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

July 6, 2001

John F. Kennedy Space Center

Spaceport Newshttp://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/snews/snewstoc.htm

Vol. 40, No. 14

Pages 4-5 – Spaceport Newsgoes inside Flight Operations.

Page 8 – Take Our Children toWork Day set for July 19.

Page 3 – Jim Heald named newdirector of SpaceportEngineering and Technology.

Inside

Page 2 – Team membershonored in “Recognizing OurPeople.”

Page 7 – The CryogenicsTestbed comes to the rescue.

(See GOES-M, Page 7)

GOES-M set to launch

Page 6 – Snapshot of HighSchool High Tech video.

An advanced environmental satelliteequipped with instruments to monitor Earth'sweather and with a telescope that will be usedto forecast geomagnetic storms in space, isbeing prepared for launch from Cape CanaveralAir Force Station.

GOES-M, or Geostationary OperationalEnvironmental Satellite, will monitor hurricanes,severe thunderstorms, flash floods and othersevere weather.

It is the first of the GOES satellites equippedwith a Solar X-ray Imager to detect solarstorms.

Liftoff of GOES-M was targeted at press timefor launch July 15 during a launch window thatopens at 2:59 a.m. from Pad A at Complex 36.GOES-M will be launched on an Atlas II rocket.

GOES satellites are the workhorses ofweather forecasting in the United States. Thereal-time weather data gathered by GOESsatellites, combined with data from Dopplerradars and automated surface observing Workers at Astrotech in Titusville open the

solar panel on the GOES-M satellite.

systems, greatly aid weather forecasters inproviding better warnings of severe weather.

The Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) will take a full-disk image of the Sun's atmosphere once everyminute. The images will be used by NOAA andthe U.S. Air Force to monitor and forecast solarflares, coronal mass ejections, coronal holesand active regions.

These features are the dominant sources of

The satellite GOES-M willmonitor hurricanes, severethunderstorms, flash floodsand other severe weather.

MAP begins voyageWrapped in billows of smoke and steam, theBoeing Delta II rocket lifts off Launch Complex 17-A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying theMicrowave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) spacecraft.The successful launch occurred at 3:46:46 p.m. onJune 30. The launch will place MAP into a lunar-assisted trajectory to the Sun-Earth for a 27-monthmission. The probe will measure small fluctuationsin the temperature of the cosmic microwavebackground radiation to an accuracy of onemillionth of a degree. These measurements shouldreveal the size, matter content, age, geometry andfate of the universe. They will also reveal theprimordial structure that grew to form galaxies andwill test ideas about the origins of these primordialstructures. The MAP instrument will becontinuously shaded from the Sun, Earth, andMoon by the spacecraft. The probe is a product ofGoddard Space Flight Center in partnership withPrinceton University.

SPACEPORT NEWS July 6, 2001Page 2

Recognizing Our People

Agnes VargasBoeing Human Space Flight &Exploration

Mark GusemanBoeing Human Space Flight &Exploration

Rodney OlsonBoeing Human Space Flight &Exploration

Edward CarillionUnited Space Alliance

Roy UyematsuUnited Space Alliance

Robert DodierUnited Space Alliance

Brian MonborneUnited Space Alliance

Silver Snoopy

Sheriff wins QASAR Award

The International Space Stationhas been honored with the 2001Prince of Asturias Award forInternational Cooperation by thePrince of Asturias Foundation inOviedo, Spain.

By selecting the Space Stationfor the award, the jury acknowl-edged the international coopera-tion necessary to create theenormous orbiting scientificresearch laboratory and turn thedream for a greater understand-ing of our planet into a reality.

The Prince of Asturias Awardwill be presented in fall at aceremony in Oviedo, presidedover by H.R.H. Don Felipe, thePrince of Asturias, Heir to theSpanish Crown, and thefoundation's honorary president.

Awards

Prince of Asturias United Space Alliance Corrective ActionEngineer Dave Sheriff was recently presentedNASA’s prestigious QASAR (Quality andSafety Achievement Recognition) Award.

He was honored for leading the developmentand implementation of a calibration program thatimproved the efficiency of USA’s tool trackingsystem at the Kennedy Space Center saving theShuttle program approximately $700,000 per year.

