For Release: October 23, 1998

Jerry Berg
Media Relations Office
(256) 544-0034
jerry.berg@msfc.nasa.gov
/centers/msfc/NEWSROOM/

RELEASE: 98-211

Dr. Wernher von Braun, who would in 1960 become the Marshall Center's first director, wrote about his dreams in Collier's magazine: "Development of the space station is as inevitable as the rising of the sun; man has already poked his nose into space and he is not likely to pull it back." His plans for a large space station were published in a book the same year.

Soon, von Braun's dream will be realized when the first U.S.-built elements of the International Space Station are placed in orbit. As the Space Station -- a permanent, orbiting research facility -- evolved over the last 40 years, hundreds of Marshall employees and many local businesses have contributed to its success. It began with von Braun's space station ideas, inspired by fiction writers and scientists who had envisioned permanent outposts in space since the turn of the century.

In the classic, 1952 Collier's article, von Braun wrote of a majestic 250-foot-wide wheel that would orbit 1,075 miles above Earth and rotate to provide artificial gravity, similar to the station visualized in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. "From this platform, a trip to the moon itself will be just a step, as scientists reckon distance in space," von Braun wrote. But America wanted to get to the Moon before the end of the 1960s, so von Braun led the Marshall team as they developed the massive rockets that helped the nation achieve this goal.

Even as we raced to the Moon, Marshall engineers -- inspired by von Braun's ideas -- continued to study space stations, including concepts using refurbished rocket stages. This led to a precursor of today's International Space Station: Skylab, a two-level workshop made from a converted Saturn

S-IVB stage. Skylab -- the first American space program wholly dedicated to scientific research -- was staffed by three crews who performed hundreds of experiments for more than 171 days from May 1973 to February 1974.

In a 1969 article describing Skylab, von Braun again foretold the future: "The heavy work schedule prepared for this observatory will also furnish valuable lessons about human proficiency for difficult scientific work performed under zero-gravity conditions over an extended period of time."

Skylab experiments confirmed von Braun's prediction, providing the foundations for many investigations to be flown on the International Space Station. In fact, Skylab proved humans could live and work in space for long periods and would not need the artificial gravity in von Braun's early space station concept. Skylab experiments showed microgravity was not only beneficial but even necessary for some research.

Building on their Skylab experience, Marshall engineers and scientists continued space station studies in the 1970s and 80s. Their designs were used to help create the International Space Station.

Today, the Marshall Center's facilities and technical expertise are being used to support fabrication and testing of Space Station components. The Boeing Company, the prime Space Station contractor, built Unity and the U.S. Laboratory modules in the same Marshall Center building where decades ago others assembled the Saturn V rocket -- America's most powerful staged rocket that carried astronauts to the Moon. In addition to Boeing, more than 30 Alabama businesses have contributed to the Space Station effort, providing millions of dollars of services and equipment. Soon, the Space Shuttle Endeavour will carry Unity, the first U.S.-built component, into orbit and Space Station assembly will begin.

During the last 40 years, we have learned not only that humans can live in microgravity, but also that microgravity is itself a key area of scientific activity with benefits in the form of improved products and processes back on Earth. Marshall, NASA's lead center for Microgravity Science, is fostering the development of many International Space Station investigations. When the Station becomes operational, it will offer scientists the first opportunity to do experiments over extended periods in this unique environment.

The Marshall Center's proven expertise with Spacelab -- the reusable laboratory flown inside the Space Shuttle from 1981 to 1998 -- is being tapped to build Space Station experiment hardware and plan microgravity investigations. Marshall developed a multiple-user rack facility, which was tested aboard Spacelab and will be used for experiments inside the Space Station, and Marshall is managing the development of special pallets that will be used for experiments mounted on the outside of Space Station.

"The Space Station program has been both exciting and challenging," said Teresa Vanhooser, a former Spacelab mission manager who is now manager of Marshall's Space Station Utilization Office. "Seeing the hardware being delivered to support the upcoming launches of Station components is watching a dream turn into reality. We are looking forward to the long-term science we can conduct."

One idea has not changed since von Braun's dream long ago: the goal of establishing a permanent presence in space. If magazine stories can ignite imaginations, what wonder will be fueled by a real Space Station where an international community lives and works together? This new reality will excite the next generation of scientists, engineers and space entrepreneurs.

As von Braun wrote in his Collier's article more than 45 years ago, "If we do it (build a space station), we can not only preserve the peace but we can take a long step toward uniting mankind." In the coming years, the citizens of Earth will be able to gaze into the night sky and see the International Space Station -- the result of 16 nations joining together on the largest, peacetime, multinational program ever attempted.

In his 1969 blueprint for the future of the space program, von Braun wrote, "Exploration of space is the challenge of our day. If we continue to put our faith in it and pursue it, it will reward us handsomely." The International Space Station is visible proof of humankind's commitment to peaceful exploration of the universe.

Just 40 years after space stations still were considered science fiction, this journey of the imagination soon will climax with an unprecedented scientific, technological and international feat: the realization of the International Space Station.

NOTE TO EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:Photos are available to support this release. For more information, contact Jerry Berg, with Marshall's Media Relations Office at (256) 544-0034. For an electronic version of this release, photos or more information, visit the Marshall Center's Virtual NewsRoom at chandra.etouch.net/centers/msfc/NEWSROOM/.