Te Michigan Daily-Saturday, July 13, 1985- Page 3
Blazes brought
under control 'A.
by firefighters
From United Press International houses and shut down a 50-mile stret-
Firefighters across the western ch of scenic Highway 1.
United States were reported yester- The two-lane road, heavily traveled
day to be winning the war against by summer tourists, was expected to
dozens of waning wildfires, but hot, be closed through the weekend to non- ii
rain-free weather threatened their ef- residents from the San Luis Obispo
forts and a senior official predicted "a County line to just north of the town of -
long fire season." Big Sur.
In California's Santa Cruz Moun- In northern Nevada, mop-up
tains, most of the 4,500 homeowners operations were under way at the site
evacuated earlier this week from a of a number of range fires contained
community south of Los Gatos were early yesterday with the help of out-
allowed to return home Thursday of-state reinforcements and thunder-
night. showers. Some 300,000 acres have
MANY HAD waited to discover been consumed by fire in Nevada.
whether their homes were among the WEATHER conditions also helped
20 destroyed in the blaze, which was firefighters tame the blazes that have
set by an arsonist as were many of the scorched 300,000 acres in Oregon and
other breaking out in California at a thousands more in Arizona, Idaho,
rate of between 50 and 100 a day. Montana and Utah.
In Central California, a violent But drizzle, fog and low clouds that
lightning storm early yesterday helped firefighters for two days were
scored more than 400 strikes on expected to desert crews in California Associated Frs-
hilltops east of Bishop, but fire crews and other western states.
pounced on the resulting small fires Rich Ochoa of the National Weather The main engines of the Space Shuttle Challenger are sprayed with water yesterday as they shut down after
before they could spread. Service said the last of the scattered the on-board computers called for an abort of the seven-day space flight. The computers cut the engines with
Firefighters also managed to check showers were expected yesterday, to three seconds to liftoff.
the advance of three small fires in the be followed by a return to warm, dry
Los Angeles area that threatened ex- weather, with temperatures ranging
pensive Malibu Canyon homes, a from the 90s to the 100s.
trailer park and a mountain highway. "We had a good day yesteday, and En g ne alure g ou d shutte
The brush fires, which burned about the weather is still a little cooler," Bill
500 acres, were the first major blazes Bishop of the Interagency Fire Center
in the area since an arson fire July 2 - a federal agency that helps coor-
set in the dry brush in Baldwin Hills dinate the dispatch of firefighters, CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) - The space shuttle
killed three people. aircraft and supplies - said in Boise, Challenger's main engines ignited and then shut down
ON THE jagged coast of Big Sur, Idaho. safely three seconds before planned liftoff yesterday when
Calif., crews used bulldozers to clear "But the basic overall weather pat- the ship's computers detected an engine valve failure. We're disa L
brush from the path of three fires that tern is still with us. We have a long The 2,257-ton ship remained anchored to the launch pad "N d ppOinted, bUt
burned 24,000 acres, destroyed two fire season ahead of us." and was not damaged, but will not be able to fly on its am- We're in good shape'
bitious Spacelab astronomy mission for at least a week,
'U' gets more state funds andperhapsmuchlonger. w
THE SHIP'S seven crewmen were unharmed and left - Gordon Fullerton
(continued from Page ) the shuttle cabin 40 minutes later and were driven back to
But after Kennedy and Pollack will go to engineering projects. their Kennedy Space Center quarters. Commander of the Challenger
privately urged legislators to change KENNEDY SAID thathe had mixed "We're disappointed, but we're in good shape," repor-
the proposal, state leaders Speaker of feelings about the legislature's ted commander Gordon Fullerton, speaking calmly from
the House Gary Owen (D-Ypsilanti), decisions. He is disappointed by the Challenger's cockpit minutes after the launch abort.
Sen. William Sederburg (R-East cut the University suffered in resear- Anthony England, who had waited 18 years for a chance
Lansing), and state budget analysts ch money, but "there was no way for to fly, was out first. He was followed by civilian scientists A SIMILAR, but not identical, engine valve control
agreed to give the University more us to do what they wanted us to do John-David Bartoe and Loren Acton and then the rest of problem shut down the shuttle Discovery June 28, 1984.
