we have made subsequent to that point in time You can tell
that up until 6 to 8 months ago, about the only components on the
engine that we had exposed to any significant power level, were our
preburners. Now, in general, we've tested all components above the
MPL operating point The combustion devices, with the main com-
bustion chamber, the injector, and the development nozzle, have all
been exposed to the full power level operating condition Next I'll
indicate progress on the turbomachinery On the oxidizer side the low
pressure pump has been to the FPL condition, the low pressure
pump on the fuel side has been to the full power level The oxidizer
high pressure pump has been to the rated power level condition and
the high pressure fuel pump has been somewhat over the minimum
power level condition to date I will summarize a little later the status
of the engine program, but 2 weeks ago we achieved our first test
where we tested the engine up to the minimum power level conditions,
and to main stage The one blank you see here is due to the fact that
PAGENO="0716"
714
we have not accomplished any testing yet on our large 77-to-i area
ratio nozzle. The testing I indicated earlier on the nozzle was with the
development unit, the area ratio there is 35-to-i. We have had some
manufacturing problems with this piece of hardware. We feel that we
have that behind us now and we will complete the first unit in early
March and we will go right into the test at that point.
This is just one way to look at what we've accomplished in our test
program.
SSME TEST ACTIVITY
ACTUAL VS. PLANNED
OXIDIZER TURBOPUMP TESTS FUEL TURBOPUMP TESTS
COCA 1A STAND COCA lB STAND
- 1B7SCV I 1979CY - 1975CY I~ i~7~CY
1121314111 Is ~t1 21314 1121 2~......j
~PLANNED v CDR 146 ......PLANNED VCDR
go ACTUAL -ACTUAL
8 SI
2 71
ci 12
56
_____-~ 046,' -
THRUST CHAMBER TESTS ENGINE HOT FIRE TESTS
COCA 48 STAND AT NSTL
- 1975CV I !97~ CV - 1975 CV 1976 CV -
1121314111213 ~.j... 1121314 1121
146 PLANNED VCDR 100 ___PLANNED A-i & A-2" CDR
- ACTUAL -ACTUAL STANDS
A-i STAND-+4-ACTIVE,'
- go ACTIVE
~5() -, ~6S
~ 40 NOTE: 5TEST RUN ..` 0 ~
IN 1974 -- //
- 3>" -
FIGURE 5
You see here (fig. 5) with the dotted line the planned or forecast
cumulative tests for our oxidizer turbopump position, our fuel turbo-
pump position, our combustion devices (which we collect as a group
in test.ing the injector, the combustion chamber, and nozzle on our
Cocoa 4-B test stand), and our testing at NSTL. I show you the
actuals to date. Both chart.s together measure our progress. We feel
that we are in very good shape, as I indicated earlier, in the combustion
devices area. I have indicated also the thrust levels that we have
achieved. If you look at the performance, because certainly this
PAGENO="0717"
`715
extrapolates into the specific impusle that we are all counting on
getting out of the main engine, the data to date has been very good.
It has been very close to specification and from the limited data we
have from the component stands, it looks like it might be a little on
the high side. Our biggest behind schedule position, if that is the way
to state it, has been NSTL. You can see here our actuals versus what
we had planned. To date, we've been active on the A-i position only.
We have accelerated planned testing now on the A-2 test stand and
brought it forward approximately 6 months. Of course, we are targeting
to get all of these tests off by the critical design review. Considering
the results of engine testing, I think we have had very good success
down at NSTL. The type problems that we have encountered have
been very typical of our LOX/hydrogen engine development experience
on the J-2's and the RL-iO's. The problems predominantly focus on
the start sequence and the cutoff sequence. The NSTL A-2 test
position activation is almost complete now, and we will be starting
testing within the month. Engine 0002, the second engine, is now
installed in that test position.
FIGURE 6
PAGENO="0718"
FIGTJRE 7
You can see here (fig 6) a picture of engine 0002 which was com-
pleted by the end of 1975 and delivered to NSTL during the first week
of January.
You can see the engine installed (fig 8) in the canted position on the
A-2 test stand It is canted about 18° to simulate the orientation as it
will be in the aft end of the orbiter. This engine is now installed in the
stand and we are in the process of checking it out.
Earlier in the program the controller was a problem area We feel
now that we have overcome almost all of our earlier problems Cer-.
tainly there are two parts to the controller system, the software as
well as the hardware. All of our testing at NSTL has been accomplished
716
PAGENO="0719"
717
driven by a rack-mounted controller and using the current flight sof t-
ware as we know it today. That part of the controller subsystem has
worked very well. I think we have the major hardware problems
behind us.
FIGURE 8
We have accomplished, over the past 3 months, very extensive
environmental testing of this controller. We have tested to both the
high and low temperature cycles. We've had good results there. The
other aspect of it would be the vibration environment that we see on
the engine, where right now we would estimate that it would be about
22~ g's. Up to 4 to 5 months ago, we had the controller hard mounted
to the engine. With some of our earlier problems being vibration
initiated, we went to a soft-mount configuration where we have the
equivalent of four attach points and use spool-type isolators about the
size of your fist. You can see here (figure 7) the PP-3 controller (PP
represent prototype) that is now installed on the engine at NSTL-
engine 0002. This controller was used very successfully in the checkout
of this engine at the Canoga Park plant. The results that we have to
date on this unit are very encouraging. When we designed to the isola-
tors, late last fall, we obtained only very limited life from the units.
They were good for about 20 minutes, but can be changed out on
the engine. We have made a very recent design modification to that
configuration and we are right in the process now of verifying th~at mod.
As of early this morning, we have in excess of 4 hours on those mounts
and they look very good. We feel that we have made an awful lot of
progress in this area and Honeywell has done a very fine job for us.
7O-Ofl~ 0 - 76 - 46
PAGENO="0720"
718
I have summarized some of the test activity that we have accom-
plished. I would also like to talk for a just a minute about where we
stand in manufacturing, and how far along some of the major com-
ponents are relative to being made available for test.
CRITICAL HARDWARE STATUS
COMPLETE AS COMPLETE AS CURRENTLY
MAJOR HARDWARE ITEMS OF SEPT, 1975 OF FEB. 1976 IN WORK
FUEL PREBURNER CHAMBER ASSEMBLIES 5 9 7
OXIDIZER PREBURNER CHAMBER ASSEMBLIES 7 9 7
MAIN COMBUSTION CHAMBERS 2 3 10
MAIN INJECTORS 2 4 7
NOZZLES 2 3 6
HOT GAS MANIFOLDS 3 6 4
POWERHEADS 2 4 2
LOW PRESSURE OXIDIZER TURBOPUMPS 2 - 4 8
LOW PRESSURE FUEL TURBOPUMPS 2 4 6
HIGH PRESSURE OXIDIZER TURBOPUMPS 2 4 7
HIGH PRESSURE FUEL TURBOPUMPS 2 4 8
CONTROLLER ASSEMBLIES * 1 3 3
ENGINES 1 2 4
FIGURE 9
I have listed here (fig. 9) all of the major hardware items on the
engine; certainly, there are others, but these are the major assemblies.
To give you a feel for where we stand, and the rate of our progress-
in the left column I have given you a status `report of where we stood
last September when some of your staff visited us. These-next
column-are the equivalent number of units complete in early Febru-
ary and these-last column-are the units that we have in work. So,
you can see over the last 5 to 6 months, in general, we have essentially
doubled the hardware in the program available for test; and, of course,
we have quite a number of units in work. The MPTA units were
placed in work in May of last year. I understand that you saw a very
brief progress film at headquarters quite recently. I would like to show
you more of that film. I think it is very good, and gives you a good
feel for some of the type activities we have been doing, not only on
major testing, but also in some of our laboratory design verification
testing.
(Film): I would like to start with the testing at NSTL. As you recall,
we delivered the ISTB engine in March of last year. We initiated our
testing in early May, and by June we had achieved one of our major
project milestones with the ignition of the main combustion chamber.
During the subsequent 2 or 3 months, we were focusing on working
out the start transition problems that we were encountering. I think
that we pretty well worked the sequence out and we achieved chamber
PAGENO="0721"
719
pressure levels of up to about 1,100 psi The rated condition for
reference is about 3,000 psi We tested up to about 30 percent of the
rated thrust condition. The duration of those tests were very short, but
we did achieve conditions where the engine control system was closed
loop and with another second duration would be steady state. In
November, we curtailed testing for a scheduled overhaul; we com-
pletely disassembled the engine for inspection and for modification of
some of the components to incorporate some of the more recent design
changes All of this work was accomplished at NSTL From the time
that the engine came out of the test stand until the time it went back
in, and was checked out, was 29 days Approximately 25 of those days
were actually used for the refurbishment and the total man-hours
expended during refurbishment were about 1,496 man-hours. We had
an eight-man team during that overhaul, and as I indicated we got
back into test about 29 days later.
I had mentioned earlier that one of the problems that we have
encountered was associated with the transition testing and it actually
involved the sequencing of our control valves We were getting exces-
sive internal leakage during cutoff and some of our oxidizer valves were
refurbished to correct this condition-you see some of that activity
here Our turbopump assembly room back at Canoga has been a very
active area over the last 3 months As a matter of fact, during those
3 months, we have assembled and disassembled 12 complete turbo-
pumps. You can see some of the activity going on here. This is a
balancing operation of our high pressure fuel turbopump rotor This is
accomplished in an area immediately outside the turbopump assembly
room. Here you see the high pressure fuel turbopumps undergoing
assembly. Normally, that assembly time takes us about 15 days on
both high pressure pumps. Low pressure pump assembly can be any-
where from 1 to 4 days. They go together very quickly. We have tooling
capability in that room for two complete sets of turbopumps, both
high and low pressure at any one time You can see here some of the
very recent design modifications that we have made on the impeller
of the high pressure LOX pump to improve the performance
The next series of shots is up in the Coca Test Area where we do all
of our major component testing You see here a test of our combined
low- and high-pressure oxidizer turbopumps They are driven by pre-
burner exhaust gas. This is one of the tests we conducted on our low-
pressure fuel turbopump which can be tested independently To date,
we've accumulated, over the last 4 months, 30 tests each on the high-
and low-pressure turbopump systems, both the fuel and the oxidizer
You see here one of the recent design mods we made because of a
design problem that we uncovered In the main combustion chamber
we had a weak section in a longitudinal weld seam We have now in-
stalled a girdle for strength on our first two units We have this girdle
on the ISTB engine and on our first component unit We have com-
pleted both mods and again, as I indicated, have tested that chamber
up to full power level operating condition. Here you see a very major
test position, Coca 4B, where we do our testing of almost all of our
combustion devices We have the dual preburners exhausting into a
solid wall hot gas manifold through the flight-type injector, the flight-
type chamber, and, of course, the 35 1 development nozzle Here you
see a film sequence of the RPL test Next the test we completed in late
December of this last year where we achieved the full power level
PAGENO="0722"
720
opei atrng condition The maximum test time on these stands is about
8 seconds on the combustion devices and we get up to about 50 to 60
seconds on the turbopump side
This is a view looking up the nozzle during the full power level test
If you look very carefully in these films you can see the mach diamonds
Another very important aspect of our program, to evaluate the life we
have on this combustion chamber, was the 42K subscale testing at
Marshall That program is now complete We have successfully con-
ducted over 100 cycles on that unit We also test up at Coca on our
Coca 4A stand augmented spark igniters We have tested the ASI's,
the augmented spark igniters, for the preburners, as well as the main
chamber now for a duration of, in excess of that we have in flight,
which is over 10 minutes
I talked about the major components we test in the program To
augment this, we certainly conduct very extensive testing in the labor-
atories The earlier frames were of some seal tests that we are conduct-
ing on our high-pressure LOX turbopump Here you see some struc-
tural tests on the blades of our high-pressure fuel turbopump The
yellow you see there is the stress coat that we use for analysis We also
conduct component proof tests on all structural items Here you see
the low-pressure LOX pump with strain guages applied This is a spin
test, again in the lab, of fuel turbopump under cryogenic conditions
All of our valves are tested very extensively in the lab. This is a vibra-
tion test under cryogenic conditions of our main oxidizer valve As
Bob indicated earlier, we are quite well along, not only our POGO
design, but actually in testing up at Santa Susana The picture you saw
there was the accumulator that is located between the two oxidizer
turbopumps on the engine I indicated a little earlier that we have had
a significant fabrication problem with our 77 1 nozzle We think that is
behind us now.
We have very recently completed the first braze cycle of our 1062
tubes inside that nozzle That braze cycle went very well There is a
very extensive amount of tooling involved here. You see the pressure
bag that's located down inside the nozzle to assure we keep all the tubes
under the right pressure and in the correct position during the braze
cycle We have a thermal jack that is installed, and you see here the
installation of the retort over the nozzle and then finally closing the
door on the furnace The first braze cycle was extremely successful As
a matter of fact, it was more so than the braze cycles we accomplished
earlier on the 35 1 nozzle We did have some between tube leakage and
had to go back into several subsequent braze cycles We are through
that now and that unit is in good shape
This is the assembly sequence of engine 0002 I think that we were
all quite surprised during the ISTB engine assembly, that whole
assembly operation went together in 21 days from start to finish
We didn't know whether we would be able to repeat that with sub-
sequent engines Engine 0002 went together in a little more than
half the time It was about 14 days from start to finish Assembly went
very well The ease of assembly is again further substantiated by the
time required for total disassembly and reassembly of the ISTB
engine during refurbishment at NSTL
These are some shots of some of our controller work up at Min-
neapolis Honeywell. I indicated earlier a very important part of this
program was the vibration testing. Those results have been very
PAGENO="0723"
721
successful. We did deliver the controller to Canoga Park for engine
checkout. We do use the NASA aircraft for transportation. Not only
for the controller, which certainly is a very key part of the program,
but also for any turbopump rework. We always send turbopumps
back to Canoga for refurbishment and we do use NASA 10 for that
activity. These are some shots of some of the software work that takes
place during checkout. We use a flight type tape, the same checkout
we will be using at the Cape for flight. That is a close-up shot of the
isolators mounted on the engine during assembly at the Conoga
plant. We did ship engine 0002 to NSTL via the same mode of
transportation we use on the ISTB. We truck it. It takes us about
4 to 5 days to get it down there and we see no problem with that.
We are very pleased with the total packaging arrangement on the
engine; it is very serviceable, and easily refurbishable. There are
certainly a lot of welds in the engine but with the procedures that
have been worked out, we can take it apart and put it together
very quickly.
Chairman FUQUA. Is that about the meat of it, Bob?
CURRENT WEIGHT STATUS
CEI VALUE DESIGN GOAL __________
100 ~` ____
HTGRO ____________________
5 SLOPE EQUATE fH+H+ftftftth
~o 4 LB PER W)NTII I-H-I-I-ti iH-1H-F
I ________
~94~ ___
93 AHEAD
92 RELEASE CDR _______
1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1000
YEAR
CURRENT ENGINE WEIGHT:~46 POUNDS
PREDICTED ENGINE WEIGHT AT FFC: < 6446 POUNDS
FIGURE 10
Mr. THOMPSON. I think so-figure 10-just a quick statement
on where we stand on weight. I indicated earlier some of the fabrication
problems we have had with the nozzle. We have recently, over the
last 3 months, added some weight in the nozzle, primarily to
assist manufacturing. This is our control limit on our specification
* weight. I think we are in pretty good shape in this area.
Chairman FUQUA. You said you put a girdle on the main combus-
tion chamber. Is that just temporary?
PAGENO="0724"
722
FACILITY STATUS
SANTA SUSANA
* COCA 4 (PREBURNERS, COMBUSTION CHAMBERS, NOZZLES)
- FACILITY COMPLETE AND ACTIVATED.
- TESTING UNDERWAY.
* COCA 1 (POWERHEADS, TURBOMACHINERY, HEAT EXCHANGERS)
- FACILITY COMPLETE AND ACTIVATED.
- TESTING UNDERWAY.
NSTL
* A-i (SEA LEVEL ENGINE POSITION)
- FACILITY COMPLETE AND ACTIVATED.
- TESTING UNDERWAY.
* A-2 (ALTITUDE ENGINE POSITION)
- FACILITY COMPLETE.
- ACTIVATION NEARING COMPLETION.
- TESTING SCHEDULED FOR LATE FEBRUARY.
FIG1JRE 11
Mr. THOMPSON. That is just temporary for the first two units.
(Fig. 11): Our facility status-I had indicated that we were in test on
all positions. We will be in test during the next month on the A-2 test
position at NSTL. All construction is complete.
PAGENO="0725"
723
TOP PROBLEMS
* MAJOR TECHNICAL ISSUES:
* HIGH PRESSURE FUEL TURBOPUMP BALANCE PISTON
PERFORMANCE.
* ENGINE TRANSITION DEVELOPMENT - ENCOURAGING
RECENT RESULTS, MORE WORK REQUIRED.
* HIGH PRESSURE OXIDIZER TURBOPUMP PERFORMANCE.
* HIGH PRESSURE OXIDIZER TTJRBOPUMP SEAL DEVELOPMENT.
* IMPROVEMENTS STiLL REQUIRED IN MANUFACTURING,
PARTICULARLY WELDING.
* PROGRAMMATIC:
* PROJECT COSTS VERY TIGHT FOR REMAINDER OF PERIOD A.
CHANGES BEING DEFERRED MAXIMUM EXTENT POSSIBLE.
SCHEDULE ACHIEVEMENT - DOWN SEVERAL WEEKS OVER
6-MONTH PERIOD.
FIGURE 12
(Fig. 12): Just a moment on our top problems. We do have some
technical problems in the project. The high pressure fuel turbopump-
we have to work out the proper balance on the balance piston in that
pump. We haven't accomplished that yet and that is pretty much
what has held us back in achieving the rated power level conditions
there. Engine transition development-although I think our recent
development tests have been very encouraging-we still have to
achieve the rated power level conditions. The high-pressure lox
p~mp-initially we were off about 15 to 20 percent in performance.
We made a modification in the impeller area and we recovered all but
about 5 percent of that. That was on the first iteration. I think with
some subsequent iterations we can get it all back. We do have some
additional seal development work to accomplish in the turbopump
area. We have the normal manufacturing problems, but with the
complexity of the engine, we have to keep maximum attention in that
area. From a programmatic standpoint, I understand funding is tight
for every project. I think we can do the job within the dollars that we
have planned and as Bob indicated our requirement forecast has
remained pretty stable for the last 18 months. If I look back over the
project over any 6-month period of time with some of the problems
we have encountered, it looks like we lose around 2 weeks. That
would be the way I would summarize it.
PAGENO="0726"
724
I think that is my last chart. I had indicated earlier I would like to
give you just a few words on the incident we had at Coca. Again, it
occurred Wednesday, February 4. We did have a fire on the facility.
We've done a lot of investigative work during the last 7 to 8 days. Just
to briefly describe the facility to you-downstream of the turbopump,
and this was an oxidizer turbopump system that we had in test; we
take the liquid from the discharge of that test article and we pipe it
about 400 or 500 feet to a catch tank. There is a facility valve down-
stream of the test article about 20 feet. This is where the problem
occurred. It was on the facility side. A fire initiated there about 20 to
30 milliseconds prior to the test cut. From the film coverage, we had
a movement at that valve first. Fire immediately broke out in that
area. We didn't see any fire evident down in the test article until over
a second later. All the turbopump performance during that period of
time was very normal compared to our prior test. The test objective
for this test was to map the turbopump performance. It was a sched-
uled 35-second test. The cutoff occurred at about 19 seconds into the
test. We have very extensively evaluated all of the test article data
both at the contractor plant, as well as at Marshall, with separate
investigating teams. We feel very confident to date that the problem
initiated on the facility side, and there is overwhelming data to support
that conclusion. We are still doing some work to establish exactly
what caused the fire, although I think we have a good handle on that.
That test position will be down several months.
Chairman FUQUA. What is it going to do to your testing schedule?
Mr. THOMPSON. At least on this test position, it is going to mean
several months lost time to us. My own personal opinion is that
although we have got to look at the type tests we will be running at
NSTL, I don't see any significant impact there at all. If I can talk
about the downstream schedules, I feel we can work it out and not be
impacted.
Representative WINN. What is your estimated cost of the damage
of the overall thing?
Mr. THOMPSON. On the facility side, it's from 1 to 1~ million.
Now this would include the repair of the ducting in the downstream
area of the facility where there was pretty extensive fire damage.
Most of that was caused by the loss of the hydraulic system. The lox
fire, I think, was out very quickly. We did dump about 300 gallons
of the hydraulic fuel on the stands. Included in that estimate would
be the recleaning and servicing of the oxidizer system. That would be
our best estimate at this time. Are there any other questions,
Mr. Chairman?
Chairman FUQUA. You still do not know what really caused it, do
you?
Mr. THOMPSON. Yes, sir. We did have ignition at, or downstream of
that valve.
Chairman FtTQUA. The facility valve?
Mr. THOMPSON. Yes. We did have a failure of a facility flowmeter
immediately upstream of that valve which may have contributed to
the ignition source. Two of the blades came off. That's very clear
from the oscillograph data and occurred approximately 600 milli-
seconds prior to that test being cutoff and the problem being manifest.
PAGENO="0727"
725
Chairman FUQUA. I mean it was not anything with the engine.
Mr. THOMPSON. No, sir, not with the test article. It was facility
oriented
Mr. LINDSTROM. Mr. Chairman, are there any further questions on
the engine?
Chairman FUQUA Negative
CTATEMENT OP IAMES B ODOM, MANAGER, EXTERNAL TANK
PROJECT, GEORGE C MARSHALL SPACE PLIGHT CENTER
Mr. LINDSTROM. I would like to introduce Mr. Jim Odom, our
external tank project manager. We have shortened his briefing because
you are going to get a full briefing later at MAF
Dr. LUCAS. I would like to suggest, Mr. Chairman, that we hear
this short presentation on the external tank and then the one on
Spacelab We will probably skip the IUS and space processing presen-
tations the IUS, because it is a development primarily of DOD, and
the space processing, because we are going to have a presentation
later down in the lobby
Chairman FUQUA Fine
Mr ODOM As Dr Lucas indicated, Bob and I have cut this one
very short because you will be getting much more detail at MAF
Chairman FUQUA Are you going to use these same charts tomorrow?
FIGuRE 1
PAGENO="0728"
726
Mr. ODOM. I would like to just briefly give you my overview and
Martin can fill in with the details. The tank is as shown in figure 1
and as Bob indicated, we completed our critical design review in
November of last year (fig. 2). It went extremely well. rfhere are no
significant redesigns coming out of it so it gives us a lot of confidence
now that the design that we started with is the one that we are going
to build.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
* CY 1975
* FABRICATION OF THE INTERTANK BEGAN IN JULY (MBO MILESTONE)
BYAVCO, NASHVILLE, TN.
* THE PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM UTILIZED BY THE
MARTIN COMPANY AT MAF WAS OFtICLALLY VALIDATED BY MSFC.
* MAJOR HARDWARE AND TOOLING PROCUREMENTS ARE PLACED.
* LH, AND LO, DOME GORES AND DOME TRIM AND WELD FIXTURES
INSTALLED AT MAF.
* FACILITY MODIFICATION AND CONSTRUCTION ARE ON OR AHEAD OF
SCHEDULE.
* THE ET CRITICAL DESIGN REVIEW CONDUCTED IN NOVEMBER.
FIGURE 2
Chairman FUQUA. You have made the final design?
Mr. ODOM. That is correct. We did the design review before we
were totally committed to all of the major tools and that is why we
timed the CDR as we did. Also, we have already started the manufac..
ture of some of the parts that go into the first structural test articles,
we also have verified the performance measurement system (PMS)
and it indicates that we have an excellent technique for managing the
cost and schedules. Martin is following the system very well. We are at
the major hardware and the tooling fabrication phase of the program
such as the intertank assembly at AVCO.
Chairman FUQUA. Where is that?
Mr. ODOM. In Nashville. They are building all of the large pieces
that go into the intertank assembly. These go to Michoud and are
assembled into the final single piece. We are 70 percent committed in
procurement of our tooling and components that go into making up
the tank and we have a number of tools already in place. You will
see the dome tools at MAP already in.place. We are already welding
domes and have had excellent results to date with these tools. These
are some of the most critical welds which we were worried about and
wanted to complete first. Most of the facility modifications that we
needed for initial startup, have either been completed or are in process
and you will see these tomorrow.
PAGENO="0729"
727
SUMMARY
* MMC IS PERFORMING WELL
* SCHEDULE IS TIGHT
* WEIGHT IS CRITICAL
* COST AND SCHEDULE ARE FOLLOWING OUR PROJECT PLAN
* KEY AREAS
* STRUCTURALAND THERMAL LOADS
* THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM
* START UP FABRICATION PROBLEMS
FIGURE 3
In summary [fig 3], I think that the Martin Co is doing quite
well. As Bob indicated, they have been very effective in getting fixed
price contracts for all of the components for assembly of the tank Of
all the contracts we have let to date, even including the tooling, ordy
three are cost plus contracts It gives us very good confidence that
the prices we are committing to, we should be able to meet. The
schedule is tight; however, we have accomplished the work that we
intended to accomplish by this point in time and I believe that the
program is in a healthy condition The weight is very critical and we
will have to watch it throughout the program, but I believe that is a
manageable condition right now The cost and schedules, as I mdi.-
cated, are following our plans We do have key areas we will be watch
ing The structural and thermal loads as we understand them now and
as they are refined, will affect TPS and structures We are having a
few startup problems with some of our subcontractors but none
yet that might not be expected Most of the contractors we have are
made up of people that have been in the business a number of years
and we see good capability in them I think Martin has done an
excellent job in placing these contracts-not only with small business
but with minority business contractors Right now, 42 percent
about $19 million of our procurement dollars are in small business
and about $0 5 million of this is in minority business in the New
Orleans area Martin has done an excellent job in that area As Bob
indicated, at the onset of the program we were quite concerned with
the quality of vendors we could get at fixed price This has really
come out quite well Are there any questions?
STATEMENT OP GEORGE B HARDY, MANAGER, SOLID ROCKET
BOOSTER PROJECT, GEORGE C MARSHALL SPACE PLIGHT
CENTER
Mr LINDSTROM Mr Chairman, I would like to introduce Mr
George Hardy, the project manager of the solid rocket booster
PAGENO="0730"
728
AGENDA
* PROJECT OVERVIEW
* RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
* TECHNICAL STATUS
* MAJOR ISSUES AND CONCERNS
* FUTURE PLANS
FIGuRE 1
Mr HARDY Mr Chairman, Mr Winn, I appreciate this oppor-
tunity to brief you on the status of the solid rocket booster I will
follow the agenda here (fig 1) with a brief overview I will talk to
you about some of our recent accomplishments and technical status
and some of the things that are ahead of us Throughout the last year,
the design ai~id configuration of the booster has matured significantly
The booster ~s~approximately 150 feet in length and 146 inches in
diameter A solid rocket booster weighs approximately 1,300,000
pounds and approximately 1,100,000 pounds of that is the propellant
FIGURE 2
PAGENO="0731"
729
You see in this picture (fig. 2) the major solid rocket motor ele-
ments with the nozzle and the major structural elements which were
designed in-house, at the Marshall Center, and are being fabricated
by McDonnell Douglas at Huntington Beach.
SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER PROJECT OVERVIE~BJ
* PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
EIOJECT MANAGEMENT 1
(MSFC)
JI
BOOSTER DESIGN & INTEGRATION I
(MSFC) J
BOOSTER SUBSYSTEMS SOLID ROCKET MOTOR
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
L!~JBSYSTEM CONTRACTORS) (THIOKOL)
BOOSTER ASSEMBLY
(BOOSTER ASSEMBLY CONTRACTOR
TBD)
FIGURE 3
Just by way of review, I thought it would be worthwhile to remind
you of the project implementation approach (fig. 3) on the solid
rocket booster, even though it is somewhat different from some of
the other shuttle projects. We are doing in-house here at the Marshall
Center the design and integration during the DDT & E phase of the
solid rocket booster. One of the prime products of that activity is
the acquisition of contractors to build the hardware. We are not
building any of the hardware in-house here. The major contractor
for the solid rocket motor is Thiokol.
A significant number of subsystem and component contractors are
required to build the booster elements, such as the structures, the
thrust vector control system and the parachutes. These represent
what would be a prime contractor's subcontractor, and we have
essentially all of those contractors in place at this time. The only
one we do not have is the parachute contractor and that is in the
selection process right now. In addition, we will bring on this summer
a booster assembly contractor (BAC). The function of this contractor
will be to take the hardware elements that result from this in-house
design and integration activity and the contracts that we will place,
or have placed, and assemble this hardware into its final configuration
PAGENO="0732"
730
and check it out for the actual launch. This contractor, which is to be
selected this summer, will then complete the team of contractors for
the solid rocket booster.
Chairman FUQtTA. Where will that be assembled?
Mr. HARDY. That will be assembled at Kennedy, at the launch site.
SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
* SRB SUBSYSTEM CONTRACTS NEGOTIATED
* COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT TESTING INITIATED
* NOZZLE FLEXIBLE BEARING
* THRUST VECTOR CONTROL
* ELECTRICAL AND INSTRUMENTATION
* FACILITIES CONSTRUCTION INITIATED
* SRM FACILITIES AT THIOKOL.
* STRUCTURAL TEST FACILITIES AT MSFC
* MAJOR TOOLING IN FABRICATION
FIGuRE 4
Mr. HARDY. I would like now to comment on recent accomp-
lishment (fig. 4). With the exception of the parachute contractor, all
of our subsystem cdntractors are negotiated, onboard and working
building hardware.
PAGENO="0733"
731
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION OF SRB CONTRACTORS
S&GN*L COND*TIODER MODULES
~OOPOOUT$ON SUNOSbOSO~?~O~~
CONTEOLS r P00(5,0 ARIZONA TVCPUEL M~Y MODULES
FIGuRE 5
This viewgraph (fig. 5) shows geographically the location of some
of the more significant contractors, by no means all of them. Also, I
would point out that I have not shown here the subcontractors for
Thiokol, but have shown the Thiokol/Wasatch Division at Brigham
City, Utah. Our contract on the booster separation motor is with
Chemical Systems Division of United Technologies Corp.-
(UTC)-this is a fixed price contract. We do have a fairly large
number of fixed price contracts on the booster. Thiokol in fact, has
about 90 percent of all their subcontracts on fixed price; it represents
approximately 60 percent of the total dollars for the motor. Another
contract I mentioned, McDonnell Douglas at Huntington Beach, is
fabricating the structural elements to the design that ~as done in-
house here at Marshall; that also is a fixed price contract. At Rockford,
we have the contract for the auxiliary power unit. This unit is a com-
mon design with the orbiter. We are using the development work
which was done there and with some minor modifications, we are
able to use the same unit. At Moog in Buffalo, N.Y., our servo
actuators are now under contract and in Teterboro, Bendix is fabri-
cating and building the integrated electronics assembly. At KSC, we
will have the assembly work associated with the booster assembly
contractor and that contractor, as I said, we expect to bring onboard
in late summer this year.
We are into component development testing work on the booster.
The flexible bearing subscale work at Thiokol has been completed
successfully and we will soon be in the fullscale prototype bearing
testing there. Here in Huntsville, we are in the testing of some of the
components of the thrust vector control system and some of the
electrical and instrumentation components. Other things that we are
doing here is some screening tests on off-the-shelf hardware, some
hardware that was used in the Saturn Apollo program as well as used
in other aerospace programs in an attempt to use that hardware as it
PAGENO="0734"
732
was configured to avoid development cost. Facility construction is
progressing satisfactorily and Bob Wessels will cover that later. Our
maj or tooling fabrication is proceeding very well both at Thiokol and
at McDonnell Douglas for the structural test articles.
SOLID ROCKET I300STER TECHNICAL STATUS
,* WATER IMPACT LOADS ANALYSES
* ATTRITION (COST) TRADE-OFFS
* IMPACT VELOCITY/PARACHUTE SPECIFICATIONS
* STRUCTURES FABRICATION
~ ~ MOTOR CASE FABRICATION
* NOZZLE FLEXIBLE BEARING TEST PROGRAM
* PROPELLANT GRAIN DESIGN*
FIGURE 6
I would like to briefly comment on the technical status (fig. 6).
We did complete last year, a very comprehensive trade-off study on
the vertical impact velocity at water impact of the booster versus
the attrition rate; that is, the attrition rate that results from the loads
that are actually imposed on the booster when it does hit the water.
We did this from a cost effective standpoint, looking at the lowest
cost per flight and in so doing, we did change our vertical impact
velocity from 100 feet per second to 85 feet per second. That was a
very significant cost effective change. The structures fabrication is in
progress at McDonnell Douglas. We have a large majority of the raw
materials inhouse there.
PAGENO="0735"
733
This is a picture (fig. 7) of the large thrust fitting that is up on
the forward section of the SRB and it takes the entire thrust of the
booster, translating it into the rest of the shuttle vehicle. This partic-
ular forging here, as you can see, is approximately 10 feet long and it
weighs approximately 2,000 pounds.
The motor case fabrication at Ladish Co. in Cudahy, Wis., under
contract with Rohr, who is under contract with Thiokol, is pro-
ceeding very well. This is a picture (fig. 8) of a SRM test setment
FIGuRE 7
70-079 0 - 76 - 47
PAGENO="0736"
734
which was fabricated in 1975. As you know, the SRM fabrication
process is quite similar to the fabrication process of the Titan motor
cases, which is also done by Ladish. However, no segments the size
of the SRM had been fabricated by Ladish. This is 146 inches in
diameter and approximately 163 inches in length. That activity is
proceeding very well, as well as work.with other Thiokol subcontractors
relative to the heat treat process that will be done on this motor case.
The flexible bearing that goes on the nozzle actually interfaces be-
tween the nozzle and the motor case in order to provide the vector
capability of the nozzle for the solid rocket motor. Test program and
fabrication process development is proceeding very well at Thiokol.
Subscale testing has been completed as I mentioned.
FIGuRE 8
PAGENO="0737"
7a5
This is a picture (fig. 11) of a prototype full-scale bearing. That
bearing is approximately 8 feet in diameter. It is a vulcanized miit
with metal shims interspersed with elastomer material. That tech-
nology is being used on some Navy programs today and was also tised
on the 156-inch rocket motor program.
In the areas of concerns and issues (figs. 9 and 10), we did have
SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER MAJOR ISSUES AND CONCERNS
* SOLID ROCKET MOTOR NOZZLE ABLATIVE MATERIALS SUPPLY
* RAYON CLOTH PRECURSOR MATERIAL
FIGURE 11
FIGURE 9
PAGENO="0738"
736
SRM ~OZZLE MATER IALS
CARBON GLASS CLOTH PHENOLIC
~
GLASS CLOTH
I ALLMETALPARTS~D6ACSTEELI
I ESCEPTASNOTED
- CARBON CLOTH PHENOLIC
I GLASS CLOTH PHENOLIC
\\ I SILICA CLOTH SILICA CLOTH PHENOLIC
UM \`OTH SILICONE ELASTOMER 70Th T73 LINEAR SHAPED CHARGE
ALUMINUM
FIGURE 10
one concern that has come to light in recent months having to do with
the availability of a n zzle ablative material, specifically, a rayon cloth
precursor which is fairly significant throughout the solid rocket motor
nozzle. We use approximately 51,000 pounds of that material on each
nozzle. This material is generally referred to as tire-grade rayon and
because of the diminishing requirement for the rayon tires within this
country, the suppliers of this type of rayon have continued to diminish.
American Enka who is one of the major suppliers ceased production
some time ago. The single supplier in this country to date is American
Viscose, a subsidiary of Food Machinery in Front Royal, Va. We have
been advised that Food Machinery has put that plant up for sale and
there is some question about them continuing in business. We have
consulted with Thiokol, our prime contractor, and also DOD who is
also a user for this material and we have taken an action to protect
ourselves for the D.D.T. & E. phase of the program. Specifically, we
have placed an order to stockpile the material, slightly less than
300,000 pounds, which we need for the D.D.T. & E. phase of the pro-
gram. The Navy has likewise taken such an action for their programs;
however, they are using millions of pounds compared to our few
humdred thousand pounds.
Concurrently with that, we have accelerated the planning for a
program that we contemplated once before and that was the deve1~
opment of an alternate material. Specifically, in that time frame, we
were considering a low cost alternate material. We are consulting
with the DOD in an attempt to combine our efforts there because
they likewise are considering the development of an alternate mate-
rial. Some of the alternate materials that are considered for use here
are such things as pitch carbon fibers and pan fibers; some of which
are available in production to date, others of which are in the develop.'
relit. phase. We have taken the necessary steps to protect ourselves
for the, immediate future and we are investigating a development
program for the long range.
PAGENO="0739"
737
SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER FUTURE PLANS (CY 76)
* SELECT AND NEGOTIATE CONTRACTS FOR:
* RECOVERY (PARACHUTE) SUBSYSTEM
* BOOSTER ASSEMBLY
* CONTINUE DEVELOPMENT TESTING/INITIATE QUALIFICATION TESTING
* FABRICATE FIRST SET OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
* DELIVER FIRST MOTOR CASE SEGMENT TO THIOKOL
* COMPLETE MAJOR TOOLING
* COMPLETE MAJOR FACILITIES MODS
FIGuRE 12
Now just a couple of words on things for the future (fig. 12). We
will select and negotiate our last two contract members of the team;
the recovery parachute subsystem contractor and the booster assembly
contractor.
Chairman FUQUA. When will you select the booster assembly
contractor?
Mr. HARDY. When?
Chairman FUQUA. About what time frame?
Mr. HARDY. We are considering August of this year. ~he selection
activity, procurement activity, has commenced and we have targeted
for August of this year.
SRB PROJECT MASTER SCHEDULE
*
~
PROGRAM MILESTONES
CV 1
~MLN
974
AlOE
CV 1975 CY 1976
E*AAJJASONO JFMA*J~A4SOR
~
CV 1977
1MAR51 ATOM
~
CV 1978
MAR.11 800MM
ISO~,ENC
- CV 1979
R*AMJ'1ASOW~
T~R MO~E
SUBSYSTEM a
COMPONENT
PROCUREMENTS *
SRM C~E
j
GPO RECOVERY
VT ~CT *_~_~
~ E~...
ALL MILESTONES SHOWN ARE
CONTRACTOR ATP OATESJ
COMPONENT DE~GN/
°1Jf~4~
~C4(~IiNO..._ ~S
REARING I St COMPL. ESM 0* 51*1505. 0/5
GROUND TEST
HARDWARE DELIVERIES
0/DMSFC * ,~7SK~ET EMPTY INERT
~5W°~ ~ SOC HOW
SUBSYSTEM/SYSTEM
MAJOR GROUND TEST
*
RIVT~~' C~ *15*1 TEST; C~fo.Ao~G ~o ~
ETA~t~TVC A ~ GOAL
- A
PMQF HDW. DEL
ASSEMBLY a do
[ COMPL~ COMM. I
S INTrO C/H 5*5 0/0
ASST.O7~~ s!~ ~KSC 155
COTMPS. COMP~A.L$RpO/
L~I
FIGURE 18
PAGENO="0740"
738
The development testing (fig. 13) will continue in this year
and we will actually initiate some of our component qualification
testing; some will be done at Thiokol, some of it at our subsystem
contractors, and a considerable amount of it here at Huntsville. The
fabrication of the first structural articles, which are ground test
articles, at McDonnell Douglas will be accomplished this year and
we will be delivering `the first motor case segments to Thiokol in
preparation for the first ground motor tests in midcalendar 1977.
We expect to complete our tooling and our major facility activities.
I would say, in summary, that the solid rocket booster is on schedule
and within cost plan. We do not see any problems downstream at
this time that would jeopardize that posture. Any questions, I will
be glad to answer.
STATEMENT OP COL. R. R. WESSELS, DIRECTOR, PACILITIES
OPPICE~ GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE PLIGHT CENTER
Mr. LINDSTROM. Mr. Chairman, I would like to introduce Bob
Wessels who will quickly give you the status of the Shuttle facility
construction program.
MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
SHUTTLE FACILITY PROGRAM
PRESENTATION
REVIEW PROGRAM SCOPE
ILLUSTRATE MAXIMUM RE-USE CONCEPT
SUMMARIZE PROGRAM PROGRESS MAR 1975 - MAR 1976
~`IGUEE 1
PAGENO="0741"
739
MA~SHAU. SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
SHUTTLE FACILITY PROGRAM
SCOPE
PROGRAM SUPPORTED JECT LOCATION PROJECT PURPOSE
SSME SANTA SUSANA COMPONENT TESTING
NSTL DEVELOPMENT AND
ACCEPTANCE TESTING
MSFC MODEL TESTING
ORBITER PROPULSION NSTL PROPULSION TESTING
SYSTEM
EXTERNAL TANK MAF MANUFACTURING SUPPORT
MSFC COMPONENT STRUCTURAL
TESTING
SRB WASATCH MANUFACTURING SUPPORT
M$FC STRUCTURAL TESTING
QROUND VIBRATION TEST MSFC MATED SHUTTLE DYNAMIC
PROGRAM TESTING
FIGURE 2
Colonel WESSELS. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Winn. The purpose of this
portion of the presentation is to review the total scope of the Marshall
Space Flight Center Shuttle Facility program: (Fig. 1). To illustrate
to you the main elements that Dr. Lucas mentioned in that the pro..
gram is structured toward maximum reuse of existing facilities from
previous programs, and then to provide a summary/progress rel?ort
for the past 12 months. The scope of this program (fig. 2), is required
to support the development of the Space Shuttle main engine, SSME,
the orbiter propulsion system, the external tank, ET, the solid rocket
booster, SItB, and the ground vibration test program. The locations
are shown in the center column. At Santa Susana we accomplish
component testing of the main engine and at National Space Tech-
nology Laboratory, NSTL, the development and acceptance testing
of the main engine system as a whole are accomplished. Here at
Marshall we have a scale model test project. In support of the orbiter
propulsion system, we have the main propulsion test article, MPTA,
project at NSTL. For the external tank there are projects of manu-
facturing at Michoud Assembly Facility, MAF, and for structural
testingjiere at Marshall.
At Wasatch, Utah, we are accomplishing projects in support of
solid rocket motor manufacturing. Here at Marshall we have a
project for SRB structural testing and the full scale ground vibration
test. The total program during the last 12 months (fig. 3), has changed
from 84 million to 85 million by virtue of an underrun of t~pproxi-
mately $3 million at .NSTL, and the expansion, of the program for
the work at Wasatch, and the new project in fiscal year 1977.
PAGENO="0742"
740
MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
SHUTTLE CONSTRUCT'ON PROGRAM
All Locations - All Apprtwed Proj.
1975 VERSUS 197o
AMOUNT AMOUNT
TOTAL AMOUNT OBLIGATED YET TO BE
~OGRAM COMPLETED (UNDER CONS?.) OBLIGATED
A/O Mar 1975 $84, 760.000 $36. 560, 000 $32, 584. 000 $15, 616, 000
A/C Mar 1976 $85, 294,000 $48,429,000 $32, 916,000 $ 3,949, 000
FIGURE ~
MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
LIST OF SHUTTLE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT
COMPLETED
FROM MAR. 1, 1975 THRU FEB 29, 1976
~~4TlON FACILITY TITLE FY' CCE* Date
PROGRAM ($ Million.) Completed
Michoud Modification of Mfg. & Final Assy Fac. 73
* Weld Sub Assembly, Phase ii .48 July 75
Major Tooling Foundations 196 Sep 75
* Pneumatic Teat Facility 1.31 Dec 75
* Weld Sub Assembly, Phase III .23 Jan 76
Modification of Mfg. & Final Assy Fac 74
* Major Components Cleaning .06 Mar 75
* Truss Mode, Phase Ill .22 Apr 75
.LH~/LOXWe1dAreas .74. Sep75
* Minor Plant Mod. .28 Dec 75
* TPS Prep 1 Application 1. 139 Feb 76
* VAB, Phase 1 .356 Feb 76
* Crane & Truss Mods~ Phase II and IV 1.234 Feb 76
* GIl2 Service Bottle .146 Mar 76
6.391
NSTL Space Shuttle Main Engine Test Facilities 72-73
-AZ TeatStand 5.318 July75
Wasatch Solid Rocket Motor Mfg. Facilities 75
- Nozzle Bearing Test Facility .06 Nov 75
- X-Ray Facility ._*:i.9. Jan 76
GRAND TOTAL 11.869
* CCE - Current Cost Estimate
/ FIGURE 4
PAGENO="0743"
741
Those projects that we have completed since last March are listed
on the next chart (fig. 4). Predominantly this work has been ac~
complished at Michoud. The A-2 stand at NSTL and two small
projects at Wasatch have also been finished. You will see this after~
noon the acoustic model test facility which is completed and located
here at Marshall.
FIGURE ~
PAGENO="0744"
742
FIGURE 6
It accommodates the testing of the Space Shuttle main engine
using a 42-K scale model engine (fig. 6), and an acoustic model of the
Shuttle vehicle (fig. 5) to accrue data for acoustical design at both the
Cape and at Vandenburg. Those projects that we have under construc-
tion are listed on the next chart (fig. 7). The dollar value for this effort
is shown in the fourth column, and those with an asterisk are the proj-
ects that have been placed under construction during the past 12
months. Here at Marshall the dynamic test stand and the modifications
to the SRB structural test facility are in this category. At Michoud
we have placed five new tasks under construction during the past year.
At NSTL we continue to rehabilitate existing systems and the MPTA
project is still under construction. Of the six remaining tasks at
Wasatch, we have one under construction at this time.
PAGENO="0745"
743
CENTER
LIST OF APPROVED SIlITTLIC PROJECTS
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
LUt.I% IJUiN rin~.sii a a a, aLe..
Huntsville Mods toStructures & Mech Lab 73
Mods for E T. Struct. Test Fac 74
* Mods for Dynamic Test Fec 75
Dynamic Stand
*Mods for 5KB Struct. Test Fec 75
HUNTSVILLE TOTAL
Michoud Modification of Mfg. & Final Assy Fac 73
* Horizontal Install. Area
Rehab Chern Waste Well
Modification of Mfg. & Final Assy Fec 74
*.. VAB. Phase!! - Cell E
C.. VAB. Phase!!!. Cells B & C
C- Tank Farm (Part!)
*- Final Acceptance Bldg.
MICHOUD TOTAL
NSTL Rehab of Propellant & High Press. Gas System 73
Mods for Propulsion Sys. Test Fec 74
NSTL TOTAL
WASATCH Solid Rocket Mfg. Fac. `5 75
C. Case Prep Mfg Bldg
FY ccr°° list. CuIGI)i.
PROGRAM ($ Mi11~ons) ~
4.700 Aug 76
4.400 Apr 76
2.397 Feb77
~.L.!22. Oct 76
14.087
.253 Aug 76
.286 Mar 76
1.563 July 76
3.154 July76
.471 May 76
~ Aug 76
5.953
1.160 Nov76
.LL~.»=.2° Nov 76
12.460
.._..~.±ii May 76
32.916
GRAND TOTAL
* Projects Placed Under Construction Since March 1, 1975.
ee Current Cost EstImate
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 8
PAGENO="0746"
744
In anticipation of your field trip this afternoon, I would like to
show you pictures of the 3 projects currently under construction.
Essentially all of the projects in the Marshall program are those of
modifications of older facilities as opposed to new constr~iction. This
is the S-iC stand (fig. 8) with the first stage of the Saturn in it when
it was used under that program. This represents a recent picture
(fig. 9) showing that we have moved the flame deflector out of the
flGmtE 9
PAGENO="0747"
745
center of the stand to accommodate the hydrogen, LEE2, tank of the
external tank. We have converted these two liquid oxygen, LOX,
storage vessels to hydrogen use and have brought hydrogen capability
into this system. This is the dynamic test tower (fig. 10) that was
used to perform dynamic testing on the Mated Saturn V vehicle backin
the mid-1960's. We are now in the process of expanding the test bay
from 50 by 50 to 74 by 74 (fig. 11).
FIGu~ 10
PAGENO="0748"
746
AB11-156
BUILDING 4550 MODIFICATION
FOR SHUTTLE TEST
H H H - - - D
SATUR~O ~
i~~~:~+i E
50 X5O'~
i d
4 H H fri fr~D
`SHUTTLE\
TEST \
~
BAY
This requires the widening of the door and it permits taking advant-
age of these existing foundations that were built originally to ac-
commodate larger vehicles when this stand was first built in the
mid-1960's.
Taking these three vertical columns of steel-the entire height
of the strueture-and reusing them at these locations resulted in a cost-
effective project with only minor addition of new steel. This structure
has a book value of about $6.4 millioii which was its initial cost. The
cost of this modificatic~n is $2.3 million. We feel it is an example of
a very cost-effective way of meeting Shuttle requirements through
the reuse of other fa~iities. This is the S-lB stand in the test area
(fig. 12) which is being modified to accommodate, in a horizontal position,
DOOR
I I /_EX~TING
~~-DROP TOWER
0
4550
FOR
SATURN
I 1-4 H H H ~
4550
FOR
SHUTTLE
PLAN VIEWS
FIGURE 11
PAGENO="0749"
74)7
FIGuRE 12
PAGENO="0750"
748
the SRB for structural testing. Here is a recent photograph (fig. 13)
showing the contractor expanding the sides of the deflection trench
to make toom for the necessary GSE required for that particular test.
FIGURE 18
PAGENO="0751"
749
MARSHALL SPACE FUGHT CL?~fR
LIST OF APPROVEr) slIUTTIE PRCJECTS
- AWAITINC) START OF CONSTRUCTION
- LOCATION FACILITY TITLE FY CCE* Let. Cumpl
- !~«=~0RAM 0MiIIions) Date
Huntsville Mods to Dynamic Test Fac 75
- Airfield and Roadways 1.203 Sep 7-7.
Michoud Modification of Mfg & Final Assy Fac 74 -
.VAB, Phase III. Ce11A .257 Nov76
Vertical Assy Bldg. (110) Cell D 77 1.930 Sep 77
MICHOUD TOTAL 2.187
Wasatch Solid Rocket Motor Mfg J~ac 75
~Hydro Test FaC .010 ~u~76
* Cast Pit No. 1 .099 Sep 76
* Casting Houøe .202 Nov 76
Cast Pit Covers .161 . Dec 76
Case Refurb Fac ~ Apr 77
WASATCH TOTAL
GRAND TOTAL 3.949
* Cutrent Co8t Estimate
FIGURE 14
This is a list of the projects (fig. 14) that are remaining in our
approved program for construction. They are all under design with the
exception of the airfield and road modifications that might be required
for the movement of the orbiter from the airstrip to the dynamic test
stand. At Michoud there is only one job left that has been approved
and that is cell A which is well along in design. The cell D project is
is being submitted to you in the 1977 budget.
Chairman FUQUA. I want to ask you a quest~on about that. We had
originally, I think, authorized some $14 3/2 million for Michoud
modifications. It is my understanding in testimony at that time that
that would take care of 24 to 28 tanks.
Colonel WESSELS. That is correct.
Chairman FUQUA. Now, why do we need this additional? Was that
considered at that time or is this something new that is developed?
Colonel WE55ELs. The requirement for the increased manufacturing
capability of the tank is predominantly in the thermal protective sys-
tem design and development in that there has developed a require~
ment not only to put spray-on foam insulation on elements of the
tank-
Chairman FUQUA. That was not originally considered?
Colonel WESSELS. Yes; but then also ablator requirements existed
and these two substances cannot be placed on the elements of the
external tank in the same test position. The requirement for the thermal
protective system (TPS) has impacted the number of cells that are
70-079 0 - 76 - 48
PAGENO="0752"
750
required in the vertical assembly building to meet the various rates.
This particular cell addition, if approved by Congress, will increase
the production rate to 14 per year. A downstream requirement which
you will see in the project writeup of about $15 million additional
C of F dollars would get the rate up to 24 and then to 60. The TPS
application is on the critical path on the production rate. For the most
part, all other aspects of the facility at Michoud are on the same rate
level as proposed to the Congress for the 1973 and 1974 facility
projects.
Mr. OD0M. Yes; as Bob said, we have had a significant increase in
the amount of area required to put the TPS on. That is a change
since we went in initially.
Chairman FtTQUA. That was my question.
Colonel WESSELS. The remaining five tasks during D.D.T. & E. for
Thiokol Corp. are in support of their manufacutring requirements.
These are all under design.
Chairman FUQUA. Thiokol told us that they were going to use their
own funds for facilities for testing.
MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
SHUTTLE CONSTRUCTION PKOGRAM
SRM PROGRAM
THIOKOL CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND GOVERNMENT FUNDING OF FACILITIES
WASATCH DIVISION
INCREMENT I (DDT&E)
THIOKOL CAPITAL
SRM PECULIAR FAC~UTIES $8. 9M
GOVERNMENT FUNDING (C OF F TYPE . R&D FUNDS)
MODIFICATIONS TO GOVERNMENT FACILITIES FOR $i .59DM
DIRECT SUPPORT OF SRM
NOTES THESE AMOUNTS GENERALLY AGREE WITH ORIGINAL. PROPOSAL
BASED ON CURRENT COSTS.
~ieuBE 15
PAGENO="0753"
751
Colonel WESSELS. Yes. I can illustrate that on the next chart (fig.
15). The total facility requirements at Thiokol include an $8.9 million
Thiokol capital investment in their own private facilities. We found,
however, that there are a number of Air Force facilities on Thiokol
real estate which were required to be modified and we exercised
section id reprograming authority through headquarters for $1,590
million to accommodate the modifications of those Government
facilities that were unique to the SRM manufacture.
Chairman FUQUA. These were Government facilities.
Colonel WESSELS. Yes. That is correct. Generally, these amounts are
in agreement with the proposal at the time it came in, subjected to
current cost escalation.
Could I go back one on screen 1, please (fig. 3). This chart reflects
that the program progress to date, including completed projects and
those under construction, is 95-percent complete. We are essentially
on schedule at every location to support the program and are within
the funds that have been made available to us at this point in time.
Dr. LUCAS. Mr. Chairman, that completes the presentations that we
had planned on the shuttle. If you have no further questions, I propose
that we proceed with the spacelab.
Mr. WINN. I would like to ask one question. Is the funding for 1977
Marshall's peak year for shuttle funding?
Dr. LUCAS. I think that is correct.
Mr. LINDSTROM. Fiscal year 1977 is our peak year for development
funding.
Mr. WINN. Airight then, 1977 is Marshall's peak year for the solid
rocket booster funding.
Dr. LUCAS. Yes.
Mr. WINN. And manpower?
Dr. LUCAS. Yes.
STATEMENT OP WILLIAM B. MARSHALL, DIRECTOR, PREIiIMT.
NARY DESIGN OFFICE, GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE PLIGHT
CENTER
Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Chairman, Representative Winn, I will be
presenting MSFC's advanced planning for four potential NASA ac-
tivities. I will minimize the discussion relative to the details of the
program or systems concepts, and will address basically MSFC's
support and activities in these areas.
PAGENO="0754"
752
301-76
Figure 1 identifies those four programs and suggests an interrelation
ship between the activities. The space station activity is receiving the
most attention today. We are evaluating the contractor's proposals
for phase A studies. It has an interdependence relative to the satellite
power system (SPS), heavy lift launch vehicle (HLLV) required to
support the SPS, and utilization of an improved shuttle, that is, in-
creased performance and reduding operating costs. I do not want to
imply that the space station is dependent upon the SPS.
A key s~pace station design objective for the new phase A studies is
to insure that the space station can be delivered by the shuttle. New
to this space station study from previous studies is the stressing of
operational support. Previously, we have stressed the space laboratory
concept. There are large communications, space service facilities, SPS
support, and so forth, which suggest that an on~orbit capability for
man to live and work in is desirable. We are planning for a program
IOC (initial operational capability) of 1985.
An operational SPS facility will consist of multiple 10 gigawatts
individual units. There are two different basic concepts which I
believe have been presented to you in previous presentations. These
are the solar thermal concepts, and more than one is being evaluated
by the Boeing Co., and the solar voltaic concept being evaluated by
the Grumman Co.
Chairman FUQUA. We are having having a short hearing on solar
satellite power net week.
MSFC ADVANCED PLANNING
6 SHUTTLE DELIVERABLE
* OPERATION SUPPORT
* SPACE STATION
LABORATORY
* bc 1~5
* 2.6 CENTS/KWH
* OPERATIONAL 1~
* COST -$20/LB
FIGURE 1
* REDUCED OPERATING COST
PAGENO="0755"
753
Mr. MARSHALL. We have selected a 2.5 cent per KWh cost goal,
and I will show you in a moment how that compares to the cost of
conventional generation capability. The operational date being studied
is 1995. This will be defined via the output of the system.s studies. The
1995 date came from the recent NASA satellite, power study team.
Mr. WINN. That won't sahisfy Congress, I can tell you that.
Mr. MARSHALL. OK.
Dr. LUCAS. We'll certainly listen to you.
Mr. MARSHALL. In the HLLV area, there are several different
approaches, being studied. Boeing is the study contractor. We have an
in-house activity and I will identify those support areas on later charts.
The vehicles range in performance from 250 pounds to Earth orbit,
that support a space station activity or early Space Station satellite
systems, to the much larger vehicle performance to support the SPS
requiring approximately 1,000 pounds capability to orbit for $20 per
pound at high launch rates. The $20 per pound requirement fits the
2.5 cent per kilowatthour for the SPS program to be competitive. We
are not studying any orbiter changes in our shuttle growth studies.
FIGURE 4
FIouRi~ 2
Figure 2 shows some history, and also looks forward. We began the
initial space station studies in 1969 for a 33-foot-diameter space
station with a 12-man crew and 5 separate floors. This is the type space
station which would require a launch vehicle of the Saturn V class. We
MANNED ORBITAL FACILITY
SKYLAB
PAGENO="0756"
754
dropped these concepts early in the program and addressed modular
space stations which were compatible with the shuttle. These were
from 6- to 12-man capability with a core module and support modules
attached. Much of the work that was accomplished is directly related
and serves as the basis to begin the current space station activity.
Another center activity directly related is the Skylab program. Skylab
hardware design and operations experience support the space station
studies. Jack Lee spoke to you about the Spacelab program. The
possibility of using the Spacelab as a test vehicle is under study. Both
the space station and SPS are being studied to define test programs
that could be accomplished via Spacelab.
The manned orbital system-MOS----1974-75 study was accom-
plished by McDonnell Douglas and MSFC. It uses the basic Spacelab
structural element and is shuttle compatible. The MOS would be
delivered in two launches. The first module is the operational station
and the second is the lo~istics module. Others can be attached to the
ends. The work done via the MOS study addresses the design and
potential users and applications of the space station.
Figure 3 is an artist's concept of a new space station. It may illu-
strate all the ideas of space industrialization, that is, serving as a work
base for structural assembly in orbit, and in orbit satellite servicing.
We have studied cluster concepts where the satellites could be
serviced inside in a better environment. Of course, these space station
concepts are based on low-Earth orbit. Again, it is a core module
concept with service modules attached.
FIGURE 3
PAGENO="0757"
755
SPACE STATION PROGRAM
SCHEDULE - GUIDELINES AND CONSTRAINTS -
76 77 78 79 80 81 92 83 84 85 ~6
* 1980 STATE OF ART
PHASEA 01985 IOC
PHASE B * ZERO G OPERATIONAL MODE
* ON-ORBIT MAINTENANCE/
PHASE C/D ________________________ REPAIR/SERVICING SHALL
BE 10 YEAR MINIMUM
IOC * COMPATIBLE WITH SPACE SHUTTLE
APPLICATIONS
* CREW SIZE/MAKEUP TO BE
DETERMINED BY MISSION
REQUIREMENTS
~~!I~1IIIIii~ :!!~::T:::T"
ORBIT AND GEOSYNCHRONOUS
ORBIT
LOW EARTH ORBIT GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT * EMERGENCY SHELTER FOR
180 HOURS, STS RESCUE
* LIFE SCIENCES * SPACE BASED POWER SUPPORT
* SPACE PROCESSING/PABRICATION/ * CONSTRUCTION BASE
ASSEMBLY * SATELLITE SERVICING
* EARTH RESOURCE DETECTION/ .DOMESTIC SERVICES
MONITORING/MANAGEMENT
* ASTRONOMY
* PHYSICS
* TECHNOLOGY
288-76
FIGURE 4
For the schedule on figure 4, we have selected an IOC of 1985. Two
study contractors and an in-house MSFC effort will further identify
when the program can be achieved. A few of the guidelines to begin the
study have been identified. The guidelines to utilize the 1980 state-of-
the-art allow 4 years to increase our current knowledge of the shuttle
system and utilize the subsystems in a 1985 IOC space station. Addi-
tionally, the crew size is something that is obviously very important.
The crew size will be a study trade and the low Earth or geosynchro-
nous orbit location will be determined. Initially, the space station will
be in a low-Earth orbit.
Chairman FTJQUA. How long would a space station lifespan be in
low-Earth orbit without adjustment?
Mr. MARSHALL. Depending on the frontal area of the space station
and the initial altitude where deployed, the lifespan could be from 2 to
5 years without any adjustment; beyond that time it would have to
be adjusted.
Low-Earth orbit applications are those which would require a
number of transportation trips to take people and supplies to the
space station.
Space processing and fabrication were discussed this morning. A
new idea being introduced is use in space of space manufactured
material. There may be a large requirement in orbit for space processed
items as well as for items to be returned to Earth.
PAGENO="0758"
Th6
SPACE STATION RELATED
MSFC TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES
* ROCKET EXPERIMENTS
* SPACELAB PAYLOADS
* PILOT PLANTS
* PRODUCTION PACILITIES
* PLANNING AND PUTURE SYSTEMS
* USER ANALYSES
* SPACE FABRICATION AND ASSEMBLY
* SPACE INDUSTRIALIZATION
* SPACE BASED POWER
* GEOSYNCHRONOUS PAYLOAD CLUSTER OPERATIONS
* INTEGRATED LONG RANGE PLANNING
* NEW INITIATIVES
* TRANSPORTATION
* SOLAR ARRAY
* STRUCTURES
* DOCKING SIMULATOR
* TELEOPERATORS
* THERMAL CONTROL
* ATTITUDE CONTROL PROPULSION
* COMMUNICATIONS
* ELECTRICAL POWER
* STABILIZATION AND CONTROL
* INPORMATION MANAGEMENT
* MATERIALS
* DYNAMICS
* NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
* SHUTTLE IMPROVEMENT
* HLLV
* SEPS
* ADVANCED ORBITAL TRANSPORTATION
FIGURE 5
294-lB
Figure 5 describes in-house activities at MSFC related to space
station. Those include the space processing activities mentioned this
morning, and they should provide aninput to the space station design.
There are several other activities being accomplished such as space
industrialization which is looking for uses of the space environment
other than space power.
There are several directly related space station technology areas
within our laboratory disciplines. In docking simulation we have been
sizing the systems requirements that have to be met by the design.
Teleoperator capabilities are going to be required for structural
assembly and required controls which would be housed in the space
station. There could be a shuttle flight early in the shuttle program to
test some of these teleoperator concepts.
* SPACE PROCESSING
* TECHNOLOGY
PAGENO="0759"
757
SOLAR REQUIREMENTS & NEW SYSTEMS
Figure 6 defines solar require~tnents for the new SPS. You have seen
these data in previous presentations. The electrical power projections
are a significant increase even considering increased costs for service.
The ERDA people are looking for various* ways of reducing the
electrical load, and alternate ways to generate electricity with non.-.
depletable resources. The cost goal that we have selected is 2.5 cents
per killowatt hour which is less costly than the anticipated future
prices using petroleum. There are some projections for the increased
use of coal, but it is a depletable resource. Nuclear is less costly now,
but may increase because of disposal environmental requirements.
PREDICTED US. ELECTRICAL POWER GROWTH
//
,/I ~
L ~"~4~>~"
- ESTIMATED ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION COST -
L~c0~~
IC~oPII~ALcpsTI
30
SPS
COST---25
GOAL
BUSBAR 20
ELECTRICITY
COST
MILLS/KWH)
10
I
OIL COAL NUCLEAR
FIGUaE 6
PAGENO="0760"
758
FIGIJBE 7
PAGENO="0761"
Th9
Figures 7 and 8 are artist's concepth of an SPS. Boeing's concepts,
figure 7, collect the Sun's energy by focusing it, and generating steam
to drive rotating machinery. This system as currently defined is
heavier than others under study. The Grumman photovoltaic system
is a more conventional solar cell design concept. I am not going to
comment on which of these systems I feel is the better system-the
product of the systems studies will suggest the better. They both can
generate electrical en~gy for transmission to Earth.
Chairman FUQUA. What is going to happen to those studies now
that all your money has been cut out for energy?
Mr. MURPHY. We do have money in fiscal year 1976, Mr. Chairman,
to support the studies, and are working with ERDA to continue some
support in this area.
Dr. LVcA5. But that which we don't get funded by ERDA will be
discontinued.
Chairman FUQUA. Has ERDA made any overtures to you about
continuing?
Mr. MURPHY. They are discussing it now, Mr. Chairman, and I
certainly believe they are very interested in continuing the studies.
FIGURE 8
PAGENO="0762"
760
SATE1.LITE P~dVER SYS1tM
70 77 78 70 00 51 52 53 04 02 02 57 55 w 00 01 02 03 04 55
.1 I I 1 I I I I
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
~ DETAILEDDEPINmONO DIV
TECHNOLOGY I
PLIGHTS A
SYSTEM
OEMON$TRATION PIRSTOPERATIONAL
DESIGN
SF8 IN-NOUN
* STRUCTURES
* SOEINOSTUDY * POWERCONVRRSION
* UNIVOP GEORGIA * TRANSPORTATION
* BENEFITS/IMPACT
(Tb)
* MODULAR
STRUCTURES
STUDY
FORT M$FC) IN-HOUSE STUDY
FIGURE 9
200-76
Mr. MARSHALL. Figure 9 shows the schedule of early studies-a
demonstration project and an operational SPS by 1995. A 15-year
program I addressed a moment ago was a result of recent studies.
A demonstration program in 1990 would be in low-Earth orbit to
generate 500 kilowatts.
There are a number of technology flights that could be supported
with the shuttle prior to the demonstration project.
Representative WINN. Have you looked into a satellite power con-
cept that is not tied into shuttle in any way?
Mr. MURPHY. Yes. We are looking at a concept requiring heavy
lift launch vehicle.
Mr. MARSHALL. There are basically two areas under consideration.
Actually, we are thinking in terms of the SPS demonstration being
shuttle supported. Once the concept has been demonstrated and we
commit to development, then the larger system would take you away
from the shuttle and into the very large lift vehicle.
PAGENO="0763"
~61
At the Center we have identified a team manager who is responsible
for those contractor studies mentioned previously as well as the in-
house activity. In-house, we are addressing the systems requirements,
the sizing, the pointing, and so forth. Additionally, there are tech..
nology areas in which our experts are involved. The in-house study
starts with competitive concepts and makes comparison at the end.
By December we should have identified the best concept to pursue.
MSFC RELATED IN-HOUSE ACTIVITIES
NASA SATELLITE POWER TEAM
MSFC IN-HOUSE
SUB-TECHNOLOGY RELATED EFFORTS
I IN-HOUSE STUDY 1.....
* SYSTEM DEFINITION 2 SYSTEM CONTRACTOR STUDIES I
I PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA
* MICROWAVE TRANSMISSION .~ LOW COST SOLAR CELL TECHNOLOGY
DEPLOYABLE LARGE ARRAYS
* LARGE STRUCTURES ~. ____ STRUCTURES /MATERIALS /PROPULSION
1__TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
* POWER CONVERSION ~
F SOLAR ELECTRIC PROPULSION (SEP)
* ENVIRONMENTAL .~1j SOLAR ARRAYS
* TRANSPORTATION ......_.~__TELEOPERATOR SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
* OPERATIONS ______________________________
I SKYLAB
* ATTITUDE CONTROL ~ ~ SPACELAB
STATIONKEEPING NEUTRAL BUOYANCY
* ORBITAL TECHNOLOGY I SHUTTLE STUDIES
VERIFICATION HEAVY LIFT LAUNCH VEHICLE STUDIES
~~TALTRANSFER VEHICLE STUDIES
.1
296-76
FIGURE 10
Figure 10 addresses many of MSFC's in-house/contractor activities.
These subtechnology items identified are those that were a result of
the NASA satellite power team that met earlier this year. MSFC
was a member of that team. There is more definition that can be ob-
tairi~d by reports which were published by the team. MSFC related
activities are ongoing and relate directly to the subtechnology areas
identified. The arrows indicate the relationship. For example, solar
propulsion at the Center involves deployable, large solar arrays-
nothing compared to the size of those for the SPS-but addresses the
deployment problems. The phased array antenna work allows elec-
tronic focusing without moving the antenna. There are many of these
areas, and where practical we are focusing them toward the space
power system.
PAGENO="0764"
762
HEAVY LIFT LAUNCH VEHICLE REQUI REMENTS
299-76
HLLV
INITIAL DATA BASE - PREVIOUS MISSION STUDIES CURRENTOTUDIES
F~ii~E~PACS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM (PSTSIST~~u1 ~ SPACE STATIONSTUDIES(MOFCIJSCI I
I.~~!OEING SEPT74- DEC75 ~ [_~ SATElLITE POWER SYSTEMSTUDIES~_.J
OUTLOOK I REOUIREMENTS ~t~~~RNSNTS
I :,~ > HEAVY UFT LAUNCH VEHICLE IHLLVISTUDY
LTECHNOLOGY F MARTURJU~V16JUNE7S
~ SHUTTLE GROWTH STUDY
N$PC/TBD PY 7R
ORBITAL TRANSPORTSYSTEMSTUDY
STUDY MATRIX
-FOTENTIAL USES FOR HEAVY LIFT LAUNCH VEHICLE -
6 MANNED SPACE STATION(S)
* LARGE CIRBIT TRANSFER SYSTEMS THAT PROVIDE
LOGISTICS SUPPORT FOR MANNED GEOSYNCHRONOUS
ACTIVITIES
.
* SATELLITE POWER SYSTEM DEMONSTRATION
* GENERAL MANNED SCIENT(FIC/EXPLORATION
ENDEAVORS (LUNAR. PLANETARY, ETC)
* NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL
MSPIR ~I/VR811 R..~y,81(
~500
(1.18)
2.500
DiM)
5.000
(118)
~2S.S00
IS5MI
25000
(270M(
(132-198K) 7 34 00 334 1.667
3.90-136
(196-2906) ~ ~ 223 1_ni
P448.4 - - - - -
3.135-200 3 15 38 198 747
- - - - -
(441-60101 - 10 20 100
- - - -- -
I001-R92E1 - 14 Ri 333
- - - - - -
Tsa 600 500k81I270l270lIH1). 29.R Rd)RRdS44I
]~`IGUBE 11
The next activity, figure 11, defines HLLV. The HLLV requirements
were a product of the "Outlook for Space Report," also referred to as
the "Hearth Committee" and other NASA advanced systems studies.
Some of these uses identified are the manned space station in low-
Earth orbit and synchronous orbit, logistics, and deployment of space
based manufacturing and servicing, and the satellite power system.
One item I haven't addressed is nuclear waste disposal. We have done
some studies in that area which suggest there is an answer to some
of these problems in space deposit.
PAGENO="0765"
763
FIGURE 12
PAGENO="0766"
7164
Figure 12 is one of the HLLV concepts the Boeing Co. is defining
and figure 13 is a shuttle system derived HLLV. In figure 13, the
orbiter has been removed and a payload canister with the orbiter
engine package added.
FIeURE 13
PAGENO="0767"
7~5
HLLV
IN-HOUSE STUDY ACTIVITIES AND ENGINE OPIIONS
(1)
* ASSESS BOEING SIZING ANALYSIS-PROPULSION DATA. WEIGHTS.
SINGLE STAGE PERFORMANCE. CONFIGURATION SIZING. ASSUMPTIONS. ETC.
BALLISTIC * DEVELOP INHOUSE CONCEPT FOR TRADE STUDY BASELINE
LOX/LH2 (2)
SINGLE STAGE * ASSESS IMPACT OF DUAL MODE PROPULSION
BALLISTIC BY COMPARISON TO VEHICLE NO.1
(DUAL FUEL) * DEVELOP INHOUSE CONCEPT
LOWRP-1ILH2 (3 -
* ASSESS IMPACT OF MULTIPLE STAGES
(ON VEHICLE SIZE. ENGINE SIZE. -iwo STAGE
RECOVERY. PERFORMANCE, ETC.) BY BALLISTIC
COMPARISON TO VEHICLE NO.1
* DEVELOP INHOUSE CONCEPT
1st LOX/RP-1
2nd LOX/LH2
* ASSESS IMPACT~F DUAL MODE PROPULSION iWO STAGE
IN TWO S'rAGE VEHICLE BY COMPARISON BALLISTIC
TO VEHICLE NO.3 (DUAL FUEL)
* DEVELOP INHOUSE CONCEPT
1st LOX/RP-1/LH2
2nd LOXFLH2
- ADVANCED ENGINES UNDER CONSIDERATION
* SSME DERIVATIVES
* HiPc STAGED-COMBUSTION
* DUEL MODE STAGED-COMBUSTION
293-76
- FIGURE 14
* Figure 14 shows the in-house MSFC study approach for four of the
eight currently considered HLLV vehicles ranging from 200k pounds
to 500k pounds. The two basic concepts are a single-stage and a. two-
stage vehic1e~ A twO-stage vehicle is smaller overall but more opera-
tionally complex. Additionally, there are propulsion systems which
use LOX and hydrogen and systems using LOX, RP, and hydrogen-
three propellant systems. These will give increased performance.
All are being reviewed and will be studied in detail to select the best
system.
0
70-079 0 - 76 - 49
PAGENO="0768"
BOOSTER cONCEPTS ____________________________________
`9 RA1LI$~flCWATER RECOVERY ________________________________________
-~Q4~AI.~ETAGES
~4!~NGL5STAGE ____________
* GLID(PACN-LAND LANDING
-~65J~J. STAGES 66K/lOOK 195K 66K/lOOK 65K/TOOK
/4INGLE STAGE JSCITBC 4C,1BC
TANDEM MOUNT TO ET 65K/lOOK 66K/lOOK
PARALLEL MOUNT TO ET 65K/lOOK 65K/lOOK
* FLYRACK
EXTERNAL TANK
*REUSEABLE I
FIOUIEE 15
Figure 15 shows shuttle improvements. There are several different
concepts for consideration. The basic approach for improvement is
to recover the expendable systems and try to use as many of the
existingcomponents as possible to reduce development and operations
costs. The concept considers fly-back systems, pressure-fed engine
systems, and additional solid rockets on each side of the tank to give
greater payload capability. There are a number of engine options
that will also be studied to get better performance.
296-76
DUAL STAGE
BALLISTIC WATER RECOV.
j ~
CURRENT SRB (2XSRM)
CLUSTERED EXT TANKS
7~6
SHU1TLE IMPROVEMENT CONFIGURATIONS
SSME FLY BACK 4XSRM
& CURRENT EXT
SSME RETROGLIDEBACK TANK/ORBITER
_ :4
PROPULSION/PERFORMANCE OPTIONS
F
SEME !~il
PRESSURE FED
LOX/RP-l LOX/RJ-5
PAGENO="0769"
767
SUMMARY
Figure 16, the last chart, provides some preliminary study results.
For the improved shuttle we are able to recover the investment by
reducing the number of flights to orbit. Second, we can reduce the
operational costs through recovery concepts. These results were
from an MSFC in-house study and will be further revised via a study
contract.
For the IILLV, it is definite that some version of large systems is
required. Current studies indicate we may achieve as low as $20 per
pound payload in low Earth orbit.
For the SPS, the study results to date indicate technical feasibility.
SPS systems are economically promising and pay back the investment
cost.
The new phase A space station activities have not been initiated.
This concludes my presentation.
Chairman FUQUA. Do you feel that ERDA views you as a project
manager for SPS or just another contractor? What is the relationship?
Mr. MURPHY. I don't believe it has been consummated yet.
Chairman FUQUA. Who, ERDA?
Mr. MURPHY. Yes.
Dr. LUCAS. I don't really believe they view us in either fashion.
Chairman FUQUA. I just wondered what the relationship was.
Dr. LUCAS. We have a very good relationship, as you will see this
afternoon, in the solar heating and cooling, and commercial I~ating
and cooling demonstration. But as far as the. space station and solar
power, we haven't gotten very far in those negotiations.
(STUDIES BEING
* SOME VERSIONS
REQUIRED TO SUPPORT
NEW INITIATIVES
* NO NEW TECHNOLOGY REaD
FIGuRE 16
PAGENO="0770"
768
Chairman FUQUA What do you view as the effect on MSFC of
the roles and missions consolidation in NASA?
Dr LUCAS As far as the overall roles and missions considerations
are concerned, if some of the projects mature that would be within our
roles and missions, then I thmk it would be a fairly favorable thing
The role that we lost that has the earliest effect on us is the responsi..
bihty for the engineering and analytical integration of Spacelab That
is a role that we regretted losing In the roles and missions determina~.
tion, it was decided to transfer the discipline base in space physics
and astronomy to GSFC and with that went the AMPS study which
we thmk will develop into a project We, of course, were sorry to lose
that. We had a minor support role in biotechnology but it was so
small that its loss did not have a significant impact upon us We
were recognized as having a dominant role in the area of space pro.-
pulsion systems We were authorized to be involved in the study of
advanced systems, including the space station and space based sola r
power If those things mature into projects, then it will be a very fin e
thing for MSFC, but if they don't mature into projects until well into
the 1980's, there will be a big gap where we are going to be heavily hit
STATEMENT OP THOMAS r LEE, MANAGER, SPACELAB PROGRAM,
GEORGE C. MARSHALL SPACE PLIGHT CENTER
Dr. LUCAS. Mr. Chairman, I would like to present Jack Lee, pro-
gram manager for the Spacelab, who will make the next presentation.
Chairman FUQUA You know we have had Roy Gibson already
appear before the subcommittee
Dr LUCAS Jack, are you familiar with what Mr Gibson has
presented Do you have a different presentation?
Mr LEE Yes, I have concentrated on the activities so I didn't
repeat what ESA is doing since Roy Gibson had made his presentation
~o you in the latter part of January
FIGtTu~ 1
PAGENO="0771"
769
First, I would like to say that there is a more detailed prepared
statement, and I would like to take a few minutes to summarize some
of the activities here Figure 1 is the same picture of the Spacelab which
Dr Lucas showed earlier What I want to point out is one of the
obvious parts of the hardware that becomes a part of the total system
which NASA develops or is responsible to develop. That is the tunnel,
the forward end.
I
FIGURE 2
The three different major configurations that
Spacelab affords (fig. 2) are the pressurized
pressurized module plus pallet. I won't spend a
either.
the versatility of the
module, pallet, axi&
lot of time on these
PAGENO="0772"
770
ESA RESPONSI BILITIES
*DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT TESTING OF SPACELAB
* PRODUCTION AND DELIVERY TO NASA OF
* ONE ENGINEERING MODEL
* ONE FLIGHT UNIT AND INITIAL SPARES
*TWO SETS OFGSE
*LIMITED ENGINEERING POST DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT FOR
FLIGHTS 1&2
* PRODUCTION OF NASA PROCURED SPACELAB HARDWARE
FIGuItz 4
These are ESA responsibilities (fig 4) as summarized from the
memorandum of understanding between Dr Fletcher and Dr locker
wherein they (ESA) were to design and build the Spacelab and furnish
one engineering model, one flight unit, and two sets of ground support
equipment.
Chairman FTJQUA What was the significance of the announcement
by NASA this week of Marshall getting the first two Spacelabs?
Mr LEE Our efforts up to this time are primarily as the lead center
in assuring the design and development of the Spacelab in cooperation
with the Europeans in bringing that hardware into fruition. The
announcement this week is associated with the payload aspects of the
Spacelab as a carrier and is associated with the experimentation that
goes in it.
PAGENO="0773"
771
NASA RESPONSI BILITIES
OVERALL PROGRAM PLANNING & MANAGEMENT FOR IMPLEMENTATION:
*SPACELAB HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT
*ESTABLISH PROGRAM GUIDELINES
*ESTABLISH SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
* DEFINE AND MAINTAIN ORBITER INTERFACES
*REVIEW/APPROVE CRITICAL INTERFA1~ES
*DEVELOP& FURNISH TUNNEL, SELEI~1EDGSE
*SYSTEMS INTEGRATION
o MONITOR ESA TECHNICAL AND PROGRAMMATIC PROGRESS
o TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO ESA
* FOLLOW-ON PROCUREMENT
* OPERATIONS
FIGURE 3
Our responsibilities with NASA (fig. 3) are, in cooperation with the
Europeans, primarily to jointly develop requirements and work
throughout the total program in those areas; to assist them wherever
we have expertise from previous programs that would cause them not
to have to reinvent the wheel, if you will; and to monitor both technical
and programmatic efforts because the Spacelab becomes a vital par1~
of the Shuttle carrier system. We are also responsible for any follow-on
procurement and the total operations, the launch operations, as well
as the integrating of experiments into the Spacelab. As the lead
center, we break our responsibility down (fig. 5) which pretty much
covers all of NASA's responsibility into two major portions: the pro-
PAGENO="0774"
772
MSFC LEAD CENTER RESPONSIBILITIES
*PROGRAM MANAGEMENT AND DIRECT PROGRAM TASKS
S ESTABLiSH DESIGN REQUIREMENTS
* PROGRAM/SYSTEMS ENGINEERING & INTEGRATION
* DEFINE & MAINTAIN INTERFACES
* DEVELOP SELECTED FLIGHT & GROUND HARDWARE
* SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
* OPERATIONS CONCEPTS PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
* NASA MONITORING AND TECHNICAL ASSI STANCE TO ESA
* SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS TEST AND ANALYSIS
* QUALITY, RELIABILITY, SAFETY
* AVIONICS SUBSYSTEM
* STRUCTURES & MECHANICS SUBSYSTEM
* ENVIRONMENTAL AND LIFE SUPPORT SUBSYSTEM
* GSE
* MASS PROPERTIES PREPARATION AND ASSESSMENT
* DOCUMENTATION AND CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT
FIGURE 5
gram management and direction of the tasks to be done in NASA,
principally by the major OSF Centers, and technical assistance and
support to ESA
PAGENO="0775"
77~3
SPACELAB MILESTONE SCHEDULE
CY-li
CY72 CY-73 CY74 CY.75 CY-76
CY*fl
CY*78
- CY*79
U. S. PHASE A
STUDY
U. S. PHASE B STUDY
ESA PHASE A STUDY
* ESAPHASE B STUDY
(SEP) ~ EUROPEAN PHASE C/D DECISION
.
