Spaceport NewsAmerica’s gateway to the universe. Leading the world in preparing and launching missions to Earth and beyond.

April 10, 1998

John F. Kennedy Space Center

Vol. 37, No. 7

Hire proud of connection to Florida

Columbia to liftoff April 16

Daughters Day

A complex mission focusingon the most complex system inthe human body will highlightthe final scheduled Spacelabflight aboard the SpaceShuttle this month.

Preparations continuetoward the liftoff of theShuttle Columbia at 2:16 p.m.EDT, April 16, from LaunchPad 39B.

The human nervous systemis the most complex and leastunderstood part of the body.During the 16-day mission, acrew of seven will performstudies both on themselvesand a menagerie of animalsincluding snails, two kinds offish, rats and crickets.

Among the questions the 26planned studies will addressare:

• Does spaceflight changethe way blood pressure andbrain blood flow are regulated?

• Can the quality andquantity of sleep in space beimproved?

• Has nervous control ofcirculation been altered byexposure to microgravity?

The investigations build ondata collected during earlierSpacelab life science missions.For example, while all thecrew members could easilystand quietly for 10 mintuesprior to flight, after returning

First astronaut from KSC describes training

(See STS-90, Page 8)

Celebrating Earth

See page 5 for activitiesmarking Environmental andEnergy Awareness WeekApril 20 – 24.

KSCCalendar

New safety education initiative takesDuPont concept one step further

All-American Picnic

A core group in the Safetyand Mission AssuranceDirectorate is taking the firststeps toward effecting acultural change in how KSCcivil servants deal with theissue of safety.

Regarding their role as thatof educators rather thantraditional trainers, the eight-member team seeks to takethe world-recognized DuPontsafety philosophy andtranslate it into something the

(See SAFETY, Page 7)

Take Our Daughters to WorkDay will be held April 23.See page 6 for details.

SAFETY instructor Rick Sweet (right)conducts a walkdown at the Banana CreekViewing Site with Lisa Fowler, PublicAffairs; Dave Barker (left), a member ofthe University of Safety and MissionAssurance core group; and Acting Directorof Public Affairs David Dickinson (center).Fowler said she found the training to bevaluable.

A number of new events areplanned for this year’s KSCAll-American Picnic on May16. See page 6 forinformation and contacts.

1st Annual ChildcareProfessionals DayThe first Annual Child CareProfessionals Day will beheld April 24. See page 5 fordetails.

ROOKIE space flyer Kay Hire suits up forTerminal Countdown Demonstration Test(TCDT) activities on March 31. Hire beganworking at KSC in 1989 and is the firstperson from Kennedy to be selected tojoin the astronaut program.

The next time she climbsaboard a ship in Florida itwon’t be for a sailboat race.Home-grown KSC astronautand sailing enthusiast, KayHire, is trained and ready toset sail on a 16-day missionaboard the spaceshipColumbia on April 16.

Hire recently returned toKSC from Houston to takepart in the STS-90 TerminalCountdown DemonstrationTest. While she was here,driving along local roadsreminded her of home. “I missmy friends here in Florida,”said Hire. “The weather hereand the smell of citrusblossoms bring back a lot offond memories.”

Hire reported to JohnsonSpace Center in March 1995after being selected as anastronaut in December 1994.She is the first KSC worker tobecome an astronaut. Theastronaut selection was only

By Joel Wells

one in a series of firsts thathighlight Hire’s professionalcareer. As a Naval Air Reservepatrol plane navigator/communicator, she was thefirst American female assignedto a combat crew in 1993. Herhands-on experience withShuttle flight hardware makesher the first astronaut to haveworked on an orbiter prior toflight and her mission

(See HIRE, Page 2)

SPACEPORT NEWS April 10, 1998Page 2

Astronaut time on Mir passes two-year markU.S. astronauts have accumulated more

than two years aboard the Russian SpaceStation Mir, beginning with the stay ofShannon Lucid on March 24, 1996, andcontinuing today with Andy Thomas as thefinal U.S. crew member to complete anextended stay aboard the station.

Thomas and fellow crew members,Commander Talgat Musabayev and FlightEngineer Nikolai Budarin, recently wel-

comed a Progress supply vehicle, andreported to Mission Control that they couldsmell fresh apples as soon as they openedthe hatch. The two cosmonauts havebegun a series of space walks to makerepairs to station elements damagedduring last year’s collision, as well as toperform routine maintenance.

