ASTRONAUTS VISIT AREA PLANT; WORKER SPIRITS GET LIFT.Byline: David R. Baker Daily News Staff Writer In space, there is no room for error, astronaut astronaut, crew member on a U.S. manned spaceflight mission; the Soviet term is cosmonaut. Candidates for manned spaceflight are carefully screened to meet the highest physical and mental standards, and they undergo rigorous training. Robert D. Cabana Robert Donald Cabana (Colonel, USMC, Ret.) is the Director of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center and veteran of four space shuttle flights. Personal data Born January 23, 1949, in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Ted and Annabell Cabana, they still reside in Minneapolis. told several hundred Rocketdyne engineers working on the International Space Station program Monday. The station's many components, including an electrical system designed and built at the Boeing-owned company's Chatsworth site, won't be pieced together until they're floating far above the Earth. So they had better work right, said Cabana. ``The space station is going to be a steppingstone step·ping·stone n. 1. A stone that provides a place to step, as in crossing a stream. 2. An advantageous position for advancement toward a goal. back to the moon and on to Mars and beyond Mars and Beyond is an episode of Disneyland which aired on December 4, 1957. It was directed by Ward Kimball and narrated by Paul Frees. This episode discusses the possibility of life on other planets, especially Mars. ,'' said Cabana, whose mission is charged with connecting the first American First American may refer to:
Cabana and four members of his 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. crew spent the morning touring the Rocketdyne facility, where the station's electrical system was designed and built. Part informational visit, part pep rally, the event was supposed to give engineers a chance to meet the astronauts who would actually use their equipment. Rocketdyne has long supplied the engines that have blasted Americans into space. But for the International Space Station, the company will contribute a system of immense solar panels and batteries to generate and store power. The first station components, designed by the Russian space program, will be carried aloft in June. Cabana and his crew will arrive a month later. Speaking in a courtyard within the complex, the blue-jump-suit-clad astronauts told the engineers that their work was vital to the future of space exploration. Astronaut John Young, who is not part of Cabana's mission but flew to the moon twice on Rocketdyne engines, told the employees that their work would help humans finally live outside Earth's protective embrace. ``In the 21st century, the greatest achievement of this species will be when we work and live in other places in the solar system solar system, the sun and the surrounding planets, natural satellites, dwarf planets, asteroids, meteoroids, and comets that are bound by its gravity. The sun is by far the most massive part of the solar system, containing almost 99.9% of the system's total mass. ,'' Young said. ``Y'all can be mighty proud to have led the way.'' Astronaut Jerry L. Ross Jerry Lynn Ross (January 20 1948, Crown Point, Indiana) is a United States Air Force officer and a former NASA astronaut. He is a veteran of seven space shuttle missions, making him the record holder for most spaceflights by an astronaut (a record he shares with Franklin said the engineers are leaving a legacy. ``You'll be able to sit out there on your back porch at twilight, with your grandkids, point to the space station overhead and say this is something you helped build.'' For systems engineer Lisa Cravotta, the speeches were nothing short of inspirational. Especially Young's. ``He's a great man,'' she said. ``I wanted to shake his hand, but they whisked him away too fast.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1) Astronauts pay a visit to Rocketdyne's plant working on a space station program Monday. (2) Robert D. Cabana speaks to Connie Dilena at the aerospace company's facility in Chatsworth. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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