.
(MARl ~ PHASE C~ RFP RELEASE
IAPRI ~ PROPOSAL COMPLETION
(JUNI ~ CONTRACTAWARD TO ERNO
(JUN) ~ CONTRACTOR (ERNO) PRESENTATION
(JUL) ~ ESA/ERNO VISIT TO U. S.
V~ESA/ERNO SIGN PRIME CONTR
PRR SRR P05 CDR
~ y ~ ~
ESAPHASE c/D L_.....DESIGN ~7 FABRICATION
CT
:~
INEERING
EL
A ADEL
s. ~ ENG
MOD
~DR CRITICAL DESIGN REVIEW
PDR PRELIMINARY DESIGN REVIEW
SRR SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS ~VIEW
PRR. PRELIMINARY REQUIREMENTS REVIEW
.
A
.~
FLIGHT
MODEL
DEL
FnrnRE 6
This is the schedule (fig. 6) which started in 1971 when the United
States began a phase A effort on the Sortie Can. We performed that
inhouse here at the Marshall Space Flight Center, which led us into
an inhouse phase B effort. During that 1972 time period, the Spacelab
was considered to be one of the candidates for international coopera-
tion. We had progressed further than the Europeans at that~ time, so
they asked that before they committed that they be allowed to go
through a similar phase B to determine the cost aspects and their
capability, as well as their interest in becoming involved. We decided,
because of the importance of the Spacelab and the Shuttle as a system,
that we would continue our in-house phase B here at I~'1arshal1 until
they made that decision and we agreed that when the decision was
made we would discontinue our effort and then they would pick up
the continuation of the phase B and go on into the development
program. In September 1973, they made their commitment and we
did in fact stop our in-house effort and only continued monitoring and
assisting them in developing requirements.
The Europeans started the phase C/D in the middle of 1974. ERNO
of VFW/Fokker is the prime contractor. The major milestones that
were developed at that time included the preliminary requirements
review in November 1974, the systems requirements. review lu 197~5, a
preliminary design review which was to be held the end of 1975 but
has now slipped to May of this year. That in turn slipped th~ critical
design review. The schedule as originally planned indicated that they
would. deliver the engineering model in April 1978. That was.. consistent
with the shuttle schedule at the time which provided for an iigineering
PAGENO="0776"
* 774
model delivered 2 years prior to the first launch; the flight unit would
be delivered 1 year prior to the first launch. In the interim, the shuttle
schedule was adjusted to where the first flight that would be available
for Spacelab would be in mid-1980. Only recently now, since they have
understood the program and are really getting into the heart of it,
they have found it necessary to make an adjustment to take up that
slack, if you will, so they are still consistent in their pia~ining with
the memorandum of understanding regardin~'de1ivery of the engineer-
ing model and ifight units.
SPACELAB ACTIVITIES -~1975
* HARDWARE DEVELOPMENT ACTI VIII ES
* SUBSYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS REVIEW
* AVIONICS AGR~EMENTS
* QUARTERLY PAOÔRESS REVIEWSØ ERNO
* SUBSYSTEM PRELIMiNARY DESIGN REVIEWS
* GSE RESPONSIBILITY BASELINE
*. SOFTWARE CONCEPTS/DEFINITION
.* SPACELAB/SHtJTTLE INTERFACE CONTROL AGREEMENT
* CREW TRANSFER TUNNEL
* INSTRUMENT POINTING SYSTEM
* EXPERIMENT INTEGRATION PLANNING
* PAYLOAD ACCOMMODATION STUDY
* MISSIONS 1 & 2 EXPERIMENTS
* PAYLOAD ACCOMMODATION HANDBOOK
* JOINT NASA/ESA SPACELAB SIMULATION MISSION
* OPERATIONS PLANNING
* IN-HOUSE STUDIES
* COST REDUCTION ALTERNATIVE STUDIES
* PROGRAM LOGISTICS
* PRELIMINARY TRANSPORTATION PLAN
* SOFT MOCKUP COMPLETED
* NEUTRAL BUOYANCY SIMULATIONS
* FOLLOW-ON PROCUREMENT
* MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTAND PROVISOS
* S INITIAL PLANNING UNDERWAY
Fiou~ 7
PAGENO="0777"
77~5
These [fig. 7] are some of the significant 1975 activities that Marshall,
as well as JSC and KSO,. are deeply involved in. I won't try to get
through all of them because some are self explanatory but will discuss
some of the more significant ones. We have completed the systems
reqiiirements review [the blacked-in schedules are the ones that have
been completed]. We have determined in this last year what GSE will
actually be delivered by the Europeans. When we first started the
program we assumed that everything would be furnished by them,
but as the program matured and we understood it better, we found
that it was not feasible to duplicate certain facility items, to require
them to furnish items already available. It didn't make sense to have
them ship tons of steel to make a pallet checkout stand that we should
orient for use with other payloads here. So we have come to an agree-
ment on what they will deliver and what we will furnish as fapiity
equipment. One very significant point which Mr. Gibson pointed out
to you was that at the end of December, we established an agreement
on what the shuttle interface will look like and what the ~Spacelab
interface will look like. This is very significant, because now two con-
tractors can proceed to design and equip to those interfaces. Another
significant point is the instrument pointing system. This is the system
that you place on the pallet with an experiment whIch requires fine
pointing. It was originally planned as part of the basic Spacelab.
Because, early in the program, the proposal.that came from the prime
+ contractor was not adequate for them to understand the total effort,
they asked for an extension of that part of the Spacelab until they
better understood it. We have just recently gone through a technical
evaluation with them, and we think probably by the end of this month
or early in March they will be in position to go under contract. That
is a later item of development from the rest of the Spacelab program.
The experiment integration activities we have listed here because
the first two Spacelabs are primarily verification flights, not develop~
ment flights, but verification. We found it extremely necessary to
understand as early as possible in the program if the Spacelab is in
fact performing as we had advertised for the benefit of the User.
One of the ways that we help ourselves, in addition to purring instru-~
mentation on the Spacelab, is to carry experiments. The primary
objective will be for verification and the secondary objective Swill be
science and applications experiments on the first two flights. The
Joint NASA~ESA Spacelab Simulation Mission refers to the Assess
Mission that was joint between ESA and NASA and flown on the
990 aircraft out of Ames. We completed that in July of last year.
There are plans for a second cooperative mission. These are reasonably
self explanatory. In the follow-on mission, this is a normal process
for us to get to tl~r~ point where we understand and can identify how
we are going to operate the Spacelab with the shuttle and with the
facilities and with ~iüe experiments. With respect to follow-on procure.
ment, the memorandum of understanding states that we will procure,
place an order, .for our first buy 2 years prior to delivery of the flight
unit. That requires that in the middle of 1977, we should be in a
position to make that order. We have committed to ESA that we
will procure at least one, that is one total Spacelab, with a lot of
pieces. That one does not satisfy our total mission model, but we
have chosen, and I think wisely, not to place our full order until
we get further into .the program and understand it better. Because
of the nearness of this procurement activity, we have an ad hoc
PAGENO="0778"
776
group made up of individuals from the MSFC Program Office, the
MSFC Procurement Office, the Headquarters Program Office, and
the Office of International Affairs, working on the agreements and
provisos, or the terms of such a procurement. We had our first meeting
in January of this year, and these will be continuing.
To indicate what we will be~ doing in the future, I would say that
we are going to have to continue in all those areas we were involved
in during 1975. We hope to complete all the effort bringing us up to
the preliminary design review. This year is extremely significant to us
because up until this time we have really been identifying require-
ments. We are now in the really interesting part of the program
where we find out whether we are going to be able to satisfy the
design requirements. We are concerned with big cost items at this
time; contractors are beginning to release drawings and start cutting
hardware. This whole year is a very critical period and we will under-
stand much better where we stand in the total program when we
finish this year.
We will continue the follow-on procurement activities until 1977
when we have to make that commitment. One significant concern
that we have is that we have never operated a reusable system like
this over a long period of time when we have procured it from another
country. We must maintain a low operational cost so the logistics
aspect of a long-term operation for Spacelab is a cause for concern
to us. That completes my summary. Do you have any questions?
Chairman FUQUA. You have not run into any major problems
with that slip in schedule?
Mr. LEE. That specific slip doesn't bother us. Now, if I tell you
that we are not going to have any problems, I would be wrong.
We are going to find out soon where we really stand. Quite honestly,
the Europeans are not as far along in bringing us to the PDR in
May as would be needed to make me feel comfortable. I am con-
cerned about that. Because of the relationship we have it is difficult
to raise a lot of flags until we have the proper proof. I would feel
much more comfortable if I could be confident of that date.
Chairman FUQUA. Thank you.
PAGENO="0779"
FIELD HEALtINGS
SATURDAY, PEBRUARY 14, 1976
U S HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS,
Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, La
STATEMENT BY ROBERT C LITTLEFIELD, MANAGER, MICHOUD
ASSEMBLY FACILITY
Mr LITTLEFIELD I would like to wish all of you a good morning
and welcome you to the Michoud Facility I have been here 2 months
and have almost learned to pronounce that name correctly
FIGURE 1
,(777)
PAGENO="0780"
778
First chart please (figure 1). We are located in the eastern part of the
city of New Orleans and the facility is approximately 20-plus miles
from Slidell and almost 44 miles from the National Space Technology
Laboratory.
FIGURE 2
Next chart please (figure 2). You entered the main gate and we're
presently located in building 102 The purple area you see is reserved
for Martin Marietta and is the area they are presently occupying
on the external tank project. That area represents about 44 percent of
the total floor space here at Michoud, and I might add that on the
external tank project we have added only one new building, that's
building 451, pneumatic test facility. I think that indicates that we've
made good utilization of the Government's previous investment at
this facility on the Saturn program. George Smith is going to go into
the external tank in more detail in just a few minutes so I am not
going to dwell on that now.
PAGENO="0781"
779
The blue area is presently occupied by Bell and is in building 303
and some in building 103. Next chart (figure 3): Bell is working on
several Navy programs here and the largest is the JEFF B amphibious
assault landing craft. It's a surface-effect vehicle. The blue cross-
hatched area in building 103 is the area we are tentatively reserving
for Bell. They have high hopes that they are going to be awarded
a contract later this year0 for a 2,000-ton surface effect ship, and of
course, if they win that program we'll cooperate with them in every
way we can. Actually, the area they would need if they win that
contract would be somewhat larger than we have indicated here. With a
Martin operation and if Bell wins that contract, and if Chrysler
continues some effort here, we will pretty much fill up building 103.
FIGURE 3
PAGENO="0782"
780
Next chart (figure 4): The orange area is the area occupied by
Chrysler at the present time and their principal operation is making
components for the M60 A-i tank program. This particular item
happens to be a shell holder that goes inside.
The yellow area back in building 420 is a very interesting research
program being carried on here by the Naval Aerospace Medical Re-
search Laboratory. They are performing impact and vibration-
figure 5-acceleration tests on both primates and humans.
FxGuJ~ 4
PAGENO="0783"
781
FIGuRE 5
The light green area, principally in building 350, and some ware-
house space also, is the area occupied by the Department of Agriculture
at Michoud. They have two rather sizable functions. They have their
National Finance Center-figure 6-located here and they've also got
the New Orleans Computer Center-figure 7-which does data
processing on a nationwide basis.
70-079 0 - 76 - 50
PAGENO="0784"
782
FIGURE 6
FIGuRE 7
0
PAGENO="0785"
783
The other agencies with operations here are DOAS who is per..
forming quality assurance and contract administration functions for
NASA and is the onsite representative for the Army for the M60 A-i
tank program, DCAA who performs contract audit functions for DOD,
NASA and other Government contracts and the Corps of Engineers
who performs inspections and contract administration for civil works
projects, levees, and flood control in southeast Louisiana.
I would like to call your attention to the gray area we're depicting
in several locations around the facility. That represents unoccupied
or available space.
In i972 when NASA made the commitment to locate the external
tank program here, it was apparent to all of us that if we could make
maximum utilization of this facility it was going to benefit the Shuttle
program simply by sharing the burden and overhead of running this
facility. We've worked pretty hard to achieve that goal. We presently
are gainfully occupying about 80 percent of our total floorspace here
and we're pursuing a number of objectives and quite frankly we are
quite hopeful of filling the whole plant. We think we will benefit the
space program by doing so.
MICHOUD ASSEMBLY FACILITY
PERSONNEL STRENGTH
AS OF 2-2-76
NASA RELATED
MARTIN MARIETTA AEROSPACE 1224
Sub-contractor 93
BOEING SERVICES INTERNATIONAL 230
Sub-contractor 69
RED JAIITORIAL 49
REGUARD 31
NAS-~ 36
SPACE DIVISION ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL 1
DCAS 33 ________
1766
TENANT AGo CIES
NAVY/BELL AEROSPACE 669
Supships NRLNS 9
ARMY/CNRYSLER CO P 189
NA~AL AEROSPACE MEDICAL RESEARCH LAB 64
U. S. OEPARTHENT OF AGRICULTURE 999
U. S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS 64
DCAA 19 ____________
2013
TOTAL ON SITE - 3779
FIauEI~ 8
PAGENO="0786"
784
May I have tA~e l~t d4aart please. This is a chart of the organizations
here. I've mentioi~d ~~ne of~hem. I don't intend to go into each one
of them again. I1~ also a reflection of the personnel strength. I would
hke to make several points oj~this chart. First, our personnel strength
has grown from 2,64r people in January 1972 to this present level ot~
3,779 people and quite frankly we hope we can continue this trend.
The other point I would like to make is that at Michoud we're
proving that a number of different and varied Government organiza-
tions can work effectively together and by doing this we are saving
the Government money and are making good utilization of the facility
on the space program.
Chairman FUQUA. What is Boeing doing here?
Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Boeing is our support contractor. BSI is Boeing
Services International and they repla~d Mason-Rust in January
of last year. I think they're doing a good job.
Chairman FUQUA. They're not doing janitorial work?
Mr. LITTLEFIELD. No sir, that is being done on a minority contract,
a small business minority contract, and Boeing does do some j anitorial
work for Martin, but as far as the overall facilities work, they are
not involved in janitorial work.
Gentlemen, that is all I had.
Chairman FTJQUA. What is Reguard?
Mr. LITTLEFIELD Reguard is our security force. That's another
minority contract.
* Chairman FUQUA. What's Rockwell?
Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Rockwell has one person and they are concerned
about the engines that are being stored here. It's their old contract.
Chairman FUQUA. How many engines do you have?
Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Well, we're in the process right now of taking
all the engines off the SIB. We have a stage plus some spares on the
SIB, and you know we're going to use them on the Delta program, 50
we're in the process of moving them right now and shipping them out.
There is a total of 11 H-i engines.
Chairman FUQUA. Who is doing that work?
Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Rocketdyne.
Chairman FTJQUA. But they only have one person. Is only one
man doing~it?
Mr. LITTLEFIELD. Chrysler is doing most of the work here and
Rocketdyne is sending a crew in on a temporary basis.
Mr. Chairman, if there are no other questions I would like to
introduce Mr. George Smith, the vice president and project director
for Martin Marietta on the external tank program. George will
conduct a tour of facilities and acquaint you with the programs to
date.
* [Thereupon the committee ajourned to tour the facilities at Mchaud
Test Facility.]
PAGENO="0787"
FIELD HEARINGS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1976
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS,
Johnson Space Center, Houston, Tex
PROGRAM REVIEW FOR MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
NASA-S-76- 1022
AGENDA
9 00 9 40 WELCOME DR KRAFT
INSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT/OUTLOOK
9 40 10 00 SOLAR POWER SYSTEM MR P PILAND
10:00 - 10:15 LARGE AREA CROP INVENTORY EXPERIMENT MR. CHARLESWORTH
10 15 10 30 LUNAR CURATORIAL FACILITY MR J PILAND
10 30 10 45 SHUTTLE PAYLOADS MR LUNNEY
10 45 11 15 SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM MR COHEN
1115 1145 FACILITY TOURS
SPACELAB MOCKUP BLDG 36 MR STONESIFER
SHUTTLE MANIPULATOR MOCKUP
BLDG. 9A MR. LOUVIERE
11:45 DEPART JSC
(785)
PAGENO="0788"
786.
NASA-S-76]059
iNSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT AND OUTLOOK
DR. KRAFT
Dr. KRAFT. Good morning, gentlemen. We will get started. We are
going to try to do a lot in a few minutes. I will try to be as rapid as
I can.
I certainly want to welcome you to Houston. You haven't been here
for some time. We are very pleased.
We are going to give you a rundown on some things you ~vanted to
hear and some things we wanted you to hear. It will be kind of a
mixture of the two.
If I can have some charts [S-76-1023]--we are going to talk about
solar power systems, the LACIE program, the lunar curatorial
facility-that's the model of it-and we are going to talk about some
payloads, how we are doing in the Shuttle program-mostly the
orbiter. Then we are going to show you some of our families.
4
~
PAGENO="0789"
787
NASA-S-76- 1023
ASSSESSMENT
* CENTER IS HEALTHY, BUT VERY LEAN, WITH A CRITiCAL
JOB AHEAD
* MANPO1'~R/RESOURCES DICTATE SUCCESS ORIENTED
PLANNING
* PROGRAMS ARE PROGRESSING EXTREMELY WELL
BUT SHUTTLE AND STS POSE MAJOR CHALLENGES
We think we have a good center here, under some very hard times.
We have a lot of critical jobs in front of us.
I would like to say in the beginning that I cannot praise the industry
too highly for the job they have done in the last 3 years. The way they
have had to handle the money; the way they have had to manage the
contract with the ups and downs of the money; bringing people in and
taking them off the job has really been outstanding. Particularly, the
subcontractors have put up with that and have supported very well.
The money that they have charged us to do the job has been extremely
reasonable; and the products they have produced have just been out-
standing. I do not know how anybody could have done a job any
better under the circumstances. I would like to say that, on the record,
they have done a really superb job.
We and you know what is happening to NASA, its manpower and
resources. It is a tough job and a real challenge to us, both financially
and peoplewise; and it is oriented toward a success schedule. However,
I think that it probably will be good for us in that respect. I think it
allowed the Shuttle to stay on its cost plan as a result; and I think we
have gotten it done in a reasonable fashion. I think that if we are
reasonably lucky, which it appears we are today, then we are going to
make it fairly well.
I think the problem that we had out at Santa Susana-which I
am sure the Marshall people talked to you about-was a rather
peculiar situation. Fortunately, it did not have much to do with the
real hardware. It was a ground support equipment problem.
We have been lucky; but after all the experience we have had in
the last 15 years, we know how to do this business.
I think that I have already said that I think it is going well. I do
not know whether I said that the Shuttle schedules are really good.
We' are pleased with them and proud of them. It is a shame you cannot
get to see it because the No. 1 bird is pretty much together.
Congressman FUQUA. We were out there in the facility at the time
they put the nose and tail on. We saw them.
PAGENO="0790"
788
Dr. KRAFT. We ar~ about ready to turn the power on in about 2
weeks. We are just as pleased as can be with the way the vehicle is
going together.
The proof of the pudding is going to be the integrated tests both
there and the integration laboratory we have here. We are really
pleased with the way it is going.
NASA-S-76-1014 A
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
MANPOWER SUMMARY
15000 .
.`:::: ~0RT CONTRACTORS
6000
3000
FY68 FY69 FY70 FY71 FY72 FY73 FY74 FY75 FY76 FY77
You have seen this chart [S-76-1014A]. We are down to approxi-
mately 3,600 civil service; and we have' come down considerably.
The total number in the center is just slightly less than 9,000; and we
are still doing much the same thing with the development of the
Shuttle. We are doing it with less people; but we are still doing a good
job.,
We will talk a little bit about what we have accomplished over the
last year and will accomplish in the coming year [S-76-10241. We will
PAGENO="0791"
* COMPLETION OF DESIGN/DEVELOPMENTOF Fl RSTORBITER VEHICLE
* MODIFICATION/UPGRADINGOF FACILITIES ENGINEERING TEST
FACILITIES AVIONICS LABORATORY MISSIONCONTROLCENTER
CREW TRAI NI NG/SIMULATION COMPLEX, SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
LABORATORY ETC FOR SHUTTLE
* OBTAINAND MODiFY SHUTTLE CARRIER AIRCRAFT
* OBTAIN SHUTTLE TRAINING Al RCRAFT
* CONSTRUCT LUNAR CURATORI AL FACI LITY
* MAJOR PROGRESS IN APPLICATIONS LARGE AREA CROP INVENTORY
EXPERI MENT
* ADVANCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
* SATELLITE SOLAR POWER SYSTEM
* SPACE STATION
not talk about ASTP Certainly, you are familiar with what happened
there, a lot of good data from some minor experiments that turned
out to be a payoff that we probably did not expect You have heard
some people talk about the results of ASTP, and we are pleased with
that
The first Orbiter is just about complete, and we are starting,
hopefully, in the next few months in getting the Orbiter going We
make sure we are not ignoring Oribter No 2 because, after all, it
will be the first flight test vehicle into Earth orbit
We have been in the process of upgrading some of our facilities.
We are waiting on some of the hardware-the bivroacoustic and some
thermal testing So, we have had to upgrade, particularly, our bivro~
acoustic facility to put in the right inputs into the shuttle components,
and, also, we have had to modify some of our thermal testing facility
to further test the thermal protection system
That is another system, by the way, that turned out to be a lot
better than even we had hoped for It appears that the thermal
protection material will withstand about 3000 F higher than we
thought it would It will be pretty forgiving We are really pleased
with the fact that in the first orbital flight we will have a great deal
of margin. That will give us a pretty warm feeling. We cannot test
it at the right conditions here on Earth We are thinking about using
a benign reentry. With the improved performance of the thermal
protection, we are in pretty good shape there.
789
ACHIEVEMENTS
FY75/76
* APOLLO SOYUZ MISSION
NASA- S-76- 1024
PAGENO="0792"
790
We are in the process of getting our avionics laboratory jñst about
ready to start testing the first components. That is the integrating
system for the approach and lending tests that are to be done next
year. The Mission Control Center is being modified to be compatible
with the shuttle, as well as compatible over the next 2 years with the
`1 DRSS relay satellite.. NASA is going to replace all of its remote
sites. OThis will take some modification; and hopefully, over the next
couple of years, we will be able to automate a lot of the operations
so that we can reduce the cost of operating the shuttle. The crew
training and simulations are being modified.
The softwarc development is a very big job on the Space Shuttle.
Most of that is being developed here in our laboratories and being used
by the Rockwell people both in their plant and in checkout and,
eventually, of course, in flight.
You are aware of the 747 and the modifications that we are making
to the shuttle carrier aircraft.
We are in the process of obtaining two shuttle training aircraft for
training the astronauts from 35,000 feet to touchdown, simulating the
reentry, of the Orbiter.
We `have had some trouble with that in the last 2 or 3 months. We
0 htzd initially run some tests on the thrust reversers. We have to run
the thrust reversers in flight to get the lift to drag ratios that are
necessary to match the Orbiter reentry. We found the reversers were
producing some rather large vibrations on the horizontal and vertical
tail; and as a result shaking the cockpit so that the pilots objected.
So, we have had to modify that configuration. In the last few weeks,
we have come up with a configuration which we think will be accept~
able, but it is still going to have some vibration.
Congressman FUQUA. What kind of aircraft do you have?
Dr. KRAFT. It is a Grumman Gulfstream 2-G-2. We looked at all
the jet planes that were feasible and, then, we had competitive bids.
Lockheed and Grumman bid for the contract and Grumman won.
We have had some trouble financially but I think we are over that,
hopefully.
We had to take some of our people and send them up to Grumman
to review contract activities. We got them back on course.
This is a complicated'airplane. What we had to do is mO(lify the
wing, build a full span flap that could be used as a lift generating
device to simulate the Orbiter. We had to put side force generators
on the fuselage to give us the right kind of lateral/directional character-
istics of the Orbiter. So, it is a complicated airplane. It has an avionic
system in it that allows us to actually follow the subsonic exact tra-
jectories the Orbiter will fly, as well as duplicate the flying qualities of
the Orbiter. We can vary the aerodynamics of the G-2.
Coi~gressman FUQUA. Did you find new planes and. modify them?
Dr. KRAFT.* Yes. We did buy two new airplanes and completely
modified them.
Congressman FTJQTJA. You could not do that with some used planes?
Dr. KRAFT. I do not think it made~that much difference in cost,
Don. They bid the thing, you know, competitive competition with
other airplanes. It really did not make that much difference in the
cost. ,
PAGENO="0793"
791
I think the `project is going to end up about $29 million, including
the cost of the basic airplanes which were between $6 and $7 million
We stripped the airplane' of all the electronics, and that sort of
thing. So, what we bought was a basic aircraft.
In the large area crop inventory experiment, we made a great deal
of progress there in the last year. I `do not want to say any more
about that than to say it is coming along excellently, and Mr Charles..
worth will talk about that shortly
We are putting a lot of our advanced development people which
are small in number but large in capability, on working on the satellite
power systems. We are anxious to tell you about this, Don; and we
feel that that is a very important part of the programs that we will
conduct with the Space Shuttle over the next 10 or 15 years.
We do not propose that we go ahead with building satellite power
systems. We do feel that NASA can contribute a great deal in the
technology needed to be developed here.
Over the next 10 years, we could prove, or disprove, the feasibility,
both technologically and economically, with a reasonably small in-
vestment. We think that is very, very important for the country to
do, plus the fact that the program is something that NASA ought to
be conducting. We are very anxious to get going in this field.
Congressman FUQUA. What do you see-that is what I was going
to ask. Go ahead.
Dr. KRAFT. You wanted to see what we are going to do? [S-76-1026]
NASA-S-76-1026
FUTURE ACTIVITIES
* COMPLETE DEVELOPMENT/TESTING OF SHUTTLE (COMMITMENT DATES)
* 2nd QTR 77 - FIRST CAPTIVE FLIGHT
* 4th QTR 77 - APPROACH/LANDING TEST
* 2nd QTR 79 -MANNED ORBITAL FLIGHT
* MID 1980 OPERATIONALFLIGHT
* COMPLETE UPGRADING/MODIFICATION IN PREPARATION FOR SPACE
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM OPERATIONAL ERA
* FLIGHT PLANNING AND CONTROL
* FLIGHT DATA MANAGEMENT
* CREWTRAINING/SIMULATION
* ON BOARD CREWEQUIPMENT
* RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ON ADVANCE SPACE SYSTEMS
* SATELLITE SOLAR POWER
* SPACE STATION
* SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS PAYLOADS FOR STS MISSIONS
PAGENO="0794"
792
Well, in the first place, here is what we have got coming W~ are
going to get into the first captive flight on the 747 about a year from
now We will have Orbiter No 1 rollout in September , and ] t is going
to be ready to put on the back of the 747 next year We are going to
actually fly it off the back of the 747 and have n~anned sp ace flight
in 1979 We are going to get into operation in 1980 We do not see
anything that is going to prevent us from meeting those schedules,
even with the budgetary limitations that we have in the 1971 budget
We still think we are going to meet all these schedules.
We are going to upgrade and modify a lot of our facihti~ s to get
into the operational area We are going to require some modifications.
in the mission control center that requires a lot of hard work from our
people to do mission planmng and all of this flight plamung, crew
training, and simulation When you start thinking about training
crews and mission specialists for 60 flights per year, and doing that
with the number of trainers that we are going to start oul with-
only one shuttle mission simulator-it is a different kind of training
than we have had to do in the past. We are working hard on' how to.
do that
I think flight data management is one thing that is really going to
be difficult as we get into this Shuttle era because when ~ ou talk
about the amount of data that some of the experimenters are talking
about, it is not only complicated to do well, but it is going to be
expensive if we are not careful how we design for it Some good think-
ing needs to go into how you're going to manage the data-both house-
keeping data and experimental data.
Now, in the research and development area, we have about 1? people
working here, Don; and it has paid off for us. We think we have got
NASA very much interested We think we're going to get the outside
world interested in space solar power. We have got some very good
experiments-both at JPL and other places-that say the fee sibthty
of this thing is more than people were willing to admit several years
ago Development will have to be d9ne in order to bring the price
down For instance, if you're going to use photovoltaic cells, you're
going to use photovoltaic cells, you're going to have to bring the cost
down considerably We think with the right kind of technological de-
velopment over the next 5 years we can do that But, even if it cannot
be done, there are other ways of using the heat of the sun-even if we
had to go to conventional turbines
We think that is where we ought to spend a lot of time here in sys-
tems engineering There are a lot of other people doing the technological
development, both in and out of NASA, including the Air For( e We
think we can pull this thing together in terms of how it should be done
and, hopefully, built There should be some type of activity 01 er the
1980's which would allow us to prove this concept in Earth orbit
We will have a little more to say about that later
Space stations are certainly a part of this program-that is, the solai
power program-because you need long-term maintenance These
space power stations are built to last 30 years It does require
continuous maintenance We think this will get us into the kind of
things that man ought to be doing in space, whether it is science,
applications, or manufacturing We certainly need permanent manned
space stations We have a couple of contracts that we will let within
the next 3 or 4 months to continue to study this As you kno ~v, we
have done a lot of space station studies We will try to take advantage
PAGENO="0795"
793
of that; but we want to be a little more specific in the kind of thinking
we want done in space stations because we think we know pretty
much already, based on our previous studies.
We will certainly continue to do the kind of operations that we are
doing now in Earth resources and utilizing the signature analysis
that we have done to combine computer activity that we have de-
veloped in the large area crop inventory experiments. In addition to
that, I think that there are a lot of things that we are going to do that
have to do with products that can be made in space, both in the field of
medicine, as well as metals and so forth. We would hope to get involved
in that. I think Marshall wants to get involved in manufacturing in
space. I hope that they continue to push that because I think it is
important.
In addition, I think that we are going to be doing a lot of work in
just operating the shuttle here at JSC. It is probably going to take
about half of our people to run the so-called space transportation
system, to operate the orbiter, to operate the interim upper stage,
which the Air Force is developing, and carry out the commercial as
well as in-house scientific activity, as well as integrating the whole
thing both in a mission control sense and in a payload operation
sense.
I think our work is well laid out for us. If you add the solar power
work, or work of that nature in terms of large-scale systems, then I
think that there is plenty for us to do.
There is a problem I would like to talk to you about; and that is
what these next few charts are going to deal with. I think that NASA,
in general, and JSC, in particular, has a manpower problem that has
got to be dealt with; and we are trying to do that, to lay out a long-
term plan over the next 4 or 5 years to handle the situation. [S-76-1027].
NASA-S-76-1027
SKILLS COMPOSITION OF JSC WORK FORCE
NUMBER PERCENTAGE
SC I ENTI STS AND ENG I NEERS 2219 61. 0
PROFESSIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE 489 13.4
TECHNICAL SUPPORT 405 11.1
CLERICAL 529 14.5
ON-BOARD AS OF 12-31 -75 3642*
*JUNE 30, 1976, CEI LI NG I S 3613
CLERICAL STAFF IS LOW BECAUSE 1URNOVER OCCURS IN THAT AREA
SHORTAGES IN SOME ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS SUCH AS PROCUREMENT
PAGENO="0796"
794
Today we have got, as of the 31st of December, 3,642 employees.
We have got to get down to 3,612. This is engineers, professionals,
administration, technicians, and clerical help that we have; and
there is no question. we have got a shortage in some areas. As a matter
of fact, we have got a skill mix problem, as you would expect
[S-76-1028].
NASA-S-i 6- 1028
CIVIL SERVICE PERSONNEL CONCERNS
* SKILLSMIXPROBLEMS
* LOWTURNOVERALLOWINGLIITLE
INPUT OF RECENT COLLEGE
GRADUATES
Over the last 6 years, we have had five riffs in 6 years. We should
have had one this year. We just decided we did not want to do that
because we had had one every year. We decided we would just get
the `population down by attrition.'
`Unfortunately, the attrition rate here is very bad-very low. I
call `that bad. As a result, we just do not have the right skill mix.
PAGENO="0797"
795
NASA-S-76-1029
AVERAGE AGE OF WORK FORCE
* JSCAVERAGEAGE-41.8VEARS
* CENTER HAS AGED BECAUSE OF LACKOF INPUT
OF RECENT GRADUATES
AVERA(E AGE
1968 36
1975 41.8
We tried to maintain our technical staff and allowed our administra~
tive staff, clerical staff, to go down in numbers; and that has been a
bad result.
We have had a very low number of college hires [S-76-l'029]. The
average a~e at JSC is 41.8. That is from the 36 we were at in 1967.
We are going up in age approximately a year for a year. That has just
got to be* a bad situation.
NASA~S-76- 1030-
TURNOVER AT JSC
NO.
FY69 310 . 6.7
FY70 241 5.5
FY71 205 4.8
FY72 187 4.5
FY73 206 5.4
FY74 172 4.6
FY75 .130 3.5
FY76* 120 3.3
*ESTIMATED
TURNOVER RATE BY SKILL
CLERICAL 1O.8'/~
ADMIN IPROFESSIONAL 5.9
TECHNICIAN 2.3
SCIENTIST/ENGINEERS 1.6
* JSC TURNOVER IS LOWEST IN NASA
* MOST (50%) OF THOSE WHO LEAVE ARE CLERKS
* TURNOVER AMONG TECHNICAL STAFF HAS BEEN EXTREMELY LOW
* LOW TURNOVER LIMITS CAPABILITY TO HIRE RECENT GRADUATES, FEMALES, MINORITIES
PAGENO="0798"
796
0 ir turnover rate is' really our biggest problem [S-76--1030]. Our
~uraover rate from 1969 to 1976 is down to 3~ percent. We are
estimating it is going to be about 3.3 this year; and the unfortunate
part about that is our scientists and engineers attritions are less than
1 percent. With that kind of rate, we are in a position where our age
is.going to still continue to increase. We're going to be unable to hire
any new blood in our organization.
There are a lot of reasons for that. As you would expect, the job
market is down in the aerospace industry. In the past, there has
oeen a ~1arge flow of people from NASA into the industry. That was
very he althy. They learned the basic research and were able to apply
that in the aerospace. That~ has sort of dried up because of the lack
of p1 aces for them to go.
* There is one othe~ factor; and, frankly, this does not sound quite
righ t. We pay our people too much money. The Government salaries
ares somewhere around $3 to $7,000 more in the middle management
range than they are in the rest of the industry.
Third, people like their work here. They,do not want to leave. So,
they are not leaving; and as a result of that, we have got a situation
where if we do not do something about it, we're going to have a mess
on our hands in another 5 or 10 years. We have got a large percentage
of our people in the age range from 35 to 45. So, they are not going to
retire anytime soon, not until, say 10 years from now. Ten years from
now, everybody is going to retire.
If we do not make some long-range plans for this whole situation, we
are going to be in bad shape.
Congressman FUQUA. We talked about this several years ago; and
I was very alarmed then. It is even more alarming now.
Mr. SWIGERrr. Would the Johnson Space Center have art interest,
in applied research progran~ that may not be directly related to
space?
Dr. KRAFT. No, no; a one-word answer.
Mr. SWIGERT. Even if it helped with the problem that you were
just talking about.
Dr. KRAFT. I think our problem is that we are trying to reduce our
* staff. We would like to increase our staff; but `our problem is we do
not have enough resources to work the jobs we have got to do today.
If~we take those kinds of jobs on, we would just get more and more
work. and less resources to do it with. So, frankly, we want to stay in
the space business. That is our job. That is what our cha~rter says.
That is the reason I gave you a~no answer.
* This is wb~t `is happening to us right now [S-76-10311. We get 60
PAGENO="0799"
797
NASA-S-76- 1031
* APPROXIMATELY 60 PROFESSIONAL HI RES PER YEAR
ARE EXPECTED IF CU RRENT TURNOVER RATE CON-
TINUES AND NO FURTHER DECREASES IN CEILING
ARE MADE
* APPROXIMATELY 150-200 PROFESSIONAL COLLEGE
GRADUATE HI RES EACH YEAR V'.4JULD BE NEEDED
TO STOP AGING PROCESS
professionals per year. We will not do that this year; but we need
about 150 to 200 people to get our age stabilized. We would like to
bring it down to about forty and keep it there.
This chart shows on the whole what has been happening to us
[S-76-1032]. In 1968 we hired 301. In 1976 we are going to hire 12
NASA-S-76- 1032
JSC COLLEGE GRADUATE HIRES
301
300
20C
100
65 66 67
71 72 73
FISCAL YEAR
74 75 76
70-079 0 - 76 - 51
PAGENO="0800"
798
aew college graduates. Those 12 people are 12 of the 25 co-ops that
we have got here. We would like to hire them all, but we cannot.
This situation is one that has really brought about the situation
that I just described.
Mr. FUQUA. We tried a few years ago, after you talked to us about
that, to have a training program, or something. We kept running into
complications with the civil service laws every way we turned. You
cann9t hire someone on a trainee basis?
Dr. KRAFT. We have done that. That is the reason I say we have
o~ot 25 co-ops; and we are only going to be able to hire 1:2 of them.
~Ve brmg them in, get them interested. They would like to stay here,
but we cannot hire but 12 of them.
As I said, we probably made a mistake in not having a rif. The
last time we .btried an over-rif we got people taken away from us.
We are very leery of doing that.
In 1970 or 1971, we over-riffed so we could do something about the
skill mix. We immediately got all the people taken away from us
in NASA.
What we are trying to do, frankly, is encourage some of our people
to leave. I have been accused locally of wanting to get rid of old
people. That absolutely is not true. What I would like to do is en-
courage people at all levels to leave.
We are trying to put our efforts in an organizational scheme that
will allow us to reward the people on the highest merit and reduce
the opportunities and see if we cannot increase our attrition. That
is the only way I see out of it. There is no way I think we're going to
be allowed to grow to any extent over, at least, the next 5 or 6 years.
So, we're just going to have to increase our attrition rate. The only
way you are going to do that is decrease the opportunities for your
people.
Mr. FUQUA. What does that do to your morale?
Dr. KRAFT. I will tell you what I did. I had 26 sessions with the
staff between October and the 1st of December. I talked with the
whole staff in groups of up to about 150. I explained to every one of
them just what I am talking about here.
We had a senior staff meeting where we spent a couple of* days
working on various problems; and we concentrated awhile on this one.
Everybody is very cooperative. I think they understand our situation.
They understand that if we want to keep JSC a strong and viable
organization we are going to have to do something. I think they are
very receptive.
Mr. FUQUA. They are, as long as it is the other guy.
Dr. KRArT. No, I think most of the people recognize that~ maybe
they are going to have to leave.
We are not going to fire anybody. We are just going to encourage
them into realizing what our problem is and for them to realize
probably their opportunities are not as good as they might have
thought they were. That is inevitable. That is a hell of a thing to have
to say to people, that your opportunity is not as good today as it was
yesterday. I think we are not going to have an organization here at
JSC if we do not do something, at least the organization that we have
been able to cultivate for the last 10 years.
If there are no further questions we will proceed with the status of
Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE).
PAGENO="0801"
799
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. Good morning. I am going to spend the next
15 minutes or so talking~to you about the large area crop inventory
experiment called LACIE.
Briefly, LACIE is a three-agency project being conducted by our-
selves, NOAA, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
One of the significant points of the experiment, I think, is in the
various aspects of it. Each agency has a prime responsibility for a
certain piece of the work to be done.
In general, the primary goals of LACIE are to determine the pro-
duction at harvest of wheat-we are talking about wheat only-with
an accuracy of 90/90 percent: 90 percent accuracy, 90 percent of the
time [S-75-6180A]. What we will do is determine this on a country
level and then on an international basis.
NASA- S-75-6180 A
LACIE GOALS
* PRODUCTION AT HARVEST WITH ACCURACY OF 90/90
AT COUNTRY LEVEL ON INTERNATIONAL BASIS
/ S EARLIER PREDICTION OF ESTIMATED PRODUCTION ON
A PERIODIC BASIS
* DESIGN AND COST EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS OF A
PROJECTED OPERATIONAL SYSTEM
* NOT INTENDED TO COMPETE WITH CURRENT SRS
SYSTEM IN U.S.
We are also very interested, or the U.S. Department of Agriculture
is very interested, in earlier prediction of estimated production than
they currently have now. Also a very important factor is design and
cost effectiveness of the follow-on system that one might put in place,
assuming this experiment works as we think it will.
Very importantly, we are not pretending this experiment, or an
operational system a Ia LACIE, would compete with the current
statistical gathering service in this country; and there are a number
of reasons-
Congressman FtTQUA. It would supplement.
PAGENO="0802"
hAlOS AS 05 1/27/76
0 -
800
Mr CHARLESWORTH It would supplement it, but the primary
mphasis here is on the global basis
Congressman FUQUA Why are you just limiting it to wheat only?
Mr CHARLESWORTH I am going to say some words about that
~ want to spend a few minutes on scope and phasing [S-75-6234A]--
~S-76-1O60}
NASA S 75 6234A
SCOPE AND PHASING
PHASE I PHASE II PHASE ifi
* IMPLEMENTATION AND PRELIMINARY * QUASI -OPERATIONAL * QUAS I-OPERATIONAL
TESTING TESTING TESTING
* U. S. GREAT PLAINS
* MULTI -COUNTRY
* MULTI -COUNTRY
AREA
AREA
AREA
-YIELD FEASIBILITYTEST
-YIELD
-YIELD
* 011-IER AREAS
- PRODUCTION
- PRODUCTION
- CLASSIFICATION TESTS
NASA-S-76- 1060
KEY PRQJECT EVENTS
This project, or experiment, runs about 3~ calendar years We are now
in the second year, going into the second crop year I will not spend
much time on this schedule because you have a copy in your handout,
but in summary, the scope and phasing is thus: We completed phase I,
which was within the United States, and primarily in the Great Plains
wheat region; and we have done testing on the area-that is, comput-
ing the area.
PAGENO="0803"
801
We have done some yield feasibility tests that is, deriving the
models and are doing some tests of the models. We have done some
classification tests, or determination of areas, in other selected parts of
the world.
In phase II, we are going to really start into what the name of the
game is, production. We will again repeat the Great Plains region of
the United States, which is our yardstick region-the way we measure
ourselves-because we have good statistics in that area. We will
bring in the rest of the yield models. We will start to produce periodic
production reports in this phase, which is phase II.
Phase III is a repeat with an expansion to additional areas outside
of the United States. We will cover areas, selected areas, in Russia
and, also, Canada.
The reason we are interested in Canada is primarily the spring
wheat.
NASA-S-75-6179 A
WHEAT WAS SELECTED
* MAJOR CROP IN THE WORLD MARKET
* GROWN OVER LARGE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS OVER THE
WORLD; THEREFORE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF
SYNOPTIC AND RAPID RESPONSE CAPABILITIES OF
SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING
* CONS I DERED TO BE THE LEAST COMPLEX AND BEST
UNDERSTOOD CROP IN TERMS OF REMOTE SENSING
Why do we select wheat? It is a major crop in the world market
[S-75-6179A]. It is spread over a large enough geographical area
that it does make a good test for the things that the satellite can do;
and this, we think, is the least complex of the crops to study. Obviously,
we would like to extend it to other crops.
This chart shows the eight countries within LACIE that we intend
to work in [S-75-12184A}. It also shows you the crop year, the crop
calendars, and indicates the range of sowing and harvesting of the
wheat.
PAGENO="0804"
USSR
US
CHINA
INDIA
CANADA
ARGENTINA
AUSTRALIA
BRAZIL
You will note that Russia is the largest producer; and this country
is second in wheat only.
As you are aware, we are using the Landsat system for the pri-
mary data source. We also use meteorological data from ground sys-
tems; but the Landsat gives us coverage once every 18 days.
NASA-S-75-12184 A
802
WHEAT
AVERAGE 1968-
1972 MILLIONS
OF METRIC TONS
91.6
~:.:.:*:*~* FALL
SOWING
SPRING
SOWING
HARVESTING
RUSSIA iS THE WORLD'S LARGEST WHEAT PRODUCER
(90 MiLLION METRIC TONS)
U.S. IS SECONO (40 MILLION METRIC TONS),
BUT IS FIRST IN FEED GRAiN PRODUCTION
AND EXPORTS
PAGENO="0805"
803
We plant the wheat in the fall-or the farmer plants the wheat
[S-75-6201]. We get a look at it early along. Then it goes into dor-
mancy. Then we get three more looks, hopefully, if we do not have
cloud coverage through the course of the growing season. This is
important to us because the early classification accuracy may not
be as good as we would like. As we increase our looks through the
growing season, we can improve the classification.
[5-75-29764]. This shows you the United States; and the major
area we are interested in, our yardstick area, is the Great Plains
region. The dots indicate the sample segments on the ground that
we are working with. We cannot at this time reasonably process
all of the data that Landsat could acquire for us. Nor do we need
to do so. What we have gone to is a sample strategy wherein we
take a 5-by-6-mile segment on the ground and place these segments
in the sampling strategy which we have worked out with the Depart-
ment of Agriculture.
We then sample these and determine what the area is in that
particular region. We combine that with the yield. Then we aggregate
it all to a national level to come out with a production report on a
national level.
There are over 600 segments scattered through the United States;
but as you can see by the density, the primary region we are inter-
ested in is the Great Plains region.
PAGENO="0806"
804
I will apologize for this chart [S-76-1493] I really need a light
table for you to see this, but this shows a Landsat image which is
about 100 by 100 nautical miles, and it shows an area of North
Dakota, with the counties designated
The dots, each indicate a sample segment that I just described.
This particular one is blown up because this is the one we are looking
at here This is a particular sample segment, and I mentioned the
importance of repeated passes of the satellite-if you will take one
field m each one of these, you will probably see the outline of the
agricultural fields As we trace these through the growing season-
we can tell by the color changes, which mdicate maturity of the crop
as you go through the growing season
Now, a photo interpreter, an individual, a man looking at it with
a light table, at this type data from the Landsat, will make a choice
as to which field is wheat and which field is nonwheat
Once he has done that, we can then make an input to the computer
and then process the total data in that whole 5- by 6-mile segment
The computer will tell us the totals throughout the segment,
how much of the product there is wheat
PAGENO="0807"
805
You say, "Why do we have people? Why don't you do it totally with
the computer?"
We have to train the computer; in other words, tell the computer
these small areas are wheat. I am sure of that. Now, you tell me based
on the signature that you have stored how much of the rest of that
is wheat.
We look with the eyeball, with a man, something about 1 percent
of the total area. The remainder of it is computed in the computer.
Let me point out that LACIE does not use ground truth in a normal
sense; ground truth meaning going out and looking at what is there;
but we do use enough ground truth to test ourselves, to measure how
accurately we are doing; and in some cases we use aircraft to do that,
because once we get outside the United States, we do not have that
option.
Congressman WINN. How are you going to tell the difference of good
crops of wheat by this method? In certain parts of Russia, for instance,
you will see wheat on some of their fields; but it will not compare in
density and as a healthy crop compared to western Kansas, for in-
stance.
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. No, you are right; and we cannot detect stress
and those sorts of factors; but with the yield models which will have
the meteorological data; that is, weather, rainfall, we feel like we will
get the major sources that will contribute to how good the crop is.
We will not be-
Dr. KRAFT. Initially, you have got to depend on the statistics we
told you we have got until you have enough experience with this
program to where you will gather your own statistics; but up until
that point, the mathematical area models, using the water information
that you get, we find that you can do a reasonably good job.
Congressman WINN. I think you can do a reasonably good job. I was
a little surprised you do not use more ground truth because you have
got it, through the Department of Agriculture, it seems to me that
you have a doublecheck.
Dr. KRAFT. We are doing that as a matter of comparison; but we
* are trying to separate our system so that we do not have to do that.
We are trying to be honest about it in terms of our mathematics and
our techniques, to make sure we know how well we can do without
ground truth.
Mr. SwIGERT. In terms of 90/90, where are you?
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. Very close. We had some problems. I would
like to talk about that in just a second; but very, very close, at least
in terms of area.
PAGENO="0808"
806
(S-75-15051) the only purpose of this slide, called data flow, is to
show you-again, it is a three-agency project, starting with the
Landsat data, which we acquire at Goddard Space Flight Center.
It comes into Houston and the NASA chore here is primarily one of
determining: what is the area, how much wheat is there.
The NOAA people have been working on the crop models, the
yield models; and it is their responsibility to produce those so that
we can combine the two, the yield and the area, and come up with the
production.
Now, the Department of Agriculture really comes in where they
should, at the end of this chain, and assesses how well we are doing
and makes an assessment of whether this thing should become
operational.
Congressman WINN. Do you guys ever think of the ramifications
of how you are going to affect the price of wheat?
Dr. KRAFT. You bet.
Congressman WINN. Because, of course, it amounts to knowing the
whole of it. It could rip the storm gates off.
Dr. KRAFT. We realize that. As a matter of fact, we keep this
information as confidential information.
Congressman WINN. Like the House Intelligence Committee?
Dr. KRAFP. I hope we do a better job.
* We warn our people that they should not be involved in that sort of
thing. Once this thing gets into the production situation, fortunately,
we are going to get out of it; and USDA is going-they are going to be
in complete control of it. They will assume the protection of it.
Congressman WINN. The thing I am speaking of-when you
are talking about the grain deal from the United States ~o Russia,
for instance, how the first one was handled, the second one was pretty
good.
PAGENO="0809"
807
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. Let me point out that we do maintain, under
lock and key, the production reports which are transmitted to the
people in USDA; and those things are not distributed-there are very
few people that have access to it.
Congressman WINN. But you know the history shows that USDA
guesstimates-which is what they have been-I think that this is
good to a certain extent, but I can see the thing backfiring on you and
affecting the price of wheat, which affects the economy of the Nation.
Dr. KRAFT. I think the other thing I would say to you-you put
the finger on what the USDA does. We do not know really how
accurate the past estimates of the USDA have been in terms of
making our comparisons, that is, "compared to what?" It is part of
our mathematics.
Congressman WINN. Sometimes they have been pretty good.
Sometimes they have been so far off--
NASA-S-75-6189A
GENERAL SUMMARY OF RESULTS
* * OPERATIONS
* LAC I E DATA ANALYS I S SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN I MPLEMENTED
- ARE' MEETI NC GOALS FOR DATA VOLUME
* ACCURACY OF SURVEY ESTIMATES
* PRELIMINARY INDI CATIONS FROM ANALYSES OVER' U.S.
GREAT PLAINS YARDSTICK REGION ARE THAT LACIE AREA
AND YIELD ESTIMATION TECHNOLOGY WILL MEET LAC IE
ACCURACY GOALS
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. A general summary as `a result of the first
stage, in terms of the data, we have been very successful, despite
the fact that we have got the system scattered all over the country
[S-75--6189A}. It is unwieldy. it is not a system you would design if
you would run this business. It works out satisfactorily in the accu-
racy area. We did pretty goodexcept for one State we had some prob-
lems with. We do not know whether or not it is an anomaly, the
way the State behaves, or whether we have got some problems in the
way we distributed the samples. But overall, we were probably, like,
88/90 in this area for this phase I.
Now, what we are really after is production. So, you really need to
be just a little better than that; but we are very encouraged, en-
couraged enough that we felt we should proceed into phase II and
PAGENO="0810"
808
oxpand our operation into looking at selected regions outside of `this
i~ountry to get the experience of some of the problems we are going
to run into there.
In China, you have very small field sites that can give us a problem.
~n Russia, they have large sites. That does not give us any problems.
We are very encouraged with phase I. We are starting to assess
the data and are processing it; we expect to be putting out the produc-
tion reports to the Department of Agriculture very shortly.
Congressman WINN. Russia probably would not object to you
`taking picures over them in this case because it could be helpful to
them.
Dr. KRAFT. The United States has a cooperative agreement with'
Russia to exchange agricultural data.
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. But that cooperative agreement does not
involve LACIE. It is a separate agreement that provides for the
exchange of ground truth information between the two countries.
Congressman WINN. Then, they need this to know where they are,
apparently.
NASA-S-75-12191 A
SUCCESS IN LACIE
IMPLIES
* EXTENSI ON TO OTHER CROPS
* RICE, BARLEY, CORN, SOYBEANS, ETC
* TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY TO USER OF A SYSTEM
* ACQUIRES DATA'
* ANALYZES
* PROCESSES
* `NTERPRETS
* USES FOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
* OTHER APPLI CATION TRANSFERS
* LAND(JSE CLASSIFICATION
* WATER INVENTORY
* FOREST INVENTORY
* OTHER OPERATIONAL SATEI.LITE SYSTEMS TAILORED'
TO THE APPLICATION
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. In LACIE-I am 2 years ahead here-I am
hopeful we will be successful [S-75-12191A]. We want to extend this
to other crops because, although it is termed "Large Area Crop
PAGENO="0811"
800
Inventory Experiment," right now it concentrates on wheat. The
name of the game is to transfer this technology to the user of a sys-
tem, in this case Agriculture, and many components that we are
developing, forcing ourselves to make work after several years of
r~se\arch, that will apply in these other areas; and, of course, it could
be oIlier operational systems, tailored to any particular application.
We ~ha~e a land use project-basically, that is what it is-with
our laboratory in the State of Mississippi; we are in the process of
transferring computer programs we have developed and low-cost
systems to the State. In fact, they should be up and running now.
What it is about is to do an inventory of several parameters within
the State. The State gathered the ground truth, we put the system
together and utilize the Landsat data. We have activities going in
forestry-that's in this center in Houston; and we are in the process
of developing our combined project with the forestry service.
Congressman WINN. In your inventory, do you have a method of
checking the water table?
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. No; we do not. We do not have a technique to
measure that.
Congressman WINN. Do we have that capability anywhere?
Mr. CHARLESWORTH: No, sir.
Mr. SWIGERT. What is the total amount of budget for LACIE?
How much have you spent do far?
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. We will run about $8 million this year from
NASA; Agriculture about $2.5 million; NOAA $500,000, something
like that. It will run out in 3~ to 4 years to something like $30
million.
Mr. SWIGERT. If it were determined that you wanted to speed things
up, could you expand?
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. No; I do not think we could very successfully.
I think we are in one of those deals where more money and more
people would not make it happen that much faster. It just takes work.
Congressman WINN. You mentioned the State that you are having
trouble with. I am not trying to find out the name, but I'm trying to
help analyze the reason.
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. North Dakota. It is a spring wheat region.
For some reason, we do not quite understand why, it does not per-
form the way we thought it would. We have some ideas what it might
be. It just did not work properly.
Dr. KRAFT. You have got to remember this is a statistical thing.
The whole thing is statistics. It is not an exact science. Until we have
had some experience with it, it is not going to do too well; but I think
by the time we have done it for 3 to 5 years, something like that-
Congressman FUQUA. Is the growing characteristics of North
Dakota wheat varied from western Kansas?
Mr. CHARLESwORTH. I think it is really tied up within the statistics,
the way we allocated the samples. We probably assumed a county
would vary a certain way; and it does not.
Congressman WINN. Do not let NASA make a movie and make the
statement that the farmers don't plant nor harvest without infor-
mation serviced by NASA-do you remember that?
Dr. KRAFT. Yes, sir.
Mr. CHARLESWORTH. No, sir.
Congressman WINN. When I saw that I almost died.
PAGENO="0812"
81~
Dr KEAFT I see that Mr Piland is here We will heat from hun
now.
SOLAR POWER SYSTEM
Mr. PILAND. Good morning, gentlemen. I will discuss some aspects
of our studies of satellite solar power systems.
I understand that you have been exposed to a fair amount of dis-
cus~mon of this concept before, and I undem stand also that this
Thursday, or Friday NASA representatives and others will be re-
porting to you again. Dr. Lenoir, from this center, will testify for
NASA. I have coordinated with Dr. Lenoir; and I plan to comple-
ment the information that he will present on Thursday.
May I have the first slide, please?
The Sun is the most abundant source of eneigy for the Earth
(S-75-12516). The collection of solar power on the ground is not a
new concept; and the Nation is certainly exploring it; and will use
energy obtained in this manner 1-lowever, the concept of putting a
collector in space and transmitting the enei gy to ground is relatively
new. I believe it was first actively promoted in the late 1960's; the
next chart depicts the principles involved for one particular, approach
(S-75-15o8o).
PAGENO="0813"
811
The concept involves the placement of a very large collector high
above the Earth, with that collector consisting of either solar cells,
as we have used in space in the past, only much better ones, or thermal
collectors; and, then, converting that solar energy into microwave
energy, beaming it down to the ground where it is received with a large
antenna; converted again to the proper form and introduced into a
power system.
A significant aspect of the concept is the size of the elements
involved. The conceptual system is sized to produce 5,000 megawatts.
This size appears to be appropriate from an optimum cost standpoint.
For reference that size power station is equivalent to seven of the
power stations down the road, which produces 750 megawatts. To put
it another way, 5,000 megawatts is about the amount of power that
the city of Houston, uses at the present time.
Congressman FUQUA. What population are you talking about?
Mr. PILAND. Several million people.
Congressman FTJQUA. Plus the industrial?
Mr. PILAND. Plus the industrial.
Congressman WINN. What are all of those?
Mr. PILAND. That is the antenna; made up of numerous diode
rectifier elements combined with individua' dipoles and filters.
This would be about 4 to 5 miles in diameter. The collector in space
is approximately 20 square miles.
So, you have 20 square miles of collector in space and 50 square
miles down on Earth to provide 500 megawatts. The station does not
have to be that size; but that is typical of the size that are being
studied. It is also the size that our ground powerplants are projected
to be in the next 20 years. That gives you an impression of the size
of the major elements of this concept.
PAGENO="0814"
812
Now, given that, somebody has thought up the idea of doing this:
~iamely, putting your collector in space. The question is, we might
review quickly, why do you want to put it up there? The apparent
advantages and new requirements are listed on the next chart (S-
76-1061).
NASA-S-76- 10 61
WHY CONSIDER SATELLITE SOLAR POWER ?
APPARENT ADVANTAGES (+) NEW REQUIREMENTS (-)
* GREATER INSOLATION ( 6 - 15x) * SPACE TRANSPORTATION AND OPERATIONS
* NO STORAGE * MICROWAVE POWER TRANSMISSION
* LESS LAND AREA ( - X
5 10
* MINIMAL DAY/NIGHT AND WEATHER CONCERNS
* RECEIVER NEAR USER
The collector in space has access to continuous sunlight. You are
above the atmosphere; and more important than that, you are not
affected by day and night cycles. So, consequently the solar energy
that is available to you is anywhere from 6 to 15 times more than what
you will collect at a given location on the Earth's surface.
The important thing about not having a day-night cycle is that it
does not require storage capacity. It is very expensive to provide such
capacity for providing power at night or when clouds interfere.
The third advantage relates to land area. While the receiving antenna
looks large, a solar collector on Earth would require 5 to 10 times as
much area if you were using it to get equal amounts of solar power.
The space system has minimal atmospheric problems because the
microwave transmission of energy is not significantly affected by
these factors.
The other important thing is that you locate your antenna near
where you need to use it rather than where optimum "sunshine"
conditions exist.
There are two additional requirements that must be met and those
are: the transportation of the system into space and the transmission
of energy to the ground via microwave.
Now, I was going to spend most of my time today on this question
of transportation and the construction associated with building such a
System.
PAGENO="0815"
813
Congressman FUQUA What happens if you fly an airplane through
that air?
Mr PILAND The estimate right now is that there would not be any
particular problem. The aircraft structure is expected to sustain the
thermal loads but the electronics could possibly be affected. That is
one of the things that we need to know more about.
The next chart presents several conceptual designs of solar power
stations (S-76-10028) You have probably seen some of these In
I
the next few years we will see a lot more conceptual designs
The configuration on the left has been studied by the Boeing Co.
particularly, and I think some of you visited Boeing where this con
figuration was discussed
The system reflects the solar energy into cavities and then uses
turbo machinery, such as we use on the ground, to convert it to power
It is then transmitted to Earth via microwave
On the right is a configuration studied by A D Little and several
aerospace firms which uses solar cells to collect the energy and convert
it into power
JSC started studying solar power stations last March or April
The center configuration has evolved from the rn-house effort I
certainly would not say one of these configurations is better than the
other at this time, and we would expect to see a lot more of these before
an optimum configuration is evolved
It is obvious, though, that each configuration has a large energy
collector and will require a significant space transportation and con
struction activity
700790 76 52
PAGENO="0816"
814
NASA-S-76-903
SPACE POWER STATIONS
TRANSPORTATION AND CONSTRUCTION
REQUI REMENT
TRANSPORT HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TONS OF BUILDING MATERIAL,
SUBASSEMBLIES,EQUIPMENT AND MEN TO GEOSYNCHRONOUS
ORBIT AT AN ORDER OF MAGNITUDE LESS COST THAN PRESENT.
CONSTRUCT A LARGE NUMBER OF LIGHTWEIGHT FACILITIES EACH OF
WHICH EXTENDS OVER A NUMBER OF SQUARE KILOMETERS.
What is the scope of this effort? (S-76--903) The job is to transport
hundreds of thousands of tons of building materials, sub-assemblies
equipment and men to geo'ynchronous orbit, at an order of magnitude
less cost than at present to make the system economically viable.
NASA-S-76-902
TRANSPORTATION
CONSIDER THE REQUIREMENT IN THREE PARTS:
* LARGE CARGO REQUIREMENTS TO LOW EARTH ORBIT
* LARGE CARGO REQUIREMENTS FROM LOW EARTH ORBIT TO
GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT
* UNASSEMBLED CARGO
* PARTIALLY ASSEMBLED CARGO
* PERSONNEL AND HIGH PRIORITY EQUIPMENT
You also have to construct a large number of these lightweight f a-
cilities, each one extending over a number of square kilometers, or
square miles. First, let us consider about what is involved in the trans-
portation requirement (S-76--902). You have to transort this large
amount of cargo to low Earth orbit, several hundred miles above the
PAGENO="0817"
Earth The second part of the requirement involves moving that large
cargo from low Earth orbit up to geosynchronous orbit in going from
low orbit geosynchronous. You can leave it packaged like you took it
off the ground, and assemble it in low orbit before moving it to geo-
synchronous orbit.
The third thing you have to think about is personnel and high pri-
ority equipment It is probable that the same method of transportation
would not be used. Let us look at this large cargo requirement and the
personnel requirement.
NASA-S-75-10031 MATERIAL TRANSPORT TO
LOW EARTH ORBIT
PAYLOAD - 120 TONS
EXPENDABLE
LOW LAUNCH RATE
$2.75 MILLION/ION PAYLOAD
PAYLOAD - 30 TONS
PARTLY REUSABLE
MODERATE LAUNCH RATE
$0.4- 0.6 MILLION/TON PAYLOAD
PAYLOAD - 250 TONS
FULLY REUSABLE
HIGH LAUNCH RATE
5.02 - .05 MILLION/EON
815
500 TONS/YR
±
cl~
SATURN V
1970
//i\
(I~fic~
di I
TONS/YR
SHUTTLE
1980
35,000-i. x:o~
TONS YR
HLLV
1990
The Saturn V carried a large payload to low Earth orbit (S-75-10031)
It was designed for one shot; and, then, it was gone. We had a low
launch rate: three or four a year. It cost on the order of $2.75 million
per ton of payload to low Earth orbit.
The Shuttle being developed is partly reusable We have to replace
the external tanks. It has a moderate projected launch rate; and the
cost has come down, This represents a significant improvement but we
need to go further to make the concept we are talking about even
more economically viable
Taking advantage of reusability and a high launch rate, an estimate
in the tens of dollars a pound may be obtainable, with such a future
vehicle.
This particular vehicle happens to be a two-stage vehicle without
wings. Additional optimization design studies would be required.
The current studies indicate that there are still cast reductions
to be achieved transporting cargo from low Earth orbit to geosyn-
chronous orbit.
PAGENO="0818"
81i6
NASA S 76 10035
SCOPE OF CONSTRUCTION AND PLACEMENT OPTIONS
MINIMAL MANNE~~~ ~ ~
GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT
DOCKING
DEPENDENT ELECTRIC
PROPULSION OF MODULE INDEPENDENT
PROPULSION OF
MODERATE MANNED MATERIALS
INVOLVEMENT ,~ MINIMAL MANNED
INVOLVEMENT
LOW ORBIT
DEPLOYMENT AND
ASSEMBLYIN LOW ORBIT DEPOT SERVICES
ONLY IN LOW ORBIT
I _
MAXIMUM GROUND PRE FABRICATION HIGH DENSITY LAUNCH PAYLOADS
LOW DENSITY LAUNCH PAYLOADS
This is the scope of construction and placement options (S-76-
10035). On the left, you put together systems as much as you can
down on the ground You make subassemblies to deploy in space with
a minimum of manned effort That gives you a low-density payload
and makes the launch vehicle relatively larger In low Earth orbit,
these subassemblies are deployed in rather large modules These
modules of the power station are then activated to receive solar
energy which is used to propel it to geosynchronous orbit where
you have a minimum of manned involvement by docking these
modules together.
The other options, or the extreme of the options, involves packaging
the cargo to a higher density on the ground. I am not saying you
would necessarily take up bars of aluminum but you would go in that
direction In low Earth orbit, you might have some depot service
requirements to refuel rockets, but the payload package would be
kept intact A conventional but higher efficiency propulsion system
would be u~ ed to accelerate the package to geosynchronous orbit
where fabrication and assembly could be done with considerable
manned involvement
Between these two options there are a number of combinations
but the determination of that mission and construction aspect is
going to be very important to this concept Let us now look at some
of the propulsion systems, and questions associated with transporting
the cargo to geosynchroiious orbit (S-76-10030)
PAGENO="0819"
PAYLOAD -2.5 TONS
EXPENDABLE
MODERATE LAUNCH RATE
COST~$0. 5 TO 1 MILLION! TON PAYLOAD
INDEPENDENT CHEMICAL PROPULSION
PAYLOAD - 250 TONS / ~/`~ ,~..
SYSTEM WEIGHT~3.25 X PAYLOAD
REUSABLE TO 50 FLIGHTS
1 DAY LEO TO GEO
COST "$. (24 MILLION/TON PAYLOAD
INDEPENDENT ELECTRIC PROPULSION
(NUCLEAR-THERMIONIC POWER)
PAYLOAD -100TONS
SYSTEM WEIGHT'~2. 27 X PAYLOAD
REUSABLE 10 TIMES
~)DAY LEOTOGEO,
COST ~ $. 140 MILLION/TON PAYLOAD
How do we go to geosynchronous orbit at present?
The Centaur is one of the systems used. It costs on the order of $10
million per ton of payload. Presently, we are developing a shuttle
upper stage. It will cost on the order of a tenth of that: half a million
to a million dollars a ton.
Extrapolating present technology of chemical propulsion, we
think it possible to achieve an additional order of magnitude cost
reduction.
Other bypes of systems may be considered such as nuclear ther-
mionic. They also show reductions, and I would say right now you
could argue about which one of these is right; but there are consider-
able margins for improvement there.
817
NASA-S-76-10030
SPS MATERIAL TRANSPORT
LOW ORBIT TO GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT
1980
SPACE SHUTTLE-IUS
DEPENDENT PROPULSION MODULE
(SPS SUPPLIED POWER)
PAYLOAD - 3~ 500 TONSIMODULE
SYSTEM WEIGHT~1. 5 X PAYLOAD
PARTLY REUSABLE
75 DAY LEO TO CEO
COST ~ $007 MILLION/TON PAYLOAD
PAGENO="0820"
818
An alternate approach is to use the solar energy from a part of the
station itself, where you simply add ion thrusters. It uses the energy
being generated by the power system rather than transported fuel.
The cost is estimated to decrease by another order of magnitude.
This approach might appear to be optimum, but there are additional
factors to be considered. One of these factors is that it would take
you seventy-five days from low earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit,
versus one day for the chemical system which introduces a cost and
economic question.
Now, how do you get the personnel and high priority equipment
up there?
The Shuttle will be adequate to low orbit.
Improvements and modifications to the Shuttle may be projected
to improve its performance and reduce its cost.
Transportation from low orbit to geosynchronous orbit will depend
on the type of operation (S-76-10033). If most of the assembly is
being done at low earth orbit, a device, of this design on the left might
be used.
NASA- S-76-10033
PERSONNEL AND HIGH PRIORITY EQUIPMENT TRANSPORT
LOW ORBIT TO GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT
VEHICLE FOR VEHICLE FOR
SPS LOW EARTH ORBIT ASSEMBLY SPS GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT ASSEMBLY
14'D~
14D
ROUND TRIP PAYLOAD 10 TONS DELIVERYPAYLOAD 40 TONS
SYSTEM - 120 TONS RETURN PAYLOAD - 20 TONS
REUSABLE SYSTEM - 235 TONS
LOW USE RATE
REUSABLE
HIGH USE RATE
PAGENO="0821"
81~
If much more fabrication and assembly is being done at geosyn-
chronous orbit, then a system such as shown on the right might be a
more appropriate scale.
I would now like to discuss some aspects of the construction (5-
76-904).
NASA-S-76-904
CONSTRUCTION
CONSIDERATIONS
S. LARGE, LIGHTWEIGHT, FLEXIBLE STRUCTURES
* MULTIPLE FASTENERS & JOINTS
* SPECIAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
* ZERO-GRAVITY
* RADIATION
* RELATIONSHIP OF CONFIGURATION DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
BASIC CONCEPT
* ASSEMBLY WILL UTILIZE A HIGH DEGREE OF REMOTELY CONTROLLED
ACTIVITY FROM PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT
* EXTRA-VEHICULAR CREW ACTIVITY WILL BE RESTRICTED TO
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
First of all, we are dealing with large, lightweight, flexible structures.
Second, there are a multitude of connections and joints that are going
to have to be accomplished. The activity will be accomplished in
special environmental conditions; namely, zero gravity and radiation
belts. There also is a requirement for a very close relationship between
how the system is designed and how it is constructed.
The basic concept that we are thinking about right now is that we
will utilize a high degree of remote control activity from the protected
cabin environment and use extravehicular crew activity only for very
special requirements (S-75-15077A).
PAGENO="0822"
820
Given the assem1~ly requirement, we expect first of all, you are
going to need something called a movable construction facility,
instead of a scientific laboratory (S-76-10039).
NASA. S-76.1 0039
ORBITAL CONSTRUCTION CONCEPT
MOVEABLE CONSTRUCTION FACILITY
,,-SOLAR POWER
~` CONVERSION SYSTEM
~/ FOR CONSTRUCTION
FACILITY
MULTIPLE DOCKING
AND BERTHING FACILITIES
TYPICAL LARGE
ORBITAL STRUCTURE
1. SHOP/HANGER
2. SYSTEMS MODULE
3. LIVING QUARTERS
CONTROL
-I
PAGENO="0823"
821
An important feature of the facility will be the shops, hangars,
and fabrication or assembly equipments.
NASA-S-76-10038
ORBITAL SUPPORT EQUIPMENT (OSE) CONCEPT
~
ORBITAL
- MANUFACTURE-7
~LEOPERA
MOVEABLE MANIPULATOR ARMS
CRANE WITH MANNED
END EFFECTOR
SPECIAL TOOLS
ON EVA SUIT - ~ /
(SMALLEST ELEMENT `-MOVEABLE
OF OSE) CONSTRUCTION
FACILITY (LARGEST
OSE ELEMENT)
Now, this facility will need a significant power capability to sup-
port its shops and so forth (S-76-10038). Then, also, you will need a
significant number of other tools-such as traveling cranes and
movable manipulator cranes.
Additionally, specialized tools for astronaut use will be required
for very particular and limited operations.
PAGENO="0824"
822
NASA-S-76-1062
TRANSPORTATION AND CONSTRUCTION
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
* EARTH TO LEO TRANSPORTATION - MASSIVE BUT FEASIBLE
* LEO TO CEO TRANSPORTATION - MORE COMPLEX, MORE OPTIONS
* CONSTRUCTION - LEAST BACKGROUND
- FURTHER REQUIREMENT DEVELOPMENT
- DESIGN, TECHNIQUE OPTIONS
- PRODUCTIVITY ESTIMATES
In conclusion, the earth to low earth orbit transportation segment
appears massive but feasible (S-76-1062). The low Earth orbit to
geosynchronous orbit transportation is more complex-and there are
more options-but appears possible. We have the least background
in relation to large scale construction in space. Construction require-
ments must be further developed and then many design options
and techniques must be studied. Very importantly, we must evaluate
produQtivlty w th~ ~ructc?43 ~ea.
PAGENO="0825"
The chart summarizes some major elements of a solar power station
program (S-75-12500) Preceding these elements there needs to be a
significant amount of ground technology effort We see the Shuttle
being used for a number of space experiments Then we see the need
for a space solar power evaluation system, which can be supported by
the Shuttle, where we can test and demonstrate the more favorable
designs-with emphasis on construction techniques.
823
PAGENO="0826"
824
The chart depicts an evaluation system supported by the shuttle
This is a much smaller version of one of the conceptual designs of a
power station (S-75-15076) It is on the order of 1,500 feet on a side,
as compared to miles on a side for a full scale power station It would
be big enough to do such things as to establish our ability to con-
struct large structures and also allow you to do a number of power
experiments We see it as a necessary ingredient to a solar power
station program
PAGENO="0827"
825
NASA-S-76-1065
NEAR TERM ACTIVITIES .~- FY 1977
SELECTED AREAS
MISSION AND SYSTEMS ANALYSES
* DESIGN
* CONSTRUCTION
I TRANSPORTATION
I OPERATIONS
I ECONOMICS
* TEST AND DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS
ENERGY COLLECTION
O SOLAR CELL ARRAYS
* LIGHTER
* CHEAPER
* MORE EFFICIENT
* AUGMENT ERDA PROGRAM FOR SPACE REQUIREMENTS
ENERGY CONVERSION
I AMPLITRONS AND KLYSTRONS
* INITIATE LABORATORY HARDWARE PROGRAM
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
* MANIPULATION, JOINING, AND FABRICATION TECHNIQUES
* TOOL AND EQUIPMENT DESIGNS
* SIMULATION AND TESTING
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
* IONOSPHERE I BIOLOGICAL
The chart presents selected areas of near term work (S-76-1065).
Thee is a need to continue mission and system analyses-how you
design it, construct it, operate it-and very importantly, the defini-
tion of the supporting technology effort that needs to proceed.
There is work going on in regard to the solar cell arrays. This work
needs to be augmented to allow for space requirements. We have to
have lighter as well as cheaper, and more efficient solar cells. In the
area of energy conversion we need to start building some devices in
the laboratory to see if you can get the amplitrons or other components
with the required characteristics. Work is required in the construction
area. These are just a few of the essential things that need to be
pursued. We need to increase our efforts in order to determine just
how much time and effort, and, in turn, money it will take to develop
and implement a space power station program. We also need to do
some studies to confirm that what is proposed here will not adversely
affect the ionosphere as presently believed and, also, continue studies
in the biological area, where there does not appear to be a problem,
but where a documented study is required.
Thank you.
Congressman FUQTJA. Have you got any cost figures?
PAGENO="0828"
826
Mr. PILAND. Yes. Dr. Lenoir is going to be talking about an estimate
of 30 mills per kilowatt hour. There are some incomplete studies
being done at JPL which show projected costs of conventional power
being between 20 to 70 mills per kilowatt hour. Many assumptions
and factors go into the projections of the cost of energy 25 years
from now. The important thing is that the estimates of space power
are encouraging if you assume significant progress in technology.
Congressman FUQUA. Of course, the cost is very important. I know
that in one district, they have an 18-mill fuel adjustment right now.
Dr. KRAFT. What we are trying to do is compare this with what
is going to happen in atomic energy, what has to be done to produce
the power that is needed. We think it is competitive with what we
would predict atomic energy fuel is going to cost, or electricity is going
to cost.
I think the real thing we want to measure, we want to continue to
stress, is that no large investments are required in this thing before
you really know what you are doing. We think we can, in the next 10
to 15 years, come up with a very good analysis and test of all these
technological developments that will prove whether the program can
be done, with a reasonably low investment.
These are investments in things we ought to be doing, regardless of
whether we build solar power systems, things that are directly appli-
cable to the kind of things we're going to be doing in space in the
next 20 years.
Congressman FUQUA. How much loss do you have in that trans-
mission?
Mr~ PILAND. I think around 60 percent efficiency from DC in to
AC,. aiid that DC out is the last estimate from JPL.
Congressman FUQUA. In transmission wires, are you doing any
work in that development?
Dr. KEAFT. We are not; but there is a lot of work being done in the
country on general programs; but that's the biggest thing about doing
this system. You do not have to store it; and you do not have to
distribute it. In this concept, the guy in New York that wants his
powergets it delivered in New York from the satellite.
If you do that on Earth, the collector is in Arizona or New Mexico,
and you have to store it and distribute it. That is where the real
hangup comes in. It is extremely expensive; and frankly, we do not
know how to store all that energy and distribute it efficiently.
Mr. WILsoN. We see that your estimates for the test and evaluation
is after 1985.
Mr. PILAND. The chart is intended to indicate that the space solar
power system would be operating in 1985 allowing testing to be done
then ~r even earlier in the buildup of the system.
Mr. WILSON. You show up there in 1985?
Mr. PILAND. Yes; but it would be operating in 1985. The buildup
period would be before that.
Congressman WINN. Now, Dr. Lenoir in testimony before the
Senate, indicated a $230 million program. Is that the program you are
talking about? .
Mr. PILAND. The areas presented are included in the $230 million
program that Dr. Lenoir referred to. I believe these areas deserve
particular emphasis in the coming years.
PAGENO="0829"
827
Mr. SWIGERT. $230 million?
Mr. PILAND. That $230 million is a 5-year ground test program.
It does not include the solar space station or space solar power evalua-
tion system.
Dr. KRAFT. We see that space solar power evaluation system
somewhere around a $2 to $4 billion program. We see two phases
here. One where you would go through the technological development;
and again, you do not have to make a commitment~ to the next step
in any large amount until you have said, yes, we can do this. Then
you can build a smaller station which would allow you to prove all
the operational factors, as well as the environmental factors, without
any large investment in the next step.
Then, finally, we see the things costing about $10 billion a copy
once you get them set up. About $10 billion-$7 to $10 billion-and
that is competitive with today.
Mr. PJLAND. That is associated with the 30 mill per kilowatt-hour
estimate.
Mr. KRAFT. Recognizing what Bob is talking about here-something
like 55 percent. Is that the right figure, Bob?
Mr. PILAND. What are you going to say next? Transportation?
Forty to fifty-five percent of the cost of each station would be in
transportation.
Dr. KRAFT. Forty percent in the cost of these things is in
transportation.
Congressman WINN. If you had your collectors on the ground,
rather than in space, you would not have so much loss in transmission,
would you?
Mr. PILAND. Oh, yes. You would, because of the day-night cycle,
there is 50 percent loss right there. Then you have the atmospheric
conditions and the relative position of the Sun and the Earth at different
times.
We have seen some calculations on an equivalent ground station-I
say equivalent meaning a station set up to provide the total power
that you need every 24 hours. This cost is beyond that 20- to 70- mill
spread that I mentioned earlier. That is not a completely fair com-
parison, because people are not planning to use terrestrial plants as
base load plants but as intermediate load plants in conjunction with
other power sources.
Congressman FUQUA. Then you get back to, if you used it on the
ground, you have day-night here, you have a night problem. Then
you would have to develop a storage capacity.
Mr. PILAND. Storage, or augment it with a conventional plant.
That is the other alternative, to have mixed types of plants.
Congressman WINN. It is a hell of a lot cheaper.
Mr. PILAND. There is no question about it, if the computations
were based on adequate storage. At least until new breakthroughs
are made in the cost of storage.
Dr. KRAFT. People think about putting in used-up oil wells and
pumping it down there and pumping it out. Those things are not
cheap; and there are some experiments being done to prove those
kinds of techniques.
Congressman FTJQUA. I heard about one the other day about picking
it up in saltwater-into captured salt, . not the ocean, pockets of
saltwater. I guess they are trying a little bit of everything.
PAGENO="0830"
828
Dr. KRAFT. We ought to.
If you could see some of the curves which show what is happening
here, it is kind of frightening because the amount of power that it
~s predicted that we are going to need in the year 2000 is going up
very rapidly; and the only way that it can be supplied up until about
1990 is through atomic power; and it is just not happening. We are
not getting there.
It is sort of frightening that by the year 1990, if we do not get off
it, we are going~ to have a lot of brownouts in this country; not that
people are not going to be using electrical energy like we are used to
today.
Congressman FUQUA. You cannot tell the public that, though. They
just close their eyes to it. They do not want to argue whether there
is any kind of energy shortage.
You talk about the fossil fuels, you talk about natural resources;
we are so damned spoiled that we just cannot visualize it. It is really
a tough shortage.
Dr. KRAFT. The other thing I don't think people realize is-and
if we do not do something about it-is that the place we are surrounded
by in 25 years is going to be a ghost town because there are not going
to be any petrochemicals industries. There are not going to be any
hydrocarbons to feed through their plants.
