September 1982
From The Space Library
NASA Headquarters announced the reorganization of its Office of Space Transportation Systems and Office of Space Transportation Operations into a new Office of Space Flight. L. Michael Weeks was named acting deputy associate administrator, with assistant associate administrators for policy, space transportation, and institutions. The new arrangement would stress integrated Shuttle operations planning and direction; STS orientation to customers; a manageable span of control for the associate administrator; maximum delegation of authority to subordinate officials and field organizations; and minimum disruption to existing lines of communication with centers and outside NASA. (SP anno, Sept 1/82)
John J. Quann was appointed deputy director of GSFC, effective September 8. He had been director of GSFC's mission and data operations directorate since October 1980 and had worked at Goddard since 1963. (NASA anno Sept 1182; NASA Release 82-131)
NASA named Dr. Frank B. McDonald, chief of GSFC's laboratory for high-energy physics since 1970, as NASA chief scientist, effective September 20. In this position he would be the principal adviser to the administrator and other senior officials on scientific aspects of NASA activities. Beginning at GSFC in 1959, McDonald had been project scientist on nine NASA satellite programs and principal investigator for many space experiments. He previously taught physics at the Iowa State University of Science and Technology. (NASA anno, Sept 9/82; NASA Release 82-133)
NASA reported that the Shuttle orbiter Enterprise, not slated for flight, was still working for the U.S. space program, helping DFRF engineers to predict and avert structural trouble spots resulting from wear and tear. All pre-Shuttle spacecraft had been one-shot items, so that space fatigue was a new problem. As each Shuttle was meant to fly up to 100 missions, NASA needed a reliable way to foresee difficulties before they developed into problems and to detect potential weakness without damaging the structure. A method called modal analysis measuring structural response to shaker acceleration could track changes from baseline data. Piecemeal testing of parts would not give results valid for the entire structure: Enterprise, built to the same dimensions as the four actual orbiters, was "uniquely qualified for the job," researchers said. (NASA Release 82-139; DFRF Release 82-13)
MSFC said that Lockheed's contractor facility had successfully extended and retracted an experimental solar-array wing as tall as a 10-story building, scheduled for flight on the Space Shuttle in 1984. Unlike rigid metal structures used on current long-life spacecraft, the accordion-like array consisting of lightweight flexible plastic contained contact solar cells welded directly to the array like a printed circuit. The wing, measuring 105 feet by 13.5 feet, could fold into a package less than four inches thick and expand in orbit to its full length on a coilable extension mast. It could provide 66 watts per kilogram compared to 20 watts in present systems. (MSFC Release 82-84)
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