The six astronauts who have completedsuccessive stays on Mir are:

1). Shannon LucidLength of stay: 179 daysLaunch: March 22, 1996,STS-76Transfer to Mir: March24,1996Transfer to Shuttle: Sept.19, 1996, STS-79Landing: Sept. 26, 1996

2). John BlahaLength of stay: 118 daysLaunch: Sept. 16, 1996,STS-79To Mir: Sept. 19, 1996,1996From Mir: Jan. 15, 1997,STS-81Landing: Jan. 22, 1997

3). Jerry LinengerLength of stay: 123 daysLaunch: Jan. 12, 1997,STS-81To Mir: Jan. 15, 1997From Mir: May 17, 1997,STS-84Landing: May 24, 1997

4). Michael FoaleLength of stay: 134 daysLaunch: May 15, 1997,STS-84To Mir: May 17, 1997From Mir: Sept. 28,1997, STS-86Landing: Oct. 6, 1997

5). David WolfLength of stay: 119 daysLaunch: Sept. 25, 1997,STS-86To Mir: Sept. 28, 1997From Mir: Jan. 25, 1998,STS-89Landing: Jan. 31, 1998

6). Andy ThomasLength of stay: OngoingLaunch: Jan. 22, 1998,STS-89To Mir: Jan. 25, 1998

Hire ...(Continued from Page 1)

JFK Jr. attends HBO premiereJOHN F. Kennedy Jr., seen here with KSCDirector Roy Bridges Jr., was one of the manyluminaries who attended the March 25 premiereshowing of Home Box Office’s spaceextravaganza, From the Earth to the Moon, at theApollo Saturn V Center. Noteworthy trivia aboutthe 12-part, $65-million production: More than 100locations were used, including KSC and EdwardsAir Force Base, Calif.; the moonscape set required3,500 tons of Earth for the foundation and 2,000tons of crushed granite to simulate the gray of thelunar surface; to simulate the moon’s reducedgravity, actors were rigged to large 10-foot by 60-foot helium balloons, which has never been donebefore.

commander, Richard Searfoss, recentlycalled it invaluable experience.

At JSC, she first completed one year ofmission specialist training andevaluation. Hire then served in MissionControl as space craft communicator(CAPCOM) on nine Shuttle missionsbefore starting full time preparation forher upcoming Neurolab mission. AsMission Specialist No. 2, she will helpmaintain the Shuttle systems thatprovide a work platform for the onboardexperiments.

“Watching a launch as CAPCOM forthe first time and on TV from a distance,felt strange,” said Hire who supportedmore than 40 launches as a KSCemployee. She began in May 1989 as anEG&G activation engineer in OrbiterProcessing Facility Bay 3. She laterbecame an orbiter mechanical systemsengineer for Lockheed Space OperationsCo. and certified as a Shuttle test projectengineer (TPE) in 1991. From the TPEconsole in the KSC firing room, sheintegrated the technical aspects ofShuttle turnaround maintenance fromlanding through launch.

“She’s a very likable person and goodspirited,” recalls her former coworkerKristine Wilson, KSC test projectengineer. “Seeing the astronauts reallybrings it home that we’re working forreal people and knowing Kay reallypersonalizes our efforts. We just lookforward to getting with her after theflight and hearing what it was like.”

Hire will carry a few mementos intospace to remind her of home and to honorthose that will help her get there.Stowed away in her personal gear will bea photo for her former coworkers and abanner from Florida Technical Institute.Hire earned a master of science degree inspace technology from F.I.T. in 1991.

Visibly excited about her upcomingadventure and emphasizing her completetrust in KSC’s Shuttle team, Hire saysthe greatest challenge she expects to facewill be working in weightlessness.“We’ve practiced all of these proceduresand experiments here on the ground, butwhen we do them in space we’ll befloating away and the equipment will befloating away. You have to think throughthe simplest task.”

As a former KSC launch team memberHire is no stranger to challenges, and theKSC team has done its part to ensurethat the entire STS-90 crew will not bestrangers to success.

