European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 28, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Fuel tank wet tufted Jacce i it Fly in. To uncut sort Otilma Duflot and other tors Pafford. If pm More than 100,000 pounds payload Apauty 100,000-150,000 pounds jumbo rocket looms Large in . Plans by John Noble Wilford new York times aerospace engineers around the United states responding la a new Challenge Hava begun to develop the Rockel that May Cany the nation into its next phase of space exploration and exploitation. The rocket they have in mind formally known As the advanced launch system would be Able to deliver two to three times As much payload into orbit As the space Shullie and at a traction of the Cost. Development of such Large vehicles reflects in part a growing disenchantment with the space shuttle As the exclusive or even primary vehicle of America s future space efforts. Early planning Lor the heavy lilt Booster is taking place against a backdrop of impressive soviet achievement. The soviet Union introduced its own heavy lift Rockel with the successful lest laughing May 15 of the Enervia a Booster capable of putting a 100 ton space shuttle or other Large payloads in orbit , experts said the new soviet Rockel was a major breakthrough and could be used for both manned and unmanned missions with both civil and military purposes. It will be five or 10 years before the United slates will be Able to flight test a am Laily powerful vehicle. Both the defense department and Nasa foresee a number of uses for such heavy lilt rockets. They could deliver to orbit Large components of a space based missile defense system deploy the entire Structure Lor a permanent space station boost larger satellites into High orbits and dispatch manned missions to the Moon or Mars. Still there is Little agreement on when or How to proceed Wilh the project to bum a comparable . Rocket. These questions Are becoming Central to the political debate Over the direction and operation of the american space program in the alter math of the challenger space shuttle disaster in january 1986. The air Force and Nasa Are at Odda on the approach to designing the advanced launch system whether to Start with a Dean Sheet of paper or to expand on shuttle propulsion technology. It is thus unclear what the vehicle would took Ike. Although there is agreement that it shot be Able la lift payloads of 50 tons to 75 tons into Low Earth orbit compared to the shuttle s 25-too-ton capacity. The two agencies Are also jockeying for the leading role in management of the project. The Reagan administration is believed to favor the Pentagon. And the air Force got a head Start earlier this year by asking Congress for a budget supplement of $250 million to initiate the preliminary studies. Edward c. Aldridge jr., the air Force Secretary told Congress that the air Force should manage the program because the requirement Lor the Booster is dominated by military needs. In Congress however champions of Nasa and opponents of the strategic defense initiative commonly known As Star wars Are drawing Battle lines against what they see As a Pentagon Man Euver to further militarize the space program and prepare Lor an Early deployment of Star wars weapons to defend against missile attacks. Sen. John c. Stennis the Mississippi Democrat who Heads the appropriations committee introduced a provision to the air Force budget sup temen requiring that the Booster development be a joint Effort by the defense department and Nasa. The appropriation has Yel to be approved by Congress. John e. Pike a space policy analyst at the federation of american scientists which is Cri Licat of Star wars said democratic leaders in Congress May try to stall the Booster project As a Way of frustrating Early deployment of the proposed orbiting missile defense platforms. In a highly controversial move the Reagan administration has been pressing for deployment of some components i the Early 1990s. Ii requirements of Star wars deployment should fade away congressional sources and policy analysis said so might some of the support Lor rapid development of the next generation Rockel. The challenger Accident forced american space and military leaders to rethink their dependence on the space shuttle and to wish thai they had a Modem equivalent of the of Saturn 5. The Proctol that sent american astronauts to the Moon. After the Apollo project and a single skylab space station launching in. 1973, the Salum 5 was retired. The needs for a big Booster had nol been obvious until now said Joseph b. Mahon Nasa s Deputy associate admins razor for flight systems. But Oneha to look beyond the  As the first its Kwh try that end the air Force has asked the aerospace Industry to submit proposals Tor ways to design and bum the advanced launch system. All major contractors eager Tor b Chance at lucrative contracts were expected to a tester their ideas by Early july. At the ear feel Mahon said the boosters could be ready Lor demonstration no gals in 1992 or 93, the official language about How to achieve the agreed goal of i Hill hey reliable. Nln capacity and Opal Bally flexible Access to space for the next several decades b deliberately vagus. The reason a the Conlin Oino disagreement primarily Between the air Force and Nasa Over the strategy it developing the heavy lift Booster. How soon the Booster is needed will very Likely determine whal it will be according to government and Industry officials. If it is decided that the Booster is needed for Early Star wars deployment or the planned orbiting space station that is. By 1993-94 then it win be necessary to Rety on existing Techo Togy. Nasa a pressed for this strategy primary because its shuttle propulsion systems Are the most powerful Usu fluff technologies and their use would presumably assure Masa of a maj Rote in the Booster program. To its simplest form engineers said a heavy i Booster based on current systems would be some combination of the sold fuel rocket and i quit fuel engines of the shuttle but in a configuration with a targe payload canister in place of the manned  officiate c4 Nasa s Marsha space fight cent in Hunt Vaie ala., said a shuffle derived Booster cow a developed for about h.25 Bohon and be ready him the Pentagon � 9 9 a Booster should be designed from scratch taking advantage d new technologies to reduce bunching costs and introduce time Sav tog  efficiencies. It the Booster to not needed Gnu the tale 1990s, the  would then locus on a venite in which most of the corp Chanla Are reusable. To cos has estimated the coals. The air Force said its ultimate goal was to lower launching costs by a Factor of 10 compared to the Titan 4 expendable rocket which will Cost $2�0 motion each and be Able to boost 65.000 pounds almost 30,000 kilograms to Low Earth Erbil a study of future military space transportation systems requested by the air Force and conducted last year the american Institute of aeronautics and astronautics a professional society made a Point of assessing the new technologies required Lor making the heavy lilt Booster resistant to laser rays nuclear radiation and Pellet impacts. Except for possible Star Wara deployment tha military need for the Booster has not been spelled out. But aerospace experts said tie air Force probably wanted to be Able to place much larger communication ind reconnaissance sate files in 22,300-mile-High digits. The Pentagon might also want the capability to assemble its own space station. Nasa is More open in discussing its projected use for a heavy lift Booster. Aside from space station deployment Mahon. Said. The Agency could foresee using the Booster to launch interplanetary flights such As tha proposed unmanned Mission in 1998 to Send a roving vehicle to bring Back a Sample of Martian son. The heavy tit Booster Wolf cd significantly reduce the flight time to Mars he said and would also double the weight of communications satellites that could be paced in High orbit. Jamas e. Oberg an author and expert on the soviet space program said the new soviet blaster. Enervia. Cow be used or unmanned and eventually manned missions to Mas. As web As its stated objective As a launching system for a re usable shuttle. Soviet officials have nol indicated when their space shuttle will be ready to Fly. Page 16 the stars and stripes sunday june 28,1987