PLATFORM TO THE STARS

[Music] section by section piece by piece bolt by Bolt the craft takes shape a direct descendant of the wri brothers flyer 1 the X15 Mercury capsule and Apollo spacecraft a new and versatile Voyager in the conquest of the [Music] heavens July 1969 a mighty Saturn rocket lifts Apollo Astronauts Neil Armstrong Edwin aldin and Michael Collins into space on their way to an historic landing on the moon Now by dawn's early light a whole new era of space exploration and transportation is about to begin as NASA rolls out the first vehicle in its space shuttle program the date September 17th [Music] 1976 on hand are the astronauts assigned to test the pioneering spacecraft Joseph Engle Richard [Music] truy Fred Hayes Jr and C Gordon Fullerton flying in pairs these astronauts will check out Landing procedures for America's first reusable spaceship the Orbiter as it is called is is 122 ft long just about the length of the wri Brother's first flight it has a 78 ft wingspan and weighs 15,000 lb without fuel it can take off like a rocket maneuver in Earth orbit like a spacecraft and land like an airplane on its side a name made famous in science fiction Enterprise the orbiters approach and Landing test program begins in February 1977 the Enterprise is M at top of 747 carrier aircraft in a piggyback position or a series of captive [Music] flights NASA test pilots and the shuttle astronauts monitor the flights from Chase planes all goes well and the Airborne observers verify the inflight capability of the spacecraft [Music] back on the ground the astronauts undergo intensive training designed to prepare them for the challenge of actually flying and Landing the [Music] Enterprise computers are used to program the procedures that will be required as the shuttle separates from the Mother Ship then Glides to Earth with the astronauts at the [Music] controls the elaborate pre-flight program includes a giant wall map of the runway at the John F Kennedy Space Center and a training craft that allows the astronauts to practice simulated flights approaches and landings when the Orbiter returns from space on its Maiden flight it will Mark the first time that a manned American spacecraft has landed on runways and not water October 1977 Edwards Air Force Base in California this is the day that Fred Hayes and SE Gordon feron will pilot the Enterprise on a free flight to Earth thousands of people are on hand for the crucial test of men and machine Houston copy over now the culmination of hours weeks and months of preparation slowly ever so slowly the Enterprise separates from the mother ship at 177,000 FT hey she's flying good Roger pH says it looks super 20 seconds after separation the astronauts change their Glide slope to a steep 22° as their speed increases to 370 mph star to turn to final turn to final you're on the we see you on the Glide so 2 [Applause] 300 some 2 minutes after separation the landing gears are lowered as the Enterprise approaches the runway at 215 mph is it coming down the astronauts reach a space age Milestone as they pilot the Orbiter to a perfect touchdown when it is fully operational the reusable spacecraft will be able to take off again after after 2 weeks of Maintenance and reloading thus it will reduce cost and increase the effectiveness of using space for commercial scientific and defense [Music] [Applause] needs after each flight each Landing performances of crew and spacecraft are St studed and evaluated for use in future Missions at the same time tests also are conducted on the rocket engines that will lift the Orbiter into the [Music] heavens there will be three main rocket engines like this one and two solid rocket boosters together they will generate a Thrust of more than 5 million PB at liftoff a unique aspect of the shuttle flights will be the parachute recovery of the solid booster Rockets they will drop back to Earth for use on later missions the John F Kennedy Space Center in Florida is one of two launching sites for the space shuttle in the 1980s and 1990s the second will be Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and while progress has been made there also have been setbacks the Orbiter Colombia first to actually fly into space has had insulation problems and engine failures in test firings have caused long delays in scheduled [Music] launchings despite the technical failures and management problems the space shuttle program still holds the promise of opening the door to the economical and routine use of [Music] space here graphic animation illustrates the launch of the complete space shuttle [Music] system the Columbia is lifted from the Earth by its own three main rocket engines and two solid rocket boosters about 27 M High the solid Rockets drop away and are recovered for [Music] reuse next the external propellant tank is jettison then orbiting 100 to 600 M High the seven crew members work sleep and eat in ordinary clothes during missions ranging from 7 to 30 days the payload compartment is 60 ft long and holds up to 65,000 lb of cargo already more than 300 companies educational institutions private individuals and government agencies have reserved space they will launch satellites from space and conduct experiments on Environmental Protection meteorology and National Security one day large structures may be placed in orbit a key to space industrialization and harnessing solar power a remote controlled manipulator developed by Canada at Canadian expense permits astronauts inside the Orbiter to deploy or to retrieve satellites the Orbiter also can be used to rescue astronauts in trouble in [Music] space shuttle crew members will be able to take space walks and the 10 members of the European Space Agency will send a complete scientific laboratory into orbit aboard the shuttle an example of international cost sharing and worldwide support for the [Music] program NASA is also conducting a nationwide competition to enable Secondary School students to secure space for scientific and Engineering experiments but contrary to some published reports the space agency is not accepting reservations for passengers on space shuttle missions re-entering the Earth's atmosphere the spacecraft must withstand temperatures up to 2300 de fah the Orbiter may be used more than 100 times and because it touches down on land it eliminates the expensive recovery of at Sea necessary for mercury Gemini and Apollo [Music] missions as a reusable transportation system to Earth orbit the space shuttle will offer the Workhorse capabilities of Earthbound trucks ships and planes as the United States explores and exploits the frontiers of space the screen News Digest has been brought to you by New Jersey Banks New Jersey Bank serving the crossroads of the Revolution since [Music] 1869