Evans@CMU-20C@sri-unix (11/09/82)
From: Art Evans <Evans at CMU-20C>
In the Nov 8 issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology on page 24, in a
sidebar on media coverage of a launch of a Titan 34D/IUS, this quote appears:
One Air Force official said [Defense Secretary Caspar] Weinberger has
decided that, in the future, all military space launches -- shuttle and
Titan alike -- will be secret.
-------karn (11/10/82)
The military has always been secretive about their launches. They often don't even tell people with a good reason to know. Remember the case of the poor guy working alone in the Columbia's cockpit late one night several days before a launch? He felt the shuttle rumble and heard a roar. Thinking that the boosters had somehow ignited, the poor guy dived for the escape hatch. It turned out that the Air Force had decided to launch a Titan III that evening from a nearby pad without telling anybody. I do know of one case where several non-military types I know found out ahead of time about a Vandenburg launch. They were preparing for a scientific Delta launch when word came around to "stay away from pad such-and-such during the following hours today". Of course, they immediately headed for the beach about a mile from the Titan launch pad, and were subsequently treated to the experience of a Titan III flying directly overhead. It was said to rival any 4th of July display. The MPs stopped by to confiscate film, but didn't chase anybody away. Phil Karn