America’s gateway to the universe. Leading the world in preparing and launching missions to Earth and beyond.

Dec. 15, 2000

John F. Kennedy Space Center

Spaceport Newshttp://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/snews/snewstoc.htm

Vol. 39, No. 25

(See 2000, Page 6)

KSC wraps up successful year

Home Page growth continues

During the past year, KennedySpace Center began an ambitiousschedule of Space Shuttle launchesas construction of the SpaceStation shifted into high gear.

Five Shuttle missions werelaunched in 2000 and eightmissions are planned for 2001.

The Center also enhanced itscapabilities for management ofNASA’s Expendable LaunchVehicle Program. Six expendablelaunch vehicle (ELV) missions weremanaged during 2000 and 13 ELVmissions, including the 2001 MarsOdyssey, are currently scheduledfor 2001.

In addition to providing thosesafe, successful launches, theCenter moved forward in its questto enhance its mission as aSpaceport Technology Center. Anumber of partnerships with othergovernment agencies, commercialenterprises and academia werestrengthened or formed.

“The team has come a long waythis year, and we should really beproud,” said Center Director Roy

Bridges. “We’ve had a great year interms of the success of ouroperational missions as well as ourtechnology development projects.

“We reorganized the Center’smanagement structure to betterfocus our resources, and westrengthened our strategic partner-ships to better leverage thoseresources. We’ve laid the ground-work for more great things in thecoming years.”

KSC positioned itself for aproductive future through areorganization effort called KSC2000. The reorganization isenabling the Center to participate inNASA’s cutting-edge engineeringinitiatives. Hundreds of workerswere moved to new locations onCenter as part of the reorganization.

The Center and the Air Force’s45th Space Wing joined forces onseveral new enhancements to theCape Canaveral Spaceport during2000. They jointly celebrated the50th Anniversary of the launch ofBumper 8, the first rocket launched

(See WEB, Page 2)

As Kennedy Space Center’sculture continues its evolutiontoward a more innovation-drivenSpaceport Technology Center, theKSC Home Page Web site ishelping set the pace.

Through the KSC 2000 reorgani-zation effort, overall editorial, pagelayout and design responsibility ofKSC public web site has beenshifted to the External Relationsand Business DevelopmentDirectorate.

At the same time, web develop-ment and technical Internet supportwas transferred to the SpaceportServices Directorate under

Page 3 – Control room opensand NASA managers named.

Page 8 – Employees of themonth, poster contest winnersand John Sexton’s new book.

Pages 4-5SpaceportNews goesinside theLogisticsFacilitywhere140,000-plus typesof spareparts arekept.

Inside

Page 2 – Kodiak Star launch setfor Aug. 21, 2001.

Internet Services Manager Dennis Armstrong works with FDC webdesigners Andrea Sanders, left, and Debbie Barton.

Endeavour lifts off from Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 30, beginningSTS-97, the final Space Shuttle mission of 2000.

SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 15, 2000Page 2

WEB ...(Continued from Page 1)

Webmaster Patrick O’Rourke.Space Gateway Services (SGS) hasassembled a team of web develop-ers that, under the direction of KSCInternet Services, has assisted withthe establishment of contemporaryweb design standards.

SGS web developers redesignedmore than 4,000 KSC public pagesduring the summer to give the site amore contemporary look and feel.

A Home Page CoordinatingCommittee was established withmembers from each directorate andstaff office. The group helpsidentify, redesign and updateorganizational pages currentlylinked from the public site. Space-port Services is planning annualaudits of all KSC-generated pagesaccessible by the public.

But changes to the site gobeyond a web design facelift andhousekeeping – a number of newpages and features have beenadded and more are to come.

“In representing the spaceprogram, we want our Web site toconvey how exciting and innova-tive the program is,” said DennisArmstrong, KSC Internet ServicesManager. “Because our sitereceives millions of hits each year –we’re over 200,000 million a yearnow – it’s an especially importantavenue for educating and informingthe public about what we do.”

