THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 23, 1995 TAG: 9510230030
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 111 lines
Will the sixth time be the charm?
The oft-delayed Conestoga rocket is scheduled for launch today, carrying with it 14 experiments and hopes for a new space industry on the Eastern Shore.
Keith Koehler, spokesman for NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility, said that today's preferred launch time is 6 p.m., but that the Conestoga could fly anytime between 4:30 and 7:55.
Last week, the Conestoga was scheduled for a Friday evening liftoff. But the launch was postponed because of a rescheduled Friday launch of the space shuttle Columbia, itself delayed six times, and a Sunday flight of an Atlas rocket from Cape Canaveral. NASA's worldwide tracking system usually handles one launch at a time.
``I honestly hate to think about further delays,'' said Norbert Kleiner, a manager with Motorola Inc.'s Satellite Communications Division. Motorola is the most prominent private company flying an experiment on the Conestoga. ``We're later than we wanted to be. Every additional day of delay is meaningful to us.''
EER Systems Inc., the company that built the rocket and is losing money every day it doesn't fly, hopes that talk of delay and technical difficulties will evaporate like a rocket's vapor plume after a successful launch.
``I'm confident we'll be off the pad (today),'' said Jim Hengle, an EER vice president. ``I think we're in a good place right now. We've worked really hard to find the problems, find the solutions and test those solutions.''
The last liftoff attempt was abruptly scrubbed shortly before 8 p.m. Aug. 13, a minute and a half before the craft's motors would have ignited. Sensors detected a loss of hydraulic pressure to two steering nozzles, a malfunction that would have prevented the vehicle from maneuvering safely through the atmosphere and into orbit.
Repairs were made on the pad by rocket manufacturer Morton Thiokol Corp. working with EER engineers and technicians. A loose nut and a defective relief valve allowed the escape of helium gas from a pressure unit that, in turn, could not engage the steering hydraulics for the pair of nozzles.
``We were disappointed it didn't go on Aug. 13, but at the same time it was lucky,'' said Motorola's Kleiner. ``If it had gone up, it probably would have been destroyed in flight.''
Such difficulties sound familiar to J.R. Thompson. The former NASA executive chaired a space agency committee that made its report on the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
Now Thompson is executive vice president for Orbital Sciences Corp., a Fairfax County aerospace company with 2,000 employees. Orbital is having its own difficulties with a version of an air-launched booster called the Pegasus.
``Launching is a tough business,'' Thompson said. ``It's unforgiving. The rockets either work or they're going to be in the water. Once you get past the problems, you can be very successful.''
The literal price of another delay or outright failure could be high. Although EER's Hengle refused to discuss financial specifics, Jai N. Gupta, EER president and CEO, said in August that his firm stood to lose as much as $50,000 a day until Conestoga lifts off. Gupta was quick to add that such a sum was something his 500-employee company could ill afford to lose.
Since then, EER has cut its Wallops launch crew from roughly 50 to 35, Hengle said, reducing labor costs. Stand-down times and vacations also have slightly eased the day-to-day costs of operation.
But the fact remains that EER's creation has yet to fly. Despite an estimated $73 million-plus development cost, the Conestoga is billed as the first of a generation of low-cost, commercially oriented rockets that will take customers' payloads quickly and inexpensively into orbit. Advocates hope a successful Conestoga flight will establish the Wallops range as ``Spaceport Virginia,'' home to a number of concerns that will want to make money from microgravity and vacuum.
``We've stayed with the program. We continue to have confidence,'' said Kleiner of Motorola. ``We have a deadline, but I'm not prepared to discuss it.'' If the launch is postponed again, Kleiner said, Motorola would have to ``evaluate the alternatives available, which include whether or not we want to continue with this experimental program.''
On Sunday, technicians planned to place a trio of perishable experiments into the craft's nose cone, completing the Conestoga's 14-experiment manifest.
Countdown was set to begin later today, and hold early this afternoon at liftoff-minus-30-minutes. Depending on weather and winds, the count could resume as early as 4 p.m. If the vehicle does blast off, some Hampton Roads residents may be able to catch a glimpse of takeoff by looking to the northeast. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
BETH BERGMAN
The Virginian-Pilot
Jim Hengle of EER Systems Inc., which built the rocket: ``I'm
confident we'll be off the pad'' today. ``We've worked really hard .
. . ''
ABOUT THE LIFTOFF
When: Today. Liftoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., but it could happen
anytime between 4:30 and 7:55 p.m.
Where: There is no official viewing site on NASA property.
Officials recommend watching the launch from the beach parking lot
of Chincoteague's National Wildlife Refuge, or from any spot on
Accomack County's seaside.
Restrictions: No boats will be allowed in Chincoteague Inlet, and
the Coast Guard will enforce a restricted zone in the waters near
Wallops and Assawoman islands. Launch-day information: NASA will
broadcast launch information on 760-AM radio, which has a seven-mile
range. Updates will run every half-hour for five hours before the
launch and will switch to continuous commentary 30 minutes before
liftoff. For launch-status information, call (804) 824-2050.
by CNB