MILITARY SEES PROBLEM IN GROUNDING OF THE SHUTTLES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000504490005-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 23, 2012
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: February 27, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

STAT
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504490005-8
NEW YORK TIMES
ON
ARTICLE APP RED 27 February 1986
Military Sees Problem in Grounding of the Shuttles
Tb !1
By CHARLES MOHR
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 - The
Urttde; Secretary of the Air Force said
today that there would be "severe"
OxoBlbms in launching vital military
satellites if the three remaining space
shuttles remained grounded for more
than a year.
' The United States depends heavily on
an'" iTay of reconnaissance, early
Of'rning, communication, navigational
did weather satellites, and replace-
i6e#ttd are occasionally needed.
' ` The-Air Force official, Edward C. Al-
drielt;'testified before a House Science
08-Technology subcommittee that the
militiry effect of the Jan. 28 explosion
that destroyed the space shuttle Chal-
lenged and killed all seven crew mem-
bets would be "relatively minor" if the
thteeiremaining shuttles could resume
f4gllt8 within six months, but he added
-thut?this would be "an optimistic view.
point at this. point."
"If the down time wastwo years," he
added, "the Departmet of Defense
would have serious problems with 21
high-priority payloads waiting on the
launch pad for a launch opport unity."
He did not descri be these "extrem -ly
important" missions but the are
Known to include re acements orDo-
P
togrK C and m
ired ra rec naiasanrp
satellites that monitor a wide ranap of
milita activities in the Soviet
r. rtc an i iam R. Graham,
Acting Administrator of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administra-
tion, said they saw no plausible way to
speed up delivery of 10 new expend-
able, single-use satellite-launching
rockets scheduled to be delivered by
late 1988. Those rockets could take the
place of the shuttle for sending some of
the payloads into space.
Problems in Single-Use Rockets
Further serious delays could arise if
an accident grounded one of the re-
maining shuttles, the men said, and
Mr. Aldrich said the Pentagon "would
strongly urge" Congress to authorize
the construction of a new shuttle.
Mr. Graham told the subcommittee
that he had initiated "design modifica.
tion efforts" on the joints of the shut-
tle's solid-fuel booster rockets. Seals in
those joints are a prime suspect in the
Challenger disaster.
Mr. Graham disclosed that produc-
tion had been halted on new booster
motors and casings but that NASA had
stockpiled seven pairs of the rockets.
The Air Force has stockpiled seven
Titan rockets that are capable of lifting
some of the heavy loads to be sent into
space. Ten rockets of a still more capa-
ble modification have been authorized
by Congress but cannot be delivered
until late 1988.
Even so, both officials explained that
some large and heavy payloads were
designed with the shuttle in mind and
would be difficult or impossible to
launch with expendable rockets.
Mr. Graham said that NASA now
planned nine shuttle missions in the
first 12 months after the current
grounding ends, 14 in the second year
and then a schedule of 16 to 18 launch-
ings annually.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/02/23: CIA-RDP90-00965R000504490005-8