Two of the newest offerings aremission-specific sites that areactivated about three days prior toeach Shuttle launch:• The Live Countdown CoveragePage provides updated summariesof major processing eventsoccurring during the final 10 to 11hours prior to launch. See http://www.pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/shuttle/countdown/sts97/milestonest.html.

• The Shuttle Mission Quiz is aninteractive game that challengesvisitors to test their knowledge ofthe latest mission and win a prize.Answers to the questions can befound at various locations in theKSC Web site http://pao.ksc.nasa.gov/ksctrivia/index.cfm.

Earlier page additions include aseries of pages defining theSpaceport Technology Centerconcept; a Shuttle Launch Simula-tion; a changing “Blast From ThePast” feature recognizing KSC’shistorical contributions; and avirtual Guest Briefing that high-lights the upcoming mission andcrew.

Several new pages are slated tocome online in the coming weeks: aNASA timeline movie highlighting

major events from the early days ofthe space program, currentprograms and future initiatives; anda Virtual Firing Room tour.

Funding has been approved forthe establishment of a webbroadcast studio at the KSC PressSite by May 2001. This will allowfor local Internet-specific program-ming of launches, landings andother events to include interviewswith scientists and engineers anddignitaries of interest.

The Spaceport Services Director-ate has purchased and installed anew cluster of servers to which allExternal Affairs pages will bemoved. These new servers willprovide visitors with faster accessto KSC’s evolving Web site.

To learn more about new KSCweb policies and templates, see:

• KSC Web Design Policy. Thesepages lay out those NASA, KSCand other web design and adminis-trative standards that are to befollowed by any KSC organizationdesiring to develop a web page thatwill link to KSC’s public web site.See http://pao-int.ksc.nasa.gov/templates/standards/policypage.htm• Graphics and Template DesignMain Page. A template page thatpresents requirements, resources,and examples to be used by NASAdevelopers when preparing pagesto be viewed by the general publicvia links to the KSC Home Pageweb site. See http://pao-int.ksc.nasa.gov/templates/template.htm.

For more information, contactDennis Armstrong at 867-4493.

Alaska Kodiak Star launch set for Aug. 31

Above is a frame from a NASA timeline web movie that will highlight major events from the early days of thespace program as well as future initiatives.

Kodiak Star, the first plannedorbital launch from the new KodiakLaunch Complex in Alaska will be aNASA collaborative mission withthe Department of Defense (DoD).

The KSC ELV program office willmanage the launch.

The payload consists of foursmall satellites to be launched

aboard a Lockheed Martin Athena Ilaunch vehicle.

NASA’s spacecraft in the KodiakStar mission is Starshine 3.

The satellite, about one meter indiameter and weighing about 200pounds, is covered with front-surface aluminum mirrors.

They will be machined by

technology students in Utah andpolished by participating grade andhigh schools.

PICOsat, the primary Departmentof Defense Satellite, is a technol-ogy demonstration satellitecarrying four experiments.

The second DoD spacecraft is aPrototype Communications Satellite

(PCSat), operating in the amateurradio band.

The third DoD spacecraft isSAPPHIRE, a micro-satellite .Theprimary mission of Sapphire is tospace-qualify two sets of “Tunnel-ing Horizon Detector.”

The Kodiak Star is targeted forlaunch Aug. 31, 2001.

SPACEPORT NEWS Page 3Dec. 15, 2000

Control room to keep information flowing

Two NASA KSC managers named

System engineers in the firingroom will have fewer computersystem glitches to contend withduring launch countdowns andmajor prelaunch tests now that thenew Central Operations Facility(COF) control room is online in theLaunch Control Center (LCC).

That will be only one of manybenefits of the new facility, locatedon the second floor of the LCC.

The COF is capable of handlingcomputer system monitoring andmaintenance across KennedySpace Center. It was designed andinstalled by United Space Alliance(USA) in order to provide bettercustomer service to NASA and itsother customers.

The room’s computer monitoringsystem allows for proactivecomputer network maintenancearound the clock. It can detect andfix a problem in an LCC firing roomserver even before the user knowshe has one.

During the system’s support ofSTS-97 launch, it detected a serverproblem before the problem had achance to affect the countdown.