SPACEPORT NEWSApril 10, 1998 Page 3

Editor’s Note: There are not manyworkplaces where an employee reportingfor duty Monday morning is greeted by a

sight as wondrous as that of a SpaceShuttle rolling out to the launch pad.Perhaps it was the clear air, but the

rollout of the Space Shuttle Columbia toLaunch Pad 39B on March 23 was

particularly beautiful, reminding thosefortunate enough to see it that the Shuttleis not only a robust and efficient launchsystem, but also a very photogenic one.These photos taken by Bionetics Corp.

photographer George Sheltondemonstrate that no matter how many

times we witness a rollout, there isalways something new and inspiring

about it. Above left, Columbia begins thejourney from the Vehicle Assembly

Building at 7:30 a.m. Top photo above,lucky visitors to the Launch Complex 39tour destination take advantage of thecloseup view of Columbia passing by

atop the Mobile Launcher Platform andCrawler-Transporter. Above photo, thecrawler makes the turn toward LaunchPad 39B. Photo at left, the climb up thefive-degree incline to the top of the pad.

At right, destination achieved.

STS-90 rollout

-

SPACEPORT NEWS April 10, 1998Page 4

Three senior KSC managers wrapped up their NASA careers April 3Jimmy J. Akin J. Albert Diggs Jr. Hugh W. Harris

One phase of alifetime dedicated toequal opportunity forall ended April 3 asKSC EqualOpportunity ProgramOffice Director J.Albert “Jay” Diggs Jr.retired after 25 yearswith NASA.

Originally from Alabama, Diggsearned a bachelors degree in Spanishand English from Southern Universityand later a master’s degree in humanrelations from the University ofOklahoma.

After moving to Florida, he initiallyworked as a teacher in Melbourne. Helater served as executive director of theBrevard County Community ActionAgency prior to joining federal service asa field representative with the regionaloffice of the U.S. Office of EconomicOpportunity in Atlanta.

Diggs joined NASA in 1973 as anequal opportunity specialist, becomingthe head of the Equal OpportunityProgram Office at KSC in 1980.

Diggs said that the task of making theequal opportunity program an acceptedpart of the KSC infrastructure was boththe most challenging and rewardingaspect of his career.

“I’ve seen it evolve into a partnershipwithin management, and it’s now part ofthe infrastructure,” he observed.“Getting it there wasn’t easy.”

A strong advocate and practitioner ofvolunteerism and community service,Diggs plans to continue work in anumber of community and professionalorganizations, including the KSCFederal Credit Union. He also isentering into a partnership for aminority-owned charter bus companyand plans to return to KSC as a PublicAffairs volunteer.

Diggs and his wife, Barbara, live inTitusville.

Early Out opportunity extended until Sept. 30NASA KSC civil servants will have

until Sept. 30 to take advantage of theEarly Out authority originally scheduledto end March 31. The Early Out is opento civil servants at least 50 years of agewith 20 years of federal service, or anyage with 25 years of service.

The latest wave of civil servicedepartures lowers the size of the

permanent NASA workforce at KSC tobetween 1,800 and 1,900 people, a figuresimilar to the early 1960s when activitiesfor the Apollo program were still rampingup. Although official records are difficultto come by, peak civil service employmentat KSC appears to have been in the late1960s, when the federal workforce wasaround 3,000 employees.

InternationalSpace Station

Amazing factThe International Space Station, encompassing anarea nearly the size of two football fields, will bevisible to the naked eye as it passes overhead on-orbit. Its mass of nearly one million pounds is fivetimes the mass of the first space station, Skylab.

— Boeing fact sheet.

Hugh HarrisJimmy Akin Jay Diggs

Chief InformationOfficer Jimmy J. Akinwrapped up his KSCcareer April 3 withplans to begin a newprofessional life inprivate industry.

Akin is originallyfrom Georgia andearned a bachelor’s degree inmathematics from State University ofWest Georgia. He began working at KSCin January 1967 for Federal ElectricCorp. His initial assignment involvedreduction of real-time data in support ofthe Apollo program.

Akin joined the NASA side of thehouse in June 1968. In the 1970s, he wasinvolved with the expendable launchvehicle program on the Cape, again inthe area of real-time programmingassignments supporting unmannedvehicles. He moved back across the riverin the early 1980s to assume steadilyincreasing responsibilities in theComputer Services Division.

Akin said one of the greatestchallenges he encountered was thedevelopment of STARS, the SpaceTransportation Accounting andResources System, an online financialmanagement system still being used atKSC today. The project involved multiplecontractors and multiple NASAorganizations as well as incorporatingtechnology relatively new for the time,making it a very complex assignment.

Akin said the Apollo 11 lunar landingand the Challenger accident representedthe two most momentous events thatoccurred during his tenure.

