Word: spacecrafts
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...from the pad, carrying its crew of five veteran astronauts. Over the space center's loudspeakers came the triumphant announcement: "Americans return to space, as Discovery clears the tower." But the cheers were muted as the crowd -- many with clenched fists, gritted teeth and teary eyes -- nervously watched the spacecraft rise on its pillar of flame, then begin its roll out over the Atlantic. Again the visions of Challenger arose. Now the loudspeakers carried the voice of Mission Control in Houston, which took over from the Kennedy controllers seven seconds into the flight. "Go at throttle up," Houston called...
Discovery commander Rick Hauck promptly answered with a laconic "Roger go," bringing a smattering of applause and cheers that grew into a chorus near the two-minute mark, when the spacecraft successfully jettisoned its two spent solid rocket boosters. But experienced space observers did not relax until Discovery shut down its three main engines 6 1/2 minutes later, shucked off its external fuel tank, then slipped safely into orbit about 180 miles above the earth a half hour later. Declared elated space engineer John Kaltenbach: "This was the one that had to fly. It looks damn good. Oh, it just...
...most of the millions who witnessed Discovery's lift-off, the spacecraft on the launchpad looked little different from its ill-fated predecessor, Challenger. But the similarity was only skin deep. Responding to the recommendations of the Rogers commission, the 13-member panel appointed by the White House to investigate the causes of the Challenger tragedy, NASA spent $2.4 billion redesigning and replacing crucial components of its shuttle fleet. Over the past two years, the space agency has made more than 400 changes in the winged orbiter -- including a much touted new escape system -- the solid rocket boosters, the orbiter...
Belatedly aware of the folly of total dependence on manned launch vehicles to deploy spacecraft, the U.S. has been forced to play a catch-up game. Since January 1986, the Soviets have launched scores of satellites, sent two / scientific probes to Mars, and ferried a stream of cosmonauts between the earth and the space station Mir -- all with the aid of antiquated but tried- and-true expendable rockets. In the process, they have pushed far ahead of the U.S. in knowledge of the effects of extended space flight on humans...
...When the great scorecard for 1988 Soviet achievements is totted up, Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika campaign may receive a modest 8.0 (a bit wobbly on the takeoff) and the return of the Soyuz spacecraft will be lucky to secure a 7.5 (very shaky on the landing). But the Soviet gymnasts, men and women alike, will score a 10 because their performance in Seoul was just that: perfect...