they say that most eras end
but such is not the case for a unique
group of people who build and launch a
pioneering american launch vehicle whose
satellites revolutionized weather
forecasting
brought live television events from
around the world into your home
and investigated the mysteries of our
universe
during the early years of america's
space program most of the public's
interest was focused on man going to the
moon
but during that same incredible epic a
story unfolded about a little publicized
launch vehicle named delta which orbited
history-making satellites that helped to
change the culture of hundreds of
millions of people living on our planet
today delta has a vital date with
destiny
it is about to launch a scientific
messenger to keep an appointment with
the beginning of time
the creation of the universe
this is the story about delta
and its people in their pursuit of
excellence with a legendary rocket which
earned the reputation of being the best
in the world
today marks the 189th delta launching
over a 30-year period
this magnificent flying machine will
send the cosmic background explorer or
kobe for short into space to study the
radiation remaining from the cataclysmic
explosion called the big bang which
spawned the birth of our universe some
15 billion years ago
the countdown progresses smoothly
two minutes 25 seconds and counting
to understand this space vehicle's
remarkable success record of 94
one must look back into time to
understand the philosophy of the people
who first created the indomitable delta
in the embryonic space age of the
nineteen fifties
america's space program in the 1950s was
struggling with failure after failure
being chronicled in the day's top news
stories
then on october 4th 1957
sputnik shocked the world
sending unprecedented electronic beeps
to radio and television stations around
the world as commentators struggled to
explain the phenomenon to hundreds of
millions of people
the fact that the soviet union was the
first into space
tarnished america's technological image
and challenged its leadership worldwide
public concerns soared higher than ever
on january 31st of 1958 the united
states orbited its first satellite
explorer 1.
vanguard 1 followed about 2 months later
the space race had begun
on april 28 1959 delta was born when the
newly created space agency named nasa
signed a 24 million dollar contract with
the douglas aircraft company now the
mcdonnell douglas corporation for 12
launch vehicles
delta's configuration would be a
three-stage launch vehicle the first
stage utilizing the thor missile and the
second and third stage hardware from the
vanguard rocket
managed by nasa's goddard space flight
center delta was to be an interim
vehicle to fill a two-year gap when more
powerful vehicles would replace it
launch vehicles like delta are
complicated dangerous devices that
require disciplined vigilance to achieve
success
during an era of change when rocket
technology was in its infancy delta's
early success record was a remarkable
achievement
it is ironic that the first delta
launching on a friday the 13th of may in
1960 failed
presenting the delta team with its first
major challenge
pinpoint the problem
after exhaustive ground testing the
reason for the failure was identified
and fixed
three months later delta scored its
first success by orbiting echo1 a
communication satellite that would be
seen by more people than any other
man-made object
president eisenhower took part in the
first transmission
it is a great personal satisfaction to
participate
in this experiment in communications
involving the use of the satellite
balloon known as echo
following echo delta ran off 22 straight
successes
rapidly earning the reputation of being
the most versatile and reliable of
american launch systems earning the
nickname
workhorse
as reliability improved over the years
delta passed the test of time by
achieving 43 successful launchings in a
row some 25 years later
delta's success can be traced not only
to superior hardware provided by its
contractors but to the people of the
government industry team
especially their first leader a crew-cut
engineer named bill
schindler one of the youngest project
managers in the history of nasa
schindler brought to the delta program a
sound engineering background and a
simple philosophy
keep costs down make it work and always
satisfy your spacecraft customer
this philosophy filtered down to every
member of the nasa mcdonnell douglas
team bonding a lifetime partnership
creative honest highly competitive and a
tireless worker schindler had a vision
that delta could provide flexible
dependable access to space exploration
he knew where he wanted to go and
possess the leadership ability to bring
the delta people along with it
more than a thousand people engineers
administrators technicians manufacturers
suppliers
all dedicated to the common goal
the delta team established a standard of
excellence acclaimed worldwide
during the 1960s yuri gagarian a russian
became the first human to orbit the
earth
president john f kennedy was
assassinated
chubby checker and the twist were the
rage of the nation
and american astronaut neil armstrong
became the first human to walk on the
moon
meanwhile with little public recognition
delta chalked up an impressive list of
difficult launchings and space firsts
one of delta's many firsts was the
united kingdom's ariel the first
international satellite to be launched
by the united states
this 1962 launching marked the first of
many international space missions
whereby the united states would be
reimbursed hundreds of millions of
dollars for the use of delta
contributing substantially to the united
states balance of payments and creating
thousands of new jobs in american
industry
also during 1962 at t's telstar one the