In his new life, he will be based out ofhis home, working for a Rockville, Md.-based company. “I expect to do a lot oftraveling initially,” he said, “and willthen work from home as atelecommuter.”

Akin and his wife, June, will continueto reside in Titusville.

NASA KSC PublicAffairs Director HughW. Harris retiredApril 3, completing 35years of federalservice.

A native ofCleveland, Ohio,Harris earned abachelor’s degree inspeech and dramatic arts from WesternReserve University after serving in theU.S. Army. After a year in graduateschool at Columbia University, Harrisworked as a radio newscaster, a reporterfor a metropolitan daily and a magazinewriter for a major energy company beforejoining NASA in 1963. His first positionwith NASA was as an informationspecialist at Lewis Research Center inCleveland.

He originally planned to work in thespace program for a limited period beforereturning to a career in journalism. But,“everyone I worked with at Lewis feltthat what we were doing was importantwork,” Harris said. “I grew to believethat it was the defining effort of thiscentury for our country and world, so Istayed.”

Harris transferred to KSC in 1975,managing the KSC News Center. He alsoprovided broadcast commentary forapproximately 100 manned andexpendable space vehicle launches,including the first Space Shuttle launchin 1981 and the return to flight launch in1988. He was named deputy director ofPublic Affairs in 1986 and director inMay 1992, and was appointed to theSenior Executive Service the same year.

Harris, who resides in Cocoa Beachwith his wife, Cora, plans to complete theremodeling of his home as the first orderof business in his retirement life. He alsois interested in writing a book focusingon the satisfaction of being part of KSC.Its working title: Why I like to Work atKennedy Space Center.

SPACEPORT NEWSApril 10, 1998 Page 5

38 more NASA workers depart KSC

Resignations:

Thomas E. Beever, PK-E1Helen D. Busick, MM-G1J. B. Davis, PK-H7Linda T. Hannett, BC-CAnne C. Jamison, HM-A-3Joanne M. Maceo, BCKenneth S. Monroe, BD-B1Wallace R. Schroeder, MK-S10Beverly A. Sudermann, BF-A2Carl O. Wallace, BD-D3

Retirements:Robert A. Armstrong Jr., FF-S3Michael W. Bishop, FF-S2Joyce A. Bodor, PH-B3A. Diana Boles, AB-F1Mary Susan Carpenter, BL-CCalleen R. Coiner, JJJoan M. Fosdick, GG-B

Environmental events planned inApril at KSC and throughout county

A variety of events focusingon the environment areplanned for the month of Aprilboth on-center and throughoutBrevard County:

• Environmental and En-ergy Awareness Week cel-ebration: In support of KSC’sEnvironmental and EnergyAwareness Week April 20–24, awide range of private sectorvendors as well asNASA/KSC person-nel will displayenvironmental andenergy-relatedexhibits at the KSCVisitor Complex onApril 20–21, from 9a.m. to 3 p.m.Buses will departfrom Headquarters every halfhour to bring employees to andfrom the Visitor Complex. Theseexhibits also will be displayed inthe lobbies of the followingfacilities on April 22–24, from 9a.m. to 3 p.m.: Headquarters,Space Station ProcessingFacility, Operations SupportBuilding and the Launch ControlCenter.

• Environmental healthpackets: Area medical clinicshave packets covering thefollowing topics: foodborneillness, visual display terminalsand Material Safety Data Sheets(MSDSs).

• Keep Brevard Beautiful’sTrash Bash ‘98: The GreatFlorida Cleanup is scheduled forSaturday, April 25, from 8 a.m.to 11 a.m. Brevard is joining upwith Indian River and Volusiacounties this year to remove

litter from approximately 135miles of beaches and a com-bined land mass of 2,950square miles.

To promote friendly competi-tion among cities, countycommissioners’ districts andindividuals, prizes and incen-tives will be awarded. HarrisSanitation, Melbourne, isdonating a cash award of$1,000 ($500 to go to the city’s

charity and $500to the topcommissioner’scharity). Thestained glass“Pelly” (KeepBrevard Beautiful’spelican mascot)will also beawarded to the

commissioner whose district hasthe largest increase in volun-teers.

