The Galveston Daily News from Galveston, Texas • Page 32

16-B Sttus Friday Homing. October 14,1983 Shuttle nozzle mystery clouds October launch WASHINGTON (AP) at analyzed records at a Utah rocket plant Ttanday to learn why a faulty rocket nozzle nearly spelled trouble in August for the space jfauttle CKillfngtr and Its crew. NASA held on to the mystery can be resolved to the next shuttle can be launched Oct. 21. Some officials said the problem almost certainly will delay the next liftoff one to four months.

A decision on whether to delay may not be made for several days. The rocket specialists, from several aerospace 7 companies, were poring over documentation to determine whether Batch 1042 of Ftberite, a carbon nhebpUc material, contained bad ingredients. They worked with conflicting data. The protective lining on one of Challenger's two beU-shaped solid rocket nozzles was made from Batch 1042. Engineers examining the nozzle after its recovery from the Atlantic Ocean discovered that the Ibree-lnca coating had burned down to two-tenths o( an inch.

Normally only about half the lining erodes under the searing exhaust temperatures of 700 Fahrenheit. -'Astronaut Daniel Brandenstein, who piloted the flight, told CBS News Wednesday that the nozzle would have burned through if the rockets had fired for another 2.7 seconds. He said a burnthrough would have been "catastrophic" and spelled "curtains" for the five astronauts. A NASA official labeled that conclusion as con- lecture, although agency engineers said a burnthrough might have occurred if the boosters had fired another 15 to 20 seconds. Even if there were a burnthrough during the firing period, they said, a shuttle crew could shed the boosters and depending on the point of flight fly on into orbit with the ship's three main engines, or make an emergency landing.

The two solid fuel boosters burn slightly more than "two minutes and then are jettisoned. The liquid-fuel main engines burn for another six minutes to reach orbit. When the nozzle erosion was detected, NASA immediately turned attention to the shuttle Columbia, poised on a Cape Canaveral, launch pad to hoist the Si-billion European-built Spacelab into orbit on Oct. 28. One of its booster nozzle liners also -was made from Batch 1042.

Investigation has centered on the possibility of bad material or a mishap in the curing process at the booster manufacturer's plant, Morton-Thiokol of Brigham City, Utah. Test firings of two nozzles using the material brought different results. One, on Sunday, produced considerable erosion. A second, on Wednesday, produced hardly any, adding to the scientific puzzle. To help in the investigation, NASA and Morton- Thiokol called on solid fuel rocket experts from several companies and programs, including the Minuteman, Poseidon and Titan missile At Cape Canaveral, preparations for a late October launch continued.

If a decision is made to change Columbia's boosters, the spaceship will have to be rolled back to its hangar, where another set of rockets is being prepared for a quick switch if necessary. A NASA official at the Houston Space Center who. asked not to be named, said, don't think there's a chance we'll fly in October." An agency official in Washington, also requesting anonymity, concurred. European Space Agency officials are being consulted because Columbia is to carry that agency's Spacelab during the nine-day mission. The launch.

heeds to be made in the dark phase of the moon to enhance the research lab's astronomy experiments. If the launch were delayed, the next oportunity would be Nov. 27 or 28. Fire destroys Austin theater, damages several businesses AUSTIN, Texas (AP) A fire on this city's popular East Sixth Street destroyed the home of a comedy theatre: troupe and damaged several bust- nesses nearby early Thursday. Esther's Pool, home of of the comedy-theater troupe, Esther's Follies, was destroyed by a three- alarm blaze at 2:50 a.m.

Thursday that also destroyed two adjacent restaurants and an upholstery shop. No one was injured, but police rescued a nightwatchman asleep inside the theater. The fire marshal's office said there were no signs of arson, but investigators have not yet determined the cause of the fire. Sixth Street is the focus of Austin's downtown historic preservation efforts, and a busy street of bars, restaurants, theaters, clubs and shops. ALICIA VICTIMS DO YOU HELP Obtaining repair Filling out insurance forms? NEW LIFE FIRE ADJUSTMENT CO.

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