“The QASAR Award Program recognizesthose individuals who step up to the challengeand display exemplary performance in contribut-ing to safety and quality in products, servicesand processes for NASA,” said FrederickGregory, NASA associate administrator forSafety and Mission Assurance.

This effort, for which Sheriff was recognized,was initiated in preparation for the ISO 9001Certification audit. Sheriff discovered that theexisting process did not track where calibratedinstruments were used and therefore would notmeet the program requirements.

ISO 9001 is a set of international standardsestablishing requirements for quality manage-ment and quality assurance.

The ISO standards document operational andmanagement practices to ensure establishedstandards are met.

“We learned that many tools were beingregularly calibrated, but were not used duringthe calibration recall period (the time when thecalibration was considered valid),” Sheriff said.

“Resources were being spent calibrating toolsthat weren’t being utilized,” he said.

Sheriff and his team removed 6,950 of thetools – a 23 percent reduction – from the regularcalibration cycle, but kept them on hand to beavailable when needed. Elimination of theunnecessary calibration steps resulted in asignificant cost savings.

With a cost of $100 per calibration, the newapproach saves approximately $700,000 per year,Sheriff said.

“Dave did an outstanding job on thisproject,” said Donna Herring, USA manager ofKSC Quality Systems.

“As with most successful programs, this costreduction was achieved through the efforts ofmany people and organizations. However, thereis no doubt this initiative would not haveachieved this important goal without Dave’sextraordinary efforts,” she said.

A senior engineer, Sheriff is assigned to theCorrective Action Quality Engineering group.

His responsibilities are to investigate prob-

lems, identify causes and implement actions toensure the problems are not repeated. He is alsoresponsible for the out-of-tolerance calibrationreview and reporting system.

Sheriff is a 1983 graduate of the University ofSouthwestern Louisiana. He is a life-longresident of Cocoa, where he lives with his wife,Carolyn.

USA Corrective Action Engineer Dave Sheriffchecks a digital thermometer, one of theinstruments on Center that require periodiccalibration. Sheriff was recently presentedNASA’s QASAR Award for leading theimplementation of a calibration program thatimproved efficiency.

Sheriff and his team removed6,950 of the tools – a 23 percentreduction – from the regularcalibration cycle, but kept themon hand to be available whenneeded. Elimination of the unnec-essary calibration steps resultedin a significant cost savings.

SPACEPORT NEWS Page 3July 6, 2001

Jim Heald named SE& T directorJames R. “Jim” Heald was

recently appointed Director ofKSC’s Spaceport Engineering andTechnology (SE&T) organization.

Heald has an extensive back-ground in the management,development, test and evaluationof science and technology researchprograms.

He joins NASA after serving 26years in the U.S. Air Force.

His most recent assignment wasas vice commander of the Air ForceResearch Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio,where he played a key role indirecting the Air Force’s scienceand technology program, supervis-ing over 8,800 military, governmentcivilian and contractor personnel.

Heald was appointed SE&TDirector on June 11, and has spentthe past few weeks meeting withhis staff and touring various labsand facilities. “The employees ofKSC are outstanding people whoare excited about the job they doand their contribution to thenation,” said Heald. “For me, beingaround the technology at KSC is

just like being a kid in a candystore. I am thrilled to be a part ofsuch a high-tech agency.”

As director of SE&T, Heald isresponsible for leading the center’sefforts for integrated engineeringand spaceport technology develop-ment. He will also lead KSC’s SE&Torganizational efforts in buildingKSC into a premiere spaceport

science and engineering organiza-tion.

In addition, to meeting KSC’sstrategic goals, one of Heald’sprimary goals is to ensure customersatisfaction for both new andexisting customers.

“KSC will find out that Jim Healdwas certainly worth the wait,” saidKSC Director Roy Bridges. “I knew

Jim Heald when he was a testweapons officer at Edwards AFBand was very impressed with hisperformance then. I am pleased heagreed to join the KSC team.”

Heald holds a bachelor’s degreein computer science and mathemat-ics from the U.S.A.F. Academy anda master’s degree in computerscience from UCLA. A distin-guished graduate of the Academy,Heald taught computer science athis alma mater from 1982-1985.

Rated a master navigator, Healdis a distinguished graduate of theU.S. Air Force Test Pilot School atEdwards AFB, Calif. There, heserved as the director of StudentTraining from 1989-1991.