“We’re in the process of chang-ing from a reactive to a proactiveculture at KSC,” said USA Man-ager Larry Carr, who headed theteam of USA integrated datasystem engineers and brought thesystem on line. “This new controlroom is only the first step.”

Already USA has moved morethan a dozen critical launchprocessing and ground supportfunctions to the COF from theirprevious separate locations. USA

plans to add other functions overtime. The COF has been set up tobe integrated with the new Check-out Launch Control System now indevelopment.

“The COF control room will be aone-stop shop for most of ourinformation technology require-ments here at KSC,” said Carr. “It’sa major breakthrough in bringingstate of the art technology to thesystems that support Space Shuttleprocessing from the time the orbiterlands until it lifts off on its nextmission.”

The COF now is managing theShuttle Data Center, which pro-

vides all flight-related software datafor maintenance, simulation andlaunch of the Space Shuttle. Thecontrol room is also serving as asingle point of contact for USAsenior management during thelaunch countdown and othercritical tests.

A USA duty officer is on stationin the control room at all times anda central help desk is on location tosupport USA system usersthroughout KSC. It has consoli-dated help desks that were in theLCC, Vehicle Assembly Buildingand off-site at the NASA ShuttleLogistics Depot.

“It keeps communication flowingwhen the key people are all hereand can talk face to face,” said COFmanager Michael Shacreaw. “Nowthat we’re together, we can workmuch more efficiently and offermuch better customer service.”

The control room featurescommercial hardware and softwaredesigned and developed to meetthe unique requirements of theSpace Shuttle launch processingsystem. Its design is based onlessons learned from control roomsat Delta Airlines, Hewlett Packard,Compaq Computers and LockheedMartin operations.

NASA employees MichaelLeinbach and Charles Abner wererecently named to managementpositions within the Space ShuttleProgram at Kennedy Space Center.

Leinbach was officially namedNASA’s Space Shuttle LaunchDirector at KSC. He rejoins theSpace Shuttle Program aftercompleting two years in support ofthe International Space Station.

As Launch Director, Leinbach isresponsible for overall Shuttlelaunch countdown policy, planning

and executive activities. He willconduct and oversee the finalreadiness poll of the KSC launchteam from the firing rooms prior toliftoff.

“I’m looking forward to my newrole in the Space Station construc-tion process,” said Leinbach.“Being involved with the prepara-tion of Station hardware and thenhelping it get off the ground andinto orbit is a real privilege.”

Though new to the position,Leinbach is no stranger to firing

room activities on launch day. Heserved as NASA Test Directorbeginning in 1988 and was namedShuttle Test Director in 1991.

Charles Abner is NASA’s newChief Engineer for the ShuttleProcessing Directorate at KSC. Inthis position he will be responsiblefor all engineering aspects relatedto processing flight hardwareelements and facility/groundsupport equipment and for theintegration of technical decisionsmade by both engineering and

management personnel before andduring launch.

Abner’s long career with NASAat KSC began in 1967.

The Central Operations Facility recently opened on the second floor of the Launch Control Center.

C. Abner M.Leinbach

Page 4 SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 15, 2000

Inside the Logistics Fa

Keeping Kennedy Space Centerand other Shuttle support centerssupplied with parts for the orbitersand ground operations – fromhuge fuel cells to tiny nuts andbolts – is a massive undertaking.

It’s no wonder that the LogisticsFacility, the building that housesadministrative support andapproximately 140,000 plus spareline items, measures in excess of472,000 square feet.

The facility was built in 1985south of the Vehicle Assembly

Building on Contractor Road toconsolidate logistics functions nearthe processing area.

The Logistics Facility includeswarehouse space, storage plat-forms, chemical storage area, yardstorage and office space.

The value of supplies containedwithin the warehouse and storageareas at any one time is estimatedat about $1 billion.

While some supplies replenishedand kept on hand within the facilityare manufactured and periodically

delivered by vendors, a number ofthe parts are about 20 years old, asold as the Shuttle program.

A constant stream of parts andother materials are ordered, stored,processed and delivered to thecustomers.

