European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 24, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes sunday. September 24, 1989 Nasa planning fiery finale at Cape Cape canaveral. Fla. A for Ihrck dec Ades Nasa has launched unmanned rockets from this spaceport More than 400 of them. On monday it plans to fire its last one Here closing an illustrious chapter in american space history. An Atlas Centaur rocket is to blast offal 4 12 . Twill carry a military communications satellite to link land sea and air forces around the world with the joint chiefs of staff the National command authority and the president. Once the Atlas Centaur is gone. Nasa s Only launch vehicle at Cape canaveral will be the manned space shuttle. When the Agency has a need for an expendable rocket it will have to buy the launch services from private Industry. In the past Nasa has purchased unmanned boost ers from companies such As general dynamics and Mcdonnell Douglas and used its own Crews to launch them. In the future Crews from private companies will Lon dual the countdowns at the Cape As the nation s budding commercial launch Industry takes off. The space Agency stopped buying Atlas Centaur. Delta and other space boosters Early in the 1980s, opting instead to launch All its payloads from the space shuttle. Officials admitted that was a mistake after the shuttle challenger exploded in 1986. Following the explosion Ihnn a res Ideal Reagan directed Nasa to get out of the business of launching commercial payloads opening the Way for rocket companies to Start a new Enterprise. A backlog of government payloads and a desire to keep space business from being sent abroad to France China or even the soviet Union spurred the policy change. After the launch of the last Atlas Centaur the Agency will have one Large unmanned rocket left a Delta that is to lift a scientific satellite from California s Vandyn Borg fab in november. And the . Govern ment will continue to launch military space rockets from Vandyn Borg and the Cape. Still. Monday s launch is a Milestone for Cape canaveral where Nasa got its Start and where it has launched More than 95 percent of its boosters. It s always sad to see the end of an  said James l. Womack. Nasa s director of expendable launch vehicles who still be in the launch control Center Mon Day. There s a certain Clement of sadness but the things we have done have been fabulous said Joseph Mahon. The Agency s assistant administrator for space night. Among the achievements the Mariner. Viking. Pioneer and voyager missions to the planets 42 weather satellites the Ranger Surveyor and lunar orbiter probes thai scouted the Moon in Advance of american astronauts Landing there 94 communications satellites scores of scientific payloads and dozens of unmanned lest launches for the Mercury gemini and Apollo Man in space projects. Nasa s first launch vehicle was a Thor Able that lifted off oct. Ii 1958, propelling the Pioneer i probe toward a flyby of the Moon. It failed As did four More rockets before a Juno 2 hurled Pioneer 3 within 37,300 Miles of the Moon and into orbit around the Sun on March 3, 1959.three More failures followed before the successful launch of explorer 6, a radiation study satellite on aug. 7. 1959. Other failures followed but the National aeronautics and space administration s Overall Success rate stands at More than 90 percent of 447 launches. In recent years the Burden has been borne by two Workhorse rockets the Atlas Centaur which will be making its 68th appearance monday and the Delta with 184 liftoff. Both have a Success Rale of More than 95 percent. Nasa has ordered launch services starting next year from general dynamics for four Atlas centaurs to boost three weather satellites and a Sun studying pay Load and the Agency plans to use three Titan rockets launched by Martin Marietta to hoist planetary probes in the 1990s. The change involves no layoffs since private con tractors already filled Many of the ranks of Nasa s launch teams and some personnel arc being shifted to the shuttle or other space Agency programs. Virgin islands chaotic after Hugo . Says Washington a Federal officials say fill agents and coast guard officers found anarchy on Hurricane Ray aged St. Croix just hours after the Virgin islands governor gave emphatic Assur ances that the Island was peaceful. A coast guard helicopter Crew that flew Over the Island wednesday morning to Survey damage from Hurricane Hugo spotted bands of looters armed with machetes and guns a coast guard spokes Man said. Basically there was total lawlessness from everything they saw said the spokesman. It. Cmdr. Jeff Karonis. A team of five Fri agents dispatched by attorney general Dick Thornburgh arrived about the same Lime. By wednesday afternoon they reported that there had been a Complete breakdown of Law and order a Bush administration official