European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 16, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Workers at the Kennedy space Center in Florida watch As the redesigned space shuttle discovery Rolls into the vehicle Assembly building to be attached to external fuel tanks and the shuttle Booster rockets. New York times launch or scrub Nasa changes the rules by Howard Benedict associated presso n that cold cold Day Jan. 28, 1986, any one of half a dozen officials aware that the weather might be damaging could have halted the launch of space shuttle challenger from Cape canaveral Fla. None did and 73 seconds after liftoff the spaceship and its Crew of seven were destroyed in a fiery explosion never again Nasa says will the launch decision be so flawed. The rules have been changed. When discovery resumes shuttle flights this summer one Man will have the authority to command a launch or to scrub it he will look to Many experts analysing every scrap of information for help. In the end the decision to launch will be his. That responsibility lies with Robert l. Crippen a 50 year old Navy Captain who has gone into space More often on the shuttle than any other person. He piloted the very first Mission in 1981 and since has commanded three other flights. I feel from my military training that there has to be one person in charge Crippen said. Somebody needed to sign on for it and i m willing to do  his fellow astronauts Are delighted to have one of their own calling that critical shot. Rick Hauck another Navy Captain who will command discovery on the first Post challenger Mission said i flew my first Mission with him in 1983, and i can t think of anyone who has More of a Broad in depth knowledge of the whole shuttle system. And he s a Good thinker so Bob is the right person to be  creation of a launch Czar is just one of Many changes introduced in the program As a result of the challenger disaster. Many have been time consuming and have led to delay after delay in getting the shuttle Back into space some critics say Nasa has been too conservative that it is delaying for any reason because it has lost the nerve to launch space Agency officials heatedly deny this the no. 1 priority for the . Space program is to get the shuttle flying again but Well not Fly until we feel we Are ready said rear adm. Richard truly associate administrator for space flight and Nasa s highest shuttle program official. Well never have a perfectly Safe vehicle but Well have one Well have Confidence  the most publicly visible shuttle changes have been in the overhaul of top Nasa management. All involved in the challenger launch decision have been replaced. The solid fuel Booster rocket blamed for the Accident has been redesigned. The Rogers commission that investigated the explosion for president Reagan said the direct cause was a Small leak in a joint Between segments of one of challenger s two Booster rockets. Flames shot past two synthetic rubber of rings and touched off the explosion of the huge fuel tank. The commission report said cold weather 36 degrees at liftoff time contributed by robbing the o rings of their resiliency preventing them from sealing the joint properly. Some Booster engineers had argued against launching in the cold but their concerns were blocked by lower level executives from reaching top managers. While the shuttle Fleet has been grounded Nasa has made More than 80 modifications to the Booster rockets and an additional 300 to shuttle systems and support equipment. The spaceship itself has undergone 210 changes including improvements to the engines Structure brakes and Landing gear and installation of a Blowout Hatch to the Crew Cabin and a telescoping pole the astronauts could slide Down in an emergency Landing. That s a Large number of changes and we Are treating the flight As a new test flight of a vehicle that s not quite the same astronaut Hauck said. Less visible Are the changes in the approach to launching a shuttle. Bob Sieck is Happy to have Only one Job launch director instead of the multiple jobs he held As director of shuttle operations during challenger. The launch decision process now is More formal More Crisp and the responsibilities of the individuals Are More Well defined he says. Eugene Kranz director of shuttle Mission operations at the Johnson space Center in Houston overseeing an overhaul of flight design planning and training procedures to Correct deficiencies that had Nasa struggling to meet an accelerating flight rate As our schedules were becoming unmanageable at the time of the  Tommy Holloway chief of the shuttle flight directors office in Houston assembling a team of veterans to direct discovery s return to flight training a new generation for the higher flight rate ahead and streamlining documentation weather forecasting and other procedures. We Are a lot More safety conscious he says. Captain Frederick h. Hauck commander o1 the space shuttle discovery. Page 16 the stars and stripes saturday july 16,1988