Congressman FUQUA. Even right here, I bet if you go out on the
street and talk to people about an energy shortage-
Dr. KRAFT. They see the price of gasoline coming down.
Congressman FUQUA. I always hear some guy stand up in the back
of the room and tell me about a gas war right down the street; and
it shoots me down.
Mr. SWIGERT. You know the answer to that though is the illustra-
tion that I like to use, and people understand it. It is when you have
your automobile and maybe you have-you know, it is full of gas.
You have plenty until you run out; but we are now at less than
half a tank.
Dr. KRAFT. We are now going to go to another Mr. Piland. Joe
Piland is going to talk about the lunar curatorial facility.
LUNAR CURATORIAL FACILITY
Mr. PILAND. I have been asked to say a few words about the lunar
curatorial facility; and based on our time, I will probably be able to
give you only the status on it. I understand that Mr. Williams and
Mr. Taylor are staying over this afternoon, and we will be able to
discuss it further with them.
May I have the Jlrst slide, please?
PAGENO="0831"
529
NASA- S-76- 1078
REMOTE LUNAR STORAGE FACILIII
STATEL~
* FACILITY LOCATED AT BROOKS AFB, SAN ANTONIOJ TEXAS
* MODIFICATIONS COMPLETE
* INSPECTION AND CERTIFICATION COMPLETE
* FACILITY OPERATIONAL
* LUNAR SAMPLES IN STORAGE
We have leased a facility at Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio,
Tex., in which to locate a representative group of the lunar samples
(S-76-1078). The Air Force has been extremely cooperative. We have
a 25-year lease, renewable at our option. We have completed modi-
fications. Inspection and certification are complete. The facility is
operational. We do have lunar samples in storage at that facility
now.
Next slides, please (S-76-21428).
70-079 0 - 76 - 53
PAGENO="0832"
8~O
This is a picture of the front of that facility. It is a solid concrete
building. That was in existence. (S-76--2 1429) That is a back view,
and you can see it is bunkered up about three-quarters of the way.
PAGENO="0833"
831
That was exactly how it was when we located the building. This
shows some of the work, that we have done inside of the building.
(S-76-21275) That is the vault, a bank vault door, that closes the
vault where the samples are actually stored. You can see the walls.
For cleanliness the wall and floors are vinyl.
LEGEND:
EXIST. WALLS
NEW CONC.
NEW GYP BD.
WALLS
LUNAR SAMPLE STORAGE FACILITY - BROOKS AFB, TEXAS
NASA-S-76- 1079
JIIIIIHhIIIIIIllHhIlI
JANUARY~ ~
PAGENO="0834"
832
Looking now at the floor plan that vault is located right here
(S-76-1079). This plan represents the entire building. It was a little
larger than what we actually needed. What we needed was this area
and this is the part that we constructed.
The mechanical room is here, furnishing air-conditioning. A rest
room and office were already there.
Next slide, please (S-76-2 1277).
This shows the cabinet in which the rocks will actually be stored.
They are located right along in this area here. The rocks are stored
within stainless steel cans placed in racks within these cabinets.
Next slide, please (S-76-2 1274).
PAGENO="0835"
833
This represents the outer room. The equipment you see there is
located here. This is the nitrogen supply going through the wall that
is feeding nitrogen into the cabinets. That is an inert gas to protect
the samples in the cabinet. The other instrument there is a moisture
analyzer to analyze moisture that might be within the nitrogen.
As this environment stabilizes it is expected that we will probably
shut off the nitrogren flow and leave the cabinets in a static condition.
Next slide, please (S-76-2 1272).
PAGENO="0836"
834
This shows the utility area. It really is not used. The area you are
looking at now is down in this area This is the main door going into
the complex; and this is the air-conditioning duct that you see on top.
Congressman WINN. May I ask a question right now?
Mr. PILAND. Yes, sir.
Congressman WINN. How did you try to find other facilities?
Did you send survey teams out?
Mr. PILAND. We surveyed all of the NASA centers for remote
storage.
Congressman WINN. That is a very limited approach, isn't it?
Mr. PILAND. In addition to that, we contacted the Department of
Defense and visited many of their facilities, for instance, Kirkland
Air Force Base where some of the warheads were stored There were
were some facilities there There was a place up in Montana we looked
at This one, at Brooks, as far as we are concerned, is ideal and the
best of all that we looked at from many criteria-natural hazards,
for one. The building was about the right size. It was available. A
minimum of modifications were required. It is fairly close by. We
have reasonably quick access to it. We will probably have the scientists
visiting it about once every six months to make sure everything is in
proper working order; it is convenient in that respect.
Congressman FUQUA. Somebody on the plane-we were talking
about this on the plane-mentioned Fort Knox. Was any consideration
given to that?
Mr. PILAND. Fort Knox was one of those places considered. I am
not sure whether we actually visited that or not.
Dr. Larry A. Haskin-can you comment on Fort Knox?
Dr. HA5K1N. We did not visit Fort Knox. It has a major dis-
advantage. In times of trouble, apparently, they flood it to protect
the other treasures there. That would be pretty disastrous to the
samples. That is the only check we made.
Congressman WINN. Who would I contact, because I got a plant
that I would like to have somebody look at I think the potential may
be-it is an old rocket, Sunflower rocket plant right outside of Kansas
City
Mr PILAND Are you referring to the primary facility I am about
to talk about?
Congressman WINN Well, I will let you talk about it, but I am
going to tell you right now I am not bubbling about this thing
PAGENO="0837"
835
NASA-S-7&- 1080
LUNAR CURATORIAL FACILITY
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
STATUS
O DESIGN
* 97 PERCENT COMPLETE
* COMPLETION DATE, MARCH 20, 1976
* CONSTRUCTION
* START NOVEMBER 1976
* COMPLETE APRIL 1978
* ACTIVATION COMPLETE JUNE 1978
* OPERATIONAL JULY 1978
* BUDGET $2.8M
Mr. PILAND. Now to the facility we are proposing as an addition
to our facility here at JSC (S-76-1080). We have proceeded through
design to about a 97-percent level. We estimate completing that
design on March 20; this represents the contruction schedule of
about 18 months. Our budget figure is $2.8 million.
Congressman FUQUA. What does that run a square foot?
Mr. PILAND. That is about $186 per square foot.
Congressman W1NN. Fort Knox, Jr.
PAGENO="0838"
836
Mr. PILAND. This is the building you are presently located in
(S-74-36302A). This is building 31 where most of the lunar rocks
are presently the curatorial laboratories The proposed facility is
an addition to this building
PAGENO="0839"
837
You can see that in a little better detail (S-75--27084). This is
building 31, and that addition that we are proposing would go right
in here. It would be attached to that building.
PAGENO="0840"
Next slide, please (S-76-22008) (S-76-22009)
I show these two slides because this shows the cabinetry in the
present facility; and when I open up this model, you will see some
models of the cabinets.
If you would not mind coming up here, I will take this apart and
describe it to you as best I can
This represents building 31, and this is the new addition we are
proposing
838
PAGENO="0841"
839
PAGENO="0842"
840
PAGENO="0843"
841
I
PAGENO="0844"
842
PAGENO="0845"
843
PAGENO="0846"
844
PAGENO="0847"
845
Mr. SWIGERT. What is in 31 now?
Mr. PILAND. It houses the Planetary and Earth Sciences Division
and the curatorial staff for the curation of the lunar samples.
What we see here is the second floor; and in this area is what we call
the pristine sample vault. Actually, this part in here is the storage
vault. As you can see, this is of heavy, reinforced concrete. The piece
I took off is the skin panel that you see on the buildings around the
center.
This is Dr. Larry Haskin. He is chief of the Planetary and Earth
Sciences Division. He is the man who needs this thing.
Over in this area is where we have the return sample vault, those
samples that have been out to various scientists around the world.
Obviously, they have had some degree of contamination, as opposed
to these that are in the same condition as returned from the Moon.
So, we have to separate them from the pristine samples.
Now, this area is the laboratory, where various investigations are
conducted on the prisinte samples. As you can see, it is directly in
line with the vault here.
I should say that this is really the back of the building. The main
entrance for workers assigned is through building 31 coming in this
direction. This is for public viewing. The public can come into this
area, can come up the stairs over here and view through these windows,
and down below here.
Also, when I take this floor off, you can see how they can view in
on the first level. They cannot have access into the rest of the building.
Congressman FUQUA. What are they going to see if it is all in the
walls?
Mr. PILAND. Samples will be moved from here out into this area,
and the scientists will be working on them in this area. They will be
able to see that activity.
Congressman WINN. But you do not have a display of any type?
Mr. PILAND. You could have; down on the first floor, you probably
would have some kind of display.
Of course, coming in this way, you have to go through some change
rooms and make sure you are cleaned up and put on the white smocks
before going into these areas.
This is an experimental laboratory over in this part.
Before I go any further, Larry, do you want to comment on some-
thing further?
Dr. HASKIN. I think you have covered it very well. These are es-
pecially clean areas and require a protocol of some cleanup, plus a
special clothes change in order to get to these areas in suits.
The problem with the samples, of course, is that even invisible
flecks of terrestrial matter can mess up certain kinds of measure-
ments that are of rather large importance; lead being one of these.
Elements like gold being another. A quantity of lead that would come
from a piece of solder that you could not even find without a micro-
scope can give a totally erroneous age, or measurement, for a sample.
So, we have to be very careful about keeping solder out and control-
ling the materials of which the laboratory and storage are made.
Mr. PILAND. Larry, we might mention there were 2,000 samples
returned from six locations on the Moon; and since then, 50,000 sub-
samples have been generated. They are behig generated at the rate
of about 8,000 a year.
70-0790-76-54
PAGENO="0848"
846
The operation has grown tremendously
Larry, you might comment on the number of scientists involved in
this operation
Dr }JASKIN Well, there are approximately 100 to 120 different
principal investigator groups This amounts to at least 800, 900
different scientists
Congressman FUQUA Doing work here?
Dr. HASKIN. Nearly all of the research is done at universities, or at
other institutes. About 8 to 10 percent of the total contributions to
lunar sample science are done here at JSC
Congressman FUQUA Have you ever had to turn any away because
you did not have room for them?
Dr HASKIN Oh, yes, we have had to do that We are not turning
away very large numbers of people, although we do turn away sub-
stantial numbers It is that a certain kind of information on the
samples that could be gathered by comparative studies cannot be
made by the 10 or 12 people who could really do that very well As
a consequence, the community loses this kind of information
Mr PILAND Larry, is not one of the problems here that you are
hesitant about letting a whole sample go out into another laboratory
and a scientist who would like to study one would have to come here
to do that
Dr HASKIN Right, we do not let any entire samples of any kind go
out because there are no laboratories in the country that can really
keep them clean for all purposes
The different laboratories are clean We are careful with respect to
particular things they want to measure What people have been un-
able to do, for example, is to come in and look at, say, half a dozen
from Apollo XIV and compare them with half a dozen from Apollo XV,
just nondestructively examining
Congressman WINN How much of this equipment is on hand now,
and how much would you have to build or purchase?
Dr HASKIN As far as the equipment goes?
Congressman WINN Yes
Dr HASKIN Nearly all of it is on hand now
Dr KRAFT Nearly everythmg here is on hand, but we have to
put some additional units in to do the things that we do not have
room to do now, and I think the total for that is projected between
three-
Mr PILAND 295 is the figure
Dr HASKIN I have a bad memory for numbers
Congressman WINN 295 million?
Mr PILAND 295,000 for additional cabinetry
Congressman WINN What are they finding out-well, let us go on
to the building
Mr PILAND On the first floor, here, again, this is within the vault
area, and this is primarily for data storage As you can imagine, with
the number of samples we are talking about and the documentation
required on each of them we have data packs that are stored over in
this area We have clerical activity for maintaining that That is
primarily located in this area Also, some thin sections are stored in
this area These are extremely thin sections of rock that have been
polished, and they are encased, and they are stored down in this
area Most of these have been out
PAGENO="0849"
~47
Dr. HASKIN. We have a library. We allow those to circulate to
different investigators that need them, but we do not let any large
fraction go out at one time Then, we also have an educational package
Ten of these can go out to the universities. We are about to increase
that to 30 to try and meet demand.
Mr. PILAND. Going back to the public viewing, as you can see, the
public could come into this area and view in there. Here is where
you could have a permanent display of some sort. They also could
observe some simulation activity going on in here.
We said simulation For instance, we have a core tube that has
not been opened yet; and we are very much concerned about opening
that and opening it correctly. Before we do that, we would go through
certain simulations as to just how to open it That kind of activity
could be carried on in this area; and, as you see, we put in restrooms
in here for the public This is isolated from the rest of the facility
Mechanical rooms supplying your air-conditioning and nitrogen and
this kind of thing
Congressman FUQTJA. Would you bring the samples back from
Brooks?
Mr. PILAND. No; we think it is desirable that we have a certain
representative group of the samples located at different locations so
we do not have all our eggs in one basket.
Congressman FUQTJA. Do you have them cataloged, like every
sample or specimen cataloged with a number or location?
Mr. PILAND. Every one has a number and complete history and
complete details, every piece that is broken off.
Congressman FUQIJA. If you had them located somewhere else,
it would be like going to a library to get a book-say, at Brooks,
we need such and such a sample.
Mr PILAND We think about Brooks as being really a dead storage
It has a representative group of samples; and this being the working
collection here. We visualize very seldom going over there to retrieve
one and put one in
Dr KRAFT To move them back and forth is a pretty hazardous
thing Many of the samples did not even survive the initial trans-
portation down There are others that are rather fragile, and it is
also expensive to move them, with respect to giving them a smooth
ride, security, and so forth.
Congressman WINN. You made the statement that you wanted
this because you would have it here at the facility in case you needed
it anytime Why would you need it at any one given time?
Dr KRAFT We are distributing-how many samples do we dis-
tribute per year right now, Larry?
Dr HASKIN I would have to check with the curator, but it is
on the order of hundreds that go out per year from the curatorial
facility
Congressman WINN You did not mean at one specific time You
meant at the time of a request or demand?
Dr HASKIN I think the working collection of lunar samples needs
to be in one place, both for supervision by the curator and his
personnel.
Congressman WINN. Part of his reason was that it had to be here,
or he wanted it here, because he might want to call for one on demand
at any one time
PAGENO="0850"
848
Dr HASKIN It should be wherever the curatorial operation is
It is much cheaper to build it here.
Dr. KRAFT. OK; we will now go to Dr. Lunney, who will talk
about Shuttle payloads.
We are going to stop here at 11:15, no matter who is on.
SHuTTLE PAYLOADS
Dr LUNNEY It is kind of different for me to be up here and not
say anything in Russian
I am going to talk about Shuttle payloads Briefly, Dr Kraft
formed the office I am running here after ASTP was completed with
the intention of a two-fold activity One, to prepare for the Shuttle
payloads that we might be developing here at the Johnson Space
Center; and, also, to work the near-term problem of how to integrate
all of the other payloads, including the carriers like Spacelab and
the new interim upper stage (hiS), into the Shuttle bay as a carrier
Payload sources (S-75--7821A): There are a number of potentials
NASA -S-75-7821 A
STS OPERATIONS PAYLOAD SOURCES
* NASA LEAD CENTER IN A DISCI PLINE AREA USING A
SPACELAB, IUS, OR FREE FLYING SYSTEM FOR R&D
IN SCIENCE, APPLICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY
* DOD
* OilIER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
* COMMERCIAL
* COMMUNICATION SATELLITES
O ATFACHED PAYLOADS
* FREE FLYING SYSTEMS
* INTERNATIONAL
* PR INCI PAL INVESTIGATOR WITH A SINGLE EXPER IMENT
* MIXINGOFTHEABOVE
in this area by way of appointing a NASA lead center in the various
disciplines using Spacelab, the interum upper stage or perhaps a
free-flying spacecraft for the various kinds of activities in R and D,
or in applications of technology that are in our plans There are
of course, DOD payloads, and payloads prepared by other govern-
PAGENO="0851"
849
mental agencies. We are also interested in getting as much of the
commercial business as we can, especially in terms of communication
satellites. Hopefully, we will have more people interested in the
commercial applications of the attached and free-flying payload
options that will exist in the Space Shuttle era.
There are many international aspects to the program. We might
have some principal investigators with a small single experiment,
who would then have to be integrated on board the mission by fitting
their experiments in with the experiments of other investigators and,
in general, we might also be faced with some mixing of the above in
that ther~ might be a variety of people, or organizations, sponsoring
payloads that would fly on a particular mission.
NASA-S-76-1033
APPROACH TO INTEGRATION OF PAYLOADS INTO THE STS
* EARLY DEFINITION OF PAYLOAD REQUIREMENTS AND
CONSIDERATION OF 515 IMPACTS ON PAYLOAD
DESIGN
* ESTABLISHMENTOF SCHEDU~EOF INTERFACE ACTIVITIES
BETWEEN PAYLOAD AND 515
* ORGANIZATION OF ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONS WJRKING
GROUPS TO V~ORK WITH ALL PAYLOADS AS REQUIRED TO
DEFINE DETAIL SOLUTIONS TO INTERFACES
* STREAMLINED INTERFACE BETWEEN PAYLOADS AND STS
FLIGHT OPERATIONS WITH SI NGLE PAl NT OF CONTACT
FOR EACH MISSION
By the way, in the last 6 months, I have spent as much time trying
to figure out what needs to be done as well as how we will ultimately
do it and what, ultimately, it would all cost (S-76-1033). Until now,
we have been operating on a premise that the Orbiter contract with
Rockwell includes a provision for providing the basic standard
interfaces for experiments that will be carried in the payload bay of
the Orbiter; and we have funded the standard set of interface items
that would permit that to happen.
On the integration side of the contract with Rockwell, we have
about 25 people who have been the up-front pointmen for that
activity, determining what impact it has on the internal Rockwell
workload.
We think we need to get on with the early definition of the re-
quirements and consideration of the impact. In this time period we
are working principall~y with the major carriers, those being Spacelab
and the IUS, and some work that the Goddard Space Flight Center
is sponsoring with the free-flying multimission spacecraft. We will
PAGENO="0852"
8~54J
establish a schedule of interface activity between the payloads and
space transportation system so we know exactly what work needs to
be done by the different organizations in order to meet the milestones
to properly support the integration job We have organized-I will
show you in a minute-some engineering and operations working
groups to work with the payload representatives, to flush out all the
requirements they have and to develop the potential solutions we
would propose to integrate them into the payload bay. We are trying
to streamline our operation as much as possible so that we do indeed
have a minimum number of people working on the solutions to our
problem
We started something here in the fall as a result of my visit to the
Spacelab people in Europe where they felt they were having a difficult
time getting the kind of definition to integrate the Spacelab into the
Orbiter A fair amount of technical work had gone on, but it was in
need of jellmg
NASA S 76 825 B
PAYLOAD RELATED
SHUTFLE INTERFACE MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
F * PROVIDES GENERAL TECHNICAL
PROJECT INTERFACE MANAGERS MANAGEMENT
JSC
G S LUNNEY APPROVES IMPLEMENTS
PROJECT PROJECT
ENGINEER ENGINEER
WORKING GROOPS
___ I ___ I I
AVIONICS ME~I~L ] CONTROL/THERMAL j [ SOFTWARE ] ~ OPERATIONS
* ELECT. POWER * ENVIRONMENTS * ENVIRONMENTAL
* COMMUNICATIONS * LOADS CONTROL
* DATA & INST. . STRUCT. INTERFACE THERMAL
* CONTROL & DISPLAY * MECH. INTERFACE
* PAYLOAD STATION * CONTAMINATION
* ELECTROMAGNETIC
COMPATIBILITY
We actually took the number of existing panels and gave them a
little more formal structure; (S-76---825 B) My office paid particular
attention to scheduling the work with the Spacelab people to ac-
commodate those different areas which required an interface control
document (lCD), a set of engineering papers describing exactly how
many volts and amps and watts and Btu's per hour need be provided
for payloads
We are organized into five working groups As a matter of fact,
this is very similar to the way we did busmess with the Russians We
had almost the same kind of technical disciplines in panels when we
worked with the Russians on ASTP
So, we set this up and reviewed it with the Spacelab organization
in December; and we ended up with an lCD that is about 75 percent
complete. We have about another 6 months work to finish up the
lCD and then there will be some ongoing integration activity to be
sure that we continue to stay current
* ORBITER TO PAYLOAD * MISSION PLANNING
* PAYLOAD TO GROOND * TRAINING/SIMULATION
* DATA PROCESSING * MCC-POCC-NETWORK
PAGENO="0853"
S51
We are moving into this kind of a working relationship with the
Department of Defense on the interim upper stage; and, then, we
would expect to work with other agencies or organizations who plan
to fly on board the Orbiter and put them through the same kind of a
process, to assure we have covered all contingencies.
Congressman WINN. Are they more concerned about the environ-
mental control than we are?
Dr. TJUNNEY. Environmental control? You mean life support?
Congressman WINN. Well, right there in the middle of your chart.
Dr. LUNNEY. No, not especially. We just had to work out how the
oxygen is supplied, where it is bolted on, what the flow of the oxygen
is, for example.
NASA-S_76_1O34
PAYLOAD RELATED
SPACE SHUTTLE INTERFACE APPROVAL CYCLE
Congressman WINN. I am not making myself clear. The environ-
ment in general, over-all planning.
Dr. LIJNNEY. We are using a different meaning for "environment."
The way we did it with the Spacelab organization, (S-76-1034) and
the way we plan to do it with the rest of the payloads at this point,
is to bring in elements of the Rockwell design team as necessary, to
coordinate with the payload design team, and also work with some
of the people at JSC. We bring them together in working groups.
We had special problems with the Europeans due to time differences
and travel schedules making coordination a little more difficult. So,
we had an interim approval process that I would take care of at meet-
ings we had with the Europeans, and, then, we would proceed to
implement the agreement on both sides, Spacelab and Orbiter. We
included Mr. Cohen and JSC Orbiter project office personnel here and
Rockwell people at Downey in that process, and we found that just
PAGENO="0854"
852
about 2 months later in an lCD configuration control board meeting,
that we were able to approve the work that was done at Downey in
the December meeting.
So, the concept of getting the people together, getting some interim
approval on an expedited basis worked very well the first time around
on the spacelab lCD. We are looking forward to using this kind of
process in the future. A lot depends on my keeping he Orbiter Project
Office informed and the Space Shuttle Office informed, and on involv-
ing the right Rockwell people so we arrive at the proper technical
recommendations and decisions. We use the same subsystems manage-
ment people here that normally work the orbiter program for JSC.
NASA-S-76-1035
SPACELAB STATUS
* NASA/ESA SIGNED MOU FOR COOPERATIVE PROGRAM AUGUST, 1973
* NASA/ESATECHNICAL MEETINGS HELD DURING 1973 -1975
* NASA TECHNICAL SUPPORT PROVIDED FOR SPACELAB DESIGN REVIEW MILESTONES
* NASA/ESA SPACE SHUITLE/SPACELAB INTERFACE CONTROL DOCUMENT (lCD)
BASELINED DECEMBER, 1975
* PLANNED CONTI NUAL INTERFACE WORKING GROUP ACTIVITY TO DEFI NE DETA( LED
SOLUTIONS TO ENGINEERING AND OPERATIONAL PROBLEMS
* NASAIESA CD UPDATE MEETING PLANNED FOR APRIL 1976
* NASA TECHNICAL SUPPORT PLANNED FOR SPACELAB CDMS SUBSYSTEM DESIGN
REVIEW IN JUNE AND LATE 1976
* NASA PARTICIPATION IN ESA SPACELAB MANAGER'S PROGRAM ASSESSMENT
REVIEWS TO PROVIDE U. S. /EUROPEAN PROGRAM COHESIVENESS
Some of this Spacelab status is history (S-76-1035). We had technical
meetings during the first couple of years and here is a summary of what
we accomplished in Spacelab as a result of this activity. We had a
number of Spacelab design reviews for which we provided support.
We had a meeting in December where we baselined an lCD which is
probably 75 percent complete. We have a continuing interface working
group activity; and we have a schedule that must be met to get the
job done.
We have an updating meeting scheduled in April of 1976, probably
in Europe. We will provide NASA support to the preliminary design
review process the Europeans have been going through, in terms of
the variety of subsystems they have on board the Spacelab.
We have been participating in their program assessment reviews on a
quarterly basis in Europe. They are having one this week, and some of
our people will be there; both from Washington and from JSC, MSFC,
and KSC.
PAGENO="0855"
853
We can probably put another item down here that would say we
really expect to be 95- to 98-percent complete on the lCD work with
the Europeans this summer.
In the TUS, the RFP was issued in January (S-76-1036) The ro-
posals are due in the spring; and the Air Force is planning on cont~act
go-ahead in September
NASA S 76 1036 INTERIM UPPER STAGE
STATUS
* SAMSO RFP WAS ISSUED JAN22 1976
* PROPOSALS DUE APRIL19 1976 NASA SUPPORTING
EVA WATION
* CONTRACT GO AHEAD SEPT 1976
* IUS TO SHUTTLE SYSTEM/OPERATIONS INTEGRATION
ACTIVITIES BEING DEFINED WIll-I SAMSO
* PRELIMINARY SAMSO AND NASA TASK STATEMENTS
GENERATED
* MEETING HELD ON JAN 27 28 1976 TO DISCUSS TASK
STATEMENTS
* BASIC AGREEMENT WAS REACHED ON MAJOR TASKS CONTENT
* DETAI LED TASK/PRODUCT/SCHEDULE REVIEW TO BE CON
DUCTED IN MARCH 1976
We have been through a couple of months work with the Air Force
Space and Missile Systems Office (SAMSO) to define what we need
to do to integrate the IllS stage into the Orbiter We have a set of
work statements which describe what needs to be done
We held a meeting last month to discuss the work statements, and we
have a basic agreement between us, the Air Force and Rockwell, as
to what needs to be done to accomplish the integration job on the
IUS.
We are going to get a detailed set of tasks, products, and schedules,
which we expect to have in March; and, then, we will proceed to
implement the required IUS tasks with the Rockwell people and
JSC. Included in this detailed task product schedule is a schedule
for the lCD, or control document, that is used in the engineering
world insure that the stage is properly accommodated in the Orbiter
I thought I would show you some other activities that are beginning
to be thought about at JSC in terms of planning the operations
phase (S-76--251) The plan to make things as standard as possible
N
PAGENO="0856"
854
NASA-S-76-251 FLIGHT DATA GENERATION
TRAINING ~LANS
STANDARD ACTIAITIES
CREW PROCEDURES
PERFORMANCE DATA
TRAJECTORY PHASES
STANDARD FLIGHT
USER REQUIREMENTS
DATA SET
STANDARD FLIGHT
MODULES
FLIGHT
PLANNING
ACTIVITY
USER TRADEOFF REVIEW DATA SET
FLIGHT DATA SET] NON STANDARD
FLIGHT ACTIV ITIES
in operating the Shuttle Transportation System; and, then, to bring
in the user requirements as early as possible to be sure that standard
flight planning activities and a standard set of check lists would do
the job augmented by unique payload requirements. The plan is to
bring them into the flight planning activity; and, then, review it,
trade it off, and ultimately arrive at a flight data set.
There has been a lot of work here at the center in terms of finding
a way to streamline that operation to involve a minimum number of
people and spend a minimum effort on the problem. We will assure
that we have the right kind of input when we provide a flight data
set, even in review form, and that it was done in the proper time
frame so that we are not recycling the problem too many times before
we actually have to firm up the set of flight data procedures. (S-75-
7323B)
This chart (S-75--7812A) is on development and utilization: The
PAGENO="0857"
855
DEVELOPMENT AND UTILIZATION
* THE SPACE SHUTTLE SYSTEM, SPACELAB, INTERIM UPPER STAGE, AND
TRACKING AND DATA RELAY SATELLITE SYSTEM ARE BEING DEVELOPED TO
MEET AN OPERATIONAL READINESS BY 1980. VARIOUS FREE FLYING SYSTEMS i.e.,
THE MULTI-MISSION MODULAR SPACECRAFT, LONG DURATION EXPOSURE
FACILITY WILL ALSO BE AVAILABLE IN 1980. DOD WILL BEGIN TO TRANSITION
TO THE STS IN 1980 AS WELL AS COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATION AND DATA
SATELLITES. THE STS GROUND SUPPORT SYSTEM IS NOW BEING INITIATED
* THE MANY EXPERIMENTS TO BE FLOWN ON THE ABOVE HARDWARE ARE NOW BEING
PLANNED AND INITIATED. SOME EXPERIMENTAL HARDWARE WILL BE REFLOWN
AND IT IS EXPECTED THAT EACH SPACE SHUTTLE ORB hER WILL FLY 100 MISSIONS
OVER A TEN YEAR PERIOD. EACH SPACELAB SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO FLY 50
MISSIONS DURING THE FIRST 10 YEARS OF STS OPERATIONS
* CONTINUING REUSE OF HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS IS THE
OPERATIONAL FOUNDATION OF THE SPACE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
major elements of the system are in development-the Space lab,
the Shuttle, the interim upper stage, and, eventually, the tracking
and data relay satellite system. We would hope that the latter system
would be operational by 1980.
NASA-S-75-7812 A PL
1-2-76
PAGENO="0858"
856
We would then hope to provide the information to include the
various refined systems. The multimission modular spacecraft that
the Goodard Space Flight Center is building, and the long duration
exposure facility being built at Langley Research Center-we would
expect to have available in 1980
The DOD will begin transitioning to the Space Transportation
System in 1980, and we are interested in getting the commercial
communication and data satellite as soon as we can Work on the
ground system had been initiated and is in process
Many experiments are beginning to be defined in terms of how
they would fly, and what would be flown on board the Shuttle.
Some of the experimental hardware is being seen as facility hardware
that might be flown a number of times over the course of the Shuttle
missions We are expecting to fly the Spacelab a number of times in
various configurations during the years of operation of the STS The
space transportation system is characterized by continuing reuse
of the Shuttle and the Spacelab The interim upper stage will be
expendable We expect that this kind of system, with hopefully a
minimum amount of reconfiguration between missions is going to
be the foundation of the space transportation system, and probably
by 1 year, or 1~ years from now in the case of the ITJS, we will have
completed all the work required to know exactly how they would fly.
We also are beginning to work the payloads that want to fly on
either the Spacelab or IllS, or in some cases, we have some payloads,
like the commercial communication satellites which would fly inde-
pendently of either of those two probably on their own stages.
We have been looking at the problems associated with the engineer-
ing job of, one, how they design the payload so that it is compatible
with the Shuttle, and, two, what we would have to provide from the
Shuttle
Interestingly enough, we found that the communication satellites,
as for example, Intelsat V, with a minimum amount of attention and
accommodation during development can be made readily adaptible
to the Shuttle We think that you could take an approach, of hedging
your bet for a while and design to meet both launch environments
That is an expendable launch vehicle or the Space Shuttle system
The last 6 months have been spent finding out what we have to do,
we are beginning As a result of this Spacelab activity, we are beginning
to have a good idea of what the costs of this effect are going to be
We have to compare those costs and scale them in each case to the
other carriers and payloads we have to fly, such as the interim upper
stage We must get a good budget lined out through the operational
period starting in 1980
That is about all I intended to say
Mr COHEN My name is Aaron Cohen I am manager of the Orbiter
project office I am not going to be able to cover all the charts with
you I would like to submit them as part of the record
Congressman FUQUA They would be made part of the record
SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM
Mr COHEN I will go through a very brief overview of the total
shuttle program and spend a very few minutes with you on the
Orbiter.
PAGENO="0859"
MPTA MAIN TEST ARTICLE POR = PRELIMINARY DESIGN REVIEW LPS = LAUNCH FHULLS5ING SYSTEM
ISTB = INTEGRATED SYSTEMS TEST BED CDR CRITICAL DESIGN REVIEW FRF FLIGHT READINESS FIRING
ALT = APPROACH AND LANDING TEST OFT ORBITAL FLT TEST
First chart, please (S-76-421C). This is an overall shuttle schedule.
In the system integration area, we are going through our next iteration
of aerodynamics, flight control, and structural dynamics. We are well
on our way to really freezing everything in the total shuttle system.
The Orbiter is specifically my responsibility.
We are into the development testing of subsystems. We are in the
process of doing qualification testing. We have the first Orbiter built.
We are in the process of getting ready to go into electrical checkout.
The test articles are well on the way of being built.
NASA-S-76-421 C
857
LA4
SPACE SHUTTLE DEVELOPMENT PLAN (target) FEB 76
CT
1973 1974 J 1975 [ 1976 1977 1978 1979
SYSTEM INTEGRATION
PDR~7,. FIRST CAPTIAE~~- APPROACH c~
SYSTEM .~SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTSA ~ ~ FLIGHT AND LANDING FIRST
REVIEW ALT OFT LcSYSTEM CDRS.~ TEST MANNED ORBITAL
FMOF MGV FLIGHT
ALT
ORBITER
ORBITER PREL. ORBITER CRITICAL MAIN PROPULSION
DES. REO.A DES. REVIEW~ ATEST FIRING A
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT 7' QUALIFICATION
~/` TEST ARTICLES MFG \ TESTS
ROLLOUT AMPTA DEL. ORB 82
ORB #1 iTD. ADELIVERY
ORBITER MANUFACTORING
.
MAIN ENGINE
PRE-BURNER ISTB ALL OP DELIVER DEL. FIRST FLT SET
TEST ~ ~ THROTTLI~~ MPTAA AENG.(3)
~ DEVELOPMENT & GROUND TESTS FLIGHT TANK MFG.
EXTERNAL TANK
PDR DESIGN DELIVER DEL FIRST FLIGHT
REVIEWA PDRA CDRA MPTA~ TANK (1)A
DES. DEVELOP & TESTING 7' FLIGHT TANK MFG (
SOLID ROCKET
BOOSTER
FIAST DEV DEL. FIRST
PDR~ DESIGN REVIEWA CDR~FIRING OFLIGHT SRB'S(2
DES. OEY AND TESTING
SRD MFG.
LAUNCH AND
LANDING
LPS PORk ~LPS CDR LPS READY~ FRF~FMOF
EI~ DEVELOPMENT J P/L OFT~
PAGENO="0860"
858
Space Shuttle
FY 16 BUDGET RUNOUT (R&D) OBLIGATIONS
(16 budget $`s)
The main engines, the external tank, the solid rocket booster, and
the launch and landing facilities, you saw in detail at MSFC and at
KSC. I would like to just bypass that if I may. The second chart
(S-75-5446C) is the overall Space Shuttle budget. This curve basically
SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM
CONTRACTOR MANPOWER
ESTIMATE
CV
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
NOTE
(MILLIONS)
V)
w
=
I-
w
LU
A
/
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
,1
NASA HO MHI6-5815
REV. 1-21-16
PAGENO="0861"
8~9
integrates out to the $5.2 billion for D.D.T. & E.
This is the shuttle manpower. (MH76-5875). It shows a peak at
the end of fiscal 1976 at around 46,000.
Next chart, please (S-76-445A).
NASA-S-76-445 A
ORBITER PROJECT BASELINE SCHEDULE - DDT&E
MC2
2-5-76
5uSD UPS 05R2
This is the Orbiter project. What I would like to do is spend just
a moment here. This shows the Orbiter build flow. I am building the
quarter-scale replica of the Orbiter, the external tank, and the solid
rocket boosters. We will do modiiil testing at Downey, and the facility
is basically complete and parts are well on the way to being built.
Modifications of the 747 carrier aircraft and the design are well on
the way.
1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
IAISIOINI0 U IF~M~A~M~ iii At SI°l~I0 I F~M~A~M~J 1~ 1A15 101918 U IFIMIAIMIJI JIAISIOINI0 it FIMIAIML
ALT ALTWW C-FALDEO I FMW CERT PROF
AV 8W/SW C-PROF
~
CERT CERT
FRRFCF ~ V.
1/ MO V V 1'ç> / V 6 5
CARRIER ~ FAB/ASSY MOD I FLT TEST CFT/ALT TEST SUPPORT i~ I
0/S-CM ORS-PMDL 1ST ROLLOUT ci FCF FMCF PAL 0/6 MSFC
00 SI FCO lHGVTIAF(ICC~ PCO S.j' 0/DNSTL ALT MOD l~i MVUVT ILlS]
MPTA "~S~' [TEST I SYST INSTL I
cl FAT V.'
EM FAB I ASSY/INSTL S/U LIMIT ULTIMATE
A~~FAB I ASSY/IMSTL ~/INR S/U LIMIT FATU ULTIMATE
- CM `Z,~ FAS ASSY/INSTL ~ KSC
AFT~~~ FAR ASSV/INSTL FA/CUSI FCC Ic~Irc~Lsi
V/A TEST ARTICLE FAB ASSY/INSTL I S IS/U ITESTISHIPI
PAGENO="0862"
~6O
Final assembly of Orbiter 101 is taking place at Palmdale. We
delivered all the major articles, except the payload bay doors. That is
a large graphite epoxy piece of structure; and that will be delivered
in early March. It is just about finished. With that done, then I will
have all the structure.
NASA-S-76-104O
* ORBITER
* OVi1O1 IN FINAL ASSEMBLY AT PALMDALE
* MPTA, STAANDOV1O2INFABRICATION
* OV 101 ROLLOUT - SEPTEMBER 1976
* PROJECT ON SCHEDULE
PAGENO="0863"
861
In the Orbiter 101 (S-76-1040) (S-76-526) we have all the wiring,
all the tubing; and now we are in the process of installing the sub-
systems. Out of the some 400 major subsystems, we have all delivered
to Palmdale except about 50. The landing gears are installed. We have
the tires there. The computers are there and the multiplexer-
demultiplexers. So, we are in the process of putting the subsystems
in the vehicle, and we plan to turn power on the busses on March 17.
It looks like we will support that very well.
Then, of course, we will have the rollout in September 1976.
The details that go into that planning are really very detailed
step-by-step procedures. The teams are in place. The software for
the ground test is there and in the process of getting the flight software
for our early checkout in place. We will do our rollout in September
1976 and then come back and do the integrated tests. That schedule
looks good to us also.
NASA-S-76- 1044
* CARRIER AIRCRAFT
* WIND TUNNEL TESTING NEAR COMPLETION - FEB 1976
* C/A MODIFICATION DESIGN IN PROCESS
* DELIVER FOR MODIFICATION - APRIL 1976
* PROJECT ON SCHEDULE
* WAKEVORTEXALLEVIATIONTESTS IN PROCESS
70-079 0 - 76 - 55
PAGENO="0864"
86~2
As far as the next item I mentioned, the carrier aircraft (S-76-1044)
(S-75-15057), we are modifying the 747. We have completed the
engineering for modifying the 747. We delivered the modifications
in April. The design is well on its way, and parts are already being
made for the structure that supports the 747 011 the Orbiter.
The next item is the main propulsion test article. That is a big
piece of structure we send to Mississippi where we put the engines
into the vehicle. Then we simulate the Orbiter with a piece of test
structure. Then the tank is mounted onto it, and that is where we do
the main engine firing. The facilities are being modified and the
structure is well on its way to being completed.
PAGENO="0865"
863
NASA-S-76-1045
* MAIN PROPULSION TEST
* STAND MODIFICATION IN PROCESS
* SITE ACTIVATION AND OPERATIONS PLANS NEAR COMPLETION -
FEBRUARY 1976
* START SUPPO RI EQU I PMENT INSTALLATION - MAY 1976
* GROUND VI BRATION TEST
* ISCALE
- FACILITY COMPLETE
- MODEL FABRICATION IN PROCESS
* FULL SCALE
- STAND MODIFICATION IN PROCESS
* PROJECTS ON SCHEDULE
PAGENO="0866"
864
I told you about the quarter scale. The full-scale facilities are being
modified now for (S-76-1045) (S-76-537) the ground vibration test.
This is a picture of the main propulsion test article (S-76-536)
PAGENO="0867"
865
(S-75-12394). This stimulates the Orbiter. Here is the aft fuselage
and the aft thrust structure where we actually put in the three engines.
This is going to the Palmdale Lockheed facility where we will do the
proof load test to be sure our calculations are right before we sent it
to Mississippi, and that is w~l1 on its way.
We also have a structural rest article that will use the same facility,
which will be a vehicle that~ is in the process of being built right at
this moment. We are buildi4ig parts at both General Dynamics and
Grumman where we are buil\ding the wings and the fuselage; and all
the parts are being manufact~red for that.
The next item built then is the 102 vehicle, which is the second
Orbiter flight vehicle. The crew module for this vehicle is in the
process of being manufactured right now.
That is about all the charts I wanted to show you. I would like to
say that the significant accomplishments up until now, are that we
have our design firm and we are building the first Orbiter. We have
our wiring completed. In fact, we are very proud of that. The wiring
has gofie successfully through a pin-to-pin check of all the wiring. It
shows the team did a very good job.
We have delivered most of our subsystems. We are in the process
of doing our qualification testing. That is really what we have accom-
plished in the past.
What we have to look forward to is getting the vehicle checked out;
getting our software and getting our software verified. We do have
two items I did not yet mention. Our avionics development laboratory
at Downey, which is going well along with the flight control hydraulics
lab. We are integrating our software and avionics hardware develop-
ment there. Also, in Houston, we have a shuttle avionics integration
PAGENO="0868"
866
laboratory which is, basically, a vehicle It has the same wiring as the
vehicle, same hardware; and it is well on its way to using the software.
We have a software development lab at JSC which does the verifica-
tion of the software.
Those facilities are up and running. We are getting our software out.
So in the next period of time, we have to get all that integrated into
the vehicle. I think we are well on our way to doing that.
That was very quick.
Congressman WINN Any problems that you see?
Mr. COHEN. Well, the problem I feel is the biggest is my concern of
getting the hardware and the software put together and integrated
I think Chris made that clear to you when we first started the program
I guess I would say that all the parts are coming together, but we
have to get over that hurdle. We have our plans made, we have our
facilities there, we have the people, and we have a good team.
Congressman WINN. Are you satisfied with the insulation on the
outside?
Mr COHEN Chris mentioned it I did not go through the details
I think we know how to make that We have got the process down
We have some detail problems here and there The process may
change from one day to the next, but we have put our finger on the
process We feel we know how to do that We feel we have that under
control
Congressman WINN How about the doors? Weren't you having a
little trouble with the doors?
Mr. COHEN. The payload bay doors, we have gone to graphite
epoxy. I do not see any problem right now. There are always some
little detail issues. But I see no technical problems. There are many
details we have to stay on top of; but I see no show stoppers.
Congressman FTJQUA Dr Kraft, I want to thank you and your
staff for taking the time with us and for your candid testimony.
[Whereupon the committee adjourned for tour of NASA facilities I
PAGENO="0869"
1977 NASA AUTHORIZATION
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1976
TJ.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS,
Washington, D.C.
The committee met, pursuant to recess, at 10 a.m., in room 2318,
Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Don Fuqua, chairman, presiding.
Mr. FUQUA. The subcommittee will be in order.
We are pleased to welcome Mr. William E. Lilly, NASA Comptroller.
Mr. Lilly, we are happy to have you here with your associates.
You may want to introduce them for the record and then proceed
with your statement. on the financial condition of NASA.
STATEMENT OF WILLIAM E. LILLY, NASA COMPTROLLER, ACCOM-
PANIED BY CHARLES T. NEWMAN, NASA DIRECTOR, OFFICE OP
RESOURCES ANALYSIS; GEN. ROBERT H. CURTIN, NASA DIREC-
TOR, OFFICE OP FACILITIES; AND GERALD L MOSSINGHOFF,
NASA ASSISTANT GENERAL COUNSEL FOR GENERAL LAW
Mr. LILLY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the sub-
committee, we are pleased to be here today. I will attempt to provide
a summary overview of NASA's fiscal year 1977 budget request.
With me, on my right, is Mr. Charles T. Newman, who is my
Deputy, the Director of the Office of Resources Analysis. On my
left is Gen. Robert H. Curtin, the Director of the NASA Office of
Facilities, and on the other side is Mr. Gerald J. Mossinghoff, the
NASA Assistant General Counsel for General Law.
I believe you have a copy of my presentation before you. With
your permission, Mr. Chairman, I will proceed to summarize this
presentation and then I will be glad to respond to questions.
Mr. FUQUA. We will make the submitted statement a part of the
record at this point.
[The prepared statement of Mr. William E. Lilly appears in Volume
I, Part 3.]
Mr. LILLY. Thank you, sir, turning to the presentation, Mr. Chair-
man, on page 1 is the agenda of items that I intend to try to cover.
To start with there is a summary of requirements and status;
then an overview of each of our three appropriation requests for fiscal
year 1977; program activity by Center; what the impact of inflation
has been; some of the highlights of NASA activity; and then the key
considerations in NASA's fiscal year 1977 budget.
(867)
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On page 3, I have provided for your reference a budget plan sum
mary of the new obligational authority requirements, with which you
are familiar The total NASA budget plan for fiscal year 1977 is
$3,697 billion, which is an apparent increase of about 4 percent. How-
ever, we recogrnze that this is much less than the current rate of infla-
tion, and as a result, we are reducing our efforts by about 6 percent
overall compared with fiscal year 1976.
Mr. FUQIJA. Bill, what is the difference in the total budget plan
and the total outlay?
Mr. LILLY. The fiscal year 1977 budget plan is our request for new
obligational authority The total outlays represent checks issued from
the Treasury, which result from money obligated in prior years plus
the amount expended out of the current year's appropriations
Returning to the chart, included in the totals for fiscal year 1976
and the transition quarter are the amounts for the proposed supple-
mental appropriations in the President's budget request for the
Civil Service payraise, which was effective last October
Again this year, as required by the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, we have included section 7, which sets forth our projected
requirements to carry on the program for fiscal year 1978 This totals
$3,700 million It does not include any provisions for inflation beyond
fiscal year 1977.
Turning now, Mr Chairman, to page 5, this is an overview of our
current operating plan for fiscal year 1976 As you recall, the amount
appropriated, including the anticipated supplemental, for fiscal year
1976 is $3,555,008,000 We intend to obligate all of these funds, except
for $25 4 million in construction of facilities, which is planned for
obligation after fiscal year 1976
Now, the obligations that have occurred this year, as of the end of
January, totalled $2,261 billion, or about 64 percent of the funds
available.
I might point out, briefly, and I think, we have discussed it in
previous years, that NASA's obligations record, particularly in
R & D , is usually over 99 percent of the funds available It is tight
There are usually, however, in a straight statistical sense, about
2 or 3 weeks of effort, something less than $100 million, that is in the
pipeline-that is technically unobligated at that point To be a pure
obligation reported on the books, all papers must have been signed by
both parties, and many times, these have not been received at that
point.
If I could turn to the research and development program, on page
7, we have summarized the budget line items reflected in our authori-
zation bill, the budgetary amounts for fiscal yeai 1976, the transition
quarter, and our budget request for fiscal year 1977
The amount requested in fiscal year 1977 for R & D is $2,758,-
925,000 That is an increase of about $81 million over fiscal year 1976
As you know, and I believe it was discussed in previous testimony,
the energy technology applications line item, which was in our authori-
zation and budget for fiscal year 1976, is no longer there, based on
the decision of the administration that ERDA would have the funding
responsibility for all terrestrial energy application efforts.
Turning then to page 8, I will summarize the highlights of NASA's
R. & D. activities.
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The first one is space flight. You are well aware of the objectives
of this program, and what the planned milestones for our major flight
activities are.
I would like to call your attention to the fact that the key Space
Shuttle milestones are being maintained. The rollout of the first
Orbiter is planned on schedule, in September of this year. The first
approach and landing test is still on schedule to begin toward the end
of 1977, and we have not changed our planning for the first manned
orbital flight in 1979.
The amounts are shown, by category, under Space Shuttle, space
flight operations, and also a new line item under space flight. Based
on the reorganization within NASA, we are now carrying the expend-
able launch vehicles under space flight.
On page 9, you see physics and astronomy, with the major flight
activity identified. The funding is broken down into categories re-
flected in the budget. The first one you see is the near earth space
exploration, and next the solar exploration, and then the astronomy
exploration.
In terms of near Earth space exploration, in 1975, we had two
successful Explorer launches for exploration of the upper atmosphere.
ment, to be followed by launch of four international Explorer missions
over the next few years-two international Sun-Earth Explorer
launches and two San Marco launches.
We also have provisions in our budget for carrying on work for some
science experiments to fly on the initial Spacelab missions in 1980.
In solar exploration, we had the sucessful Orbiting Solar Observatory
launch in 1975. One of our new next step new start activities planned
for initiation in fiscal year 1977 is the solar maximum mission, leading
to launch in 1979. This mission will allow us to study the Sun during
the next period of peak solar activity.
In astronomy exploration, we had SAS-C (the last of the small
astronomy satellite series) in 1975, and the International Ultraviolet
Explorer, is planned for launch in 1977. The High Energy Observatory
Launches-three spacecraft (A, B and C) are planned to be launched
in 1977, 1978, and 1979, respectively.
Turning to the distribution of funding, there is a relatively small
increase between fiscal year 1976 and fiscal year 1977, for physics and
astronomy.
The fiscal year 1977 request for the Solar Maximum Mission is
$21,300,000. The development planning estimate is $75 to $90 million,
plus the launch vehicle, $5.8 million.
Turning then to page 10, on Lunar and Planetary Exploration, we
have indicated by the triangles the launches that are planned. The
small circles, with the letters inside, are the planned encounters of the
spacecraft with the planetary bodies.
The two Mariner-Jupiter-Saturn (MJS) launches are planned in
calendar year 1977, leading to two encounters with Jupiter in 1979,
the first encounter with Saturn in 1980, and the second in 1981.
The Pioneer Saturn flyby will occur in 1979.
The Pioneer missions-one an orbiter, the other a multiple probe-
to study the atmosphere of Venus are planned for launch in 1978.
The two Viking-Mars orbiter/lander launch have occurred and, as
you are aware, the first Viking spacecraft is expected to arrive at
Mars in June of this year.
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In terms of the solar/interplanetary area, the second cooperative
U.S./West German Hellos mission wa.s successfully launched in early
1976.
All these factors account, if you will look at the breakdown of the
dollars here, for the major decrease in the Lunar and Planetary Ex-
ploration line item from fiscal year 1976 to fiscal year 1977-from
8254.100 million down to $1 91.100 million reflecting the Viking and
MJS, coming down the funding curve, as well as Pioneer-Venus.
On page 11, you see life sciences; this is one of the areas that
was affected by the organizational changes in the Agency this past
year. Life sciences, excluding the engineering technology efforts, was
transferred from the Office of Manned Space Flight, which is now the
Office of Space Flight, into the Office of Space Sciences. Life sciences
contains three basic categories-space life sciences, planetary biology,
and planetary quarantine. A total of $22,125,000 is requested for fiscal
year 1977.
Life sciences includes, as you can see in the major flight activities,
specific experiments to be flown on Space Shuttle/Spacelab missions.
For example, the fiscal year 1977 request includes funds for the yes-
tibular function research experiments planned for flight on a Spacelab
mission in 1980.
On the next page, page 12, are the space applications flight activity
and a summary of the applications budget plan. The following page
has a detailed breakdown of the funding.
In terms of major flight activity, as you know, Landsats 1 and 2
are operating and Landsat C development is progressing, leading to
launch in 1977. The first applications Explorer, the heat capacity
mapping mission, is to be launched in 1978. In the area of Earth
dynamics, LAGEOS will be launched this year; in addition, a new,
next step Explorer, MAGSAT, to be launched in 1980, is planned for
initiation in fiscal year 1977.
In ocean condition monitoring and forecasting, GEOS-3 was
successfully launched in 1975, and SEASAT a development is con-
tinuing, leading to launch readiness in 1978.
In environmental quality monitoring, NIMBUS-G development is
proceeding toward launch in 1978, and SAGE, the second applications
Explorer, is scheduled for launch in 1979.
Under weather and climate observation and forecasting NIMBUS-6
and SMS-2 were launched in 1975, and the TIROS-N launch is
targeted for 1978.
The applications program is not as large a program as we would
like to have; nevertheless, it is up from $ 178.230 million in fiscal year
1976 to $198.200 million in fiscal year 1977-a $20 million increase,
or about an 11-percent increase.
As shown on page 13, some applications areas are up and others are
lower, reflecting the phasing and status of the various efforts. For
example, the weather and climate observation and forecasting level
decreases and that reflects the completion of the NIMBUS-6 develop-
ment work. The applications Explorers efforts increase from fiscal
year 1976 to fiscal year 1977, as do the Earth resources, ocean condi-
tion, and other areas.
On the next page, page 14, our aeronautical research and technol-
ogy objectives and budget plan are shown. One of the major objectives
in the aeronautical program has been refocusing of our technology
PAGENO="0873"
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efforts to emphasize the development of technologies to advance
aircraft energy efficiency-improving performance while at the same
time reducing fuel requirements.
The total R. & D. budget for aeronautics research and technology
goes up from $175.350 million in fiscal year 1976 to $189.100 million
in fiscal year 1977. A total of about $40 million will be applied in fiscal
year 1977 to these refocused efforts on the aircraft energy efficiency
technology activities.
The details of the aircraft energy efficiency technology efforts are
reflected on page 15, showing the component parts of the efforts that
we intend to focus on.
In space research and technology, Mr. Chairman, page 16 depicts
our basic areas of space research and technology; included in this is the
effort we started several years ago on an on developing standard hard-
ware components-the low-cost systems program, which is shown on
the bottom line of the breakdown, going from $6.1 million in fiscal
year 1976 to $8.3 million in fiscal year 1977.
Included also in the aeronautics research and technology program
within the experimental program is our effort for one of the spacelab
payloads, the so-called long-duration exposure facility, which account
for the major portion of the funding in that particular category.
Turning to page 17, tracking and data acquisition, I think you are
all familiar with what it covers. It is divided into three basic areas: the
operations of our worldwide network; the systems implementation,
including equipment replenishment; and the advanced systems effort.
The increase from $240.8 million in fiscal year 1976 to $258.0 million
requested in fiscal year 1977 is basically due to two factors. About $13
million of the increase is required to cover the inflation that has oc-
curred in both the foreign and domestic activities.
Mr. FUQUA. What was that?
Mr. LILLY. About $13 million stems from the impact of inflation.
The remainder of the increase, about $4 million, is for equipment
for the planned mission requirements of congressionally approved,
ongoing programs.
On the next page (page 18), Mr. Chairman, for the technology
utilization program, on which there was a special presentation before
the committee in January 1976, our fiscal year 1977 request is $7.9
million.
As Dr. Fletcher's presentation and Mr. Gray's indicated, we do
plan to extend the efforts in technology utilization to cover more
completely the manufacturing processes and areas of agriculture.
On the next page (page 19) is the energy technology applications
line item in our B. & D. appropriation. As I mentioned, in fiscal year
1977 direct NASA R. & D. funding is terminated. The direct NASA
R. & D. funding for energy was eliminated as a result of decisions made
during the fiscal year 1977 budget process. Based on the administra-
tion's decision, NASA's fiscal year 1977 budget request does not
contain any direct R. & D. funds for these efforts.
You asked us how much we originally requested from 0MB. We
asked for $8~ million and we received none. The decision was that
ERDA would have the direct funding responsibility in this area and
NASA was asked to seek reimbursable funds for these efforts.
There is a sizable reimbursable energy program. We are anticipating
doing reimbursable work for ERDA and other agencies-'between $40
PAGENO="0874"
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and $50 million in fiscal year 1976, and probably growing up to about
$75 or $80 million in fiscal year 1977
The next section covers our construction of facilities appropriation
(pages 21 and 22) Our total fiscal year 1977 requirements for con-
struction of facilities are $124,020,000
With your permission, Mr Chairman, since General Curtin is here,
and he will be addressing this area after I complete my presentation,
I will ask him to cover the details during his testimony
Mr. FUQUA. We may have some questions for you and General
Curtm later
Mr LILLY Moving now to the research and program management
appropriation, the functional categories and distribution of permanent
Civil Service positions are identified on pages 24 and 25, respectively
I believe Mr Groo, the Associate Administrator for Center Opera-
tions will be testifying on this area later this week
The amount required for research and program management in
fiscal year 1977 is $814,055,000-an increase of about $18 million over
fiscal year 1976 The distribution of permanent civil service positions
by installation is shown on page 25 It reflects the planned reduction of
500 civil service personnel, coming down from 24,316 to 23,816 by the
end of fiscal year 1977.
In terms of the status of our current on-board civil service person-
nel, at the end of January we had 24,206 or about 110 down from our
ceiling for the end of fiscal year 1976
We are hoping to accomplish most of the 500 reduction by attrition
if at all possible.
On page 27, the estimated distribution of NASA's total budget plan
is identified by Center For all three appropriations, it shows where the
funding will be obligated At the bottom, the amount of $19 6 million
is not yet designated That amount included our facility planning and
design, funds, a small portion of our rehab and modification funding,
and minor construction, which has not yet been designated to the
center in which the obligation will occur
For all the other funds, you see the planned distribution of funding
by center. I think you are familiar with most of this. The Johnson
Space Center stays essentially the same; it goes down about $23 million,
reflecting the anticipated downturn in funding on the Shuttle Orbiter
development. The Kennedy Space Center goes up from $244.4 million
in fiscal year 1976 to 314.8 in fiscal year 1977, reflecting the buildup
activity at the Cape. The Marshall Space Flight Center will
go from $549.8 million in fiscal year 1976 up to $602.8 million in fiscal
year 1977, reflecting where we are on the shuttle development curve,
and building toward the peak effort on the main propulsion engines
and also the solid rocket boosters.
The Goddard Space Flight Center goes up slightly, reflecting the
planned new start of the solar maximum mission in fiscal year 1977
The Ames Research Center shows a downward turn from fiscal year
1975 to 1977. This primarily reflects the downward turn on the
planetary requirements on the Pioneer-Venus program.
The Langley Research Center is up from $249.8 million to $274.4
million.
The others have no major changes between fiscal year 1976 and
fiscal year 1977.
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Next (pages 28 and 29), you see the major activities, by center.
I would like now to discuss some of the economic aspects of our
program, covering first what the impact of inflation has been. On page
31, I have summarized some of the factors concerning the impact of
inflation.
When we are asked what the inflation rate is, we normally tend to
refer to a specific percentage. I would like to point out that this is a
combination of many factors. It is affected by the timing of union
agreements, salary adjustment schedules, the cost of living allowances,
material price changes, and utility rate increases. It is those factors
that have various effects, and we assess all those factors and develop a
composite rate for the overall inflation.
We try to help offset some of the impact of inflation by different
changes in the skill mix. It depends on the program phasing, whether
it is the build-up or the phase-out; what the contractor manpower
loading factors are; and various other factors.
Turning to page 32, I thought I would give you some specific ex-
amples in terms of the rate of growth in the average labor costs of our
contractors, broken into three areas: the engineering effort; the manu-
facturing effort; and the fringe benefits. This indicates what the trend
has been.
This analysis was done in detail for 11 of the major hardware con-
tractors. As you can see, the overall composite percentage, taking
those three elements of labor cost, has gone from about a 6.6 rate in
fiscal year 1973 to a high in fiscal year 1976 of 9.5; in fiscal year 1977,
our data show 7.8, based on existing contracts. This represents the
annual rate of increase over the previous fiscal year.
As you recall, NASA's spending is highly labor intensive. About 85
percent of NASA's funding goes directly to labor; only about 15 per-
cent goes into materials or to purchase parts. Very seldom do we have
anything that one normally classifies as "production," since our work
is research and development.
In terms of the research and development and the inflation change
from fiscal year 1976 to fiscal year 1977, just to give you an example,
the fiscal year 1976 operating plan is $2,677 million for R. & D. (Page
33).
As I mentioned, the annual composite rate of inflation is 7.8 percent.
To provide then for the 15 months, we add the 7.8 percent plus the
transition quarter of about 2 percent, or an effective rate of increase
of about 9.8 percent.
On this basis, the increase needed to offset inflation was about $262
million. As a result, comparing what was required with our fiscal year
1977 budget request, we have an effective decrease in our research and
development of about $180 million.
I believe Dr. Fletcher referred to fact that the fiscal year 1977
budget request is about $200 million below the amount required to
meet inflation-about $180 million in this category and the balance
in other areas.
Turning to page 34, you can see what has the NASA budget trends
been-the actual budget dollars in outlays going from fiscal year 1973
through fiscal year 1977. Starting from fiscal year 1975, the chart
shows an apparent upward trend from $3 billion to outlay require-
ments of $3.676 billion in fiscal year 1977. However, on page 35 the
impact of inflation on our budget is shown.
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I have taken the inflation that has occurred, and reflected the
outlays in terms of constant dollars. Applying what constant fiscal
year 1977 dollars would have meant, it gives you an indication of
how much we have come down in terms of our actual purchasing
power in the time period.
On the following page (page 36) is the same chart that Dr. Low
used in his presentation to the full committee. It shows the actual
NASA budget outlays moving from fiscal year 1973 down to fiscal
year 1977, and what a level budget of $3.4 billion would have been if
that commitment or agreement could have been met.
We do take actions to try to offset, as much as possible, the impact
of inflation. Here are examples of actions where we are attempting to
maximize the amount of program effort we can have in the face of
decreasing budgets in constant dollars. (Page 37.)
As you know, we tried to put greater emphasis on using existing
hardware and the current state of the art wherever possible. We have
had less mission redundancy and less provision for spares. We are
using the so-called protoflight spacecraft, rather than as separate
prototype and flight articles.
You can see the other actions we have taken emphasis on standardi-
zation of spacecraft components and systems where feasible, addi-
tional emphasis on economies by contractors, where we are working
with the contractors in an attempt to have them hire at the lowest
acceptable level in the buildup phase, including ceilings on overhead
where it is possible contractually; and more economies in NASA
Center operations, as identified on the chart. You are, I believe,
familiar with our institutional assessment study. We have been
reducing the in-house civil service and support contractor manpower,
which Mr Groo will go over in great detail when he testifies on
February 19.
We are also insisting that vacancies be filled at the entrance level;
we have brought our motor vehicles down by about 22 percent from
1973; and we have brought our utility consumption down 22 percent
from 1973. This energy conservation effort comes under General
Curtin's direction.
Mr. Chairman, since this subcommittee has shown a continuing
interest in the employment effect of NASA's work, on page 39 I have
reflected the impact of NASA funds on employment. The total direct
employment on NASA programs for the end of fiscal year 1977 will
be about 121,000 That will mean 10,000 below the current level of
about 131,000 That is a result, as I pointed out, of the fact that our
effective purchasing power will be about 6 or 7 percent less than
fiscal year 1976. That impact is reflected in the loss of manpower on
our program efforts
In terms of estimating the total contractor employment, we do not
try and have not been able to obtain an exact count of people wprking
on subcontracts to our major contractors. Rather, we have esti-
mated this on the basis of typical contractor in-house costs per
in-house or "in-plant" man-year. Based on this factor, we probably
understate the real employment effects. For instance, much of the
vendors' man-year costs tend to be cheaper than some of the prime
contractors'. So to that extent, I would say that the employment
estimate is probably on a conservative side
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The total employment on NASA programs will be 121,000 at the
end of fiscal year 1977 as opposed to 131,000 at the current time.
Using a fairly conservative multiplier effect of about 2.5, the NASA
expenditures result in total employment of about 300,000 jobs through-
out the economy as a whole. From fiscal year 1976 to fiscal year 1977,
there will be a loss of 10,000 direct jobs and total job losses of about
25,000 jobs, considering the multiplier effect.
The chart on page 40 shows the history of total employment on
NASA programs.
To complete my testimony, Mr. Chairman, I would like to cover
some of the positive features of NASA's budget and the key consid-
erations in our fiscal year 1977 budget-pages 42 and 43.
On page 42, we have covered the fact that we are making progress
on moving to reusable space hardware. The Space Shuttle is on
schedule for start of approach and landing tests in 1977 and first
orbital flight in 1979, although we were required as a result of the fiscal
1977 budget constraints to delay initiation of production of the third
Shuttle Orbiter. The fiscal year 1977 budget is not as much as we would
like, but we have been able to provide funding in our budget, for some
payloads that will be flown on both the Shuttle and the Spacelab.
And as Dr. Low mentioned in his presentation, the launch schedule
has shown the building trend toward the use of space by commercial
and foreign users who reimburse us.
There is considerable and growing multiuser involvement in all of
our programs, including the Department of Agriculture, the Depart-
ment of Interior, the the Department of Defense, and other nations,
as well as the commercial users.
In conclusion, I would like to say a few words on the economic
benefits of NASA programs. Dr. Fletcher has emphasized the
significant positive impact of NASA-type technology, both near and
long term.
His strongest concern, and the concern that we all share, is the need
to recognize the importance of technology and its strong contribution
to the Nation's economic growth and well being. Investment in
research and technology is indeed the key to increased productivity,
which in turn stimulates economic growth. NASA's efforts represent
the cutting edge of the technology upon which this Nation's progress
is built.
NASA activities, as I pointed out, are highly labor intensive. In
addition to being labor intensive, NASA work is the type of work that
tends to raise both the competence level and skills of the employees.
It has a positive effect on employment, and the work is productive and
constructive.
As a rule of thumb, every $100 million spent on NASA programs
generates about 10,000 jobs-approximately 4,000 direct jobs and
6,000 resultant jobs in the localities and the economy as a whole.
In terms of the economic benefits of NASA programs, people some-
times tend to overlook the fact that there are important near-term
direct economic benefits that come from our space applications pro-
gram, such as Earth resources, communications, weather systems,
pollution monitoring, and other vital areas. Transfer of NASA-de-
veloped technology to both public and private sectors is another
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significant stimulus in the high~techno1ogy areas, leading to new
capabilities, jobs, improved products, and increased productivity
In addition, it does, in many areas, have a very favorable effect on
the balance of trade
For example, in 1975 alone, aerospace exports exceeded aerospace
imports by $7 billion This was primarily from aircraft, engmes, and
aircraft parts
NASA programs stimulate employment by increasing the use of
trained manpower. The work also increases the use of existing in-
dustrial capacity.
Mr Chairman, that completes my summary of the total program
We are available for any questions that you may have
Mr FUQUA Thank you very much for a very interesting report
On page 5, "Construction of Facilities," you mentioned $25 4 million
planned to be obligated after fiscal year 1976, and obligations as of
January 31, 1976 were only $10 5 million and with $46 2 million
unobhgated
What is the cause for the lag of obligated funds?
Mr. LILLY. I will let General Curtin speak to this.
As you recognized, where it is a very large-scale facility or any un-
certainties, we will, in those cases, budget in an incremental fashion
over several years
On other smaller C of F projects, which we expect to be completed
m 2 to 3 years, we do normally budget for the total cost
The phasmg of the obligations, and the contracts on construction
of facilities, is considerably slower than R & D
General CURTIN Mr Chairman, for example, m the case of fiscal
year 1976 program just passed, the actual money was apportioned to
late in November and, therefore, the mere administration of getting
it out into the field and advertising, getting the contracts in, is a time-
consuming thing, and we will see, in the May, June, July timeframe
of this year a big upswmg just as we did last year That is somewhat
parallel to past years' experience
Mr LILLY In terms of fiscal year 1976, it will run about 20 percent
at this point m time
Mr FUQUA The same thing appears in life sciences It appears
to be the only R & D area in which the rate of obligation for fiscal
year 1976 is unusually low
What is the reason for this?
Mr LILLY The life sciences area is made up of a large number of
small study efforts and the normal pattern, because of the nature of
these efforts, is to obligate more in the latter part of the fiscal year
than in the first part
I would have to say there was also probably some slight delay in this
because of the reorganization of NASA
Mr FUQUA Now, the GAO has sent around a draft copy of the
report on the space shuttle They make several references which I
think need clarification as to the dollar amounts versus the inflation
factor.
Could you prepare for the subcommittee a chart of the dollar com-
mitments as compared to the GAO amounts, with appropriate
* footnotes?
Mr LILLY I would be happy to, Mr Chairman
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877
In many cases, I think you will find one of the major criticisms
throughout the GAO staff study was that we put too much emphasis
on cost consciousness and in some unknown way might contribute
to an overrun because we are holding the managers to costs.
I do not quite follow the GAO logic. The 0MB was asked to com-
ment, and they also commented that they did not understand what
GAO's point was.
Most of the "cost growth" that GAO talks about is actually the
impact of inflation. They refuse to accept the fact that we committed
to a $5.15 billion Shuttle deve1opment-~D.D.T. & E.-cost estimate in
1971 dollars, on the basis of the agreement that we would update it
on an annual basis to reflect the impact of inflation. To count inflation
as a "cost growth", in that context, I think is completely fallacious.
Mr. FUQUA. On the programs, you have furnished us with estimates
on 10 major programs. Are they in constant dollars, or do they reflect
current dollars?
Mr. LILLY. Mr. Chairman, are you referring to the semiannual
report which we supply to your committee?
Mr. FUQUA. Yes.
Mr. LILLY. In that report, the Space Shuttle D.D.T. & E. cost
estimate is called out as an exception, as being in 1971 dollars. The
estimate is also shown in the dollars of the particular fiscal year.
The others are shorter term projects. Those estimates are provided
in the range for inflation in as much as we can see it. So they are
different.
Mr. FUQUA. Mr. Winn?
Mr. WINN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Bill, it is my understanding that with the number of efforts de-
leted for research and development as submitted by NASA to the
0MB, with the exception of the Space Shuttle deletions and refer-
rals, what would be the fiscal year 1978 costs of the programs deleted
if they were funded and undertaken in 1977?
Mr. LILLY. Mr. Winn, the Space Shuttle accounted for $100
million, so taking the balance, the fiscal year 1978 impact of the pro-
grams that we had proposed to initiate in fiscal year 1977, if they were
allowed to be carried through into fiscal year 1978, the amount re-
quired would have been about $70 million.
There are a couple of areas I have not included in that number.
When I say about $70 million, that excludes certain reductions,
such as the reduction in SRT-supporting research and technology.
Another item we proposed was the start of the phase B activity on
the Jupiter orbiter probe and we had not proposed a runout, but if
we had initiated that R. & D. project in fiscal year 1977, it would
have required about $20 million in fiscal year 1978. Other than the
Shuttle, the B. & D. items would have required an amount of about
$70 in fiscal year 1978, plus about $20 million for the Jupiter orbiter
probe, or a total of about $90 million overall in B. & D.
Mr. WINN. Do you have some more that you want to state?
Mr. LILLY. No; Mr. Winn, I interpret your question as being on
R. & D. In C. & F. the start of repowering of the 40 feet by 80 feet
subsonic wind tunnel was deferred, but I believe your question was in
terms of B. & D.
70-0790-76-56
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Mr. WINN. I am trying to figure out here in your charts, calculating
the inflation factor for Space Shuttle costs, what were the percentages
that were used from 1971 to 1976.
Mr. LILLY. The original Shuttle D.D.T. & E. cost estimate was
in 1971 dollars and that is what we are controlling to. We have
equated 1971 dollars. The inflation rate applied in fiscal year 1974
was 7 percent; in fiscal year 1975, 8.3 percent; in fiscal year 1976,
9.3 percent; and for fiscal year 1977, 7 percent, although our estimate
of what the actual inflation will be is around 7.8 percent.
Mr. WINN. You are talking about costs only, you are not talking
about having anything to do with wage increases, only the cost of
dollars? You are talking only about the cost of dollars when you get
up to 7-percent inflation?
Mr. LILLY. It is the overall impact of inflation on our work. This
includes the increases in the cost of materials, and the increases
resulting from negotiations of wages and fringe benefits, but it does
not include the normal growth of personnel development aspects,
to the extent that they can be separated out. It is basically wage and
price escalation.
Mr. WINN. To change the subject a little bit, does NASA have
under review, or has NASA considered consolidating work activity
or administration effort to increase its economy of operations at the
center level in respect to launch vehicle procurement?
Mr. LILLY. Yes, sir, I can personally recall it. We reviewed this
possibility several years ago when we were still developing large
vehicles, and we determined that the savings were not worth the
upset and disruption that would occur at that time.
The recent institutional assessment study encompassed roles and
missions at all NASA Centers and JPL. In terms of the Lewis Center,
the Langley Center, and the Scout and Delta launch vehicle procure-
ment, considerable study went into that aspect. Theoretical savings
focused essentially on the feasibility of consolidation of the procure-
ment activity.
It was decided in that study, based on the timing of the planned
transition to the Shuttle, that it would not be cost effective to try
to consolidate at this point. It would have involved moving people and
funds from one center to the other.
Mr. WINN. You said the savings you found, what savings did you
find?
Mr. LILLY. There were theoretical savings by combining the
procurement activity of each of these items, primarily in the area
of funding. The only theoretical savings would be what you might
save by consolidating the procurement activity into one center. It
was determined that the theoretical savings would not offset the
amount of disruption. You would not gain much in trying to consoli-
date now, in view of the planned transition from expendable launch
vehicles to the Shuttle.
Mr. WINN. So, therefore, you cannot give me a figure?
Mr. LILLY. I believe it was a small amount. Mr. Groo will have the
details on this when he appears later this week.
I have looked several times at possible activities that could be
consolidated in my own area. For instance, I looked into whether or
not there would be worthwhile savings overall in the agency if I could
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consolidate payroll activities into one place. I found that the savings
would be small, certainly not worth the disruption in terms of people
getting their paychecks on time.
I also considered the possibilities of moving headquarters account-
ing out to Goddard to see if I could combine the functions Again, I
found that there would be theoretical savings, but the only place I
could do it would be in terms of a few supervisory people There
might have been a very small amount of savings, but it was not worth
the amount of upset.
However, we are always looking at ways in which we can economize.
An example is the NAPO operations for west coast contractors.
As a result of looking into this 2 or 3 years ago, I took over the re-
sponsibilities for the payments of all west coast contractors; instead
of paying these contractors through NAPO, these functions are now
performed here.
We are constantly looking for ways to achieve economies.
Mr. WINN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr FUQUA Thank you, Bill
We may have some more questions that we want to submit We
appreciate your being here We will now hear from General Curtin
General CTJRTIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have a prepared
statement and I would like to summarize it by just scanning through
Mr FUQUA We will make it part of the record
[The prepared statement of General Curtin appears in Volume I,
Part 3.}
General CURTIN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
After I present my summary, I will be available for questions and
to present any additional data that you might care to have me
furnish.
As you know, this year's program, as Mr Lilly pointed out, it is
$124 million and this compares with last year's program that we
spoke about a moment ago of $82 million. I think it is important to
realize the significant difference between last year's and this year's
program, despite the fact that construction is not at a "level of
effort" activity That is the inclusion in this year's program of the
$25 million associated with the large aeronautical facilities, or the
transonic facility at Langley and that there is about a $15 million
increase in other non-Shuttle projects which were at a low level in
the 1976 program
The program is made up this year of about $88 million, 22 line
item proj ects, which are covered in rather complete detail m the
justifications for each of the 22 individual projects As I said, the
minor facility program of the rehabilitation modifications program,
minor construction, which is $23 million for the combined programs
and the $12 6 million for the facility planning and design, itself
constitutes about 10 percent of the program
As a matter of reference point, there are two large items Shuttle
facilities which have been large in all of our recent programs with
the planning amount that goes with that, makes up about 35 percent
of the program Then, of course, the national transonic facility
with its planning makes up almost 25 percent more So with that
overview, it might be well to move to page 2, which really begms to
outline for us the four Shuttle facility projects at Kennedy.
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As you know, Kennedy is the maior center in which the Shuttle
construction will be undertaken This year s request is for $35 4
million and these four projects are really a continuation of prior
year programs The orbiter processing facility, $3 8 million, as you
know, completes a fiscal year 1975, 1976 program of about $25 4
million and will finish the work on the OPF
There is also an entry of $19.9 million for launch complex 39.
Now, it is important to realize that this is a split project, actually
there is $14.9 million of that to provide for mobile launch platform
No. 2. This is essentially a duplicate of the one that was provided
in prior years, fiscal 1975-76 programs. Also there is an entry in
there of $5 million for further modifications to pad A, to help us
with the acoustic problems we have encountered in the testing of the
orbiter m the launch mode
I would point out that this will only cover, in our judgment, one
facet of those acoustic problems, and as we pointed out in the docu-
mentation, there will probably be a further request when the balance
of the problem is better defined.
There is $9.7 million in there for the second and the final phase of
the solid rocket booster processing facility, also at Kennedy, but at
three specific locations at Kennedy
Then, as you may recall, Mr Chairman, this complements the $5 2
million that was provided in fiscal year 1975 and which we reoriented
from Air Force Titan III facilities to the use of the VAB at Kennedy
This is an integrated effort with that revised project, and, as I said,
involves three particular areas of activity at Kennedy and at Kennedy
proper and out on the Cape area.
Now, this is geared to the MFOF, as the documtation shows.
There is a fourth item of $2 million for the shuttle aircraft mating
facility at Kennedy, also geared to MFOF. There are three remaining
projects covered in detail, and I will mention them at this time,
$780,000 for the crew training at Johnson, to provide an emersion
facility for the training of Shuttle crews there There is a unique item
there also and I would like to bring to your attention $1 76 million of
minor projects at four locations Because of prior interest in the actual
costs of the Shuttle program, we felt it was desirable to highlight these
minor projects, since they were brought out in this year's program.
There is also $1.93 million for the provision of cell-D for the manu-
facturing of external tanks brought about largely by the serious
problems we have encountered with the thermal protection system
application at that location.
Just a moment, Mr Chairman
A word, if you will, Mr Chairman, on the progress in Shuttle
construction
I can report to you the prior year's work is moving, at least in my
judgment, at least fairly well We are generally on schedule and are
meeting the programmatic milestone dates and also, I think, as we
have confirmed in this statement here, we are within the $300 million
commitment that we made in terms of 1971 dollars.
In fact, this year's program brings us up to about the 75 percent
point of meeting that commitment.
Our present estimate is $295 million in 1971 dollars, and that should
complete the Shuttle facility program as we know it today So I
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would say, we are fairly comfortable, recognizing that an unknown
can crop up at any time, but we feel rather confident we are going to
make that commitment.
Moving on to page 4, there are two projects in here for payload
processing facilities.
This is the first year for these projects. There are two of them; a
larger one at Kennedy which involves modification of the operations
and checkout building for Spacelab and Spacelab payloads. This is
geared to the Spacelab orbital flight in late 1980.
There is a smaller project of $770,000 at Goddard, which is a
modification to the two buildings out there for the Shuttle payload
development, actually geared solely to the Goddard "free flyer" pay-
loads, if you wilL As I mentioned before, this involves work at two
buildings.
The large aeronautical facility, you have spent considerable time
on that, but I will not, at this time, Mr. Chairman. I understand you
had considerable hearings on that particular item, the $25 million for
the National Transonic Facility at Langley.
As you know, this will be the first phase of a 3-year funded program
hopefully, at a total estimated cost of about $65 million.
This is a large, unique, and very complex facility. The design is
proceeding, and our scheduling is presently geared to operations in the
mid-1980's. There is an intervening milestone which is actually the
hydrostatic testing of the shell, which is really the key to all of this,
which would be in April or June of 1979. So our scheduling is geared
around those two interrelated milestones, if you will.
As I mentioned, this is a complex project in that it involves the
principle of using liquid nitrogen to cool the test medium, and this
brings us into the use of 9 percent nickel steel and the problems of
working with very low temperatures and these sort of concerns. As I
mentioned, we will manage this under 17 to 20 work packages, in-
dividual work packages, to provide visibility and dollar control.
Seven of these packages are covered in this particular program. We
are able to proceed with the amount of money shown, because these
will provide for the advanced procurement of items incident to the
hydrostatic testing, and on some of these, we will have to use limited
Government obligations as our contracting mode.
But this is a very important facility. It has been covered by your
committee.
I feel that we are proceeding in a very orderly, and definitive way
with the facility planning to bring this on line as we have indicated.
Moving to page 8 in the statement, Mr. Chairman, I just want to
briefly touch on energy.
I guess NASA's management is putting more concern and attention
on energy than many other items, largely because of the cost of energy
which has gone up so dramatically recently, and we expect it to go up in
the future, and its impact primarily on our R. & D. program. We are
concerned with energy reduction, and we are concerned with the
efficient use of our facilities.
Mr. Lilly touched on the fact that we have achieved a 22-percent
reduction in energy, using the fiscal year 1973 base. We have embarked
on a program to increase that figure to a 30-percent reduction by the
end of fiscal year 1977 and all of this is in the context of the long-range
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plan which we are beginning to implement, looking out to 1980, 1985
timeframe. We are trying to forecast what the availability of energy
might be as well then as the cost growth of energy and try to respond
to this in some positive way.
I guess the big thing here, Mr. Chairman, is that we have pretty
well exhausted the things we can do without some significant capital
improvements, and in this year's program, we will find several projects
that address this.
One of them is the utility control system at Kennedy, $2.4 million.
I just mention that because while it is not typical, it has the in-
gredients of the utility control systems that we are proceeding to
install throughout our centers at NASA. This really brings to bear
items of electronics, what we know as electronics today, in both
sensors and in control devices that we can operate from a central
area, and not only save dollars in terms of energy, but save dollars
in terms of personnel.
This project at Kennedy is phase II of an earlier project that
totaled $1.6 million combined and was done in two elements. So far
there have been something like 23 people we have been able to reduce
from manning roles at Kennedy just on that earlier phase. It gives
us a very good pay-off and we hope to see more of this in future year
programs that we will be coming up with.
Then moving onto the next page, the refuse-fired steam generating
plant at Langley is a very unique project. This project is in here at
$2.485 million. It is very interesting in the sense that it is a vehicle
for using the energy that is represented by refuse or trash, which is
sometimes overlooked as an energy source.
