APPENDIXES A. CORRESPONDENCE OF THE HONORABLE OLIN E. TEAGUE WITH INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTORS Mr. L. J. EVANS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND ASTRONAUTICS, President, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp., DEAR MR. EVANS: The Subcommittee on NASA Oversight, as a part of its continuing review of the national space program, has directed the staff of the subcommittee to review specific areas of effort. It seems appropriate at this time to examine the status of the Apollo program and the Apollo Applications program now that the changes following the Apollo accident of January 1967 are well underway and the funding for the Apollo Applications programs is known. Performance, cost, and schedule are the primary emphases of this study recognizing that remedial actions taken following the Apollo accident can now be assessed. With a major effort in the Apollo Applications program now underway, an understanding of its emphasis and interaction with the Apollo program seemed essential also. With this in mind, I have designated Mr. James E. Wilson, assisted by Mr. Peter A. Gerardi, of our committee staff, to undertake this study. Please have whomever you may designate contact Mr. Wilson or Mr. Gerardi. It is my objective that a concise review of the Apollo and Apollo Applications programs will result from this study which will be useful to the committee during the fiscal year 1969 authorization hearings. Your contribution to the study will aid in this objective. Sincerely yours, OLIN E. TEAGUE, Chairman, Subcommittee on NASA Oversight. NOTE: Similar correspondence was sent to the following industrial contractors: Mr. L. J. Evans, president, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. Mr. J. L. Atwood, president and chairman of the board, North American Aviation, Inc. Mr. H. D. Lowrey, president, Space Division, Chrysler Corp. Mr. J. Donald Rauth, vice president, Denver Division, MartinMarietta Corp. Mr. L. Eugene Root, president, Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. Mr. Richard H. Nelson, general manager, Launch Systems Branch, the Boeing Co. Mr. Donald W. Douglas, Jr., president, Douglas Aircraft Co. Mr. Walter F. Burke, vice president and general manager, Spacecraft & Missiles Division, McDonnell Aircraft Co. B. ABSTRACT* OF STAFF CONFERENCES, INDUSTRIAL CONTRACTORS CHRYSLER-MICHOUD OCTOBER 10, 1967 BRIEFING FOR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, CHRYSLER APOLLO AND APOLLO APPLICATIONS PROGRAM SUMMARY The last of the 12 Saturn IB stages currently under contract is being completed at the Michoud Assembly Facility. Design releases, long leadtime procurement and manufacturing activities are underway for four additional stages. Authorization to proceed with full-scale manufacturing and assembly of these stages is needed almost immediately to preclude disruption of the work forces. The major technical problems which occurred since February involved moisture in the LOX sealed cavities of the H-1 engine. All engines were checked and contaminated seals were replaced. Causes for the problems were determined and corrective action was taken. The AS-204 accident resulted in program schedule changes under which S-IB stages already produced and tested, are being stored at the Michoud Assembly Facility. Safety has also been emphasized and a manager of Saturn systems safety appointed responsible directly to division president for matters in this area. Reviews conducted regarding safety verifications have disclosed no significant shortcomings in the existing hardware and systems. A program for vehicle systems integration of the Saturn IB has been established. The work is performed on an incentive basis. Studies of uprating the Saturn IB vehicle disclose that options exist through additions of Minuteman or 120-inch solid rocket motors as strap-on's to the first stage alone or in conjunction with other changes to the S-IV-B stage. These options could be used for Apollo Applications Program payload as well as other programs requiring payloads up to 120,000 pounds in near earth orbit. The charts contained in this section may not be serially numbered since they have been abstracted from a larger body of information on file with the Committee on Science and Astronautics. |