Having been stationed atHomestead AFB and Eglin AFB,Heald and his wife, Pat, considerthemselves Florida residents, andare excited to be back in theSunshine State.

Heald viewed his first Shuttlelaunch from the NASA Causewayin 1994, and is looking forward tohis first launch as a member of theKSC Team.

Toastmastersworkshop setfor July 18

“The employees of KSC areoutstanding people who areexcited about the job they doand their contribution to thenation. For me, beingaround the technology atKSC is just like being a kidin a candy store. I amthrilled to be a part of such ahigh-tech agency.”

Jim HealdDirector, SE&T

Toastmaster Pete Carrion gives a persuasive speech on prepaid legal insurance during a weeklyToastmasters meeting at KSC Headquarters. The KSC Toastmasters chapter plans to host aleadership enhancement workshop July 18.

KSC Toastmasters is sponsoring aleadership enhancement workshop onspeech evaluation and mentoring.

The workshop will be held July 18 from11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the fourth floorconference room in the Kennedy SpaceCenter Headquarters Building.

KSC Toastmasters meet once a week topractice interpersonal communications andspeaking skills in a supportive andconstructive environment. The group isopen to all KSC badged employees.

The vision of the group is “to enhanceleadership, communication and presenta-tion skills, as well as improve criticalthinking, self-motivation and managementpotential.”

The July 18 workshop is open to all KSCemployees, but seating is limited.

Contact Derwood McKinley at 867-0827for more information.

Page 4 SPACEPORT NEWS July 6, 2001

Inside Flight OperationHearing NASA helicopters buzzing overhead at

Kennedy Space Center is a fairly commonoccurrence.

That’s because the four UH-1H helicopters areused for a variety of NASA missions, fromShuttle operation support to environmentalstudies.

Before each Shuttle launch, the helicoptersmanned with SWAT team members help provideextra security for the astronauts. One is evenequipped and staffed with medical personnel toprovide life support to the astronauts if needed.

NASA helicopters also are used for wildlifepopulation studies, including manatee and indigosnake counts, conducted by KSC Life Sciencesenvironmental scientists.

The aircraft can be equipped with buckets toquench wildfires and are leased to the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service for prescribed burns at theMerritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

The four helicopters and NASA-4 – a G-1aircraft used to transport Center executives andastronaut families – are included within the FlightOperations area of SGS Airfield Services. TheNASA aircraft are maintained and housed at ahangar at Patrick Air Force Base.

The Flight Operations group includes fourpilots, five mechanics, a facility manager and anadministrative assistant.

“Flight Operations is a small, highly trainedgroup of dedicated individuals who work ex-tremely well together,” said Bob Bryan, managerof SGS Airfield Services.

In addition to Flight Operations, AirfieldServices also provides air traffic control andaircraft servicing support at the Shuttle LandingFacility and the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral AirForce Station, as well as transient alert support atPatrick Air Force Base.

SGS provides Airfield Services as part of theJoint Base Operations and Support Contract.

Flight Operations is gearing up to trade out theold G-1 turboprop aircraft for a G-2 jet that willbecome the new NASA-4. The larger and fasteraircraft will allow for traveling greater distances,such as to Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.,without refueling.

“The Center’s needs are changing and we’re inthe jet age, so upgrading to the G-2 just makessense,” Bryan said.

“Flight Operations is asmall, highly trainedgroup of dedicated indi-viduals who work ex-tremely well together.”Bob BryanManager of SGS Airfield Services

A view of the Vehicle Assem

Above, aircraft mechanicMike Littrell adjustsequipment in the interiorof a NASA helicopter. Atright: An aerial view ofthe NASA FlightOperations hangar atPatrick Air Force Base.Aircraft mechanic MarkSmith inspects a NASAhelicopter in the hangarat Patrick AFB. NASA-4is housed in the hangar.Adminstrative assistantLoretta Woulard worksat a white board.

Page 5SPACEPORT NEWSJuly 6, 2001

s At left, Bob Parkerpilots a NASAhelicopter while KSCwildlife biologist MikeLegare, at far left, triesto detect indigo snakesequipped withtransmitters.

bly Building from a NASA helicopter being used to perform a population study of indigo snakes at Kennedy Space Center.