We are dealing in 4,000 to 5,000 Btu's per pound, as opposed to
10,000 to 12,000 Btu's for coal. So there is a lot of energy in trash,
if it can be used.
It is also interesting to note that advantage of this is being taken
on a very wide basis in Europe, but so far on a very limited basis in
this country. So our hope is in this joint project, that we will be able
to not only show that this is a very fine way to convert refuse to
energy, which in terms of NASA alone will save about 3 million
gallons of fuel oil per year. It also helps us with the Air Force, because
we are working with the Air Force on sanitary landfill to solve a very
marginal and limited problem on landfill. In the low peninsular areas
there are not many places to go for suitable landfill. It helps the city
also, the city of Hampton, Va. We are involved with them, along with
the Air Force in terms of their regional program, and to me it is very
unique and a very forward thinking project.
I point out that the Air Force already has its money, its money
was authorized and appropriated last year.
We have been working with the city, and the city has at the moment
committed to match the Federal Government outlay and to have the
$1.7 million additional subject to favorable approval of a revenue
bond that they would have to float later and which looks very favor-
able.
The UCS at Kennedy and the refuse fired steam generating plant
at Langley are two illustrations of what we are doing to attempt to
tackle the energy problem.
The lunar sample curatorial facility is another item.
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This was something that eventually came out of the last year's
program and is being resubmitted at a $2.8 million this year.
This is an addition to building 31 at the Johnson Space Center. I
think there has been some uneasiness on this for many reasons.
Our letter of October of last year to the committees, I hope set to
rest some of these concerns. Itis very difficult to apprise this in terms
of cost, because this is a unique facility.
There is no other yardstick that you can use in testing this particular
facility. It involves a large vault for the storage of the lunar samples,
it involves laboratory and support facilities that are extremely unique,
but all in all, it improves the safety and security of our ability to store
these samples. It enhances the flexibility of our operations there, and
hopefully, we can, through this, provide better service to many
principal investigators.
We have now something like 46,000 samples and 110 principal
investigators and there is a great deal of activity and interest in this
total thing. To me this is a long-term solution.
As I indicated before, the cost of this is $2.8 million. This large
vault, and the special security provisions make up a major portion of
that.
In connection with this also, I would like to point out that we do
have the interim storage at Brooks Air Force Base, which is now
operational. We will be storing about 15 percent of our samples there.
The next two items of the program, Mr. Chairman, deal with the
minor facility projects, the rehabilitation and modification and minor
construction. These will permit us to deal with the subjects of deteri-
oration, obsolescence, and need for minor improvements in our facili-
ties.
You realize the rehabilitation modifications are limited to projects
under $500,000, and minor construction projects under $250,000.
There are some 80 projects represented by the $17.9 million and
25 projects under the minor construction program.
The facility planning and design is the last element of this program.
There is $2.9 million in it for Shuttle, there is $800,000 for future pay-
load planning, there is $3.4 million for additional planning to the
Langley National Transonic Facility and $400,000 for the 40- by
80-foot wind tunnel at Ames to round out some of that planning.
There will be additional F.D. & D. for the 40- by 80-foot in subsequent
years. A further $5.1 million for more recurrent and regular require-
ments which speaks to master planning and studies, the fiscal years
1978 final design and fiscal year 1979 preliminary engineering reports
and studies.
I think this is one element of our budget that has given us a great
deal of help in our program formulation. It has been that by having
these funds available, we have become strong believers in the fact
that we can get good designs and good plans. We can also get better
estimates to the Congress and we can get better designs. When we go
out on the "street" with good designs we get generally good bids, and
most of the time we really get good contractors and good costs.
Mr. Chairman, that summarizes this program rather briefly, and I
will be available, as I said, to try to answer any questions you may
have.
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Mr. FUQUA. Thank you very much, General. I appreciate your
statement this morning.
As a general rule of thumb, how much do you include in the project
for escalation?
General CURTIN. Contingencies first, as a general rule of thumb, we
have used 10 to 15 percent, depending on the complexities of the
project.
For escalation, in this year's program, our guide has been 10 percent
per year, unless there is some obvious reason for having more than that.
As I recall, I think there are three exceptions to that in this year's
program, primarily on the west cost and at the Dryden Flight Re-
search Center where we have used 12 percent as I recall.
Mr. FUQUA. What is the other one? You said there were three?
General CURTIN. There are projects at Ames, three projects at
Ames.
There are four of them, the three projects at Ames, and then there
is one other one.
Mr. FUQUA. Regarding the proposed relocation of the Navy Ocean-
ographic Lab to the National Space Technology Laboratory; what is
the status of that move?
Is that still in court?
General CURTIN. Yes, sir. That move is still in the courts. I under-
stand there will probably be some determination by the Secretary of
Defense, if my memory serves me correctly, by the first of April, Mr.
Chairman. Then the plan is that the litigants in the case will be given
2 or 3 weeks to comment on that, and then probably there will be a
hearing say around the 1st of May-maybe Mr. Mossinghoff can
expand on that.
Mr. MOSSINOHOFF. Mr. Chairman, the district court judge has is-
sued a timetable which General Curtin has summarized, and the Navy
is meeting that timetable.
As of last Friday, the Navy, with input from NASA, filed an amend-
ment and a supplement to the Environmental Impact Statement pre-
pared by the Navy under the National Environmental Policy Act. We
anticipate that there will be a decision concerning the move by April 1,
by the Secretary of Defense, and after that, the court will entertain
motions on both sides, either to lift the injunction, or to make it per-
manent.
Mr. FUQUA. Has the Navy moved anybody?
Mr. MOSSINGHOFF. The original injunction only proscribed the
moving of civilian employees who had not volunteered to go, so the
Navy has moved some personnel.
Mr. FUQUA. How about civilian personnel?
Mr. MossINGRoFF. Civilian personnel who were ready and willing
to go were permitted to move down there, and in an amendment to the
injunction, NASA was permitted to proceed with one of its buildings
in order to move NASA people-an action originally initiated to provide
space to accommodate the Navy people moving down there.
Mr. FUQUA. What is the status of the NASA modification of the
facility for the Navy?
Mr. M05sINUH0FF. I think General Curtin could answer that better.
General CURTIN. Yes, sir.
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We have, as an amendment to the injunction, as Mr Mossinghoff
pointed out, been permitted to go ahead with completion of one of the
main buildings and as a consequence there is the move of the Environ-
mental Research Laboratory people, from NSTL to Slidell, I believe
that is essentially complete-at least it was going ahead Work on the
other projects at NSTL, of course, are held in abeyance until the out-
come of the injunction
The people the Navy have onsite are able to go into available space
that needs little or no modification
Mr FUQTJA How much did this cost so far?
General CURTiN I think we have-Mr Lilly can correct me, but I
think it is about $1 2 million, that is what we expect to have the ex-
penditures total up to
Mr FUQUA Will that be reimbursed by the Navy, or does that come
out of your hide?
Mr LILLY Mr Chairman, in terms of the amount that has been
obligated, we have a total plan of what NASA will expend for this
move It is about $1 8 million, $1 206 million had been obligated as of
the start of January
In terms of reimbursement, we have executed the agreement with
the Navy We are going to collect, within 3 years of the time they have
been there, the full reimbursement of this work and a reduction in our
own costs
You may recall that in this provision for reimbursement, we do not
plan to charge just additive costs We are going to charge a full pro
rata share, since the Navy will be the major tenant at that location
We intend to recover the money within 3 years
Mr FUQUA If the injunction against the Navy is upheld, what will
become of these facilities you have made available to the Navy?
General CURTIN The facilities we would otherwise make available
to the Navy, I think our position is that we would still try to secure
other suitable tenants, Mr Chairman, to use that space
That has been our goal pretty much all along That is to make the
maximum utilization of the space there that is available at NSTL, so
we would look for alternative tenants
Mr MOSSINGHOFF I think we would attempt to have any permanent
injunction modified to put into usable shape some of the buildings that
are unfinished-some have wires hanging out of the walls and so
forth-and I think we would want to do that, and we would hope
the court would permit us to do that
Mr LILLY In terms of part of your question, if there were a per-
manent injunction, and the move did not come about yet, we would
have obligated about $1 2 million I do not consider that this amount
would be wasted Certainly, though, we would not have probably
incurred this had it nQt been for the Navy move It does, on any
long-term basis, provide for a more cost-effective and efficient utili-
zation of space when we move NASA people into consolidated quarters
As General Curtin pointed out, we would be looking for new tenants
and I would have separate negotiations, if that were to occur with the
Navy, in terms of what type of reimbursement we could get in such
a termination.
Mr FUQUA General, what is the total estimated cost of modifi-
cation to launch the shuttle, that is, including the R & D operations
program?
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General CURTIN To launch complex 39, Mr Ohairman?
Mr FUQUA Yes, sir
General CURTIN After this year's program, there is an additional
$43 to $50 million that would provide essentially for pad B, additional
cells in the VAB, and some minor work on the launch control center
but that, coupled with the $19 million in here, and I think it was $48
million, something like that, in prior years, yes, $48 million in prior
years makes the total,
Mr FUQUA If that amount has been authorized, how much of the
$48 million has been obligated?
General CURTIN Of the $48 million, let's see, I have that in here,
Mr. Chairman.
Let me put my hand on the obligation figure
I will have to furmsh that I do not have in here I cannot locate
it right now
Mr LILLY We will furmsh it for the record
[The information follows]
Question If that amount has been authorized, how much of that has been
obligated, of the $48 5 million?
Answer Of the $48 5 million authorized to date for Launch Complex 39, $27 0
million has been obligated as of December 31, 1975 An additional amount of
approximately $12 million is scheduled to be obligated by the end of the transition
quarter or September 30, 1976 The balance of the project will be substantially
obligated during FY 1977
Mr FUQUA Do you have any idea when the remainder of the $48
million will be obligated?
General CURT1N As I indicated earlier, the heavy work in prior
years will be obligated between now and the end of this fiscal year
We will have heavy obligations of funds down there and that will
pretty well apply across the board The prior year's work is moving
very well
Let me get a figure here, if I can
At Kennedy, in prior years, for example, we had $117 million
appropriated and there is $35 million in this year's program, making
a program of $152 million so far The obligations at Kennedy which
includes the launch complex 39, to the end of December of last year
was $63 2 million, that is 54 percent of it
By the time we move into fiscal year 1977, çur estimated is that
$102 6 of the $117 1 million will be obligated So the next few months
will see rather heavy obligations Then we will have about $10 or $12
million carryover into 1977 from the prior year's money, which will
be mainly some of the minor phases of the pad "A" and some of the
contingencies that will be unobligated at that time, Mr Chairman
Mr FUQUA There is authorized approximately $3 9 million for the
mating facilities at the Dryden Center and at Palmdale in the 1976
authorization act.
You indicated at that time that you had considerable discussion
concerning the requirement for these facilities, and also, I assume,
for similar facilities at KSC
I believe you did intend to have similar facilities at Kennedy, did
you not?
General CURTIN That is correct, Mr Chairman
Mr FUQUA What has happened now that you made a decision not
to have a mating facility at Palmdale since you can transport the
orbiter overland from one place to another?
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Mr. LILY. Let me clarify that, Mr. Chairman.
There have been no decisions yet We are studying it and we have
filed an environmental impact statement When these are completed
in another 45 days to 60 days, we will make that decision based on
the facts that we have at that time
In terms of the contracts for the two facilities-one at the Dryden
Flight Research Center and one at Palmdale, we contracted for the
effort at the Flight Research Center and we took an option on the
Palmdale one. At this point in time, we will not execute that contract.
We have provided for the steel; that steel will be used for the one
at Kennedy.
Mr. FUQUA. That was my next question, if you made the decision
not to proceed with Palmdale, you can transfer that steel to Kennedy?
General CURTIN The steel and the hoist are the two items and they
are common to both facilities, Mr Chairman
Mr FUQUA You have budgeted for modifications of crew training
facilities at Johnson in the amount of $780,000 for water immersion
facilities for astronaut training
How much did that similar facility at that Marshall Center cost?
General CURTIN As I recall the figure, the total cost, including the
equipment, Mr Chairman, was $1 1 million
Mr. FUQTJA. For the Marshall facility?
General CURTIN. Yes.
Mr. FUQUA. What is the estimated cost of modification, actually
required to the Marshall facility, to meet the JSC needs?
General CURTIN It is a relatively modest future I think it is on the
order of $300,000-$400,000 as I recall, Mr Chairman
Mr FUQUA $300,000
General CURTIN I think that is correct, but actually, we looked
at it very carefully, and we concluded that the new project that is
in this book for $780,000 for Johnson was the best way to go, largely
because of the overall costs involved The problems and cost-moving
of people back and forth in a very articulate and heavy training
program, the cost effectiveness of using the Marshall facilities, even
though the facility costs are smaller was higher than the proposal
to go forward with this new facility at Johnson That was the reason
why this facility is in here
Mr FTJQUA You mean travel costs and per diem would be more
than the additional facilities cost for that period of time, 2 to 3 years?
General CURTIN I have forgotten the exact span of the study, but
it was more than 2 or 3 years
It was out over the life of the program, as I recall, but in addition,
there is another factor that has to be brought out, the Marshall
facility, because of the greater depth of 45 feet would require modi-
fications every time you went in there to make a setup
In order to keep the level of exposure for the training at something
of, let us say, 25 feet, it is not an ideal facility for this purpose at all,
and that one at Marshall is tailored to the specific program at hand
Mr FUQUA I do not see the difference
General CURTIN Again, in setting up the experiments, the experi-
ments have to be carried out at a nominal depth to achieve the
optimum neutral buoyancy level Also when putting the test article
in there, the test article can sml~, and they would have to build a
platform inside of the tank, and this would cause increasing opera-
tional problems, because of the increased depths in the one at Marshall.
PAGENO="0890"
888
The primary reason of this one was the extra cost associated with
people
Mr FUQUA How much training will be required for this, in terms
of hours per week of astronauts?
General CURTIN I do not have that data, Mr Chairman I can
furnish the whole file, if I may, for the record. The study, which
speaks to the number of people involved and the hours of training
that are to be conducted, is available if that is suitable to you I
would be glad to do that
Mr FUQUA I would hope that you would, because we were in
Marshall Friday, and apparently their program use for that facility
is very small
General CURTIN That is correct Their program use is not for the
full capability of the facility That is correct
Mr. FUQUA. It just seems to me that you could build facilities out
of this rather than have the others go in with a great deal of effort
With a small amount of per diem back and forth. It is hard for me to
understand the conclusions that you have arrived at
I just do not understand why we have to spend almost $1 million
to build another facility, to modify the one at Johnson, when we have
one already available that we paid a lot of money for
General CURTIN I understand your concern, Mr Chairman, and
I would hope this report, that the study-it is not a study, it is a
report and that would answer those questions adequately
Mr FUQUA Has procurement been initiated for the $3 9 million?
General CURTIN. I believe it has. I can only say that my notes
show that it is for delivery early in 1978. It is an entry that I have.
I would like to confirm whether it has been obligated or not, but it
has to be provided by Rockwell for delivery early in 1978, and that
is why the facility work for this project would be completed in late
1977 in order to accept this
Mr FUQUA Mr Downing?
Mr DOWNING I thank both of you gentlemen for very compre-
hensive and interesting statements
We have several exciting things going down at Langley Research
right now and which I am quite proud of, the transonic facility in the
Space Applications Building, that is real exciting, and now this
refuse-fired steam generator which is unique, and I would like to build
up the record a little bit on that because of the uniqueness
As I understand it, the Department of Defense is contributing
$800,000 to the city of Hampton, Va, approximately $5 million and
NASA, $2 5 million
Is that correct?
General CURTIN That would be the portions in which the $8 4
million, Mr Dowmng, would be furnished
For the record, the Air Force appropriations last year, in fiscal
1976, was actually $900,000 despite the fact that their commitment
to this program was $800,000, so I do not want to confuse, but they
do have that money on hand
The $2 million, that is in this year's program, coupled with $37,000
that NASA has already put in the planning of this to make up the
NASA investment, and then the balance of a little over $5 million
would be the city investment
PAGENO="0891"
889
In the statements we have from the city as to their ability to
finance their portion, the statement basically said we can give you
assurances now that we can match the Government input and we will
then provide the balance by a revenue bond which we will raise later.
The details of this are to be worked out when the planning proceeds
further in the facility.
Mr. DOWNING. But the contract, and so forth, that has already
been written, so that that can be implemented.
General CTJRTIN. Yes, sir, sufficient agreements have been reached
with the city.
We have a final agreement between ourselves and the city now
which has been staffed at our headquarters and which is back at
Langley now for the final clarification with the city on some of the
operating details. We do have the letters of intent from the city as to
need, and as to their intent to proceed.
Mr. DOWNING. When do you think this will be in operation?
General CURTIN. I have that. Just a minute, Mr. Chairman.
It will be operational in December 1978 or January 1979, that is
our present guess, recognizing that we just really are in the process
now of selecting the architect-engineer and we have only the prelimi-
nary engineering done on this facility, but that is our present estimate.
Mr. DOWNING. Who in the scheme of things will be responsible
for the operation and maintenance?
General CURTIN. Under the agreement we are now working on,
the city of Hampton would take over the operation and maintenance
of this facility on a 20-year permit from ourselves and they may do
this by contract operations.
The Government would retain title to the facility. When the
facility is built, title would pass to NASA at Langley, and we would
retain title and permit it back to the city. That is the present arrange-
ment we have been working on.
Mr. DOWNING. As I understand it, all of the refuse from the city
and the Government will be put into this generator and converted
to steam?
General CURTIN. That is correct.
The Air Force has something like 20 tons a day, we have about 5,
and the city at the present time has something like 150 tons a day,
and they are planning that that will expand by another 50 tons a day
downstream in the next, say, 8 or 10 years, and so the idea is that
this will take all of the regional refuse.
There are some preliminary discussions with some of the peripheral
communities at the present time to use the excess capacity that we
will have near term for them, so that we will be running at full capa-
city, and those discussions are proceeding.
I think it is a very unique regional arrangement.
Mr. DOWNING. Will the capacity to accommodate the surrounding
communities be adequate?
General CURTIN. In the early days, as I indicated earlier, we are
figuring about 175 tons will be the present joint usage by the city of
Hampton, the Air Force and NASA per day, and we are building into
this one another 50 tons of capacity, and there have been some dis-
cussions with other communities that pending the buildup of the city
of Hampton's requirements they could use this, so we could operate
at full capacity.
PAGENO="0892"
890
Mr. DowNING. That is just fine.
I want to congratulate you. I hope it works, and I hope it is a
forerunner of many others to come.
General CURTIN. This has been NASA's interest in this for some
time, Mr. Chairman. When one looks at the degree to which the use
of refuse for energy has gone in Europe, you have to wonder why we
have not proceeded further in this country, and one of our hopes is
that this will be sort of an impetus to this application. Just in round
figures, over 100 applications of this in Europe have been identified.
There are only four or five in this country. You should look at
that in terms of savings and the environmental problems. We will be
getting out of the marginal landfill, which we are in down in the tide-
water area, and we have to be very careful about leaching into the
tidal basin. That in itself is a big driver. The energy driver of 2.9 or 3
million gallons per year that this will save in fuel oil and the elimination
of the "bird strike" problem of the Air Force. Then you consider all of
that along with solving a regional problem, it really is, in my judgment
a significant endeavor and one I would, as an individual, like to see
more of.
Mr. DOWNING. Thank you. I congratulate you.
What will happen to the residue?
General CURTIN. There will be some residue, but the residue will be
basically inert, and its disposal will be in our operating costs. This will
be disposed of in the city's present landfill operation, but it will be a
very small amount.
It will be inert, have no odor, and will not attract birds, and that
will solve that problem.
Mr. DOWNING. Thank you.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you, Mr. Downing.
General Curtin, let me state that one of the things that disturbs me,
has disturbed me for a long time, is that we are still trying to get rid of
solid wastes the way we did 100 years ago with all of the technological
development that we have had in other areas, and we have never
applied it to this area.
I am certainly glad that NASA is using some of its expertise in this
project.
Mr. FUQUA. General, in the modification of the SRSB facility at the
cape, last year we authorized $5.2 for the modification of the Air Force
Titan III solid motor assembly building, and this year you are asking
for $9.7, which is around $14 million total.
General CURTIN. That is correct.
Mr. FUQUA. I understand you have changed your plans, now, you
are going to do this with vertical assembly building, rather than at the
Air Force Titan III facility.
General CURTIN. That is correct.
Mr. FUQUA. What difference in scope and cost from the original plan
is this?
General CURTIN. Actually, it so happens that the $5.2 million, to go
back, if I may, the $5.2 million was presented to the committee in the
context that we would need, as I think the record showed, $8 million
to $10 million more at the Air Force site, something on that order. Then
subsequently, as the design of the SRB's proceeded, our concern for
the possible safety in the `STAB could be reassessed, and reappraised,
and that is what was done.
PAGENO="0893"
891
It was recognized earlier, that if we could have used the VAB, it
could have been a more effective long-term operation because of the
consolidation of activities. However, safety then being an overriding
concern, and knowing what we knew at that time, the decision was
made that then would not be the prudent thing to do, so we went to
the Air Force facilities. As the design developed, we have been able to
reassess that, and the degree of our concern for the potential hazard
has been reduced. This permitted us to reconsider the VAB, and, as I
indicated earlier, it will provide us with better overall operations.
We have taken the $5 million and reoriented it to do the first phase
of the priority work at the VAB. This $9.7 million, that is in this pro-
gram, has been integrated in that, and is a follow-on program so that
the two figures combined represent a total cost of this total operation.
Mr. FUQUA. How much of the $5.2 was spent on the design of the
original proposal, planning and designs?
General CURTIN. Yes, I could give you that.
There was about $66,000 that I can specifically identify as, shall we
say, "lost effort" on the previous endeavor.
There was another $150,000, Mr. Chairman, some of which we may
be able to reuse, because it was internal functional building blocks, and
so it is something in the order of say the $66,000 and maybe $75,000
or more.
It is a hard one to determine.
Mr. FUQUA. You say this will result in savings?
General CURTIN. It will be more efficient in long-term operation. I
have not seen that quantified in dollars, but definitely it will be more
efficient because of the distances involved, if nothing else.
Mr. FUQUA. And you do not envision that there will be any more
risk to the VAB, we will not put it (theVAB) in orbit some day, will
we?
General CURTIN. No, sir, from what I understand from the people
that I have a lot of confidence in, the answer to that question is no.
Mr. FUQUA. General, yesterday we were in Houston and had a
chance to be briefed on the lunar sample curatorial facility, and that is
quite an elaborate plan that they have in that building, $180 a square
foot, a little more than that.
Last year, you know, we deferred that until NASA had accomplished
some more planning about possible distribution (of the samples) into
other areas, which you have done, I understand.
General CURTIN. 15 to 20 percent, but 15 is our present planning,
Mr. Chairman.
Mr. FUQUA. And which I think is good, and I think it reflects the
feeling of the Committee to disburse them rather than to have them
all in one place.
As I say, they had a model there, and we looked at its very elaborate
facilities. Can we not scale that thing down to more reasonable costs?
General CURTIN. Well, I think the history of that may be helpful,
Mr. Chairman.
I would like to correct for the record the exact price, but it seems
to me when this first emerged, we were dealing with something on
the order of $5 to $5~ million and, I think, that probably could
have been termed at that time elaborate, although it depends on what
set of eyes you are looking through at these facilities. We scaled it
down, we have scaled it down to about $2~4 million last year, and this
PAGENO="0894"
892
year, as design was proceeding, we set a dollar limit on it. That
would include last year's limitation plus escalation, basically, and
they have had some difficulty in holding to that. I would be very
candid with you, the cost of this facility has been of considerable
concern to me and to those of us who are responsible for managing
this design effort.
I think in looking at it, I come back to a feeling, there is nothing
else that I could measure this against. There is nothing quite like it.
When one considers that we have this large vault which is an
extremely heavy structure, elevated above the ground, if you will,
the doors, the structures, the air conditioning for that vault, you
have roughed out something like $960,000. It is not cheap.
Essentially, we are dealing with a special bank vault, and then we
looked at other special features in this facility that you would not
have except for its planned use as a lunar curatorail facility, and
again, recognizing there is a lot of judgment in these things as to how
you prorate these costs, I came up with another $670,000 costs. You
can argue with those but this brings the cost of the facility down
into the $75 to $85 a square foot range if you want to use square
feet as a measure. That is still on the high side of the range of what
a good laboratory would cost. We are proceeding with the design. We
are finalizing the design now and as you know from your visit we
will have the final design review shortly and I am hopeful that we
have done a sufficiently good job in the design that we will get some
good bids on this thing.
I do not know what more I could say about this, except it has
been of concern to me in working with it, and I have not been able
to grasp ahold of anything to say that this specific element is too high.
Mr. FTJQUA. One of the things, I think it is a 27-inch-thick concrete
building.
General CURTIN. Yes.
Mr. FUQUA. I realize we need to protect to the utmost, and in no
way do I think the committee wants to have anything ever happen
to these very, very valuable samples and contributions and of interest
to the scientific community, that is absolutely tremendous, but to me,
we have never had earthquakes in that area.
I am not an engineer, but even if an airplane crashed into it, I do
not think it would go through that building, we do not even have that
type of construction in our bunkers, do we?
General CURTIN. Yes; some of them, if I may speak to the vault.
When we first asked, what do you do for the vault, we just went to
standard bank vault, a regular bank standard.
You can say maybe we should have used something else, but that is
basically what we have tried to do.
Mr. FUQUA. That is a standard bank vault, 27 inches?
General CURTIN. That is the standard, yes, and I have not personally
checked back with the bank standards, but I believe it is, and then, of
course, there are different levels of bank standards, and this is the
highest level that the bank standards would require. That was what
was used, because it was a standard in the existing specifications, if you
would.
Mr. FUQUA. I still have concern whether even this much concrete
would still be too much at that one location.
PAGENO="0895"
893
We have looked at a blockhouse at Huntsville, 600 feet above sea
level, and as a matter of fact, it is a very similar looking building.
General CURTIN. I think that is the same one we looked at.
Mr. FUQTJA. I understand it was looked at. It is off by itself, the
security is reasonable there, and I was wondering, what the validation
statements and so forth that you have had on other sites consisted of
when you decided against some of the other areas. Could you provide
that for the committee?
General CURTIN. As a quick observation', I will not say it was
studied, but it was considered. It was one of the possible alternatives'.
considered. It was one of the things that was looked at. In all of the
discussions I have had, no one has ever come up with a suggestion as
to another location that seemed to have merit, when you consider that
the support and the other activities that JSC as a center provides to
this activity. If you consider this activity by itself, then you can
probably find other alternate solutions, but when you relate it to that
integrated support effort which it needs, which is a very highly scien-
tific effort and a very responsive one, it is difficult to find an environ-
ment or another university or organization that could take on this
responsibility.
Mr. FUQUA. Does it appear, within the scientific community, that
interests and examination of these rocks has leveled off, or is it in-.
creasing, or decreasing?
What is the level of investigation?
General CURTAIN. I guess the data I have seen would lead me to the
conclusion that it is sort of leveling off.
The figure, if you use a figure of principal investigators, it has been
varying from the 110 presently to, I think, 124 last year, and I guess
it is how you count those, but I have seen no figures that vary from
that.
I think related to that question is the profound feeling on the part
of the scientists concerned with it that to get the return from the
investment, we have to embark on a really long-term research of these
samples. It is not going to be something we will do overnight, and it is
a long-term aspect of. it which I think has been the overriding concern
here.
If it will be something that we will be working on, maybe 20, 50
years to get the most out of it, that is what we can look to, at least,
that is what comes through to me.
Mr. FUQUA. I know that they have created more samples that you
can imagine, we have seen some here in the committee room, and I
am not referring to those, of course.
General CURTAIN. Of course, the re-creation of those samples then
is one of the things that has compounded the problem.
It seems to me there were about 2,000 individual samples when the
original material came back, and I think they have something like
46,000 today, and each year they are making another 5,000 or 6,000
or 8,000 new samples which have to be cataloged, indexed and kept
track of, which makes this a very, very complex operation.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you very much, General. We have a few minutes,
and we will now hear from Mr. Mossinghoff.
Mr. MOSSINGHOFF. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am very pleased
to discuss with you the general provisions of the NASA AuthorizationS
70-079 0 - 76 - 57
PAGENO="0896"
894
Act, 1977, which NASA recommended to the Congress on January 21,
1976.
That bill, as you know, has been introduced as H.R. 11573.
As Dr. Fletcher pointed out in his letter of January 21, 1976, to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, the bill follows generally
the format of last year's Authorization Act, Public Law 94-39.
The general provisions of H.R. 11573, and specifically subsections
1(d), 1(e), 1(f) and 1(g), and sections 2 through 6 are identical with
those of Public Law 94-39.
The bill differs, however, in several ways from thai prior act:
First, subsections 1(a), 1(b), and 1(c), which would provide the
authorization to appropriate for the three NASA appropriations,
differ in the dollar amounts and/or the line items for which authoriza-
tion to appropriate is requested..
Second, section 7 of Public Law 94-39, which provided authorization
for appropriations to be available in the 3-month transition period
between fiscal years 1976 and 1977 has been deleted.
Third, section 8 of the prior act, which amended the National
Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 and is, therefore, permanent law,
has been omitted.
Fourth, in addition to providing authorization of appropriations in
the amounts recommended by the President in his budget `for fiscal
year 1977, the bill also would provide in section 7 authorization for
appropriations to be available in fiscal year 1978. It is specified that
all of the limitations and other provisions of the bill applicable to
amounts appropriated pursuant to section 1 shall apply in the same
manner to amounts appropriated pursuant to section 7.
As Dr. Fletcher stated in his January 21 letter to Chairman Teague,
* the amounts for fiscal year 1978 which are included in section 7 are
* based on the "run-out" projections of the fiscal year 1977 program
plus $90 million to accommodate new follow-on activities. The fiscal
year 1978 amounts include no provision for future inflation.
Fifth, section 8 of the bill would amend paragraph 15 of 5 U.S.C.
5316 to increase by one-from six to seven-the number of "Associate
Administrators, National Aeronautics and Space Administration"
which are included in level V of the executive schedule. Enactment of
this section of the bill will enable the Administrator of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration to establish a new position of
"Associate Administrator/Comptroller" at level V of the executive
schedule, in recognition of the fact that under NASA's present
organizational arrangements the roles and responsibilities of the
Comptroller are comparable in importance and authority to other
NASA positions currently included within level V of the executive
schedule. Among other things, the NASA Comptroller is responsible
for budget preparation, resources control, financial management,
supply and equipment management and overall control of NASA's
construction-of-facilities program.
Sixth, section 9 of the bill would amend the law which established
the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel-Public Law 90-67, August
21, 1967-to permit members of the panel to be com~pensated at the
same rate. Compensation for Panel members is currently limited to
$100 per day, whereas NASA experts and consultants hired pursuant
to section 203(c) (9) of the Space Act (42 U.S.C. 2473) may be paid up
to the maximum payable to a GS-18 under the General Schedule,
PAGENO="0897"
895
approximately $145 per day. When the $100 per diem rate for Panel
members was originally established, it matched the amount then
payable to NASA's experts and consultants. However, the $100
limit as to experts and consultants was changed by section 6 of the
NASA fiscal year 1975 Authorization Act (88 Stat. 243). Legislation
necessary to effect a similar ähange in the statute controlling the pay
of Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel members was not submitted at
that time. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement, Thank you,
very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you. In section 6 of the bill is the language for
the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite Services. In reviewing that
language, what is your interpretation as to commitment of NASA
to this subcommittee?
Mr. M0sSINOH0FF. That section is identical with the provision that
was enacted in last year's bill, Mr. Chairman. Specifically included in
the last sentence on page 11 of the bill is the provision that: "The
authority of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to
enter into and maintain the contract authorized hereunder shall
remain in effect as long as provision therefor is included in acts
authorizing appropriations to National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration for subsequent fiscal years."
It is very clearly laid out in that provision that this authority will
lapse upon enactment of any subsequent authorization act which
does not include the TDRSS authorization. As Dr. Fletcher clearly
stated in his testimony, NASA is committed to come back to the
committee after we have selected a contractor and have decided
upon the terms of that contract, to brief the committee fully on the
contract and the costs and other details of that contract, before that
contract is signed.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you.
There is no language anticipated in relation to space operations
authority in this fiscal year?
Mr. MOSSINGHOFF. That is right, Mr. Chairman. The Office of
General Counsel is working with Mr. Yardley and Mr. Lilly on what
such legislation might do, whether it is needed and, if so, the scope of
that legislation. A decision was made when we put this bill together
that we would continue that effort, which would also include a con-
sideration of various possible financing methods, and that we would
defer such a bill for submission at a later time.
We did not want to rush something up here that we had not thought
through completely, and the timing is such that we did not need it in
this bill. But we are working on this, and we will be coming through
with something, I am sure, before the end of the year.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you very much.
The next meeting will be tomorrow at 11 a.m. on future space
opportunities.
We have not found a room yet. We are running tight, but we hope
to notify the members as soon as we can find a room.
The next hearing of the committee will be on Thursday at 10 a.m.,
in this room, 2318.
The committee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, the committee was recessed at 12:05 p.m.J
[Questions and answers submitted for the record follow. Also see
Volume I, Part 3, for additional questions and answers.]
PAGENO="0898"
896
MATERIAL REQUESTED FOR THE RECORD ON PAGE 56, LINE 8, B~ CONGRESSMAN FUQUA
DURING fl~ HEARING ~FORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICA-
TIONS ON FEERUARY 1.7
QUESTION:
How much training will be required for this, in terras of hours per week
per astronaut?
ANSWER:
When astronauts are training for a mission, two crews, each crew con-
sisting of two astronauts, will, be training in parallel and will require
water immersion training. Each crew may require actual in-tank training
of up to five sessions per week. Each session is of two hour duration.
These time lines reflect actual. in-tank training requirements and do not
include preparation and set-up times estimated at two hours for every
in-tank training hour. Over and above these specific missions require-
ments, crews and mission specialists undergo immersion training for
orientation and for proficiency in certain tasks that are common for all
missions.
This training is conducted in conjunction with and as an integral part of
other vital training ~sessions. Specifically, the Water Ensuersion Facility
would be utilizàd about 35.7 hours per week in the early phase of the
Shuttle program. This includes training time for individuals, crews, pro-
cedures development test set-up and maintenance. Utilization will greatly
increase as the flight rate increases to the extent that certain training
activities will have to be scheduled at MSFC. The planned Sh~.ittle flight
schedules and the requirements for this training are such that ~he proposed
facility will be fully utilized for the life of the Shuttle program. In
addition, all EVA payloads development and some overflow crew training
will be done at MSFC.
Detailed planning for training of astronauts has been accomplished and all
facility requirements necessary to support the eight week training cycle
have been defined. Enclosure #1 contains a summary of a representative
training schedule for the Space Shuttle crews.
The principal use of the Water Immersion Facility will be in support of
Extra Vehicular Activities (EVA). Planning for EVA training has also
been accomplished and has been synchronized with other Shuttle training
in the zero-gravity environment and in the onS-"G" regime. Information
concerning this training is attached as Enclosure #2.
PAGENO="0899"
FLIGHT PLANNING AND TRAINING
OBJECTIVE: ACHIEVE BASIC 8 WEEK TURNAROUND CYCLE DURING OFT
RATIONALE: REQUIRED TO SUPPORT FLIGHT RATES IN EXCESS OF SIX FLIGHTS
PER YEAR
8 WEEK CYCLE IS BASIS FOR ALL POP MANPOWER ESTIMATES TO
SUPPORT LATE OFT, TRANSITION., AND OPERATIONS
: ALLOWS PILOT AND COMMANDER TO SUPPORT SIX FLIGHTS PER
YEAR
PAGENO="0900"
- 42
-20
- 57
- 35
-6
- 15
LEGEND
~EV('IVItY
0 SIMULATOR ACTIVITY
~. INTEGRATED SIMULATION
o
*~W0RKDAY
0 SLJPWRY FLIGHT PLAN
0 DETAILED FLIGHT PLAN
(.
TYPICAL
TRAINING CYCLE
REPEAT MISSIONS
WITH EVA
TOTAL TRAINING HOURS - iz~ (
EVA TRAINING
SYSTEMS TRAINING
SIMULATION
REVIEWS
PAD SUPPORT
TRAINER OPS
o FLIGHT PLAN RELEASE
0 FLIGHT ~TA FILE RELEASE
-1 . . V//A
18 7 6 5 4 3. 2. I.F0PS~I
~ LAUNCH
ó1 LANDING
POSTFUGNT SUPPORT (8)
~ POSTFLIGHT SUPPORT (8)
(2), 1-G TNR (4)
6)
.4
I'
(6)
TRAINING (KSC) (2) (
OH/ENTRY SIMS (8)
STA TNG (2), FLT SYS (2), FLT
TECH (4)
~L.
.1
ORBIT OPS SIM:(8)
YSTEMS SIN (6)
~-G TNR (1), FLT PROFILE SIN (7)
OPS SIN (8)
FLT PLAN/PCD REV (5)
EVA 1-G/ItlU SIN (6)
OPS SIN (8)
PAGENO="0901"
(
o PUSS PLAN RELEASE
0 PUSS ORTA FILE RELEASE
18 1 654 3 2
L~
~ LMSZRU A t~u~n
A ~ SUPPORT (6) ~WIF (2), 14 TAN (4) APAD SUPPORT (6)
A PRSTPLSSIT SUPPORT (I) A DICAL,CAP REVIEW (6)
A A ...DSTA TRAITOIRE (UsC) (2)
A~j 0-vIF (2), 515 SIR (4) ~LNJ8OI/INTRY SIRE (6)
A Russ ~ REVIEW (8 IS) sm TAN (z), ~ sss (2); ~sx
A auss `us' ISYSEW (8) 0] ~ (4)
~`EVA CLASSlESS/ALlAN (6) ~ ~tj (5), SYS REV (6) ORBIT UPS SIR(S)
1~ 8SF (2), ITS REV (6) A OSYSTEMS Sill (6)
* A & WIF(4) 0 1-0 TUB (1), PLT P8IPILESIN (7)
* A A ~ORBITOPSSSU(8)
* ~ 8SF (2). 14 TAN (6~ 8SF (2), PLTPLMVPCD RE! (6)
jSEYAJ4/IANJSSIR(6)
IN ORBIT OPS $111 (8)
`1.~WtF (4)
~`8If(t), 585 REV (6) ~WIF (2), PCO REV(S)
`VS LAN 14PIIIISIIR (6) VS ENlISt EITRYSSM La)
2.
V//A
AtAw.dN
~UIIO!NI 0]
POST.1.SLAT SUPPORT (8) A,WIF (2), 1-6 TAN (4) A pso SUPPORT (6)
A PLSTFLSGO SUPPORT C~J A AMEDICAUCAP REVILE (6)
A A .OSTA, TRAISINU ~ics~ (24
A.- - 0"WIF (2), 585 SIR (4) aLANNdV/VUUY SIPT (A)
A PLIOIS PLAN REVIEW (6 BR) ,,,,() STE TAN (fl, FLY SY~ ); ItT
A FLIGHT PLAN REYSEW (8) 0] J-1-J ` ~
`~`EVA CLASS/LAN/N. TSR (6) `a 8SF (2), ITS RET (6) )~j (OBITEPS SIA*(b~
~ 6SF 12), 525 REV (6) A OSYSTESS SIN (6)
A &WSF(4) 0 1-OTRE (1), PLT PUIFILE SIR (7)
A A &~I ORBIT UPS 5151 (6)
* r'T4E 6SF (2), 14158 (6) NSF 0z. PLTPUWPCD 0EV (6)
* `a EVA 1.6/SRI SIll (U)
A INORBITOPSSIN(8)
A - ~YWIF(4)
~WIF (2), ITS REV (6) 2fr 6SF (2), PCD ANY (A)
`~LAA14/IRRlSIN(6) ~LAURCNEUTaTSS1s(8)
o FLIOS PLAN
0 SSM~ PLIANT PLAN
REPEAT MISSIONS WITH EVA
12 FLIGHTS/YEAR
NOPE: FACILITIES TIME NOT OTrILIZED PC)
FLIGHT SPECIFIC TRAINING WILf~ B!
UTILIZES FOB PROFICIENCY AND
INITIAL CREW TRAINING:
REVI~
SYSTB!~
TEST SUPPORT
SIB!JLAI'ORS
ITAINRES
GDRIPLT
160
270
20
350
100
900
ME PS
270 20
160 10
20 -
150 50
3~I~
770 150
8 ~ 5 1 ~ 1 ~
FLIGHT SPECIFIC FACILITY
UTILIZATION - 1 CALENDAR NORTH
NIP 13 2 )L5) PENIODS
ETA 2 - 2 Hf PENIODS
SIx 8 - 8 sr P~o~s
`its 6 - 1~_~; ~. PENIODS
PAGENO="0902"
i8116Is14131.21T~r~ TMINING~c~c~~
BEREAT MISSIONS WITH (EVA)
i8 FLIGHTS/TEAR
NOTE: 18 FLIGHTS/TEAR FOR
PRACTICAL LIMIT OF
SERIAL APPROACH SUBSE~JEHT
BJTES INITIATE SIGNIFIC*PI~
PARALLEL ACTIVITY.
FLIGHT SPECIFIC FACILITY UTILIZATION -
1 CALMDAR MONTH
WIF 17 2 HR PERIODS
STA 15 - 2 10 PERIODS
SIN 12 - 8 10~ PERIODS
THE 8 - IA ~ PERiODS
(2), $15 RET (6)
Apas SUPPORT (6)
_AM(alcaL,rr TEV(2R OS)
..0AIa TVAaRIti~ (ott) (0)
~ R204/ETTRV 5Z'.St (RI
!= ITO 60 (0) O~.I TOT (:); IS
TWA T~
ORBIT V'S TOs.(U(
Osysms $PP (A)
1-V 11* (1). 5.2 ~ 5,6 ~
ORBIT UPS SIR 50)
VU (2). FLTPSMRTCB 12? 06)
.j5 EVA 1-1/)06 SIB (6)
-~ ORBIT BPS SIR (6)
VI? (4)
-~ 6!? (2), PER REV Cl)
$2LAuNIRaT$VI1R~$)
PAGENO="0903"
FLIGHT SPECIFIC PLANNING AND TRAINING CONCEPT
o SERIAL APPROACH RESULTS IN MINIMUM OPERATIONS MANPOWER
o SERIAL APPROACH BASIS FOR FLIGHT OPERATIONS MANNING AND CAN BE
MAINTAINED UP TO FLIGHT RATES OF APPROXIMATELY 18 PER YEAR
MINIMIZES TURNAROUND AND RECONFIGURATION ON A DAILY BASIS
- MINIMIZES REQUIREMENTS ON PERSONNEL TO BE WORKING MORE THAN A
SINGLE MISSION SIMULTANEOUSLY
- MINIMIZES CONFLICTS BETWEEN FLIGHT OPERATIONS AND FLIGHT PLANNING
AND TRAINING
o TRAINING PERSONNEL PERFORM THREE FUNCTIONS
- CLASSROOM TRAINING
SIMULATOR AND TR1~INER
- FLIGHT CONTROLLER OPERATIONS POSITIONS
PAGENO="0904"
FLIGHT SPECIFIC PLA ~1~G AND TRAINING
IMPACT OF EXTENDING TRAINING BASIC CYCLE
o REQUIRES OVERLAP OF FLIGHT SPECIFIC TRAINING ACTIVITIES
DISRUPTS BASIC CYCLE OF TRAINING PERSONNEL
- REQUIRES MORE TRAINING TO MAINTAIN PROFICIENCY
- PRECLUDES BASELINES SIX FLIGHTS PER YEAR FOR PRIME FLIGHT CREW
-* REQUIRES MODIFICATION OF PLANNING CYCLE
o SECONDARY EFFECTS
* INCREASE IN PERSONNEL IN FOLLOWING AREAS
* TRAINING PERSONNEL
* TRAINING FACILITY SUPPORT PERSONNEL *
* AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE PERSONtIEL
* CREW SUPPORT SERVICE PERSONNEL (ADM, SEC, PERSONNEL)
- INCREASE IN SUPPORT FACILITIES
* T-38
- INCREASE IN SUPPORT FACILITIES OPERATING TIME DUE TO MORE FREQUENT
RECONFIGURATION AND T~NAROUND
PAGENO="0905"
SUMMARY
o LOWEST OPERATIONS COSTS DICTATE EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF
FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL
o SERIAL APPROACH COUPLED WITH HIGH REFLIGHT RATE FOR COMMANDER AND
PILOTS PROVIDES MOST EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL
o SERIAL APPROACH MUST BE OPERATIONAL BY THE END OF OFT
o SERIAL APPROACH WILL BE UTILIZED FOR FLIGHT RATES UP TO 18 PER YEAR.
MODIFICATIONS TO BASIC APPROACH FOR HIGHER FLIGHT RATES WILL BASICALLY
REQUIRE EXTENDING TO A TWO SHIFT A DAY BASIS
o THE ABOVE CONCEPT PROVIDES THE FLIGHT SPECIFIC TRAINING. THE INITIAL
CREW TRAINING AND PROFICIENCY TRAINING IS RUNNING IN THE BACKGROUND
- TOTAL INTEGRATION OF THE TRAINING AND FLIGHT PLANNING ACTIVITY WILL
NOT BE FULLY AcCOMPLISHED UNTIL CY1977
* INITIAL TRAININGJ HOWEVERJ MUST BE COMPLETED ON ALL CU~RENT
CREWMEN BY START OF OFT. THIS WILL ALLOW SOME FLEXIBILITY IN
SHAPING THE IRA! N ING PROGRAM FOR THE "NEW"\ CREWMEN AND THE
PROGRAM FOR PROFICIENCY MAINTENANCE AROUND THE BASIC 8 WEEK
(FLIGHT SPECIFIC) CYCLE
PAGENO="0906"
RECOMMENDATION
o PROVIDE SHUTTLE WIF FACILITY FOR JSC
C
- MAINTAINS INTEGRITY OF BASIC CONCEPT
* MINIMIZES OPERATIONS COSTS THROUGH EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION
OF PERSONNEL AND FACILITIES
PAGENO="0907"
FOD WIF REQUIREMENTS
o SHUITLE TRAINING OVERVIEW
* SHU1TLE EVA CAPABILITY
* SHU1TLE EVA TRAIN ING
* IMPACT.OF REMOTE WIF
DAVID C. SC~iUL12
AUGUST 26, ~i5
PAGENO="0908"
SHU1TLE TRAI NING PHILOSOPHY
1. FOD PERFORMS ALL TRAI N INC INSTRUCTION, PROCEDUR ES DEVELOPMENT,
TRAININGCOORDINATION/INTEGRATIONFOR PILOTSAND MISSION SPECIALISTS.
2. IRA IN INC FAC IL ITt ES BE ING DEFINED BY FOD ARE BASED ON MAX I MUM FEAS IBLE
UTILIZATION OF MINIMUMNUMBER OF FACILITIES.
.. CENTRALIZED TRAIN INC AT JSC REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE OPTIMAL USE OF CREW
TIME, SUPPORT PERSONNEL TIME, AND INTEGRATION OF TRAINING WITH
DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAM REQU IREMENTS, CREW ACTIVITY PLANNING,
AND PROCEDURES DEVELOPMENT.
C
DCS ~I1Y~
PAGENO="0909"
` is~4 n *~ ~ ~ ~; ~* ; a ~ DU16TEMIK~~
£FUDAT TINS KYKY
A rIss2oN IWAhIAC US?
A SYCATE AISSZAC INES
A GKY caias~ PUJSUv1Ev
A DCVIII 1SISSSSN III? LIST ~ LAIDOS DADWAT
A~n tussOU *ocEos*s
A DEVELOP DATA P0JIAGEP~Ifl PLIS A 51*116*1W
* A UPDATE STS SYSTDt'cItlD Ag A LM1CPI £16! $16
A A ACusITCAst$2*
* FLIGHT OPEDATIONS Pt*NAI1I IA LASJICIIFLJITAV 506
N. NEIUSIR16OP I
* £WIDII$1$S W~NJ~ L!T~~~0 ~
A *vuii ,uahr ~wawmi~s ______________
* . 16~ AlDYKY 57$ COPYIONSn(ISA `S
fr'-"-A STECIFT GADDED FACIlITY COhlIGONATION
* &
ADETAISSI PLIGIST PLAN
* *j ;.* AIAVEGAATED PLIGHT PINS
I AFUGHTDC*
1 * A,UOHIDATAFILEDEFIAITI*
LatIN? DATA Pitt 06116
7410 7411 74$ 7.DE 741 7-41 7.00 741 .7.10 740 741
El ELNACKUGAPLANUIA I
ATwAIDA P40 LIMOS 0161?
- Ar*ciuiv MI DATA FLIP 0601
A----~-------a FACILITY ~I0**flIP *00*1*
AFAcIUTIA$ SOEDW.t
AFACIUTY GAh0I PUD (a's)
£ IW*1601401IP $161? 0*40 KY.
MOUNDED RACCASI 15157*007
* LNCIUDEAMOU ____
£ *V1IIIRZS$1DI V~I06U6$ £ ADISION DATA SAID UPDATE
a ~ __ - a ONIDASUNfl 116107075.1500
a PWi~W'W 1tS~s amtvsss an~ niowi otsia
A INO1M1IIES MACVATS £ DLIII K$ZUNIIIDE*I
a w~a Full 1606 oocNDmhr *-
astovus 10601. WFP3IOPE
* * P1351? $57111 UPADVAL DCVIII
a~cYotas16
A 073111KM KYtala 11306
7.0
PAGENO="0910"
cFT/ops TRAINING RB~UIREMENTS
REQPPRRVtEF
CONDITIONS
VARIABLES
TRAINING
PROVISIONS
~
]PTIMENT&TION
1. Learn about the
ON102 Design
.
.
~
. Complex Systems
Extremely Sophis-
ticated Avionics
. Unparalleled Mix
of Complex Crew/
Software Involve-
ment
.
. Titneline
~
. Systems Interactions
- Normal
Abnornal
~
. Software/Systems
Interactions Con-
sidering Normal,
Abnormal, Failure
Cases, Glitches,
Etc.
. Systems Briefings
. FAN Manuals
* Normal and Mal-
function Proce-
dures Docunents
~
* Design and Per-
formance Data
~
. Classroom
* Self Study
* Participation in
Design and Program
Reviews and Tests
. Participation in
early engineering
aims
~
2. Develop Individ-
uaL Skills and
Knowledge to Oper
ate Systems
Same
:
Same Plus Individ-
ual Learning Abil-
ity
Closed Loop Sys-
tess Simulator
and Direct Access
to Expert Instruc
tions
CaS in Part Task
Mode
.~
C
3. Develop Skills
. Real Time Dynamic
. Nunber of Crewmen
* Closed Loop Part
. SPS
and Knowledge for
Various Mission
Phases
Situation Cou;led
With Systems
Operations
Involved
* C~ ~
Timeline
Systems and Tra-
jectory Failures
and Dispersions
~ttware OptIons
an". Operations
Task Simulator * Converted & updated
. Specialized In- OAR
pert Instructors
and/or Checklist
Managers
. Appropriate
Flight Data File
Articles, i.e.,
Checklists, etc.
.r~C ~.~/75
PAGENO="0911"
.
TRAINING
REQ~UIR~4ENT
CC~DITIONS
VAB~BIES
PROVISIONS
D4PI~NTATION
1k
Practice Full Mis.
sion With Total
Crew and Ground
Crew
. Real Time Dynamic
Situation
Cr
~
tL~~O
Active
. Timeline
Crew ~erfarmance
. Systems Performance
.
* Software Operations
. Closed Loop Sys-
teins and Flight
Sjinulator to Ernu-
late Vehicle and
Operational En-
virons~t
Full Mission or
Flight Simulator
.
.
~
* Real Time Mulfunc-
tion Practice
.
* AU Flight Phases
* Total ~
&ivêlcpe
* Critical Decisions
Involve launch,
~
~
~
s tion P s
and Scripts for
Normal and Failure
Situations
. Ground I/F
~.
Checklists
5. Coimnander/Pilot
Must Fly and Guide
Orbiter cii Pre-
*scribed Path to.
Precise Point cii
* Turbulence
.Winds
* GN&C Modes
Weight and Ca
Possibly weather
and visibility
* landing Site
Low Performance
Vehicle with Slow
Response
Unpowered descent
to a dead stick
landing. No glide
stretch, no gç~
around provision
Visibility en-
velcpe is re-
stricted
çY~
Real Flight En-
vironment
* Space G&N displays
auto and manual
* Handling qualities
for Orbiter con-
* trol modes, wts,
CG's
* Performance Char-
acteristics for wt
and CG variations
* Full motion simu-
lation
* Full fidelity 3D
living color
visual
Realistic physic-
logical cues
Shuttle Training
Aircraft (s~cA)
oCS ~7~75
I
PAGENO="0912"
(
orr/oes ThAINING ~tirs(com~.)
---U--
R~UIR1T
COAIDITI~S
VARIABlES
TRAINING
PRWISICt~S
Dela~EN]~ATI(~
6. Train crew and
support people for
EVA, HSICPG, pay-
load related aye-
tess and eli other
taSks not covered
abora
Syat~ns and opera-
tions highly situa-
ticn dependent as to
ccenple~ty of hard-
ware and operations
Sane as Coluasi 2
Specialized Instruc-
tion
One gravity trainer
Neutral buoyancy
facility S
* Specialtraining
hardware
* Use of actual flight
gear
-4
DCS 8126175
PAGENO="0913"
TOTAL SHUITLE TRAINING HOURSIWEEKS PER PiLOT
OFT 1200140
OPS
* INITIALPLANNEDEVA MISSION 1100137
* REPEAT PLANNED EVA MiSS ION 17516
* INiTIAL MISS ION, NO PLANNED EVA Ub0135
* REPEAT MISSION, NO PLANNED EVA 12513+
DCS 8126175
PAGENO="0914"
OFT CREW & FLIGHT CONTROLLER TRAINiNG SCHEDULE
1977 1978 1979 1980
J[FIMIAIMIJIJIAISJOINIO J1FIMIA~MIJIJI~~ISl01N1D .J[FIMIAIMIJIJ !AISI0INID JfF~N~A~M~JIJ1AJSIOl4pj
LAUNCHSCHEDULE Al £2 £3 £4 AS £6
~ INITIAL I SPECIFIC I SINS III
f INITIAL t SPECIFIC ~ I sj~]1~
INITIAL I SPECIFIC ~ I SI~11~
_______________________F
I SPECIFIC * SIMS]JL
i~PECIFIC.jS1MS 11F
I ORBITER ~R8ITER *~ 5fl15
OPS TRAINING A iNITIAL SPECIFIC
ISPEC .1 SIMSjJF
TRAiNiNG A ~ ORBITER ~RBITER
i INITIAL pPECIFIC' SIMS 11T
INITIAL I5PECIFICI SIMS ~j TSIMS SIMSII SDt~]1 t
INITIAL - SPECIFICI 0.31 j LSIMSII
S
FUGI
611 7,8
FLIGHT 2
**~ 3,U
$11 9.10
RIGHT 3
611 11,12
FLIGHT 4
P !~U
6111.2
FLIGHTS
P 9.10
8113,4
MS 13,14(17,18 811)
FLIGHT 6
-, 11.12
$115.6
MS 15.16(19,20 $11)
FLIGHT
C0NT~L
TEAM A'
*0~
* INCLUDES Pt T'~ALNING FUR FLIGHTS 2. 3, 4
(NO P1. ON FLIGHT 1)
* Pt/ORB INTERFACE TRAINING FOR FLIGHTS 5, 6.
MS IS MAINLY A P1. OPERATIONS PERSON AND TRAINING
IS FOZ INTERFACE WITH ORBITER SYSTEMS.
ALSO PFIME *110 BACKUP CREW TRAIN FOR INTERFACE WITH Pt.
A TIAINING NOT AT .ISC
DEFINITIONS
INITIAL : BASIC CLASSROCM/TPATNER/SINLLATOR
SYSTEMS BACKGROUN3 TRAINING
SPECIFIC: MISSION RELATED TRAINING AS
DEFINED BY .306 SYLLABI
SIMS FLIGHT UtIIQUE GROUP/TEAM TRAINING
DCS 8126175
PAGENO="0915"
WIF SCHEDULE
CV 77
)T~
I:
,
CV7b
~
CY79
FMCF
BEGIN TRAINING
TRAiNER CHECKC.UT
TRAINERDELV
CR1
I
V
I
I
V
*
.
L
.V
I
I
I
FACILITY PR&CEDI~RE
I
I
WIF CHECK&UT
1
1
WIFCCMPLETICN.
`P
WIF CONSTRUCT ICN
Ii
11
i
11
II
i
1
i
1
Ii
I ~
1*1
ii
I
PAGENO="0916"
A-S-74~11463
SPACE SHUTTLE EVA REQUIREMENTS
S IHE SPACE SHU1TLE WILL SAIl SP( THREE CLASSES OF EVA OPERATIONS
* L PLANNED EVA -THOSE ACTIVITIES PLANNED PRIOR TO LAUNCH TO COMPLETE A
SHU1TLE MISSION FUNCTION
* IL UNSCHEDULED EVA -THOSE ACTIVITIES WHICH ARE NOT PLANNED PRIOR TO THE
MISSION BUT WHICH MAY BE REQU IRED TO ACHIEVE PAYLOAD OPERATION SUCCESS
OR ENHANCE OVERALL MISSION SUCCESS
* III. CONTINGENCY EVA -ACT1VITIES REQUIRED FOR SAFE RETURN OF THE CREW - -
INSPECTiON, REMEDIAL OR RESCUEOPERATIONS.
PAGENO="0917"
~SAS-73~3865 B ~ ~2-1443
`PLANNED' EVA USES
* PAYLOAD PREPARATION
* DEPLOYMENT OR MANUAL ENGAGEMENT, I. a, SOLAR ARRAYS, ANTENNAS, ETC.
* ADJUSTMENT OF INSTRUMENTS
* ALINEMENTOF OPTICS
* RECONFIGURATION FOR REENTRY
* PAYLOAD SUPPORT
* RETRIEVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF FILM, COATINGS, EMULS IONS, ETC.
* MULTIPLE MISSION ~ERVICING OF FREE~FLYING SATELLITES SUCH AS LST, EOS
* REPLACEMENT OF BATFERIES
* CLEANINGOF LENS
* REPLACEMENT OF FAILED MODULES
PAGENO="0918"
UNSCHEDULED EVA OPERATIONS
PAYLOADS
1. DEPLOYMENT POSS I BLE THAT SOME PAYLOADS COULD BE RELEASED BY EVA
SURVEY, CORRECT DAMAGE DUR INC DEPLOYMENT
2. RETRIEVAL - SECURE PAYLOADS DOWN FOLLOWING RETRIEVAL
3. PAYLOAD SYSTEMS OR EXPERiMENT MODULE CHANGEOUT IMPLiES SOME
PRE-PLANN INC FOR FAILURES, AND AVAiLABILITY OF SPARES
4. REPAIRS, ADJUSTMENTS SIMPLE REPAIRS OR ADJUSTMENTS MAY RETURN A
PAYLOAD OPERATING MARGINALLY TO FULl OPERATIONAL LIFE
5. ANTENNA DEPLOYMENT LARGE, LIGHTWEIGHT ANTENNAS MAY HAVE A BUILT-IN
MANUAE. DACKUP AS REDUNDANCY TO AUTOMATED DEPLOYMENT
VEHICLE
1. DAMAGE ASSESSMENT - IF HAVE POSITIVE INDICATION OF A MALFUNCTION
AFFECTING MISSION SUCCESS, CLOSE INSPECTION BY EVA - IF OTHER MEANS
NOT POSSIBLE - MAY DETERMI NE ACTiON REQUIRED
2. REMEDIAL ACTION - SIMPLE REPAIRS BY EVA MAY BE CONS I DERED AWL) PERFORMED
* TO RETAiN CONFIDENCE IN ORBITER CAPABILIIY, OR INCREASE PROBABIUTY OF
MISSION SUCCESS
DCS18126175
PAGENO="0919"
NASA-S74'11465
"CONTINGENCY" EVA USES
*. INSPECTION, REMEDIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE ORBITER VEHICLE
* EVA IS REQUIRED FOR CREW RESCUE OPERATIONS
DCS18126f75
PAGENO="0920"
EVACOST\I. VINGS
STUDY TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF EVA ON PAYLOAD SYSTEMS - NAS 2-8249
AMES RESEARCH CENTER - MAY 1975
LARRY ALTON - TECHNICAL MONITOR
EVA COST SAVINGS (MECHAN IZED ELEMENTS)
* PROGRAM AND RECURRING COSTS
*SIMPLIFIES DESIGN/DEVELOPMENT TESTING
* REDUCES MANUFACTURING COSTS/TOLERANCES
*REDUCES COSTS FOR RELIABILITY AND QUALITY ASSURANCE
*GROUNDTESTING
*LESSDESIGNFAILUREMODES
*WE1GHT SAVINGS
EVA WEIGHT SAVINGS
*AUTOMATED - GEHERALLY SMALL (EOS - 1(~8 KG)
*SPACELAB - SIGNIFICANT (116 - 289) KG
PAYLOAD COSTING
*AUTOMATED CONCEPT
*MANUAL CONCEPT
*DEVELOFD A COSTING PROGRAM
PAGENO="0921"
SOLAR PANEL `~ATCH ~ONCEPV
11
1/; 5 S
REF: ROCKWELL AUTOM6~TED SPACECRAFT DESIGN
o NOMINAL COST $K
LALiTO EV~TJ
IDDT&E 82 o.O]
Lu~~nT 30 2.0j
:-
0 AUTOMATEct
0 MANUAL
I~)LLER LATCH
`A~4 ASSEMBLY
FORK ASSEMBLY
scREw
MANUAL LATCH
ASSEMBLY
DCS 8/26/75
I. I
PAGENO="0922"
PAYLOAD RETENTION LATCHING CONCEPTS
* AUTOMATED
* MANUAL
HANDLE
SA~~~T~NION
/
REF: POCKWELL EOS/FSS CONC~~
* NOMINAL COST $I(
r [~ibJ EVA1.
IDDT&EE6~ T u.o 1
~Ii I __
DCS 8/2617
Nnth American
SDaC.DM.icn
PAGENO="0923"
ROUTINE EVA NET COST SAVINGS SUMMARIES
PROGRAMS UNITS $M
PROGRAMS UNiTS $M
~s~ffc~AIr~
TOTAL STUDY MODEL NASA PAYLOADS
51
178
192
23
71
359
o SAVINGS `$551M
:~NGS~$~M.
4~*i~
154
166
NON-NASA SORTIE
o SAVINGS - $59 M
-
..
-
-
4
11
59
TOTALS - $776 M
95
332
358
27
82
4181
DCS 8!26fl
PAGENO="0924"
COSTS
BASELINE
EVA
I
~
N
~
0
~
I
~
,j
DELIVERY MISSION
RETURN & REFLY:
$1OM
REPAIR & DEPLOY:
~
*
SIC 0NORBIT
.
~
-
LAUNCH! RETRIEVE I
RELAUNCH:
$20M
---
LAUNCH! RETRIEVE I
REPAIR I DEPLOY:
$IOM
SORTIE PAYLOAD
EXPERIMENTS
RETURN I REFLY 1EXPERIMENT:
$3 5 M AVG
REPAIR! CONTINUE MISSION:
r
~
,~
E
~
.
DELiVERY! RETRIEVAL
.
JE1TISON FAILED
EXTENDABIL
$5OKAVG
MANUAL RETRACT! STOW:
.
PREPARE FOR RETURN
.
JETISONF~ftE~
EXTENDABLE~
$L7M AVG
`.
MANUAL! RETRACT! STOW: ~
--~--
nr~i~
NoflhAm~~ O1P~C~S~ 59~
PAGENO="0925"
J
AUTOMATED SPACECRAFT TRANSPORTATION
o NASA 39 UNSUCCESSFUL DELIVERIES
~8 LEO RETRIEVALS («=~5O% LIFE)
210
290
CONTINGENCY POTENTIAL COST SAVIN(S
COST $M
390
-380
DoD 21 UNSUCCESSFUL DELIVERIES
29 LEO RETRIEVALS (150% LIFE)
SORTIE PAYLOADS
o NASA 51 UNSUCCESSFUL PAYLOAD EXPERIMENTS
226 FAILED EXTENSION ELEMENTS JETTISONED
C NON 8 UNSUCCESSFUL PAYLOAD EXPERIMENTS
NASA 51 FAILED EXTENSION ELEMENTS JETTISONED
/
179
385
28
`88
`$1950M
TOTAL POTENTIAL FOR EVA SAVINGS
DCS 8126175
PAGENO="0926"
TYPiCAL COST RATIOS REPRESENTATIVE PAYLOADS
AUTOMATED SPACECRAFT SORTIE PAYLOADS
100-
94%
% OF TOTAL
- PAYLOAD COS
84%
*AVERAGE NET SAVINGS $1.5 M *AVERAGE NET SAViNGS $8.8M
16%
1o~1 - - 15~1
COMMON COSTS EVA COMMON COSTS EVA
ELEMENTS ELIMINATED ADDED ELEMENTS ELIMINATED ADDED
DCS 8/26175
PAGENO="0927"
CONCLUSIONS - REPRESENTATIVE PAYLOADS ANALYSIS
o FOR ALL PAYLOADS ANALYZED:
0 EVA REDUCED COSTS AND COMPLEXITY
* 0 GENERAL EVA TOOLS/TRAiNING NECESSARY
0 EVA TIME WITHIN OPERATIONAL CONSTRAINTS
* C EVA TIME INCREASE HAD LITTLE EFFECT ON PAYLOAD
* OPERATIONS
~l ROUTINE USE OF EVA MUST BE "PLANNED INTO" PAYLOAD DESIGNS
DCS 8126175
PAGENO="0928"
SI-1U11LE EVA TRAINING
FOR POTENTIAL EVA CREWMEMBERS
(PILOTS MISSION SPECIALISTS)
BASIC EVA TRAINING ~]
OFT: 84 HOURS, ONETIME
OPS: 134 HOURS, ONETIME
~
I MISSION EVA TRAININ~l PROFICIENCY EVA TRAINING1
L42 HOURSIMISSION j 26 HOURSIYEAR
DCS 8126175
PAGENO="0929"
BASIC EVA TRAINING
DEFINITION - THAT TRAINING REQUIRED TO FAMILIARIZE A SHUTTLE CREWMEMBER WITH
THE SHUTTLE EMU AND ORB tIER EVA-RELATED SYSTEMS, AND TO PROVIDE THE PHYSICAL
SKILLS REQUIRED TO ACCOMPLISH BASIC EVA TASKS.
WHO RECEIVES
- OFT - EVERY SHUTTLE CREWMEMBER (NO MMU OR RESCUE TRAINING)
- OPS - EVERY POTENTiAL EVA CREWMEMBER (PILOT AND MISSION SPECIALIST)
FREQUENCY - ONE TIME ONLY
OFT OPS
SYLLABUS HOURS SESSIONS HOURS SESSIONS
CLASSROOM 24 13 31 18
ONE-C TRAINER 6 2 21 8
EMU/AIRLOCK TRAINER 15 6 15 6
ALTITUDE CHAMBER 5 1 5 1
MMU FLIGHT SIMULATOR 0 0 20 10
WIF 34 14 42 19
TOTAL 36 134 62
DCS 8126175
PAGENO="0930"
MISSION EVA TRAINING
DEFINITION MISSION UNIQUE EVA TRAINING TO PREPARE THE EVA CREWMEMBER TO
ACCOMPLISH SPECIFIC PLANNED EVA OBJECTIVES
WHO RECEIVES - EVERY CREWMEMBER WHO IS TO PERFORM A PLANNED EVA (OPS ONLY)
FREQUENCY - COMPLETE SYLLABUS ONE TIME FOR EACH MISSION HAVING PLANNED EVA
SYLLABUS HOURS SESSIONS
CLASSROOM 2
ONE-G TRAINERS 4 2
EMU!AIRLOCK/TRAINER 4 1
MMU FLIGHT SIMULATOR 8 4
WIF 24 12
TOTAL
DCS 8'26175
PAGENO="0931"
PROFICIENCY EVA TRAINING
DEFINITION - THAT TRAINING REQU IRED TO MAINTAIN KNOWLEDGE OF SHU1TLE EMU AND
ORBITER EVA RELATED SYSTEMS, AND TO MAINTAIN THE PHYSICAL SKILLS REQUIRED
TO ACCOMPLISH BASIC EVA TASKS.
WHO RECEIVES - EVERY POTENTIAL EVA CREWMEMBER (PILOT AND MISSION SPECIALIST)
FREQUENCY - COMPLETE SYLLABUS ONCE PER YEAR,. UNLESS REPLACED BY RECENT EVA
EXPERIENCE
SYLLABUS HOURS SESSIONS
CLASSROOM 0 0
ONE-C TRAINERS 4 2
EMU!A IRLOCK TRAI NER 8 2
MMU FLIGHT SIMULATOR 8 4
WIF 3
TOTAL 26 11
DCS 8126175
PAGENO="0932"
I CLASSROOM
L 18/31
BASIC EVA TRAINING
SIR'
EMUIA I RLOC K
TRAINER 6115
3/6
~J, ZI)
~[2/5
318 ~
ALT ITUDE
CHAMBER 115
ONE-G TRAINER
8/21
1/2~J,
MMU FLIGHT
SIMULATOR 10120
WIF 11/18
6/1O~
TOTALS
OFT
OPS
WIF QUAL 8/24
C
SESSIONS
36
62
HOURS
84
134
OCS 8P~7~
PAGENO="0933"
BASIC EVA TRAINING
CLASSROOM
HOURS SESSIONS
3 1. DISCUSSION OF "WHAT IS EVA",
OVERVIEW OF SHUTTLE EVA
2 2. EMU SYSTEMS BRIEFINGS
I 3. ORB hER EVA-RELATED SYSTEMS BR IEFING
1 4. EVA PREP/POST BRIEFING
1 5. AIRLOCK OPERATIONS BR IEFING
2 6. MMU SYSTEMS BRIEFING
3 7. PAYLOAD BAY INTRODUCTION BRIEFING
1 8. EVARESCUEBRIEFING
1 9. PRS SYSTEMS/OPS BRIEFING
10 10. - 14.SCUBAIWIF BRIEFINGS
2 15. EMU REFREShER BRIEFING
2 16. MMU REFRESHER BRIEFING
1 17. PRS REFRESHE~ BRIEFING
1 18. AIRLOCK REFRESHER BRIEFING
DCSI~I26'15
PAGENO="0934"
BASIC E\~A TRAINING
EMU/AIRLOCK TRAINER
HOURS SESSIONS
4 1. EVA PREP/POST FAMiLiARIZATION
EMU DONIDOFF AND CHECKOUT
PLSS RECHARGE
- AIRLOCK STOWAGE/UN5TOW
- AIRLOCK DEPRESS/REPRESS
- H&TCH OPERATIONS
EVA COMM CONFIGURATION
2 EMUOPERATIONSFAMILIARIZATION
NOMINAL OPERATIONS
ABSOLUTE AND ~P MODES
CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS
- SOP ACTiVATION
4 3 EVA PREP/POST REFRESHER
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO 1
- TIMELINE FAMILIARIZATION
- CHECKLIST UTILIZATION
4 EMU OPERA1 IONS REFRESHER
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO 2
PAGENO="0935"
4 5. EVA PREP/POST FINAL
- REPEAT OF SESSIONS NOS. land 3
- ZERO-G CONSIDERATIONS
- BACKUP/MALFUNCTION OPERATIONS
1 6. EMU OPERATIONS FINAL
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO. 2
- BACKUPJMALFUNCTION OPERATIONS
CA~
DCS18125175
PAGENO="0936"
BASIC EV')i 1t~AIN INC
ONE-C TRAINER
HOURS SESSIONS
3 1. PAYLOAD BAY FAMI LIAR IZATION
- TRANSLATION PATHS/A 1DS
- BODY RESTRAINTS
- EQUIPMENT RESTRAINTS
- TOOLS
- PHYSICAL ORIENTAT1ONS/LOCATIONS
- PAYLOAD BAY DOORS
- RMS!PIDA
3 2. EVA RESCUE WALKTHROUGI-I
- PRS UNSTOWAGE/PREP
- PRS DONNING
-PRS HANDLING
- TRANSLATION TECHNiQUES
2 3. MMU DON/DOFF FAMILIAR IZATION
- DONNING STATION
- BODY RESTRAINTS
- MMU CONFIGURATION
3 4. PAYLOAD BPY REFRESHER
- REPEAT OF SEES ION NO. 1
- ZERO-C CONSIDERATIONS
- BACKUP/MALFUNCTION OPERATIONS
DCS181261?5
PAGENO="0937"
3 5. EVA RESCUE REFRESHER
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO. 2
- TIMELINE FAMILIARIZATION
- CHECKLIST UTILIZATION
2 6. MMU DON/DOFF REFRESHER
REPEAT OF SESSION NO. 3
- MMU RECHARGE
3 7. EVA RESCUE FINAL
REPEAT OF SESSIONS NOS. 2 AND 5
- ZERO-G CONSIDERATIONS
- BACKUFY MALFUNCTION OPERATIONS
2 8. MMU DON/DOFF FINAL
- REPEAT OF SESSIONS NOS. 3 AND 6
- ZERO-G CONSIDERATIONS
- BACK!MALFIJNCTION OPERATIONS
DCS18126175
PAGENO="0938"
BAS IC EVA IRA INING
WIF
HOURS SESSIONS
24 1 8 SCUBA! SUIT QUAL
9. AIRLOCK OPERATIONS
-ZERO-C CONSIDERATIONS
- EQUIPMENT HANDLING
- BODY RESTRAINTS
- HATCH OPERATIONS
- INGRESS EGRESS
2 10 PAYLOAD BAY OPERATIONS
- ZERO-G CONSIDERATIONS
- TRANSLATIONS
- BODY RESTRAINTS
- EQUIPMENT TRANSFER HANDLING, AND RESTRAINT
11 MMU DON/DOFF
- ZERO-C CONSIDERATIONS
- TRANSLATION
- BODY RESTRAINTS
- RECHARGE
- DON/DOFF TECHNIQUES
2 12 EVA RESCUE
- ZERO-C CONSIDERATIONS
- PRS HANDLING
- TR'NSFER TECHNIQUES DCS/8/26175
PAGENO="0939"
2 13. PAYLOAD BAY OPERATiONS
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO. 10
- PAYLOAD BAY DOORS
- OTHER MANUAL BACKUP TASKS
2 14. EVA RESCUE
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO. 12
2 15. PAYLOAD BAY OPERATIONS
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO. 13
- TYPICAL EVA TASKS (TASK BOARD)
1 16. MMU DON/DOFF
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO. 11
- BACKUP DOFF/JETTISON
1 17. AIRLOCK OPERATIONS
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO. 9
- BACKUP/MALFUNCTI ON ACTIVITIES
2 18. PAYLOAD BAY OPERATIONS
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO.15
DC S18/26/75
PAGENO="0940"
BASIC EVA TRAINING
MMU FLIGHT SIMULATION
HOURS SESSION
1 MMU CONTROL SYSTEMS FAMILIARIZATION I
SHORT TRANSLATIONS IN DIRECT WITH AlTITUDE HOLD
- SHORT TRANSLATIONS IN DIRECT WITHOUT A1IITUDE HOLD
2 2 MMU CONTROL SYSTEMS FAMILIAR IZATION II
FLY AROUND ORB ITER AND STMIONKEEP AT SEVERAL PREDETERMiNED POINTS
IN DIRECT WITH AND ~(ITHOUT AlTITUDE HOLD
2 3 ORBITAL MECHANICS EF~FECTS DEMONSTRATIONS I
- TRANSLATE TO TARGFT OVER VARIOUS DISTANCES FROM 1010 150 YARDS (OR
MORE /
- STATIONKEEP AT SPEC I FIC P01 NTS ON TARGET
PERFORM V~R I OUS FLY AROUND MANEUVERS UPON REACH INC TARGET
(ALL OF ABOVE PERFORMED WiTHOUT ORB hAL MECHANICS EFFECTS)
2 4 ORBITAL MECHANICS EFFECTS DEMONSTRATION II
- REPEAT SESS ION NO 3 BUT WITH ORB hAL MECHANICS EFFECTS INCLUDED
2 5 MMU CONTROL TECHNIQUES DEVELOPMENT I
- SHORT TRA'\ISLATIONS FLYAROUNDS, AND STATiONKEEP1NG WITH EMPHASIS
ON PROFthPNi CO'~iSERVtT ION
2 6 MMU MALFUNCTIONS LEtVIONSTRATI ONS
- DEMONSTRATE V~ ~ ~O'JS MMU MALFUNCTIONS WITH EMPHASIS ON RP ~J D
RECOGNITION ~ND CCRRECTIVE ACTION
-TUMBLE REC~ `
~CSI3Zcii
PAGENO="0941"
- DEMONSTRATE MMU OPERATI ON WITH DEGRADED SYSTEMS
2 7. MMU CONTROL TECHNIQUES DEVELOPMENT II
- LONG TRANSLATION (WITH ORBITAL MECHANICS), FLYAROUND MANEUVERS,
AND STATIONKEEPING AT SPECIFIC POINTS ON THE TARGET WITH EMPHASIS
ON PROPELLANT CONSERVATION
- VARIOUS MALFUNCTIONS WILL BE INSERTED DURING MANEUVERS
2 8. MMU BASICTRAINING WRAP UP
- REVIEW PROPELLANT CONSERVATION TECHNIQUES
- REVIEW GENERAL MALFUNCTIONS
- REVIEW DEGRADED SYSFEMS OPERATIONS
DCSI8/26175
PAGENO="0942"
MISSION EVA TRAINING
CLASSROOM
HOURS SESSION
1 1 DISCUSSION OF MISSION-UNIQUE EVA REQUIREMENTS EVA
EQUIPMENT, AND EVA OPERATIONS
2 2 UPDATE ON SAME MATERIAL
DCS/~'26I75
PAGENO="0943"
MISSION EVA TRAINING
CLASSROOM 1 ui EMU/Al RLOCI( I_________________
212 TRAiNER 114 1
1/1 ONE-G 112 WIF
~ TRAINER 2/4 1 12!24~j ~
~[,1I2
ill
`~ MMU FLIGHT
1 SIMULATOR 4/8
SESSIONS HOURS
TOTAL 21 42
PAGENO="0944"
MISSION EVA TRAINING
EMU/AIRLOCK TRAINER
HOURS SESSION
4 1. EVA PREP/POST WITH MISS ION~UNIQUE EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURES
- EMU DON/DOFF AND CHECKOUT
- PLSS RECHARGE
* - A IRLOCK STOWAGE/UNSTOW
- TIMELINE FAMILIARIZATION
- CHECKLIST UTILIZATION
~CREW COORDINATION
* D.CStS~2~i'5
PAGENO="0945"
MISSION EVA TRAINING
ONE-G IRA I NER
HOURS SESSION
2 1. WALKTHROUGH OF PAYLOAD BAY WITH MISS ION-UNIQUE
EQU I PMENT INSTALLED
- TRANSLATION PATHS/AIDS
- EQUIPMENT HANDLING AND RESTRAINTS
2 2. REPEAT ABOVE BETWEEN WIF EXERCISES TO PERMIT ONE-C OPERATION
OF EQU I PMENT, AND TO FAC I LITATE DEVELOPMENT OF ZERO-C TECHNIQUES
PAGENO="0946"
MISSION EVA TRAiNING
WIF
NOT FEASIBLE TO iDENTIFY ACTiVITIES FOR EACH SESSION
24 HOURS TOTAL WIF MISSION TRAINING BASED ON:
.2 -6 HOUR EVA'S
* 2 HOURS WIF PER HOUR EVA
2 HOURS WIF PER HOUR EVA IS EMPIR ICALLY DERIVED FROM APOLLO/SKYLAB
AS FOLLOWS
.APOLLO ORBITAL EVA-4 HOURS
* APOLLO APPLICABLE WIF-35 HOURS
* SKYLAB EVA - 82.5 HOURS
* SKYLAB WIF - 389 HOURS
(PRIME CREWS ONLY)
* ASSUMED CREW SUPPORT PERSONNEL WOULD DO ALL
TECHNIQUE AND PROCEDURE DEVELOPMENT
DCS18126!75
PAGENO="0947"
APOLLO AND SKYLAB
WIF TRAINING AND ACTUAL EVA HOURS
WIF HOURS EVA HOURS
APOLLO 9 12 5 45
15 7 38
16 75 123
17 75 106
S12 CDR 45 459
PIT 26 211
SPT 33 323
S13 CDR 34 241
PIT 45 1101
SPT 44 1342
S14 CDR 39 1541
PIT 39 1327
SPT 84 1522
DC Sf8126175
PAGENO="0948"
MISSION EVA TRAINING
MMU FLIGHT SIMULATOR
HOURS SESSION
2 1. MISSION UNIQUE TASK FAMILIARIZATION
- OBJECTIVES DEMONSTRATION
- TIMELINE FAMILIARIZATION
- CHECKLIST UTILIZATION
- NOMINAL PROCEDURES DEMONSTRATION
-CREW COORDINATION
2 2. MISSION UNIQUE TASK OPTIMIZATION
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO. I WITH EMPHASIS ON PROPELLANT CONSERVATION
2 3. MISSION UNIQUE PROCEDURES TRAINING I
- CHECKLIST UTILIZATION
* NOMINAL PROCEDURES EXERCISE
- BACKUP/MALFUNCTION PROCEDURES EXERCISE AS APPL1ED TO MISSION
UN1QUE TASKS *
2 4. MISSION UNIQUE PROCEDURESTRAINING II
- REPEAT OF SESSION NO. 3
PAGENO="0949"
TRAINING IMPACT FOR REMOTE WI F
EVA WIF TOTAL
TRAINING TRAINING DAYS DAYS DAYS TRAINING
HOURS HOURS JSC MSFC b~ HOURS WEEKS
OFT 84 34 6 112 10 3 1/2 1200 40
OPS
A PLANNED EVA
INITIAL 176 66 14 1/2 24 81/2 1100 37
REPEAT 42 24 6 10 4 175 6
B NO PLANNED EVA
INITIAL 134 42 8 1/2 14 4 1/2 1050 35
* REPEAT 0 >6 1 1/2 2 1/2 1 125 3+
L. ANNUAL PROFICIENCY
TRAINING
PAGENO="0950"
KLVUIt(W
TRAINING
C isc
OFT
SCUBAISLJIT QUAL
SHUTTLE FAMILIARIZATION
TOTAL
OPS (MISSIONS WITH PLANNEI
MSFC C
-
-
-
-
-
V)
~V)
IM
(~1
V~
Q~
~
~
V)
Q..
a
>~
-J
<
>~
A
4 32
4 20
4
2 l~
oil:
2
6
8
A SHUTTLE FAMILIARIZATION
MISSION
TOTAL
TOTAL OPS IMPACT FOR NEW 5
OPS (MISSIONS WITHOUT PLAI
A SHUTTLE FAMILIARIZATION
TOTAL OPS IMPACT FOR NEW
PROFICIENCY
4
3
2
2
3
16
48
8 3248
5 2 105
EVA)
42 4
12. 2 212
3
HUTTLE CREWMEMBE
INED EVA) . I
412 ~4
~H!J1TLE CREWMEMBI
3 .2 6 3
2
1
1
2
4
2
1
3
21/2
1 1/2
1 1/2
2 1/2
1112
20
4
4
4
:R
4
16
2
2
12
lit
3
0 2
4
11/2
10 3112
3 1.
