NASA - Unprecedented security for first wartime shuttle launch

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Astronauts expect to be best protected people on planet come launch day

By Marcia Dunn, Associated Press, 11/24/2001 12:50

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) When mission commander Dominic Gorie and his crew rocket into orbit this week, it will be amid unprecedented security during unprecedented times.

Fighter jets, helicopter patrols, SWAT teams, military guards, closed roads, tourist bans, media crackdowns and possibly even anti-aircraft artillery are some of the safeguards expected to be in place for NASA's first wartime space shuttle launch.

''We're probably going to be some of the most well-protected people in the world,'' says Gorie, a Navy captain and former combat pilot.

Gorie has told no one, not even his wife and two children, what types of security measures will be in place for the countdown to Thursday's launch. No one at NASA, in fact, is divulging any details.

All seven astronauts say they're satisfied with what the space agency and the Air Force are doing to protect Endeavour and themselves from terrorist attack.

''When this first happened on Sept. 11, one of my first thoughts was, 'A shuttle on the launch pad is a target,' '' says astronaut Linda Godwin, who has a 1½-year-old daughter.

But she is comforted by the precautions.

''I just don't see how they could be doing anything else,'' she says.

NASA went so far as to consider keeping Endeavour's 7:41 p.m. launch time a secret until minutes before liftoff. But because the launch time had already been publicized, officials concluded it would be ''not only inappropriate but ineffective'' to classify the countdown and other mission events, says flight director Wayne Hale.

Endeavour will deliver a fresh three-man crew to the international space station and bring back the one astronaut and two cosmonauts who have been living up there since August.

For the first time in 20 years of space shuttle flight, only a select few will be on hand to watch the astronauts depart for the launch pad; journalists and most Kennedy Space Center employees will be barred. Space center roads typically reserved for launch spectators will also be closed, even to the astronauts' guests.

Gorie and his crew expect a smaller crowd than usual to see them off, not just because of space center restrictions. Some of their friends and relatives are afraid to fly to Florida and do not have time to drive.

Impressed with the extra security, former astronaut Frederick Hauck is far less worried about Thursday's launch than he was for the first takeoff after the 1986 Challenger accident. He commanded NASA's return to flight in 1988 and, for his courage and dedication, was among the first shuttle pilots inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame earlier this month.

''It would be very difficult for anyone to do anything dangerous to the space shuttle,'' Hauck says.

Space station program manager Tommy Holloway notes that every shuttle flight has risks, given the million-plus parts per ship.

''The only thing I worry about is that this team that we have working, flying people in space, stay focused on the job ... and are not distracted by outside events,'' Holloway says.

Gorie has repeatedly urged his crewmates to stay focused so they can pull off a successful mission and, in their own way, help America heal.

''The fact that we've got a space shuttle launch coming fairly soon after those events is a great opportunity to show the world and our own citizens our strength and our power and our vision,'' Gorie says.

The shuttle will be carrying thousands of U.S. flags, most of which will be distributed after Endeavour's 11-day flight to relatives of those killed at the World Trade Center and to survivors of the tragedy.

The larger banners, including one still reeking of smoke from the trade center, will be returned to New York City, the Pentagon and the state of Pennsylvania.

''We recognize that this flight is certainly going to be overshadowed by everything else in the news and rightfully so. Our country is at war,'' says Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mark Kelly, Gorie's co-pilot and a combat veteran.

''But for the people who at least know about our mission and realize that the space shuttle is launching, I'm sure all those people are going to be really proud.''

-- Anonymous, November 24, 2001


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