July 6, 2001 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 6

High SchoolHigh TechTwo students in the High School HighTech program rehearse at the NASANews Center for their parts in apromotional video. The video willhighlight the NASA educationprogram. Romaine Murdaugh, seatedleft, and Meneisha Taylor are amongeight students in the program thissummer. Project leader CherylBartoszek, standing at right, of theSpace Coast Center for IndependentLiving, and video producer Jim Cain ofJohnson Controls, work with thestudents while videographer TonyGray looks on. The High School HighTech program, which encouragesstudents with physical, sensory andlearning disabilities to follow theirinterests in technology areas, is one ofa number of summer educationprograms at Kennedy Space Center.

William Heath, chief operating officer of Current Environmental Solutions,describes the DNAPL cleanup process his company performed on a plotat the LC34 DNAPL Source Removal Demonstration site. His discussionwas part of a Launch Complex 34 site tour given to a group ofenvironmental engineers and scientists from the 2001 InternationalContainment and Remediation Technology Conference in Orlando.

LC34 remediation tour draws observersSeveral bus loads of environmen-

tal engineers and scientistsrecently toured Launch Complex 34at Cape Canaveral Air Force Stationfor an update on the LC34 DNAPLSource Removal Demonstration.

The ongoing demonstration istesting three methods of removinga DNAPL (Dense Non-AqueousPhase Liquid) called trichloroethyl-ene (TCE), which is now known topollute groundwater. The solventwas used in the early days of thespace program for rocket engineflushing and the cleaning ordegreasing of metal parts, electron-ics and heavy machinery.

The environmental group tookthe LC34 tour as part of the 2001International Containment andRemediation Technology Confer-ence and Exhibition in Orlando.

“I was pleased with the numberof participants at the conference inOrlando and equally pleased at thediverse representation of partici-pants at our tour and update,” saidJacqueline Quinn, Ph.D., NASAenvironmental engineer and leadfor the project. “Thirty eightcountries were represented at the

tour. This makes over 500 profes-sionals, including engineers,lawyers, site owners and environ-mental regulators who have visitedthe site in the last 13 months. Thatis quite a few people interested inthe immerging DNAPL cleanuptechnologies being tested atLaunch Complex 34.”

The Interagency DNAPLConsortium (IDC) was formed in1999 with the mission of demon-strating innovative DNAPLremediation and monitoringsystems. Members of the consor-tium include NASA, 45th SpaceWing, U.S. Navy, U.S. Departmentof Energy and the U.S. Environ-mental Protection Agency.

As part of the demonstrationeffort, the IDC is evaluating andcomparing the cost and perfor-mance of three innovativeremediation technologies. Earlyresults indicate faster, less expen-sive alternatives exist for DNAPLremediation, in contrast to thecostly and lengthy pump and treatsystems traditionally used.

In side-by-side plots, this projectdemonstrates three new technolo-

gies for high concentration-levelsof TCE. Testing in a side-by-sidesetting allows the consortium toevaluate and determine optimal siteconditions for application of each

technology. Cost and performancedata gathered during the demon-strations will be used to speedacceptance and use at other federaland private sites.

SPACEPORT NEWSJuly 6, 2001

GOES ...(Continued from Page 1)

Page 7

It was a typical day at theDynacs Cryogenics Testbed, butthen an important call came in fromthe United Space Alliance crawlertransporter group.

USA had a problem: A steeringcylinder had failed on the SolidRocket Motor Transporter (SRM).The transporter is used to transferSolid Rocket Booster segmentsbetween the Rotation/ProcessingFacility and the Vehicle AssemblyBuilding.

While the vehicle was moving,one of the steering cylinders frozeup, making it impossible to steerproperly. Workers located thedamaged cylinder and proceeded totry to remove it so that a newsteering cylinder could be installed.

Two steel pins hold the cylinderin place and require a hydraulicpress, or a similar device, to beapplied for re-installation.

The transporter crew hadremoved the pins from the oldcylinder using heat and a great dealof pressure.

Using heat on the new cylindermight damage the seals or possiblycause the pins to gall duringinstallation, so workers decided analternative was needed.

Enter the Cryogenics TestbedTeam. Once called, the team sprunginto action and arrived on thescene with hardware and equip-ment, ready to help install the pinsin the new cylinder, said DennisLobmeyer, cryogenics and fluidssupervisor for Dynacs Informationand Applied Technology.