Parts must be inspected, sorted,periodically verified and sometimesrepaired.

An automated storage andretrieval system speeds processingrequests.

Damaged or worn items are also

processed at the facility tto the vendor or the NASLogistics Depot for repair

Orders for parts not onlfrom KSC, but also from oShuttle support sites inclDryden Flight Research CTransatlantic Abort SitesBoeing Co. plant in Palmdwhere Columbia is being rbished.

“Customer service andtion are essential in what said Eddy Walters, manag

Facility provides spare parts to KSC and ot

A Logistics Faci

The Logistics Facility is filled with row after row of spare parts. One such row, in the rawstock and oversize items area, is picturedabove. At right is one of the bicycles that are used to transport some items within the facility.

Page 5SPACEPORT NEWSDec. 15, 2000

acility

then sentSA Shuttler.ly come inotherludingCenter, thes and Thedale, Calif.,refur-

d satisfac-we do,”

ger of

Storage and Distribution for UnitedSpace Alliance. “We’ve got about6,000 to 7,000 different customers –that’s anyone who might ordersomething from us.”

About 500 KSC team members,primarily United Space Allianceemployees, work in the facility.

About 100 work in the ware-house area and about 400 in thefacility’s office space.

Employees work in a variety ofdepartments including ProcessingOperations, Storage and Distribu-

tion, Transportation, Procurement,Logistics Engineering, CustomerSupport, Commodity Managementand Quality Assurance.

The major processes carried outin the facility include flight sparesdistribution, ground supportequipment distribution, receiving,delivery, packaging and crating,kitting and repairable processing.

“So much happens here. It’s likea world within a world,” said JohnKelly, manager, Vehicle ProcessingStorage Area.

ther Shuttle support centers across world

“Customer service andsatisfaction are essen-tial in what we do.”

Eddy WaltersManager of Storage and Distribu-tion for United Space Alliance

Receiving inspector Bob Rathjen checks a piece of convoluted tubing.

Receiving inspector Fredia Ford answers a coworker’s question beforechecking packages received at the Logistics Facility.

Woody Smith, manager of transportation and receiving,conducts one of his daily safety walkdowns of thereceiving area at the Logistics Facility.

ility worker validates a stored item.

Page 6 SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 15, 2000

2000 ...(Continued from Page 1)

from the Cape. They also workedtogether to lay the groundwork fordeveloping a comprehensivemaster plan for the Spaceport.

Highlights of KSC’s manyaccomplishments during 2000:

Space Shuttle

The first Shuttle mission of theyear, the Shuttle Radar Topographymission, STS-99, gathered billionsof measurements of the Earth’ssurface for government and publicuse.

Three missions that followed –STS-101, STS-106 and STS-92 –enabled astronauts to continue tobuild, outfit and prepare theInternational Space Station for itsfirst set of long-term occupants, theExpedition 1 crew.

The Expedition 1 trio tookresidence in November after beinglaunched from BaikonurCosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

KSC’s most recent launch, STS-97 in late November, allowedastronauts to deliver and attach theP6 truss segment to the Interna-tional Space Station. Two 108.6-foot-long solar array wings werealso delivered and activated,providing the Station with powerfor both habitation and Stationscience experiments.

Orbiters launched by the KSCTeam during 2000 carried 32 crewmembers into space, logged morethan 23.4 million miles and carriedmany major payloads into orbit.Four of the five missions landed inKSC.

Poor weather conditions at KSCforced the landing of Discovery atVandenberg Air Force Base inCalifornia completing STS-92.

Expendable Launch Vehicles

As lead center for NASA’sacquisition and management ofexpendable vehicle launch services,KSC enjoyed a third successfulyear and moved headquarters intoa refurbished E&O Building at theCape Canaveral Air Force Station(CCAFS).

For the first time, NASA KSCremotely managed a rocket launch.

The High-Energy Transient

Explorer 2 (HETE-2) launched fromthe Kwajalein Missile Range in theSouth Pacific in October. Becausethe Kwajalein site does not have amonitoring setup necessary for thelevel of management required byNASA, a system for remotelymonitoring the launch was createdat the Spaceport from Hangar AE.