said. The agents found roving bands of hugs looting shops and attacking Homes the official said. Some 150 convicts who had escaped from two prisons were also on the Loose. Until Federal agents arrived wednes Day morning it was difficult for officials in Washington to get information be cause communications had been Cut off with the storm ravaged Island. The accounts by Fri agents and the coast guard conflicted starkly with the report the Pentagon received from gov. Alexander Farrelly on tuesday night. The governor emphatically slated there was no Law and order problem and matters were Well in hand said the offi Cial who spoke on condition of Anonym Ity. The governor s statement was also at Odds with a plea made Over Ham radio earlier tuesday night by an . Attorney on St. Croix who express cd fear that looting convicts Emht exact revenge on Law enforcement officers and judges the official said. The prosecutor s report was the basis for Thornburgh s decision to Send in the team of five Fri agents to Survey the situation the official said. As that team was arriving in St. Croix on wednesday morning the Justice department established Contact with the . Marshal for the Virgin islands who reported that there was anarchy it was very serious  the official said. As the picture of violence and Lawless Ness became More detailed. Pentagon officials went to the Justice department to develop contingency plans for dealing with inc situation. After consulting with the while . Arm troops patrol the streets if inc Virgin Island port of c Christiansted. House. Thornburgh decided to Send the Fri s hostage Rescue team and the . Marshals services special operations group to St. Croix to protect Federal officials and property. On wednesday afternoon. Farrelly met with the senior Fri agent in the Vir Gin islands and requested a battalion of military police to help restore order the official  presidential proclamation was quickly drafted at inc Justice depart ment and orders were issued to Send i military police to restore order. Family s request was reported to the White Houseboy the Federal emergency management  the presidential order was based on a Law thai allows the chief executive to Send in troops without a governor s request. President Bush was relying on disown judgment based on other reports that it was important to restore Law and order the official said. The decision to Send in troops was made after Federal authorities on the scene were reporting chaos and near an Archy and inc situation As being out of control . William Crowe jr., de parting chairman of the joint chiefs of staff said last week in an interview. Lacr wednesday afternoon. Family publicly denied that he had asked for troops. During interviews thursday the governor said reports of lawlessness and footing were exaggerated. He made the comments after 1,100 . Troops and 100 Fri and Deputy . Marshals had arrived in is Croix. By Friday Farrelly had ceded All Law enforcement Power to the Justice department which now has comprehensive authority to make arrests and conduct prosecutions for violations of both Feder  territorial Law. West Point doctor cleared of women s charges West Point. . Not the . Military Academy has cleared an army gynaecologist of charges of sexual abuse brought by three women at West Point who claimed that he hugged kissed or fondled them and. In one Case had sexual Intercourse. A hearing officer. Col. Stephen j. Harper assistant director of the Law department at West Point found that the allegations made by wives of soldiers stationed Al inc Academy were nol supported by the Evi Dence. No cadets were involved in the Case. One of the women s lawyers Bonita e. Zelman called the findings an outrageous and obvious White Wash and said a civil lawsuit would be filed. A spokesman for Wesl Point it. Col. Bruce Bell said the doctor maj. Ernest Flores a Reserve officer with 18 Eais of Active duly including a Lour in Viet Nam would be leaving the service Al the end of this month. In a report issued Friday Harper found thai the doctor 44. Hugged and kissed the women in a Man Ner consistent with his Normal physician patient rela  other patients had come Forward to say the complainants probably misinterpreted Flores actions. As for the patient who accused Flores of having sex with her in his apartment while she was in a terrible mental and emotional state recovering from a Hysterectomy Harper said the allegation was not supported by the evidence. Harper found that while Flores was stationed at fort Sill. Okla., he commuted adultery Wilh a for Mer patient. At the West Point hearing the former patient Testi fied against Flores. Coming Forward with the son she said the doctor had fathered. Harper recommended thai Flores be ordered nol to invite patients to his Apan ment. The hearing was part of the military Justice proce Dure and could have led to a court martial