The team dropped the four-inchdiameter pins into a specialcontainer filled with LiquidNitrogen cooled to –320 degrees F.

All metals and similar materialsexpand and contract with tempera-

Cryogenics Testbed to the rescue

ture changes, Lobmeyer noted. Thekey is in knowing what liquid touse and how hot or cold it shouldbe. In this case, the steel pins weresufficiently cooled in the liquidnitrogen and shrunk in diameterjust enough to allow the team toslip them back into the rings of the

new cylinder.The pins were then allowed to

warm up and expand back to theiroriginal size creating a friction fitwithout damaging the hardware.

Within three hours the trans-porter was back in workingcondition and ready for the road.

“The Testbed group helped usget the job done in a timelymanner,” said Thurston Vickery,USA manager for the transportergroup. “We appreciated theirsupport.”

This is just one of severalsuccess stories the CryogenicsTestbed has had since its doorsopened in April 2000, Lobmeyersaid. The team was successful inproviding a power drive unitchange-out for Orbiter VehicleAtlantis before it launched onmission STS-101 May 19, 2000.

The team is currently involved inthe design and testing processesfor the Big Horn Valve Inc., VenturiOffset Technology for NASA and arelated offshoot design for othercommercial customers.

Recently, the facility added aClass 100 Clean Room. This cleanroom will allow teams to performresearch and testing in an extremelyclean environment, reducing therisk of contamination and incorrecttest results.

The Cryogenics Testbed is amulti-function facility specializingin integrated product development,analysis, instrumentation, fabrica-tion, engineering services and testoperations.

“The long-term goal is toestablish a cryogenics network ofpeople and places and to expandthe services beyond NASA, toinclude commercial customers,”Lobmeyer said.

The Cryogenics Testbed is ajoint operation between NASA andDynacs Engineering, Inc. KSC’sEngineering Development contrac-tor. The Cryogenics Laboratory islocated south of the Operationsand Checkout Building in theIndustrial Area.

disturbances inspace weather that lead to geomag-netic storms.

The ability to monitor andforecast such events is valuable tooperators and users of military andcivilian radio and satellite communi-cations systems, navigation sys-

tems and power networks, as wellas to astronauts, high-altitudeaviators and scientists.

"The SXI will provide the kind ofimprovements in space weatherforecasting that satellite imagerydid for tracking hurricanes," saidSteven Hill, SXI Program Managerfor NOAA.

The images taken by the Solar X-ray Imager will be available in real

time to the general public via theWorld Wide Web.

The United States operates twoGOES meteorological satellites ingeostationary orbit 22,300 milesover the Equator. GOES-M will bestored on orbit until called upon toreplace one of those satellites.

"NASA is excited about provid-ing another fine tool for the NOAAto use in weather operations,

Jim Gibson, left, cryogenics and fluids technician, and Kevin “Bert”Cummings, senior electrical and controls technician, insert a pin into a vatof liquid nitrogen at the Cryogenics Testbed to demonstrate the techniqueused to cool two pins for the Solid Rocket Motor Transporter.

including space weather fore-casts," said Martin A. Davis, GOESprogram manager at NASA’sGoddard Space Flight Center inGreenbelt, Md. "The launch of theGOES-M is the continuation of a25-year joint program betweenNASA and NOAA."

GOES information and imageryare available at www.goes.noaa.gov.

Page 8 SPACEPORT NEWS July 6, 2001

John F. Kennedy Space Center

Managing editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bruce BuckinghamEditor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathy Hagood

Editorial support provided by InDyne Inc. Writers Group.NASA at KSC is located on the Internet at http://www.ksc.nasa.gov

USGPO: 633-096/00060

Spaceport News

Spaceport News is an official publication of the Kennedy Space Center andis published on alternate Fridays by the Public Affairs Office in the interest ofKSC civil service and contractor employees. Contributions are welcome and should be submitted two weeks beforepublication to the Media Services Branch, XAE-1. E-mail submissions can besent to Katharine.Hagood-1@ksc.nasa.gov

Remembering Our Heritage Children invited to KSC

25 years ago: Viking 1 landing

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) willcelebrate Take Our Children toWork Day on July 19.

