Dec 29 1980
From The Space Library
Dr. Alan M. Lovelace, NASAs deputy administrator, submitted his resignation effective this date, but agreed to be appointed agency associate administrator and general manager. Named deputy administrator by President Ford in June 1976, Lovelace had been associate administrator for the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) since September 1974. In his new post he would continue the basic management he did as deputy administrator and be acting administrator during the absence of departing administrator Dr. Robert A. Frosch from January 20 until appointment of a new administrator and confirmation by the Senate. This arrangement, agreed to by both President Carter's and President-elect Reagan's staffs, would give NASA maximum continuity of management. (NASA Release 80-200)
Bolted nose up to crawler-transporter, Shuttle orbiter Columbia arrived at its KSC launch pad for final tests before launch into space in 1981. The transporter made the 3.5-mile trip over a rocky road at 1 mph or less, completing the operation about 8:00 p.m. Dr. Robert A. Frosch, NASA administrator, told a "shivering crowd" that turned out to watch the journey that we are now at the threshold of a new capability to investigate the universe." Richard G. Smith, KSC director, and George Page, Shuttle launch director, said that test firings, simulated countdowns, and other work at the pad would probably delay liftoff to the end of March or early April. Navy Cdr. John W. Young, who had gone into space four times and would command the first flight, told reporters that delays in the program resulted from the concern for safety: more than a year went into attaching, replacing, and strengthening thermal tiles designed to protect the Shuttle astronauts from the heat of reentry. (B Sun, Dec 30180, 4)
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