yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (09/13/88)
Barbara Selby September 12, 1988
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. 2:00 p.m. EDT
RELEASE: 88-125
NASA & AIR FORCE ANNOUNCE RANGE SAFETY CRITERIA FOR STS-26
NASA and the Air Force, which has responsibility for range
safety, have mutually determined that the number of persons who
will be permitted access to the Kennedy Space Center for the
launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-26, will be greatly
reduced for safety reasons.
The risk of loss of the shuttle and the crew have been
substantially reduced through redesign of the solid rocket motor
and other improvements. At the same time, studies of the
Challenger accident in January l986 and the loss of an Air Force
Titan 34D the following April have shown that the danger to
persons on the ground is much greater than was understood should
an accident occur.
Under certain conditions a solid rocket booster released
from the vehicle as a result of an accident would follow an
unknown ballistic trajectory rather than begin to tumble on
course as had been previously thought. In addition, it was
learned that upon destruction, the boosters fragmented into
thousands of pieces, and the explosive properties of unburned
solid motor propellant were greater than orginally determined in
laboratory tests.
Because of this new information, NASA and the Air Force have
determined that the prudent action is to minimize the population
at the close-in viewing areas. All credentialed media will be
able to work from the LC-39 press site except for the hours just
before launch and the launch itself. During that period, media
with an immediate need for the facilities at the press site will
be allowed, and all others will view the launch from the Causeway
which will be equipped with countdown clock, audio commentary and
video monitors. Immediately following the launch, all media will
be permitted on the press site to file their stories and attend
the post-launch briefing.
A joint NASA/Air Force press conference is scheduled for
Tuesday, September l3, at 2:00 p.m. EDT at NASA Headquarters to
explain both the safety analysis method and conclusions as well
as the criteria for press coverage. The press conference will be
carried live on NASA Select television (Satcom F2R, transponder
l3, 72 degrees west longitude) with two-way question and answer
capability.