KSC’s Expendable LaunchVehicle team supported twomissions launched from CCAFS.Satellites launched were the GOES-L weather satellite in May and thelatest Tracking and Data RelaySatellite (TDRS-H) in June.

From Vandenberg Air Force Basein California, the KSC expendablelaunch team supported thesuccessful launch of the Imager forMagnetopause-to-Aurora GlobalExploration (IMAGE) in March; theNational Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration’s NOAA-L space-craft in September; and the EarthObserving (EO-1) satellite andSAC-C in November.

International Space Station

Several series of Multi-ElementIntegration Tests on Space Stationcomponents were held during theyear to help avoid problems thatwould be costly to address inspace.

Vacuum chamber tests using areactivated Apollo-era high altitude

chamber were also held to ensurethat Station elements, including theU.S. Laboratory, were airtight.

Several Station components wereofficially transferred to NASA fromThe Boeing Co., including theZenith 1 and P6 Integrated TrussStructures. In addition, a number ofother Station components arrivedat KSC for processing. Amongmajor components delivered toKSC were the P1, P4 and S3Integrated Truss Structures and theJoint Airlock Module.

Spaceport Technology andTechnology Transfer

KSC leadership continued tofoster KSC’s development as aSpaceport Technology Center.Specific technology areas targetedfor emphasis were Fluid SystemTechnologies; Spaceport Struc-tures and Materials; ProcessEngineering; Command, Control,Monitoring and Range Technol-ogy; and Plant and MicrobiologicalSciences.

KSC led the Agency in thenumber of technology licensesgenerated.

Notable among new KSC-developed technologies:

The Personal Cabin PressureAltitude Monitor was offered forlicensing. The monitor, which isabout the size of a hand-held pager,

is designed to warn individuals ofpotentially dangerous or deteriorat-ing aircraft cabin pressure altitudeconditions through audio, vibratoryand visual alarms. In addition, alighted digital screen displays a textmessage of the warning and thespecific condition causing thealarm.

The Medevac Oxygen Systemwas shared with the Air Forcethrough a technology transferagreement with the KSC Technol-ogy Programs and Commercializa-tion Office. The system wasoriginally designed to providetherapeutic oxygen supply toastronauts being flown aboard theC-130 aircraft in case of a forcedlanding at a Space Shuttle Transat-lantic Abort Landing site. It will beused by the U.S. Air Force AirMobility Command in C-130 and C-141 aircraft.

A new nitrogen oxide scrubberfor converting toxic vapors from theShuttle’s hypergolic oxidizer intofertilizer was installed at LaunchPad 39A and the technologylicensed to Phoenix SystemsInternational, Inc. of McDonald,Ohio. KSC plans to install thesystem at all scrubbers, and CCAFSplans to install the system at theTitan Launch Complex 40. PhoenixSystems anticipates applying thetechnology to at least 40 percent ofthe country’s coal-, oil-, and gas-

A newly arrived external tank is transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The tank was moved to oneof the VAB’s high bays to await stacking for a future Shuttle mission.

Dec. 15, 2000 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 7

fired boilers.

Contracts, Agreementsand Facilities

NASA selected Boeing DeltaLaunch Services Inc. and LockheedMartin Commercial LaunchServices Inc. for the NASA LaunchServices contract awards. AnIndefinite Delivery/IndefiniteQuantity contract was awarded toeach contractor with a minimum ofone launch service over 10 years.

NASA is authorized to order atotal of 70 launch services under allthe contracts bringing the totalestimated value to $5 billion.

KSC and the 45th Space Wingmarked their second full year underits Joint Base Operations andSupport Contract (J-BOSC).

Through J-BOSC, a single set ofbase operations and supportservice requirements have beenestablished for KSC, CCAFS andPatrick Air Force Base (PAFB).

Eighteen different contractors,often with overlapping andduplicate responsibilities, previ-ously performed these services.

The two organizations furtherstrengthened their partnership bysigning an interagency agreementthat established the Joint Planningand Customer Service (JPCS) office.

