yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (03/28/89)
Jim Cast
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. March 22, 1989
Bob Lessels
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
RELEASE: 89-38
SHUTTLE-C USERS' CONFERENCE SLATED FOR MAY 25-26
The Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., and
Shuttle-C program contractors will host a Shuttle-C Users'
Conference, May 25-26, at the Marriott Hotel, Huntsville, Ala.
Shuttle-C is a NASA concept of an unmanned, cargo-carrying
derivative of the Space Shuttle which would provide the United
States with a heavy-lift, launch capability by the middle of the
next decade.
Shuttle-C would use the same external tank, solid rocket
boosters and liquid-fueled main engines as used by the present
Space Shuttle, but the orbiter would be replaced with an
expendable cargo pod. Shuttle-C would have a projected payload-
to-low-Earth-orbit capability of 50 to 75 tons -- two to three
times the current Space Shuttle payload capacity.
The conference, according to Marshall center Deputy Director
Thomas J. Lee, is designed to fully explain the Shuttle-C space
launch vehicle and its potential for improving America's access
to space. The conference also will provide potential users with
an opportunity to particpate in working sessions to define their
needs and requirements for a heavy-lift launch vehicle.
The conference will begin with pre-registration and a
reception May 24 in the Marriott Hotel lobby. The conference
will begin on May 25 with opening remarks by Marshall center
Director James R. Thompson Jr.; Darrell R. Branscome, NASA
director for advanced program development; and Robert G. Eudy,
Marshall manager of the Shuttle-C task team.
Five workshop sessions will focus on Shuttle-C support of
planetary missions and Space Station Freedom, launching
scientific and applications payloads, use as a technology test
bed and support of Department of Defense requirements.
Conferees will be given a tour of the Marshall Space Flight
Center on May 26, including a visit to the full-scale Shuttle-C
Engineering Development Unit now being assembled.
Persons interested in conference participation should
contact David Christensen, coordinator, at United Technologies
Corp., (205/721-5514).