10 4
13 5
81/2
31
41/2
2l~
DCS/8!26/75
PAGENO="0951"
REF JSCI 1820,3B, ~LH111ATIONS APPLICABLE TO PERSONNEL EXPOSE1~ TO flIVJN'~
* DIVES LIMITED TO 2 FiOURS FOR ALL PERSONNEL
* SURFACE INTERVAL BETWEEN DIVES 3 HOURS
* MINiMUM INTER"A' AFTER DIVE AND RELEASE FOR FLIGHT
BELOW 1~. ~OO EE~T ALTrLjDE ABOVE 10 000 FEET ALTITUDE
F! r I4VE 1 HOUR FIRST DIVE 12 HOURS
SECOND DIVE 5 HOUPS SECOND DIVE 12 HOURS
_-_.k SPACECRAFT DESIGN DIVISION
TYPICAL TEST TIME PROFILE FOR A WATER FACILITY GEORGE C FRANKLIN AUG 75~
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
HRS 0 2 4
Ii) 12 14
ECS
1RNR
SETUP
I ECHS AND
MONITORS
-
PREBRIEF
~
TEST
1-''
~
~
.
~-`~ ~
4-, 4-4-4.
1.
- ,.-,-4
-
~` ~
4-4-4. 4. 4-4-4
4-e--I
4
4-4-f
4-4-4
4-4-4.
*-4-+-
~4-4-
4-4-4..
+-.--4 4 4-4-4-
I
4-4-4- -4-4-4
~4-4- .4-4--s
4-4-4 4-~_~~
I I :
4-1-4. 4 f-+-.--.- 4-4-+s.-e-e-
~
4--+-f-4-4-1- --~ 4 4 -~ 5 4 5
~
4-4-4 .44~ .4 ~ 4-.4-~e--t
~
4-4--4-+-+--e-4- 1-4.... -.$-4.-4- ~ I ~ 4 -4 I
I
~,-~-- ~ fe
4-4.4- 4-4-5--
4-+4- 4-4-+
4-4-4- +4-4-
POST CHECK
44--.
-4-.-.. t -
~
4.4-
I
4-4-
4-4-4- .4-4-5-
1-
I
1.4-, -$.-.+--4-
4 ~i 1i 4-c
~-+-*-
- -
DEBRIEF
~.4
RELEASE FOR
FLT(BELOWIOKFI.)-
(ABOVE 1OKFT)-
!~ ~
~.
--
-
4.4.4 .4-1-4
4-4--p -4--4-$-
- A
~~4- 4-~4
~
e-4-~- ~$--
- -
4-4-4
P-+*+
----
4-4-5-
4-4-.- ~
+4-+ +4+
`~1-' ~ -$-
4 ~
4-4-4-F 4-4-4-
~
4-4-4-F
--
-
-
I2HRS
-
~
C.
PAGENO="0952"
EFFECTS Of~ MOTE WIF
ADDITIONS TO CREW TRAINING TIME
OFT 35DAYS
OPS FLIGHT WITH PLANNED EVA
INITIALFLIGHT 85 DAYS
REPEAT FLIGHT 4 DAYS
OPS FLIGHT NO PLANNED EVA
INITiAL FLIGHT 4 5 DAYS
REPEAT FLIGHT 1 DAY
2 ADDITIONS TO TIME REQUiRED FOR PROCEDURES!TRAINING PERSONNEL
(NUMBER OF HOURS AND DAYS IS DOUBLED)
3 TRAINING LESS EFFECTIVE WHEN ACCOMPLI SHED IN FEWER COMPRESSED SESS IONS,
AS COMPARED TO SHORTER SESSIONS DISTRiBUTED UNIFORMLY THROUGH THE
TRAINING CYCLE
4 ABILITY TO REACT TO INFLIGHT CONTINGFNCIES REQUIRING EVA COMPROM ISEE) iF
WIF NOT ONSITE WITH MCC BEST SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS OBTAINED WHEN PROGRAM
MANAGEMENT EXPER IENCED CREWMEMBERS TRAI NING/PROCEDURES SPECIALISTS,
AND FLIGHT CONTROLLER S ALL PARTI CI PATE
5 CREW AND SUPPORT PERSON ~ PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRI M
REQUIREMENTS CPEW A:T ~(lT~ PLANNING AND PROCEDURES DEVELOPM[ ~JT
DEGRADED BY ABSENCr FROW JSC
~S!8i2oTI
PAGENO="0953"
951
NA1~ERLAL REQUESTED FOR THE RECORD ON PAGE 68 LINE 21 BY CONGRESSMAN FUQUA
DURING THE HEARING BEFORE IRE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICA-
TIONS ON FEBRUARY 17
QUESTION
I understand it was looked at It is off by itself the security is
reasonable there and I was wondering the validation statements and so
forth that you have had site selections, when you decided on some of the
other areas. Could you provide that for the Committee?
ANSWER
NASA has looked at alternate sites in an attempt to find a location with
intrinsically less severe natural hazards economically viable and respon
sive to long range programmatic plans for these lunar sample curatorial activities
- The criteria to be met by the lunar sample curatorial facility includes
resistance to natural and man made hazards availability of inert atmosphere
high level of cleanliness, storage located within curatorial building site
security scientific community and NASA personnel accessibility Lunar
Science Institute accessibility availability of supporting laboratory
engineering,computer, and institutional support; and structurally adequate
for long term research (up to 50 years) Based on this it becomes clear
in our judgment that no other facility exists in the United States that
comes close to fulfilling the scientific requirements as does the proposed
facility at JSC Thus relocation of the facility would require substantial
new construction or very costly refurbishment of existing space for curation
of the samples would require virtual gutting of the building and starting
anew The cost of refurbishment is essentially equal to the cost of new
construction which would be approximately seven million dollars for the
facility only
The total needs of sample curation include those already in use at JSC
(plus the elements in the proposed addition to the JSC facility) and the
use of the cleaning facilities at White Sands Teat Facility. It is
essential that there be associated with the curatorial facility a group of
research geoscientists who support the Curator and who are actively
engaged in geoscientific research involving the sample collection
Laboratory facilities are required for this group and those facilities in
part have to meet the same standards of cleanliness and construction as
required for the curatorial laboratories themselves
Three types of locations were considered other NASA centers universities
and independent technical facilities The first of these had been
previously examined for availability of remote storage space and evaluated
for natural hazards The results of these studies indicated that suitable
vaults for storing the main portion of the collection were unavailable and
PAGENO="0954"
952
2
that the kind of curatorial support facilities required were not available
as at JSC. Thus, in view of the extensive facilities that would have to
be constructed at other NASA locations and the need to transfer personnel
as well as to accommodate different natural hazards, it appeared that
there would be no cause to move the curatorial facility to another center
Regarding relocation to a university none would have facilities to house
the curatorial operations nor could a university reasonably be expected to
accommodate the number of lunar geoscientists and technical personnel
requiring relocation Presumably a curatorial facility located at a
university would be operated through contract with the university This
must be a major university of substantial academic standing and with
strong traditions of stability and support from its funding sources
respect for scientific achievement and respect for the value of a collec-
tion such as the lunar samples. A university associated curatorial
facility would also require construction costs of some seven million
dollars.
The third option an independent technical facility would require location
in a city large enough to readily provide the necessary support services
on contract with local businesses The location would also have to be
accessible to NASA personnel and the community of lunar and planetary
geoscientists These facilities would be substantially more extensive
t~n anticipated for the university option and consequently more
expensive
The JSC location also retains the benefit of the Lunar Science Institute
which is very important in fostering the growth and excellence of lunar
and planetary geoscience If the sample collection were removed from the
Johnson Space Center it may be necessary to move the Lunar Science
Institute as well. .
Because of the factors of high cost at any other location and the need
to have the laboratory and personnel support which is available at JSC
detailed studies of alternate sites other than the NASA centers were not
made On the other hand constructing an addition to the existing
curatorial facility at JSC is considered, in NASA s judgment to be the
most reasonable economical and viable option For these reasons this
project should be reinstated in the FY 1977 CoP budget
PAGENO="0955"
953
QUESTION No,].:
Some critics have charged that the competitive level system
allows NASA to byp-iss the safeguard of the Civil Service
System (bumpinj iijhLs) in RIF situations by simply
eliminating a given competitive level which may contain
only one emplo~e 110w do you answer those ~
ANSWER
Under Civil Sc~vi.c~ Rejulations competitive lcvels include
jobs so similtr in alL important respects that cmployees can
readily be movcd [rein one to another without significant
training and without unduly interrupting the work program
Because of the complex pioneering research and development
work of the agency, there are specialized fields in which
few employees are performing duties that could be considered
substantially th~ samc or if the same could be picked up
by another omployc without undue iMerrupt ion Eliminating
d competitivc level in a RH' situation cannot bypass
safcguards of th Civil Service Syst.m the igency must
then make a determination as to the best offer of another
position it any which cm be made to the emplojec
including cons~dcraL~on of bumping and retreat rights and,
at the agency s di~crcLjon vacant positions Ihe employee
at no time Loses his ~:ippeal rights to have the agency
action revicwecl by the CSC
NASA has rnslo i Conscious effort over the last several years
to review and rditco competitive levels as much as possible
fhe general accur~cy ol the competitive levls in the
agencj has been boCne out by decisions in the CSC Reduction-in-
rorce appeals sy~tcni as well as outside audits by the Civil
Ser\icc Conunission md Lhe GAO
PAGENO="0956"
954
QUESTION NO. 2:
What is the expected amount of unobligated R&PM funds
at the end of Fiscal Year 1976?
ANSWER:
No unobligated balances are expected at the end of
Fiscal Year 1976.
PAGENO="0957"
955
QUESTIOW3:
page 13 of Mr. Lilly's November 18, 1976, presenta~
tion to the Subcommittee is a chart showing the end-of~
fiscal year NASA employment figures For the June 1976
figure, provide a breakout by center as to R&D and R&PM
(custodial services, technical services, administrative
services etc ) support service contractor employment
ANSWER
End of FY 1976
~pport Service Contractor Emplo~yment~
R&PM R&D Total
ARC 126 627 753
FRC~. 87 106 193
GSFC 30Q 2,549 2,858
HQ/NaPO 424 13 437
JSC 932 4,380 5,312
KSC 1,399 2,155 3,554
LaRC 293 823 1,116
LeRC 241 172 413
MSFC 700 1,395 2,095
NSTL 409 409
WFC 130 244 374
Subtotal ~14T 12,873 17,S14
JPL -- 5~, 543 ~~543
Total 4,641 18, 416 23,057
PAGENO="0958"
How many non-per-nanent employee positions are there in each position category at
each Center~ How much flexibility does NASA have to expand this prograin' What
success has NASA had in attracting young professionals to permanent employment
through this program?
ANSWER:
Co-op
Programs 20
Basic 1/
Youth 60
40
29
45
59
12
59
75
42
47
26
85
40
40
-
133
75
2
-
15
10
5l'~
400
Summer
Youth 15
-
60
10
95
35
41
110
100
-
15
481
WTO 5
Regular 2/
Summer Prog 41
3
26
15
88
5
65
25
82
5
50
24
25
75
-
70
10
87
-
3
.~
10
~98
597
Other 3/
Temporaries 27
3
15
33
19
17
28
21
-
3
190
TOTAL 168
101
282
184
338
187
283
248
426
5
58
2280
QUESTION No. 4:
ARC
FRC
GSFC HO/NAPO JSC KSC LaRC LeRC MSFC NSTL WFC TOTAL
1/Includes
2/Includes
3/Includes
25 Jr. Federal Fellows.
50 Aerospace Fellows.
Special Programs..
PAGENO="0959"
957
2
Q~ESTIONNo.4 ANSWER: (Cont.)
NASA's flexibility to expand non-permanent employment is
limited broadly by the President's total civil service
employment ceiling and budgetary constraints. Within
this framework, NASA strives for an Optimum balance
among programs ranging from the relatively low cost,
ceiling-exempt youth opportunity programs to the more
expensive programs for temporary clerks and for college--
trained talent. The Co-op Program has become the
principal feeder for young professionals, while the
various intern, fellowship, and summer employment
programs are modest sources.
Of the 140 co-op students who graduated in FY 1975 we hired
61 into entry level professional positions. We expect to
hire about 7 from the Graduate Intern Program in Fl 1976
and 5 in Fl 1977. Another 20 to 30 hires are anticipated
in Fl 1977 from our Aerospace Fellowship Program. We also
expect to attract a few of the regular undergraduate summer
students when they comp1et~ their degree requirements.
The unique features 6f the Co-op Program, including the
opportunity to observe and influence student capabilities
beginning early in the college career and to provide work
experience and pay throughout that period; make it an
excellent medium for attracting young talent, with emphasis
on minor~ities and women. Our recent hiring experience
is as follows:
Fl 1972 31
Fl 1973 43
Fl 1974 37
70-079 0 - 76 - 61
PAGENO="0960"
958
QuestionNo. 5:
What categories of civil service personnel are considered
to be indirect at each center? What are the reasons for
the differences?
Answer:
NASA defines civil service positions as direct if they can
be identified to specific R&D programs, projects or SRT
effort Indirect positions are all others Generally,
indirect positions are those related to Center management,
administrative support arid general facilities operation
and maintenance The number differs by center depending on
particular center organizational pattern and the degree to
which administrative support or facilities operations are
general or dedicated to specific program effort
PAGENO="0961"
959
Q~STION No~ 6
Summarize the results of the most recent series of personnel
management audits (Fl 1976). What are the plans for and
objectives of audits to be conducted during Fl 1977?
ANSWER:
During fiscal yç~ar 1975, NASA restructured its personnel
management evaluation (PME) system to conform to new CSC
guidelines and incorporate changes recommended at an
Agency PME Symposium.
The NASA system is based upon a 3 to 4 year cycle of
evaluation and program improvement with comprehensive
evaluations, including on-site reviews, at all installations
to be concenrated in 1 year. The other years of the cycle
are to be used for program development and improvement.
Evaluations were conducted at all ten major NASA installations
during the period of May through September 1975. The on~-site
teview methodology included interviews with managers,
supervisors~ arid employees, a questionnaire survey, and
audits of personnel programs, actions and files by personnel
specialists ~f the l\gency and the Civil Service Commission.
rlleafl.L findings were presented to Center management for
evaluation.
The Center evaluation reports included: an as~sessment of
personnel management achievements and contributions to
Agency personnel management objectives; an inventory of
personnel management assets and problems or needs; a
summary of regulatory compliance findings; and an
identification of corrective actions and improvement
objectives for Fl 197G.
A summary evalu~tLion of Center reports and Agency-wid.e
personnel data, incorporating the views and recommendations
of the NASL?\ Personnel Management Review Committee and the
U. S. Ciyil. Service Commission, is now in progress. A
report on this summary evaluation is being prepared for
presentation to the NASA Administrator within the next
month
PAGENO="0962"
960
2
QUESTION No. 6 ANSWER: (Con' t.)
Plans for further action in FY 1976 include the establishlLtent
of Agency personnel management objectives and the development
of short and long range action plans. At the end of FY's
1976 and 1977 progress on action plans and goals will be
assessed and rcporLcd by each installation Another full
scale-Agency-wide evaluation is currently programmed for
FY 1978
PAGENO="0963"
961
QUESTION No.7:
What is the current breakdown of the total permanent work
force, in terms of percentages, for engineers, scientists,
clerical, etc.? What is the average age of these personnel
by category? How does this compare with five years ago?
ANSWER:
Distribution of Permanent Work Force by Occupational Group:
End FY End FY
1970 1975
S&E 44.3% 47.9%
Prof.'l Administrative 14.1 14.4
Technical Support (GS) 18.3 17.1
Clerical 14.0 14.3
Wage System 9.3 6.3
Average Age (Years) of Permanent Work Force by Occupational Group:
End FY End FY
1970 1975
S&E 39.0 42.1
Prof.' 1 Administrative 43.9 45.3
Technical Support (Cs) 44.8 46.4
Clerical 37.7 38.7
Wage System 43.7 44.7
Of course, the average and percentages vary
from installation 1:0 installation.
considerably
PAGENO="0964"
962
Q~1~ST ION No.8:
Summarize the results of the Nrtf'~ EEO recruitment program
ovei the most rcerit 12 monLh period
ANSWDR lllI\ORI IY/1 IAI L LMPLOYMLN1 CHAN(~LS (Y 1915
A. Category: Pro es
- Non-Minority Fee I.e
- Minority Femeie
- Minority Male
B. Category: Non-Prol' 1.
- Total Minority
(Male ~, Ieee 1
C. Category : iota I I'e 0(1.
- Total l'ItnoriLy
- Total FOndle
- Tot ~LI Pr iii. `~l~ l
893 5.9
132 .9
(i63 4.4
Net
Change Change
C'! `75 in `L*
+ 73 + .6
+26
+60
*Perc&~nt of Total P rmanent
Employees in the Category
December 31, 1975
Number 7k
948 10.4
+ 50 +1.0 -
1743
4328
24263
7.2
17.8
100.0
+133
+ 19
-618
+.7
+ .5
(not applicable)
PAGENO="0965"
963
QUESTION NO. 1:
Please provide for the record by location, mnounts authorized,
appropriated, obligated and expended for construction in fiscal
years 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and the transition period.
ANSWER:
Amounts authorized, appropriated, obligated and expended for
construction in fiscal years 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976 are reflected
in the enclosed summaries. For the Transition Period a total of
~1O.75 million has been authorized and appropriated. Of this
mmount, $7.0 million is Rehabilitation and Nodification, $1.25
million is Minor Construction and $2.5 million is. Facilities
Planning and Design. Transition Period resources will become
available for obligation and outlay July 1, 1976..
4 Enclosures
PAGENO="0966"
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES DATA
FY 1973 (As of December 31, 1975) (Dollars in Millions)
Location Authorized Appropriated Program Plan Obligated Expended
Ames Research Center $ 1.8 $ 1.8 $ 3.2 $ 3.0 $ 3.0
Downey 1.2 1.2 4.6 4.4 4.2
Goddard Space Flight Center .6 .6 .6 .6 .6
Jet Propulsion Laboratory .6 .6 .5 .5 .5
Johnson Space Center 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.4 5.2
Kennedy Space Center 10.1 10.1 10.0 9.9 8.8
Langley Research Center 5.9 5.9 5.7 5.4 4.8
Lewis Research Center 9.7 9.7 9.7 8.4 7.0
Marshall Space Flight Center 7.5 7.5 7.4 6.7 6.4
Michoud Assembly Facility 4.2 4.2 4.5 4.2 4.1
National Space Technology Laboratories .. 1.2 1.2 2.7 2.5 2.0
Wallops Flight Center .4 .4 .6 .6 .6
Various 6.9 6.9 2.1 1.8 1.0
SUB-TOTAL $56.0 $56.0 $57.4 $53.4 $48.2
Rehabilitation and Modification 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.6 11.0
Minor Construction 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.7 1.6
Facility Planning and Design 8.0 8.0 8.0 .~ 7.6
TOTAL $77.3 $77.3 $78.72! $74.7 $68.4
1/ Increased from $77.3 to $78.7 by the transfer of $1.4 from the Research & Development (R&D) Appropria-
tion to the Construction of Facilities (CoF) Appropriation under the provisions of Section 3 of the
1973 Authorization Act. This $1.4 is reflected in the Program Plan for Ames Research Center. At other
locations the Program Plan reflects the cumulative result of the exercise of the authorities contained
in Section 2 and Section 3 (within CoP) of the FY 1973 Authorizatinn Act and Section 307(b) of the
National Aeronautics and Space Act after appropriate Congressional coordination and notification.
PAGENO="0967"
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES DATE
FY 1974 (As of December 31, 1975) (Dollars in Millions)
Location Authorized ~ppropriated Program Plan Obligated Expended
Downey $ 2.7 $ 2.7 $ 2.7 $ 2.3 $ 2.0
Goddard Space Flight Center 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.1
Jet Propuj.sion Laboratory 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3
Johnson Space Center 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.1 2.0
Kennedy Space Center 17.3 17.3 17.0 17.0 17.0
Langley Research Center 4.0 4.0 4.0 3.5 2.4
Marshall Space Flight Center 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 3.4
Mich.oud Assembly Facility 9.5 9.5 10.0 8.9 2.0
National Space Technology Laboratories .. 11.3 11.3 11.3 11.2 7.0
Palindale 7.3 7.3 7.3 7.2 5.9
Slidell 1.1 1.1 1.1 .8 .7
Western Test Range 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 .9
White Sands Test Facility *. - 1.3 - 1.3 1.3 .8 .7
Wallops Flight Center 1.1 1.1 .9 .9 .9
Various 1.9 1.9 1.9 ,~9 .4
SUB~'TOTAL $68.1 $68.1 $68.1 $63.6 $47.7
Rehabilitation and Modification 14.8 14.8 14.8 13.2 11.6
Minor Construction 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.2 3.6
Facility Planning and Design 13.6 13.6 13.6 12.7 11.4
TOTAL $101.1 $101.1 $101.1 $93.7 $74.3
1/ Variations between the authorized/appropriated amounts and the Program Plan reflect the ctmtulative
result of exercise of the authority contained in Section 2 of the 1974 Authorization Act, after
appropriate Congressional coordination.
PAGENO="0968"
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES DATA
FY 1975 (As of December 31, 1975) (Dollars in Millions)
Location Authorized Appropriated Program Plan Obligated Expended
AinesResearchCenter $ 37 $ 37 $ 37 $28 $10
Downey - 39 39 39 27 2
Dryden Flight Research Center 3 9 1 9 2 9 1 8 5
Goddard Space Flight Center 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 0 5
Hawaii 60 60 60 57 2
Jet Propulsion Laboratory 8 8 8 8 9 2 8 9 5 8
Johnson Space Center 1 8 1 8 1 8 1 2 5
Kennedy Space Center 67 0 64 6 64 6 44 7 10 9
Langley Research Center 3 5 3 5 3 5 2 3 4
Lewis Research Center 3 2 3 2 3 2 4
Marshall Space Flight Center 6 7 6 7 6 6 5 0 2 6
Wallops Flight Center 1 4 1 4 1 2 1 0 9
White Sands Test Facility 8 8 8 7 6
Various 14 14 29 14 3
SUB-TOTAL $114 2 $109 8 $112 4 $79 6 $24 4
Rehabilitation and Modification 14 9 14 9 14 9 10 4 5 1
Minor Construction 4 5 4 5 4 5 2 2 1 2
Facility Planning and Design 10 9 10 9 10 9 7 9 40
TOTAL $144 5 $140 1 $142 ~ 21 $100 I $34 7
11 The Program Plan total of $142 7 equals the appropriation of $140 1 plus $2 5 transferred from the
Research and Development Appropriation (R&D) to the Construction of Facilities (CoF) appropriation
under the provisions of Section 3 of the 1975 Authorization Act, after appropriate Congressional
notification The appropriation reduction is reflected at KSC Of the $2 5 transfer from R&D to C0F,
$1 0 is_at Dryden Flight Research Center and $1 5 in Various Other variations between the authorized/
appropriated amounts result from the exercise of authority contained in Section 2 of the 1975
Authorization Act
PAGENO="0969"
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES DATA
FY 1976 (As of December 31, 1975) (Dollars in Millions)
Location Authorized Appropriated Program Plan Obligated Expended
Ames Research Center $15.2 $ 2.7 $ 2.7 -
Johnson Space Center 3.2 3.2 3.2 -
Kennedy Space Center 35.4 35.4 35.4 $1.4
Langley Research Center 1.9 1.9 1.9 -
Various 8.6 8.6 8.6 1.8
SUB'TOTAL $64.3 $51.8 $51.8 $3.2
Rehabilitation and Modification 16.0 16.0 16.0 4.0
Minor Construction 5.0 5.0 5.0 .8
Facility Planning and Design 13.8 9.3
TOTAL $99.1 $82.1 $82.1 $8.4
1/ The Program Plan total of $82.1 equals the appropriation which is $17.0 less than the authorization
of which $12.5 is applicable to Ames Research Center and $4.5 to Facility Planning and Design.
PAGENO="0970"
968
QUESTION NO 2
Please provide for the record a `listing of those projects
authorized against which funds `have not been applied, the reasons
why funds have not been applied, and contemplated NASA action with
regard to each project
ANSWER
The current operating plan provides for application of resources to
all but three of the projects authorized in Fiscal Years 1973, 1974,
1975, 1976 and the Transition Period These projects are
(1) Modification of the 40-by 80-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel at Ames
Research Center which was authorized in Fiscal Year 1976 at
$12,500,000. This project will not be undertaken under our current
operating plan since no resources were appropriated for this project
and we are not able to identify funding which, to be a meaningful
effort, would require at least $10,000,000.
(2) Modifications for Solid Rocket Booster Component Manufacturing
and Assembly Facilities at a Location to be Designated which was
authorized in Fiscal Year 1976 at $3,000,000 This project was
included to provide for modifying existing facilities for the
manufacture and assembly of solid rocket booster (sRB) components.
The exact nature and extent of the modifications would be, as
indicated in the budget submission, dependent upon the contractor
selected. with the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corporation now
having been selected as the SRB component manufacturer1 this project
is not now required. We have tentatively allocated the resources
appropriated for this project for application to the resolution of
an acoustic noise problem at the launch pad of Launch Complex 39
during launch of the shuttle. In this respect, our request for 1977
includes $5,000,000 for application to solving the "on-pad" noise
problem up to the beginning of lift-off The acoustic problem and
required solution for about six seconds during actual lift-off
remains to be defined and implemented. We are expecting sufficient
data from tests scheduled in March-April 1976 at Marshall Space
Flight Center to arrive at a final solution in late April or early
May 1976. It is our intent at that time to realign these resources
with an appropriate Section 3 action
(3) Modification of Altitude Test Facilities at Arnold Engineering
Development Center authorized in Fiscal Year 1973 at $6 800,000
Subsequent to authorization and appropriation of resources for this
project the need for an altitude testing capability which was to be
provided by this project was eliminated The selection of a
"parallel burn" shuttle system wherein both the booster and orbiter
engines ignite at launch meant that there was no longer a need to
test any of the engines in a high altitude `environment. Under the
provisions of Section 3 of, t1~e. FY 1973 Authorization Act resources
appropriated for this project were reprogrammed to main engine sea
level test stands at NSTL and Modification of Manufacturing and
Final Assembly racilities at Downey
PAGENO="0971"
969
QUESTION NO. 3:
The FY 1977 Authorization request includes $124,020,000
for construction of facilities.
a. What was the magnitude of the program originally
considered by NASA headquarters in the budget review
process?
ANSWER:
NASA Headquarters was initially concerned with $246.9
million of major projects submitted by the field Centers.
This amount which is for major projects only was revised
downward by Center withdrawals, cost adjustments and
other intervening actions so that management finally
considered 51 specific projects ata total cost of $197.8
million. When the minor facility programs and facility
planning and design inputs are added, the adjusted total
was $278.3. million which compares to the $124.0 million
(22 projects) in the final FY 1977 CoP submittal.
PAGENO="0972"
970
QUESTION NO 3
The FY 1977 Authorization request includes $124,020,000
for construction of facilities
b What specific projects (include estimated cost)
were deferred or disapproved by NASA headquarters during
the review process~~
ANSWER
The specific projects deferred by NASA and the FY 1977
adjusted request to 0MB are enclosed
PAGENO="0973"
DISCRETE NON-SHUTTLE PROJECTS:
ARC _____
Modification for High Enthalpy Entry Facility
Construction of Supply Support Facility:
Modification of Flight Simulator for Advanced
Aircraft
Modification of 12-foot Pressure Wind Tunnel
FRC _____
Construction of Addition to Flight Control 750
Facility
Construction of Integrated Support Facility 890
GSFC 3~4,97~
Mothficatioris for Applications Support Facility 1,550
Construction of Logistics and Supply Facility 5,930
Modifications of Operations Control Centers : 1,850
Modifications for Fire Protection and Safety 1,185
Construction of Antenna Service Tower - 280
Alaska
Rehabilitation and Modification of Network 1,685
Facilities
Rehabilitation of Air-Cond'g. Systems, ~4O
Operations Bldgs., STDN Stations
Rehabilitation of Lighting in Operations 650
Bldgs. - STDN Stations
Construction of Mobile Lasers Facilities 1,200
JPL 20,875
Construction of Project Engineering Bldg. *~ .800
Construction of Addition to Integrated Systems : 600
* Test Facility
Construction of photovoltaic Lab. 3,400
Construction of Addition to Spacecraft Assembly" 600
* Facility
Center
Submis-
sion
* 9,315
1,225
1,500
1,730
Adjusted
Agency
to 0MB
4,490
t 220
1,540
1,730.
4,860 ** -0-
* 750
750
-0-
1,550
* 1,550
-0-
-0-.
* -0-.
* -0-
-0-
-0-
-0-
-0-
-0-
-0-
rO..
.-0-**
PAGENO="0974"
Submis
________ sion
JPL (Cont'd.
ons ruc ion of Storage Facility 3,500
Construction of Laser Absorption Lab (ETS) 1,750
Modification of Electrical System Space Flight 650
Operatiors Facility
Modification of Utility Control System 900
(Goldstone)
Modification of Facilities to Improve Seismic 1 675
Stability
Construction of Addition to Lunar Sample 2,800
* Curatorial Facility S
Construction ofAdditionto Space Environ- 515
ment and Effects Lab.
Modification of Chilled Water Generation 2 700
System
* * 6,085
Construction of Airlock to Spin Test Facility 360
Modifications for Utility Control Systems 4,335
* Construction of Addition to Visitor Informa- : 400
tion Center
Construction of Addition to Operations Support 320
Bldg. SLC-2(WTR)
Construction of Addition to Operations Support 670
Bldg., LC-17
LaRC ______
Modification of 0 5 Meter Wind Tunnel
Rehabilitation of Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel
Construction of Data Reduction Center Annex
* Construction of Addition for Aeroelastic
Model Lab.
Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Gener-
ating Facility
Modification of Utility Control System.
R0habilitation of Central Heating Plant
Modification of Airfield Pavement (WFC)
Adjust~ed
Agency
to 0MB
-0-S
-0-
-0-
-0-
-0-
2,800
* * ..
* ~~95
360
* .2,445
-0-
-0-
6,185
-0-
-0-
* 2,970
* * 730
* -0~~
21, 260
1,700
4,600
* 3,500
4,600
* 2,460
1,800
* 2,000
*~600.
PAGENO="0975"
Project
LeRC `
- Modification of Refrigeration Systems,
Electric Propulsion Lab.
Construction of Engine Test Stands
Modification of Air Supply System,
Propulsion Systems Lab.
Rehabilitation of Combustion Air' Drying
System, Engine Research Bldg.
MSFC
* ~Tfication of BldgS. for Fire: Protection
Rehabilitation of Laboratory and Office Bldg.
Rehabilitation of Engineering and Development
Lab..
*NSTL
* Modification of Sewage Disposá]. System
Rehabilitation of High Temperature Hot Water
System
WFC
`Construction of Addition for Management
Services
TOTAL DISCRETES OTHER TERN SHUTTLE,
PAYLOADS, AND_LARGE AERO'
Large Aeronautical Facilities
Construction of' National Transonic Facility
(LaRC) , `
Modification of 40 x 80-Foot Subsonic Wind
Tunnel (Phase I, Repowering)(AR(~)
`
~.Ut4 ~
Submis~
sion `,
4UjU5~a@
Agency -
to.OMB
,
~
*
29,26Q
675
*
*
`
2,170
~
10,000
*
:
-0-
17,lOQ
*
*
-0--
l,48S *
*
*
`1,490
~.
1,060 *
:
*
*
-~~-.
-0--
1,680
-
:
1,600
*: *,
*
,, -0--
1,000
,
,
600
.
-0--
-
5,340
~*
-0--
5,340
-0--
*`
-120,660
.
-
20,750
*
*
44,670
* 30,50~
` *
*.
35,000
~~,0O0
14,170 * `
*
*
10,000
PAGENO="0976"
Center.
Submis~ -
sion'
64,800
40,700.
7,100;
13,700
u,ooo
3,600
3,300
1,200
800
Adjusted
Agency
to 0M~
43,495
39,025
3,750
23,525
9,700
2,050
-0-
-0-V
1.
780
1,760
-0-
~1930
7,000
-0-
-0-
3,570
-0--
3,430.'
*~2j~ct
SHUTTLE
t~ch and Landing Faciliti~
Construction of Orbiter Processing
Facilities (KSC)
Modifications to Launch Complex 39 (KSC)
Modifications for Solid Rocket Booster
Processing Facilities (KSC)
Construction of Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft
Mating Facility (KSC)
Modification of Orbiter and Landing Test
Facilities (FRC)
Modifications and Additions for Crawler/
Transporter Maintenance Facility (KSC)
Construction of Orbiter Landing Facilities.,
(KSC)
Ground Test Facilities . . 6,200.
i~Iodifications for Crew Training Pacilities ~
(JSC)
Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle
Facilities (VAR)
Construction of Emergency Electrical Power
Supply (KSC)
Manufacturing and Assembly Facilities ______
~dIfication of Manufacturing and Final
Assembly Facilities for External Tanks
.(MAF)
2,500,
2,900!
~
17,900:
~pace Shuttle Payload Faciliti 16,700.,
Modifications for Interim Upper Stage Launch . 3,000
procossing (KSC)
Modifications for Long Duration Exposure , 600,
Facility (KSC) .
Modific4tions to Operations and Checkout . 3,100.
Bldg. for Spacelab (KSC) .
Modifications~ for Spacelab processing 4,700:.
Facility (MSFc) . . .. . ,
Modifications and. Addition for Shuttle ,, . 5,300'.
Payload iDavelooment (GSFC) `~ .
PAGENO="0977"
Project:
Rehabilitation and Modification of
Facilities at Various Locations Not
in Excess of $500,000 Per Project
Minor Construction of New Facilities and
Additions to Existing Facilities at
Various Locations, Not in Excess of.
~g,0OO Per Proj~~
&ubmis~
sion
54,000
Adjusted
Agency
to 0MB
19,875
Faci1it~y Planning arid Design
16,000
327,300
13,855'
145,100
~ô~soo 5,12~
BASIC BUDGET TOTAL
PAGENO="0978"
976
QUESTION NO. 3:'
The FY 1977 Authorization request ~nc1udes $124,020,000
for construction of facilities.
c. What was the total amouiit for construction of
facilities originally submitted to the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget?
ANSWER: .
The total FY 1977 C0F request to 0MB was for $145.1
million.
PAGENO="0979"
QUESTION NO. 3:
The FY 1977 Authorization request includes $124,020,000
for construction of facilities
d Were any projects specifically deleted or de-
ferred by the Office of Management and Budget' (If so,
list and provide the reasons for the deletion
ANSWER
The following adjustments totaling $2l.080 million were
made in the program, resulting in a final submittal to
Congress of $124 020 million
($ Nil
GSFC Modifications for Applications Support 1 550
Facility
ARC Modification of 40 x 80 ft Subsonic 10 000
Wind Tunnel
KSC Modifications to Launch Complex 39 3 670
(Shuttle)
GSFC Add'n. & Nodif'ns. to Shuttle Payload 2.660
Development
Hdqtrs. Rehabs. & Mods. at Various Locations 2.000
Hdqtrs. Facility Planning and Design 1.200
Total 21.080
The ONE did not provide specific reasons for these reduc-
tions which can be associated with any specific project.
In a general manner, it is assumed that these cuts
resulted from budgetary constraints.
977
PAGENO="0980"
978
QUESTION NO 3
The FY 1977 Authorization request includes $124 020 030
for construction of facilities
e. Do you consider that the FY 1977 request is
adequate to meet the agency's needs for FY 1977'~
ANSWER
The FY 1977 C0F request certainly represents priority
and urgent Agency facility needs. The only concern
which continues relates to the deferred action of the
initial plan of the repowering of the 40 x 80-foot
Subsonic Wind Tunnel at Ames Research Center Except
for this possible concern the FY 1977 request of
$124.O20 million is considered adequate.
PAGENO="0981"
979
QUESTION NO 3
The FY 1977 Authorization request includes $124 020,000
for constructibn of facilities
f Will any of the projects originally proposed
which were deferred or deleted ~i.n the budget review
process have an effect on the future R&D effort? If so,
what will be the impact'
ANSWER
Again with the exception of the 40 x 80-foot Wind
Tunnel repowering mentioned in response to Question 3 e
it is not anticipated that the 0MB budget action will
have any adverse effect on future R&D efforts In the
case of the 40 x 80-foot repowering, of course,delay in
initiation of the large effort extends by an equivalent
time the availability of this important research tool.
PAGENO="0982"
980
QUESTION NO 4
The Committee continues to be concerned about the amounts included
in the construction project estimates for escalation and contingen-
cies These factors tend to distort the budget estimating process
a As a general "rule of thumb " how much is included in your
FY 1977 project estimates for escalation and contingencies?
ANSWER
Construction costs for materials and wages have been on a continual
rise for many years In order to compensate for this increase in
construction cost, an escalation factor is added to the basic
engineering estimate to develop a budgetary figure for the fiscal
year in which the proposed facility is to be constructed. Generally,
the escalation factor is added to the engineering estimate to provide
for increases in construction cost between the time the engineering
estimate is prepared and the time the work is to be accomplished
We program for this in our budget estimates by including this escala-
tion factor to the mid-point of the construction period The mid-
point of the construction period concept is applied since it usually
is that time frame at which we have maximum construction activity
For the projects included in our F? 1977 Budget the general "rule of
thumb" for the escalation factor was 10/ to 12/ per year
The contingency factor used in our budget estimate provides for un-
foreseen requirements that may develop during the design and con-
struction phase of the building process The completeness of the
criteria/design requirements and the design complexity of the
facility proposed are carefully analyzed as a basis for assigning
this contingency factor The normal range for the contingency
factors used in our budget estimates is between 10-15/ The 10/
factor was applied for average' type facilities (office warehouse,
etc.) and 15% was used for the more "complex" type facilities (test
stands, launch pads, special process type.facilities). Contingency
factors beyond the normal ranges were applied in. certain special
cases and are detailed in 4(b).
PAGENO="0983"
981
QUESTION NO 4
The Cossnittee continues to be concerned about the amounts included
in the construction project estimates for escalation and contingen-
cies These factors tend to distort the budget estimating proce~s
b Which projects (if any) in the FY 1977 request deviate from the
"norm" and what are the reasons therefore?
ANSWER:
The project factors that deviate from the "norm" along with
reasons therefore are indicated below:
o Modification to Launch Complex 39 budgeted for $19,855 000
contains a 25/ contingency factor for the PAD "A' modifications
The work is required to alleviate critical acoustic problems that
will occur during shuttle `lift-off' To determine the ground
facility options available to alleviate this critical acoustic
problem a test program was initiated While the test program is
still underway and the test data is continuing to be analyzed, a
"baseline" feasible solution has been identified. Refinement and
optimization of this solution will be available in early CY 1976.
The "baseline" solution stenmiing from the results of the completed
tests translated into facility requirements include hydropneuni.atic
storage tanks, new distribution piping and a nozzle spray system
Since the refinement and optimization of the "baseline solutions'
was still in process at the time of budget preparation it was
considered prudent to add an additional 10% above the 15% for
this complex work to allow for unforeseen facility requirements
that may occur in the final definitization of the high pressure
water injection, system.
o Modification for Solid Rocket Booster Processing Facilities
budgeted for $9,700,000 contains a contingency factor of 20%.
This factor was used because the SRB Assembly Contractor and the
Parachute. Handling Contractor have not been selected at this time
and there~fore the exact plan that these support contracts will
implement are not fully known and may impact. these modifications.
To meet program milestones, these modifications must be begun in
FY 1977 Design of the modification will be in such a fashion as
to provide the facilities each of these support contractors must
utilize. It is envisioned that some additional minor adjust-
ments will be required to facilitate specific requirements
o Modifications to Operations and Checkout Building for Spacelab
budgeted for $3,570,000 contains a contingency factor of 20%.
This factor was used because this project supports the Spacelab
program and its experiments which are now in the design and
development phase Integration checkout and processing of this
developmental hardware is the key objective of this facility
project While we know the size and shape of the Spaceleb (wiich
is being developed by the Europeans) and while a baseline plan
PAGENO="0984"
982
ANSWER TO QUESTION 4(b) CO~TINUED
for checking and integrating the experiment is at hand it is most
likely that certain changes will occur For this reason we ha/L
allowed approximately 57 above the normal range to accommodate for
the facility impact as a result of these anticipated changes in
the developmental hardware.
PAGENO="0985"
983
QUESTION NO 5
Please provide for the record a complete listing of all fund
transfers affecting the construction program over the past two
years
ANSWER:
Over the past two years $2 5 million has been transferred from the
Research and Development (R&D) Appropriation to the Construction of
Facilities (CoF) Appropriation This transfer was accomplished
under the provisions of Section 3 of the 1975 Authorization Act
(P L 93-316) on January 28, 1975
PAGENO="0986"
984
QUESTION NO. 6
To what extent has NASA invoked the principle of advance
procurement of critical construction materials during
the past year? What sources of funds were used to
defray costs incurred for these purposes? What authority
exists for action of this nature?
ANSWER
There are two aspects of this question relating to the
advance procurement of critical construction materials
and equipment for a specific facilities project. First,
within the execution phase of any facility project, it
may become necessary or advantageous for the Government
to advance procure certain materials or equipment
separate from and in advance of the subsequent or general
construction contract(s). This aspect usually evolves
in the design phase of a project when the advantages of
such actions become evident in terms of: (I) network
planning or lead time, (2) actual or potential shortages
or significant potential upward price changes, (3) essen-
tial for meeting an established programmatic milestone.
Secondly, at times it does become apparent that comparable
or even greater advantages might accrue to the Government
with respect to a facility project which has been presented
to the Congress but for which authorization and/or appropri-
ation are pending final approval. During the past year,
there have not been any of these actions considered;
however, i~he probability of such advance procurements
arising in the future is believed to be sufficient to
justify specific authorization with respect to this
matter rather than reliance on general authorization and
to this end, NASA intends to consider suggesting appropriate
legislative language in the FY 1978 cycle.
PAGENO="0987"
985
QUESTION NO. 7:
What is your estimate cf the unoblig-~t~ balance of
construction funds at the end of the transition period?
What is your schedule for obligations of the balance
remaining'
ANSWER
The unobligated balance of CofF funds at the end of the
Transition Period is e~,timated to be about $50 9 million
Of this amount some $28 5 million is expected to be
obligated in FY 1977 and the $22.4 million balance
shortly thereafter.
PAGENO="0988"
REPORT OF REAL PROPERTY DISPOSAL ACTIONS ACCOMPLISHED
FISCALYEAR ENDING JUNE3Oj975
DISPOSED OF AND REMOVED FROM ACCOUNTABLE RECORDS
INSTALLATION
0.
NO OF
E.
LAND
F
BUILDINGS
K. OThER 5TRUCTURES
AND FACILITIES
H. LEASEHOLD
IMPROVEMENTS
CASES
ACRES
RECORDED
ROOK VALUE
NO
SQ IT
RECORDED
~K
NO.
RECORDED
BOOK VALUE
AMES RESEARCH CENTER
GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT
CENTER
JET PROPULSION LARORATORY
1
11
30,848
0 858,000
5
8
855,000
3
2
826
8 2,487
1
6
8521
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
ZENIOEOY SPACE CENTER
lANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER
LEWIS RESEARCH CENTER
10
8
2
.
1,688
*
8 827,600
11
10
1
27,462
26,260
3,579
0 89,151
0 548,697
0 06694
-
-
1
-
-
$ 17160
MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT
CENTER
WALlOPS FUGUT CENTER
WRITE SANDS TEST FACIUTY
2
4
`
-
52.4
`
.
$ 18,138
`
5
3
`
14,651
8,380
.
$ 436,334
~
$ 132,794
18
15
$ 434,810
$ 384,412
`
-
-
1
328.3
$ 620,104
`
-
.
.
-
.
TOTAL
29
14887
81474,242
4j
110.337
$2,162,137
60
81 A.0823
WOO
986
QUESTION NO. 8:
Please provide for the record a listing of ~dl capital pvc~erty
disposals affecting the real property value during the piiod
July 1 1974 - June 30 1975
ANSWER
For the record a listing of all capital property disposals
affecting the real property value during FY 1975 is as follows
RECORDED -
BOOK VALUE
NATIONAL SPACE TECH. LAB.
$3,588
PAGENO="0989"
987
QU~TION NO. 9:
According to a previous communication dated Noven~ber 26, 1975, NASA
initiated action to acquire Air Force Plant 64, Santa Susana,
California.
(a) What is the status of this acquisition?
ANSWER:
After completing the reporting requirement evidenced by our
November 26, 1975 communication, a reouest for transfer was sub-
mitted to GSA by MSFC. The request was returned for:
(1) some indication that we had complied with 0MB Circular A-95
(Coordination with local governments to assure compati-
bility of respective programs), and
(2) deletion from the request of any mention of the structures
on AF Plant 64. NSFC is now staffing a resubmittal of the
request for transfer. They are suggesting that 0MB
Circular A-95 clearance is not necessary since the
property being acquired is to be used merely as a buffer
zone. Mention of the buildings, which are not included in
the proposed NASA acquisition, has been deleted from the
request.
PAGENO="0990"
988
QU~TION NO. 9
According to a previous commuiication dated ~cverner 2~, 1975, NASA
initiated actior to acquire Air Force Plant 64, Santa Susana,
California
(b) Why does NASA need this additional propert/'
ANSWER
This real property was initially declared "excess" by the Air Force
and thus became available for disposition including possible
ultimate sale outside the governmert It is required by NAS1~ for use
as a buffer zore between the private sector property and the shuttle
main engine component test facilities During certain testing
operati~ons, it is estimated that this area will be subjected to
110 decibels of sound pressure levels which is comparable to
aircraft flyover noise near a large airport. As such, retention of
this property by the government for use as a buffer zone is
necessary to assure non-interference by others with scheduled test
programs and to prevent damage and nuisance chaiges/claims which
could be levied by occupants
PAGENO="0991"
989
QUESTION NO. 9:
According to a previous communication dated November 26, 1975, NASA
initiated action to acquire Air Force Plant 64, Santa Susana,
California.
(c) What use will be made of this propert~y and the Santa Susana
Test Facility following the completion of the Shuttle
engine development program?
ANSWER:
No plans have been identified at this time regarding the future
utilization or disposition of this test facility upon completion of
the shuttle engine development program currently scheduled for corn-
pletion in CY 1979.
70-079 0 - 76 - 63
PAGENO="0992"
990
QUESTION NO. 9:
According to a previous cornmunlca+ion dated hrrember 26, 197c, NASA
initiated action to acquire Air Force Plant 64, Santa Susana,
California
(d) What is the estimated annual cost of operating and main-
taining the rewly acquired AF Plant 64~' What sources 01
funds are used to defray these costs?
ANSWER
To date, no NASA funds have been expended £ or operating and rrain-
taming the newly acquired AF Plant 64 Since AF Plant 64 will
consist of only bare land, minimal coot, if any, is envisioned for
the annual operating and maintenance of this open area.
PAGENO="0993"
991
QU~TION NO. 9:
According to a previous communication dated November 26, 1975, NASA
initiated action to acquire Air Force Plant 64, Santa Susana,
California.
(e) What is the annual cost of institutional support for the
Santa Susana Test Facility and what sources of funds are
used? Is this institutional support part of the
Rocketdyne contract?
ANSWER:
The annual cost of institutional support is approximately $3 million
for the Space Shuttle Main Engine efforts at the Santa Susana Test
Facility. This institutional support is funded from the R&D
resources and is part of the Rocketdyrie contract.
PAGENO="0994"
992
QUESTION NO. 10:
With regard to the proposed relocation of certain
~.tLS Navy activities to the National Space Technology
Laboratory
a What is the status of the Navy s proposed
move?
~SWER:
The implementation of the modification work at National Space
Technology Laboratories (NSTL) and Slidell Computer Complex (SCC)
was stopp~ed un January 1, 1976, as a result of a "preliminary
iu3uuc~ion" issued on December 5, 1975, by the U.S. District Court.
TI~ oni~y work that continues is the modification of Bldg. 902 at
£I~~11 ~m~~zbhe Ccwxt modified the `injunction" on December 23,
1975, tc q~~it ~is ~n~tm~letion of this effort The work associated
~with the Modification to Bldg 902 at Slidell is scheduled for
c~np1etion by the end of February 1976. The "preliminary
xupmct.ion" ~hichALrected the Navy and NASA to stop all inodifica-
~tiun work, also directed the Navy to stop moving involuntary
civilian personnel to NSTL.
PAGENO="0995"
993
QUESTION NO. 10:
With regard to the proposed relocation of certain U.S.
Navy activities to the National Space Technology
Laboratory:
b) Have any Navy personnel actually moved to the
site?
ANSWER:
Yes. As of February 6, 1976, the Navy had 171 personnel assigned
to the National Space Technology Laboratories, Bay St. Louis,
Nississippi. The personnel included 112 permanent employees
(105 Civil Servants and 7 Military) and 59 temporary military
personnel.
PAGENO="0996"
994
With regard to the proposed relocation of certain U.S.
Navy activities to the National Space Technology
Laboratory:
c) What is the status of NASA's modification of
facilities to accommodate the Navy's move?
ANSWER:
NASA initiated the design for the modifications of 11 buildings
and 2 complexes at National Space Technology Laboratories (NSTL)
and the design for the modification of Building 902 and a small
new exterior building at the Slidell Computer Complex (SCC) on
May 4, 1975. All the design work is completed.
The modification work for the consolidation of NASA activities
and personnel at NSTL and SCC was started in September 1975. By
January 1, 1976, when the `temporary injunction" took effect,
NSTL had completed all the modification wor~ in 7 buildings and
one complex. The work on 4 other buildings is about 707~ to 987
completed and the contract was not then awarded for one complex
of buildings.
A summary of the funds programmed and utilized for the consolidation
of NASA activities at NSTL and SCC is as follows:
Total Program -
Pro~ratisned
QUESTION NO. 10:
(1)
(2)
(3)
FP&D
CofF
DTh0
TOTALS
$ 75,000
1,450,000
295,000
$1,820,000
As of Feb. 3, 1976
Obligations -
$ 75,000
958,600
171,942
$1,205,542
PAGENO="0997"
995
Question 10(d)
With regard to the proposed relocation of certain U.S.
Navy activities to the National Space Technology Laboratory--
d. If the injunction against the Navy's move now
pending in the courts is upheld, what disposition will
be made of those facilities earmarked for the Navy's use at
NSTL?
Answer
In the event the Navy is not able to consummate its move,
other suitable tenants will be sought for those facilities
currently earmarked for the Navy. Because of the desirable
location and advantages offered by the NSTL setting, it is
anticipated that other agencies having compatible require-
ments would find these facilities an attractive alternative
for meeting their needs.
PAGENO="0998"
996
Q~estionll
There appears to have been some realignment of program and
project responsibilities at the various field centers.
Please provide for the record a ~j~I 9eneral definition
of roles and missions assigned to each of the centers,
including JPL, and the associated satellite installations.
Answer
Principal NASA Field Center roles are as follows:
Ames Research Center
o Short Haul Aircraft Systems Technology
o Helicopters Systems Technology*
o Computational Fluid Dynamics Systems
o Flight Simulation Technology
o Life Sciences
- Aeronautics
- Exobiology
- Space Medicine (includes Flight Experiments)
o Planetary Entry Technology
- Probes
o Airborne Science & Applications
- Earth Resources
- Stratospheric Research
- Infrared Astronomy
o Infrared Payloads for Spacelab
*Subject to further definition.
PAGENO="0999"
997
~áwerli (cant'd)
L. DrydenF1ic~ht Research Center
/1 o Flight Research
- New Techniques and Instrumentation
- New Design Concepts & Flight Regimes
- Safety
- Support of Other Centers
o RPRV Technology
o Shuttle Support
Goddard Space Flight Center
o Development of Automated Earth Orbit Spacecraft
- Standard Spacecraft System
o Earth Orbit Flight Operations
- Flight Control of Automated Spacecraft
- Tracking & Data Acquisition
o Science & Applications, mci. Flight Experiments
- Physics and Astronomy
- Stratospheric Research
- Weather and Climate
- Earth and Ocean Dynamics
- Communications
- Earth Resources
o Launch Vehicles
- Sounding Rockets
- Delta
PAGENO="1000"
998
Answer 11 (cont'd)
Jet Propulsion Laboratp~y
o Development of Automated Deep Space Spacecraft
- Spacecraft System TechnologY
- Guidance and Control
o Deep Space Flight Operations
- Flight Control of Automated Spacecraft
- Tracking & Data Acquisition
o Alternate, Development of Automated Science and
Applications Earth Orbit Spacecraft
- SEASAT
- Free Flyers
o Science and Flight Experiments
Planetary
- Stratospheric Research
- Earth and Ocean Dynamics
o Energy Programs--Reimbursable
Johnson Space Center
o Development of Manned Spacecraft
- Shuttle
a Manned Flight Operations
- STS Flight Control
- Experiment/Payload Flight Control for Spacelab
o Space Medicine and Biotechnology
- Flight Experimenls
PAGENO="1001"
999
Aswe~~lL (cont'd)
,/ *3ohrzfl~p~ce Center (cont'd)
0 Earth Resources
D*~Ea Techniques/Instrumentation
~~xperirnents
- A/C Operations
o Lunar/Planetary Geoscience
o Advanced Systems
Kennedy Space Center
o Launch Systems Development
o Unmanned Launch Operations
o STS Ground Operations
- Levels I and II Integ.
- Spacelab Level III Integ.
Launch Operations
- STS Turnaround
Langley Research Center
0 Long Haul Aircraft Systems Technology
o Helicopter Systems Technology*
o Acoustics and Aircraft Noise Reduction
o Aircraft Avionics Technology Systems
.o General Aviation Technology
o Aerospace Structures
*Subject to further definition.
PAGENO="1002"
1000
Answer II (cont'd)
Johnson Space Center (cont'd)
o Earth Resources
- Data Techniques/Instrume~1tatiOfl
- Experiments
- A/C Operations
o Lunar/Planetary Geoscience
o Advanced Systems
*Kennedy Space Center
o Launch Systems Development
o Unmanned Launch Operations
o STS Ground Operations
- Levels I and II Integ.
Spacelab Level III Integ
- Launch Operations
- STS Turnaround
Langley Research Center
o Long Haul Aircraft Systems Technology
o Helicopter Systems Technology*
o Acoustics and Aircraft Noise Reduction
o Aircraft Avionics Technology Systems
o General Aviation Technology
o Aerospace Structures
*Subject to further definition.
PAGENO="1003"
1001
~ (cont'd)
~n~j~ey ~es~arch Center (cont'd)
o Environmental Quality Research & Monitoring
- Flight Experiments
o Advanced Space Vehicle Systems Technology
Earth Entry Systems
- Planetary Entry*
o Launch Vehicles
- Scout
Lewis Research Center
o Aeronautical Propulsion Technology
o Centaur Launch Vehicle
o Space Energy Processes & Systems Technology
o Terrestrial Energy Conversion Applications and
Systems--Reimbursable
o High Power Communication Flight Experiments
Marshall Space Flight Center
o Development of Major Propulsion Oriented Systems and
Subsystems
- SSME, SRB, ET
- IUS
o Spacelab Development & Mission Management of I and II
*Subject to further definition.
PAGENO="1004"
1002
~uest.ion 11 (cont'd)
Marshall Space Fl~ght Center (cont'd)
o Development of Specialized Automated Spacecraft
(As assigned)
- HEAO
- LST
o Space Materials and Structures
o Space Processing
o Data Management
o Energy Programs - Reimbursable
o Advanced Systems
Wallops Flight Center
o Sounding Rocket Operations
- Worldwide
- Launch
- Tracking & Data Acquisition
o Management of Sounding Rockets and Flight Experiments
- Procurement of Rockets
- Management of Payload Carriers Experiment
Development and Integration
PAGENO="1005"
1003
Question 12
Master plans originally developed at the Field Centers
were based on an annual space and aeronautics program
exceeding $5.0 billion. Many facilities were built to
support this level of effort. Cutbacks in space spending
to the $3-4 billion level have been made which now appears
to be a relatively stable level of annual effort. Drastic
reductions in civil service and contractor personnel have
been effected reducing the requirements for installations
and facilities. The Committee is quite concerned that
NASA's capital plant is not being fully utilized and an
oversight study now underway. will hopefully provide the
Committee with a better perspective in this matter.
In the interim:
a. How frequently are NASA Headquarters studies con-
ducted at the fie~L~nsta1latiOfl 1 regarding
effective utilization of existing facilities and
equipment?
Answer
Field Center facility utilization reviews occur on an annual
basis in conjunction with the C of F budget review cycle.
Special reviews are also undertaken because of changes in
circumstance, such as significant reductions in personnel
ceilings. Facility utilization considerations are often
part of Center Performance Reviews which are held annually
at each field center by the Headquarters Center Operations
Staff. In addition, frequent staff visits by the Head-
quarters Facilities Office are directed to many individaual
aspects of field center facilities or facilities operations--
of which effective utilization is one key facet. Special,
ad hoc, studies of utilization are also undertaken periodi-
cally. Since late 1973 at least seven such studies have
been conducted which address facility utilization and equip-
ment management subjects.
PAGENO="1006"
1004
tion
Master plans originally developed at the Field Centers
were based on an annual space and aeronautics program
exceeding $5 0 billion Many facilit.ies\Tere built to
support this level of effort Cutbac}'s in space spending
to the $3-~4 billion level have been made which now appedrs
to be a relatively stable level of annual effort Dra~3tic
reductions in civil service and contractor personnel have
been effected reducing the requirements for installations
and facilities. The Committee is quite concerned that
NASA's capital plant is not being'fully utilized and an
oversight study now underway will hopefully provide the
Committee with a better perspective in this matter.
In the interim:
b What periodic reporting requirements (if any)
are levied on the field installations to assure
continuous monitoring of space utilization by
the Headquarters'
Answer
Detailed space utilization reports are provided to flead-
quarters by the NASA Field Centers on an annual basis,
indicating data relative to space utilization as of
30 June In addition, updates to this annual data must
be provided by a Center which requests any facility con-
struction affecting available office space Such pen-
odic reporting is suppIemented*by the studies and monitoring
activities mentioned in conjunction with (l2a) above
PAGENO="1007"
1005
Question 12
Master plans originally developed at the Field Centers
were based on an annual space and aeronautics program
exceeding $5.0 billion. Many facilities\iere built to
support this level of effort. Cutbacks in space spending
to the $3~4 billion level have been made which now appears
to be a relatively stable level of annual effort. Drastic
reductions in civil service and contractor personnel have
been effected reducing the requirements for installations
and facilities. The Committee is quite concerned that
NASA's capital plant is not being fully utilized and an
oversight study now underway will hopefully provide the
Committee with a better perspective in this matter.
In the interim:
c. Are any plans under consideration to:
1) Close installations or inactivate major
items of R&D equipment?
2) Consolidate activities or functions?
3) Transfer installations, facilities or
major items of equipment to other agencies
or departments of the Federal Government
* engaged in R&D activities?
r~( l~ç~
1. No new installation closings or facility deactivations
are scheduled at this time. However, consolidations and
functional realignments now occurring among the NASA
Centers, as well as shifting programmatic requirements~ may
well result in some additional facility phase downs in the
future.
2. The recently completed Institutional Assessment has
resulted in planned program consolidations and realign-
ments scheduled to begin in FY 1977 and continue through
1979. Some of the more significant changes planned are
to:
(a) Consolidate the number of Centers in "free
flyer" development with the major role at GSFC.
(b) Consolidate most planetary spacecraft work at
JPL.
(c) Put Shuttle flight operations at JSC and ground
operations for Shuttle, including payload inte-
gration)at KSC.
(d) Consolidate SRT work consistent with principal
roles of the Centers.
(e) Focus aeronautics role of ARC on short haul air-
craft systems and the LaRC role on long haul
systems.
70-079 0 - 76 - 64
PAGENO="1008"
1006
Answer(l2C')~cont' d
3 No plans currently exist for tran'~ferring installations
or facilities to other agencies p~ ~ However it has
been our policy to make facilities and technical capabili-
ties available to other agencies in a manner compatible
with NASA1s longer range programmatic needs Examples of
cooperation with ERDA and the DOD typify our approach to
sharing Federal laboratory capabilities
PAGENO="1009"
1007
tiOfl
Master plans originally developed at the Field Centers
were based on an annual space and aeronautics program
exceeding $5.0 billion. Many facilitie~q~~~ built to
support this level of effort. Cutbacks in space spending
to the $3-4 billion level have been made which now appears
to be a relatively stable level of annual effort. Drastic
reductions in civil service and contractor personnel have
been effected reducing the requirements for installations
and facilities. The Committee is quite concerned that
NASA's capital plant is not being fully utilized and an
oversight study now underway will hopefully provide the
Committee with a better perspective in this matter.
In the interim:
d. Have any specific studies been made and what is
the status of such plans whith regard to the
feasibility of consolidating:
1) Astronaut training, and mission control act-
ivities in support of shuttle operations?
~ 2) Aeronautical research and development?
3) Control and management of tracking and
data operations?
4) Payload development for shuttle operations?
5) Biomedical research and development?
Answer(l2~fl
(1-5) The recently completed Institutional Assessment
encompassed a reevaluation of these areas1 among others,
with regard to potential consolidation. The results of
that assessment were as follows:
Astronaut training and mi~ion control activities in
support of Shuttle operatip~~--Principal responsiblity
remains with JSC, and these activities are consolidated
at that center.
Aeronautical research and development--work at Ames is
being focused on short haul aircraft systems. while
Langley focus will be on long haul systems. A study is
currently underway regarding potential transfer of
helicopter work between Langley and Ames. Results of
the study are due in the Spring of 1976.
Control and management of tracking and data operations--
no changes are planned at this time. Responsibliity
remains with GSFC for automated earth orbital space-
craft and with JPL fDr deep space systems.
PAGENO="1010"
1008
Answer (12d) cont'd
Payload development for Shuttle erations--the govcr-
fling philosophy is to match payload development activity
with each Center's special capabilities. All Centers
except Dryden, Kennedy and Wallops will have roles in
this overall effort which relate to their special exper-
tise and capabilities. Shuttle/Spacelab payload integration
will be consolidated at KSC.
Biomedical research and development--MSFC is being
phased out of biotechnology role. Development of Space-
lab life sciences research capability is being focused
at JSC, with basic biosciences support provided by Ames.
Ames will continue to focus on basic biosciences research
desciplines, while JSC focus is on space medical support.
PAGENO="1011"
1009
Question 12
Master plans originally developed at the Field Centers
were based on an annual space and aeronautics program
exceeding $5 0 billion Many facilities\~ere built to
support this level of effort Cutbacks in space spending
to the $3-4 billion level have been made which now appears
to be a relatively stable level of annual effort Drastic
reductions in civil service and contractor personnel have
been effected reducing the requirements for installations
and facilities The Committee is quite concerned that
NASA's capital plant is not being fully utilized and an
oversight study now underway will hopefully provide the
Committee with a better perspective in this matter.
In the interim
e What disposit~o~ will be made of major test facili-
ties at the Nat~onal Space Technology Laboratori
teste~p Space shuttle has been developed and
Answer (12e)
As the population of tenant agencies grows at NSTL the
demand for and utilization of existing technical facili-
ties there is increasing. It is expected that this growth
in demand over the next 3-5 years will provide a basis for
effective utilization of most technical facilities at the
NSTL site The rocket engine test facilities represent
a significant long term capability for NASA and will be
retained to meet scheduled and any potential future
requirements
PAGENO="1012"
1010
ition 12
Master plans originally developed at the Field Centers
were based on an annual space and aeronautics program
exceeding $5.0 billion. Many facilities'~1ere built to
support this level of effort. Cutbacks in space spending
to the $3-4 billion level have been made which now appears
to be a relatively stable level of annual effort. Drastic
reductions in civil service and contractor personnel have
been effected reducing the requirements for installations
and facilities. The Committee is quite concerned that
NASA's capital plant is not being fully utilized and an
oversight study now underway will hopefully provide the
Committee with a better perspective in this matter.
* In the interim:
f. What is the future role of the White Sands Test
Facility after the present test activities in
support of the space shuttle are completed?
Answer (1 2f)~
Testing of auxiliary propulsion systems related to shuttle
* is expected to continue through 1983. Beyond that, White
Sands will continue to be the focus for shuttle related
materials testing--an ongoi.ng requirement. In addition,
White Sands is currently being considered as a ground
station site in conjunction with TDRSS development.
PAGENO="1013"
1011
Question 12
Master plans originally developed at the Field Centers
were based on an annual space and aeronautics program
exceeding $5 0 billion Many facllities\Tere built to
support this level of effort Cutbacks in space spending
to the $3-4 billion level have been made which now appears
to be a relatively stable level of annual effort Drastic
reductions in civil service and contractor personnel have
been effected reducing the requirements fOr installations
and facilities The Committee is quite concerned that
NASA's capital plant is not being fully utilized and an
oversight study now underway will hopefully provide the
Committee with a better perspective in this matter
In the interim
g What is NASA's long term requirement for the use
of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the contract
for operation thereof with Cal Tech9
Answer(l2gj
JPL has the key long range role in the Agency for develop-
ment of all future automated spacecraft for planetary
exploration JPL will also be the focus for the planetary
sciences associated with such exploration
PAGENO="1014"
1012
QUESTION NO 4 ~
B Modifications for Utility Contiol Systems -
$2 445,000
(9) What would be the impact if this project ~ere
deferred for one year~
I~NSWER
If this project were deferred for one year, KSC would
need to reallocate preventative maintenance personnel
previously reassigned and augment the facility operation
and maintenance manning to compensate for this adjust-
ment This would cost KSC approximately an additional
$1 4 million to pay for these personnel
In addition, if this project is not completed in time to
be interfaced on a validated basis with the Launch
Processing System time will be lost making it difficult
to obtain down-time to later implement the UCS with-
out impacting the support of the Shuttle The completion
of this project has been scheduled for May 1978 to
allow sufficient time for validation and checkout of
both of these systems which will provide support
beginning in September 1978. If this is not done,
reopening of these launch associated systems for UCS
at a later date will also entail revalidation which will
be a major added cost
PAGENO="1015"
1013
QUESTION NO 1 Ames Research Center
C Construction of Supply Support Facility $1 540 000
(3) Granted that the present use of the area under
the 40x80-foot wind tunnel is not too satis-
factory howmany reported instances of hearing
and nervous individual health problems have
been tr~at~~~
ANSWER
During the operation of the 40x80-Foot Wind Tunnel, the resulting
high noise levels and vibrations have severely limited and dis-
rupted the receiving and shipping operations in the storage area
below Noise surveys have indicated levels as high as 110dB in
this area The personnel performing these functions have been
provided custom-fitted ear plugs to alleviate the noise distur-
bances however, this has resulted in personnel communications
problems in the performance of duty tasks. The employees assigned
to these functions have objected and complained about the working
conditions on a regular basis and some more formal complaints
have been filed
In addition, vibrational problems in the supply area have caused
florescent light fixture hangers to break loose and penetrate
cartons, and sprinkler hangers have broken, causing pipes to fall
on several occasions. As a result of engineering studies made,
the Center Safety Officer has recommended the cessation of these
types of activities in this area and this is agreed to be our
objective. ;
PAGENO="1016"
1014
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Cent
C. Construction of Supply Support Facility, $1,540,000:
(2) What impact on storage and distribution acti-
vities do the "winter' months actually have on
operations in the ARC area?
ANSWER:
During the winter months especially from November through April
the average rainfall at the Ames Research Center is over ten inches.
This level of rainfall requires that all supplies and equipment
which are stored in the open be protected by plastic covering. The
doors to the existing covered storage areas at the Center are too
small for the entrance of certain items of large equipment. This
requires that some large equipment be stored in the open or with
temporary coverage. The problem with the outside storage during
this rainy period is that additional costs of manpower and
materials are required to cover the equipment. Also, in November/
December 1974 when a vital vacutnu pump was stored outside, corrosion
and rust caused by the outside storage resulted in a $500 cost
to repair this vacuum pump. Inside storage for this vital research
support equipment would not only provide adequate protection but
would reduce the maintenance cost necessary to service this equip-
ment that has deteriorated in the outside weather.
PAGENO="1017"
(1) Apparently open and c1ose~ storage areas are in
use at Ames and at Camp P~rk to meet the storage
needs. How much of the existing storage capa-
bility will be eliminated if this project is
approved? What disposition will be made of the
areas now used for these purposes~
ANSWER
The storage space presently used and proposed by the Ames Research
Center (ARC) is as follows
Existing - Proposed - -~
Closed Open Closed Open
(sq ft ) (sq ft ) (sq ft) (sq ft )
1) ARC under 4Ox8O- 45,000 -0- -0- -0-
Foot W.T.
2) ARC temporary 12,000 -0- -0- -0-
storage, Bldg N-243
3) ARC hard stand -0- 17,000 -0- 17,000
storage area
4) Camp Parks, 80,000 60,000 40,000 60,000
Pleasanton, CA
5) New Warehouse ..0- _______ _______
TOTAL 137,000 77,000
This project will eliminate the need for the closed storage space
under the 40x80-Foot Wind Tunnel, one half of the closed storage
at Camp Parks and the temporary storage space at the Center. The
space under the 4Ox8O-Foot Wind Tunnel is unsuitable for storage
activities due to the noise levels during the tunnel operations
and will no longer be used for active storage In the Flight and
Guidance Simulation Laboratory, Building N-243, the temporary
storage space occupies operational space normally used for
research programs and will again be needed for that purpose. The
closed storage space that will be made available at Camp Parks is
being considered for out leasing to ERDA (AEC).
1015
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
C. Construction of Supply Support Facility, $1,540,000:
_~Q,_9~ -0
120,000 77,000
PAGENO="1018"
1016
QUESTI0~ NO. 1: Ames Research Center
B. Modification of Flight Simulator for Advanced
Aircraft, $1,730,000:
(8) What is the design, and construction lead
time for this project?
ANSWER:
The design for this project will be completed in
October 1976. The construction period is for
12-14 months and allowing for checkout and activation,
the facility is scheduled to be operational in July
1978.
PAGENO="1019"
1017
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
B. Modification of Flight Simulator for Advanced
Aircraft, $1, 730,000:
(7) How much has been expended and how much will
be spent on this specific project for facility
planning and design?
ANSWER:
All facility planning and design work to date has been
done in-house. Approximately $104,000 in design effort
is scheduled to be contracted for this project in May
1976.
PAGENO="1020"
1018
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
B. Modification of Flight Simulator for Advanced
Aircraft, $1,730,000:
(6) How much has been included in the project
estimate for contingencies? How much for
escalation?
ANSWER:
A factor of 10% contingency has been used and 1% per
month for cost escalation to the mid construction point
have been applied to the engineering estimate in order
to develop a Budget amount.
PAGENO="1021"
1019
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
B. Modification of Flight Simulator for Advanced
Aircraft, $1,730,000:
(5) Most of the estimate for this project is in
lump sum form. What are the bases for the
various elements of the estimate?
ANSWER:
Lump sum estimates are used on these unique items for
which unit pricing is not applicable or accurate.
These costs are based on experience and extrapolated
from costs of recently acquired comparable or related
hardware.
PAGENO="1022"
1020
QUESTION NO. 1: ames Research Center
B. Modification of Flight Simulator for Advanced
Aircraft, $1,730,000:
(4) Will this facility be made available for use
by contractors in aeronautics not engaged in
government work? Engaged in government work?
If so, how are priorities and reimbursements
established?
ANSWER:
The simulator is presently fully utilized for high priority
government-related work. Completion of this project would
bring about a change only to the extent that additional shifts
of test time are made available. Existing government contractors
for NASA, DOD and DOT are currently using the FSAA and will
continue to do so.
Every effort is made to provide simulator time for all users with
valid programs. However, when a decision must be reached to
establish priorities of programs, the Center Director with the
Director of Aeronautics at ARC makes this final decision.
Other government agencies that will use this facility for
research programs, by contract or otherwise, will reimburse
NASA for all "out-of-pocket" costs. A contractor can also use
the facility for non-government work on a fully reimbursable
basis provided the resulting research data is made available
to the public.
PAGENO="1023"
1021
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
B. Modification of Flight Simulator for Advanced
Aircraft, $1,730,000:
(3) How much of this capability is actually
needed for the NASA aeronautical program and
how much for other agencies of the Federal
Government?
ANSWER:
Approximately 33% of the existing capability is used just for
NASA aeronautical research and 42% for joint NASA, DOD and DOT
(FAA) aeronautical programs. The remaining time (25%) is used
directly for other Federal agencies such as DOD (Army, Navy
and Air Force), DOT (FAA) in support of their programs.
Additional programs which would be accomplished with the added
capability would be distributed in the same ratios.
70-079 0 - 76 - 65
PAGENO="1024"
1022
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
B. Modification of Flight Simulator for Advanced
Aircraft, $1,730,000:
(2) What is being used to meet this need now?
ANSWER
The current need for use of the FSAA is greater than
the time now available on the simulator and many
programs are being turned down or deferred until this
modification project can be completed. However, this
proposed project will provide for the general improve-
ment in simulation quality and flexibility. The present
FSAA cab is limited in its visual simulator display to
a small forward field of view and structurally cannot
accommodate the new wide field displays that VTOL and
air to ground tactical tasks require for effective
simulation. Thus, the confidence in the results of
most of the schedule will be greatly enhanced by the
proposed project which will accommodate a wide variety
of visual display configurations. In other words, the
existing facility is being used to the extent feasible
to meet the needs. The established needs greatly ex-
ceed the present capability and consequently this
modification, which will permit at least 20% greater
productivity, is necessary.
PAGENO="1025"
1023
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
B. Modification of Flight Simulator for Advanced
Aircraft, $1, 730,000:
(1) How does this project relate to modifications
of the flight simulator included in the FY
1976 program? what is the status of the pre-
viously authorized project?
ANSWER:
The project is not physically related to the Addition
to the Flight & Guidance Simulation Laboratory Verti-
cal Motion Simulator. However, some of the common
support areas are used, such as the computer equipment,
visual scene generation equipment, shops, and the same
personnel will operate both facilities.
The Vertical Motion Simulator is currently under
construction and it is anticipated to be operational
in mid-1977.
PAGENO="1026"
1024
QUESTION NO 1 Ames Research Center
A Modification for High Enthalpy Entry Facility
$1 220 000
(7) What type of a survey was conducted to ascer-
tain that no known existing facilities are
available to meet this need?
ANSWER:
An extensive examination was made of existing known
facilities and comparisons were made of `their existing
capabilities This examination indicated that there
are "no known" facilities capable of producing the
environments required for developing the new heat
shield technology as envisioned by this project
PAGENO="1027"
1025
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research. Center
A. Modification for High Enthalpy Entry Facility,
$1, 220, 000:
(6) What "necessary structures" for the arc
heater and support systems are included in
the estimate?
ANSWER:
The structures included in and referred to in the
estimates are those internal support structures
necessary to physically hold the arc heater, the
gas and water manifolds and the piping, and required
electric cables in place.
PAGENO="1028"
1026
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
A. Modification for High Enthalpy Entry Facility,
$1,220,000:
(5) How much preliminary engineering has been
accomplished on this requirement?
ANSWER:
The preliminary engineering accomplished to date
amounts to about 15% of the total engineering effort
required for this project. This does not include the
engineering accomplished for the pilot facility from
which much "know how" was transferred to this project.
This is largely a "scale up" of earlier work.
PAGENO="1029"
1027
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
A. Modification for High Enthalpy Entry Facility,
$1, 220,000:
(4) All elements of the cost estimate for this project
are shown in lump sum amounts. What is the cost
esthnate in each of the elements based upon
specifically?
ANSWER:
The cost estimate for each of the elements was based on experience
gained during the modification of the 110 NW Pilot Facility which
is in the FY 1975 Rehabilitation and Modification Program and
will be completed in May 1976. The components of this facility
and the "Interaction Heating Shuttle Panel Test Facility"
modification work which was completed in March 1975 are in many
ways sensitive to those to be used in this project except for the
scaling factor.
The cost estimate was based on an updated in-house PER using a
contingency factor of lOL The previously developed engineering
estimate was revised in 1975 and a cost adjustment factor of 127,
per year was used from CY 1975 to the planned mid-point of
construction.
PAGENO="1030"
1028
QUESTION NO 1 Ames Re'eax~ch Center
A. Modification for High Enthalpy Entry Facility,
$1,220,000:
(3) What "new" heat shield technology does NASA
hope to develop with the facility?
ANSWER
The facility will be used to evaluate the conditions
of radiation, aerodynamic shear, and thermal stress
spallation of heat shield materials and concepts in
environments many times more severe than it has been
possible to experience on previous missions. Thermal
protection mechanisms in such an environment have
been identified on a theoretical basis, but experi-
mental verification is required to avoid the large
weight penalty of a prudent factor of safety There-
fore it is difficult to be specific as to what new
technology might be developed It is hoped however
that improved heat shield materials will evolve which
will permit a higher level of confidence in heat shield
design and use of a lighter heat shield for the reasons
set out in response to earlier questions. This facility
really "looks to the future" and hopefully will provide
a better understanding of the responses of.materials
to higher energy conditions
PAGENO="1031"
1029
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
A. Modification for High Enthalpy Entry Facility,
$1,220,000:
(2) Why can't facilities used to develop thermal
protection systems for the Apollo missions and
the current research in the Shuttle TPS system
be upgraded and used to meet this need?
ANSWER:
The rate of heat input to a test sample for Jupiter
entry simulation is much greater than that required
for Apollo or Shuttle entry simulation. This con-
dition, along with a model size requirement large
enough to properly simulate the radiative heating,
requires a total power (160 NW) considerably greater
than is now available. Therefore, an addition to the
existing power supply capability is included in this
request. The arc heater to be provided will produce
the more severe simulation conditions necessary to
conduct research and development on TPS materials
required for steep entries into the Jupiter, Saturn,
and Uranus atmospheres.
PAGENO="1032"
1030
* QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
A Modification for High Enthalpy Entry Facility
$1,220,000:
(1) What specific missions in the 1980-1990 time-
frame will require research in higher enthalpy
entry conditions for which this project is
required?
ANSWER:
The High Enthalpy Entry Facility will provide a
valuable capability for use in preparation for outer
planet entry probe missions This first such mission
is the Jupiter Orbiter/Probe (J0P) mission planned for
launch in 1981. Operational availability of the faci-
lity by early 1978 will permit testing of heat shield
materials for the JOP entry probe in time to affect
final heat shield design This could result in a more
efficient heat shield, which in turn could be reflected
in larger weight margin available to the probe for
application to cost reduction through the use of exist-
ing hardware or in enhanced science capability.
Other outer planet probe missions planned for the decade
of the 1980's are entry probes to Saturn and Uranus.
Use of the High Enthalpy Entry Facility to simulate
steep entry conditions will allow greater flexibility in
designing these missions for maximum scientific return
on investment.
PAGENO="1033"
1031
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
C. Construction of Supply Support Facility, $1,540,000:
(4) Why can't the present storage and distribution
facilities continue to be used to meet the
need?
ANSWER:
The Ames Research Center (ARC) is the only NASA Center that does
not have a substantial warehouse facility designed and built as a
warehouse. The continued growth of the Center from a few buildings
built in 1940 to a present "book value" of over $300,000,000 has
resulted in a lack of even unsatisfactory improvised warehouse
space at ARC. Since 1952 the warehousing, shipping, and receiving
functions have been located in the "dead storage" area under the
40 by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel. This storage area is inadequate, noisy,
improvised, and has a single entry door. Frequently, aircraft
research missions have been delayed or cancelled due to the
inability to meet flight schedule "time windows" as a result of
delayed delivery of aircraft parts. This would not have happened
if aircraft parts could have been properly warehoused at the Center
instead of Camp Parks, Pleasanton, California, 37 miles from Ames.