When registering at one ofthe 27 check-in sites throughoutthe county, participants willreceive (while supplies last) amagnetic memo pad or afoghorn for boaters. Drawingsfor a cooler will be conducted ateach check-in location as well.T-shirts will be available for a$10-donation or may be ob-tained in advance for an $8-donation. This year’s designwas created by an Eau GallieHigh School student.

Participants are urged tobring gloves, hats, sunscreen,water, bug spray, and closedshoes or wading boots.

For more information on theclean-up and the check-in sites,contact Keep Brevard Beautifulat 639-0666.

THIS image showing thesouthern tip of Floridawas taken during theSTS 51-C mission in1985. The Evergladesare to the center andright, with LakeOkeechobee at lowerleft. Photos of the Earthtaken from the SpaceShuttle are archived onthe Johnson SpaceCenter Web site at http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/

April 24 marks the firstannual Child CareProfessionals’ Day, establishedby an act of Congress.

To celebrate, Child CareAware (CCA) — anorganization thathelps parents findquality care — andtwo corporatesponsors haveannounced the ChildCare Professionals of the Yearcontest. Five winners will behonored in the fall.

Parents can nominate afavorite caregiver by callingCCA at tel. 1-800-424-2246.The organization also has aWeb site, http://childcarerr.org

that provides informationabout obtaining quality childcare. “Child-care workers arebetter educated than thegeneral working population

but earn less than busdrivers, garbagecollectors, andbartenders,” saidDenise Fogarty, CCAprogram director.“They don’t get the

respect they deserve.”At the KSC Child

Development Center, aluncheon hosted by the KSCExchange Council will be heldto honor the 28 caregiversresponsible for 138 childrenages 6 weeks to 5 years.

Child Care Professionals Day is April 24

Editor’s Note: An additional 38 NASA workers (including thethree listed on the page opposite) either retired or resigned fromfederal service by April 3 under this fiscal year’s buyoutopportunity. Thirteen individuals were given extensions and willdepart the agency Sept. 30:

ALL SMILES — Press SiteLogistics Manager DianaBoles (left) is presented withher certificate of retirementby KSC Public AffairsDirector Hugh Harris (right)on April 2 at the KSC NewsCenter. Both Boles andHarris retired April 3.Looking on behind them isBill Johnson, acting Chief,Public Affairs MediaServices Branch.

Retirements, continued:

Jan C. Foster, AB-F2Nancy G. Huddleston, MM-JA. Brooks Humphrys, FF-D2Jeffery W. Kage, EY-B-2Bruce W. Laubenheimer, FF-I1Richard N. Martucci, BC-BCarole M. McKinley, ST-ABascom W. Murrah III, AA-DJohn J. Radziwon Jr., EI-FGary L. Rhoden, FF-I2Annette L. Riley, GG-CNora S. Ross, PZMarshall M. Scott Jr., MM-J1Stephen Sopko II, EY-BSharon J. Sowash, PZ-A3Thomas H. Swanson, EC-BGerald L. Talley Jr., PZ-C2Myrtle K. Wilcox, LO-SOD-1

SPACEPORT NEWS April 10, 1998Page 6

Imagine A Day is the themefor Take Our Daughters ToWork Day this year. KennedySpace Center will celebratethis special day for the sixthstraight year on April 23.

The event, founded sixyears ago by the Ms.Foundation for Women, is anational effort to make youngwomen aware of the manycareer choices available tothem, and to enable parents,grandparents, and closeacquaintances to share theirwork day with a girl.

Sponsors may bring morethan one child, but onlychildren nine years and oldermay participate. The targetage for reaching young girls iswhen they are developing asense of self, ages ninethrough twelve years.

KSC contractor employeesshould contact their PublicRelations Office to determinethe opportunities available tothem.

NASA employees willparticipate in accordance withthe following schedule:

7:30 – 8 a.m., April 23, KSCVisitor Complex, gather inIMAX II Theater.

8 – 9:30 a.m., specialprogram for NASA daughters.Jane Provancha, an employeeof Dynamac, and lead of theAquatics Group in theEcological Programs for KSC,will speak. Also to be featuredwill be a speaker from thelocal community.

All contractor and NASAsponsors and their daughtersmay attend the secondprogram at the VisitorComplex. Beginning at 9:30a.m., there will be a RoboticsDemonstration by Steve VanMeter, NASA Hazardous Dutyrobotics specialist. Thesedemonstrations will take placebetween the Galaxy Centerand the pond by theAstronauts Memorial. TheKSC Visitor ComplexSpaceman also will beavailable at this location for aphoto opportunity.