This is the ninth year the Centerhas opened its doors for thechildren of KSC employees toparticipate in this worthwhile dayof recognition.

This special day targets childrenform 9 to 15.

On this day, KSC employees areinvited to bring a son or daughter,grandchild, niece or nephew, or aneighbor’s child to work with themto share the work experience.

The day serves as a chance tomotivate children to set goals forthe future, and to build on thesegoals, during their years in school.

Sponsors may bring more thanone child, but only children 9 yearsand older may participate. As inthe past, children may not be takento any work area requiring acontrolled access badge.

Gate 1 (the CCAFS gate) will beopen to employees bringingchildren to work with them, andemployees working on CCAFSproperty may participate and will bepermitted to take the children totheir work areas as long as they donot work in a controlled access areaand their company is participating.

KSC Contractor employeesshould contact their Public AffairsOffice or Human Resources Officeto determine the level of participa-tion available to them.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the KSCVisitor Complex, IMAX Theaterarea, there will be a For Inspirationand Recognition of Science and

Technology (FIRST) roboticsdemonstration and the KSC VisitorComplex Spaceman will also beavailable for a photo opportunity.

All NASA and Contractoremployees and their children areinvited to take a KSC tour. Ticketsmust be purchased in personbetween July 16 through 19 at anywindow in the Ticket Pavilion at theKSC Visitor Complex.

Tickets for both adults andchildren will be $9.92 and will begood for July 19 only.

Special Take our Children toWork Day badges will be distrib-uted. Contractor employees shouldcontact their own representativesto obtain badges.

Federal Women’s ProgramWorking Group (FWPWG) memberswill issue badges to NASA employ-ees on July 16, 17, and 18, between10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Headquar-ters Building Lobby and theOperations Support BuildingLobby.

Children must wear their badgeand be with a badged employee atall times.

For more information, contactPatti Phelps at 867-4843 or PamAdams at 867-8222.

Viking 1 observes the Martian terrain after landing July 20, 1976.

NASA retiree John Neilon, who served as launch director for theViking I launch, remembers the Viking I landing on July 20, 1976:

“It takes about twenty minutes for a signal to traverse thedistance from Mars to Earth. A number of thoughts go throughone’s mind while waiting for confirmation of an event that hasalready occurred on Mars.

This was the situation I experienced in the early morning ofJuly 20, 1976. As launch director of the Titan Centaur 4, carryingthe Viking 1 Lander, and more importantly as the representativeof the entire launch crew, I was one of the privileged few to bepresent in the prime control room at the Jet Propulsion Labora-tory in Pasadena for the anticipated landing of Viking 1.

The Lander’s separation from the Orbiter had occurred success-fully about three hours before scheduled touchdown and allintervening events had occurred on schedule ...

I couldn’t help reflecting on all the launch activity that hadgone on at Kennedy Space Center since the Viking 1 launch andthe difference between the missions of the various centers in-volved. While the mission and spacecraft people were able toconcentrate on the Viking 1 mission, and that of its sister craftViking 2 following it to Mars, our KSC teams had to turn to othertasks and actually accomplished sixteen launches between theViking 1 launch and the its landing on Mars.

This total included two additional Titan Centaurs, two AtlasCentaurs and 12 Deltas. Another event in the interim had beenthe renaming of the KSC launch organization from UnmannedLaunch Operations (ULO), which distinguished it from themanned Apollo launches, to Expendable Launch Vehicles (ELV),to distinguish it from the upcoming reusable Space Shuttle.

While all these things were revolving in my mind, the longawaited signals from Mars signifying a successful and survivedlanding came through. Shortly after, we were treated to the firstpictures ever taken on the surface of another planet.

All that work had been worth it!Not long after that, we were able to eavesdrop on a congratula-

tory phone call from President Gerald Ford to NASA Administra-tor James Fletcher and Project Manager Jim Martin.

All this activity had occurred between 5 and 6 in the morning,California time, so the traditional party did not follow immedi-ately. Most of us who weren’t locals opted to skip the festivitiesand instead returned to our hotels for a few hours sleep beforeheading back home on an afternoon flight.

I didn’t appreciate it at the time but someone later pointed outthat the first Mars landing occurred on July 20, 1976, seven yearsto the day after the first manned lunar landing on July 20, 1969.”