ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 10, 1997 TAG: 9704100042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: What's on your mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: The Roanoke Times on Friday mentioned the contributions of Virginia Tech to the space program in light of most recent Hokie in space (Roger Crouch, class of 1968). The article failed to mention something that I had heard once before: that a Tech alumnus was in charge of mission control during Apollo 11. Is this true?
W.D.S., Roanoke
A: Apollo 11 and every manned space flight that preceded the moon landing was directed by this Virginia Tech alumnus.
Not to diminish anyone's accomplishments, but probably no Hokie has flown higher than Chris Kraft, who directed flight operations for the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. He also got the space shuttle ready to fly.
Kraft, a 1944 graduate, started with the space program in the 1950s and finished his career as director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1982.
He helped send some 80 astronauts and a couple of monkeys into space and saw them all safely home - including Apollo 13's explosive, movie-chronicled mission.
Kraft never went up in a spaceship and didn't get the media attention that was showered on astronauts in the '60s, but his contemporaries credited him with developing flight plans that included multilevel backups for every phase of a mission.
After Apollo 13's flight, Kraft said great fortune kept the explosion from destroying the spacecraft, but once the damage was assessed, he was confident the astronauts would come home OK.
A backup plan called for using the mission's lunar module as a lifeboat in case the main capsule was damaged, and astronauts James Lovell, John Swigert and Fred Haise executed that plan.
It was just one of many in-flight emergencies in which Kraft's decisions probably saved lives - and the space program.|
Cable's late fee
Q: My bill from Cox Cable of Roanoke has a total charge of $28.10, and the statement says a late charge of $6 can be applied, which is 21.3 percent of the total monthly payment. Is this seemingly excessive percentage charge approved or scrutinized by any regulatory agency?
W.D., Roanoke
A: No.
The Roanoke Valley's franchise agreement with Cox Cable doesn't cover late-payment fees.
Neither do regulations of the Federal Communications Commission.
The $6 fee for late payments was brought up in 1994 before the valley's cable TV committee, which made a 12-year franchise pact with Cox in 1991.
The committee's conclusion was that it has some authority on customer-service issues, but none on billing.
That $6 fee, while high, has a longer time frame than most monthly bills.
It takes about 50 days from the first billing until the late fee is charged to a customer's account.
Cox bills at the first of a month, before its service has been received by the customer. If no payment comes in during that month, the next month's statement will show two months' payment due.
The late fee is added to the customer's account approximately 20 days into the second month.
By this time, the clock's running down. The bill at the start of the third month shows the $6 late fee. The customer has about 15 days to make the past-due payment. After that, Cox starts taking steps to cut off service.
Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Maybe we can find the answer. Call us at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RAYR@Roanoke.com
LENGTH: Medium: 73 linesby CNB