It is estimated that the Center usage justifies at least 1,000
additional items of stock inventory, but the lack of sufficient
space in the issue room precludes the stocking of these items.
Thus, such items must now be purchased on an individual basis, with
the resultant additional procurement workload and the loss of
quantity purchase advantages. It would be uneconomical and in-
efficient to continue to use the present storage and distribution
facilities at Ames any longer than is absolutely necessary. In
addition to these factors which prudently justify the need for this
project, the supply activities under the 40 by 80-Foot Wind Tunnel
must be relocated if a future project for repowering is approved.
This FY 1977 ptoject permits an orderly response to this priority
future need.
PAGENO="1034"
1032
QUESTION NO 1 Ames Research Center
C. Construction of Supply Support Facility, $1,540,000:
(5) What is the average inventory value level of
materials requiring storage and distribution?
ANSWER:
The average inventory value of materials requiring storage and
distribution at the Ames Research Center is $7.1 million.
PAGENO="1035"
1033
QUESTION NO * 1: Ames Research Center
C. Construction of Supply Support Facility, $1,540,000:
(6) How is "adequate response" to research needs
of the center determined?
ANSWER:
~~~~equate response" to the research needs of the Center is deemed
to be the ability to achieve timely delivery of material, parts,
etc., which should reasonable be expected to be carried "on hand".
Thus avoiding unnecessary delays in conducting the Center's
research programs. The storage of replacement aircraft parts at
Camp Parks, Pleasanton, California, 37 miles from Ames, for example,
is considered to be an inadequate response to research aircraft
support requirements. This deficiency in providing necessary spare
parts for airborne science aircraft flight experiments has caused
some delay, and in some cases cancellation of flights, of planned
research missions. Since these aircraft must take off at a specific
time to accomplish the research mission, any delay in take off time
can lead to cancellation of the flight. Since the available research
aircraft are heavily scheduled, it is difficult to "make up" such
lost flights. Storage of aircraft parts in a warehouse located at
the Center would eliminate these types of delays in parts delivery
and the resultant cancellation of flights.
PAGENO="1036"
1034
QUESTION NO. 1: Ames Research Center
C. Construction of Supply Support Facility, $1,540,000:
(7) This project apparently will consolidate
covered storage activities. Will open storage
continue to be scattered locations?
ANSWER:
Open storage at the Ames Research Center will continue at the
present location which is located just north of the Substation,
Building N-225. The open storage area at Camp Parks, Pleasanton,
California will be retained for long term storage of bulk items
only.
PAGENO="1037"
1035
QUESTION NO. 2: Flight Research Center
A. Construction of Addition to Flight Control Facility,
$750,000:
(1) According to the justification, new technical
monitoring and display equipment has been
approved, funded and are being provided.
Where did FRC plan to install this equipment
when procurement action was initiated?
ANSWER:
Coupled with the earlier decision to meet the orbiter and carrier
aircraft telemetry and voice requirements with a transportable
station, it was determined that the augmentation of the flight
control equipment would be "shoe-horned" into existing spaces on
a very interim basis. Space normally used for tape storage, offices,
air handling equipment, halls and like uses will be utilized for
the installation of this equipment. It was felt that this interim
solution would be adequate for the Orbiter Approach and Landing
Test (ALT) Program. The Flight Control Facility with the final
equipment configuration will be completed and operational during
the ALT. This equipment is general purpose range support equipment
to be used for all aeronautical programs and will be availab]~ to
support ALT. The need of earlier ALT action can be met with the
existing arrangement. This new equipment installation is not
project peculiar to shuttle and is not being accomplished solely
for that purpose.
PAGENO="1038"
1036
QUESTION NO. 2: ~ght Research Center
A Construction of Addition to Flight Control Facility
$750 000
(2) What was the source of funds used for the new
equipment now being procured and the estimated
cost?
ANSWER
The new equipment is being provided from the Office of Tracking
and Data Acquisition Research and Development Appropriation FY
1975 and FY 1976 R&D funds were used to purchase the new equipment
The estimated cost is $925,000
PAGENO="1039"
1037
QUESTION NO 2 ~ght Research Center
A Construction of Addition to Flight Control Facility
$750 000
(3) Was this project proposed in previous years and
deferred at either NASA Headquarters or the
Office of Management and Budget?
ANSWER:
The Approach and Landing Test/Orbital Flight Test telemetry and
flight control facilities requirements were earlier considered as
a single project before the total requirement was completely defined
The combined project was deferred by NASA management in the FY-1976
budget cycle because the studies related to the transmission of
engineering data from the shuttle and carrier aircraft indicated
that this requirement could be more readily met by modifying the
transportable tracking station and moving it from Newfoundland to
DFRC. It was considered that these residual flight control
facilities support requirements for Approach and Landing Test could
be met by the augmentation of the existing control facility for
general long term use by all aeronautical programs as approved on
an interim basis for Approach and Landing Test only
70-079 0 - 76 - 66
PAGENO="1040"
1038
/
QUESTION NO 2 Flight Research Center
A Construction of Addition to Flight Control Facility
$750,000:
(4) How many test flightswill this facility support
on an annual basis for the next five years'
ANSWER
It is projected that the present work load will continue over the
next five years subject, of course, to each annual NASA program
level During the last six months DFRC averaged just over 25
flights per month. This would total to about 300 flights per year.
However, as stated in the justification, the increased capability
for `near" real-time data reduction and display and the second
telemetry system will improve efficiency and hopefully will reduce
the number of required flights
PAGENO="1041"
1039
QUESTION NO. 2: Flight Research Center
A. Construction of Addition to Flight Control Facility,
$750,000:
(5) It is noted that this project will also provide
support for the Shuttle Approach and Landing
Tests and Secondary Landing Site tests. It
was the Committee's understanding that approach
and landing test facilities authorized in FY
1976 provided this capability. What is the
relationship between this project and those
facilities already authorized?
ANSWER:
The Orbiter Approach and Landing Test Facilities authorized in
FY 1976 provided for the microwave scanning beam landing system,
hazardous material storage, a microwave transmission system between
DFRC and Palmdale and an acceptance checkout facility at Palmdale.
This was a continuation of the FY 1975 program at DFRC. The
details of the project were later modified to include a "trans-
portable STDN facility," which provided the telemetry engineering
data link and voice communications between the ground and the
Space Shuttle Orbiter and the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. It was
intended that this cover the range and flight control electronics
which were to be provided by augmentation of general purpose
flight control capabilities. The addition to the Flight Control
Facility thus provides the interface for the existing flight
control radar, TV monitoring, flight control of supporting
aircraft and communications terminal to support the ALT and SLS
tests.
PAGENO="1042"
1040
QUESTION NO. 2: Flight Research Center
A. Construction of Addition to Flight Control Facility,
$750,000:
(6) The unit cost of this facility appears unusually
high ($87.30 per square foot).
(a) What is the status of design?
ANSWER:
It is planned to initiate the final design in March 1976 and it is
scheduled for completion in October 1976.
PAGENO="1043"
1041
QUESTION NO. 2: ~~epearch Center
A. Construction of Addition to Flight Control Facility,
$750,000:
(6) The unit cost of this facility appears unusually
high ($87 30 per square foot)
(b) What is the construction cost index in
the FRC area?
ANSWER:
The presently assigned construction cost for this desert area
including DFRC/Edwards AFB is 1.15.
PAGENO="1044"
1042
QUESTION NO 2 Flight Research Center
A Construction of Addition to Flight Control Facility
$750 000
(6) The unit cost of this facility appears unusually
high ($87 30 per square foot)
(c) What is the basis for the $32 per square
foot for mechanical construction'~ For
the $44 per square foot for architectural
and structural ~
ANSWER
The basis for the cited $32.00 and $44.00 per square foot is the
preliminary engineering report by an architect/engineering firm
familiar with this area. These costs reflect the following:
a The mechanical requirements for the total replacement of air
conditioning system for the existing flight control facility
area and the new addition are necessary to accommodate the
additional telemetry and other related control equipment
b The architectural and structural costs are influenced by the
fact that this facility is a free standing structure,
rising three floors above grade, with the total completion
of the second and third floors.
PAGENO="1045"
1043
QUESTION NO 2 Flight Research Center
A Construction of Addition to Flight Control Facility
$750 000
(6) The unit cost of this facility appears unusually
high ($87.30 per square foot).
(d) What other factors contribute to the
seemingly high unit cost of this project'~
ANSWER
Factors contributing to the seemingly high unit cost of this
project can be summarized as follows:
(1) air conditioning requirements
(2) installation of a "Halon" fire protection system
(3) necessary provisions for connections to an emergency
backup power facility
(4) included modification to the existing control area that
will be utilized in conjunction with this new addition
(5) the structural framing, stairwells and foundation associated
with the first floor structure that supports the new second
and third floor addition.
PAGENO="1046"
1044
QUESTION NO 3 Johnson Space Center
A. Construction of Addition to Lunar Sample Curatorial Facility
$2,800,000
(1) The unit cost of this facility is $162 33 per square foot
(a) All elements of the cost estimate are shown in lump sum amounts
Please provide for the record the specific basis for each element
of the construction cost estimate
ANSWER:
The basis for each element of the construction cost estimate for the proposed
addition to the Lunar Sample Curatorial Facility, as presented in the budget
request, is as follows
Construction $2,800, 000
Site Preparation and Utilities 335,000
Relocate and Extend Water Lines ( 15,000)
Sanitary Sewer ( 13,000)
Storm Drainage ( 9,200)
Utility Tunnel (142,000)
Site Work (155,800)
Structural and Architectural 1,165,000
Vaults (440,000)
Footings ( 20,000)
Other Concrete (248,000)
Peaf Panels (135,000)
Roofing ( 34,000)
Masonry ( 36,000)
Dry Wall and Ceiling and Wall Finishes (113,000)
Floor Coverings ( 38,000)
Metal Work ( 44,000)
* Paint * * ( 32,000)
Water Proofing (15,000)
Demolition and Clean Up (10,000
PAGENO="1047"
1045
QUESTION NO 3 Johnson Space Center
A. Construction of Addition to Lunar Sample Curatorial Facility
$2,800,000
(1) The unit cost of this facility is $162 33 per squre foot
(b) What is the status of design for this pro~ect'~
ANSWER:
Design of the construction portion of the Addition to the Lunar Sample
Curatorial Facility is over 95% complete, and design of the security systems
has not yet started Security systems design is scheduled to begin in early
March, to be completed in June 1976
PAGENO="1048"
1046
QUESTION NO 3 Johnson Space Center
A. Construction of Addition to Lunar Sample Curatorial Facility
$2,800,000
(1) The unit cost of this facility is $162 33 persquare foot
Of the $2.8 million estimate, what are structural characteristics
and estimated costs of the vault?
ANSWER
The structural cha,acteristics of the vault are as follows
1 The outside dimension of the vault area is 53'2" by 47'ó" The inside
dimensions are (a) pristine sample vault - 41 ` x 30', (b) return sample vault -
19' x 31' with 10' x 6' alcove, (c) mechanical isolation room - 9' x 12'
Ceiling height will be 9'
2 The outside wall, floor and ceiling is 2?'~~ reinforced concrete (5 rows of
#5 bars, 4" on centers) and the interior walls are 8" reinforced concrete
3 The floor elevation of the vault area is 23 1/2' above grade, with
strip foundations under the outside walls going down to 6' below grade There
is also a support column and foundation in the center of the vault area
4. The vault doors are class 1OR.
5 There is a GN2 (gaseous nitrogen) system and other special utilities
6 The vault air conditioning system has clean room type filters, stainless
steel ducts and registers, and separate controls, piping, mixing boxes and
security valves
7 There are special floor and wall finishes to help maintain clean room
conditions
The estimated costs associated with the vault area only are
Structural
Vault doors
GN2 system and special
Ersvironmental control
Wall and floor finishes
(c)
laboratory utilities
TOTAL
$655,000
96,000
95,000
103,000
13,000
$962, 000
PAGENO="1049"
1047
QUESTION NO 3 Johnson Space Center
A Construction of Addition to Lunar Sample Curatorial Facility -
$2,800,000
(2) Have any damages to lunar materials stored at the Johnson Space
Center occurred as a result of heavy storms, tornadoes, floods,
hurricanes, building and ground shock waves, sabotage or vandalism?
ANSWER
No damage to the lunar samples has taken place to date, as a result of heavy
storms, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, building and ground shock waves,
sabotage vandalism, or other hazards However, the potential for such
damage does exist The samples are degraded by exposure to vibration, water,
and even air, and such degredation severely hinders subsequent research on
pristine samples. During a recent 12 year period, 24 tornadoes (2 per year
average) were observed in 1 degree square area (38 mile square) centered at
JSC The most significant natural hazard, however, is from floods caused by
heavy storms or hurricanes Hurricane Carla in 1961 caused high tides of up
to 15 4 feet above mean sea level The ground elevation at Building 31 is
16 feet Coupled with the land subsidence in the area now occurring at the
rate of approximately 0 2 feet per year, it is obvious that a severe hurricane
in the near future could cause flooding of the existing building Evidence of
ground faulting in the Building 31 area has been found through cracked utility
tunnels nearby.
The danger of ma n-made hazards to I unar samples was illustrated by a small
and accidental fire which occurred in Building 31 In this case, no significant
damage was caused, but a larger or more uncontrolled fire could damage the
samples Furthermore, the existing facility does not provide adequate physical
protection against deliberate vandalism or sabotage, should such action evei
be attempted
It is to be noted that the construction standards for the addition will overcome
these problems by the use of built-in safeguards
PAGENO="1050"
1048
QUESTION NO. 3: Johnson Space Center:
A. Construction of Addition to Lunar Sample Curatorial Facility -
$2,800,000
(3) According to the justification, modifications to the Lunar Receiving
Laboratory to accommodate this need would cost more than this pro-
posed project. It is assumed the addition to the Lunar Receiving
Laboratory envisions a two-story vault also. What are the sepa rate
cost estimates for modifications to the LRL and the addition?
A NSWER:
The estimated cost to modify the Lunar Receiving Laboratory and to construct
an addition to provide the Lunar Sample Curatorial capability proposed for
Building 31 is $3,702,000 in FY 1977 budget year dollars, broken down as
follows:
- 7,000 SF - two-story vault addition $1,780,000
- Modifications to 15,000 SF of LRL 1,569,000
- Site work and utilities 353,000
TOTAL $3,702,000
PAGENO="1051"
1049
QUESTION NO. 3: Johnson Space Center:
A. ConstrucHon of AddItion to Lunar Sample Curatorial Facility
$2,800,000
(4) The legislative report accompanying the FY 1976 authorization bill
required NASA to restudy this requirement Please submit for the
record, the NASAts site selection and validation study accompl shed
in response to the stated Congressional intent'?
ANSWER:
It is our understanding that the legislative report accompanying the FY 1976
authorization bill, which required NASA to restudy the Lunar Sample
Curatorial Facility requirements, intended that an evaluation of a JSC
location vs other possible locations in the country, and the Building 31
addition at JSC vs. use of other facilities at JSC be made. NASA has
evaluated the possibility of locating this facility at appropriate universities,
at scientific and technical complexes, and even with the Smithsonian
Institution This work has been done as a series of evaluations and not as a
composite formal study With some 70 people directly involved in the curation
and analysis of the lunar samples at JSC, and with the available support
facilities, such as photo lab, office space and site utilities, no other location
could offer any better scientific environment than is available at JSC. The
cost of providing a comparable facility would be some $2 1 million less at
JSC ($4 9 million vs $2 8 million) in addition to the cost of providing any
reasonable technical and scientific support NASA has also evaluated other
facilities at JSC The only one which would have any possibility of meeting
requirements is the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL). To modify this facility
for use as the Lunar Sample Curatorial Facility would involve the construction
of a 7,000 square foot vault structure and mod if i cat ions to the existing
facility at a cost of $3.7 million thus exceeding the proposed project.
The end result of analysis of these two facets of the total concern is that the
addition to Building 31 is the most cost and functionally effective manner in
which to proceed to provide an adequate and effective Lunar Sample Curatorial
Facility at a minimum cost
PAGENO="1052"
1050
QUESTION NO. 3: Johnson Space Center:
A. Construction of Addition to Lunar Sample Curotorial Facility,
$2,800,000
(5) The justification indicates that this project cost will be augmented
by an additional $295,000 in R&D funds for new non-collaterol
equipment. Cite the specific project or program funds to be used
for this purpose.
ANSWER:
The specific project which is to provide R&D funding in the amount of
$295,000 for the new non-collaterol equipment is the Offjce of Space
Sciences Unique Project No. 387, Lunar Science Operotions.
PAGENO="1053"
1051
QUESTION NO. 4: Kerrn~pace Center
A. Construction of Airlock to Spin Test Facility -
$360, 000
(1) Since the present spin test capability has been
in existence since 1966 without apparent undue
failure, why can't the existing facility be
continued in use?
ANSWER:
The Delta Spin Test Facility was built in 1966 primarily
for use as a spin balance facility. However, due to
the heavy launch rate, an additional spacecraft fueling
area was required, and the facility was modified for
this purpose in July 1974. Present spacecraft require
"cleaner" areas for testing, assembly, and fueling than
the earlier spacecraft. We are also now faced with
greater spacecraft assembly activities than in the past.
The planned Delta launch activity for 1977 and beyond
has increased and can not be accommodated in the
present building. The airlock will allow increased
utilization of the facility and provide the necessary
cleaner environment to meet the requirements for the
spacecraft included in the planned Delta launch schedule,
as well as the long term needs for Shuttle payloads.
PAGENO="1054"
1052
QUESTION NO 4 Kennedy Space Center
A Construction of Airlock to Spin Test Facility -
$360 000
(2) Four satellites are cited in the justification
as requiring the new capability.
(a) Over what period of time will these third
stage spacecraft be spin tested?
(b) What is the long term requirement for
this capability7
(c) Will it be recruired to support payloads
testing for Shuttle operations?
(d) Does not the spin testing of third stage
spacecraft usually duplicate testing
accomplished by the contractor in space-
craft development?
ANSWER
The four satellites cited in the justification are
examples of the spacecraft to use the facility
The Delta Spin Test Facility is the only facility at
KSC with a spin capability and is one of the two
facilities at KSC where spacecraft are fueled Present
facility utilization planning reflects a minimum of
twelve (12) spacecraft will utilize this facility from
its completion in mid-1977 through CY 79 In CY 80
joint usage of this facility with shuttle payloads will
commence and continue on an increasing basis Examples
of the type of spacecraft to be using this facility are
the foreign communications satellites Air Force
satellites and the European Space Agency (ESA)
navigation and test satellites Examples of the Shuttle
payload users are those payloads on shuttle flights 15
and 20 each of which require a clean area and spin
balancing
Foreign spacecraft are normally disassembled for ship-
ment to KSC Upon arrival these spacecraft are
reassembled and spin balanced The spacecraft which dre
fabricated in the United Stat~s and are shipped to KSC
PAGENO="1055"
1053
assembled normally do not require spin ba1ancir~, since
they have already been balanced at the contract~r1s
plant. However, if during checkout and weighing opera-
tions a balance problem is suspected, then the space-
craft will be re-balanced at KSC.
70-079 0 - 76 - 67
PAGENO="1056"
1054
QUESTION NO 4 ~
A. Construction of Airlock to Spin Test Facility
$360,000
(3) The cost of this facility appears unusually
high ($122.98/SF). What factors contribute to
the seemingly high costs?
ANSWER
The high unit cost of this structure can be broken into
three distinct facets First the structural/
architectural aspects of this facility are unique. This
structure is 45 feet high and must be able to withstand
hurricane winds. This also applies to the airlock doors
which are 45 feet high. Secondly, the mechanical system
consists of four specialty systems contributing to the
high costs. They are the hoist, compressed air, gaseous
nitrogen and vacuum
Because of the clean room requirements the air condition-
ing system requires High Efficient Particulate Air
Filters (HEPA) as well as approximately 30 tons of air
conditioning Finally the electrical requirements
also contribute to this high cost because additional
power is needed from the substation.
PAGENO="1057"
1055
QUESTION NO. 4: Ke~~y Space Center
B. Modifications for Utility Control Systems -
$2, 445, 000
(1) There were several previous projects authorized
in past years to bring about centralized control
of utilities at KSC. Please provide a complete
listing of all projects authorized for these
purposes and the extent to which funds have
been applied.
ANSWER:
Two (2) projects were authorized in past years. The
Utility Installations project was funded in FY 1970
for $1,315,000. This project provides a Utilities
Control System in the Industrial Area at KSc. The
project was completed in October 1975. The second
project, the Utility Control System, was funded in
FY 1975, as a rehabilitation and modification project
for $310,000. It is the second increment of work and
also applies to the IndustrialArea. The design for
this will be completed in April 1976. Construction is
scheduled to start in June 1976, and to be completed
in February 1977.
PAGENO="1058"
1056
QUESTION NO, 4: Kennedy Sp~ce Center
B. Modifications for Utility Control Systems -
$2,445,000
(2) Some of the work proposed by this project
(particularly electrical) has been previously
authorized. Does this project in effect
reauthorize work already a matter of public
law? If so, what is the rationale for
reauthorization?
ANSWER:
In FY 1970 a Utility Installation project was authorized
at KSC which consisted of two segments to be accomplished
at Launch Complex 39 to provide (1) the replacement of
Power Generating Stations and (2) the installation of a
Central Power Monitoring and Control System The power
generating stations portion was deleted because it was
later deemed more prudent to use certain on-thand
generators pending a better and later definition of
shuttle needs. The second portion of this project was
redirected as Phase I of the UCS system for the
Industrial Area of KSC, as set forth in our letter to
the Committee dated May 21, 1973. As stated in that
letter we have phased the remainder of the system
including this FY 1977 portion for'the LC-39 complex
over successive years Each phase is complete useful
and cost effective within itself It is not intended
that the project in FY 1977 reauthorize work already
covered by prior authorizations.
PAGENO="1059"
1057
QUESTION No. 4: Kennedy_S~Qe~er
B. Modifications for Utility Control Systems -
$2,445,000
(3) What is the status of design and the design
and construction schedule for this project?
ANSWER:
The design of this project is underway and it is
expected to be completed in October 1976. Construction
is to begin in February 1977, and is to be completed by
May 1978, in order to be checked out and validated
in support of the shuttle, beginning September 1978.
PAGENO="1060"
1058
QUESTION NO 4 Kenx~ej~y Apace Center
B Modifications for Utility Control Sfstems -
$2,445, 000
(4) Is the need date for these modifications time
sensitive to Shuttle operations? Why?
ANSWER:
Yes, the need date for these modifications is based
upon completion of this construction contract in
sufficient time to allow for checkout and validation
of the complete system by September 1978 This is
necessary so that this UCS can be so validated along
with shuttle facilities needed to support the first
manned orbital flight
PAGENO="1061"
1059
QUESTION NO. 4: KennS~~Center
B. Modifications for Utility Control Systems -
$2, 445 , 000
(5) What is the relationship between these proposed
modifications and the capability being dev~1oped
for the Launch Processing System?
ANSWER:
The Launch Processing System (LPS) monitors and controls
systems in direct support of the Shuttle launches. This
LPS system will monitor and control thirty-three (33)
items that are unique to Shuttle such as the Gaseous
Nitrogen, Gaseous Oxygen, the Solid Rocket Booster and
Orbiter.
The Utility Control System (UCS) monitors and controls
general utility systems that indirectly support Shuttle
launches. These systems provide general utilities, as
part of the total Center support, to the Shuttle area,
where they are picked up and are part of the LPS system.
The systems to be controlled and monitored are: the
High Temperature Hot Water; Potable Water; Heating,
Ventilating and Air Conditioning; Sewage Treatment;
Fire Alarm; and 60 Hz Electrical Power.
These systems in the LC-39 area are complimentary and are
basically for different purposes but do interface as
necessary for utility support to launch activities.
PAGENO="1062"
1060
QUESTION NO 4 ~
B. Modifications for Utility Control Systems -
$2,445,000
(6) The project envisions a savings in manpower
cost of $1,215,000 Does this mean that
personnel now involved in accomplishing
preventative maintenance arid other utility
functions will be released, or simply made
available for other functions?
ANSWER:
KSC has already made personnel reductions possible
through the implementation of the UCS in earlier phases.
A total of 23 personnel beginning in FY 1976 have been
released The positions were deleted from the manning
assignments as reflected in the total reduction of
manpower in the operation and maintenance area, including
the positions related to utilities
PAGENO="1063"
1061
QUESTION NO. 4: Kenn~~~pace Center
B. Modifications for Utility Control Systems -
$2, 445 , 000
(7) Will anticipated savings in energy, transporta-
tion and demand of $82,000 per year actually
be realized?
ANSWER:
it is anticipated that through this use of energy
conservation procedures and prograxrsied central control
of large energy users, the UCS will effectively produce
the savings' outlined.
PAGENO="1064"
1062
QUESTION NO. 4: Kennedy Space Center
13 Modifications for Utility Control Systems -
$2,445,000
(8) What is the present t~ta1 estimated cost of
the centralized utility control system'
ANSWER
The total cost estimated for the complete UCS is
approximately $8 million This includes the FY 1977
and prior year resources of $4.1 million.
PAGENO="1065"
1063
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
A. Construction of Addition for Aeroelastic Model
Laboratory, $730, 000:
(1) What is being used to meet this need now?
ANSWER:
The proposed construction for an addition of an aeroelastic model
laboratory of the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT), Building 648
will house a new cable model support system, a model shake-test
runup area, and a data system and instrumentation service area.
Much of this model preparation work is now being performed in the
TDT test section. This ties up the tunnel and only adds to the
backlog of test work which now exists. There is no other area
or system available to check out such models as the flutter and
active control aeroelastic models prior to tunnel entry. At the
present time the rotor test equipment for the model shake-test
runup area is located in the Ballistics Centrifuge, Building 1294
in the west area, approximately 4 miles away. The existing data
system area in the TDT is overcrowded and there is no space avail-
able to service model instrumentation and components of the data
acquisition system, the instrumentation racks, and to store test
data and program tapes. These inadequate facilities and arrange-
ments are now being used to carry out these important test programs.
PAGENO="1066"
1064
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
A. Construction of Addition for Aeroelastic Model
Laboratory, $730 , 000:
(2) How many shift operations is presently being
conducted with the present capability?
ANSWER:
Presently, there are one and one~quarter shift operations with the
existing capabilities. During the partial second shift. the freon
~iedium in the tunnel is purified models are changed, or the
tunnel pressure is changed for new tests the following days
PAGENO="1067"
1065
QUESTION NO. 5: La~g~y Research Center
A. Construction of Addition for Aeroelastic Model
Laboratory, $730, 000:
(3) What is the present two year backlog based on?
ANSWER:
The two-year backlog of work is based on approved programs. A
listing of these levels of test programs is shown below:
Delta Wing Oscillating Pressure
F-l6 (production) w/stores - flutter clearance
B-i Vertical Tail Buffet
Shuttle SRM Parachutes
GRAM, Variable gemo. rotor; wide-chord rotor,
teetering rotor
G-D Torsion Free Wing
TDT Maintenance
F-l4 Vertical Tail Buffet (tunnel/fit. Corv)
Helicopter Airfoil Pitch Oscillator
DAST Flutter Suppression Model
Orbiter Carrier (747) Vert. Tail Buffet
F-ill stores flutter
GRAM: IJHID Teetering Rotor
LARRS Rotor ACT
LARRS Hingeiess Rotor
Wing w/stores flutter Suppression (Air Force)
B-52 Molt Mode Flutter Suppression
Shuttle, Complete Flutter
YF-4C stores Flutter Suppression
OSC. Press. - Wing Tail Interference
OSC. Press. - HIAR Energy Conserv. A/c
GRAM - six blades articulated rotor, ACT
TDT Maintenance
B-i Production Flutter
SCAT Flutter Model (Refurbished)
SCAR 300 ACT Model
Helicopter Airfoil Pitch Oscillator
Shuttle Flutter, final configuration
Shuttle Ground Wind Loads
HIMAT (Desire Fall `76 - TDT not committed)
Grumman Aeroeiastic Wing
PAGENO="1068"
1066
QUESTION NO 5 La~gle~Research Center
A. Construction of Addition for Aeroelastic Model
Laboratory, $730,000:
(4) How many personnel are engaged in this
operation'?
ANSWER:
There are 22 NASA engineers and 12 technicians, plus 2 contract
personnel involved with this facility (all do not work simultaneous-
ly), plus up to 10 DOD or company personnel for specific DOD or
company tests In general terms there are about 35 personnel
normally involved on a continuing basis and a total of about
45 people when special test teams are on the site.
PAGENO="1069"
1067
QUESTION NO. 5~ Langley Research Center
A. Construction of Addition for Aeroelastic Model
Laboratory, $730~000:
(5) What is the basis of the project estimate?
ANSWER:
The est±rr~ate-for the Construction of Addition for Aeroelastic
Model Laboratory is based on a Preliminary Engineering Report (PER)
that was accomplished by an architect/engineering firm.
PAGENO="1070"
1068
QUESTION NO 5 Langley Research Center
A. Construction of Addition for Aeroelastic Model
Laboratory, $730,000:
(6) What would the impact be if this project were
deferred for one year?
ANSWER
If this project is deferred for one year, it would result in a
further increase in the present two and one-quartet years'
backlog of research testing This extension in the backlog of
research would make timely testing nearly impossible. The only
other alternative is to add manpower for a full second shift but
this additional manpower would require an increase in salary
outlays that would equal the cost of this Aeroelastic Model
Laboratory addition in about 2 or 3 years
PAGENO="1071"
1069
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Pro ject: Addition to Transonic Dynamics Tunnel 4965 SF
(third floor)
Cost:
1. Construction including mechanical
work is $430,000 or approximately
$86.60/SF. This appears to be a high
unit cost figure allowing for the labor
inefficiencies associated with adding
to the building at the third floor level.
What part of the sum of $430,000 is
associated with the modification of the
existing structure to accommodate the
new addition?
ANSWER:
The existing building will be modified under this project with a
new first floor entrance door, window glazing, an extension of the
existing stairway to the third floor, rework of the ceilings,
relocating the existing roof exhaust equipment, a new 1/2-ton
bridge crane on the second floor plus the necessary demolition. The
above identified modification work is estimated to cost about
$62,000.
70-079 0 - 76 - 66
PAGENO="1072"
1070
QUESTION NO. 5: La~g~ey Research Ce~j~
Project: Addition to Transonic Dynamics Tunnel 4965 SF
(third floor)
Cost:
2. What part of the electrical estimate
is dedicated to the substation? How much
money is for transformers vs. new primary
lines to the station assuming that such
lines are necessary? How extensive is
the recabling both on the primary and
secondary sides of the substation?
ANSWER:
The electrical estimate includes modifications to the existing
300 KVA substation at an estimated cost of $26,000. The existing
300 KVA transformer and primary electrical cables are of adequate
capacity and are in good condition. Therefore, there are no funds
provided in the estimate for these items. One set of three
secondary cables (350 MCM) of approximately 100 feet in length will
be provided from this existing substation to a new main distribution
circuit breaker panel board in the Transonic Dynamics Tunnel,
Building 648. The cost of these cables is included in the project
estimate. In addition a 200 ampere electrical service will be
extended from the existing substation to new distribution panel
boards located in the third floor addition for lighting and
instrumentation electrical loads.
PAGENO="1073"
1071
4965 SF
QUESTION NO 5 Lan~1ey Research Center
Project Addition to Transonic Dynamics Tunnel
(third floor)
Cost
3. How were the estimates prepared for
the cable system and instrumentation?
Has design been completed?
ANSWER
The estimates for the cable system and instrumentation were
prepared by an architectural/engineering firm using technical
information provided by NASA The design of these items will be
performed by LaRC and is planned to be completed in July 1976
PAGENO="1074"
1072
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project: Addition to Transonic Dynamics Tunnel 4965 SF
(third floor)
Technical:
1. Are the existing foundations and
building columns sized for the additional
structure and equipment loads? What
structural analysis was performed?
ANSWER:
The original two-story portion of the building was designed with
rigid steel frames anticipating the addition of the proposed third
floor. The original design assumed a greater live load on the
columns than the combined total roof and floor (with equipment)
proposed for this addition. There is no additional foundation work
required for this project. An analysis of the existing building
structural framing system and also the new structural system for
the addition was made by the architectural/engineering firm during
the preparation of the Preliminary Engineering Report.
PAGENO="1075"
1073
QUEST~EON NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Pro3ect Addition to Transonic Dynamics Tunnel 4965 SF
(third floor)
Technical:
2. How is access gained for model handi-
ing? What material handling facilities
are included to make the third floor an
efficient area of operation?
ANSWER
The model handling in the shop area is provided by a new 1-1/2-ton
b~ridge crane to be installed in the third floor addition Access
to an incoming model on the first floor will be provided through
Thatches in the second and third floor. Also,a one-ton monorail
-~hal1. be installed near the center of the model cable mount area to
pick up models and testing equipment once they are positioned on the
tb:ird floor having been brought up by the bridge crane and moved
then to the cable mount system.
PAGENO="1076"
1074
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project: Addition to Transonic Dynamics Tunnel 4965 SF
(third floor)
Technical:
3. Are the mechanical facilities (exist-
ing boiler, etc.) adequate to accommodate
the new loads?
ANSWER:
The existing mechanical facilities are not of sufficient capacity
to meet the needs of this new addition; therefore, included in this
project are some supplementary equipment such as heat ptnnps and air
conditioning units necessary to accommodate the new loads.
PAGENO="1077"
1075
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project: Addition to Transonic Dynamics Tunnel 4965 SF
(third floor)
Technical:
4. Is vibration -- to windows and floors
below a potential problem? -- Structurally?
Environmentally? If so, what is
required?
ANSWER:
The new addition will be isolated from the noise and vibration of
the compressors on the second floor by a floating slab construction
which includes concrete slab on the existing metal deck, isolation
panel, and the finish floor slab. We anticipate no environmental
impact resulting from this third floor addition, since there will
be no additional runoff of rain water, or no additional conditions
affecting the erosion, sloughing, or sliding of soils.
Therefore, we feel that there will be no problems to the structure
or environment resulting from this building addition.
PAGENO="1078"
1076
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Cer~Ler
Project: Addition to Transonic Dynamics Tunnel 4965 SF
(third floor)
Technical:
5. Is a raised floor included in data system
and instrument service area? Should it
be?
ANSWER:
There are no provisions for a raised floor in the data and instru-
inent service area since the data equipment in this area is only of
a connector point type. The cables will be in the cable trays
above floor; and no additional cooling is required for these data
connector points.
PAGENO="1079"
1077
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project: Addition to Transonic Dynamics Tunnel 4965 SF
(third floor)
Status:
1. Have any consulting contracts been
awarded? If not, what engineering was
performed in-house?
ANSWER:
The Preliminary Engineering Report was prepared by an architectural!
engineering firm with technical information provided by NASA. The
project estimate was updated by the Center. The initial project
planning, concept study and the cable mount system preliminary design
were performed by LaRC.
PAGENO="1080"
1078
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project: Addition to Transonic Dynamics Tunnel 4965 SF
(third floor)
Status:
2. Has design been started? Completed?
ANSWER:
The design of the construction of addition for Aerolastic Model
Laboratory will be started in March 1976 and is planned to be
completed in September 1976.
PAGENO="1081"
1079
QUESTION NO. 5. Langley Re search center
B~ Construction of Data Reduction Annex, $2,970,000:
(1) There are strong indications in the project
justification that the expansion of the
existing capability will provide centr~~1i:~d
research sup~p~~ capability for all NA
field centers.
(a) Is this project intended to provide NASA-
wide support?
ANSWER:
The STAR 100 computer is a very large, very fast `tvector processing"
computer which will permit the solution of problems that have been
Impractical on machines of lesser capabilities. It will be
extremely useful in solving larger systems of equations encountered
In structures and aerodynamic research. Other computational
techniques applicable to weather modeling, analysis of observational
data from earth satellites and pollution studies can also be
~ffective1y supported by this machine. T4hen the decision was made
by NASA to acquire this computer in 1973, it was determined that
it would be available for use throughout the agency. Langley is
committed to this objective and fully intends to provide time on
the computer for the classes of problems from other Centers which
require its special capabilities.
PAGENO="1082"
1080
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
B. Construction of Data Reduction Annex, $2,970,000:
(1) There are strong indications in the project
justification that the expansion of the
existing capability will provide centralized
research support capability for all NASA
field centers.
(b) Does a similar capability exist elsewhere
in NASA?
ANSWER:
The STAR 100 installed at Langley is the only computer of its type
in the agency. The ILLIAC at Ames has processing power comparable
to that of STAR, however its architecture is based on employment of
64 parallel processors rather than the"vector processing' and
virtual memory concepts of the STAR system.
PAGENO="1083"
1081
QUESTION NO 5 Langley Research Center
B. Construction of Data Reduction Annex, $2,970,000:
(1) There are strong indications in the project
justification that the expansion of the
existing capability will provide centralized
research support capability for all NASA
field centers
(c) What unique capability will be provided
by this facility that will not be
available elsewhere in NASA?
ANSWER:
The unique capability which can be identified rests with the
implementation of the STAR 100 program The Data Reduction Annex
is required in order to provide the space for "on-line" and
archival data storage at Langley for its own research needs as well
as for data required by other Centers in their use of the STAR
The access by other Centers will require telecommunications modems
and switching equipment in order to meet their input/output needs
with reasonable response The unique aspects of the STAR 100 that
are not available elsewhere in NASA stem from the combination of
its "vector processing' capability with the virtual memory feature
These features make it particularly well suited for a very broad
range of research activities which require extensive computation.
PAGENO="1084"
1082
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
B. Construction of Data Reduction Annex, $2,970,000:
(2) What type of `flight control" simulation is
required at the.Langley Research Center?
ANSWER:
At Langley Research Center many aspects of flight simulation are
required for effective advancement of the technology in its
principal areas of concern. In the long haul technology, active
controls are expected to be a major factor in the design of the
future fuel conservative transport. The evaluation of these systems
must rely heavily on simulation studies. Many aspects of our
avionics programs will also result in proposed systems which will
be most effectively evaluated through "real-time" simulation studies.
Stability control systems for general aviation can also be developed
by use of this research technique. "Real-time" simulation has been,
and will continue to be, a vital factor in carrying out the Center's
research and development programs. Development of control and
display concepts for the terminal configured vehicles program, for
the F-8 digital fly-by-wire program and a number of space vehicle
control studies rely heavily on this research technique.
PAGENO="1085"
1083
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
B. Construction of Data Reduction Annex, $2,970,000:
(3) What are the design and construction lead
times for this project?
ANSWER:
It is planned to initiate the design in June 1976 and complete this
work by December 1976. The construction will be started in March
1977 and be completed by September 1978.
PAGENO="1086"
1084
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
B. Construction of Data Reduction Annex, $2,970,000:
(4) The justification states that the major hard-
ward and software installations now underway
4 should result in substantial improvements in
computer capability. There is no question
that additional equipment and facilities
should result in better capability, but has
this matter been studied sufficiently, and
will a more economical and efficient system
result?
ANSWER:
The question of improved computer capability resulting from the
installations now underway was critically reviewed prior to the
acquisition of this equipment. Results from our current use of
the STAR more than substantiate our studies in terms of its "speed
gain" in solving large programs (as high as 60:1 over our CDC,
6600 computers.) The past year's operation of a portion of our
computer complex in an interactive computing mode has clearly
shown the benefits in increased researcher productivity through
improved response and turnaround time for a major segment of our
work. This activity has also verified the importance of on-line
data storage in the effective use of the computing equipment.
In summary, the STAR 100 is a Langley installed computer which is
to be used throughout the agency. Other Centers will continue to
need their own capability for the more conventional computational
support. Effective use of the STAR on an agency-wide basis requires
Langley data storage and communications equipment which cannot be
installed in space now available. The proposed annex will provide
space to relieve the tight situation relative to Langley's own
requirements.
PAGENO="1087"
1085
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project: Data Reduction Center Annex 30,000 SF Addition
Cost:
1. $800,000 for mechanical work indicates
that these provisions would be over normal
HVAC work. What is included in this
figure?
ANSWER:
The $800,000 for the mechanical work includes the following:
a. Normal building heating, ventilating $284,000
and air conditioning
b. Computer equipment cooling 474,000
c. Plumbing and fixtures 42,000
TOTAL $800,000
The above provisions for mechanical work is over the normal HVAC
work due to the cooling required in the computer equipment and
tapes storage areas with individually controlled computer roam-type
air handling units.
70-079 0 - 76 - 69
PAGENO="1088"
1086
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project:~.'Data; Reduction. Center Annex 30~000 SF Addition
Cost:
2. What part of the estimate provides
for the elevated floor system and how
much per SF is included for this feature?
ANSWER:
The estimate for the elevated floor system is provided for in the
project as a portion of the architectural/structural estimate.
The unit cost estimate for the 15,000 square feet of raised floor
area is $14.00 per square foot, or $210,000 total.
PAGENO="1089"
1087
QUESTION NO. 5: ~~gley Research Center
Project: Data Reduction Center Annex 30,000 SF Addition
Cost:
3. The outside facilities estimated at
$655,000 indicates that extensive work
is to be undertaken. Does this include
the elevated floor and the cable ducts
to the main frame computer? What other
electrical work is included and what is
the scope of that work?
ANSWER:
The cost of outside utilities at $655,000 does not include the
elevated floor and the cable ducts to the main frame computer.
A breakdown of the electrical work included in this budget item
is shown as follows:
a. 22KV to 2.4 substation $220,000
b. Cable feeders from substation 165,000
c. 2.4KV 3-phase switching station 50,000
d. 1000 KVA 3-phase substation from 55,000
400 Hertz Motor Generators
computer power
e. 750 KVA 3-phase substation - 45,000
HVAC and lighting
f. 500 KVA 3-phase substation - 45,000
computer power
g. Duct banks to existing utility 15,000
tunnel - 1050 feet _______
Total outside electrical $595,000
Also included in total 60,000
outside mechanical ________
Total outside utilities $655,000
PAGENO="1090"
QUESTION NO. 5: ~~gleyResearch Center
Project: Data Reduction Center Annex 30,000 SF Addition
Technical:
1. Why is a wet sprinkler system in-
cluded in a computer facility' It
would appear that such a system might
well do more damage than benefit
ANSWER:
Wet pipe automatic sprinkler system is included for the Data
Reduction Center Annex in accordance with Recommended Practices
No. 1, Fire Protection for Essential Electronic Equipment, July
1969 of the Federal Fire Council. The wet pipe automatic sprinkler
system is provided to limit the amount of damage in the event of a
fire originating from electrical defects, overheating within the
equipment, or from a small exposure fire outside of the equipment
Proper salvage operations after the exposure to fire will limit
the damage to the electronic equipment In summary, the wet
pipe sprinkler system is provided to extinguish afire which has
been ignited, confine the damage, and protect other equipment
and records in the area.
1088
PAGENO="1091"
1089
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project: Data Reduction Center Annex 30,000 SF Addition
Schedule:
1. Has any design work been initiated?
How much has been completed? If the
design has not matured, how were the
estimates prepared?
ANSWER:
The final design of the Data Reduction Center Annex is planned to
be started in June 1976 and completed in December 1976. The
estimates were prepared based on a Preliminary Engineering Report
prepared by an architectural/engineering firm.
PAGENO="1092"
1090
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project: Data Reduction Center Annex 30,000 SF Addition
Schedule:
2. When is construction scheduled for
starting and completion?
ANSWER:
The construction of the Data Reduction Center Annex is planned to
be started in March 1977 and completed in September 1978.
PAGENO="1093"
1091
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility, $2,485,000:
(1) This is a somewhat unique project from fund-
ing viewpoint with the Department of Defense
contributing $800,000, the City of Hampton
contributing $5, 088, 000; NASA contributing
$2,522,000.
(a) Have sound, assured commitments by all
participants been made in writing?
ANSWER:
Yes, "letter of intent" from City of Hampton dated January 12,
1976, with commitment to at least match Government funds but
desiring to proceed with design of the full 225/ton/day plant has
been received by LaRC. The Air Force has committed funds to NASA
in a letter dated January 8, 1976. NASA and the City of Hampton
are currently working up a detailed cooperative agreement between
both parties and it is our feeling that these commitments are
sufficiently assured to justify a specific NASA commitment at
this time.
PAGENO="1094"
1092
QUESTION NO. 5: Lapgl~y Research Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility, $2,485,000:
(1) This is a somewhat unique project from fund-
ing viewpoint with the Department of Defense
contributing $800,000, the City of Hampton
contributing $5,088, 000; NASA contributing
$2,522,000.
(b) When will funds be forthcoming from DOD
and the City of Hampton?
ANSWER:
Air Force funds will be available after April 1, 1976 from their
FY.4976 authorization and appropriation. The City of Hampton
will make funds available thro ugh revenue bonds or other sources
beginning in the last quarter of 1976. We have confidence that
these funds will be available.
PAGENO="1095"
1093
QtJESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility, $2,485,000:
~l) This is a somewhat unique project from fund-
ing viewpoint with the Department of Defense
contributing $800,000, the City of Hampton
contributing $5,088,0007 NASA contributing
$2, 522,000.
(c) Does the City of Hampton have the
required funds available or is such
availability subject to anticipated
revenue receipts or a bond referendum?
ANSWER:
The City of Hampton plans to proceed to meet its commitment from
funding resources available and/or revenue bonds as necessary.
PAGENO="1096"
1094
QUESTION NO 5 Lançley Research Center
C Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility,. $2,485,000:
(1) This is a somewhat unique project from fund-
ing viewpoint with the Department of Defense
contributing $800 000 the City of Hampton
contributing $5 088 000 NASA contributing
$2,522 000
(d) Bow will the costs of maintenance and
operation be shared'
ANSWER
Cost of operation and maintenance will be met by "steam charges'
to LaRC, the user of all of the steam, and a "refuse disposal fee"
to be paid by all users of the facility
PAGENO="1097"
1095
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility, $2,485,000:
(1) This is a somewhat unique project from fund-
ing viewpoint with the Department of Defense
contributing $800,000, the City of Hampton
contributing $5, 088, 000; NASA contributing
$2,522,000.
(e) Who will be responsible for the operation
and maintenance of the plant?
ANSWER:
The City of Hampton, Virginia will be responsible for the
operation and maintenance of the facility under a 20-year permit
with NASA since the title of this facility will be vested in the
Government.
PAGENO="1098"
1096
QUESTION NO 5 Langley Research Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility, $2, 485,000:
(2) What is the total volume of refuse disposal
by LaRC LAFB and the City of Hampton2
What percentage of the total volume of each
contributor will be handled by the proposed
plant?
ANSWER
The total volume of refuse disposal in 1978 by the three parties
involved in the 1981-1983 time frame is as follows:
LaRC - 1,500 tons/yr - 5 tons/day
LAFB - 8,500 tons/yr. - 20 tons/day 225 ton capacity
City - 73,000 tons/yr - 200 tons/day
proposed plant will handle the total
as shown below:
It is anticipated that the
volume of each contributor
LaRC -. 2.27.
LAFB - 8.87.
City - 89.0%
PAGENO="1099"
1097
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility, $2,485,000:
(3) How much of the proposed savings of $800,000
per year in full costs for LaRC will be of f-
set by costs of operation and maintenance or
contributions thereto?
ANSWER:
The $800,000 "savings".is based on a present day cost of fuel oil
of 27.6c~/gal. and a savings of 2,900,000 gallons. Escalating the
cost of fuel oil at 10 percent/year to the start operation date
of January 1979, this cost becomes about 4l~/gal. with a
comparable dollar savings of $1,189,000.
The stated "savings" with respect to fuel oil is one element of
the total potential "savings" to NASA. ]~n addition to the 1979
"savings" estimate on fuel oil of $1,189,000, there will be other
amounts occurring, making the total an estimated $1,426,000. Of
this total we now estimate LaRC will probably contribute to the
plant operation and management in 1979 about $1,220,000 for
steam and "refuse disposal fees". With anticipated escalation of
fuel costs this margin of "savings" vs. payments will increase so
that we presently envision about an 8-year "pay back" for this
capital investment.
PAGENO="1100"
1098
QUESTION NO 5 Langley Research Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility, $2, 4851000
(4) What percent of the steam requirements at
LaRC will be met by the proposed plant"
ANSWER
LaRC estimates that about 80 percent of the Center's steam
demand will be met by this plant when it is at full
capability
PAGENO="1101"
1099
QUESTION NO. 5: Langle~~esearch Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility, $2,485,000:
(5) Will peak load operation of the existing
steam plant result in increased costs per
pound of steam produced? What is the cost
effectiveness or cost trade-off ratio?
ANSWER:
Yes, there will be a slight increase in the cost/lb. of steam
from the existing heating plant. However, this limited operation
of the heating plant will extend the life of the boiler systems
and result in reduced maintenance cost of the facility and a
reduction of four people in the operating staff. This factor
has been considered in the overall project `savings' analysis
provided in response to question 5c(3).
PAGENO="1102"
1100
QUESTION NO. 5: Langlay Research Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility, $2,485,000:
(6) What is the contemplated tenure of the pro-
posed "long term" agreements?
ANSWER:
The tenure of the long-term agreement is 20 years.
PAGENO="1103"
1101
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility, $2, 485,000:
(7) Which of the participa~ing organizations will
be responsible for the `design and construction
phases of the project?
ANSWER:
The Langley Research Center will be responsible for managing
the design and the construction of this proposed facility.
70-079 0 - 76 - 70
PAGENO="1104"
1102
QuESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steam Generating
Facility, $2,485,000:
(8) What is the agreed-to time phasing of the
project?
ANSWER:
The major milestone schedule for implementing this project
is shown as follows:
Design: Start - March 1976
Complete - July 1977
Construction: Start January 1977 with long
lead procurement
Complete - October 1978
Check-out: Start - October 1978
Complete - December 1978
PAGENO="1105"
1103
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
C. Construction of Refuse-Fired Steaxa Generating
Facility, $2, 485,000:
(9) How firm is the $8,410,000 estimated cost of
this project? How much has been included for
escalation and contingencies?
ANSWER:
We have a high degree of confidence that the completed facility
can be constructed for the $8,410,000 estimated cost.
Escalation rates used were 12% in Calendar Year 1975 and
107./year thereafter until mid-point of construction
The contingency factor used is based on 10%.
PAGENO="1106"
1104
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project: Refuse Fired Steam Ge~ rating Facility
Cost:
1. What is the lation to be served?
225 tons/day is .1 considering the
capital cost. Ha~. an economic~1 model
been prepared?
ANSWER:
The estimated population to be served in 1979:
LAFB 9,500 people
LaRC 4,500
City 144,000 "
Total 158,000 people
A study of existing refuse-burning plants in the United States
shows that plants in the range of 200 to 250 tons/day are costing
about $30,000/ton/day of design capacity. With cost escalation
to our mid-point of construction, this becomes about $35,000/ton/
day, or $7.9 million when applied to this plant, and tends to
validate our estimate of $8.4 million which includes the design
cost of the facility. LaRC has made an economic analysis of
this facility and found that it is cost effective to proceed
with its construction.
PAGENO="1107"
1105
QUESTION NO 5 Langley Research Centor
ProDect Refuse Fired Steam Generating Facility
Cost
2 The total dollars seems inadequate"
$12,000,000 would be more in line
ANSWER:
See previous question 1.
We believe that the total project estimate is adequate for the
design and construction of a cost effective 225 ton per day steam
generating facility at LaRC The cost of the proposed facility
would be higher if the cost of the land were included and an
extensive steam distribution system were required However our
present appraisal is based on PER data, in'-house cost assessments
and an architectural/engineering cost validation This gives us
confidence that this estimate is reasonable and realistic
PAGENO="1108"
1106
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project: Refuse Fired Steam Generating Facility
COst:
3. Can the City of Hampton follow
through with $5.OM to successfully com-
plete the project? Especially in light
of current municipal government budget
squeezes.
ANSWER:
The City `of Hampton currently has an A-i credit rating on the
bond market and initial contacts with bonding agencies have
brought positive response with respect to funding this facility.
The City does not anticipate any problems in obtaining revenue
bonds needed to provide for `their portion of this project to the
extent it may require such action.
PAGENO="1109"
1107
QUESTION NO. 5: j~~Research Center
Project: Refuse Fired Steam Generating Facility
Cost:
& what other more economical means of
disposal are available? Like baling.
ANSWER:
When considering all aspects of the project such as fuel oil costs,
present landfill costs, hauling costs to outlying landfills, and
the anticipated effect on landfill operations by potential
restrictions, there does not appear to be any other economical
means of refuse disposal. We have considered all conventional
disposal systems including landfill, volume reduction methods such
a~ shredding and baling, other thermal reduction processes such
as pyrolysis and have determined that mass burning with heat
~eeqvsry is the most cost effective, in this time frame at least.
PAGENO="1110"
1108
QUESTION NO. 5: L~gley Research Center
Project: Refuse Fired Steam Generating Facility
Technical:
1. What will happen to the refuse when
the shredder is off-line? What relia-
bility factors have been included?
ANSWER:
With respect to the included shredder we note that our recent
and further investigations of refuse shredding has shown that it
may not be cost effective especially at LaRC. Apparently the
greatest problem with a shredder is the maintenance cost and the
associated downtime as the question implies. To avoid this problem
it could be necessary to install a dual shredder system thereby
increasing the capital cost and further reducing the cost
effectiveness. For this reason we may not proceed with the
shredder capability at least in the initial phase of this project.
PAGENO="1111"
1109
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Project: Refuse Fired Steam Generating Facility
Technical:
2. Will the supply of steam ever exceed
the demand? If so, how will the excess
be dissipated?
ANSWER:
Initially, during sunmier months, there will be some excess steam.
However, provisions are being made in the Center's mode of
operation to put this excess to use by installing absorption-type
air conditioning systems in new facilities in the future in lieu
of all-electric systems. Same of the equipment in the plant will
be equipped with auxiliary steam driven, turbines and some of the
excess steam can thus be used for that purpose thereby reducing
plant operating costs. Initially, as an energy conservation
measure, excess steam will be condensed and returned to the
boiler. We anticipate that in a few years, all excess steam
will be put to use.
PAGENO="1112"
1110
QUESTION NO. 5: Langley Research Center
Pro ject: Refuse Fired Steam Generating Facility
Technical:
3. Does the City of Hampton have
personnel with the knowledge and experience
to operate a steam generating plant?
ANSWER:
The initial approach concerning the operation of the steam
generating plant was to have the City of Hampton manage the
operation of this plant through a service support contractor.
Rowever, in later discussions with the City they indicated that
they would prefer to use in-house personnel where possible. It
is realized that the City would have to engage the services of
licensed boiler operators with adequate experience and training
in this type of operation. Also, other key technical personnel
would be obtained as needed.
PAGENO="1113"
1111
QUESTION NO. 6: Lewis Research Center
A. Modification of Refrigeration System, Electric
Propulsion Laboratory, $680,000:
(1) What was the result of cost trade off studies
made concerning mechanical refrigeration
versus liquid nitrogen refrigerànts?
ANSWER:
The cost trade studies indicate that at 1975 unit costs for liquid
nitrogen and electric power an opetating "cost saving'.' of
$540,000 per year can be achieved. In the future because of
increases in energy cost greater dollar "savings" should accrue
with at least $750,000 to $800,000 in 1980.
PAGENO="1114"
1112
QUESTION NO. 6: Lewis Research Center
A. Modification of Refrigeration System, Electric
Propulsion Laboratory, $680,000:
(2) What is the energy demand for one system
versus the other?
ANSWER:
The liquid nitrogen system requires approximately 14 x io6 ~
year to produce the LN2 used plus other energy consumed in the
research effort. The proposed mechanical refrigeration system
will use approximately 2 x.106 KWH/year consumption fo~ the same
requirements. Thus a net savings in energy of 12 x 10 KWH/year
is anticipated to be realized.
PAGENO="1115"
1113
QUESTION NO 6 Lewis Research Center
A Modification of Refrigeration System Electric
Propulsion Laboratory, $680,000:
(3) Does this capability exist elsewhere at other
NASA Centers or in industry'~
ANSWER
This capability does not exist at other NASA Centers There are
five (5) industrial companies in the U S that have similar
capabilities However, the capability represented by this project
is needed at LeRC. There is an ongoing program at LeRC that will
continue to conduct research in Electric Propulsion Laboratory.
This will be projected into the foreseeable future. The
realization of this -100°F capability will reduce the total
program operating cost which will result in amortizing this
project in about one year.
PAGENO="1116"
1114
QUESTION NO. 6: Lewis Researc~efli~
A. Modification of Refrigeration System, Electric
Propulsion Laboratory, $680,000:
(4) Specifically which projects require this
facility at present and in the foreseeable
future?
ANSWER:
The work being performed in the vacuum chambers at the Electric
Propulsion Laboratory will demonstrate the technology readiness
of an electric propulsion subsystem for application as a prime
propulsion system for orbital (ecliptic) and planetary missions.
Successful completion of this work in 1981 will provide mission
planners with an effective electrical propulsion system for upper
stages. Future work is being planned for advanced electric
propulsion systems, which requires the use of these chambers
beyond 1981. The primary purpose of this project is to pro.vide
a cost effective refrigeration system compatible with these
long-term research requirements.
This facility will be specifically used to support the following
research programs through 1981:
a. Primary Solar Electric Propulsion Systems
b. Environmental Charging of Spacecraft Surfaces
PAGENO="1117"
1115
QUESTION NO. 6: Lewis Research Center
A. Modification of Refrigeration System, Electric
Propulsion Laboratory, $680,000:
(5) How much environmental test chamber time
requiring coolants is required to meet
foreseeable needs?
ANSWER:
This facility will support research programs referred to in the
response to question 6A(4).. A planned facility operation of 24
hours per day for 300 days per year is required as the refrigera-
tion system "run time'1 to support these programs.
PAGENO="1118"
1116
QUESTION NO. 6: Lewis Research Center
B. Rehabilitation of Combustion Air Drying System,
Engine Research Building, $1,490,000:
(1) Does this capability exist elsewhere in NASA
or industry?
ANSWER:
This Combustion Air Supply system supports 55 test cells in the
Engine Research Building No. 5 complex and for research and
development on small engines and engine components such as
turbines, combustors and compressors. No other facility complex
of this size and flexibility for supporting research and develop-
ment is known to exist. This facility supports research programs
in areas such as aerodynamics, combustion systems, jet noise
study, exhaust emission and engine efficiency.
PAGENO="1119"
1117
QUESTION NO. 6: Lewis Research Center
B. Rehabilitation of Combustion Air Drying System,
Engine Research Building, $1,490,000:
(2) What safety hazards exist with regard to
present equipment?
ANSWER:
The existing 30-year-old refrigeration system uses ammonia at
high pressure. Because of leaks occurring during its 30 years of
existence, its capacity has been reduced from 70 lbs./sec. to
55 lbs/sec. There is an ever increasing danger of releasing
ammonia into the basement of the Engine Research Building complex
and exposing operators and engineers to such a toxic environment.
70-079 0 - 76 - 71
PAGENO="1120"
1118
QUESTION NO. 6: Lewis Research~CeI~~
B. Rehabilitation of Combustion Air Drying System,
Engine Research Building, $1,490,000:
(3) Specifically which test requirements cannot
be met under existing conditions?
ANSWER:
There are no specific test requirements that cannot be met with
the existing air drying system; however, as indicated in our
answer to question 6B(2), the existing 30-year-old refrigeration
system uses ammonia at high pressures and this system is under
constant repair to avoid the increasing danger of ammonia
escaping from this system. Therefore, it is imperative that this
ammonia system undergo rehabilitation as planned.
PAGENO="1121"
1119
QUESTION NO. 6: Lewis Research Center
B. Rehabilitation of Combustion Air Drying System,
Engine Research Building, $1,490,000:
(4) What will be the impact if this project is
deferred for one year?
ANSWER:
The impact of a year's delay will result in increased maintenance
costs of this 30-year-old ammonia refrigeration system along with
a continuation of the unforeseen safety risk cited in response
to question 6B(2). In addition, of course, the construction cost
of the proposed new system will be increased by present inflation-
ary trends.
PAGENO="1122"
1120
QUESTION NO 6 Lewis Research Center
B Rehabilitation of Combustion Air Drying System
Engine Research Building, $1,490,000:
(5) What is the status of design for this project?
ANSWER:
The design for the Rehabilitation of Combustion Air Drying System
in the Engine Research Building is completed
PAGENO="1123"
1121
QUESTION NO. 7:
Pro ject: National Transonic Facility
Cost:
1. What factors have been included in
the $65 million preliminary cost esti-
mates for escalation?
ANSWER:
Escalation is included at a rate of 12 percent for calendar year
1975 and 10 percent per year for each calendar year thereafter
from August 1975 to the mid-point of construction. This has
been done individually for each "work package" in this case of
such a large facility.
PAGENO="1124"
1122
QUESTION NO. 7:
Project: National Transonic Facility
Cost:
2. What quantities and cost of nitro-
gen will be required to operate the
facility?
ANSWER:
The quantity of nitrogen required per year to operate the National
Transonic Facility will vary depending upon the types of testing
programs covered. The current projected average nitrogen usage is
about 60,000 tOns per year. The current standard price being
charged for liquid nitrogen by the Air Force as the coitinion
supplier is $70 per ton.
PAGENO="1125"
1123
QUESTION NO. 7~
Pràjédt: National Transonic Facility
Cost:
3: i~hat utilization factors have been
cànsidered for full operational capa-
bility and will they accommodate both
NASA and USAF needs?
ANSWER:
The projected total combined High Reynolds number testing require-
ments for NASA and DOD is 8000 data polars per year. A data polar
Is a set of 13 data points. The National Transonic Facility is
being designed to produce 8000 polars a year while averaging less
than two shifts of operation per day. This productivity considers
model changes, maintenance, repairs, etc. Thus, the tunnel will
accommodate both NASA and DOD. By operating on a two shift per
dày basis, it is anticipated that we can also satisfy the needs of
the U.S. aerospace industry and other Government agencies as well.
The currently estimated percent usage for each user is:
e. NASA 40%
b~ DOD (Air Force, Navy, Army) 40%
c. -Aerospace Industry and 207.
other Government agencies
and the scientific
community
PAGENO="1126"
1124
QUESTION NO. 7:
Project: National Transonic Facility
Cost:
4. Will the demolition of the existing
tunnel hamper or restrict research
operations?
ANSWER:
The demolition of the existing 4x4-foot supersonic wind tunnel will
not significantly hamper or restrict research operations. This
facility is currently operated only on a 1/2-shift per week basis,
and Langley has two other supersonic wind tunnels. These are the
Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel with two4x4-ft. test sections and the
lOxlO-foot supersonic wind tunnel. These latter facilities can
adequately handle the supersonic research operations for the
4'x4',
PAGENO="1127"
1125
QUESTION NO. 7:
Project: National Transonic Facility
Cost:
5. Who will fabricate and supply the
pressure shell? Did they participate
in the cost estimate? What percentage
is for components vs. on-site construc-
tion?
ANSWER:
There will probably be at least two major competitors,
Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. and Pittsburgh Des Moines Steel Co.,
who will be interested in the fabrication of the tunnel pressure
shell. Of course, we will not know who specifically until the
procurement action is completed. The steel itself will probably
be supplied by another source such as U.S. Steel or ARNCO. The
cost estimate for the tunnel pressure shell has been based largely
on pricing analyses made in conjunction with these fabricators and
others as well, all of whom are well experienced in the construc-
tion of wind tunnels and cryogenic vessels. Both of the major
fabricators mentioned above are now under consulting contract
to Architect-Engineer for design to assist in the design of the
pressure shell.
The percentage for components versus on-site construction for the
pressure shell is estimated as follows:
Materials 2O7~
Plant Fabrication 5O7~
Site Fabrication 30%
PAGENO="1128"
1126
QUESTION NO. 7:
Pro ject: National Transonic Facility
Cost:
6. What is included in the tunnel
structure components? What is the
breakdown of these costs and how were
they made?
ANSWER:
The items included as part of the tunnel structure components and
their breakdown of cost are shown below. These are based on the
preliminary engineering report cost data. The detailed breakdown
is as follows:
o Contraction Section $1,740,000
o Test Section & Mod. Support Sect. 2,200,000
o High Speed Diffuser 605,000
o Fan Section Nacelle 590,000
o Turning Vanes 340,000
o Screens 190,000
o ~2 Injection Grid 140,000
o Flow Liner 200,000
o Plenum Doors 325,000
o Gate Valves 2,470,000
$8,800,000
TOTAL
PAGENO="1129"
1127
QUESTION NO. 7:
Project: National Transonic Facility
Cost:
7. The above, question 6, also applies
to:
Tunnel Drive System
Fan Components Fabrication
Cooling Coil Fabrication
Model Support System Fabrication
ANSWER:
Included in the Tunnel Drive System are all the elements of the
drive system up to but not including the fan. Specifically,
they are:
o New 60,000 horsepower synchronous motor $2,900,000
o Two main gear reductions 1,580,000
o Shafts, bearings, couplings, seals 1,690,000
o Clutch units 525,000
o Lubrication system 220,000
o Installation of drive train 575,000
o Liquid rheostats 850,000
o Rewind existing drive motors 460,000
o Drive control modifications 700,000
TOTAL $9,500,000
Included in the Fan Components Fabrication are the Fan and Vane
Components as follows:
o Rotor blades 500,000
o Guide vanes (Inlet & Outlet) 880,000
o Variable vane mechanism 610,000
o Blade towers 110,000
o Fan hub 200,000
TOTAL $2,300,000
Included in the Cooling Coil Fabrication is the finned heat
exchanger unit only.
o Cooling Coil TOTAL $400,000
Included in the Model Support System Fabrication are the Strut,
strut support structure, bearings, actuators,. roll-drive system
for sting, and tail fairing structure.
0 Model Support
TOTAL
$800,000
PAGENO="1130"
1128
QUESTION NO 7
Project National Transonic Facility
Technical:
1. Has design progressed, or will it
mature in time to begin fabrication of
the major components by July 1976?
What risks, if any, will be associated
with proceeding if the final design is
not complete'
ANSWER
The design of the major components will be adequately developed to
allow bid package for long lead time items such as the pressure
shell and fan drive system to be completed by July 1976. The
award of contracts, however, will not be made before about
November 1, 1976, and actual fabrication is estimated to begin
about March 1977. At this time, the major portion of the
mechanical design will be complete and thus the risk of proceeding
will be minimal since any "last minute" changes will hopefully be
very minimal and can be well accommodated by small change orders
PAGENO="1131"
1129
QUESTION NO. 7:
Project: National Transonic Facility
Technical:
2. Has the preliminary work progressed
to the point where the control systems
can be configured with high assurance
regarding pressure vs. temperature vs.
time vs. velocity? When will it be
safe to release orders for the major
components such that in-fabrication
modifications or subsequent field re-
trofitting can be avoided?
ANSWER:
Preliminary work has been completed on the control system to the
point where performance of control elements have been specified
and valve sizes have been selected. Thus, penetration requirements
in the pressure shell and piping sizing is already largely complete.
Except for the definition of penetration sizes in the pressure
shell there is minimal interface of the control system with
procurements planned with FY 1977 resources. The present procure-
ment plan, therefore, will avoid, to a major extent, in-fabrication
modifications or field retrofitting.
PAGENO="1132"
1130
QUESTION NO. 7:
Project: National Transonic Facility
Technical:
3. Is any scale modeling contemplated
or advisable?
ANSWER:
A pilot tunnel was built in 1973 to validate the cryogenic approach
to High Reynolds Number. This tunnel although not a scaled model
of the NTF, has served to verify design and operating principals.
Additionally we have two scaled models of portions of the tunnel;
(1) a 1/5 scale model of the high speed leg of the tunnel. The
modeling starts with the rapid diffuser upstream of the cooling
coil and ends at the first turn downstream of the high speed
diffuser. This model is being used to verify the design of the
test section details and define the test section losses; (2) a
1/12 model of the No. 2 turn which includes the fan nacelle, vanes,
and supports. This model is being used to define the uniformity of
the flow entering the fan and the load distributions on the various
components.
PAGENO="1133"
1131
QUESTION NO. 7:
Project: National Transonic Facility
Technical:
4. What experience is there in prior
performance with this type and scale of
facility?
ANSWER:
The Langley pilot cryogenic tunnel was placed in operation in 1973
and has over 600 hours of* operating time. This small facility has
been used to verify the cryogenic approach to obtaining High
Reynolds Number. Aside from the cryogenic test environment, the
National Transonic Facility is a conventional pressure wind tunnel
and is expected to perform in a predictable manner. There is no
previous experience with a cryogenic tunnel at the full scale of
the National Transonic Facility.
PAGENO="1134"
(a) How much has been authorized ard funded for these
purposes"
ANSWER
Funds an the amount of $230 4 million have beer authorized fQr
construction. The current funding level is $230.0 million.
Funds in the amount of** $21.4 million have been specifically
authorized for facility planning and design in support~ of space
shuttle facilities The current funding level is $24 3 million
The balance in the amount of $2 9 million has been made available
from the FP&D appropriations
1132
QU~TI0N NO ~ ~ce ~hutj~eF-~~
A General
(1) It is noted that $24.3 million for facility planning and
design and $230 million for construction have been made
available for Shuttle facilities from F! 1976, Transition
Period, and prior years.
PAGENO="1135"
1133
QUESTION NO. ~: $pace ~t1e Facilities
A. General
(1) It is noted that $24.3 million for facility planning and
design and $230 million for construction have been made
available for Shuttle facilities from Fl 1976, Transition
Period, and prior years.
(b) How much has been obligated?
ANSWER:
Of the $24.3 for facility planning and design, funds in the amount
of $17.6 million have been obligated as of December 31, 1975. Of
the $230 million for construction, $154.6 million have also been
obligated as of December 31, 1975. The funds obligated to date
relate primarily to Fl 1975 and prior years resources, since Fl 1976
funds were apportioned and made available to NASA near the end of
Cl 1975.
70-079 0 - 76 - 72
PAGENO="1136"
1134
QU~TION NO. ~: ~pace ~
A. General
(1) It is noted that $24.3 million for facility planning and
design and $230 million for construction have been made
available for Shuttle facilities from F! 1976, Transition
Period, and prior years.
(c) When will the balance be obligated?
ANSWER:
Through the end of the transition period, approximately $21.0 million
of the $24.3 million for facility planning and design funds will have
been obligated. The balance of funds on hand will be substantially
obligated during F! 1977. Concerning construction funds through the
end of the transition period, approximately $210 million of the
$230 million available would have been obligated. The balance,
relating mostly to funds on hand for contingencies and contract
closeouts, will be substantially obligated during F! 1977.
PAGENO="1137"
1135
QU~TION NO. 8: SDace Shuttle Facilities
A. General
(2) Originally it was estimated that all facilities require-
ments in support of the Shuttle could be provided for at a
cost of $300 million (1971 dollars). What is the revised
estimate extrapolated to incorporate escalation factors?
ANSWER:
The current estimated cost of space shuttle facilities in 1971
dollars amount to $295.5 million vs. the $300 original estimate.
When this $295.5 million is extrapolated to include past and
projected escalation factors, the current estimated cost is
~454.5 million. This is based on our present evaluation of the
time plans of each remaining project and due to escalation will be
refined as the details of need and schedule are more precisely
determined.
PAGENO="1138"
1136
QUFZTION NO. ~: Space Shuttle Facilities
A. General
(3) What percent of the Shuttle facilities requirements have
been provided for by the $230 million programmed to date?
ANSWER:
In terms of the original commitment ($300 million in 1971 dollars),
approximately 65% of the facility requirement has 1~een provided by
the resources applied to date.
PAGENO="1139"
1137
QU~TION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Facilities
B. Construction of Orbiter Processing Facility, Kennedy Space
Center, $3,750,000
(1) This project, when added to the previous amounts authorized
for construction and that available from a reprogramming
action, will provide a total of $29,l90,OCO for the Orbiter
Processing Facility. According to the justification, this
project represents the final increment for the proposed
facility.
(a) How much was included for this facility in the
original $300 miflion Shuttle facilities estimated?
ANSWER:
The original $300 million (1971 dollars) provided facilities for
accommodating afl the functions to be carried out in the Orbiter
Processing Facility with the exception of the main access stands
which were then considered to be mobile ground support equipment to
be funded with research and development dollars. These functions
were, however, initially envisioned to be carried out in a manner
different from that now planned. For that reason, a precise com-~
parison of what was included in the original $300 million for this
specific facility is not meaningful. However, the suns included for
the facilities work required to perform these functions totaled
approximately $15.5 million in 1971 dollars vs. $19.7 million in
comparable 1971 doflars for the present project. As an adjustment,
the present project provides for the work stands estimated at
$4.0 million in 1971 doflars while the original estimates did not
include that requirement. With this adjustment, the present
$19.7 million reduces to $15.7 million.
PAGENO="1140"
1138
QUESTION NO. 8: Space Shaci1i~j~
B. Construction of Orbiter Processing Facility, Kennedy Space
Center, $3,750,OCO
(1) This project, when added to the previous amounts authorized
for construction and that available from a reprogramming
action, will provide a total of $29,190,000 for the Orbiter
Processing Facility. According to the justification, this
project represents the final increment for the proposed
facility.
(c) What are the design and construction lead times for
the FY 1977 (final) increment?
ANSWER:
The final design lead time for the FY 1977 increment is estimated
at 6-7 months and is scheduled to start~ in June 1976 and be
completed by the end of C! 1976. Construction lead time is
estimated at approximately 20-24 months and is scheduled to start
in the second quarter of C! 1977 and be complete in the first
quarter of C! 1979. Activation and checkout will extend thru late
0! 1979 or into early C! 1980.
PAGENO="1141"
1139
QUESTION NO. ~: Space Shuttle Faci~~es
B. Construction of Orbiter Processing FacilitF, Kennedy Space
Center, $3,750,000
(i) This project, when added to the previous amounts authorized
for construction and that available from a reprogramming
action, will provide a total of $29,190,000 for the Orbiter
Processing Facility. According to the justification, this
project represents the final increment for the proposed
facility.
(b) Of the amounts authorized, how much has been
obligated? When will the balance be obligated?
ANSWER:
Funds in the amount of $9.6 million have been obligated to date from
the FY 1975 resources. It is expected that approximately another
$9.6 million from F! 1975/F! 1976 will be obligated in the second
quarter of CY 1976. The balance Cf the funds authorized in
FT 1975/1976 will be substantially obligated in F! 1977.
PAGENO="1142"
1140
QU~TION NO. 8: ~p~ace Shutt~F~es
B. Construction of Orbiter Processing Facility, Kennedy Space
Center, $3,750,000
(1) This project, when added to the previous amounts authorized
for construction and that available from a reprogramming
action, will provide a total of $29,190,000 for the Orbiter
Processing Facility. According to the justification, this
project represents the final increment for the proposed
facility.
(d) Are all increments of this project being competitively
bid?
ANSWER:
All increments of this project with the exception of the bridge
cranes for the second high bay are presently planned for competitive
bidding. The bridge cranes for the first high bay have been awarded
under a competitive procurement. Procurement of similar (or
identical) cranes for the second high bay is now being considered
for award to the same contractor on a "sole source" basis. The
reasons for this planned action are to insure compatibility and
maintainability of equipment and to simplify and standardize
training and operational procedures.
PAGENO="1143"
1141
QUESTION NO. 8: ~paceShuttle Facilities
B. Construction of Orbiter Processing Facility, Kennedy Space
Center, $3,750,000
(1) This project, when addod to the previous amounts authorized
for construction and that available from a reprogramning
action, will provide a total of $29,190,000 for the Orbiter
Processing Facility. According to the justification, this
project represents the final increment for the proposed
facility.
(e) How favorable have bids received been with regard to
government estimates?
ANSWEi~:
Bids to date on the Orbiter Processing Facility have been above the
government estimates. The total government estimate was about
$9.2 miflion as opposed to the combined bids of $9.6 million. It
is, however, our present appraisal that this prior year work will
be completed within the programmed amount of $25,440,000 total.
PAGENO="1144"
1142
QIThZTION NO. ~: Space Sh~j~a~ci1ities
B. Construction of Orbiter Processing Facility, Kennedy Space
Center, $3,750,000
(2) With regard to the cost estimate for the FY 1977 increment:
(a) What does the "special and launch-related sy$tems"
estimated at $3.1 million consist of?
ANSWER:
The "special and launch-related systems" primarily include the piping
and valves and electrical systems required for operable hypergolic,
hydraulic, environmental and utility control systems. It also
includes all the piping, valves and electrical systems to provide
the high pressure gaseous systems that include hydrogen, nitrogen,
helium, oxygen and compressed air. In addition, the "launch
systems" include the piping and valves for the liquid propellarits,
namely liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. These "special and
launch-related systems" are required for the cleaning, purging and
valve operations necessary to support the safing, deservicing,
maintenance and checkout of the orbiter vehicle as well as the
installation and removal of payloads.
PAGENO="1145"
1143
QITh~TION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Facilities
B. Construction of Orbiter Processing Facility, Kennedy Space
Center, $3,750,000
(2) With regard to the cost estimate for the FY 1977 increment:
(b) Specifically what will be provided for $950,000 under
the cost element "electrical, instrumentation and
communication"?
ANSWER:
Approximately half of the $950,000 will provide the total electrical
system required to supportS the operations in the second high bay.
This electrical system includes electrical cabling, lighting
fixtures, actuators, controls, sensors, electrical outlets at
varying voltages and other supporting power requirements that will
be located throughout the 18-20 platforms that make up the work-
stands in the second high bay. The remaining half of the $950,000
sum provides primarily the visual and audio circuitry, cabling,
conduit, terminations, and terminal distributors for the telephone,
television and communication systems as wefl as electronic data
transmission systems required to support the launch processing
system.
PAGENO="1146"
1144
QU~TION NO. ~: ~pace Shut~~
C. Nodi~j~ior~s to ~
(1) What is the total estimated cost of proposed modifications
to Launch Complex 39 to meet the Shuttle R&D and operations
programs?
ANSWER:
The total estimated cost of proposed modifications to
Launch Complex 39 to meet the Shuttle R&D and operations pro~rarns is
presently estimated to be about $110,000,000 to $120,000,000.
These CoF funds will be used to modify Pad "A" and Pad "B", two
mobile launch platforms, four high bays in the Vehicle Assembly
Building for exbernal tank work and Space Shuttle integration and
the Launch Control Center. Additional funds may also be rec1uired
for modification of a third mobile launcher should this requirement
be later validated for the higher flight rates.
PAGENO="1147"
1145
Q1Th~TION NO. 8: ~
C. Modifications to Launch Complex 39, $19,855,000
(2) Of the amounts authorized to date ($48,465,000), how much
has been obligated? When do you anticipate the balance
will be obligated?
ANSWER:
Of the $48,465,000 authorized to date, approximately $27 million has
been obligated as of December 31, 1975. An additional amount of
approximately $12 million is scheduled to be obligated by the end of
the transition quarber or September 30, 1976. The balance of the
project will be substantially obligated during FY 1977.
PAGENO="1148"
1146
QUF$TION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Facilities
C. Modifications to Launch Complex 39, $19,855,000
(3) What is the design arid construction lead times of the
FY 1977 increment of this project?
ANSWER:
The FY 1977 increment includes two major items: the pad acoustic
facility work and the 2nd mobile launch platform. Design and con-
struction of these two items will be implemented under separate
schedule. Design for the "acoustic reduction" ground remedy work
is planned to start in March 1976 and be complete in January 1977.
Construction is scheduled to start in the 2nd quarter of CY 1977
and be completed in the fourth quarter of CY 1978. Activation and
checkout of the pad will be initiated concurrently during the late
phase of construction so that the pad will be ready for the first
manned orbital flight in March 1979.
Concerning the second mobile launch platform, final design consists
of an adaptation of similar design work done for the first platform.
This design adaptation will be accomplished and completed during the
second half of CY 1976. Construction is planned to start in early
CY 1977 and be completed in early CY 1980. Activation, integration
and checkout will extend another 8-10 months. The second mobile
launch platform is scheduled to be operational in the fourth quarter
of CY 1980 to be ready to receive the second orbiter which is
scheduled for delivery in that time frame.
PAGENO="1149"
1147
QUESTION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Facilities
C.. Modifications to Launch Complex 39, $19,855,000
(4) Most of the estimate for proposed modifications in the FY 1977
increment are based upon lump sum projections. Specifically, what
is the scope of the work for:
(a) Removal of the umbilical tower?
ANSWER:
The work involved in the removal of the umbilical tower includes disassembly
of a 380-foot tall steel structure weighing approximately 1,300 tons. This
work involves disconnecting and salvaging large sections of all the steel,
storing and preserving it for later use in constructing the fixed shuttle service
tower at Pad B. The scope of work also includes disconnecting and removal
of the electrical systems on the mobile launch platform and umbilical tower
which involves thousands of feet of electrical cabling, light fixtures, trans-
formers, control panels, etc. and salvaging any of this material for later use.
Various mechanical modifications including two elevators, hammerhead crane
and heating and air conditioning ducts are also included.
PAGENO="1150"
1148
QUESTION NO. 8: ~
C. Modifications to Launch Complex 39, $19,855,000
(4) Most of the estimate for proposed modifications in the
FY 1977 increment are based upon lump sum projections.
Specifically, what is the scope of the work for:
(b) Mobile launcher mechanical modifications?