A special equipment displaywill be set up by the Base

6th annual Daughters Day to be held April 23 at space center

Operations Contractor in theparking lot behind theHeadquarters Building from7:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Some ofthe equipment on display willbe a fire truck, ambulance,helicopter, SCAPE van and apatrol unit. The specialresponse team and a K-9 unitwill conduct demonstrations.

All NASA and contractoremployees and their daughtersare invited to take a tour andvisit the new tourdestinations. Tickets must bepurchased in person on April20, 21, or 22, at Ticket Booth#10 in the Ticket Pavilion atthe Visitor Complex between11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tickets foradults will be $14, and $5 forchildren.

Sponsors may take as manychildren as they wish on thetour, but no unaccompaniedchildren will be allowed.Visitors may stay at the toursites for as long as they wish.Return buses are availableevery 15 minutes all day.

Special Daughters Daybadges will be distributed.Contractor employees shouldcontact their representativesto obtain badges.

NASA employees may pickup their badges on April 20,21, and 22, between 10 a.m.and 2 p.m. in Headquarters,Room 2331.

The following instructionsapply to ALL attendees:

• All children must be atleast nine years old in order toparticipate.

• Children must wear theirbadge and be with a badgedemployee at all times on KSC.

• The sponsor is responsiblefor the children they bring —the child may go with anotherperson to another work site,but ultimate responsibilityremains with the sponsor.

• Children may not enterany controlled access areawhich requires a controlledaccess badge. Personnelworking in these areas, whichinclude the Vehicle AssemblyBuilding, Orbiter ProcessingFacilities, and Operations andCheckout Building, mayarrange for another person totake their child to an approvedarea.

IMPORTANT: Due to theDelta launch scheduled the

morning of April 23, Gate 1 onCape Canaveral Air Stationwill not be open to employeesbringing girls to work withthem. Also, due to hazardousoperation constraints,employees who work on CapeCanaveral property will not bepermitted to take the girls totheir work areas.

A Take Our Sons to WorkDay is planned for June 11.More information will beforthcoming in a later issue.

Picnic tickets goon sale April 20

It’s ticket time!Tickets for the May 16 KSC

All-American Picnic will be onsale in KSC’s NASA ExchangeStores from Monday, April 20,through Friday, May 15.

The cost of the tickets ifpurchased before the picnic is$3 for adults (age 13 and up)and $2 for children (age 3 to12). Children under 3 years oldare not required to have aticket for entering the picnic,but a ticket is required for ameal.

Tickets are $1 more whenpurchased at the gate on May16.

A new event and a twist ona traditional highlight areplanned:

Seafood Cookoff: Thisyear, to add a distinctivelyFloridian flavor to the picnic,there will be a seafood cookoffinstead of a chili cookoff. Thisincludes chowder, gumbo, orany kind of seafood stew.Participants are encouraged tobe creative! In the past, as isexpected this year, bothoriginality of recipe andpresentation in the form ofstorefronts have made for afabulous time for everyone.

To sign up, get a copy of therules, or for more information,contact Cook-Off ChairmanRick English at tel. 867-4345,or e-mail Richard.English-1@ksc.nasa.gov

Kids coloring contest:This year a coloring contest for

children is being held. Picturesto color in have been sent to allKSC employees. If you did notreceive one, please copy onefrom a friend or request onefrom the Equal OpportunityProgram Office at 867-2307.

The following rules willapply to the contest: Any child,12 years old or younger, who isthe child, grandchild, or closerelative (i.e., niece or nephew)of any KSC employee and livesin the Central Florida areamay enter.

Pictures must be done incrayon, marker, or color pencil,and only one entry per child ispermitted. Entries must bereceived at KSC-AAP ColoringContest, Sher-13, by April 24.

Artwork will be on displayat the picnic, and winners willbe announced at 2 p.m. in thechildren’s carnival area.Winners do not have to bepresent to win. If winners arenot present, prizes will beforwarded to the sponsor listedon the entry form.

CENTER Director Roy Bridges snaps upthe first KSC All-American Picnic ticketMarch 31 from (left to right) Pam Steel,ticket chairperson Barbara Naylor, andMaria Wilson. Steel and Wilson are picniccommittee co-chairpersons.

Kennedy Space Center

TAKE OURDAUGHTERSTO WORKDAY

APRIL 23, 1998

SPACEPORT NEWSApril 10, 1998 Page 7

KSC NASA workforce can use on a dailybasis.

