New Shuttle

The Air Force's top space official said Wednesday that the loss of the shuttle Challenger has created a national emergency that cannot be cured merely by shifting military space payloads to expendable rockets. Edward C. Aldridge Jr. told a joint hearing of two Senate subcommittees that the Air Force supports not only additional expendable launching vehicles but replacement of the Challenger as well.

Just in time for the holidays, a free shuttle service has started between Bob Hope Airport in Burbank and the North Hollywood Metro Station . The service, which began last week, will continue until at least the end of January during a trial period. "We want to evaluate and make sure people are using it," airport spokeswoman Lucy Burghdorf said. How it works : Signs marking the shuttle stop have been put up at the Metro station, the last stop on the Red Line , which is near the intersection of Lankershim and Chandler boulevards in North Hollywood, officials said.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has notified Rockwell International Corp. to suspend making some layoffs at its Downey space shuttle plant, a strong indication that NASA will order a new space orbiter, officials said Thursday. Rockwell has also begun discussions with hundreds of space shuttle subcontractors to determine how quickly they could restart production lines to build parts for a new orbiter to replace the lost Challenger, Rockwell spokesmen said.

Crew members chosen for NASA's second space shuttle mission since the 2003 Columbia disaster said Friday that they were confident that fuel-tank changes would result in a safe, but not debris-free, liftoff. The modifications were ordered after shuttle Discovery's fuel tank shed large pieces of insulating foam during July's launch, the first mission since the Columbia accident -- which was caused by falling foam. "The program has never advertised that we would never lose any foam," said Steven W.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration unveiled a revised shuttle launch schedule, formally pushing the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope into 1990 and cutting the 1989 flight schedule by one mission. As expected, the new shuttle schedule lists six flights in 1989, nine flights in 1990, eight in 1991, 12 in 1992, including the first flight of the new shuttle Endeavour, and 14 in 1993.

President Reagan today gave NASA permission to build a new $2.8-billion space shuttle to replace the destroyed Challenger, and his spokesman said NASA will no longer launch commercial satellites. The spokesman, Larry Speakes, said that in putting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration out of the commercial launch business, the government will encourage development of a private rocket industry.

Columbia, flagship of the U.S. space shuttle fleet, will be ferried to Vandenberg Air Force Base later this year to be used in testing new shuttle launch facilities, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced Friday. The 100-ton orbiter, first flown in space nearly five years ago, will be hauled across the country in July by NASA's modified Boeing 747 transport plane and will remain at the new shuttle launch complex through early November.

The Air Force has decided to put its $3.3-billion space shuttle launch complex at Vandenberg Air Force Base in mothballs, meaning that no shuttle launches will take place on the West Coast for "an extended period of time," congressional and Pentagon sources said Monday. Before the Challenger disaster last January, the first Air Force shuttle had been scheduled to lift off from the California site this month, beginning routine shuttle launches of secret reconnaissance satellites into polar orbit.

Atlantis, the newest space shuttle, roared and blasted flame for 22 seconds on the launch pad today in a successful test of its rocket engines that cleared the way for its maiden flight with a secret military cargo Oct. 3. The engine firing was to verify that all systems on the fourth shuttle in NASA's fleet were operable before its debut with a crew of five military officers.

Sen. Jake Garn (R-Utah) will be going up in space this month after all. The National Aeronautics and Space Agency today announced a new crew that includes Garn, chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees NASA's annual budget, to fly the shuttle Discovery around March 29 on a revised mission.

What's thought to be the biggest airport people-mover system in the world is to open Saturday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Texas. Replacing a 3-decade-old train, the $880-million SkyLink stretches nearly five miles, with cars that can run 35 mph, twice as fast as the ones on the old system. Besides giving the airport bragging rights, the shuttle is designed to solve the No. 1 complaint of DFW customers, said Chief Executive Jeffrey P.

Starting today, airport shuttle customers who don't have reservations will be limited to a handful of shuttle operators for rides home from Los Angeles International Airport. The airport earlier awarded exclusive rights for walk-up business to three full-service shuttle companies and four long-distance carriers. In exchange, full-service operators must each pay the airport at least $1 million a year; the long-distance companies are exempt from the fee.

The space shuttle Columbia rocketed into orbit Wednesday, performing for the first time a 180-degree roll that will allow NASA to save money by closing an obsolete ground station. The shuttle made a routine 90-degree roll seconds after blastoff to place it on course for a 170-mile-high orbit and six minutes later, for the first time, it performed the second roll of 180 degrees to allow it to communicate with mission control through a relay satellite.

It's time to get on the bus. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation will launch its Smart Shuttle service in the northeast Valley today, offering riders flexible schedules and destinations. Transportation officials, Los Angeles City Council members and state Assembly members will be on hand at 9 a.m. for the shuttle's inaugural run from the Metrolink commuter rail station at 2100 Frank Modugno Drive at Hubbard Street.

Bullwinkle soared over New York City for the first time in years as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade celebrated its 70th birthday Thursday, while a bit higher up, the shuttle Columbia astronauts delayed their Thanksgiving feast for a stroll in space--which was canceled when they couldn't get through a stuck hatch.

After ripping it apart for inspection, NASA has declared its new space shuttle engine "A-OK." Discovery blasted off with one of these new engines on July 13. The other two engines on Discovery were the old variety. Otto Goetz, NASA's shuttle engine deputy manager, said the new engine worked well during its debut. The newly designed high-pressure oxidizer pump contained ceramic instead of steel balls in the bearings; the ceramic balls looked perfect after the flight, he said.

Technicians today replaced a defective computer in space shuttle Atlantis as they worked toward a Tuesday launch to deploy the Jupiter-bound Galileo probe. Testing of the new $6-million unit began immediately and was to be completed Saturday. "All the work is going well at the launch pad," said NASA spokeswoman Lisa Malone. "We can launch on Tuesday if the testing goes without a hitch."

The port expects to make $6 million a year from a new cargo shuttle service to the ports of Seattle and Vancouver being offered by Los Angeles-based Matson Navigation Co. Matson began the business in July. It is believed to be the first service to move cargo specifically between the West Coast ports. It is an alternative to rail and truck routes on the West Coast and allows some international carriers to reduce the number of ports where they have to stop, said Matson spokesman Jeff Hull.

At 11:40 a.m., Southwest Airlines' Flight 1737 from Phoenix wheels up to a gate at Burbank Airport, 30 minutes behind schedule. Southwest normally sticks to a tight 20-minute time limit for a plane to remain at a gate between flights. But since this plane is late, Southwest crews are aiming for a herculean 10-minute turnaround. As the plane taxis in, a dozen workers rush toward it, including some from other Southwest crews who are pitching in while their own gates are idle.