ANSWER:
The high pressure gaseous systems includes replacements, major modi~-
fications and rerouting of the oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and helium
pipelines, valves, tubing, fitting, and related electrical systems
and controls. The piping and tubing involved in the above systems
include different sizes, shapes and thicknesses and amounts to
approximately 4,000 feet of new and reused material. The propellant
I~2 and L02 systems will be relocated and mcdified. Maximum use
will be maae of hundreds of feet of existing vacuum jacketed piping,
but additional associated equipment will be installed. The environ-~
ment control system with all the ducting and supporft~ing equipment
will be replaced. The piping and controls for water quench, potable
water and firex water must also be replaced. In all cases, maximum
use will be made of existing piping and hardware.
PAGENO="1151"
1149
QU~TION NO. ~: Space Shuttle Facilities
C. Modifications to Launch Complex 39, $l9,~55,OOO
(4) Most of the estimate for proposed modifications in the
FY 1977 increment are based upcn lump sum projectior~s.
Specifically, what is the scope of the work for:
(c) Pad A modifications?
ANSWER:
The scope of the work primarily includes provision for a very large
high pressure water storage and distribution system at the pad. The
water storage system has been sized to provide a flow capacity of
approximately 400,000 gallons per minute. It is currently planned
to include hydropneumatic large storage tanks located underneath the
pad. These tanks will be connected via an approximately 4E~" water
line to the water supply source. From the tanks a 60"-72" water
line will be constructed to provide water to the flame trench. A
distribution system, fully equipped with valves, injection nozzles
and instrumentation will then be provided both sides of the flame
deflector and back into the flame trench. This water will be
injected into the flame generated by firing the orbiter main engines
and the solid rocket booster in an effort, to reduce the noise
generated up to lift-off.
70-079 0 - 76 - 73
PAGENO="1152"
1150
QUESTION NO. 8: ~~tieFaciljities
C. Modifications to Launch Complex 39, $19,855,000
* (5) Does the $3.7 million of R&D resources for non-collateral
* equipment indicated apply to only the FY 1977 increment?
What is the total estimate for R&D funded non-collateral
equipment to be provided for the entire modification
project?
ANSWER:
The $3.7 million of R&D resources identified in the F~ 1977
increment specifically relates to mobile launch platform. Typical
examples of the non-collateral equipment that makes up this require-
ment for ML? #2 includes servicing and access platforms, ground
power unit, portable purge unit, distribution systems, tail service
masts, solid rocket booster support and holddowns, etc. The non-
collateral equipment for the complete Launch Complex 39 project
includes all R&D funded items for Pad "A" and Pad "B", two mobile
launch platforms, Vehicle Assembly Building and the Launch Control
Center. The total estimated cost for these R&D resources is $85 to
$95 million. This overall LC 39 estimate for non-collateral
equipment includes the equipment described for the mobile launch
platform, and also such items as launch processing s~istem, payload
ground handling mechanism, launch pad servicing, orbiter access
arm, external intertank hydrogen vent, mid-body umbilical, GN2
distribution, audio, recording test and checkout system.
PAGENO="1153"
1151
QU~TION NO. ~: ~paceShuttleFaciJ~ies
D. Modifications for Solid Rocket Booster Processing Facilities,
$9,700,000
(1) Originally NASA intended (with the concurrence of the Air
Force) to modify the existing Air Force Titan III Solid
Motor Assembly Building to receive and process solid rocket
motors and to assemble 31313 segments before movement to the
Vehicle Assembly Building. Funds for this proposal were
authorized in the FY 1976 NASA Authorization Program in the
amount of $5,240,000.
(a) What is the revised plan to meet this requirement?
ANSW~:
The revised plan to meet the requirement for solid rocket booster
(SRR) processing is to accomplish this operation in high bays 4 and
2 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (vAB) in lieu of the Air Force
Titan III facility.
PAGENO="1154"
1152
QUEZTIO~ NO. 8 ~ ttle Facilities
D Modifications f or Solid flocket Booster Processin~' Facilities,
$9,700,000
(1) Originally NASA intended (with the concurrence of the Air
Force) to modify the existing Air Force Titan III Solid
Motor Assembly Building to receive and process solid rocket
motors and to assemble SRB segments before movetrent to the
Vehicle Assembly Building Funds for this proposal were
authorized in the F! 1976 NASA Authorization Program in the
amount of $~,240,OO0
-(b) What is the difference in scope and cost of the
original proposal versus that now contemplated?
ANSWER:
The scope of the revised project to accomplish SRB processing in the
VAB is similar to that originally plarned for the Titan III Air Force
facility In both cases the principle work consists of providing
large work stands for major SRB segmert buildup In the revised
project, new 100 ton cranes must be added in each high bay whereas
previously the existing 300 ton crane in the AF facility was to be
modified In the Titan III facility, extensive modification of the
Solid I~iotor Assembly Building itself was reouired The modifica-
tions in the VAB are less but a new railroad spur must be provided
into both high bays of the VAB. Considering the various aspects of
trade-off described above, the facility costs for either the VAB or
the SMAB alternatives were estimated to be essentially equal. The
revised project is planned to be accomplished within the $5,240,000
resources provided in F! 1976
PAGENO="1155"
1153
QUBZTION NO. 8: ~nace Shuttle Facilities
D. Modifications for Solid Pocket Booster Processing Facilities,
$9,700,000
(1) Originally NASA intended (with the concurrence of the Air
Force) to modify the existing Air Force Titan III Solid
Motor Assembly Building to receive and process solid rocket
motors and to assemble SRB segments before movement to the
Vehicle Assembly Building. Funds for this proposal were
authorized in the FY 1976 NASA Authorization Program in the
amount of $5,240,000.
(c) WiU any savings result in the cost of modifications
and operations as a result of the revised proposal?
ANSWER:
The revised plan to utilize the VAB for SRB processing will result
in a savings in future operational costs. The present design
estimate for the facility modifications indicate the cost will be
essentially the same as the previously planned Titan III Air Force
facility modifications.
PAGENO="1156"
1154
QUESTION NO. E~: ~pp~e Shuttle Facilities
D. Modifications for Solid Rocket Booster Processing Facilities,
$9,700,000
(TI) Originally NASA intended (with the concurrence of the Air
~Force) to modify the existing Air Force Titan III Solid
Motor Assembly Building to receive and process soliU rocket
~motors and to assemble SRB segments before movement~ to the
Vehicle Assembly Building. Funds for this proposal were
authorized in the FY 1976 NASA Authorization PrograM in the
amount of $5,240,000.
(ci) How much was expended on facilities planning and
design for the original proposal that is r±ot usable
~ the new plan to meet this need?
ANSWER:
The facilities planning and design funds expended on the Titan III
facility which cannot be directly applied to the present design are
approximately $66,OQO. Additionally, of an estimated $150, 000 that
had been expended on the design, some can be dirëctly applied in to
ere~sed p±oject whereas a certain portion cannot be recovered.
PAGENO="1157"
1155
QUESTION NO. ~: ~~huttleFacilitj~s
D. Modifications for Solid Rocket Booster Processing Facilities,
$9 , 700, 000
(2) Will the use of the VAN incure ~ increased safety risks
not inherent in the use of the Titan III complex?
ANSWER:
The use of the VAN for SRB processing is not considered to create
undue safety risks in the facility. Evaluation shows the integra-
tion stacking operations to be the most critical function being
performed in the VAB and these operations were approved earlier.
Some potentially added risk may result from the additional SRB
operations in the VAB. However, the proposed Space Shuttle
propellant operations have been submitted to the DOD Bbcplosives
Safety Board for review and have been found acceptable.
PAGENO="1158"
1156
QIThZTION NO ~ ~h~l~eIcilitie3
D. Modifications for Solid Rocket Booster Processing Facilities,
$9,700,000
(3) Specifically what modifications and costs thereof are
related to the Kennedy Space Center and the Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station9
ANSWER
The proposed modifications in the FY 1977 increment are all related
to NASA facilities The SRB reccvery disassembly function is
planned to be accomplished at the existing NASA Saturn dock and
adjacent NASA hangar AF which are located at Cape Canaveral AFS.
~odafications associated with this operatior are estimated to cost
$5,030,000 The SRB refurbashirent subassemtly oper'~tions are
planned to be accomplished in the low bay of the VAB with a related
cost of $2,500,000 The parachute refurbislment function is planned
to be accomplisI~ed in building N7-657 at the KSC industria] area
Associated modifications for this work is estimated at $2,~70,000
Therefore, the total facility costs related to Kennedy Space Center
amounts to $4 67 mil2iori and that at Cape Canaveral AFS amounts to
$5 03 rnaflion as ~ndicated above
PAGENO="1159"
1157
QU~TI0N NO. ~: ~~tt1eFac~4ties
D. Modifications for Solid Rocket Booster Processing Facilities,
$9,700,000
(4) According to the justification, the proposed FY 1977
project will complete all known requirements. Are there
any other supporting facilities requirements to he funded?
ANSWER:
As indicated in the project justification, based on present planning,
this FY 1977 project will provide all known SRB processing facilities.
At this time, there are no known requirements for other support
facilities; however, our evaluation in this regard is not yet
complete.
PAGENO="1160"
1158
QUESTION NO. 8: ~p~çe Shuttle ~
D. Modifications for Solid Rocket Booster Processing Facilities,
$9,700,000
(5) Specifically what modifications will be re~uired in
Hangar AF?
ANSWER:
The solid rocket booster disassembly operations and preparing spent
solid rocket motor casing for shipment back to the manufacturer
will be accomplished in Hangar AF. The specific modifications
required to Hangar AF to provide this disassembly capability include
installing a dolly rail system in the facility, installing fixed
work stands and repair of the building roof. In addition, the
mechanical systems including plumbing, pneumatics and air
conditioning must be modified to supporb these newly added
functions. The electrical system must also be mcdified to support~
these newly added functions. Other minor modifications to the
bu~ilding are required to provide adequate work areas -
PAGENO="1161"
1159
QUESTION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Facilities
D. Modifications for Solid Rocket Booster Processing Facilities, $9, 700,000
(6) Lump sum estimates for work to be accomplished under this project
are too vague for technical review. Please provide for the record
a detailed basis for the cost estimate.
ANSWER:
The following is a detailed cost estimate for the FY 1977 increment of the
SRB Processing Facilities project:
Recovery and Disassembly Facility _________
Modify Dock and Slip
Dredge, Bulkhead, Dock
Pave Drain Fence
Mechanical
Dollies
Electrical
120~-Ton Crane
Pile Caps, Piling, etc.
Structural Steel
Crane
Modity Hangar AF
Floor Preps, Grading, Demo
Roof, Arch, Struct, Platforms
Mechanical
Electrical
Cleaning System
Wash
Surface and Rinse
$5,030, 000
2, 120,000
(660,000)
(490,000)
(267,000)
(540,000)
(163,000)
1,190,000
75,000)
(345,000)
(770,000)
1,300,000
(358,000)
(285,000)
(432,000)
(225,000)
420,000
(378,000)
( 42,000)
PAGENO="1162"
Refurbishment/Subassembly Facilities
Work Stand Area
Work Tables
TVC Hydraulic Servicer
Nose and Forward Assembly Stand
Parachute Stand
Pre-Frustum Stand
Aft Skirt Assembly Stands
Weld Inspection Stand
Electrical
Mechanical
Bridge Cranes
3 - 10-tons
1 15-tons
Structural Steel
Painting
Electrical
Paint and Insulation Area
Demolition
Concrete
Masonry
Steel
Carpentry
Finishes
Dolly Rail
Mechanical
Electrical
Parachute Refurbishment Faculiiy~
Site Preparation
Clearing
Demolition
2
2,500, 000
431,000
( 4,000)
( 2,000)
( 96,000)
( 59,000)
( 59,000)
(106,000)
58,000)
( 35,000)
(12,000)
700,000
(249,000)
(106,000)
(261,000)
(14,000)
( 70,000)
1,369,000
( 29,000)
( 30,000)
( 90,000)
70,000)
( 90,000)
(110,000)
20,000)
(510,000)
(420,000)
2,170,000
145,000
.( 17,000)
( 24,000)
( 80,000)
( 24,000)
1160
Pave and Drain
Earthwork
PAGENO="1163"
1161
3
Architectural/Structural $ 821,000
Concrete, forms, walls (243,000)
Structural Steel (158,000)
Roofing and Slabs (292,000)
A\rchitectural, Painting, Finish (128,000)
Mechanical/Electrical/Utilities 646,000
Mechanical (337,000)
Electrical (254,000)
Utilities ( 55,000)
Equipment-Wash/Dry 558,000
Wash, Dry, etc. (373,000)
Monoitril (185,000)
PAGENO="1164"
1162
QU~TI0N NO. 8: Space ~ Facilities
E. Construction of Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facilities,
$2,050,000
(i.) There was authorized $3,890,000 for the construction of
Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facilities at the Dryden
Flight Research Center and Palmdale in the F! 1976 NASA
Authorization Act. At that time, according to testimony,
there was a requirement for mating/demating facilities at
KSC. Apparently this project includes proposed
mating/demating facilities at KSC.
(a) The recent decision to move the crbiter from
Palmdale to the Dr~jden Flight Research Center has
apparently eliminated the immediate need for
Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facilities at
Palmdale. What is the status of funds authorized
for that purpose? How much is involved?
ANSW~:
A final decision has ~ret to be made on the method of transporting the
orbiter from Palmdale to Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC).
After considerable preliminary evaluation of air ferry versus over-
land, there appears to be evidence to favor the overland method.
Based on this evidence, an D~ivironmenta1 Impact Statement was
released on a selected overland transportation scheme. At the same
time, it was decided to postpone further work on the mating facility
and to initiate certain planning activities. The results of these
planning activities, when combined with any environmental comments
received, will provide the basis for final consideration of the
matter.
In the event a decision is later made favoring the overland mode and
a Section 3 action is processed, the requirement for the Palmdale
mating facility, as now authorized and funded, would be eliminated.
However, provisions for a "back-up" transport means would be
included in the related Section 3 action to cover the possible
eventuality of unexpected legal or administrative problems arising
which would delay tEe development of the overland route.
The envisioned "back-up" consists of a lifting scheme which is now
being developed for use at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC).
This scheme consists of a stiff-leg derrick and a mobile crane,
lifting in concert. Although not desirable for use in a
time-constrained operational setting, it is felt to be satisfactory
for single one-time lifts or for "back-up" situations. The derrick
and support equipment developed for MSFC would then be shipped and
erected at Palmdale on a specially constructed foundation.
PAGENO="1165"
1163
2
Of the $2, 5~0,O0O appropriated in FY 1975 and 1976 for construction
of the Palmdale mating facilities approximately $335,000 has been
obligated for procurement of long lead items, specifically
structural steel and hoists. A contract has been awarded for
fabrication and erection of a similar facility at DFRC and that
ccntract contains an option which, if exercised, would provide for
fabrication and erection of the Palmdale facility at a current cost
estimate of $1,115,000. This figure does not include foundations
and site work which would be provided under a separate contract. In
summary, of the $2,5a0,OCC appropriated for this item, $335,000 has
been obligated and $2,245,000 are available to complete the mating
facility or to use in any Section 3 action stemming from any final
decision to go overland.
PAGENO="1166"
1164
QTIEZTION NO. 8: ~ce Shuttle Facilities
E. Construction of Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facilities,
$2,050,000
(1) There was authorized $3,890,000 for the construction of
Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facilities at the Dryden
Flight Research Center and Palmdale in the FY 1976 NASA
Authorization Act. At that time, according to testimony,
there was a requirement for mating/demating facilities at
KSC. Apparently this project includes proposed
mating/demating facilities at KSC.
(b) What is the relative unit costs of Shuttle/aircraft
mating devices at DFRC versus Palmdale versus KSC?
ANSWER:
Of the three mating facilities, the one planned at DFRC is estimated
to cost more than the ones planned for Palmdale or KSC. The DFRC
facility has been designed to include additional components, such as
an elevator, propellant servicing facilities, and necessary safing
provisions that are required to support the approach and landing test
(ALT) program at that site. Of the total funds appropriated in
FY 1975 and FY 1976 against the Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating
Facilities discrete line item, funds in the amount of $2,810,000 and
$2,580,000 were specifically and directly related to the mating
facility units at DFRC and Palmdale, respectively. The balance of
the funds appropriated related to supporting facilities including
the tow-way and utilities from the mating site to the main runway at
Elwards AFB as well as the safing facilities at DFRC.
The mating facility at KSC is essentially identical to the one
planned for Palnidale except for site peculiar differences involving
site work, utilities and foundations. Funds in the amount of
$2,050,000 are included in FY 1977 for this facility. The lower
budget amount at KSC vs. Palmdale reflects the later favorable bid
experience received for the mating facilities at DFRC and Palmdale.
PAGENO="1167"
1165
QU~TION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Facilities
E. Construction of Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facilities,
$2,050,000
(1) There was authorized $3,890,000 for the construction of
Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facilities at the Dryden
Flight flesearch Center and Palmdale in the F~( 1976 NASA
Authorization Act. At that time, according to testimony,
there was a requirement for mating/demating facilities at
KSC. Apparently this project includes proposed
mating/demating facilities at KSC.
(C) Since funds authorized for mating facilities at
Palmdale will not be required for these purposes,
what proposed disposition will be made thereof?
ANSWER:
In the event the decision is later made to move the orbiter overland
from Palmdale to DFRC, funds now authorized for the Palmdale facility
would be needed for the overland facilities work. Following the
necessary environmental comment and review period, a decision on this
matter will be made. Current preliminary facility estimates
indicate that approximately $2.1 million would be required to
implement the facility work associated with the overland movement
between Palmdale and DFRC. These funds would then be realigned,
using a Section 3 action, from the unobligated funds for the
Palindale mating facility.
70-079 0 - 76 - 74
PAGENO="1168"
1166
QU~ZTION NO. ~: SDace Shu~cil~.es
E. Construction of Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facilities,
$2,050,000
(2) Apparently long lead time procurement of steel and other
critical materials for the mating/demating facility at
Palmdale facility was initiated using Fl 1975 funds.
What is the status of this procurement action? What
disposition of materials will be made?
ANSWER:
Two separate procurements were initiated to provide for the
structural steel and the hoist for the Palmdale facility. These
procurement actions also included long lead items for the DFRC
facility. The structural steel for Palmdale has now been delivered
and is being held at DFRC, while the hoist is now planned for
delivery in the third quarter of Cl 1976. If the final later
decision is that we will go overland between Palmdale and DFRC, the
material procured for the Palmdale facility will be made available
to construct the KSC mating facility.
PAGENO="1169"
1167
QUFZTION NO. ~: ~ace Shuttle Facilities
E. Construction of Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facilities,
$2,050,000
(3) What type of lifting device will be used to place the
orbiter on the dollies for movement to DFRC?
ANSWE1~:
The orbiter will be lifted by specially designed hydraulic
jack-~stands which are to. supporL~ the orbiter final assembly
activities at Palmdale. After the orbiter is lifted, the
transporter, consisting of a strongback mounted on dollies, would
be moved under the orbiter. Subsequently, the orbiter would be
lowered to its resting position by the jacks onto the transporter
for the move to DFRC.
PAGENO="1170"
1168
QUESTION NO. 8: ~~ç~~huttle Faci~je~
E. Construction of Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facilities,
$2,050,000
(4) What is the estimated cost of the transporLer system for
movement to DFRC vs. the previous estimate for
mating/demating originally planned?
ANSWER:
The transporter system consists of a specially designed truss cafled
a "strongback" with orbiter attach points, to which conventional
commercial moving dollies can be attached. The "strongback" will be
towed by a conventional prime mover tractor. The strongback, with
necessary ground support equipment is estimated to cost $290,000 in
Th~D funds, while the operational costs, including the commercial
dollies and prime mover, are estimated at approximately $50,000 per
move. A chart is attached which provides a comparison of the
preliminary cost estimates of the system for overland transportation
versus the estimates for the Shuttle/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facility
originally planned.
PAGENO="1171"
Sh~t1e/Carrier Aircraft Mating Facility
Facility Budget Current Cost
FY 1975 Reprogramming Estimate Estimate
Lono Lead Procurement 750,000 335,000
~)76 T3~idget
work, foundations 200,000
.~ication and erection 1,630,000 ________
2,580,000
~ianning & Design 200,000 ________
Total Facilities
Estimate
R&D Cost Estimates
Net Operational &
Maintenance Cost
Route Modifications
Road Construction
Utility Reloaction
Land Acquisition _________
Planning & Design _________
Back-up Mating
Facility
Transportation MSFC-
Palmdale 50,000
Site work, foundation 55,000
Erection and rigging 70,000
175,000**
Total Facilities $2,250,000
Estimate
Strongback, Transporter
Strongback with GSE
Operational costs ___________
COST ESTIMATE COMPARISON - AIR FERRY VERSUS OVERLAND
Overland Transportation
Preliminary Estimates
1,050,000
600,000
275,000
1,925,000
150,000
Total $2,075,000
160,000
1,115,000
1,610,000
150,000
1,760,000*
$2,780,000
:~
GRAND TOTAL
770,000 770,000
290, OOO~~~
335,000
625,000
$3, 550 , 000 2,530,000 GRAND TOTAL $2 , 875, 000
urrent cost estimate reflects reduction in initial requirements, special procurement technique
or steel and most favorable bids.
asic refurbishment costs charged to MSFC.
iso to be used at MSFC.
PAGENO="1172"
1170
QUESTiON NO. 8:
~pace Shuttle Facilities
F. Modfications for Crew Training Facilities, Johnson Space Center,
$780,000
(1) This project envisions the construction of a water immersion facilily
for astronaut training.
* (a) How much did the neutral buoyancy facility at the Marshall
SpaceFlight Center cost?
ANSWER:
The total cost of the neutral buoyancy facility at Marshall Space Flight
Center was $1,647,096 including the cost of the building which
houses the tank. The building existed and about $1.1 million was added
to provide the neutral buoyancy capability.
PAGENO="1173"
1171
QUESTION NO. 8:
~pace Shuttle Facilities
F. Modifications for Crew Training Facilities, Johnson Space Center,
$780,000
(1) This project envisions the construction of a water immersion facility
for astronaut training.
(b) What is the estimated cost of modifications (if any) actually
required to the Marshall facility to meet JSC training needs?
ANSWER:
The estimated cost of modifications to the MSFC facility to meet JSC
training needs is $350,000. These modifications are required to provide
the necessary access and handling for the large trainers and simulators
related to the specific shuttle program requirements. Additionally, the
existing tank must also be configured to provide for optimum shuttle
training requirements.
PAGENO="1174"
1172
QUESTION NO. 8
~ppce Shuttle Facilities
F. Modifications for Crew Tn~ining Facilities, Johnson Space Center,
$780,000
(~) This project envisions the construction of a water immersion facility
for astronaut training.
(c) Specifically what would these modifications consist of?
ANSWER:
The modifications to the existing WIF at MSFC stem from two requirements,
first, to provide capability to place and remove the large shuttle simulator in
the WIF, and second, to provide a method for holding the simulator at the
25 foot optimum depth. With respect to the requirement to provide shuttle
simulator access and handling, it will be necessary to remove the roof over
one bay and then constwct a structure 70 feet high by 144 feet long by 22
feet wide over the opening. This new structure would be equipped with a
10-ton hoist and monorail system to lift and transport the shuttle simulator up,
over and through the roof, then down into the tank. This arrangement is
necessary because the clearance between the top of the existing tank and the
bottom of the roof structure of the building is too small to accept the simulator.
Other alternatives to provide the necessary access were studied and found to
be more expensive. To close the hole in the roof, a vertical sliding door will
be required. With respect to providing a method for holding the simulator at
the 25 foot level, a pedestal installed in the bottom of the tank will be
requ ired.
PAGENO="1175"
1173
QUESTION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Fc,cil ities
F. Modifications for Crew Training Facilities, Johnson Space Center,
$780,000
(2) According to the jusflficat ion the cost of travel, per diem, etc. for
training at the MSFC would offset the initial facility cost difference in
two or three years of Shuttle operations.
(a) How much actual training requiring water immersion is necessary
during the R&D phase of the Shuttle program in terms of hours per
astronaut per week?
ANSWER:
When astronauts are training for a mission, two crews, each crew consisting of
two astronauts, will be training in parallel and will require water immerson
training. Each crew may require actual in-tank training of up to five sessions
per week. Each session is of two hour duration. These time lines reflect actual
in-tank training requirements and do not include preparation and set-up times
estimated at 2 hours for every in-tank training hour. Over and above these
specific mission requirements, crews and mission specialists undergo immersion
training for orientation and for proficiency in certain tasks that are common for
all missions.
Specifically, during the R&D phase, a total of 42 astronauts will be using the
WIF for training. Twelve crewmen will be in training for OFT and 30 new
astronauts will be receiving basic training in preparation for flight assignments
in mid-1980. Over the 78 week period (last two quarters of CY 1978 and all
of CY 1979) a total of 1,352 training hours will be required. Since two
crewmen can be trained simultaneously the average total crew training time
for the facility will be 8.7 hours/week. Procedures development will result
in another 3.2 hours/week. Facility overhead time is then added for a total
facility usage of 35.7 hours per week average.
It must be recognized that the neutral buoyancy training is only one, but a
vital element, of the total training necessary for crews and mission special ists
in support of the shuttle program. Each specific mission will require a training
cycle covering classroom, mission operational training and shuttle training
aircraft work. Crews are restricted to two sessions (two hours per session) per
day for medical reasons, and devote the balance of the day to the other vital
elements of the training regime. Disruption of this training cycle by travel
to a remote location for water immersion training will not only deviate from
the integrated training plan but will also result in lost valuable time, extended
training cycte, increased training and crew personnel, additional travel and
per diem expenses and additional equipment costs.
PAGENO="1176"
1174
QUESTION NO. 8:
Space Shuttle Facilities
F. Modifications for Crew Training Facilities, Johnson Space Center,
$780,000
(2) According to the lustification the cost of travel, per diem, etc. for
training at the MSFC would offset the initial facility cost difference
in two or three years of Shuttle operations.
(b) ls it not true that specific work task training will be a more valid
requirement during the operational phase of the Shuttle program?
ANSWER:
The first six Shuttle missions are development flights. These flights will
carry payloads. Because of the developmental nature of the program during
the earlier flights, pnblems must be expected to develop more frequently
than during the operational phase of the program. To cope with the probable
problems, it is vital that crews and mission specialists be fully trained in
specific work tasks. In fact, more rigorous training may be required to
successfully complete the development phase missions than might be required
after the technical excellence of the Shuttle system has been proven. It is
true that the training load during the operational phase will be greater and
more diversified because of increased frequency and variety of flights, but
the quality of specific work tasks training is no more valid in the operational
phase than in the development phase.
PAGENO="1177"
1175
QUESTION NO. 8:
~pace Shuttle Facilities
F. Modifications for Crew Training Facilities, Johnson Space Center,
$780,000
(2) According to the justification the cost of travel, per diem, etc. for
training at the MSFC would offset the initial facility cost difference
in two or three years of Shuttle operations.
(c) Have the costs of per diem and travel for these training purposes
been estimated for the R&D phase of the Shuttle program?
ANSWER:
Yes. The costs of per diem and travel for the astronauts, other crew members
and training special ists have been estimated and included in the trade~off
study of the use of the MSFC vs. JSC facilities for the R&D phase of the
Shuttle program.
PAGENO="1178"
1176
QUESTION NO. 8:
~p~ce Shuttle Facilities
F. Modifications for Crew Training Facilities, Johnson Space Center,
$780,000
(3) What s the relative size of the proposed tank as compared to the
one at MSFC?
ANSWER:
The proposed tank at JSC is 78 feet long by 30 feet wide by 25 feet deep.
One end will be in the shape of a semi-circle with a radius of 15 feet. The
existing tank at MSFC is cylindrical in shape with a 75-Foot diameter and
40 feet deep.
PAGENO="1179"
1177
QUESTION NO. 8:
Space Shuttle Facilities
F. Modifications for Crew Training Facilities, Johnson Space Center,
$780,000
(4) What is the status of design for this pro ject?
ANSWER:
Preliminary engineering has been completed. Final design is scheduled to
start in early March 1976 and be completed in September 1976.
PAGENO="1180"
1178
QUESTION NO. 8:
~p~ce Shuttle Facilities
F. Modifications for Crew Training Facilities, Johnson Space Center,
$780, 000
(5) What are the design and construction lead times?
ANSWER:
Design will take approximately sx months, and construction and activation
is estimated at approximately 16-17 months.
PAGENO="1181"
1179
QUESTION NO. 8:
~p~ice Shuttle Facilities
F.. Modifications for Crew Training Facilities, Johnson Space Center,
~780, 000
(6) Has procurement action been initiated for the orbTter trainers
estimated at $3.9 million? What is the procurement lead time?
ANSWER:
Procurement has been initiated for the orbiter trainers. They are a part of
The Rockwell contract which provides for the delivery of most of these
tminers by January 1978. The first trainer, crew cabin mock-Sup, will be
delivered in early 1977 arti will be used for other training purposes until
the Water Immersion Facility is completed.
PAGENO="1182"
1180
QUESTION NO. 8: ~pace Shuttle Facilities
G. Rehabilitation and Modifkation of Shuttle Facilities, Various Locations,
$1,760,000
(1) What are these projects not included in the NASA-wide "package"
for Rehabilitation and Modification of Facilities?
A NSWER:
These small projects are shuttle unique and necessary to support the shuttle
program. For reasons of clarity, full disclosure purposes and better fiscal
and technical control, NASA decided to include all these small shuttle
unique projects within the integrated total space shuttle facilities program;
and to charge the related costs against the total space shuttle facilily "runouts"
commitment previously estma ted at $300 mill ion (1971 dollars).
PAGENO="1183"
1181
QUESTION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Facil ities
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various Locations,
$1,760,000
(2) Modifications for Flash Evaporation Testing, Building 7, JSC
(a) Does a flash evaporator testing capability exist elsewhere at
other government facilities or in industry?
ANSWER:
A complete system testing capability for the flash evaporator and related
system does not exist at other government facilities or in industry. Capability
for testing of the flash evaporator components does exist in industry and will
be used for that purpose. However, it is necessary to test the total flash
evapon~tor system and to carry out integrated tests using the evaporator and
related orbiter systems such as the crew, crew cabin, and payload bay
environmental systems which are affected by the performance of the flash
evaporator.
70-079 0 - 76 - 75
PAGENO="1184"
1182
QUESTION NO 8 Space Shi~ttie Facilities
C Rehabililation and Modification of Shuttle FaciIi~ies, Variou I c clions,
$~,76O,OOO
(2) Modifications for Flash Evaporation Testing, Building 7, JSC
(b) Specifically what modifications will be required~
ANSWER
The modifications to support testing of the Flash Evaporator include:
a. Installing two 12-inch cold traps with supporting valves, controls, and
piping to connect to an existing I I-foot chamber vacuum system.
b. Extending the LN2 system and connecting it to the cold traps.
c Connecting the existing vacuum system to an available 8-foot
chamber which will be relocated into an existing mezzanine above the
11-foot chamber.
d. Installing gas ventilator into the roof, and a water drain line into
the under-floor drainage system.
PAGENO="1185"
1183
QUESTION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Fac~l ities
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various Locations,
$1,760,000
(3) Modifications of Mission Control Center, Building 30, JSC
(a) What type of `new generation computer" is contemplated for
this operation?
ANSWER:
The type of new gene iotion computer contemplated would be something like
IBM's 370 series, Control Data's Cyber 170 series, or Univac 1100 series.
PAGENO="1186"
1184
QUESTION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Facilities
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various Locations,
$1,760,000
(3) Modifications of Mission Control Center, Building 30, JSC
(b) Why cannot the present real time data processing system be
continued in use?
ANSWER:
The changes to the data acquisition network sites to eliminate remote data
processing and the increased data flow from Shuttle as compared to Apollo will
require a much larger data handling capability at JSC than is existing. The
changes to the network result in less total hardware and personnel from an over-
all agency view. The increased data flow for Shuttle is because the Shuttle will
have a much greater experiment capability than existed on Apollo and also
because the orbiter vehicle itself is more complex than was the Apollo. In
addition, the present Univac 494 computers were installed in 1963 and have
been heavily used since that time The projected rel iabi I ity of these computers
for the 1978-80 time frame is such that they would be uneconomical to main-
tain besides being inefficient and ineffective to handle the more complex
shuttle data processing requirements
PAGENO="1187"
1185
QUESTION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Facilities
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various Locafjor~,
$~,76O,OO0
(3) Modifications of Mission Control Center, Building 30, JSC
(c) Why is a reconfiguration of the raised flooring required?
ANSWER:
The reconfiguration of the raised flooring is required to adapt the existing
floor space to accommodate the new shuttle data processing complex. This
involves relocation of raised flooring from other parts of the building,
procuring a modest amount of new flooring and providing the necessary
modifications to the floor to accommodate rearrangement of existing
equipment that is affected by the provision of the additional computer
equipment.
PAGENO="1188"
1186
QUESTION NO. a: ~ Shp~tt1e Fa~il
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1, 760,000
(4) Rehabilitation and Modification of Test Facilities,
Thermochemical Test Area, JSC
(a) Why does this type testing ~ to be accomplished at
JSC? Why can't it be accomplished at the contractor's
plant?
ANSWER:
This type of testing is not in lieu of but a vital supplement to the
testing planned to be accomplished at the contractor's plant. The
JSC has management responsibility for the total system. In this
capacity, the Center has technical responsibility to carry out
certain testing before a contractor's specific test program is
initiated in order to define the reciuirements and establish controls
for monitoring the contractor's performance. The Center must also
continue to carry out testing long after the ccntractor is
terminated in. support of the operational programs. It is somewhat
impractical, and uneconomical to implement these kinds of test
activities by contractors.
The testing capability in the Thermochemical Test Area at JSC is -
used primarily f or engineering investigative type testing to provide
management support f or propulsion and power subsystems such as the
reaction control system (Rcs), orbital maneuvering system (OMS),
auxiliary propulsion unit (APU), hydraulic systems, fuel cells, and
cryogenic systems. Normally large scale development and qualifica-
tion testing are conducted at JSC which follow four distinct phases:
1. ~~~ccntract Phase: Definition of requirements.
2. Develo~men Phase: Evaluation of components and
system design approaches.
3. Pre-flight~~: Tests characterization of flight
components and systems and their off-limit capability, to assist in
establishing mission rules. During this phase, hardware is pushed
to actual limits to insure most flexible, yet safe mission rules.
4. ~ F: Test characteristics of system and
component anomolies and evaluation and development of anomoly fixes
on real time basis.
The above data indicate there is no conflict between JSC testing and
subcontractor testing during precontract and flight phases. During
the development and preflight phases, this facility will complement
the contractor's efforts. Without the development and preflight
phases, this facility cannot support the flight phase.
PAGENO="1189"
1187
QUESTION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Facilities
C. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various LocaHons,
$ ,760,000
(4) Rehabilitation and Modification of Test Facilities, Thermochemical
Test Area, JSC
(b) Are the vernier thrusters tested by the contractor prior to delivery?
ANSWER:
Yes. The vernier thrusters will be tested by the contractor prior to delivery.
However, the testing at the Johnson Space Center is vital, as explained in
the previous question, to the testing of this item under `off-Limit' parameters,
and to check its capacity under anamoly conditions. In addition, long term
testing after the contract is terminated, is required to support the operational
program.
PAGENO="1190"
1188
QUESTION NO. 8: Space Shuttle Facilities
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various Locations,
$1,760,000
(4) Rehabilitation and Modification of Test Facilities, Thermochemical
Test Area, JSC
(c) What is the "need" date for this facil ily?
ANSWER:
The work should be completed as soon as possible and no later than May 1977
when tesf~ng levels are planned to ncrease significantly Certain testing is
in fact underway to support program requirements The facility work proposed
is essential to rehabil tate and upgrade the facility systems if the test program
is to continue in a safe and effective manner
PAGENO="1191"
1189
QUFSTION NO. ~: ~
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1,760,000
(5) Rehabilitation of Chemical Waste Pond, MAF
(a) Has the existing holding pond been in continuous
operation since constructed?
ANSW~:
Yes. The existing holding pond has been in continuous operation
since 1963 when it was first constructed.
PAGENO="1192"
1190
QU~TION POe ~: Space Shuttle ~cilit±es
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilitlea, Va~iouc
Locations, $1,760,000
(5) Rehabilitation of Chemical Waste Pond, MAF
(b) What "temporary measures" have been taken to preclude
contamination'?
A1~SWER:
To preclude contamination, the chemical waste holding pond was
"gunited" in mid-CY 1969. Temporary measures taken since that time
have included frequent draining of the pond and the removal of
sedimendation to prevent clogging of the chemical waste well.
Present conditions are such that the "gunite" coating of the pond
has erroded and deteriorated to the point where further tempcrary
measures may not be as effective in the future and spalling from
the old concrete surface of the pond may clog the chemical waste
well. With the external tank manufacturing operations getting into
fuller production by the end of CY 1976, it is essential that the
pond be resurfaced to preclude seepage of pollutant chemicals into
the ground water.
PAGENO="1193"
1191
QU~TION NO. ~: ~~~huttle_Facilities
G. Rehabilitation and Ncdification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1,760,000
(5) Rehabilitation of Chemical Waste Pond, MAF
(c) On a risk basis, could this equipment be continued in
use during the R&D phase of the Shuttle program?
ANSWER:
continuing to use the pond and its equipment during the R&D phase
of the Shuttle program mithout the necessary rehabilitation would,
we feel, involve serious and unacceptable risks. We anticipate
further pond spalling which could result in clogging the deep
injection well that is currently being used for chemical waste
disposal. Clogging of the well may in turn result in overflow of
hazardous and pollutant chemicals from the pond to the surrounding
areas. The resulting potential for contaminating the ground and
surface water is considered an unacceptable risk that should be
eliminated in the FY 1977 time frame as operational tempo increases.
PAGENO="1194"
1192
QU~STI0N NO. 8: ~_ili;L~
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1, 760,000
(6) Rehabilitation of Road for Movement of External Tanks, MAF
(a) How many tanks must be moved during the test phase?
ANSWER:
During the Design, Development Testing and Evaluation (DDT&E) phase
of the Shuttle program, three test tanks and six flight tanks must
be moved
PAGENO="1195"
1193
QU~TION NO. ~: ~~ce Sbutt1~ciitie~
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1,760,000
(6) Rehabilitation of Road for Movement of E~cternal Tanks, MAP
(b) When will frequent movement of tanks on a scheduled
basis take place?
ANSWER:
The frequency of exlernal tank movement or. the road in question will
gradually build up in keeping with the operational traffic model.
It is estimated that this road will be subjected to three specific
uses for every tank to be shipped out of MAP. On that basis, it is
estimated that approximately 18 road movements ~could be taking place
in CY 1979. This will build up rapidly to approximately 144 tank
movements on this road by CY 1983 and 180 movements in 1984 and
beyond.
PAGENO="1196"
1194
QU~TI0N NO. 8: _________
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1,760,000
(6) Rehabilitation of Road for Movement of E~cterna1 Tanks, MAF
(c) Can't some interim measures be invoked for the early
stages of the program where infrequent movements take
place in lieu of any extensive repavement of
immediate road surface?
ANSWER:
The condition of the present road has deteriorated to the point that
any interim measures to be effective would necessarily involve
relatively large expenditures for repair and maintenance to restore
the road to minimafly acceptable status. It is felt to be more
effective and more economical to implement this item as planned and
requested in FY 1977. Movement of this 27' diameter x 154' long
tank weighing some 38 tons is a sensitive operation requiring
minimum grade transitions and "bumps".
PAGENO="1197"
1195
QUESTION NO. E~: S~ace Shuttle Facilitlea
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1, 760,OCO
(7) Modification of Fuel Oil Supply System, YAF
(a) Other than space heating, what is steam used for in
connection with ext~ernal tank manufacture?
ANSWER:
Other than space heating, steam will be used to provide for air
conditioning throughout the plant and as a dehumidification agent
in maintaining the critical plant's relative humidity. In addition,
the steam will be critical to the provision of the hot gas needed
for drying and preheating the surface cf the external tank
components before the spray-on foam insulation is applied.
PAGENO="1198"
1196
QUF~TION NO. ~: ~
G Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1,760,000
(7) Modification of Fuel Oil Supply System, MAF
(b) Why has a back-up boiler system not been required in
the past?
ANSWE~R:
A back-up fuel system, irrespective of the number of boilers, has
not been required to date because uninterrupted availability of
natural gas I-as not been in question In the past, steam for the
entire plant has beer generated by using ratural gas as the fuel
In light of the current energy crisis, it is ccnsidered most
prudent, if not essential, to provide a modest back-up fuel system
(oil) in case the natural gas supplies are interrupted temporarily.
PAGENO="1199"
1197
QtJFZTIOfl ~O 8 ~~tt1eFaQilities
G Rehabilitation and ?odification of Shuttle Facilities, ~v~us
Locations, $1,760,000
(7) Modification of Fuel Oil Supply System, MAF
(c) ~1hat does the record show concerning outages resulting
from interrupted natural gas shortage'~
ANS1~1ER:
The natural gas supply was curtailed in January 1973 for a aeriod of
!our dais However, due to the rrcre recent energy situatior as
e'videnced by p6riodic "cautious" by the suppliers ~ith respec~ to
industrial users ard the reportedly diminishing availability of
natural gas, a 15 day back-up fuel oil capability is required to
insure that the plant remains operational during any natural gas
~outages. -
700790 76 76
PAGENO="1200"
1198
QUESTION NO. a: Space Shuttle Facilities
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1, 760,000
(~) Modification of Approach and Landing Test Hangar, FRC
(a) What is the status of the previously authorized
project for the construction of the hangar?
ANSWER:
A contract has been awarded for construction of the hangar. As of
February 1, 1976, the hangar was 25% conplete and all structural
steel was in place. Construction is scheduled for completion in
September 1976.
PAGENO="1201"
1199
QUESTION NO. 8: ~pace Sfl~tl~j~cilities
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1,760,000
(8) Modification of Approach and Landing Test Hangar, FRC
(b) When will the hangar actually become operational?
MSWF~:
The hangar must and is scheduled to be operationally ready to
receive the orbiter when it is delivered from Palmdale in March
1977. A checkout/activation period is scheduled between the
completion of construction in September 1976 and the arrival of
the orbiter.
PAGENO="1202"
1200
QiThZTION NO. 8: ~tt1eFacilities
G. Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1,760,000
(8) Modification of Approach and Landing Test Hangar, FRC
(c) Will the proposed air handling system be required to
support ALT operations?
ANSWER:
No. The proposed air handling system is required to support payload
handling activLties during the orbital flight test (oFT) program
which follows the ALT operations.
PAGENO="1203"
1201
QU~TION NO ~ Space Shuttle Facilities
G Rehabilitation and Yodification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1, 760,000
(~) Modification of Approach and Landing Test Hangar, FRC
(d) When must the new handling system be in being to
support operations?
ANSWER
The new handling system must be in being in the second quart~er of
CY 1979 when the first manned orbital flight is schethded to land
at Edwards AFJ3. To achieve this goal, equipment procurement must
be implemented in FY 1977 and the equipment be on hand f or
instaflation about May-June l97g when the hangar becomes available,
following the Approach and Landing Test Program.
PAGENO="1204"
1202
QUESTION NO. 8: Space Shut 1eFac~ities
G Rehabilitation and Modification of Shuttle Facilities, Various
Locations, $1,760,000
(8) Modification of Approach and Landing Test Hangar, FRC
(e) What is the construction lead time~
ANSWER:
The construction is planned in two phases. The first relates to
the procurement of the air handling system which is estimated at
5-? months and should be carried out in the FY 1977 time frame to
insure meeting program milestone requirements The second phase
relates to the modifications inside and outside the hangar to
install the air handling system and to provide adequate time for
integratior and checkout This phase is estimated at 6-8 months
It is planned to implement this phase shortly after ccmpletion of
the Approach and Landing Test (ALT) program and follow-on orbiter
operations scheduled to end in May 1978, at which time the hangar
will become available for the rec1uired modifications
If this item were to be deferred to FY 1978, for example, the
facility schedule would he compressed and any delays in procurement
or delays in the ~LT program affecting the availability of the
hangar would then generate a heavy risk with respect to completing
the facility in time to meet the first manned orbital flight
PAGENO="1205"
1203
QTJBZTION NO 8 ~~huttleFacilit~q~
H. Modification of Manufacturing and Final Assembly Faci.U±ies
for External Tanks, Michoud Assemtly Facility, $l,930,uOO
(1) The scope of the work proposed by this project was included
in the original definition of work to be accomplished for
which funds were authorized and subseouent scope revision
acknowledged by the Committee Wnat does the "recent
analysis" indicate that was ~g_ip~yen14sioned?
ANSWER:
The facilities provided in the FY 1973 and FY 1974 CoF programs were
envisioned as being capable of satisfying the Design, Development
Test and Evaluation (DDT&E) phase of the Shuttle program and pro-
viding initial production cspacity of 24-28 tanks per year When it
was decided to defer the addition to Bldg 103/110, as the Committee
was advised, our analysis then showed that the basic 24-28 tanks/yr
capacity would be reduced to approximately 15 tanks/yr. in the VAB.
However, certain programmatic concerns have since emerged which have
complicated the Thermal Protection System (~i~s) application requirements.
These are namely the icing, aerodynamic heating and base heating
problems. The net result of these cumulative concerns has been the
necessity to apply two kinds of TPS material on the same areas of
the tank surface, ablator and spray-on foam-insulation, instead of
just foam Because of the chemical incompatibility of these two
materials, it then became necessary that each TPS material be
applied separately in a separate facility
This is the essence of the "recent analysis" which indicates that
the facilities provided by FY 1973/1974 resources can still meet the
24-28 external tanks per year production in all areas except the TPS
application area. In this instance, this analysis indicated that
capability exists to satisfy the test tank requirements only, and no
capability is now available to produce flight tanks without signifi-
cant impact to the program schedule and cost Six flight tanks are
required during DDT&E Conseauently, the analyss indicated that an
additional cell is required for ablator insulation to meet the six
tanks production for DDT&E This will also provide capability to
produce 10-14 tanks per year which can satisfy essentially program
requirement from CY 1978 thru CY 1980. An addition to Bldg. 103/110
to accommodate additional TPS application cells will be required in
the future to meet production rates above 10-14 tanks/yr. as
indicated in the project documentation
PAGENO="1206"
1204
QUESTIOk NO ~ ~pace ~
H Modification of Manufacturincr and Final Assembly Facilities
for External Tanks, Michoud Pssembly Facility, $1,930,000
(2) What production rate of external tanks is planned for the
period 1977 thru 1979~
ANSWER
The present space shuttle schedule indicates that nine external
tanks must be produced during the period of CY 1977 thru 1979
Three of these are test tanks to be used in major ground test
programs and the other six are flight tanks to be flown from KSC
during the DDT&E phase of the program However, the production rate
at MAF must reach the level of approximately 15 tanks/year during
l9~O to support currert program re~uirerrents Tank delivery to the
launch site must take place approximately 6-~9 months before the
scheduled launch to meet the hardware processing and integration
funct~ors at the launcI~ site Thus, the FY 1977 recuest provides
the necessary capa~ility to prodi~ce the six tanks for the develop-
tnent plase of the shuttle program c-nd to meet the external tank
production requirement thru l°80 cnly
PAGENO="1207"
1205
QU~TI0N NO ~ Space Shuttle Facilities
H. Modification of Manufacturing and Final Assembly FaciJities for
~cternal Tan~za, M~chcud Assembly Facility, $1,930,000
(3) What is the status of design for this project?
ANSWER
The final preliminary e~igineering reporb for this project has been
completed The design is sebeduled to start~ in larch/April 1976
and be completed in Ocbober 1976
PAGENO="1208"
1206
QUFZTION NO. 8: ~c~shutt:Le Facili~~
H. Modification of Manufacturing and Final Assembly Facilities for
External Tanks, Michoud Assembly Facility, $1,930,000
(4) What is the construction lead time and the "need" date?
ANSWER:
The construction of this project is scheduled to starL~ in December
1976 and be completed in October 1977. The activation and tooling
installation is scheduled to start in October 1977 and be completed
in January 1978. The need date for this facility is the TPS
application on the first flight tank, currently scheduled to start
in the first quarter of CY 1978.
PAGENO="1209"
1207
QUESTION NO. 9: Space Shuttle Payload Facilities
A. Modifications to Operations and Checkout Building For Spacelab,
Kennedy Space Center, $3,590,000
(1) What specific Spacelab payloads are now under development at
NASA Centers, in private industry, universities7~ther government
laboratory (foreign and domestic) and what are the specific delivery
dates of each to the launch site?
ANSWER:
The specific experiments that will be flown aboard Spacelab will be selected
through NASA's Announcement of Opportunity (AO). To date only AO's for
planning have been released since the first Spacelab flight is some four years
away, and adequate time for experiment design development and manufacturing
is available. In the meantime, experiment definition efforts are underway that
will provide a stable of experiments and a demonstration of their feasibility.
Once that is completed, these experiments will be ready to be proposed
through the AO selection procedure as candidates for flight aboam~ a Spacelab
mission.
The agency's plans to release the AO for Spacelab missions 1 and 2 this spring.
Since Spacelab mission 1 is a joint one, ESA plans to issue their AO later this
year for their experiments. Future AO's will be released, keyed to the
development lead-time prior to actual flight. Decisions on delivery dates to
the launch site will not be made until after experiment selection, and their
integration and checkout requirements understood.
Based on the statement of Bernard Deloffre, Director of the European Space
Agency (ESA) Spacelab Program, to the Senate Committee on Aeronautical
end Space Sciences, January 27, 1976, ESA plans to share Spacelab missions
with NASA through 1982 at which time ESA will have developed their own
experiment complements for dedicated Spacelab missions. Private industry
has made no firm commitments with NASA to use the Spacelab but NASA
anticipates requirements for commercial space processing missions to surface
in CY 1983.
PAGENO="1210"
1208
QUESTION NO. 9: Space Shuttle Payload Facilities
A. Modifications to Operations and Checkout Building for Spacelab,
Kennedy Space Center, $3,590,000
(2) Despite the scheduled first Spacelab orbital flight in late CY 19C0,
what assurance is there that payloads will be available for the first
flight?
ANSWER:
The agency along with ESA is committed to flying experiments (payload) on
the first Spacelab mission. Within the last six months NASA has made
organizational assignments with responsibility for Spacelab 1, 2 and 3; and
subsequently project offices at Headquarters and MSFC have been established.
Personnel have been assigned that are responsible to the accomplishment of
developing payloads for flights I and 2. Organizations for the development
of ESA payloads have also been established.
These project offices have completed interagency management agreements
and are now developing anAO for flight hardware. The AO is expected to
be released in the spring 1976.
PAGENO="1211"
1209
QUESTION NO 9 Space Shuttle Payload Facilihes
A Modifications to Operations and Checkout Building for Spacelab,
Kennedy Space Center, $3,590,000
(3) Since non-collateral equipment to be used in this facilily cannot be
determined at this time, it is difficult to understand how specific
modifications to the existing building can be determined with any
reasonable degree of accuracy. Please explain the basis for the
estimate of proposed modifications
ANSWER
The non -cot late ra I equipment to be used in this fa ci I ity will have m in ima I and
limited effect on the facility modifications required The mator drivers affect-
ing the facility work and related costs include The Spacelab hardware such as
the basic and extension modules, the experiment racks and pallet segments, the
configuration of the orbiter payload bay where the Spacelab is carried; the
processing flow of the Spacelab components within the Operations and Checkout
Building and the integrated Spacelab hardware/experiments test requirements
before launch All of these basic drives are now well defined enabling us to
define the specific facility modifications required For example, the three
assembly and checkout stands referred to in the project write-up are detem,ined
in size and configuration by the orbiter payload bay. The cost estimates for
the required facility work are based on a preliminary engineering report
accomplished by an independent architect-engineer firm and has been verified
by NASA
PAGENO="1212"
1210
QUESTiON NO. 9: Space Shuttle Payload Facflities
A. Modifications to Operations and Checkout Building for Spacelab,
Kennedy Space Center, $3,590,000
(4) Future requirements apparently cannot be validated which indicates
a lack of programmatic guidance. Please comment.
ANSWER:
Spacelab program requirements have been defined to the extent necessary to
determine the facility requirement to process Spacelab at the launch site for
the foreseeable future. However, the launch of Spacelab is 4 years away
and the Spacelab experiments are in the planning phase as would be expected
at this time. Also, the facilities are planned to satisfy the early Spacelab
missions in the eighties. Our current mission model reflects potentially higher
launch rates in the later years. However, evaluation of the proposed facilities
will be required before deciding whether additional mods are required. It is
for all the above factors, that some uncertainty has been reflected in the future
CoF estimated funding to complete this project.
PAGENO="1213"
1211
QU~STION NO. 9: Space Shuttle Payload Facflitk~s
A. Modifications to Operafions and Checkout Building for Spocelab,
Kennedy Space Center, $3,590,000
(5) Have the specific modifications to be made actually been identified?
ANSWER: -
Yes. Specific modifications to be accomplished have been identified and a
cost estimate developed in a preliminaiy engineering report.
PAGENO="1214"
1212
QUESTION NO. 9: Space Shuttle Payload Facilities
A. Modifications to Operations and Checkout Building for Spacelab,
Kennedy Space Center, $3,590,000
(6) What is the basis for the cost estimate?
ANSWER:
The basis for the cost estimate is a preliminary engineering report.
PAGENO="1215"
1213
QUESTION NO. 9: Space Shuttle Payload FaciMfies
A. Mod ifications to Operations and Checkout Building for Spacelab,
Kennedy Space Center, $3,590,000
(7~ What is the status of design and what is the lead time for final
design? When will design be initiated?
ANSWER:
An architect-engineer firm for final design has been selected by KSC. The
design effort will be started in March 1976 and will be completed within
7-8 months.
70-079 0 - 76 - 77
PAGENO="1216"
1214
QUESTION NO. 9: Space Shuttle Payload Facilities
A. Modifications to Operations and Checkout Building for Spacelab,
Kennedy Space Center, $3,590,000
(8) What is the actual lead time for preparing the O&C building, and
the cost thereof, to prepare for actual modifications to be made?
ANSWER:
The proposed project includes the necessary scope and cost required to
prepare the O&C building for actual modifications. This work includes the
removal of existing Apollo equipment that will interfere with the Spacelab
processing flow, and is estimated to cost approximately $180,000. The work
will be accomplished in the early phase of the total modification effort
involved in the project.
PAGENO="1217"
1215
QUESTION NO. 9: SpaceShutflePa)doad Facilties
A. Modifications to Opertitions andCheckout Building for Spacelab,
Kennedy Space Center, $3,590,000
(9) What would be the actual impact if this prolect were deferred for
one yea r?
ANSWER:
A deferral of the project for one year will have a corresponding delay of about
one year in the flight of the first spacelab. Also NASA is planning to use the
O&C building to process payloads for the shuttle orbital flight test (OFT) which
begins about one year before the first spacelab flight, The initial fur~ction of
the facility is to receive and check out the spacelab engineering model and
associated ground test equipment that is being built by ESA. Delivery of this
engineering model is scheduled in the third quarter of CY 1978. The facility
design construction and activation plans are on a relatively "tight" schedule,
with essentially no "slack", to meet this program "need date. There are no
facilities, corporate or government, in the U.S. that can readily do this job
without lengthy and costly modification. The checkout of the engineering
model is an essential activity to verify the facility and ground support equip-
ment, hand Ii ng and transportation procedures affecting the ha rdwa re and ground
crews. Without completing these operations successfully, the current first
flight of spacelab would have to be delayed as well as payloads for the OFT
flight. Our assessment indicates that the delay would essentially be of the
same order, namely one year, as the delay in getting the facility ready.
PAGENO="1218"
1216
QUESTION NO. 9:
~p~e Shuttle Payload Facilities
B. Modifications and Addition for Shuttle Payload Development, Goddard
Space Flight Center, $770,000
(1) According to the justification, this project must be completed and
operational 12~18 months before payloads are flown. The only
scheduled payload cited is the Solar Maximum Mission in late CY 1979.
(a) What follow-on missions requiring the use of this facility are firmly
scheduled?
ANSWER:
The agency review of center roles and missions resulted in GSFC being
assigned primary responsibility for Earth orbital free flyer missions. The
facility proposed at Goddard is being planned to support the development of
the multimission modular spacecraft (MMS) which will be used to carry many
future scientific and application payloads. The kinds of scientific payloads
planned and studied relate primarily to astrophysics and solar terrestrial
studies while application payloads include earth and sea observation type
spacecraft. Many of these types of missions will require ~ flyer" space~
craft using the MMS to be developed under GSFC cognizance. The proposed
facility will play a key role in the development. In addition, the facility
will be used in the development of flight support systems for the delivery of
future payloads as well as for in-orbit servicing of certain future payloads.
Follow-on missions requiring the use of this facility are now in the study and
planning phase and will be proposed for initiation in subsequent budgets.
PAGENO="1219"
1217
QUESTION NO. 9:
~p~ce Shutfle Payload Facilities
B. Modifications and Addition for Shuttle Payload Development, Goddard
Space Flight Center, $770,000
(1) According to the justification, this project must be completed and
operational 12-.18 months before payloads are flown. The only
scheduled payload cited is the Solar Maximum Mission in late
CY 1979.
(b) Are there other facilities existing (government or industry) which
are capable of developing, assembling, integrating and testing
"free flyer" shuttle payloads?
ANSWER:
There are other facilities which could be made capable of developing,
assembling, integrating and testing "free flyer" shuttle payloads. However,
they would be more costly to modify to meet the program requirements. As
noted in the previous answer, GSFC has been assigned primary responsibility
for Earth orbital free flyer missions. To meet this responsibility GSFC must
have the capabilities requested in the FY 1977 project. This will not preclude
component development as well as certain integration activities at corporate
plants that NASA may contract with in support of "free flyer" satellites. This
center, however, must have the capability to define requirements, test and
integrate produ~ts from the private sector and certify flight worthiness of the
spacecraft that it is responsible for.
PAGENO="1220"
PAGENO="1221"
1977 NASA AUTHORIZATION
THtTRSDAY, PEBRUARY 19, 1976
U.S. Hotsi~ OF REPRESENTATIVES,
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:15 a.m., in room
2318, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Don Fuqua, chairman
of the subcommittee, presiding.
Mr. FUQUA. The subcommittee will be in order.
We are pleased to welcome today the Assistant Secretary for Research
and Development of the U.S. Air Force, the Honorable Walter B.
LaBerge who will discuss the cooperative programs between the U.S.
Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Secretary LaBerge will be followed by Mr. Elmer S. Groo, Associate
Administrator for Center Operations. Mr. Groo's emphasis this
morning will include the changes of research and management re-
sponsibility of the various centers of NASA as well as reviewing key
issues of institutional management.
Mr. Secretary, I would like you to identify for the record, your
colleague, Maj. Gen. Henry B. Stelling. I would like to congratulate
General Stelling, who was before this committee a few years ago
when he was wearing a little eagle on his shoulder and now has a
new star. We would like to congratulate you.
STATEMENT OP HON. WALTER LaBERGE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY
OP RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OP THE U.S. AIR FORCE, AC..
COMPANIED BY MAI. GEN. HENRY B. STELLING
Mr. LABERGE. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to be with you. If I
may, I will read through the statement I have since it is a reasonably
concise explanation of what we may do. I would like to intersperse
with comments.
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am very pleased
to appear before you to discuss the Air Force space programs which
are associated with NASA development efforts. The DOD and NASA
continue to coordinate their activities through a series of committees
which I described during my testimony last year. One of these com-
mittees, the Space Transportation System Committee, is the main
coordinating and planning committee for the Space Shuttle and is
cochaired by Mr. Yardley, NASA Associate Administrator for Space
Flight, and myself. This committee will increase its activities this
year, as the DOD Space Shuttle program accelerates to keep pace
with the progress of the NASA development of the Space Trans-
portation System (STS).
(1219)
PAGENO="1222"
1220
This system, being developed by NASA, consists of the Space
Shuttle, the Space Tug, and associated ground support systems.
The Air Force, as the executive agent for the Department of Defense,
has the responsibility to assure that DOD requirements are incorpo-
rated into the design of the STS.
As the NASA Space Tug will not be available until post-1986,
the Air Force has committed to the development of an interim upper
stage (IUS) vehicle to boost critical DOD payloads into high-energy
orbits from the lower altitude Space Shuttle orbits. This stage will
be made available to all other users. NASA has been and will continue
participating in source selection and development activities. NASA
will also participate in the HIS requirements and design reviews to
insure that the IUS design will satisfy non-DOD operational require-
ments. Interface information such as the physical and functional
Shuttle specifications as well as NASA ground processing, flight
operations, and mission control planning information will be provided
to the DOD as required for the initial IllS development activities.
The Air Force also plans to acquire a Shuttle launch and recovery
site at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., to allow DOD and NASA
payloads to be launched into polar orbits which are not possible from
the Kennedy Space Center due to technical and safety constraints.
As I mentioned last year in my remarks to this subcommittee, the
interim upper stage (IUS) development was planned to be a minimum
modification to one of the existing upper stages in production. After
intensive evaluation of all available information including that re-
sulting from Air Force funded studies, the Air Force selected an
expendable, solid propellant IUS concept rather than selecting a
growth version of an existing stage. The selected concept provides
the opportunity for the DOD to satisfy its unique requirements with
low development and minimum life cycle costs. In order to increase
the reliability of the IllS equivalent to that of the Space Shuttle,
the Air Force has included higher reliability avionics as an integral
part of the selected IUS concept. While this reliability increase will
increase development costs somewhat, we anticipate fewer launch
failures resulting in reduced IUS and payload life cycle costs.
In addition to lower unit cost benefits of this solid rocket motor ap-
proach, the simplicity of the selected IllS concept has permitted the
Air Force to achieve the added benefits of competing the validation
and development of the IllS. The Air Force in January 1976, released
the IllS request for proposals and the contract authority to proceed
is planned for September 1976. This will initiate the validation phase
of the IllS development. The next IllS development phase-the
full-scale development-is planned to begin during fiscal year 1978.
This will lead to an IllS initial operational capability in 1980-
coincident with the first operational Space Shuttle flights from the
Kennedy Space Center.
Our plans for acquisition of the Space Shuttle facilities at Vanden-
berg Air Force Base have been revised during the past year to com-
press the length of the construction activity from a 4- to a 3-year
effort. This activity is now planned to begin in fiscal year 1979.
During fiscal years 1977 and 1978, we plan to accomplish the architect!
design effort that will produce the detailed construction drawings and
equipment specifications to be used during the construction activi-
ties. The Air Force planning for the Vandenberg AFB acquisition is
PAGENO="1223"
1~2~1
aimed at achieving a Space Shuttle initial operational capability by
December 1982. We are also retaining an option to construct a second
Space Shuttle launch pad at Vandenberg if traffic rates or mission
requirements dictate. This second pad, if constructed, would not be
available until fiscal year 1987.
During the past year, the Air Force has completed a detailed study
which estimated the life cycle costs of the DOD utilization of the
Space Shuttle as compared with continued DOD use of expendable
launch vehicles. This study confirmed that Space Shuttle operations
offer significant savings in the DOD costs for recurring launch opera-
tions; however, the anticipated savings during the operational period
studied, 1980-91, may not totally offset the DOD investment for the
Space Shuttle until after 1991. Further, the' study did not include
costs for the procurement of orbiters 4 and 5. The DOD has
recently agreed with NASA that five orbiters are required and that
sufficient time is available to resolve the budget issue in time for the
fiscal year 1978 budget cycle.
I should emphasize at this point that, while the anticipated econ-
omies of the DOD utilization of the Space Shuttle are indeed attrac-
tive and may in time offset our total projected investment costs,
the overriding .purpose for our involvement is to gain the increased
capabilities offered by the Space Transportation System. As compared
with existing, expendable launch vehicles, the manned Space Shuttle
will offer increased reliability; increased payload weight and volume;
payload recovery for reuse; and on-orbit testing, checkout, and
repair. These unique features and new operating potentials, not
feasible with the inherent limitations of existing expendable launch
vehicles, offer the DOD the capability for increased effectiveness in
our military space operations.
Although the Space Shuttle is presently our largest cooperative
effort with NASA, we are also working closely with NASA in several
other areas as well. We are modifying and procuring a common space-
craft bus developed by the Air Force for the DOD and National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency weather satellite programs. This
spacecraft will be launched by the Air Force on the Atlas F booster.
The Atlas F was adopted as the basic launch vehicle for both weather
programs to minimize the Government's launch cost. Our joint
annual reviews of the weather satellite sensor development and pro-
curement plans will assure the continued effectiveness of the DOD
and NOAA activities.
The DOD space test program, STP, with the Air Force as executive
agent, coordinates all DOD experiments with NASA prior to accept-
ance for spaceflight. In addition to coordinating experiments, the
STP is currently developing concepts to utilize the Space Shuttle
capabilities. A memorandum of agreement to describe the STP
participation in both the NASA long duration exposure facility
and the Spacelab are being coordinated through the NASA and Air
Force staffs. Also, studies are underway to define a STP spacecraft to
be flown as a secondary payload on one of the early Shuttle demonstra-
tion flights.
NASA and the Air Force also participate in the joint review of our
respective space research technology programs. This cooperative effort
consists not only of the simple interchange of information or coordina-
tion of activities, but also consists of mutual planning and conduct of
PAGENO="1224"
1!222
programs. Among the technology areas of mutual interest are electric
propulsion, energy storage, solar cell standardization, spaceborne
computers, liquid crystals, horizon sensors, stability and controls and
spacecraft charging. A particularly good example of coordinated
technology efforts is in the area of composite materials.
NASA and the Air Force have a history of joint planning for the
future of advanced composite materials that goes back to the mid-
1960's. For example, I personally gave a keynote address to a tn-
service, NASA, industry workshop held this past summer at George
Washington University. At the present time, the Air Force and
NASA-with Army and Navy participation-are planning a compre-
hensive technology roadmap in the composites area. Initial meetings
were held in January with a second session February 6 and 7. Our
purpose is, first, to mutually identify technical deficiencies and then
to fashion an optimum program with minimum overlap between
agencies. We support NASA's aggressive program to introduce
composites to commercial aviation and are pleased to note the sig-
nificant use of these materials in the Space Shuttle. The Air Force
believes composites will see increasing application in space because of
their lightweight and excellent dimensional stability. We have relied
on NASA for the technology investment in the space area while
sponsoring a minimum of B. & D. in that area ourselves. The coopera-
tion and coordinated programing of the past will continue. We look
forward to the future when this exciting new technology will provide
more efficient, reduced cost of air and space transportation.
The Air Force Systems Command and NASA are designing an
experimental satellite to better understand spacecraft charging
phenomena that have been observed to cause degradation in perform-
ance of several satellites in geostationary orbits, and to test some
potential solutions. The space test program will provide the satellite
for launch on a Delta launch vehicle.
The Air Force is developing an optical angular motion sensor for
measuring the relative location of a remote sensor with respect to a
spacecraft. We are providing data from our efforts to NASA who is
very interested in this development for their MAGSAT explorer
mission and for possible Shuttle applications.
In addition, the Air Force is also cooperating with NASA in an
examination of the potential for reducing the number of current
launch vehicles that are maintained during the transition to the Space
Shuttle. This examination, which is currently underway, will seek to
identify the least cost mix of current launch vehicles that will satisfy
the combined DOD/NASA launch requirements prior to completing
the transition of the payloads to the Space Shuttle.
The successful launch of the two Viking spacecraft this past August
was a prime example of the effectiveness of NASA and DOD coopera-
tion. The Titan III E launch vehicle was developed and produced
through the cooperative efforts of the NASA's Lewis Research Center
and the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Organization.
In conclusion, the Air Force and the NASA continue to cooperate
closely in areas of mutual interest and in an attempt to avoid un-
necessary duplication. The Space Transportation System planning
activities during the past year have increased the extent of our current
cooperative activities and have identified areas for future DOD/NASA
cooperative activities.
PAGENO="1225"
1223
Let me close by just saying I personally believe very strongly in
this cooperation, as do the other senior members of the DOD, including
Dr. Currie himself, and we are very much in support of NASA's ac-S
tivities. We believe their programs are good programs which are well
constructed. We are hopeful that we can continue to work as closely
with them in the future as we have done to date.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you Mr. Secretary.
Let me concur in the cooperative attitude of both the Air Force
and NASA. It is something I think is in the national interest and
certainly reduces the amount of duplication in many ways. There is
no reason that there cannot be this cooperative spirit and I am
pleased to hear you say that and to reinforce this joint work that has
been going on for many years.
Mr, Secretary, on page 4, you mentioned "the Air Force has com-
pleted a detailed study which estimated the life cycle costs of the
DOD utilization of the Space Shuttle as compared with continued
DOD use of expendable launch vehicles. This study confirmed that
Space Shuttle operations offer significant savings in the DOD costs
for recurring launch operations"; and so on and so forth.
Now last night I had an opportunity to read a draft copy of a GAO
report that had raised some questions relating to the Space Shuttle.
It raised a question as to the intent, of the Air Force or DOD, in this
case, to purchase other orbiters or not. Could you give us a copy of
this study? Apparently it was not made available or GAO for some
reason was unaware of it. I do not recall that there was ever any
mention of the Air Force doing it. But they questioned whether the
Air Force was serious in that.
Dr. LABERGE. Yes; let me provide it for the record. We have some
problems associated with the security classification of the payload
mixture which we based the study on and I need to be fairly careful
on how we proceed.
Mr. FUQIJA. We are not interested in that, but I would like if I
could get some part of the study that would be unclassified as it
relates to your commitment, the conclusions of the study.
[Material referred to above follows:]
ANNEX 13-SYSTEM CoST ANALYSIS
The cost effectiveness of the STS (see Section 7) was determined by cost analyses
that compared DOD costs associated with the STS and current ELV modes of
operation. Comparisons were based on life-cycle costs for the 1980-1991 operational
time period, and the satellite traffic model defined in Rev. 4 of the DOD space
mission model presented in Annex 1, Table A1-2. The selected baseline mode of
STS operation involves (a) minimum modifications to current DOD payloads
needed to make them compatible with the STS, (b) use of payload multipling, or
more than one payload per Shuttle flight, of identical DOD payloads only, (c)
no multipling of the IUS, and (d) inclusion of only transportation costs for support
mission payloads. Consideration was given to potential reductions in DOD
operating costs arising from options to the above baseline mode. The options are
(a) multipling of unlike DOD payloads, (b) multipling of DOD and NASA upper
stage payloads, and (c) retrieval and ground refurbishment of DOD payloads.
The resulting total offset costs for DOD space programs are presented in Table
A13-1, which compares the current ELY mode of operation with the evaluated
STS operational modes. The costs are presented in terms of the initial acquisition
costs and the recurring operational costs in fiscal year 1975 dollars. Total costs
are presented in fiscal year 1975 dollars, discounted dollars (10 percent discount
rate) and in escalated dollars at approximately a 6 percent compound rate. The
PAGENO="1226"
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same results are also presented in terms of R.D.T~ & E. (3,600 funds), investment
(3,020, 3,080 and 3,300 funds), and operations (3,400 funds) costs in Table A13-2.
The total costs are broken down into a number of cost elements to better relate
specific offset costs associated with the STS program. Much of the cost information
was obtained from the SAMSO Space Shuttle budget for fiscal year 1977-82
(PE-63411F and PE-12449F), with additional cost estimates from NASA and
Air Force payload SPOs. The individual cost elements are briefly described in
Table A13-2.
A comparison of DOD space program life-cycle costs, baseline STS versus
ELVs, is illustrated in Figure A13-1 on the basis of fiscal-year expenditure rates
for flights occurring in the 11)80 through 1991 operational period. The STS costs
do not consider acquisition of Orbiters No. 104 and No. 105 and are presented to
identify recurring operations cost and total life-cycle costs, with and without
acquisition of the second VAFB launch pad. The costs include consideration for
potential launch-vehicle and payload ffight losses.
TABLE A12-1.--DOD SPACE PROGRAM LIFE-CYCLE COSTS
[Millions of fiscal year 1975 dollars]
Current
Cost element ELV
Option
Baseline
STS
DOD P/L
mult
DOD/NASA
P/L mult
DOD P/L
refurb
Initial acquisition (141) (1, 803) (1, 814) (1, 847) (1, 830)
Program integration 37 37 37 37
Systems engineering 68 68 68 68
Test and evaluation 17 17 17 17
Ground operations 710 710 710 710
Mission operations 119 119 119 119
IUS 191 191 191 191
Payload Integration 33 33 33 33
Payload transition 66 309 320 353 336
ELV modification 75 35 35 35 35
Back-up ELV hardware 284 284 284 284
Recurring operations (8, 189) (6, 739) (6, 713) (6, 610) (5, 981)
Mission operations 73 73 73 73
STS launch vehicles 2, 466 2, 442 2, 343 2, 623
ELV launch vehicles 536 536 536 536
ELV annual support 851 201 201 201 201
ELV range support 88 26 26 26 26
Back-up ELV annual support 108 108 108 108
Back-up ELV range support 15 15 15 15
Payloads 2,988 3,110 3,110 3,110 2,189
Payload recurring integration 75 54 54 52 59
Reliability (losses) 520 150 148 146 151
Grand total 8,330 8, 542 8, 527 8, 457 7, 811
Discounted dollars 3,468 3, 999 3,990 3, 957 3, 805
Escalated dollars 15, 299 14, 629 14, 609 14, 492 12, 949
Note: ( ) reflects subtotals.
TABLE A13-2.--DOD SPACE PROGRAM LIFE-CYCLE COSTS
[Millions of fiscal year 1975 dollars]
Cost element
Option
Current Baseline DOD P/I
ELV STS mult
DOD/NASA
P/I mult
DO P/I
refurb
3600 funds: (141) (1,037) (1,048) (1,081) (1,064)
Program integration 37 37 37 37
System engineering 68 68 68 68
Test and evaluation 17 17 17 17
Ground operations 256 256 256 256
Mission operations 91 91 91 91
US 191 191 191 191
Payload integration 33 33 33 33
Payload transition 66 309 320 353 336
ELV modification 75 35 35 35 35
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1:225
TABLE A13-2.-DOD SPACE PROGRAM LI FE-CYCLE COSTS-Continued
[Millions of fiscal year 1975 dollarsj
Option
Current
Cost element ELV
Baseline
STS
DODP/L
mult
DOD/NASA
P/L mult
Di P/L
refurb
3020, 3080, and 3300 funds (6, 569)
(5, 702)
(5, 693)
(5, 634)
(4, 864)
Ground operations
Mission operations
STS hardware 1
ELV hardware 1 3, 667
Back-up ELV hardware
Payload hardware 1 - - 2, 902
454
28
1, 376
536
284
3, 024
454
28
1, 367
536
284
3, 024
454
28
1, 308
536
284
3, 024
454
28
1, 468
536
284
2, 094
3400fundsl (1,620)
(1,803)
(1,786)
(1,742)
(1,883)
Mission operations
STS launch costs
ELV annual support 851
ELV range support 88
Backup ELV annual support
Backup ELV range support
Payload lanuch costs 86
Payload recurring integration 75
Reliability (losses) 520
73
1, 090
201
26
108
15
86
54
150
73
1, 075
201
26
108
15
86
54
148
73
1, 035
201
26
108
15
86
52
146
73
1, 155
201
26
108
15
95
59
151
Grand total 8, 330
8, 542
8, 527
8, 457
7, 811
Discounted dollars 3, 468
Escalated dollars 15, 299
3, 999
14, 629
3, 990
14, 609
3, 957
14, 492
3, 805
12, 949
Note: ( ) reflects subtotals.
1 Recurring operations cost elements.
TABLE A13-3.-Cost Element Description
Cost element:
3600 funds: Cost element description
Program integration Supports STS planning, analysis documen-
tation, funds for TDY and overtime,
operation of the data integration system,
and so forth. Cost data obtained from
the SAMSO/LV Space Shuttle budget.
Systems engineering Covers such study tasks as DOD shuttle
requirements definition, site operational
requirements, definition of DOD unique
support equipment, and resolution of
technical interface problems. Cost data
obtained from the SAMSO/LV Space
Shuttle budget.
Test and evaluation Includes participation in NASA-conducted
STS tests, and conductance of any
DOD-peculiar tests. Cost data obtained
from the SAMSO/LV Space Shuttle
budget.
Ground operations Includes the development efforts involved
at VAFB for the two launch pads, air-
field, payload facilities, and so forth.
Cost data obtained from the SAMSO/LV
Space Shuttle budget.
Mission operations Covers those development efforts associated
with the planning and control of the STS
flight operations. Cost data obtained from
- the SAMSO/LV Space Shuttle budget.
IUS Covers the IUS development and integra-
tion with the shuttle (excluding shuttle
modification costs if required). Cost data
obtained from the SAMSO/LV Space
Shuttle budget.
PAGENO="1228"
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TABLE A13-3.-Cost )JJiement De8cription-Continued
Cost element:
3600 funds: Cost element description
Payload integration Includes the launch vehicle studies asso-
ciated with integration of the DOD pay-
loads on the STS. Cost data obtained
from the SAMSO/LY Space Shuttle
* budget.
Payload transition Includes the one time payload program
R. & D. costs for transitioning current
operational payloads to the STS. Also
includes the R. & D. costs associated with
the first integration of a payload with
the STS or an expendable launch vehicle.
Cost data incorporates payload program
SPO inputs.
ELY modifications Covers the R.D.T. & E. required to main-
tain an operable fleet of ELY's. Cost data
obtained from ELY budget, covers years
from 1977 through completion of transi-
tion to the STS.
3020, 3080, and 3300 funds:
Ground operations Includes the equipment and construction
costs associated with the activation of the
VAFB STS facilities and ground support
for the IUS. Cost data obtained from
the SAMSO/LY Space Shuttle budget.
Mission operations Covers procurement of software and hard-
ware associated with planning and control
of STS ffight operations. Also covers the
STS-required modifications to the SCF.
Cost data obtained from SAMSO/LV
Space Shuttle budget plus estimates of
SCF modification costs.
STS hardware Covers the hardware (investment) portion
of the Space Shuttle and IUS required
for flight in the operational period from
1980 through 1991. The shuttle costs
are based on NASA's current estimated
per ffight costs of $19.4 million through
1984 and $12.3 million thereafter. Fifty
percent of the shuttle costs are considered
as hardware with the remaining 50
percent as 3400 funds. The IUS hardware
costs are based on the IUS assessment
studies (i.e., $2.5 million per vehicle).
ELY hardware Covers the hardware (investment) portion
of the ELY's required for ffight in the
operational period from 1980 through
1991. The cost reflect historical cost data
and consider rate effects and are spread
in accordance with current procurement
practice.
Backup ELY hardware~ - Includes the hardware for 16 backup ELV's
to support the STS for 2 years after
planned transition completion. Cost data
is described above for ELY hardware.
Payload hardware Covers the hardware (investment) portion
of costs for all payloads for the oper-
ational period from 1980 through 1991
(also including the forward spread portion
of hardware costs for payload flights in
1992 and 1993). Payload cost data were
obtained from and coordinated with the
Air Force payload SPO's. No such costs
are included for those payloads known
as "support missions" in the mission
model.
PAGENO="1229"
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TABLE A13-3.-Cost Element Description-Continued
Cost element:
3400 funds: Cost element description
Mission operations Includes mission planning, control, and
readiness support for current and future
DOD missions. Cost data obtained from
the SAMSO/LV Space Shuttle budget.
STS launch costs Covers the launch services costs for the
shuttle, Tug, and IUS for the 1980
through 1991 operational period. The
shuttle per flight cost estimates are
described above. Tug costs of $1 million
per flight are included here. The IUS
launch services costs are based on the
IUS assessment studies (i.e., $0.9 million
per flight).
ELY annual support Includes the launch services costs for the
ELY's for the 1980 through 1991 oper-
ational period.
ELV range support Includes the direct costs associated with
the maintenance of range services sup-
port to permit ELY operation.
Backup ELY annual sup- Includes the launch services cost for the
port. backup ELY's for a 2-year period follow-
ing payload transition.
Backup ELY range sup- Includes the direct costs associated with
port. the maintenance of range services to
permit backup ELY operation if required.
Payload launch costs Covers the payload launch services support
ordinated with the Air Force payload
SPO's.
Payload recurring inte- In addition to the above launch services,
gration. a $0.5 million per flight cost is included
to cover recurring payload/launch vehicle
integration costs.
Reliability (losses) Includes the payload and launch vehicle
investment and launch service costs
associated with reflight of the payloads
in accordance with launch vehicle mission
performance reliability.
Grand total This represents the total life-cycle costs,
in 1975 dollars, to the extent that these
total costs can be identified. Where total
costs cannot be identified, delta, or
offset, costs were provided to differentiate
between the STS and current ELY modes
of operation:
PAGENO="1230"
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U)
z
0
N
`H
U)
H
U)
0
0
Figure A13-1. DOD Space Program Costs (Yea~ly Expenditure)
Dr. LABERGE. If I might speak to the commitment, we are com-
pletely committed to the use of the shuttle. We are trying to examine
what the most cost-effective way to make the transition is. We are
in the process of continuing to work at what point is the safe, prudent,
cost-effective way of transition. But there is absolutely no question
but that in all of our activities that are suitable in any economic
way for the shuttle will go that way. The hitch that I visualize as a
very small thing that might possibly continue for a while was small
boosters.
Mr. FUQUA. But did you say that the Air Force is committed?
