[sci.space.shuttle] back-up crews

brody@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Adam R. Brody) (04/10/91)

Since they abolished back-up crews since STS 4, what is the plan if
someone gets sick or for some reason cannont make the flight?  How long
before the flight do the crew go into quarantine to prevent catching
someone's cold or the flu?

klappala@vipunen.hut.fi ("Kuisma Lappalainen") (04/10/91)

In article <8025@eos.arc.nasa.gov> brody@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Adam R. Brody) writes:
>Since they abolished back-up crews since STS 4, what is the plan if
>someone gets sick or for some reason cannont make the flight?  How long
>before the flight do the crew go into quarantine to prevent catching
>someone's cold or the flu?



I think that is a fortnight's time. I heard about it when visiting N.A.S.A.
last January at JFK's Space Center in Florida.
-- 
Kuisma.Lappalainen@hut.fi / Va Fna Senapvfpb, ng Whfgva Urezna Cynmn, gurer vf
-------------------------- n erq tenssvgv gung fnlf: "Ebpx 'A' Ebyy fgbcf gur
genssvp." Nf Trbetr Rnfgzna unf pubfra G-ZNK gb fgber gur tenssvgv, gurer ner
abg znal jub ner njner gung gur tenssvgv vf erq. Vgf jevgre vf irel snzbhf.

jabishop@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu (Jonathan A Bishop) (04/10/91)

klappala@vipunen.hut.fi ("Kuisma Lappalainen") writes:

>In article <8025@eos.arc.nasa.gov> brody@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Adam R. Brody) writes:
>>Since they abolished back-up crews since STS 4, what is the plan if
>>someone gets sick or for some reason cannont make the flight?  How long
>>before the flight do the crew go into quarantine to prevent catching
>>someone's cold or the flu?

>I think that is a fortnight's time. I heard about it when visiting N.A.S.A.
>last January at JFK's Space Center in Florida.

I seem to recall several instances of Shuttle crews going back to Houston to
get in an extra couple of days of sims after scrubs; do they somehow keep them
quarantined during this time?
--------
jabishop@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu

"I'm with you, LEM, though it's a shame that it had to be you.
 The mother ship is just a blip from your train made for two.
 I'm with you, boys, so please employ just a little extra care.
 It's on my mind, I'm left behind when I should have been there."
                      --Jethro Tull, "For Michael Collins, Jeffrey, and Me"

sklein@troa01.enet.dec.com (Susan Klein) (04/10/91)

In article <8025@eos.arc.nasa.gov>, brody@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Adam R. Brody) writes...
>Since they abolished back-up crews since STS 4, what is the plan if
>someone gets sick or for some reason cannont make the flight?  How long
>before the flight do the crew go into quarantine to prevent catching
>someone's cold or the flu?

During the STS 36 in February/March 1990, Commander John Creighton had a cold
and the launch was delayed to allow him to recover. The launch was also delayed
for other reasons, such that when he flew, he no longer was suffering. There
was no mention of replacing him. However, on STS 33 in November 1989, Pilot 
John Blaha replaced David Griggs, who was killed in June 1989. Blaha had 
recently returned from a space mission as Pilot and was available. This 
situation has reoccurred. On STS 42 scheduled for January 1992, an astronaut
will be required to replace Manley Carter. He was a mission specialist on board
this mission of the Internation Microgravity Mission. He died last Friday in
a plane crash in Georgia. Since he is a medical doctor, and other astros
listed on the flight are also medical doctors, I would suspect that he would be
replaced by an astronaut, who is a doctor, or has a medical background. Anna
Fisher comes to mind, she is not currently assigned to a flight and she is a 
doctor. Since that flight is less than a year away, I expect that NASA will
announce a replacement very soon.

Susan Klein	sklein@troa09.dec.com
		--or-- ...!decwrl!troa09.dec.com!sklein
		--or-- sklein%troa09.dec@decwrl.dec.com

kaplow@pobox.enet.dec.com (Bob Kaplow) (04/11/91)

In article <8025@eos.arc.nasa.gov>, brody@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Adam R. Brody) writes...
>Since they abolished back-up crews since STS 4, what is the plan if
>someone gets sick or for some reason cannont make the flight?  

    I wondered about this as well Friday night. After leaving KSC 
after the launch of STS-37, I went back to my motel room to follow the 
news, and heard that Manley Carter, scheduled for the last shuttle 
flight this year (STS-44?), had been killed in a plane crash along
with John Tower. I don't know what NASA does in this case, because I
guess it hadn't come up yet. I guess we will find out soon.

>How long before the flight do the crew go into quarantine to 
>prevent catching someone's cold or the flu? 

    One week. This I know for sure, because a friend of mine (Jay Apt)
is on the crew of STS-37. His wife held a reception on L-1, and told
us that he had been quarantined for a week before the flight. That
meant we couldn't see him off in person, and I probably won't get to
see him until this August. 

Bob Kaplow 		| UUCP:	...!decwrl!pobox.enet.dec.com!kaplow
Digital Equipment Corp. | ARPA:	kaplow@pobox.enet.dec.com
Elk Grove Village, IL	| CIS:	>INTERNET:kaplow@pobox.enet.dec.com

    	There is no such thing as a free launch!

shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) (04/11/91)

In article <1991Apr10.144245.15969@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu> jabishop@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu (Jonathan A Bishop) writes:

[In reference to quarantining Shuttle crews]

>I seem to recall several instances of Shuttle crews going back to Houston to
>get in an extra couple of days of sims after scrubs; do they somehow keep them
>quarantined during this time?

I don't think they really quarantine them, in the sense of locking them
up in little rooms and not allowing anyone near them who isn't in full
scrubs.

It's more informal, where they just avoid sick people.  The NASA
people who come in contact with the astronauts just before a mission
will avoid them if they feel contagious.

Even back in the Apollo days, when they got more excited about it, it
wasn't much of a quarantine.  They wouldn't let Pres. Nixon near
Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins, supposedly because of the quarantine,
but NASA employees were in and out with impunity.  My husband, a NASA
aero engineer, was in the crew quarters during that time, a guest of
Fred Haise.  No one cared about his health, even when he sat around
with the Apollo 11 crew BSing a couple of days before the launch.
(Armstrong and Haise were Dryden test pilots before they became
astronauts and he'd known them then.)
--
Mary Shafer  shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov  ames!skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov!shafer
           NASA Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
                     Of course I don't speak for NASA
 "A MiG at your six is better than no MiG at all"--Unknown US fighter pilot