Analog Science Fiction and Fact - June 2013

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ANALOG paid overtime for working long hours, but many volunteered whether they got paid or not. It was their life, it was their calling. So what was it really like to work there? Like any place—many meetings. Some really important, some boring. Take trying to convince NASA to change the software used during testing. You had to convince multiple NASA people that changing the software would save testing time. If you only had to convince your boss, that would be one thing. But you convinced your boss, then a couple NASA folks, then go to a NASA engineering board and convince a joint NASA and contractor board. A waste of time, too much bureaucracy. I hated it. But, making things more efficient was worthwhile. Despite going through all the hoops, it was satisfying when you improved the testing, made it simpler, more efficient, and reduced the costs. And there were many NASA people that helped you along the way. They hated the inefficiency as well. It was not just the people at KSC, but also the people at Johnson Space Flight Center, and the Marshall Space Flight Center, the Goddard Space Flight Center, all the space flight centers. All of them are just as dedicated to making space flight for people and machines safe and successful. Challenger and Columbia On January 28, 1986, I walked outside my building, got my binoculars from my car, and watched the Challenger launch. We all know that it blew up, but right then we at KSC didn’t know what happened to the shuttle. I went back into my office and talked to coworkers. Some people thought the astronauts might have survived. Those of us who were in the military just shook our heads. We’d seen explosions before; we knew they had been disintegrated instantly. Later we found out that we were wrong, the crew survived the explosion and died on impact with the ocean. In fact, there was evidence that one astronaut turned the oxygen on the Commander’s helmet after the explosion. I never watched another launch through my binoculars; it was too painful. We spent two plus years updating the procedures to test everything. We looked at what could go wrong, whether it was likely or not. We questioned everything because we didn’t want another Challenger accident. Many meetings, many questions, much paperwork. Then we flew again. During that return to flight launch, the firing room folks were told not to cheer at liftoff, which was the natural thing we did before. We could only cheer or applaud after the boosters separated. When they did, there was clapping, cheering, and crying. It was very emotional. Then there was Columbia. On February 1, 2003 I was at home and saw the news when the Columbia accident happened. I never expected the Challenger accident, I thought burning up on re-entry a much more likely proposition. Even from the first mission, STS- 1, there was tile damage. On STS-1, sixteen tiles were missing, and 148 damaged and had to be replaced. So burning up was an option. But I didn’t expect it after a hundred missions. We knew what we were doing by then. Ha! We had fooled ourselves as an engineering community. I had other duties, too. One day I got a call from a co-worker: “Hey, you live near the Orlando airport, don’t you?” “Yeah, why?” “Well these two astronauts have a broken airplane, and need a lift.” So I drove them to the airport, a 45-minute trip, talking to them the entire time, waited to make sure they got on the airplane, and then went home. Work is tough sometimes. The International Space Station partners were a joy to work with, whether they were the Italians on Node 3, the Germans and Italians on the Columbus module, or the Japanese on their modules. You would think we would have trouble communicating, but even the ones who didn’t speak any English still understood gestures. For instance, I was able to tell the Japanese that the tape securing their hardware needed to be able to be pulled off easily on orbit using only hand gestures. The Japanese were very interesting. Normally when you go into a clean room, you wear a smock or bunny suit and a hair cover to keep your hair out of the hardware. Why do we do this? Remember, all that stuff will float and the crew could breathe it in, which could be a big problem if it’s a small nut or bolt. Dirt and hair will also clog up the air fil- 56 JEFF MITCHELL
ters, which will have to be cleaned in orbit, using time that an astronaut could be using for an experiment. If you have a beard, you would wear a beard cover, if you have hair, a hair cover. But every company and nation has different rules. The Japanese had everyone wear beard covers, even if they didn’t have a beard, and even the women, who obviously will never have beards. Hair covers for bald guys as well. The Russians were great. NASA launched a piece of Russian hardware called MRM-1. As an astronaut representative, I had to inspect the interior for sharp edges and take photos. I was one of only four Americans to go into MRM-1 while it was being processed in Cape Canaveral. That’s the good news. The bad news was that the Russians required certain medical tests before I could go in. I had to give a stool sample—and I don’t mean the stool at the bar in your house. On another day I had to inspect the exterior for sharp edges. We finished the inspections on a Saturday morning and signed the official paperwork. A big political and engineering step. It turns WORKING ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE JUNE 2013 out, that this was also International Women’s Day, so after signing everything, we drank champagne, took many photos, shook hands, and celebrated. You had to celebrate with the Russians to be sociable. One of the female U.S. engineers didn’t drink, so she pretended to sip the champagne. She admitted this to her co-worker, and he finished most of his drink, handed it to her and said, “Here, hold this for the look,” and grabbed her glass. Then the Russians broke out the hard liquor, there were more toasts, and by eleven thirty I was happy. After the final landing, I, like thousands of others at KSC, was out of a job I loved. I don’t have a problem with this though, for at least 28 years I was a member of a team trying to get us off the planet. We launched telescopes that see the far reaches of the Universe. We launched probes to the outer planets. We even built the science fiction fan’s bread and butter, a space station. Quite a series of accomplishments that all America should be proud of. I know I am. ■ 57
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Page 67 and 68: Asking no questions, she stepped as
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