Dr. LABERGE. No; I am sorry. What I said was the Air Force is
committed to the use of the space transportation system. We have
in an exchange of letters not agreed with NASA on who should
purchase the fourth and fifth orbiter. In a letter from Mr. Clemmons
to Dr. Fletcher, he suggested that a ground rule should be that we
provide the facilities at Vandenberg and the interim upper stage but
that NASA procure the fourth and fifth orbiter. Mr. Fletcher-and I
could give you the letters for the record-responded by saying that
he did not necessarily agree with that position and he would like to
establish the opportunity to talk about it. That was done very
recently, and Dr. Curry and Dr. Fletcher's representative, Dr. Low
did get together and they have recently published a joint agreement
that says that they will get all of the issues together and prior to
September resolve the pending question, along with those other major
issues with respect to who is going to operate the system and what the
charges will be and things of this sort, in time to meet the necessary
budget cycle next year.
800
ACQUISITION, TWO VAFB LAUNCH PADS
* ACQUISITION, ONE.VAFI~ LAUNCH PAD'
- ELV OPERATIONS
STS OPERATIONS
(BASELINE)
~J~L I .1 I
82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
FISCAL YEARS *
91
PAGENO="1231"
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[Material referred to above follows:]
FEBRUARY 1~, 1976.
MEMORANDUM FOR THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OP THE AIR FORCE (RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT)
Subject: Plan for NASA/DOD orbiter procurement decision.
I have signed the subject memorandum tasking the STS Committee to develop
data and issue papers necessary to obtain a decision on the procurement of addi-
tional Space Shuttle orbiters. In my letter, copy attached, to Dr. George Low
transmitting the memorandum I asked him to develop a plan of actions to resolve
the issue of the price to DOD of a Shuttle launch.
The price per Shuttle launch could have a very real and significant impact
on our budget planning for Shuttle use. It is certainly equal in importance to the
orbiter issue. I would like to see us resolve both issues concurrently and I would
appreciate any assistance you can give me on this matter.
MALCOLM R. CURRIE.
Attachment.
MEMORANDUM
To: Co-Chairmen, STS Committee.
From: Co-Chairmen, AACB.
Subject: Plan for NASA/DOD orbiter procurement decision.
GEORGE H. Low,
Deputy Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Co-Chairman,
AACB, Washington, D.C.
At our meeting on January 23, 1976, we signed the enclosed Joint NASA/DOD
Position Statement on Space Shuttle Orbiter Procurement and agreed on a course
of action leading to resolution of the Orbiter procurement issue by September 1976.
We wish the STS Committee to take the lead in addressing the issues, including
the development of the necessary data base and the preparation of apprç~priate
issues papers. A plan of activities is enclosed to guide you in this effort. Timely
resolution of this issue is essential to maintaining a viable national Space Trans-
portation System program. Therefore, acceleration of the schedule should be a
goal in your activities.
The key product of your effort will be a draft issues paper to be used in the initial
meeting between Dr. Fletcher and Mr. Rumsfeld. This paper must clearly and
concisely define the issues and the alternatives for resolution. The alternatives
should consider fleet sizi~ig, budgeting, funding and delivery of orbiters.
We expect monthly progress reports on this matter and we will meet with you
as necessary to resolve as many of the issues and problems as possible prior to
the Fletcher/Rumsfeld meetings.
MALCOLM R. CURRIE,
Director of Defense Research and Engineering.
Enclosures.
PLAN FOR NASA-DOD ORBITER PROCUREMENT DEcIsIoN
1. Fletcher-Clements Exchange of Letters, December 1975 to January 1976.
2. Currie/Low sign position paper, January 1976.
3. Currie/Low prepare detailed request for NASA/DOD issues paper to be
prepared by STS Committee, Jaiiuary 1976.
4. STS Committee address the following isuses by August 1976:
(a) Verify need for 5 orbiters,
(b) Develop detailed budget plans, using various delivery assumptions, and
assuming either NASA or DOD funding,
(c) Prepare draft issues paper for Fletcher-Rumsfeld meeting.
5. STS Committee prepare monthly progress reports addressed to Currie and
Low. Currie and. Low meet as necessary, February, March, April, May, June,.
July.
6. Fletcher-Rumsfeld meeting, August 1976.
7. If Fletcher-Rumsfeld cannot agree on which agency funds orbiter, prepare
joint Presidential issues paper, August 1976. . .
8. Fletcher-Rurnsfeld-Lynn discuss joint issues paper, August 1976.
9. Fletcher-Rumsfeld-Lynn meet with President, September 1976.
70-0790-76-78
PAGENO="1232"
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JANUARY 24, 1976.
Hon. JAMES C. FLETCHER,
Administrator, National Aeronautics and
Space Administration, Washington, D.C.
DEAR JIM: This is in reply to your letter dated 29 December 1975 on the
Space Shuttle program. Mal Currie will be pleased to meet with George Low to
discuss the issue of additional orbiters. I would appreciate it if these discussions
could be expanded to include consideration of the price of a Shuttle launch.
Assurances of the timely availability of additonal orbiters, and agreement on a
firm, reasonable price to DoD of a Shuttle launch are of immediate concern to
us since these two issues can have a major influence on our plans for Shuttle use.
Sincerely,
BILL CLEMENTS.
DECEMBER 29, 1975.
Hon. WILLIAM P. CLEMENTS, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary of Defense,
Washington, D.C.
DEAR BILL: One of the remaining major issues in the Space Shuttle Program
is the funding of two additional Orbiters to attain a fleet size of five vehicles.
Our respective program offices are in agreement that five Orbiters are required
to meet the current mission model requirements. The NASA design, development,
test and engineering (DDT&E) program is procuring the first two~ Orbiters and
the NASA production program will procure the third Orbiter and modify the
two test vehicles to a common operational configuration. Funds for the fourth
and fifth Orbiters are not budgeted by either agency.
Our analysis of various production options has resulted in deriving a feasible
approach which does not require an FY 1977 production funding increment.
Therefore, I propose that we consider the funding of Orbiters four and five as
an FY 1978 issue. We must, however, establish a joint position statement to use
during the FY 1977 budget discussions with the 0MB and the congressional
committees. I have asked George Low to meet with Mal Currie to develop such
a statement as well as a plan for joint activities leading to resolution of the issue
for the FY 1978 budget cycle.
Sincerely,
JAMES C. FLETCHER,
Administrator.
Dr. LABERGE. This year does not require the resolution of the
issue. Next year will. So in order to meet the present budget the first
of next year, they agreed by September to address all of these issues.
Included in this would be the fourth or fifth orbiter.
Mr. FUQUA. Then you have agreed that there is a requirement for
the fifth orbiter.
Dr. LABERGE. That is correct.
Mr. FUQUA. And that, hopefully, will be resolved by the time of
submission. of the fiscal year 1978 budget.
Dr. LABERGE. That is correct.
Mr. FUQUA. You mentioned a transition period from the expendable
launcher to the Shuttle. What need for expendable vehicles do you
think you are going to have in the early part of the 1980's? When do
you think you will be able to commit totally to the Shuttle?
Dr. LABERGE. I think we would hope that by the early part of the
1980's we will have all of our requirements available. We have a
study, and I can give you the substance of it, again begging the issue
of classification a little. The commitment is full to the Shuttle. We
have two different kinds of problems for which we are going to study.
We are trying to see what~ changes are necessary for the satellites
that we have to meet the requirements of the Shuttle. That requires
NASA to do a little bit more work to assure us that there are not
some requirements that would cause considerable addition of money.
PAGENO="1233"
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I do not think that will be a problem. The other one is determining
the most prudent time to make the switch and we are working the
problem out.
Again, though, there is no intent to carry backup space boosters
any longer than necessary because that is an expensive business for us.
Mr. FUQUA. Yes. In the last half of page 4 you mentioned "the
anticipated economies of the DOD utilization of the Space Shuttle
are indeed attractive and may in time offset our total projected
investment costs."
In the GAO draft reports they question the economics of the. Air
Force using the Shuttle since you would not have a requirement to
refurbish or reuse the satellites you place into orbit. Would you
comment on that?
Dr. LABERGE. I think we have been in discussion with the GAO.
I think they placed a fairly narrow construction on costing and I
believe we will find that we will agree that their comparison is a little
more skeptical than it should be.
With respect to the immediate refurbishing and space, we have not
designed our systems for that yet. All future systems are going to take
that into account.
Mr. FUQUA. So you may do that in the future?
Dr. LABERGE. I honestly believe we will. What they say is you
cannot do it to. the ones we have and that is perfectly correct because
we have not the capability to do it. But as we get to the position to be
able to do it, we are in fact clear in the belief that it is going to be a
useful thing to do.
Mr. FUQUA. Mr. Winn.
Mr. WINN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Secretary, on page 5, first paragraph, you say the Spaee Shuttle
is presently your largest cooperative effort with NASA, but you are
also working closely with NASA in other areas. You mention the
common space bus which you are working closely, which was developed
by the Air Force for DOD and NOAA.
I am very interested in weather programs and wondered if you feel
that through the joint effort and cooperation of NASA and NOAA
and Air Force-I don't possibly know of anyone else involved, maybe
there is-we are moving fast enough in this field. In the NASA budget
that we have gotten in the last few days, they do not seem to be puttin
much additional money in there. You say "The Atlas F was adopte
as the basic launch vehicle for both weather programs to minimize the
Government's launch cost." Then you say "Our joint annual reviews
of the weather satellite sensor development and procurement plans
will assure the continued effectiveness of thern DOD and NOAA
activities." I don't quite understand how that will assure it and I
would like to know if you could tell me a little bit more about what
the Air Force part is. It has been a secret. I guess that is not a good
word for it, but it hasn't been publicized very much.
Dr. LABERGE. Well, we tried initially to see whether we could have
completely common sensor requirements and that did not seem to be
possible. We have the common bus and we have each other, each
working jointly on the appropriate sensors for our individual require-
ments. We have NASA participate and understand what we are doing
in all of our sensor developments. We are making that available to
them.
PAGENO="1234"
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The biggest problem NASA must address is the use of the data
after it gets it and that is really a question of how rapidly one wishes to
work the processing on the ground. I think we have a good program
for getting the basic weather information cooperatively, but I would
believe it is an important thing for NASA to move briskly in the area of
the weather data processing. We probably are not in a good position
to comment on the comparative priority though of the phase NASA
set for itself, and clearly my view is that they must get the Shuttle
in shape before they can in fact embark on a substantially greater
level than what they are presently doing on other things.
Mr. WINN. I would partially agree with that but I would partially
disagree. We have had testimony for the last 3 years before this sub-
committee and the full committee by experts in the field that said that
one of the reasons we have not been able to attack the weather prob-
lems any quicker than we have or any more efficiently than we have,
and this was testimony. mostly from NOAA, is that they did not have
the aircraft to do the testing.
So we put in some money for NASA so they could loan some of
their aircraft to NOAA so they could do a better job of testing. If the
Air Force is a part of the team and the Air Force doesn't have any
more planes, we are in deep trouble.
I know they have to be rigid with all of the equipment, but does the
Air Force lend any airplanes to the testing that is being done by
NOAA?
Dr. LABERGE. We have at times.
Mr. WINN. For the specially fitted aircraft?
Dr. LABERGE. We have specially fitted aircraft. As part of our
economy problems, we have deemphasized some of that activity that
we had, and we have in fact not done as much as NASA would like.
Not because we don't wish to, but mostly we have decommissioned
the aircraft they wanted.
Mr. WINN. I'm very sorry to hear that. I wish I had known that
before, I would have tried to get you a little bit more money.
Dr. LABERGE. Perhaps the straightforward thing for me would
be to make a reasonably complete statement for the record and I
would be very pleased to come over and talk with you separately on
the issue:
[Material referred to above follows:]
During the fiscal year 1975 Programming Budget Cycle, it was (1) determined
that the Air Force could save $6.5 million per year by transferring the primary
missions of the WB-57C/F high altitude sampling aircraft as add-on missions to
the U-2 and remotely piloted vehicles, and have cost avoidance of $14 million by
not accomplishing essential WB-57F wing repairs; and (2) decided to place the
WB-57C/F aircraft in inviolate storage by June 1974.
In addition to these primary missions, the WB-57F aircraft had been used to
support the Atomic Energy Commission (now Energy Research and Development
Administration), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),
Department of Transportation, and other federal agencies to collect data on the
atmosphere at altitudes of 50,000 to 65,000 ft. Most of these missions were ter-
minated. However, the Air Force loaned one WB-57F to NASA to provide some
continued support to these national interest scientific data collection projects. If
NASA desired, additional WB-57F aircraft could be placed on loan to them. This
would be more appropriate than having the Air Force reinstate a WB-57F program
as there is no military mission for the aircraft.
The Air Force continues to provide aircraft weather reconnaissance support to
the military and civilian communities at altitudes from near the surface to 30,000
feet with twenty WC-130 aircraft stationed at Keesler AFB, MS and Andersen
PAGENO="1235"
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AFB, Guam. These aircraft provide the aircraft hurricane reconnaissance support
to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for which
NOAA will partially reimburse the Air Force beginning in fiscal year 1977. Addi-
tionally, at the cost of about $15 million dollars, the Air Force has developed an
Airborne Weather Reconnaissance System (AWRS) which is capable of collecting
fine grain meteorological data and transmitting to ground processors in near real
time. The prototype AWRS is installed in a WC-130B and has been successfully
tested operationally. Procurement of such a system for all the WC-130 aircraft is
jointly under study by the Air Force and NOAA. The AWRS WC-130B. will
become excess to the Air Force approved program in September 1976 and will be
loaned to NOAA to supplement their fleet of three meteorological research
aircraft.
Mr. WINN. I would appreciate that because I think this is so
important to everybody, not just the Air Force because of the work
that you are doing, but for the people of the United States and the
people of the world. You don't have to fly airplanes to read the papers
to see how much damage tornadoes are doing. There Were two people
killed yesterday or the day before yesterday in Louisiana. I don't
know how much damage, but here we are starting again. We do it
every year, and we continue to hear that NOAA and NASA are
working on this problem, but we are not really doing a good job.
Let me switch the subject. I am not going to switch the subject
because I don't ever want to switch that subject.
Is the Air Force participating in any way in the new rib pattern
experiments that NOAA is conducting in Oklahoma, or around
Norman, Okla.?
Dr. LABERGE. I personally don't know. Let me see whether Henry
Stelling might.
General SPELLING. We have to answer that for the record.
Dr. LABERGE. I just do not know. If I may, I will go back and
look at particularly the NOAA relationship.
Mr. WINN. Yes. I would like to have the whole thing. I would
like to know how far you are cooperating. When you make a state-
ment to the committee about your cooperation with NOAA. and
NASA, that is fine. It soulds good to us, but unless we delve in a
little bit we don't know what it is and how much it is.
Dr. LABERGE. May I make one additional statement? We do have
and we try to honor the position which I think is congressionally
mandated where we have absolutely common interest. We real1~ do
work closely together. We do not do things which are things we would
not normally do for others and in some of the areas of NOAA, they
wander into areas where I am hard pressed to look you in the eye and
say I would do this if it were not for the NASA interest. We need to
write them down for you, but we need, also, to understand we are
obliged to do those things which are of DOD prime interest and we
do get into some trouble.
Mr. WINN. If they come up with certain things dealing with
weather, I think they might be of prime interest to the Department
of Defense, if some of the experiments in weather modification pay
off like we hope they would.
Let me switch subject matters now. I wonder if the Air Force has
been asked yet to participate in the funding for the various shuttle
simulator training facilities which NASA is having built.
Dr. LABERGE. We have not been officially asked. This is one of
the areas Mr. Yardley has on his rather long list of things to be
discussed prior to this September position. What we would like to
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1234
believe is that the Air Force and all other non~NASA users pay an
equitable cost which covers what should be the appropriate charges,
whether they be simulators or anything else, but on a per flight basis.
I guess I do not believe it is sensible for us to mix charging mechanisms
between each other in the fundamental basis system.
Mr. WINN. I don't understand that.
Dr. LABERGE. I am saying that my personal belief is that somebody
ought to build a railroad, and then the rest, should pay an equitable
charge against seats on the railroad and to the degree we can, we not
mix between us all, who is paying for what. Rather that we pay a
fair price for the real cost of the service.
Now, we are violating this principle by building the major facility
at some $500 million at Vandenberg, because we have a facility there in
the first place and it is sensible to do it. We are developing the IUS
because we need it badly. We cannot use the space transportation s~ys-
tem unless we have the HiS and for that reason we are doing that. But
in the main, DOID position going into negotiations with NASA is that
we really like to have them provide the service and thus pay a fair and
equitable price for the use of it.
Mr. WINN. Do you say you are prepared to pay a fair and equitable
price for the use of the simulator, or fair and equitable cost per hour
charges?
Dr. LABERGE. Yes.
Mr. WINN. For use of the training simulators for the Shuttle?
Dr. LaBERGE. Absolutely.
Mr. WINN. You are not trying to piggyback on their budget?
Dr. LABERGE. No; I would prefer that there were a simple way that
bookkeeping could be kept down by doing as NASA had themselves
suggested, saying that a ticket at fiscal year 1977 dollars cost, say
approximately $11 million to get a ride on the Shuttle and that covered
the composition of all of the costs.
Now, it gets to be a very messy intersystem bookkeeping to take all
of the small charges and build them individually. We are prepared to
pay an equitable cost for the transportation service. I would like it to
be as simple an accounting system as we can find.
Mr. WINN. I can understand, that, and, of course, you refer several
times to the fact that you are under budget constraints. So is NASA.
So they want to do their job and fulfill their obligations with the exper~.
tise that they have. At the same time if they are doing a certain per-
centage of work for the Air Force or doing a certain percentage of work
for NOAA or any other agency they should be reimbursed.
Dr. LABERGE. Absolutely.
Mr. WINN. In what major technology areas do you see a need for
future NASA and Air Force cooperation?
Dr. LABERGE. I think in the materials business we need to make
happen the promise of composites. That is the next major big thing
that can influence both spacecraft and airplanes. In addition to that,
we need to make the Space Shuttle work and we have talked about
that.
I would expect that we would work together on advanced engines
very vigorously and hypersonic flights as the one' probably with the
greatest potential, not yet understood, we are a machIT Air Force now
with the exception of the SR-71, and we need to be soon a mach V Air
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Force. NASA need to understand what high-speed transportation can
yield and we have common interests in hypersonics and that area we
will work together.
Mr. WINN. Can you furnish for the record the number of Air Force
personnel that you have in NASA centers?
Mr. LABERGE. I can provide it for the record. I don't have it.
[Material referred to above follows:]
There are 39 Air Force officers assigned to various NASA centers on a reim-
bursable basis as follows:
2 NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
26 Johnson Space Flight Center, Tex.
6 Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
1 Ames Research Center, Moffett Naval Air Station Calif.
2 Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB, áalif.
2 Marshall Space Center, Ala.
Mr. WINN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have some more but I
yield the rest to the committee.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you, Mr. Winn.
Mr. Secretary, what or how is the cooperative training proceeding
between the Air Force and NASA as far as flight crews are concerned?
Do you have a plan to have your own training facilities and NASA
have theirs or do you plan to join them?
Mr. LABARGE. We are in the process of writing this down but we
intend to do it jointly. We would provide initially to the NASA our
DOD Shuttle crews and they would be absorbed in the NASA training
program in the same way the crews were absorbed in the Apollo
program. Common training for all crews is the goal here.
Mr. FUQUA. But you plan to have DOD crews for DOD missior~s
and NASA crews for NASA missions or would there be a joint pool
of pilots?
Mr. LABERGE. Probably both in the main, where you can you would
go with DOD crews and DOD missions just because of NASA's-
Mr. FUQUA. Charter?
Mr. LABERGE. Charter more than anything else. You surely
would have the crews available to do anything needed to be done.
Mr. FUQUA. Have you arrived at any conclusions about the ITJS
as to what the payload performance requirements are going to be for
the Air Force and if they fall short of what the NASA requirements
are going to be? I'm speaking of performance.
Dr. LABERGE. We have not gotten the responses to the request
for proposals so we can only tell you what our studies showed. They
showed that the basic IUS is complemented for NASA needs, that is
to say NASA programs might need another kick stage or the like
within or attached to the same IUS structure to meet all of the NASA
requirements, say at the most, one or two kick stages will probably
cover all.
Mr. FUQUA. How soon do you think-this goes back to the GAO
draft report-that a fully reusable tug will be needed from a cost
standpoint as well as a performance standpoint?
Dr. LABERGE. I really don't know. From a cost standpoint, I think
we can make the interim upper stage be sufficient for quite a while.
We will not have the full flexibility of operation of reusability though
and that is where the real advantage to the tug comes.
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I think NASA may have a somewhat prior requirement, but I am
particularly anxious that we are able to move ahead on that because
it does open up a whole new area.
Mr. FUQUA. I have felt for some time that the word "interim"
should probably be dropped.
Dr. LABERG~. I think the ITJS will be permanent as one part of
perhaps a two-part tug system. There will always be cases where you
will wish to have the ITJS do some lesser quality task.
Mr. FUQUA. Have there been any facility changes or requirements
with respect to the western test range.
Dr. LABERGE. There have been no major changes. We have done a
great deal of interior design, puts and takes. We now intend to barge
the external tanks in whereas before we had hoped to fly them in.
This means we have to put a little bit more money in to Vandenberg,
AFB. We had decided rather than to build two at once, build the
first pad and delay until we needed the second one. But the basic
system is essentially as it was before.
Mr. FUQUA. Do you plan to request money in 1978 for that?
Dr. LABERGE. We will be getting 1978 money to continue the
definition of construction criteria, also mostly to do the detailed
facility design.
Mr. FUQUA. You said it was scheduled for 1979?
Dr. LABERGE. Yes; that is when construction would start.
Mr. FUQUA. How much funding are you asking for as far as the
preliminary design that we are going into? You said 1977 and 1978 you
planned to accomplish architect and design efforts.
Dr. LABERGE. Perhaps I might just ask General Stelling to be sure
I am accurate.
General STELLING. In the budget for fiscal year 1977 we are asking
for$16.1 million.
Mr. FTJQUA. Sixteen point one?
General STELLING. 16.1 of 3600 money, and in 1978 that increases
to 52.5.
Mr. FUQTJA. That is just for design?
General STELLING. This covers the ground operations studies, the
facility design criteria that is needed to support the architect and
engineering efforts that must preceed the actual start of construction.
The 1979 date is the date for beginning construction itself, so these
dollars support all of the efforts that are required to be in a position to
begin construction in 1979.
Mr. WINN. I would like to ask what percentage of the proposed
payloads for the Shuttle would be Air Force requirements?
Dr. LABERGE. About 50 percent at Vandenberg, AFB.
Mr. WINN. About 50?
Dr. LABERGE. All studies have oscillated about 50 percent over the
period 1980 to 1991.
Mr. WINN. Over the next 15-year period?
Dr. LABERGE. Yes; they shift back and forth year to year.
Mr. WINN. But you do have priorities on which ones you want to fly
first.
Dr. LABERGE. Yes; we have both NASA and Air Force mission
models saying what they intend to fly at what time. These two mission
models are fairly similar in total numbers that are flown over this
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period. In fact, I can provide for the record, if you will allow me a
moment to see what the exact-
Mr. FRY. Would you yield to me for I second? I apologize. I have
a markup of the Clean Air Act which we are still in the middle of. I
would just like to say to the Secretary, for the last 7 or 8 years, one of
my concerns has been the Air Force paying its fair share in this whole
process. I guess each year I have hoped we are going to get to this
point. I would just like to get that on the record again.
I think it is one of the problems we have had. NASA has carried this
entire burden down the line. It is obviously beneficial to the service as
to civil population. I understand from some of the testimony that we
are making progress on it and finally we may get some resolution. I am
just delighted, after 8 years we are finally getting it.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Fuqua, you may respond if you want to.
Dr. LABERGE. The fundamental issue which we have not resolved
but will is whether we are buying a ticket on the NASA railroad or
whether we are a coshareholder in the operation together as two
different agencies of one basic business. We have got to settle it. As
far as equity of payment of due cost, we will make sure we do that. No
question in anybody's mind, I think, we intend to pay our fair share.
Mr. FRY. After 8 years, as I said, I appreciate the words and I hope
it does work out. But I have brought this up at every hearing over the
years and I think if we add up the dollars and the potential, it would
sure be a big difference.
Mr. WINN. Do you want to take the time now to answer my
question?
Dr. LABERGE. I wonder if I could submit for the record-I guess I
prefer to provide it for the record, if I can.
Mr. WINN. Which ever way, I don't care.
Dr. LABERGE. We have both the Vandenberg and Kennedy launches
and I have them scrambled here.
Mr. WINN. I want them to be actual and factual, because this com-
mittee will be doing the same thing each year now and we kind of want
to know where we are going together in these payloads.
You know, when you just look down into that great big cargo
chamber, it doesn't look like much except a small dance hail down in
there, so we figure you guys are going to be putting something in there
and we want to know what it is.
Dr. LABERGE. Yes; let me also be sure we answer in weight and
number. NASA has a lot smaller in domain and we have a lot bigger
ones. It is all in how you ask the question as to what the answer is and
we are trying to give you something meaningful.
Mr. WINN. I think it is very helpful where you have weight problems
and space problems that maybe you will have to alternate on flights
with NASA. I don't know of any other agency that is putting payloads
in there. Are there other agencies?
Dr. LABERGE. We would expect that-well, people like NOAA may
well have them. There will be the Navy as well as the Air Force.
Mr. WINN. I shouldn't say Air Force only, because I think there are
some others.
Dr. LABERGE. COMSAT and other people like that in the United
States and a number of foreign countries will be supplying payloads.
PAGENO="1240"
1238
Mr. WINN. If you would submit it for the record it would satisfy me.
Thank you.
Mr. FUQUA. Just for the record, would you supply us the cooperative
programs you have at NASA, their cost? Your cost, for the record?
Dr. LABERGE. Yes; They are very extensive. Let me give you what
we have and perhaps we can talk with your staff to see whether that is
suitable.
[Material referred to above follows:]
The joint cooperative programs that the Air Force has with NASA are listed
below. Several of these programs have no funding identified while others show
equipment. In a large percentage of the joint Air Force/NASA efforts, the Air
Force provides manpower and equipment as opposed to dollars. For example,
in the F-100 Engine Performance, the Air Force provided an F-lOO engine to
NASA/Lewis.
Fis
Joint cooperative program with NASA
cal year 1977 R.D.T
(thousands)
. & E.
NASA
Air Force
Alternate fuels technology
F-ill TACT
Multimission aircraft studies
Himat (high maneuvering technology)
Stall/spin
Fire retardness material
Laser counter materials
AMST experiments
Space Shuttle
DMSP
MXR & T program
F'ight dynamics R. & D
Nozzle exhaust R. & T
Highly manueverable missile R. & T
Inlet technology
100 cone.flight/wind tunnel coregation
Cadress program
Nonsteady aerodynamics
F-15 RPRV
IPCS (integrated propulsion control system)
DMS (differential maneuvering simulator)
Military aIrcraft aerodynamics
B-i super critical wing
Winglet test program
JetflapR.&T
Missile aerodynamics
J-85 engine performance
F-100 engine performance
Engine component R. & T
Engine instrumentation
F-15 engine/airframe integration
2-D nozzle
$600
300
100
5, 500
1, 200
400
100
310
1, 206, 000
1,600
0
500
1, 200
1, 000
1, 200
50
0
500
0
100
200
2, 000
0
100
100
600
750
1, 500
2, 000
700
1, 800
600
$850
0
0
(1)
0
(2)
500
0
60, 100
1,900
0
280
100
0
(8)
0
0
200
0
0
0
(4)
0
0
0
0
(8
(8
100
200
(6)
100
1 Technical support deputy manager, Air Force.
2 PBX materials developed by Air Force used in Apollo Capsule.
3 Provide technical support.
4 Provide models for test.
Air Force provided engine.
6 Air Force provided airplane.
Mr. FTJQUA. Fine; thank you very much Dr. LaBerge and General
Stelling. We appreciate your being here this morning.
We will now hear from Mr. Elmer S. Groo, NASA Associate Ad-
ministrator for Central Operations.
Mr. Groo, you probably have a few people accompanying you and
you may wish to introduce them for the record.
PAGENO="1241"
1239
STATEMENT OP ELMER S. GROO, NASA ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR
FOR CENTRAL OPERATIONS, ACCOMPANIED BY CHARLES MASON,
DIRECTOR OP RESOURCES MANAGEMENT; SAMUEL W. KELLER,
NASA ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR PERSONNEL PROGRAMS;
GONZALO FERNANDEZ, NASA ASSISTANT ASSOCIATE ADMINIS~
TRATOR FOR CENTER OPERATIONS AND OTHERS
Mr. GRoo. Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee. I do
have with me Mr. Charles Mason, Director of Resources Manage-
ment; Gonzalo Fernandez, NASA Assistant Associate Administrator
for Systems Management; Mr. Samuel Keller, NASA Assistant
Administrator for Personnel Programs.
I bad anticipated to have with me Mr. Raymond Kline, who is our
Assistant Administrator for Institutional Management. There happens
to be another hearing in process which involves certain questions and
so.I asked Mr. Kline to represent me at that other hearing.
With your permission, sir, I submit my full statement for the record
and limit my remarks to a brief summary.
Mr. FTJQUA. We will make it a part of the record.
STATEMENT OF E. S. GRoo, ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR CENTER OPERATIONS,
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, it is a pleasure to appear
before this Subcommittee to discuss with you NASA's requirements for the
Research and Program Management appropriation, as well as certain significant
actions taken in the past year in regard to our institutional mi~nagement process.
I have with. me today Mr. Ray Kline who was appointed Assistant Administrator
for Institutional Management this past summer, succeeding Mr. Joseph Malaga,
now Director of Administration at the Kennedy Space Center. Mr. Kline is
responsible for institutional resources management, planning and evaluation,
and as such has been responsible for managing the preparation of the Research
and Program Management budget.
The Research and Program Management appropriation provides funds which
pay and support our civil service complement, their travel, and the cost of op-
erating and maintaining the general facilities they use in carrying out the re-
search and development programs which have been described to you during
the past few weeks. Our request for fiscal year 1977 is $814,055,000. In spite of
the impact of the recent increase in civil service pay rates, substantial growth in
utility costs, the recent increase in per diem rates for travel and substantial
escalation in the cost of goods and services, the fiscal year 1977 request is only
$18.5 million higher than for 1976-slightly over 2 percent. This increase is based
on the assumption that the 1976 level of expenditure will include a supplemental
appropriation of $19,986,000 to cover the recent civil service pay raise.
Offsetting the substantial price increase in certain of our support services are
the reducaions in our in-house manpower which have resulted from our recently
completed Institutional Assessment study, the principal thrust of which was to
clarify and consolidate the roles and missions of the NASA Centers and JPL.
It also has as a purpose the validation of manpower requirements to carry out the
programs in the NASA budget.
The principal objectives of the roles and missions study were as follows:
To consolidate free flyer spacecraft development and management, with the
major role focused at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Experiments to be flown
on spacecraft would continue to be supplied by various Centers on the basis of
specialized expertise, as we have always done.
To consolidate most future planetary work involving spacecraft development
and management, including flight planning and control, at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.
To streamline Shuttle operations, with all flight operations, except for free
flyers, focused at the Johnson Space Center and all ground operations, including
experiment and cargo integration, carried out at the Kennedy Space Center.
PAGENO="1242"
1240
To consolidate supporting research and technology work consistent with
principal roles of the Centers and the competence of the people.
To Clarify and consolidate the aeronautical roles of the Ames Research Center
and the Langley Research Center.
As a result of the Institutional Assessment study we plan during fiscal year
1977 a reduction of 500 civil service positions and a total in-house manpower
reduction, including JPL and support service contractors, of 1622.
It is our belief that, as a result of this study, our management processes will be
made more efficient. For instance it will provide the centers with a clear under-
standing of their own missions and roles and thus make more effective their par-
ticipai~ion in the planning of the agency's programs. We feel confident that we
will have sufficient manpower to staff adequately our planned programs and to
maintain a healthy effort in supporting research and technology. It is important
to note that the reduction in manpower will not be on a prorata basis across all
centers, but will specifically relate to manpower required at each center to carry
out the programs assigned in accordance with roles and missions determinations.
Five centers will have some reductions in civil servant manpower; four will not.
Each center affected is preparing detailed plans for achieving the reduced em-
ployment levels. In the event involuntary reductions in force are necessary at any
of the Centers, we will follow an aggressive out-placement program to assist
employees who might be separated.
Returning now to the details of the Research and Program budget request, I
would like to discuss each of the principal elements included in R&PM.
Personnel and Related Costs includes salaries and benefits for NASA civil
service personnel, and for personnel of other Government agencies detailed to
NASA; as well as supporting personnel costs, such as the costs of moving expenses,
recruiting and personnel investigation services provided by the Civil Service Com-
mission, and personnel training. The total requested is $615.6 million, an increase
of $3.6 million.
The 1977 increase reflects the full-year cost of the October 1975 adjustment to
civil service pay, as well as the costs of within-grade increases and career promo-
tions. These costs are partially offset by the savings which result from the reduc-
tion in fiscal year 1977 of 500 positions. Were it not for the impact of the recent
pay raise, the cost of personnel would be $3.5 million lower in fiscttl year 1977
than in fiscal year 1976.
NASA continues to pursue a vigorous EEO program. We have changed our sys-
tem of measuring progress from a calendar year to a fiscal year basis and thus our
results for 1976 and the transition period are not complete. However I can tell you
that our over-all minority employment rose from 6.5 percent a year ago to 7.2
percent now, the proportion of professional females has risen from 6.0 percent to
6.8 percent; and the overall female representation from 16.6 percent to 17.8
percent.
We will be developing specific EEO goals for fiscal year 1977 this summer. They
will be aggressive but realistic. In that regard, the reduction of 500 civil servants
on the NASA rolls may impact to some degree NASA's ability to progress as rap-
idly as it would like. While we anticipate that the majority of our manpower re-
ductions will come through attrition, the number of opportunities we have to
hire will be reduced; thus there may be some impact on the pace of our progress.
Travel includes the cost of transportation, per diem and other associated ex-
penses required for direction, coordination and management of research and de-
velopment programs and construction of facilities; for contract management and
flight mission support; for overseas travel to launch and tracking sites; travel to
meetings and technical seminars; travel related to the administration and man-
agement of internal agency affairs; and all local and relocation travel expenses.
We are requesting $17,143,000 for this category for 1977-a reduction of $727,000
from the 1976 plan.
The current fiscal year 1976 plan is $869,000 higher than we requested a year
ago for 1976 because of the increase in per diem rates approved last spring. We
estimate that the cost of this per diem increase would have been about $2 million
for 1976. By implementing a number of programs to reduce travel, we have
limited the increase to $869,000. For instance, we have expanded the use of tele-
conferencing which has proven a feasible substitute to travel in some cases to
accomplish our management responsibilities. We have issued to the centers guide-
lines which enumerate agency objectives in this area and impose tighter controls
for the approval of travel.
PAGENO="1243"
. 12~1
Facilities Services includes the rental of real property, the cost of maintenance
and related services, custodial services, minor modifications, utilities and facilities
operations. The request for this category is $98,005,000 for fiscal year 1977, an
increase over fiscal year 1976 of $12.5 million.
The effect of the continuing increase in energy costs can be seen with striking
clarity in this part of our budget request. The cost of utilities-electricity, natural
gas, heating oil and coal-has grown from $29.4 million in fiscal year 1975 to an
estimated $41.8 million for fiscal year 1977. The increase from 1976 to 1977 is
$5.2 million. Our continuing efforts, to reduce consumption have resulted to date
in a 22 percent reduction since 1973. We will continue these efforts, and hope to
achieve further economies in 1977.
The balance of items provided for in the Facilities Services category has also
been subject to rises in cost. The increase in costs for maintenance and related
services, and facility-related supplies, materials, and equipment has been limited
to $7.3 million by further reducing the level of care and maintenance given our
facilities. We shall do our best to maintain a viable physical plant within these
fiscal constraints.
Technical Services-In this category we are requesting $36,976,000 for 1977,
an increase of $2,599,000 over the current 1976 plan. These funds will provide for
the cost of the general purpose automatic data processing, institutional engineering
services, the documentation of scientific and technical information derived from
the NASA's research and development programs, and education and information
program activities. Despite our manpower reductions, costs will increase in this
area due to the effect of increases in the price levels of the goods and services we
buy.
Administrative Support includes the cost Qf communications, administrative
printing, administrative supplies, materials and equipment, transportation sup-
port (excluding travel of NASA personnel), and other support activities. NASA is
requesting $46,301,000 for this category for 1977. Again, increases in the price
level of goods and services account for the increase of $532,000 in this category,
There are a number of other points on which I want to touch. Last year I de-
scribed the impact of the executive salary freeze on NASA. The October 1975
pay raise provided cost-of-living relief which for many of our top people was their
first salary increase since 1969. Although the increase from $36,000 to $37,800
provided welcome relief, it did not solve the basic problem of salary compression
at higher levels nor does it provide pay comparability with the non-Government
world. Thus, we continue to experience difficulty in recruiting new managers,
inducing present employees to move within the agency, and retaining our key
managers. In short, the problem has not gone away, and I feel obliged once again
to raise this matter as a serious management issue.
Last year I told you we had established the Office of Personnel Programs to
provide a new emphasis on personnel development, and we have undertaken a
number of new initiatives. An example is our Career Development Program which
now brings approximately 30 outstanding young people from the Centers into
our Headquarters for one year assignments. In addition to the formal training
they receive, the exposure to agency-wide management matters and practices
should contribute substantially to their personnel development.
This last year we conducted, in cooperation with the Civil Service Commission,
an intensive personnel management evaluation at each of our Field Centers. To
our knowledge this was the first such evaluation of this type ever conducted in the
Federal Government where field Center people, personnel specialists from agency
Headquarters, and staff members from the Civil Service Commission cooperated in
developing an agency-wide data base, and then, through a self-analysis, each
field organization and Headquarters proposed goals for the improvement of their
personnel management program to be achieved during this and ensuing fiscal years.
* Typical of these goals are programs to strengthen the participation and accounta-
bility of supervisors in the personnel process; steps to broaden and strengthen
management's communications with employees both upward and downward;
and the expansion of efforts to identify, develop and retain executive talent. We
~rere generally satisfied with the overall results of the evaluation and although
areas for improvement were identified, we believe we have a basically sound
personnel program, one that will provide a solid structure for the future.
In closing, I want to express my appreciation for the opportunity to review these
matters with you. I believe that the Research and Program Management budget is
constrained, but realistic., and will provide the institutional framework and sup-
port for the accomplishment of approved program objectives.
PAGENO="1244"
1242
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my summary of statements; I will be
glad to answer questions.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you very much, Mr. Groo. You mentioned in
the last part about salaries, particularly for the top-level management.
This week it was mentioned by a center director that in certain mid-
level areas that the salaries were too high. From $2,000 to $3,000 a year
higher than industry, comparable industry salaries. Therefore they
had a slower rate of turnover in that particular area. Have you found
this to be true throughout NASA or is that just a particular center?
Mr. GRoo. Mr. Chairman I don't have specific data iii response to
that question. I would say that what would be true at one center
would generally be true at the other centers. We have a population
which grew at about the same time and we would have a general
distribution of the same grade level. I expect there may be some
truth to that, principally because of the automatic increases that lo
come at certain grade levels, at the regular GS levels. I cannot prove
it; I do not have data at hand to prove it.
[The following is a response to questions regarding the salary com-
parability of middle level NASA employees with the outside world:]
There is a growing concern both within NASA and in other Qovernment
circles about the escalation in recent years of Federal salaries, below the Executive
level. The President's Panel on Federal Compensation addressed many of the
key issues and recommended changes to the President. Comparability of Federal
and industrial white collar salaries in any particular locality may be absent
because the basis of the Federal Pay System is a nationwide survey of private
rates. These may reflect conditions totally dissimilar to the cost of living and
labor market of a given area, but there is no alternative under the present stat-
utory system.
One factor tending to escalate salaries is the present procedure governing
within-grade step increases. This results in virtually automatic longevity pay
advancement for the vast majority of Federal employees. This practice can
inflate salary costs, and equally important, erode the intended purpose of such
increases-to reward and motivate improved performance. This tendency is
aggravated in a period of low attrition as more and more employees reach higher
rates through longevity and fewer new employees come in at the beginning rates.
At present, we have no data which show conclusively that salaries within
NASA are too high. In fact, it is not within our capability to assess the compara-
bility of Federal and private industry rates. On the other hand, the presence of
"grade creep," which may result from overly generous interpretation of the
fine distinctions upon which grade determinations are based is within our do-
main, and we are beginning to look into this. While the average grade in NASA
has remained at 11.0 since 1973, this is not necessarily the case at every NASA
installation. Studies are presently underway at Johnson Space Center and a
number of other NASA centers, which will address this issue. Where miselassifica-
tions are found, corrective action will be initiated.
Mr. FUQUA. Is the office going to look into that?
Mr. GRoo. Yes, sir, we have been talking about the problem of the
grade level structure in the agency and whether it does have some
effect on distortions of this type. I don't have any preconceived
notions. I would like to look at it and find out. We will do that, sir.
Mr. FIJQUA. Do you care to comment on the roles and the missions
that have just gone into effect?
Mr. GRoo. Yes, sir. There is a great deal that can be said. I think
that principally the issue is what our objectives were and as I believe
I discussed with a member of your staff, the concept that we were
attempting to carry out was to consolidate activities, similar activities
at a number of centers and to fix responsibilities for certain types of
PAGENO="1245"
12~3
key activities at certain centers, both to eliminate any possible over-
laps or duplications and, second to give each of the centers a clear
understanding of what their mission responsibility jS~ involving them
more deeply in initial planning and giving them a better sense of
understanding of the purpose of their own activities.
We also at that time recognized that we had to size out total per-
sonnel structure in the agency, in accordance with the program
responsibility for which we are funded. So. I would say we had a
double purpose, to clarify roles and missions and second to satisfy
ourselves that our manpower levels were sufficient for our program
requirements.
We have placed the responsibility for Earth-orbital free-flier
spacecraft primarily at our Goddard Space Center. We have placed
planetary work responsibility at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We
streamlined out Shuttle operations in such a way that the Johnson
Space Center will have the primary responsbility for flight planning
and operations while Kennedy will have the principal responsibility
fbr launch and landing operations. We made a particular effort to
review our supporting research and technology efforts to consolidate
where we could, We are attempting to make them consistent with the
major missions of the centers and of course with the competence of
particular people, some of whom are outstanding in particular fields.
Finally, one of our objectives was, and I think we are on the road to
accomplishing it to clarify and fix responsibility more clearly for
aeronautical research and development, particularly at Langley and
Ames.
Those are the objectives. I think we have essentially reached them.
We are in the process of implementing these objectives. This will take
us some time, in some cases, to complete. We did not propose to slice
our programs in the middle, but rather to carry plans through, as
initially funded, to reach the results that were intended. That means
it will be phased over a period of time before we will finally reach the
final assignment of responsibilities.
Mr. FUQUA. As a result of this, is any center going to take a reduced
role within the scope of NASA.
Mr. GRoo. I think virtually all centers will lose some responsibility.
Some more than others. Most centers gain some responsibilities. In
the process of clarifying our shuttle operations, we made some changes
in the responsibility of the Marshall Space Center. There is a question
of whether the Spacelab will continue to be an operational responsi-
bility at Marshall or whether it will be handled directly at Kennedy.
We reached the conclusion that it should be handled at Kennedy.
I[Towever, Marshall, along with other centers, will have mission
responsibility for various Spacelabs as they relate to the Center's
technical and scientific missions. Particularly, the first two Spacelabs
will be the responsibility of Marshall Center.
We have had planetary activities in process at Langley. We do not
anticipate a new planetary project start at Langley, but rather we
will focus that type of work at JPL. Similarly, we have a planetary
project at AMES. Wc would expect to see that project through at
Ames, and thereafter follow-on projects will be the mission of JPL.
Those are typical kinds of changes we would introduce.
PAGENO="1246"
1244
Mr. FUQUA. How much money did 0MB reduce from what you
requested?
Mr. GRoo. In our institutional assessment, we reached a conclusion
that we could reduce the R. & P.M. budget by $12 million, setting aside
the impact of the pay increase, and after discussion agreed to make
that figure a reduction of $15 million, which is what we actually did.
That is the final impact of the Institutional Assessment on the
R. & P.M. budget for this year.
Mr. FUQUA. Where did that come from?
Mr. GRoo. Principally in the reduction of people and services
necessary to support those people, sir. The reduction of 500 civil
servants and a substantial number of support contractors reduced
salaries and the costs of facilities and technical services.
Mr. FUQUA. In the 1976 budget I think you have 241 civil service
employee positions in energy R. & D. Now that R. & D. money
has been omitted.
Mr. GRoo. Omitted from our budget.
Mr. FUQUA. From your budget. What is going to happen to the
people?
Mr. GRoo. We anticipate that there will continue to be a con-
siderable amount of supplementary work at NASA in the field of
energy at three Centers. While we do not have direct R. & D. funds
in our own budget for energy, we do have a substantial amount of
reimburseable work from ERDA and we expect that work to grow.
Mr. FuciuA. Will their salaries be reimbursed by ERDA?
Mr. GRoo. That is right. Also, we anticipate a certain number of
our own people to continue to be funded by NASA for studies to
determine whether energy work or the energy competence of NASA
might be applied to ERDA programs. Once we discuss a program
with ERDA, and ERDA agrees to go ahead with that program,
then the salaries of those people and their supporting costs will be
reimbursed by ERDA.
Mr. FUQUA. Are you in discussions with ERDA now.
Mr. GRoo. We do have a memorandum of understanding with
ERDA on how that works. That was signed 9 months ago and we
have a number of programs in operation today, particularly solar
heating and cooling programs at Marshall and a number of different
efforts at Lewis. We are in discussion with ERDA about programs
under consideration which NASA might carry out for them.
Mr. FUQUA. How many civil service man years will be reimbursed
by other government agencies as well as commercial customers of
NASA in fiscal year 1977?
Mr. GRoo. The fiscal year 1977 budget has been predicated on an
estimated reimbursement for 388 civil service man-years for work
performed for the Department of Defense, the National Oceano-
graphic and Atmospheric Agency, the Energy Research and Develop-
ment Administration, and for launch vehicle operations and procure-
ment services for commercial. customers.
Mr. FUQUA. Maybe you can supply that for the record.
Mr. GRoo. If I might, yes.
Mr. FUQUA. Mr. Winn.
Mr. WINN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
PAGENO="1247"
t245
Mr. Groo, I am a little concerned about the travel expenses and I
wondered if you could explain the relative disparity between the /
travel budget at JPL and Goddard. I am aware of the different loca-
tion. The JPL budget is about 1~ times Goddard, yet the Centers
are functionally very similar. Also, it has been pointed out to me 20
percent of the entire agency budget at JPL is for travel.
Mr. Gnoo. Mr. Winn, I have to say that comes as a complete
surprise to me.
Mr. WINN. If our statistics are wrong, I want them clarified.
Mr. GRoo. Mr. Mason will respond.
Mr. WINN. Would you identify yourself for the record.
Mr. MASON. Charles Mason, Director of Resources Management.
JPL is funded by the R. & D. appropriation. We have asked them
to take their functions that would be similar to our R. & P.M. appro-
priation and give us a simulated budget, which they have done over
the last couple of years.
On your question comparing Goddard with JPL so far as travAl
budgets are concerned, we just haven't done that.
[Material referred to above follows:]
Since JPL, is funded from the Research and Development Appropriation, the
R&?M type of costs are part of a simulation of an R&PM budget prepared by
JPL for comparison purposes. These simulated costs are not part of the NASA
R&PM budget. The simulated R&PM travel budget for JPL for fiscal year 1977
is $3,417K which reflects a reduction of $73K from fiscal year 1976. This reduction
is in spite of increased travel and lodging costs.
Though the JPL simulated travel budget is 19.9 percent of the NASA R&PM
travel budget, when it is added to the NASA travel budget, to obtain a more
realistic comparison, it equals only 16.6 percent of the total. In addition, JPL
does work for other government agencies reimbursed by these agencies, which
includes travel as well. When the non..NA~A reimbursable travel is removed from
the JPL simulation, JPL's percent of the total NA~A/JPL travel budget is only
15.6 percent. Goddard's travel budget, to which JPL was compared, is 13.4
percent of the total NASA R&PM travel budget or $2.288K. It is 11.2 percent
of the combined total NASA/JPL travel cost.
A major factor in the difference between JPL and . Goddard lies in the geo-
graphical location of the two Centers. Goddard lies 10 miles from Headquarters,
whereas JPL is 2500 miles away. Yet, both must maintain close contact with
Headquarters. A second factor is that Goddard's principal contractors are located-
relatively close to the Center; JPL's are not. In addition, of course, Goddard's
travel budget is specifically controlled as a separate line item; JPL's travel is
managed as a part of total overhead costs and is subject to further analysis and
control by NASA.
Mr. WINN. I might make a suggestion. I think that maybe it will
be well worthwhile. I don't know if the JPL people are traveling back
here or to the other Centers more than they should.
Mr. GROO. I would not anticipate their travel being essentially any
gr~atei'~-than people of any other~Center. .
Mr. WINN. I wouldn't think so.
Mr. GRoo. I confess, Mr. Winn, that your number of 20 percent.
comes as a surprise to me. I will look at it and if there is anything I can
do to clarify a statement to the record, I will.
Mr. FUQUA. Would you yield just that point? IJnder the arrange-
ments with Cal Tech for the payments of JPL, isn't that contract
renegotiated every year?
Mr. GRoo. It is a contract renegotiated eveii 3 years.
Mr. FUQUA. It has just been renegotiated?
Mr. GRoo. Just, I would say. It was signed 7 or 8 months ago.
70-079 0 - 76 .79
PAGENO="1248"
~i246
Mr. Fi~QuA. You,pay them a lump sum each year?
Mr. GRoo. A contract.
Mr. FUQUA. How do they justify it?
Mr. GRoo. They justify it on a program basis. It isn't a single
sum, but a contract that covers the cost of individual programs funded
by individual program offices, primarily the Office of Space Science,
and some from the Office of Applications and the Office of Aero-
nautics and Space Technology.
Mr. Fi1QUA~. Does that fund vary from year to year?
Mr. GRoo. Somewhat from year to year. It is being reduced some-
what this year because we have somewhat reduced manpower at JPL
because there is not as much work there.
Mr. FUQUA. When you figure out how much it is going to be, then
you can.
Mr. GRoo. I can only say I don't understand why. I can't answer
that question. We will have to look it up and understand it and come
back.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you.
Mr. WINN. Dr. Kraft told us in Houston-the committee went
down on a field trip-that he must limit opportunities for staff to
increase the turnover. I just wondered ~f the aging staff is synonymous
with the lack of such research ideas. S
Mr. GRoo. I talked to Dr. Kraft about this~ I believe his opinion is
that any research and deirelopment organization will always be
refreshed by bringing in new young people out of educational insti-
tutions who are full of energy and ideas and so forth. I believe that is
true in any organization whether it is R. & D. or otherwise. I think
be feels that way and is concerned with the fact that the average age
in his Center, which is somewhat true in NASA as a whole, is. going
up almost 1 year, year after year. And it has to do with the reduction
in overall size of NASA. When we reduce overall, we cannot behiring
major numbers, of young people.
Mr. WINN. Hasn't there been general concern over technical super-
visors doing too much lower level work?
Mr. GRoo. There have been suggestions made and some survey
work-Personnel management evaluation indicates that too many
higher level people are doing work of lower level people. I think that
is a very hard one to pin down, except as a matter of opinion. There is
no question that the results of the survey say that this opinion exists.
How you prove that and how you change it I am n~t sure, except to
make sure that the supervisory levels understand that that this is the
feeling of the people and. that good supervision suggests that they
should pay attention to that and back off and let the people do the
work they are assigned to do. . S
Mr. WINN. Are you aware, or could you tell the committee any other
remedies that have been discussed?
Mr. GRoo. The principal remedy has been thus far to sit down with
each Center and review with it it's own personal management evalua-
tion, carried on jointly between headquarters people, Center people
and the Civil Service Commission, to review with the Center)? manage-
ment the pluses and minuses of the evaluation and suggest a~propnate
action to meet the negatives. S
I would believe that that's a matter of good management. The
Center's leadership is best able to deal with that kind of a negative.
PAGENO="1249"
And it is the local leadership that can best do that. Each Center has a
program to meet the problems that are raised in their individual
personal evaluations. We are not trying to control'it from headquarters.
Mr. WINN. Let's turn it around the other way then. Do scientists
and engineers have genuine opportuhities for promotions without
becoming supervisors?
`Mr. Gnoo. Yes, sir. I believe they do. I think we have less `oppor-
tunities for promotions of people at any' level at a time when we are
reducing the size of the NASA work force. It is inevitable. If we are
reducing 500 people in 1977, as we will be doing, then there will be
simply less opportunities for people to be promoted because there are
less jobs in total that are goingto be done. That varies from Center to
Center because the personnel reduction varies.
Mr. WINN. 500 people will come from general attrition, won't they?
Mr. GRoo. We hope that we will be able to manage it from general
attrition. We are not yet sure we can do that at ev~ery Center.
Mr. WINN. Or every level?
Mr. GRoo. Or every level. That is right.
Mr. WINN. I was' very impressed with the comments you wrote on
page 2 when you talked.about your target for energy conservation in the
year 1976. I wonder if you got a target for the year 1977?
Mr. GRoo, We set `a target to try to reduce 30 percent* from the
original' base in 1973. We have achieved a 22-percent reduction.
This is a real challenge. It is a real challenge because h'aving reduced
22 percent from 1973 to 1976, we did a lot of the things that could' be
done, suc'h as fewer lights, reduced temperatures in the winter, higher
temperatures in the summer, and so' forth, reprograming of the way
we use our wind tunnels and other high energy machinery,' programing
to use those things at a time when we get better block rates, at night,
and so forth and so on. We have done~ a lot of those things, `but we
have charged the Centers-~-and we hate set up a man re~ponsible
for it, General Curtin,, `whom you all know-to pursue further energy
reductions to a point where we will reduce another 8 percent. With the
growth of utility rates we have to do something. They have increased
43 percent in the last 2 years.
Mr. WINK. Several of the Center people we talked' to on this field
trip told us of their concerns, the prices they are having to pay. They
were going to try to renegotiate contracts.
I just wonder if there is any organization or any group in' the
Federal Government that can sit down and talk about this immediate
problem that would include' all of the agencies in the Government
or does everybody go their own way.
Mr. GROO. I don't know the answer to that question. I' think it
might be helpful. The problem is that we are' dealingS with' a `1~t of
local authorities, cities, counties, and so forth, and rates vary a great deal,
as you know. When you were at Houston, I am sure they mentioned
to you that they buy gas from an unregulated supplier there and they
have increased their rates 120 percent in 2 years. I am not sure how
to deal with it. I am sure any efforts to get Federal agencies together"
and jointly face the problem is better than not doing it. I don't
know how much impact there will be because the regulation is done by the
States; I am not sure what our leverage would be. I am sure we are
a major energy user in terms of the size of our population, because
of our wind tunnels.
PAGENO="1250"
1248
Mr. WINN. I would imagine you are. Not too many other agencies
have wind tunnels.
Mr. GRoo. We will take it under advisement.
Mr. WINN. 1. was curious. I was hoping somewhere out of your
experience, which I think is great, that you could; pass on some of
these ideas to other agencies in the Government and in turn have some
kind of organization possibly which can pass some ideas on.
Mr. GRoo. We will take a look at it. I think it could be productive.
[The information follows:]
The Office of Energy Conservation and Environment of the Federal Energy
Administration was chartered to provide for the coordination of the Federal
Energy Conservation Program. TJnder this program, NASA, as well as the other
Federal agencies, report energy consumption, energy conservation practices, .and
new ideas to this office on a quarterly basis. In addition, therç was an interag~ncy
steering group formed at the Assistant ~e~tetary level ib 1975. The steering group
had working committees from* the various agencies and produced a Federal
Energy Management Program Multjyear Action Plan. This plan is presently
being staffed by FEA.
Mr. WINN. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. FUQTJA. Thank you, Mr. Winn.
The personnel cuts at NASA headquarters as compared to the other
Centers have not kept pace in percentage terms with the other Centers.
How do you justify that?
Mr. GRoo. Mr. Chairman, on the basis on which this wholeexercise
was carried out was to try to measure manpower required to do the
kind of work that was there, j~o do. In other words, as you know, we did
not allocate this across the board. There were substantial differences
between Centers. The answer on headquarters is that we ran what we
called a zero base review of headquarters a year ago and our con-
clusion was to reduce at that time approximately 50 or 60 people.
There was no real basis for fuj~ther reduction. We had gone through
this review, we thought we knew what the requirements were, and
could not find any way other than to cut across the board.
We did make a small reduction in a couple of Headquarters ac~
tivities, so small as not to be really of any significance.
Mr. FUQUA. You put a ceiling on the number of support contractors
for this year. How has that been implemented and what flexibility
have you left to the Center?
Mr. GRoo. We put the ceilings in terms of man-years, which allows
the Centers to come out at the end of the year with a total number of
man-years. We leave it up to them as to how they schedule it. They'
can phase down as work phases out.
Mr. FUQUA. There has been a trend in recent years for more and
more of `the space dollars to be' spent on institutionaL support. Are
you concerned about this? `` `
Mr. GRoo. Greatly so. I think that is a primary reason I undertook
the study, Mr. Chairman. We were concerned that if we did not do
something ourselves and initiate a study to size our institution `to
what we could afford and still maintain a majority of our money for
programs, then we ran the risk that more and more of the budget
would become institutional. So we commenced the study on our own
with the feeling we had to solve that problem.
PAGENO="1251"
1249
Mr. FUQTYA. We were in Houston on Monday and last Fridaywre were
at Huntsville. I bad become very much concerned about the future
role of Huntsville. What do you see as the future role of Huntsville
for the next 5 to 10 years?
Mr. GRoo. For the next 5 years I don't think there is any question
of the role of Huntsville. I don't think there is beyond that. For the
present they continue to be responsible, as you know, for propulsion
systems related to the Shuttle and that cycle will continue for quite
some time. Even though we have our first orbital flight in fiscal year
1979, we will continue testing of additional engines, external tanks,
solid rocket boosters and so forth, and that work will continue well
in the 1980's. They continue to be the primary center for the solar
heating and cooling effort which is, I think, a growing subject. That is
an ERDA.fu~ded project, but Marshall is the organization that
carries that out. They are the primary center in the field of space
processing which in my personal opinion is one of the real benefits
that is going to come from the use of the Shuttle.
Mr. FUQUA. I am talking about after that. We are familiar with
those.
Mr. Gnoo. For the first period, I think these things you are familiar
with will. continue to provide a real mission for Marshall. Looking
into the future, Marshall is one of the two Centers with the greatest
competence in the field of large structures. If you look down the
road at the possibilities and opportunities in the space program, they
would include, among other things, large structures, for space and space
power stations, the kind of things that might be next steps in the space
program.
Mr. FUQUA. Satellites? Large satellites?
Mr. Gnoo. Large satellites. The concept of a space station can be
small and it can be very large, as you know. This is one of Marshall's
great strengths. They also are very strong in the field of materials and
materials will continue to be a very important part of NASA's future
as long as it is in the business of building any kind of spacecraft.
I understand the concern there. The Center has dropped 3,000
people during the last 9 years and that is enough, I am sure, to
give some people concern. But I don't have any question but that a
mission will continue for Marshall.
Mr. WINN. Along that same line, Mr. Chairman, I wonder why
NASA headquarters didn't have Huntsville take on the role for the
booster assembly contract instead of shipping it outside?
Mr. GRoo. We intend to have a booster contractor but he will
be working in direct contact with Marshall, with some number of
the contractor's people :working at the Marshall Center. Th~ basic
objective, of course, Mr. Winn. as you knew, when we get repeatable
work of that type, is to contract out. It is NASA's objective, I am
sure you know, to involve industry heavily in its work. We use con-
tractors to perform production work, and it is our general purpose
and objective to contract that work out, rather than doing it in-house.
Mr. WINN. But they could do it in-house and possibly thwart
any possible unemployment problems that Huntsville faces.
Mr. GRoo. Yes sir. I will not deny that the competence to do it
in-house exists.
PAGENO="1252"
~- 1250
Mr. WINN. I don't deny that either. -
Mr. GRoo. That is right. We never wanted to be in the production
business. Design, the oversight of contractors, testing and integration
are in-house types of tasks we still prefer to do. But where we are
having an assembly or production of a device, then normally it has
not been NASA's objective to do that in-house.
Mr. WINN. I gathered by the reception we got down there which
was very kindly, by the way, that there was a morale problem. A lot
of people were afraid that the assignments NASA had been giving
to Huntsville are slipping and they can see an unemployment problem
coming up, more than the one they already have, which is about par
for the course with other Centers. I don't have comparison figures
in front of me, but I think it could be a little higher.
Mr. GRoo. It is a little higher.
Mr. WIN~.r. I just wondered if possibly taking an assignment like
this, having an in-house contract might keep some of. the wolves
away from the door down there.
Mr. GRoo. It could well be. We have to look into that. I do know
we talked in terms of an assembly contractor. Some of his people will
be working in Huntsville, at Marshall, but the total number h~s not
been decided. I can understand how there could be lower morale
at Marshall because of reductions taking place over the last 5 years.
Mr. Wn~rN. Thank you.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you, Mr. Winn.
Mr. Groo, we were talking a few minutes ago about some of the
higher grades and some of the midlevel employees. We also heard
that people within their own grades were moving up two levels. I
have been looking into that also. I don't know if there is anything
you can do about it.
Mr. GRoo. Not without legislation. Well I guess you could make
people focus directly on the qualifications for within-grade increases.
On the other hand, if a man is rated just satisfactory, under the pres-
ent system he gets his rate increase. The recent commission on the
Federal salary structure, as you know, questions whether that should
not be changed, whether it should be paid automatically, as it is.
I question that myself, but that requires a change in legislation.
Mr. FUQUA. Thank you very much, Mr. Groo. We appreciate
your being here with tis this morning.
The subcommittee will continue the hearing at 9:30 in this room
with Dr. Peter E. Glasser, vice president, Arthur D. Little,. Inc.,
Richard W. Taylor, vice president, Boeing Co., R. D. Ginter (acting)
Assistant Administrator for Office of Energy Programs, National
Aeronautics and Space Administration, Dr. Robert L. Hirsch (acting)
Assistant Administrator for Solar, Geothermal, and Advanced Energy
Systems, Energy Research and Development Administration, to
discuss the solar satellite, power satellite system concept.
[Whereupon, the subcommittee Was recessed at 11:30 a.m.1
[Questions and answers for the record follow. Also see Volume I,
Part 3, for additional questions and answers.]
PAGENO="1253"
1251
Question #1
In FY 1976 there were 241 permanent civil service positions
in Energy R&D. Where are these people in FY 1977? Will
their salaries be reimbursed by ERDA?
Answer
In the FY 1977 budget the manpower for our Energy Programs
is included with our other technology research proqrams in
the Space Research and Technology line item. We currently
estimate that 215 will be reimbursed by ERDA by the end of
FY 1977. About 240 civil service positions will be applied
*to system studies investigating the possible application
of space energy technology to the solution of other energy
problems.
PAGENO="1254"
1252
QUESTION NO.2:
How many civil servite man~ears will be reimbu~sed by other
government agencies and commercial customers in FY 1977?
ANSWER:
The FY 1977 Budget has been predicated on an estimated reim-
bursemént for 388 civil service rrvan~years for work performed
for the Department of Defense, the National oceanographit and
Atmospheric Agency, the Energy Research~ and Development
Administration, and for launch vehicle operations and procure-
ment servicCs for commercial customers.
PAGENO="1255"
1253
Question No. 3:
FLow much will th~ cost of personnel increase because of
grade creep? Within-grade increases?
Answer
NASA's average grade has remained level at 11.0 since
the end of Fl 1973 and is planned to remain at that
level through Fl 1977. The estimated cost of within
grade increases in Fl 1977 is $3,306,000.
PAGENO="1256"
1254
Question 44
According to information supplied to the Committee, 0MB
deleted $3 million from your R&PM request. What was this
for?
Answer
The $3 million adjüstment.resulted in a further reduction in
the number of civil service positions we planned to take
as a result of the Institutional Assessment, by some re-
phasing of* the personnel reductions and by some reduction
of related personnel c~osts and costs of operating our.
installations.
PAGENO="1257"
1255
Question #5
What will be. the effect of "roles and missions" on the
outlook for future work at the various Centers? Are any
Centers headed for a reduced role within NASA?
Answer
Clarification of roles and missions will result in some
program consolidations and realignments. The imp~emen~
tation o~ these actions will begin in FY 1977 and continue
through PY 1979. The principal actions consist of the
following:
- Consolidate the number of Centers involved in free flye~
spacecraft development and management with the major role
focused at the Goddard Space Flight Center. Experiments
can be supplied by all Centers.
- Consolidate most future planetary work involving spacecraft
development management and flight control to the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory.
- Streamline Shuttle Operations, with all flight operations
(except free flyers) focused at the Johnson Space Center
and all ground operations (including experiment and cargo
integration) for the Shuttle to be accomplished at the
Kennedy Space Center.
- Consolidate supporting research and technology work to be
consistent with principal roles of the Centers and the
competence of the people.
- Clarify and consolidate the aeronautical roles of the
Ames Research Center and the Langley Research Center.
The decisions made result in program emphasis and priorities
phased to match needs and resource constraints. As a
result the resources available to individual Centers had
to be adjusted. These decisions resulted in a reduction
of 500 civil service positions at Ames, Langley, Goddard,
and Marshall, and 1122 contractors of which 105 are JPL
employees.
PAGENO="1258"
1256
Question #6
The personnel cuts at NASA Headquarters have not kept
pace percentage in térmswith those at the field centers.
Do you feel that this is justified?
Answer
Since the peak employment period in 1967, NASA Headquarters
civil service positions have been reduced from 2,499 to
an estimated 1,553 at the end of FY 1977. The FY 1977 figuze
was reached in part as a result of an intensive manpo~'er
review in the Headquarters in FY 1975. This represents a
38% reduction, whereas the overall Agency civil service
manpower has undergpne a 30% reduction during ~he same
period.
PAGENO="1259"
1257.
Q~*estion 47:
We understand that you have imposed a ceiling on the total
number of support contractors this year. (a) How has this
been implemented? (b) What flexibility have you left with
the centers? (c) What are the numbers involved?
Answer:
(a) The ceilings are stated in terms of man-year equivalents
and are issued as part of the regular resource authori-
zation system. The amounts are developed during the budget
preparation process arid are a reflection of the needs of
each center within the overall limitation on resources in
the agency.
(b) The ceilings are allocations of resources based on approved
programs. Adjustments to these ceilings to meet unforeseen
or special requirements are accomplished when required. In
addition the ceiling is for the total support provided by
service contract and the Center Director is given the authority
to shift resources from one area to another within that ceiling.
He can also shift effort from one contract to another to meet
changing workload or skill requirements.
(c) Support contractor ceilings in man-year equivalents
Center FY 1976
ARC 753
DFRC 193
GSFC 2858
HQ 437
JSC 5312
KSC 3554
LaRC 1116
LeRC 413
MSFC 2095
NSTL 409
WFC 374 I
TOTAL 17514
PAGENO="1260"
1258
Q~STION NO. 8:
What means enabled you to take the largest part of the
500-man reduction in the indirect category?
ANSWER:
The institutional assessment was based primarily on program-
matic considerations. These actions resulted in reductions
due to both program completions and program consolidations,
and offsetting increases due to new and/or growing activi-
ties. The totality o~ actions taken at each center were
then balanced, in an appropriate manner, with the indirect
services required by the center, considering also the
manner in which the indirect services were provided, that
is, contracted for or supplied by civil servants. Naturally,
the centers were encouraged to increase their effectiveness
in providing such services. As a re~ilt, the centers did
reexamine the level of clerical and administrative support
provided in the indirect services and some minor economies
were attained. The net reduction of 203 civil servants
was due primarily to a balance of technical vs. adminis-
trative skills and only incidentally to economy measures.
PAGENO="1261"
1259
~p~estioñ *9:
There has been a trend in recent years for more and more
of our space dollars to be spent on institutional support.
Are you concerned about this and what are you doing about
it?
Answer:
NASA has undertaken a number of studies to examine the
institutional support question. These studies include the
institutional base study of 1970, the zero-base studies of
1974 and the institutional assessment study completed in
1975. All of these studies resulted in plans and actions
to insure a more effective and economical use of resources
for institutional support. tn addition to these major
study efforts, NASA also reorganized its headquarters office
in 1974 with the expressed purpose of improving "the over-
all effectiveness and economy of Center operations.O In a
time when buying power has been significantly eroded and the
NASA budget has remained relatively constant, NASA has taken
significant steps to limit the amount of funds provided for
institutional support.
PAGENO="1262"
1260
~4~~ion*l
What has been the trend for the last five years in average
civil service grade without regard to pay step? What are
the reasons Lot any changes?
Answer:
NASAs average general schedule grade has remained level
at 11.0 since 1973.
PAGENO="1263"
1261
QtJESTION2:
What is the lông-range plan for the role of Marshall
in the post~'Shuttle development era?
ANSWER:
The Marshall Space Flight Center (~tSFC) is the NASA
manager of the SpaOelab elements which are NASA's
responsibility, and is the NASA interface with the
European Space Agency, who is developing the main
Spacelab modules. MSFC will also serve as mission
manager of the first two Spacelab flights and will be
responsible for the analytic integration of those
flights.
The Center has been assigned the lead role in the study
and definition of several potential future programs
such as:
a) The Space Telescope, a Shuttle"launched, optical
telescope to provide for international scientific
use, and significantly extend knowledge of the
universe.
b) The Atmospheric Cloud Physics Laboratory (ACPL) which
will be utilized to further the basic understanding
of atmospheric cloud microphysical processes and
phenomena, thereby contributing to improved weather
predictions.
c) Space Processing studies, aimed at structuring a
research program, as an extension of the space
processing experiments conducted onboard the Apollo,
Skylab, and ASTP missions, to investigate the
effects of low gravity and other space flight
phenomena upon processes and materials for further
development for Shuttle/Spacelab missions.
Marshall is also participating in NASA Earth Resources
Survey regional program activities as directed generally
toward the applications of space technology and associated
managerial and technical disciplines to solve environ-
mental problems in the geographic region including
Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Georgia, and North Carolina.
In addition, Marshall has a significant role in the near
term systems development of a Solar Heating and Cooling
Demonstration program in support of the Energy Research
and Development Administration.
70-079 0 - 76 - 80
PAGENO="1264"
1262
QUESTION NO. 3
How much is spent on incentive awards? What evidence is
there that this program is effective~.
ANSWER
In FY 1975, $368,000 was spent on incentive awards. The
most convincing evidence of the eUectiveness of the
Incentive Awards Program is the h&gh quality and value of
employee suggestions submitted, and theadditional. savings
realized through special achievements. In F? 1975 211
awards were given for employee suggestions and special
achievements resulting in a tangible savings of $3~3
million.
An outstanding recent example of the worth of these sug~
gestions is the relocation of the ~S~ace Shuttle External
Tank vent and relief valve solenoids to the launch facility
at~an estimated first year savings of $342,000. Another
suggestion that existing vacuum-jacketed pipe be used
for a shuttle facility in lieu of new fabricated pipe--S
this will save an estimated $110,000 in the fiz~st year.
Suggestions cover a broad range of ~echnica1 and admini-
strative areas. .
PAGENO="1265"
1~63
QUESTION NO, 4
Please provide a breakdown of the total (man'.years) and dedicatec
Win-house personnel involved in the acquisition of expendable
launch vehicles.
ANSWER
The total man-years of in-house support for FY 1976 is as
follows:
LaRC GSFC LeRC**,
________ Scout Delta Atlas-F Centaur
Program Management 2 6 2 10
Business Management 3 13 1 11
Vehicle Engineering ( 9) (27). * (76)
Guidance 2 - * 20
Electrical 1 12 * 16
Ground Support 1 3 * 10
Mechanical 2 4 * 18
Structural 3 8 * 12
Systems Integration ( 9) (17) * (43)
Systems Analysis 1 - * 21
Technical Management 3 8 * 8
Mission Integration 3 8 * 10
Factory Residents 2 1 * 4
Quality Assurance 6 9, * 18
Procurement 1 2 * 12
Administrative Service 5 6 * 1
Technical Service 3 15 * 38
Computation 1 26 * 5
Total 39 121 3 214**
*Atlas.4~ management is handled by the USAF. NASA position
is not to duplicate; will monitor only with above people who
are located at JPL and GSFC.
**Centaur project at Lewis Research Center is composed of both
Atlas Centaur and Titan Centaur with requested functionS not
separately identified in practice or operation.
PAGENO="1266"
1264
QUESTION NO. 5:
What measures enabled you to absorb the greatest percentage
of the reduction of 500 permanent positions in indirect
positions (203).
ANSWER:
The institutional assessment was based primarily on progranuna~ic
considerations. These actions resulted in reductions due to
both program completions and program consolidations, and of f~
setting increases due to new and/or growing activities. The
totality of actions taken at each center were then balanced,
in an apporpriate manner, with the indirect services required
by the center. The centers were encouraged to increase their~
effectiveness in providing such services. As a result, the
centers did reexamine the level of clerical and administrativ~
support provided in the indirect services and some minor
economies were attained. The net reduction of 203 indirect.
civil servants was due primarily to a balance of technical
vs. administrative skills and only incidentally to economy
measures.
PAGENO="1267"
1265
QUESTION NO. 6:
For end FY 1973 and FY 1977 what are the total numbers of
NASA excepted, GS 16, 15 and 14?
ANSWER:
The table below shows the levels for FY 1973 and the levels
requested for FY 1977.
End of End of
Position Level F'Yl973 FY1977
NASA Excepted 379 437
GS'l6 219 67
GS-l5 1,913 1,763
GS-14 ______ ______
TOTAL 5,564 5,259
PAGENO="1268"
1Z6~
Question ~
What escalation' factors were use~ to account for utility
rate and support, service contract wage' rate increases in
the Fl `77 request?
Answer:
For utilities the increase of F'~ 1977 over FY 1976 `averages
to be'lS%. This computation was based on increases granted
by various control agencies, in each area where there is a
NASA installation or rate increases imposed by utility
suppliers in states where. no controls exist,' such as Texas.
Data was compiled for each Center and `each utility and then
a composite per cent of increase was computed for the Agency.
For Support Contractor wage rate increases, the increase of
Fl 1977 over F'? 1976 was computed at 9.8%. for the 15 month
period which is 7.8% annualized. This increase was determined
by analyzing wage increases granted in Collective Bargaining
Agreements (CBA) negotiated between contractors supplying
services and the unions representing their employees. and the
wage increases granted as a result of Minimum Wage Determinations
(MWD) issued by the Department of Labor in accordance with the
provisions of the Service Contract Act. We examined CBA's
and MWD's recently consumated or issued at our centers affecting
employees of the contractors.
PAGENO="1269"
12~3'~
QUESTION NO. 8
The amount requested for facilities services has grown from
$85,489,000 to $98,005,000, approximately 15%. What are
the reasons for this when most other elements of R&PM
have declined or stayed even?
ANSWER
The requirements for Facilities services in FY 1977 are $2.5M
above the FY 1976 level. The primary reasons for this increase
are: higher utilities costs, $5.2M; higher rates for GSA
rentals, $.. 3M; the ~u11 year effect of support `contractor
wage rates increases, and price increases for supplies,
materials and equipment, $4.7M; and increased support for the
Space Shuttle approach and landing test adtivities at the
Dryden Flight Research Center, $.8M.
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Qpestibn#9~
i4at economy measures are being invoked at the NASA Centers
to combat the inflationary trend of procuring goods and
services?
Answer:
In order to combat the spiralling effects of inflation,
several actions have been integrated into the overall NASA
operating mode. These actions are intended to bring about a
more austere posture at all of the Agency's installations.
However, with the rapid increases in the cost of goods and
services which are necessary to maintain facilities and
continue progress on approved programs and projects, it is
recogilized that additional measures will be required and
this problem is under constant surveillance to find additional
methods of holding tne line against inflation.
The measures being utilized throughout the Agency to stave
off the effects ot inflation include the following:
1. Greater emphasis on the use of existing materials,
equipment and facilities.
2. Modification or adaptation of items no longer
required for their original purpose.
3. Review and realignment of functions and missions
to eliminate or reduce apparent overlap.
4. Reduction in manpower, both civil service and
contractor.
5. Civil service vacancies being filled at entrance
level and being allowed to remain vacant longer.
6. Reduction of 22% in the motor vehicle fleet since
1973.
7. The Utility Conservation Program which has reduced
consumption by 22% from 1973.
8. Incentives used in contracts to encourage actions
to reduce inflationary effects.
9. Reduction in the amount of travel.
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stionj~q
Does the estimate for personnel' and related cost's include
the effect of reimbursements from Other agencies and
commercial Customers? If Sø, how much?
The PY 1977 Budget estimate of $615,630,000 for Personnel
and Related COsts `represents our estimate of direct
obligations. In addition we anticipate $10,712,000 of
Personnel and Related Costs reimbursable obligations.
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ON #11
For the fiscal years 1973 through 1977 what is the cost of
utilities? How much of the increases from 1976 to 1977 is
due to increased utility rates?
ANSWER
a. Utility costs from FY 1973 through FY 1977
FY 197~ FY 1974 FY 197k FY~ 1974 F~.iI97~7
19,875K 21,162K 29,371K 36,493K 41,753K
b. All of the increase from FY 1976 to FY 1977 is due to
increased utility rates.
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9~STION NO. i~
For the Fiscal Years 1973 through 1977, what is the cost of
rental of land and property? F'or Fiàcal Year 1977, how many
square feet is leased by location? How much of this is for
temporary office space (trailers)? What plans does NASA have
for replacing temporary space with permanent buildings? What
are~the cost trade~off factors involved? Is there temporary
space other than the above?. What is the basis for reimburs~~
ment to GSA for government~.owned or leased buildings? How
much is involved in Fiscal Year 1977? Which buildings?
ANSWER
The cost of rental of lana and property from the R&PM appro~
priation for Fiscal Years 1973 through 1977 is shown in the
following table. Prior to 1975 NASA did not reimburse GSA for
rental space.
1973 1974 1975 1976 Transition 1977
~ctua1 Actual _Actugl Estimate Estimate Estj~ate
163,000 173,000 4,194,'OOO 4,813,000 1,124,000 5,214,000
The 1977 estimate of $5,214,000 provides for the lease of
793,366 square feet at the following locations:
~ ft.
DFRC 21,600
GSFC 199,416
KSC 24,000
HQS 545,390
NAPO ~96O
793,366
Of the 793,366 square feet to be leased in 1977, àiiiy the 24,000
square feet at DFRC consists of trailers rented to provide short
term office space for the people who will be located at
D:~RC during the Shuttle Approach and Landing Tests (ALT). NASA
has no plans to replace this temporary space with permanent
buildings because the requirement for their use is limited to
the ALT test period.
In addition, KSC periodically rents of fice space for, short term
periods during intensive launch activities. The cost ot con-
structing permanent buildings for this purpose outweighs the'
small lease costs currently experienced.
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21
Beginning in 1975, GSA bills government agencies for the fair
market value of building apace provided to the agencies by GSA,
both commercially rented and government owized.
Prior to each budget submission, GSA provides N1%SA with a listing
of the space provided and the Standard Level User charge (sLuc)
rates for each type of space. The estimate for GSA lease space
in FY 1977 is $4,978,000 for the fo1lo~ring buildings:
NASA HEADQUARTER$
1. Federal Office Building
(F0B~6)
4th & C Streets, S.W.
Washington. D.C.
(GSA Bldg. NO. 0010)
3. Reporters Building
300 7th Street, S.W.
Washington. D.C.
(GSA BLDG. NO. 1128)
5. 1411 South Fern Street
Arlington, VA.
(GSA BLDG. NO. 1247)
7. Wash.-Balt. Science &
Industry Center (Bldg. 1)
Limphicum Heights, MD.
(GSA BLDG. NO. 1284)
GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER
1. Armstrong Building
2880 Broadway
New York, N.Y.
(GSA BLDG. NO. 2432
3. Mat Land Warehouse #1
Glenn Dale Road
Glenn Dale, MD.
(GSA BLDG. NO. 1279)
5. Mat Land Warehouse *2
Glenn Dale Road
Glenn Dale, MD.
(GSA BLDG. NO. 1343)
2. Federal Office Building
(FOB.10B)
600 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, D.C.
* (GSA BLDG. NO. 0084)
4. 1401 South Fern Street
Arlington. VA.
:(osA BLDG. NO. 1265)
6. Federal Building
11000 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA.
(GSA BLDG. No. 0168)
2. Riggs Building
* *`.~.~4l1 Riggs Road
~$yattevil1e. MD.
~(GSA BLDG. No. 1234)
4 Mat Land Office/Lab
ôlenn Dale Road
`~G1enn Dale, MD.
`(GSA BLDG. NO. 1299)
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Q~U~STI9Z~ NO. ~
Row much is included in PY 1977 for the lease, purchase,
and maintenance and operations of ADP equipment?
A total of $19,051.000 is included in FY 1977 R&PM for
ADP. Of this amount, $13,999,000 is for Programming
and Operations Services which include system analysis,
programming, computer operation and related services.
The balance, or $5,052,000 is for the lease, purchase,
and maintenance of ADP equipment.
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QUESTION NO.i~4
How much is included in F'! 1977 for rental of motor vehicles,
aircraft operations and movement of cargo?
?~J~SWER
Rental of Motor Vehicles
Aircraft Operations
(excluding civil ser~vice
salary and travel costs)
Movement of Cargo
0
(Dollars in Thousands)
F'! 197?
$2,449
$2, 006
$1,238
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