* flexibility, with all that money tied up for resear- mn-Str u
WHILE LEAVING appropriations ch," he said. - the crewmen -Story Musgrave, Karl Henize, co-pilot That ship was finally launched two months later.
for other schools at the conference Roy Bridges and finally Fullerton. Challenger's three main hydrogen-fueled engines
committee's levels, the legislature "This is the best year, as far as ignited normally at 4:30 p.m. EDT, and 184-foot tall
decided to allow $3.4 million of the state appropriations, we've had in the THOMAS UTSMAN, shuttle operations manager, said it: spaceship rocked back and forth under the engines' 1
University's research money to be last 10 to 15 years," Kennedy said. is possible that the faulty No. 2 engine can be fixed with million pounds of push, but the ship remained locked to
used to help keep down tuition. The $16 million increase, just in the Challenger ready for flight in seven to 10 days. the launch pad. Its big twin booster rockets did not fire.
The University will still have $6.6 University's general fund, falls short The abortive launch in any event disrupted NASA's Launch control said there was no indication of fire
million to help research, Kennedy of the increases the university wan- carefully planned launch-a-month schedule for the rest of around the shuttle, but water was sprayed on the ship as a
said, though he added that he has ted, but Kennedy said it will allow the the year. Utsman said "we've got to make some hard precaution. There were minor fires after the abortive
talked to Owen about adding money in University to hold tuition down to choices fairly quickly" about whether to attempt launch of Discovery 13 months ago.
the fall for the University's research "moderate levels." Challenger's Spacelab mission as soon as possible or to
e wa s unavailable for cor- Kennedy would not say exactly proceed with plans to test fire the fourth shuttle, Atlantis, "ALL INDICATIONS are there are no hazards at the
mOwen but an analyst for the Senate what kind of a tuition increase he ex- July 30 as planned. launch pad," said James Ball in the control center. The
ent, Fiscal Agency said "two or three" pected. The University's Board of The shuttle Discovery is scheduled to take off Aug. 24 vehicle is safe. The crew is safe."
supplemental appropriations bills are Regents is scheduled to set tuition and it was not known if Friday's abort would affect that After Fullerton left the ship, clad in his blue flight suit,
usually added during the fall, levels at its next meeting on Aug. 1 mission. he put his hands on his hips and talked to technicians
A HOUSE aide close to Speaker and2. ROBERT LINDSTROM, a shuttle engine specialist, helping the crew exit. He was shown on closed circuit
Owen denied that more money for Billy Frye, vice president for said the problem involved a valve that controls hydrogen television, nodding his head and occasionally smiling.
research at the University was being academic affairs and provost, has used to cool the No. 2 engine. The valve has redundant Challenger's mission was to spend a week in orbit to
considered. told the regents that at the governor's controls and one control system failed, eliminating a fail- conduct astronomical and other research.
Institutions will be required to show proposed levels, a 5 percent tuition in- safe backup. The computer is programmed to stop the "For a person who's interested in new things and
documentation to the legislature next crease would still result in about $7 launch under those conditions. discoveries and new knowledge, there couldn't be a better
year, proving that they used the million in unmet costs. Even with $34 The No. 2 engine had operated normally on three mission," said Acton, one of four scientists aboard the
mone milon more from the state, unmet previous flights and it has been started a total of seven ship.
development. costs would have have to be made up times, including ground tests. Henize, who at 58 is the oldest man to be given a
Kennedy said that while the Univer- by a combination of tuition increases Yesterday's launch would have been the 19th shuttle spaceflight assignment, holds a doctorate in astronomy
sity has not decided how to use the above 5 percent and cutbacks in spen- flight in four years. It was the second abortive launch by a while England holds a Ph.D.. i Earth and planetary
research funds, most of the money ding. shuttle-in 13 months. sciences. Both waited l8yesrs fora chance tofly in space.