“We’re not trying to be DuPont,”explained team lead Bill Higgins. “We’retrying to create the new KSC safetyculture.”

“We are empowering the individual todo more in the area of safety by givingthem the tools and know-how to do it,”emphasized safety operations expertRick Sweet.

The initial exposure last year toDuPont safety practices demonstratedthe importance of individualresponsibility. The trick, Sweet noted, “isthat if you are going to work to thatculture, how do you do it?”

Directorate members developed aninnovative umbrella concept called theUniversity of Safety and MissionAssurance. The core team acts as aclearinghouse and consulting group,soliciting requests from otherorganizations for safety support. Aprogram is developed according to theneeds of the requestor, be it anindividual, a group or an organization,and the type of work setting (outdoors, alab area, or an office).

“This is not a canned trainingprogram,” Sweet emphasized. “It’seducating and then assessing andevaluating how effective that educationhas been. That’s why we call it auniversity.”

One of the first NASA employees toreceive the training was Lisa Fowler,logistics coordinator in the Public AffairsOffice. It’s Fowler’s job to perform awalkdown of the Banana Creek launchviewing site prior to each mission.Although she already had an establishedand effective routine, the trainingsession March 13 added a higher level ofalertness to safety issues.

“If you’re not well-trained andpracticed in safety, it’s easy to make a lotof assumptions,” said Higgins. “If you’reresponsible for safety, there needs to bereassurance that the equipment is doingwhat it’s supposed to. We teach you whatto look for.

“We’re getting people to look at anarea beyond its intended need,” hecontinued. “The intended need mustinclude that it’s safe.”

At Banana Creek, Sweet showedFowler two areas that could be madesafer. Roped-off areas could be mademore secure with the addition of signs.The safety walkdown also revealed twohigh-level bleachers that did not have

Safety ...(Continued from Page 1)

protection to keep people from falling offthe back. Fowler, who has worked atKSC since 1980 and covered logisticssince 1992, found the training valuable.“I learned some stuff that I didn’t knowbefore, and other concepts werereinforced,” she said.

“I like that the training was notgeneric, but tailored to our area,” sheadded, noting that the faulty bleacherswere already turned in for repair.

Fowler will continue to provide data tothe safety group following everywalkdown. “This is not about trainingsomeone and then walking away,” Sweetsaid.

The next area to receive the trainingwill be the Biomedical Office. CenterDirector Roy Bridges strongly supportsthe safety educational initiative andhopes every NASA directorate at KSCwill take advantage of it.

“I think anyone who participates inthis educational process will beimpressed by what they learn,” Bridgessaid. “Whether you work in an office, alaboratory, an operational area, or out inthe field, safety awareness should be aninherent element of how you performyour daily responsibilities. The goal ofthe University of Safety and MissionAssurance is to empower us with theright tools to work safely. I urge allNASA KSC organizations to take part inthe program.”

“We are making people part of thesafety and quality program,” notedSafety and Mission Assurance DirectorTom Breakfield. “The new KSC safetyculture empowers the individual to domore in the area of safety, creating aninterdependence among all of us for ourpersonal safety, the safety of our fellowworkers, and the creation of a saferworkplace.”

University of Safety andMission Assurance

• To arrange a safety consultation, contact BillHiggins, team leader, at tel. 867-7390, or e-mail William.Higgins-1@ksc.nasa.gov.

Members of the University of Safety andMission Assurance core group include:

• Bill Higgins, team lead• John Branard, system safety• Dave Barker, institutional safety• Les McDonigal, institutional safety• Russ DeLoach, reliability and maintainability• Robert Nagy, quality engineering• Jim Medina, human factoring• Lori Cernell, software assurance

• Rick Sweet, instructor

Women’s luncheon

MARILYN Waters (left), chief executive ofWatermark Strategic Communications, chats withBiomedical Office head Dr. Irene Long at theWomen’s History Month luncheon March 19.Waters was the keynote speaker for theluncheon, attended by more than 100 people.Loren Shriver, deputy director for Launch andPayload Processing, also spoke to the group.

Work begins on lastgreat observatory

NASA Administrator Dan Goldin gavethe go-ahead for the start of design anddevelopment of the fourth and finalNASA great observatory, the SpaceInfrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF).