first privately built communication
satellite beamed the first live
television show from france to the
united states
at t paid the u.s treasury 2.6 million
dollars for the delta telstar
launching possibly the most remarkable
of the early delta launchings was the
world's first geosynchronous satellite
named cincom1
from its vantage point 22 300 miles
above the equator simcom remained at the
same point above earth making it
possible for the first time to beam
telephone calls and television programs
like the 1964 olympics from one
continent to another
this unprecedented orbital task silenced
those critics who said that achieving a
synchronous orbit was too risky to be
worthwhile
in 1965 delta launched the first
operational communication satellite
early bird for the newly created
communications satellite corporation
as the result of early bird telephone
capacity across the atlantic increased
by two-thirds with costs per call
dropping sharply
in a conference call with statesmen in
europe president lyndon b johnson said
this moment marks a milestone in the
history of communications between
peoples and nations
for the first time
the man-made satellite of earth
is being put into commercial service as
a means of communication between
continents
the occasion is as happy as it is
historic
satellites launched by delta fueled a
revolution in communications technology
providing the world with a box seat view
of history being made
when american astronaut neil armstrong
walked on the moon's surface in 1969
700 million people from the earth's four
corners watched his movements
and heard his historical first words
live via satellite
that's one small step
communication satellites projected all
nations into the mainstream of modern
world communications new avenues to
trade education entertainment and the
many kinds of political discourse
essential to international understanding
in only 10 years communication
satellites achieved what had eluded man
for 10 000 years
according to folklore mark twain said
everybody talks about the weather but
nobody does anything about it
but delta did something about it by
launching a series of weather satellites
during the 1960s named tyros
kairos provided the national weather
service with man's first view of the
world's cloud cover
constantly on guard for those inevitable
moments when friendly weather turns to
foe
weather measuring instruments aboard
these sentinels in the sky tell us when
a far away low pressure system over our
oceans may develop into a dangerous
hurricane
weather satellites created a new
industry resulting in large economic
benefits to the agriculture trucking and
shipping industries
what have better forecasts from these
weather observers men's in estimated
cost and human benefits
a three to five day improved weather
prediction can save the agricultural
industry an estimated five billion
dollars annually
and shipping operations in the arctic
great lakes and st lawrence seaway can
save about five million dollars a year
or how about the countless lives and
millions of dollars in property damage
saved through advance warnings of
destructive hurricanes
during delta's first decade it also sent
a series of scientific messengers named
explorer into orbits around the earth
moon and sun to study the solar wind
cosmic rays
and planet earth's magnetic field and
radiation belts
as the decade of the 60s ended 68 of the
74 delta launchings worked to near
perfection for an astounding batting
average of 92 percent
to accommodate spacecraft growth during
the 60s several engineering innovations
made it possible for delta to orbit
spacecraft 10 times heavier
and the good news for delta customers
was that the price increase was less
than the cost of inflation
during the 70s a ceasefire was declared
in vietnam
hank aaron hit his 715th home run
besting babe ruth's record
america celebrated its 200th birthday
and delta's list of customers looked
like the telephone directory for the
united nations
delta's schedule included a host of
scientific and communications satellites
designed and built by the european space
agency indonesia japan italy germany
france canada united kingdom
and
nato these foreign space teams were
totally dependent on a highly reliable
cost effective on schedule launch system
delta met their needs
for delta it was an international decade
popularizing the word reimbursable with
38 of the 76 launchings being paid for
by the customer
during the decade of the 70s the need
for advanced communications satellites
expanded rapidly
delta launched 29 communication
satellites for foreign countries and
private companies like comsat rca and
western union to deliver live television
reports instant telephone calls and
computer data exchanges
nearly 200 nations and territories now
depend on this communication service
which has annual revenues in the
billions of dollars
in a remote eskimo village in canada's
yukon children learn their abcs via
space
they watch sesame street and other
children's programs courtesy of canada's
anic communication satellite launched by
delga
another delta launched communications
satellite named palapa united the
country of indonesia in a way not
previously possible
palapa provides telephone and television
channels to a nation of more than one
hundred sixty million people living on
more than thirteen thousand islands in
asia covering a stretch of ocean some
three thousand one hundred miles long
this remarkable satellite system makes
it possible for schools and universities
industrial plants and oil drilling
platforms at sea to keep in constant
touch with the rest of the world
in 1972
delta faced one of its most demanding
tests the launching of a pathfinding
satellite named earth resources
technology satellite later renamed
landsat