The agreement brings togetheran integrated staff into a singleoffice to represent both agencies atthe Spaceport. The JPCS serves asa “one-stop shop” for newcustomers of the two federalagencies.

The two organizations alsosigned the Consolidated Compre-hensive Emergency ManagementPlan (CCEMP). The CCEMPestablished uniform policy guide-lines for the effective mitigation of,

preparation for, response to andrecovery from a variety of emer-gency situations at the Spaceport.

Emergency Preparedness at theSpaceport was further enhanced bythe acquisition of the MobileCommand Center (MCC), a spe-cially equipped emergencyresponse vehicle. The MCC allowsthe emergency response team tobetter respond when emergenciesat the Cape Canaveral Spaceportrequire a mobile field commandcenter. The vehicle was purchasedby the J-BOSC contractor SpaceGateway Support through J-BOSCcontract savings.

The State of Florida appropriated$14 million to help fund construc-tion of the Space ExperimentResearch and Processing Labora-tory (SERPL), a magnet facility forKSC’s planned Space StationCommerce Park. The SERPL, beingdesigned by NASA, will supportlife sciences and biological flightexperiment processing and researchfor the Space Station.

The Cryogenics Testbed Facilitywas unveiled in April. The facilityprovides a resource for collabora-tive research and development inthe areas of thermal insulationsystems, cryogenic components,propellant process systems andlow-temperature applications.

The new Vapor ContainmentFacility, adjacent to the SpaceStation Processing Facility, openedin July. Ammonia servicingequipment used to performpreflight tests and service of ISShardware is now housed in thefacility.

The Vehicle Assembly Building’s“Safe Haven” modifications weretested in August. For the first timein Space Shuttle history, a fullystacked Shuttle rolled into High

Bay 2 of the VAB. Modifications tothe VAB and nearby rock-pavedcrawlerway were completed,allowing more storage space andprotection for Shuttle flighthardware from hurricanes ortropical storms.

The new Checkout and LaunchControl System (CLCS) at theHypergolic Maintenance Facilitywas declared operational inSeptember. It was the first ofseveral new CLCS rooms scheduledto come on line in the comingmonths. CLSC is a multi-yearproject designed to replaceoutdated control rooms at KSCwith highly sophisticated computersystems and software.

A new high-pressure heliumpipeline to service launch needs atthe new Delta IV launch complex,Complex 37 at CCAFS, wascommissioned in November. Thenine-mile-long, buried pipeline forComplex 37 will save NASA moneythrough sharing use and costs ofthe KSC Helium Facility. It will alsoserve as a backup helium resourcefor Shuttle launches.

Also in November, a ribboncutting was held for the refurbishedE&O Building. Home for NASA’sunmanned missions since 1964, thebuilding was renovated to host theExpendable Launch VehicleProgram at KSC.

Tourist DestinationUpgrades

Several new exhibits, an Astro-naut Encounter show and the Dr.Kurt Debus Conference Facilityopened at KSC Visitor Center.

The major new additionsrepresented the final phase of a$120 million redevelopment projectby Delaware North Parks Servicesof Spaceport Inc.

The new conference facilityfeatures an Early Space Explorationexhibit, which highlights earlymissions. A second new exhibit,Exploration in the New Millenium,showcases explorations to Mars.

To ensure funding for significantfuture upgrades to the VisitorCenter, a new admissions policywent into effect.

An all-inclusive admission ticketnow provides access to the KSCbus tour, IMAX films and theRobot Scouts and UniverseTheater attractions.

Community Outreach andEducation

KSC’s contributions through the2000 Combined Federal Campaignexceeded its goal of $220,000, withmore than $260,000 given by KSCCivil Service employees.

In addition, 1,174 KSC, CCAFSand PAFB employees joined theNational Marrow Donor Program atKSC’s third annual registrationdrive.

KSC and CCAFS jointly hosted aCommunity Appreciation Day onNov. 4. More than 43,000 BrevardCounty residents in addition tothousands of KSC and CCAFSemployees attended.

KSC hosted the first FloridaSpace Summit in January. Thesummit looked at the future ofspace as it relates to the state ofFlorida.

