Back to the Job

The Apollo disaster in January plunged the U.S. space program into an agonizing interregnum of introspection and doubt. Last week the nation's space leaders made it plain that the time has come to focus once more on the moon. America's hopes of a lunar landing by 1970 can still be realized, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Chief James E. Webb told Congress, barring any recurrence of major technical problems.

As insurance against further delays, NASA has undertaken $75 million worth of common-sense improvements since the Apollo fire. The astronauts' space suits have been made fireproof, flammable substance in the capsule has been replaced with fire-resistant material wherever possible, and a new escape hatch has been designed that opens in three seconds (v. 90 in the old model). Loose wiring, the likeliest cause of the tragedy, has been encased in metal. Despite the fire hazards, NASA decided to retain the relatively simple atmospheric system that feeds pure oxygen to the astronauts while in orbit, rather than switch to the safer, heavyweight two-gas system used by the Russians.

Direct Voice. To emphasize the space agency's go-go attitude, Webb named the U.S.'s new team selected to land on the moon: Navy Captain Walter Schirra, 44, a veteran of both Mercury and Gemini space flights, and two space tyros, Major Donn Eisele, 36, and Civilian Scientist Walter Cunningham, 35. The three will not only fly the Apollo but--unlike previous crews--will also have a voice in its design and construction. "We'll fly the spacecraft when we, the crew, think it is ready," said Schirra at a press conference at the North American Aviation plant in Downey, Calif., where the Apollo is being built.

Three unmanned Apollo launches will be held this year, in September, October and December. The first manned shot with Schirra and his crew is set for next March--13 months behind the pre-tragedy schedule. However, NASA planners are hopeful that advances in spacecraft design and the lessons learned from the fire will make up for lost time and put the program back on schedule by 1969.

No Paeans. Despite what Schirra called the new "cando" atmosphere in the space program, the reverberations of the Jan. 27 tragedy are still being felt. Appearing before the House NASA Oversight Subcommittee and the Senate Space Committee last week, Webb got none of the accustomed paeans; instead, he was nettled at being forced into an embarrassing admission and roundly castigated by several legislators.

Though he had previously claimed that North American Aviation was the original selection of the 190-man NASA board to receive the Apollo contract in 1961, Webb changed his story under questioning by Senator Margaret Chase Smith. The truth was, he admitted to the committee, that the Martin Company had been the first choice because of its superior "technical information." But he and three of his assistants, he said, overruled the board's recommendation--logically enough--on grounds that North American had more space experience, and had submitted cost estimates that were 30% to 40% lower than Martin's. The biggest howl against Webb was raised when he refused repeatedly to discuss in open session a NASA staff report that was harshly critical of North American's early work on the Apollo. The problems of workmanship and management have since been corrected (TIME, May 12), Webb maintained, and to make them public now would only hamper NASA's relationship with North American.

Outside Distractions. "I think you have an obsession with secrecy, Mr. Webb," snapped Representative John W. Wydler of New York. Added Representative Ken Hechler of West Virginia: "I intend to be much more skeptical of NASA in the future, on this program and others."

Webb did testify that North American's share of the $23 billion Apollo project is being cut back. The California-based firm will continue as prime contractor, while Boeing has been selected to put together the spacecraft and the rocket boosters; a third firm will be chosen to make custom modifications on the 16 standardized capsules to be produced by North American under the original contract. "In this way," he added, "North American will be spending all its time on one standardized spacecraft without any outside distractions."

Of necessity, the space program will always suffer outside distractions from a Congress and public aroused by the Apollo tragedy and concerned about the huge costs of achieving man's age-old dream of conquering space. But now all the investigations have been made, the reports presented, hearings concluded. As Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. said earlier this month at a celebration of the sixth anniversary of his Mercury flight: "The time for recrimination is over. Let's get on with the job."

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