Shuttle’s troubles anger the Pentagon

Press, 14 November 1981, Page 14

Shuttle’s troubles anger the Pentagon

By

WILLIAM SCOBIE

at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

In the scrubby hills and sand dunes of a remote Pacific headland. 80 kilometres from President Reagan’s western White House, a $2OOO million spaceport is rising. The minicity of hangars, shops and houses, dominated by a towering launch ramp, will be the base from which the space shuttle’s secret military missions are launched.

But while construction proceeds at "Space Launch Complex 6" on the sprawling Vandenberg military reserve, enthusiasm for “Battlestar Columbia" appears to be waning in the Pentagon. The humiliating postponement of the shuttle’s second flight did nothing to reassure those among the Pentagon brass who call the’ craft “a $l5 billion white elephant." “Some air force generals would like to see the shuttle die an early death, despite its success last April.’’ said a Congressman. Mr Edward Boland. who is chairman of the House sub-committee overseeing N.A.S.A. programmes. “It suffers from the 'not-invented-here’ syndrome."

The tubby, reusable “space bus’’ suffers from more than that, charge some United States Air Force officers. Three years behind schedule and 40 per cent over budget, the Columbia's problems have set back its first military mission for five years, from a scheduled 1980 lift-off to a questionable 1985. Already testing of two secret new spy satellite systems, designed for transport in the Columbia’s cargo bay. has been delay. Air Force sources say these must now be modified for launch by conventional rocket — at a costly "$75 million a shot.

Once N.A.S.A. officials talked of sending the shuttle back into orbit every two weeks. This “turn-around” time is crucial to its cost-effectiveness: the more shuttle flights there are, the greater the saving over

conventional launch methods. But Columbia was grounded for six months after the April launch. There w-as a neardisaster during that launch, when an unexpectedly strong shockwave from her solid-fuel rockets almost tore out the control flaps on Columbia's delta-wings. That necessitated complete overhaul of the shock-suppression system. Last month a jammed valve caused a spill of corrosive nitrogen tetroxide over the ship's 31.000 heat-resistant tiles: 400 had to be replaced. Then came the recent “scrub,” caused by an oil seepage that threatened the crucial auxiliary power system. These problems have sent the shuttle’s military and commerical clients scurrying back to conventional rocketmakers to get their satellites into space on time. About 200 satellites are circling earth, and another 600 are expected to be in place by 1986. One winner in the game is likely to be France, which is conducting an aggressive campaign in the United States to sell its Ariane rocket at bargain prices. “The shuttle's a beautiful bird." said Mr Bob Rennie, sales chief for Ariane in the United States, “but communications firms are very competitive. Do you wait for the bus or call a cab?" “We just can’t rely too heav'•ily on the shuttle," said one U.S.A.F. officer. “A complete wipe-out of one craft at Vandenberg could endanger the nation’s security. We need alternative svstems." The U.S’A.F. has had troubled relations with N.A.S.A. since formation of the civilian agency thwarted its own space ambitions 20 years ago. But the official U.S.A.F. position remains that N.A.S.A.’s shuttle is an essential part of the $3 billion-a-year military space programme. It could be used as a space hunter, seeking out and destroying enemy satellites, or even planting nuclear

weapons in orbit

The Vandenberg base is vital to the military projects, since only from here can the shuttle be safely launched into a polar orbit that allows surveillance of the Soviet Union.

Pentagon displeasure with the shuttle's performance does not mean it will be abandoned to civil uses. “On the contrary,"

said Mr Boland. “I believe we're watching its steady militarisation. The Reagan cuts in N.A.S.A.’s budget — $6OO million so far, with Congress debating another $467 million — have reduced shuttle flights over the next five years from 48 to 32." N.A.S.A.’s chief, Mr James Beggs, is pleading with the Reagan Administration not

to make further cuts in 1983 that would reduce the number of launches to 22.

For all practical purposes, says Mr Boland, commercial satellite clients are being forced back to conventional expendable rockets. As turnaround time expands, savings dwindle. Meanwhile N.A.S.A.’s other programmes are being

sacrificed for the sake of space travel’s flagship. The military will fill the gap left by commercial users. Mr Boland fears: "N.A.S.A. could become nottiing more than an arm of the Defence Department, charged with running a space trucking company.” — Copyright, London Observer Service.