SIRTF is scheduled to be launched inDecember 2001 on a Delta 7920-H rocketfrom Cape Canaveral Air Station. Theother three great observatories are theHubble Space Telescope, launched inApril 1990, the Compton Gamma RayObservatory, launched the followingyear; and the Advanced X-rayAstrophysics Facility (AXAF), to belaunched this year.

Lockheed Martin Missiles and Spaceis responsible for the spacecraft andsystem integration and testing. Theproject is being managed for NASA bythe Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

SIRTF will build on data gathered by two predecessors,the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) and theCosmic Background Explorer. The above image wasassembled from data gathered by IRAS over a six-monthperiod and shows nearly the entire sky. The brighthorizontal band is the plane of the Milky Way. IRASmeasurements increased by 50 percent the total numberof astronomical sources previously identified.

Core Group and Points of Contact

John F. Kennedy Space Center

Managing editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bruce BuckinghamEditor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paula ShawaEditorial support provided by Sherikon Space Systems Inc. Writers Group.Photographic support primarily provided by The Bionetics Corp. and Public AffairsPhotographer George Shelton, also of Bionetics.

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Spaceport News

The Spaceport News is an official publication of the Kennedy Space Centerand is published on alternate Fridays by the Public Affairs Office in the interestof KSC civil service and contractor employees. Contributions are welcome and should be submitted two weeks beforepublication to the Media Services Branch, AB-A. E-mail submissions can besent to Paula.Shawa-1@ksc.nasa.gov

SPACEPORT NEWS April 10, 1998Page 8

to Earth 60 percent needed tosit down before the 10 minuteswere up. Some showed asignificant decrease in bloodpressure.

Another phenomenon thatwill be studied is sleep loss.Shuttle crews report anaverage sleep period of 5 to 6hours, comparedto the typical 7-8hour period onEarth.

Also plannedare a series ofnew inves-tigations in thearea ofmammalian neural deve-lopment that will address thefollowing:

• Is gravity necessary fornormal development?

• How do muscles and theirneural connections developwithout gravity?

• Will the vestibular system(the balance organs in the earand all the connections theymake to the eyes, brain andmuscles) develop normally?

• Will animals walkproperly if these skills developin the absence of gravity?

The experiments areorganized under eight teams,

STS-90 ...(Continued from Page 1)

each focusing on a differentaspect of the nervous system,its development, function andphysiology. Four teams, with acombined total of 11experiments, will use the crewas subjects. These are theAutonomic Nervous System;Sensory Motor andPerformance; Vestibular; andSleep teams. The other fourteams, featuring 15experiments, will study the

animals on board.These are theNeuronalPlasticity (aphenomenon inwhich thenervous systemreacts to changedconditions by

making new connections orusing existing connections indifferent ways — learning on acellular level); MammalianDevelopment; Aquatic; andNeurobiology teams.

Unlike previous Spacelabmissions, the seven STS-90members will work the sameschedule and not divide intoteams. Researchers want topreserve the crew’s normalcircadian rhythms to gatherthe most accurate datapossible.

The mission is set toconclude with a landing atKSC May 3 at 11:07 a.m. EDT.

NOV. 12, 1997 —Technicians in theOperations andCheckout Buildinginstall the Neurolab inthe Spacelab module.

MARCH 19, 1998 —Neurolab team memberssign a banner that will flyon the mission. From left

are STS-90 payloadManager Scott

Higginbotham; MikeGenerale; Bridget

Higginbotham, LaunchSite Support Manager for

the mission; JenniferWahlberg; and Luke

Setzer.

MARCH 11, 1998 — Fish that will fly on STS-90 were housed in aquariums in theOperations and Checkout Building prior to the flight. Here, Ingo Ronny Wortmann(left) and Dr. Dirk Voeste, scientists with Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany,examine the swordtail fish. Some will fly in the Closed Equilibrated BiologicalAquatic System (CEBAS) minimodule, a middeck locker-sized freshwater habitatdesigned to allow the controlled incubation of aquatic species.

oyster toadfish

MARCH 31, 1998 —TCDT wraps up at

Launch Pad 39B. Fromleft are STS-90 crew

members PayloadSpecialist Jay Buckey;

Pilot Scott Altman;Mission Specialist Kay

Hire; CommanderRichard Searfoss;Payload SpecialistJames Pawelczyk;Mission Specialist

Dafydd Williams of theCanadian Space Agency;

and PayloadCommander Richard

Linnehan.