costing more than 100 million dollars
landsat was the most expensive satellite
launched up to that time by delta
to carry out the landsat mission the
delta team had to make major changes in
the propulsion and guidance system
recognizing what was at stake with the
international earth sciences community
the delta team made the necessary
vehicle modifications without a previous
test launching
a vivid testimonial of their faith in
themselves to make the system work
and work it did
providing dramatic detailed pictures
containing new information about man's
most essential needs food water and
energy
forcing us to become wiser and more
efficient custodians of earth's limited
resources
landsat provided scientists with a view
of the eerie and unexpected beauty of
our planet
enabling them to identify diseased crops
map earth's crust for potential oil
deposits locate pollution
monitor the depletion of our forests and
inventory fresh water supplies the most
important single resource on
earth most productive telescope in the
solar system
that's what astronomers call the iue
satellite
launched with delta in 1978 iue is still
operating after 12 years open to all
scientists worldwide some sixteen
hundred astronomers from all five
continents have used iue for their
investigation of the universe
by the end of the nineteen seventies
delta's reliability over 20 years and
150 launchings was an impressive 93
to meet the rapidly changing demands of
the satellite community delta once again
underwent several changes such as the
straight eight look making its diameter
the same from the bottom upward
delta's performance for placing a
satellite into synchronous transfer
orbit increased to over two thousand
pounds
quite a difference from the 146 pound
sincom of 1963 vintage
in the decade of the eighties the united
states shocked the sporting world by
defeating the russian hockey team in the
winter olympics
president reagan was shot and seriously
wounded
sally ride became the first american
woman to go into space
the berlin wall opened to unrestricted
travel
and for the delta rocket it was business
as usual
beginning its third decade delta's
performance continued to grow to
accommodate its customers of the 1980s
a host of very large communications
weather and landsat satellites to
constantly monitor our planet's pulse
several pioneering scientific satellites
and a challenging military mission for
the defense department
spacecraft weight for these
communication satellites tipped the
scale at almost 3 000 pounds
some of these switchboards in the sky
can handle 24 000 telephone calls
simultaneously
or 24 television channels compared to
240 phone calls or only one television
channel on early bird in 1965
one of several scientific missions was
the 1983 launching of a satellite named
iras which explored the heretofore
invisible infrared universe
iras discovered the first evidence for
another planetary system like our own in
its first stage of growth
another 1983 mission involving a complex
scientific mission to study cosmic
x-rays for the european space agency
severely tested delta's ability to be
launched on short notice
because of scheduling problems with
another rocket the exosat satellite had
to be launched over a period of only a
few days and the target date was only
four months away
the delta team accomplished a two-year
task during this four-month deadline
successfully launching exosat precisely
on time
the 180th delta launching was one of the
greatest challenges in the vehicle's
distinguished history
the mission was the first for defense
purposes and was given a top priority by
the president of the united states
in less than two years the delta people
assembled the launch vehicles built new
unique orbital stages and integrated the
scientific payloads for this national
defense space spectacular
the mission proved that a network of
american defense rockets could intercept
and destroy potential enemy missiles
before they could strike our cities or
other targets
this extraordinary program exceeded all
objectives and was called the most
complex command and controlled space
mission ever conducted by the united
states
what made delta unique compared to other
launch vehicle systems
it was the delta philosophy over three
decades which never changed
reliability
it had to work
service
meet the satellite customers needs
cost effectiveness
keep the price down
improvements systematically phased in
over several years using proven systems
careful but constant change
using the benefits of state-of-the-art
technology
and delta folks at nasa mcdonnell
douglas and the many contractors who
devoted most of their careers working
together
making it a way of life
rather than a job
30 years yet the thrill of launch is
still there for the delta people as the
countdown for the delta 189 kobe mission
near zero
another delta heads for space
this time with a satellite named kobe
whose instruments will peer back to the
beginning of time to investigate the
fossil radiation remains and the seeds
which led to today's structure of the
universe
with the launching of delta 189
the torch is being passed by nasa to the
defense department and mcdonnell douglas
for a commercial transportation system
called delta ii
delta ii will carry on with the same
tradition in the 90s and into the 21st
century
when dreamers creators and builders of
future generations will establish human
colonies in space in man's quest to
explore the final frontier
delta changed the course of history
making it possible for many groups and
nations to go into space
when historians of future generations
discuss delta's place in the annals of
space rocketry they are sure to devote
several pages to this workhorse
and the prominent men and women of delta
for the role they played for the benefit
of all mankind
you