ASTRONAUT SEES VOID IN SPACE EFFORT; VISITING NASA OFFICIAL BEMOANS DEARTH OF PROGRESS.Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer John Young, the first space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. commander, praised the nation's orbiter fleet and lamented the nation's lack of vision in pursuing science, during a visit Tuesday to Palmdale. Young, who flew on Gemini and Apollo missions The Apollo missions were a series of space missions, both manned and unmanned, flown by NASA between 1961 and 1975. They culminated with a series of manned moon landings between 1969 and 1972. and walked on the moon in April 1972, said he was disappointed with the lack of progress and vision since the end of the Apollo program. ``I thought we'd have a base on the moon with a hundred people on it,'' Young said. ``We're not making science and technology progress we should.'' Young, who heads up NASA's astronaut office, visited Boeing's space shuttle modification site at Air Force Plant 42, accompanied by fellow astronaut Dan Barry Dan Barry may refer to:
In particular, the astronauts came to see the Multifunction Electronic Display Subsystem, commonly called the ``glass cockpit A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic instrument displays. A relatively recent development, glass cockpits are highly sought-after upgrades from traditional cockpits. .'' The modification replaces the shuttle's four cathode-ray tube screens, mechanical gauges and instruments with full-color, flat-panel displays like those in use on new commercial and military aircraft. Some of the shuttle's present gauges are 1960s vintage technology. ``The glass cockpit is a coming thing,'' Young said. ``It will provide better situational awareness Situation awareness or situational awareness [1] (SA) is the mental representation and understanding of objects, events, people, system states, interactions, environmental conditions, and other situation-specific factors affecting human performance in .'' Boeing also is updating the orbiter's navigational system by installing a Global Positioning System Global Positioning System: see navigation satellite. Global Positioning System (GPS) Precise satellite-based navigation and location system originally developed for U.S. military use. that will use information from satellites to pinpoint the orbiter's position. Boeing workers are now about two-thirds of the way through the $70 million modification effort on Atlantis. The orbiter, which arrived in Palmdale on Nov. 14, is scheduled to be delivered back to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), civilian agency of the U.S. federal government with the mission of conducting research and developing operational programs in the areas of space exploration, artificial satellites (see satellite, artificial), by Sept. 28. The work on Atlantis consists of 323 modifications, including preparing an air lock for use on the International Space Station, beefing up radiator panels to protect them from micrometeor hits CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1--Color in AV Edition only) Astronauts John Young, left, and Dan Barry tour Boeing's space shuttle modification site at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale. (2--Color in AV Edition only) Astronaut John Young, right, greets base workers Ginny Conklin and Al Hoffman. Jeff Goldwater/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion