The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity

James Fletcher NASA administrator Fletcher explains to the
U.S. Senate Committee on Aeronautical and Space Science
which methods will be used to repair the damage to the Skylab
space station. NASA
Agency’s next endeavor in human spaceflight. During his
second spell as administrator, Fletcher was largely
involved in efforts to recover from the Challenger disaster,
ensuring that NASA reinvested heavily in the Shuttle
program’s safety and reliability and making organizational
changes to improve efficiency. A critical decision
resulting from the accident and its aftermath was to
expand greatly the use of expendable launch vehicles.
Fletcher received a B.S. in physics from Columbia University
and a Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute
of Technology. After holding research and teaching
positions at Harvard and Princeton Universities, he
joined Hughes Aircraft in 1948 and later worked at the
Guided Missile Division of the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation.
In 1958, he cofounded the Space Electronics
Corporation in Glendale, California, and was later
named systems vice president of the Aerojet General Corporation.
In 1964, he became president of the University
of Utah, a position he held until he was named NASA
administrator in 1971. Upon leaving NASA for the first
time in 1977, Fletcher served on the faculty of the University
of Pittsburgh and as an advisor to key national
leaders involved in planning space policy. 180
flight acceptance test
A test conducted to prove that the operational hardware
intended for flight use has been built according to specifications.
Flight acceptance tests are carried out under
conditions expected to be encountered in actual operations.
FLTSATCOM (Fleet Satellite Communications System) 139
flight path
The path followed by the center of gravity of a spacecraft
during flight; also known as the spacecraft’s trajectory.
The path is tracked with reference to any point on Earth,
or it may be tracked with reference to a star.
flight path angle
The angle between the velocity vector and the local horizon.
In aeronautics this is called the angle of attack.
flight profile
A graphic portrayal or plot of a vehicle’s flight path in the
vertical plane—in other words, the flight path as seen
from one side, so that the altitude at any point along the
path is apparent.
flight readiness firing
A missile or rocket system test of short duration, conducted
with the propulsion system operating while the
vehicle is secured to the launcher.
Flight Research Center
A unique and highly specialized facility emphasizing
research on manned flight in extreme-performance aircraft
and spacecraft. It is located next to Edwards Air
Force Base in California.
flight simulator
A synthetic flight trainer capable of simulating a complete
flight of a specified space vehicle or aircraft.
flight test
A test involving rocket-powered flight in an upward trajectory
from Earth’s surface. It may involve a suborbital,
an orbital, or a translunar flight.
FLTSATCOM (Fleet Satellite Communications
System)
A constellation of American military satellites in geostationary
orbit which, together with Leasats, supported
worldwide ultra-high-frequency (UHF) communications
among naval aircraft, ships, submarines, and ground stations,
and between the Strategic Air Command and the
national command authority network. It became fully
operational in January 1981 and was gradually replaced
during the 1990s by satellites in the UFO (UHF Follow-
On) series. An outgrowth of the LES (Lincoln Experimental
Satellite) series and Tacsat 1, FLTSATCOM was
developed by the Navy to be the first complete operational
system in space to serve the tactical user. However,
through special transponders carried aboard the satellites