Then in August, KSC hosted theannual Community LeadersBriefing. KSC executives met withvarious community leaders fromacross Brevard County and theState of Florida about long-termviability of KSC and benefits thespace program contributes to thecommunity.

On the education front, theNASA KSC Property DisposalOffice coordinated the donation of1,501 computers to students duringFiscal Year 2000, which ended Sept.30. Major donations were made toschools in Pike County, Ala., andMemphis, Tenn.

Students from all over thecountry gathered for the FIRST(For Inspiration and Recognition ofScience and Technology) regionalcompetition at the KSC VisitorComplex in March.

Thirty teams of high schoolstudents tested the limits of theirimagination using robots theydesigned to compete in a techno-logical battle against other schools’robots.

To educate employees and helpfacilitate the changing Spaceportculture, “7 Habits” personalmastery training of all civil serviceemployees was completed.

Through these efforts andothers, KSC began the newmillennium with a reinvigoratedsense of destiny and a clear planfor continuing excellence in launchoperations and technologydevelopment.

Endeavour lands at Kennedy Space Center, ending STS-97. Four of thepast five Shuttle missions this year ended with a landing at KSC.

John F. Kennedy Space Center

Managing editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bruce BuckinghamEditor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathy Hagood

Editorial support provided by InDyne Inc. Writers Group.NASA at KSC is located on the Internet at http://www.ksc.nasa.gov

USGPO: 533-128/00047

Spaceport News

Spaceport News is an official publication of the Kennedy Space Center andis published on alternate Fridays by the Public Affairs Office in the interest ofKSC civil service and contractor employees. Contributions are welcome and should be submitted two weeks beforepublication to the Media Services Branch, XAE-1. E-mail submissions can besent to Katharine.Hagood-1@ksc.nasa.gov

Page 8 SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 15, 2000

Photographer JohnSexton’s newcalendar, “SpaceShuttle An InsideLook,” and book,“Places of Power,”are availablethrough the NASAExchange store. Formore information onthe book orcalendar, see www.VentanaEditions.com.

Employees of the Month Contest winners

As part of America Recycles Day, theNASA Environmental Program Officecoordinated a Center-wide poster contestthat was sponsored by the Office of theFederal Environmental Executive. ACertificate of Appreciation was awardedto the four entries submitted by NASA, allof which were submitted from KSC.Posters were designed and submitted bythe following children: Afton Shelton,11,pictured right, Mathew Houser, 8, andRyan Mulcahy, 14, pictured left. ARD2000 Calendars, highlighting the winningposters, are expected to be released bythe end of January 2001. To view theposters, see http://environmental.ksc.nasa.gov/recycle/intro.html.

December employees of the month are, from left, Robert Summers of the Shuttle ProcessingDirectorate, Kathleen Mease of the ELV and Payload Carriers Program, Penny Chambers ofthe Chief Counsel’s Office and Klaus Staefe of the Spaceport Services Directorate.Employees of the month not shown are Roslyn McKinney of the Equal Opportunity Office,Carol Aiello of the Joint Performance Management Office and Walter Feitshans of theSpaceport Engineering and Technology Directorate.

Evidence of past water on MarsIn what ultimately may be their

most significant discovery yet,Mars scientists say high-resolutionpictures showing layers of sedi-mentary rock paint a portrait ofancient Mars that long ago mayhave featured numerous lakes andshallow seas.

"We see distinct, thick layers ofrock within craters and otherdepressions for which a number oflines of evidence indicate that theymay have formed in lakes orshallow seas. We have neverbefore had this type of irrefutableevidence that sedimentary rocks

are widespread on Mars," said Dr.Michael Malin. He was theprincipal investigator for the MarsOrbiter Camera on the Mars GlobalSurveyor spacecraft at Malin SpaceScience Systems, San Diego, Calif.

Such layered rock structureswhere there were once lakes arecommon on Earth.

The pancake-like layers ofsediment compressed and ce-mented to form a rock record of theplanet's history.

The regions of sedimentarylayers on Mars are spread out andscattered around the planet.