The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 12, 1981 Page: 1 of 6
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The North Texas Daily
THUnSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1981 NORTH TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY, DENTON, TEXAS 65TH YEAR NO 43
Data relay system postpones Columbia liftoff
( APE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) —
Columbia suffered technological grow-
ing pains on the eve of its scheduled
return to space and its launch target was
put back until mid-morning Thursday
by an errant data relay system.
The ship underwent a series of launch
pad repairs Wednesday night and of-
ficials decided against a sunrise liftoff.
The new target is for I0 a.m. EST,
said I Michael Weeks of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
I aunch could come anytime before
noon the final moment in Columbia’s
“launch window.”
After hours of conferences between
the various space centers and industry
experts, NASA “determined a course of
action which could result” in liftoff at I0
a.ni., according to a space agency
spokesman.
Columbia’s crew was ready, but at
dusk a NASA official said, “The
problems are not resolved,” and there
was still no go-ahead for overnight fuel-
ing.
There remained a strong possibility of
a second scrubbed launch in as many
weeks.
Astronauts Joe Engle and Richard
Truly stayed up a little past their 5 p.m.
EST bedtime to monitor the problem
and went to bed not knowing if they
would fly as scheduled.
NASA was flying in two replacement
parts for a malfunctioning electronic
component, but the parts were not due
at Kennedy Space Center until Wednes-
day night.
“They have a number of decisions
they have to make and they have not
made them,” said NASA’s Dick Young.
One possibility was to put a spare part
aboard Columbia for the astronauts to
swap in night if necessary.
The parts were cannibalized from
Challenger, a second shuttle now being
built in California.
Launch weather seemed largely irrele-
vant in light of the other problems. The
forecast was for near-perfect conditions.
Anticipation was building along the
Florida Space Coast for Columbia’s
fiery send-off into the history books.
Never before has a craft attempted a sec-
ond visit to space. The shuttle, which
made a spectacular debut last April, is
designed for 99 more roundtrips.
Countdown for Columbia’s second
test flight was not without problems.
Less than 24 hours before the
scheduled 7:30 a.m. EST launch, techni-
cians found and fixed a leak in the shut-
tle's huge external tank. Hut a key
electronic system, needed to funnel flight
data to mission control, failed.
“There is no reason to believe we
won’t get this tidied up,” NASA official
E. Michael Weeks said of the data
system. The troubleshooting took place
during a planned 11-hour hold Wednes-
day and the countdown remained on
target.
Technicians at first thought the data
problem was with a unit called the Pulse
Code Modulator. They flew in a replace-
ment from the Johnson Space Center in
Houston, installed it. and found a dif-
ferent problem.
They then looked elsewhere and
found three of seven “modulator-
demodulators" were not sending data
properly. The devices translate one form
of electronic signal into another and
form an electronic link between Colum-
bia and mission control.
I he data system would iiave to be
working, Weeks said, before the count-
down resumed at 10:10 p.m In the final
hours, the ship is filled with 500,000 gal-
lons of fuel that will propel its drive to
the first of 83 scheduled orbit
l or a time Wednesday it appeared the
fuel tank might jeopardize the launch.
Technicians noticed helium was seeping
from the tank at a rate three times the
normal 24-hour loss of .2 psi. A vent
valve was opened and closed manually
and that seemed to cure the leak.
“It’s slowed down to yvhere it
belongs,” Weeks said.
NASA officials are hoping that last-
day glitches, or poor weather conditions,
force no further launch delays Last
Wednesday, the tux’ attempt to launch
Columbia's return to space was post-
poned after a gummed up hydraulic
system created unacceptably high pres-
sure That scrub cost eight days and % 1.5
million to $2 million.
Engle and Truly, who have waited a
combined 31 years as astronauts to take
a ship into space, were described as
“relaxed and ready to go.” They prac-
ticed landings on the space center's
runway, their destination if things
should go awry early in the (light.
For Truly, a Navy captain, the liftoff
will be a memorable 44th birthday
I or I ngle, a 49-year-old Air Force
colonel, it will add to the honors he
received as a test pilot who flew the
tabled X-15 rocket plane 16 times, ex-
ceeding an altitude of 50 miles three
times. Columbia is to orbit at about 157
miles altitude.
. \G" . iv 2-r.
Hurley cites need
for improvements
Handbook says U.S. Army forms chief NATO force
City Council resists proposals
'L.rftI I I4CI 19 TO
/■lAcma
VI Wl I I ^
ICCR ID
By \\A ( . BARRERA
Daily Reporter
I he Denton Cits Council took no ac-
i ion I uesday night toward reinstating an
ordinance that would allow night clubs
to remain open until 2 a.m.
An election on the ordinance has been
set lor Jan. 16.
(his summer the council voted un-
animously to close the clubs at midnight.
So,, then, club oyytiers collected a peti-
tion requesting that the 2 a.m. closing be
reinstated.
Dr. Roland Vela, of the NT biology
!acuity and former councilman, spoke at
the meeting in favor of the oridinance.
I le said a small number of people should
rmt impose their will on the rest of the
people “I very strongly believe that
adults have a right to make their own
decisions."
\ clu said Wednesday if he was still on
the council, he would have made the
motion to approve the ordinance.
‘People in the night club business feel
their prime money-making hours are
tv. :n midnight and I a.m.," he said,
it’s like going downtown and telling
tore oyvners to close their shops at three
in the afternoon.”
Troy LaGrone, Denton Budweiser
and Anheuser Busch beer distributor,
spoke in favor of the ordinance during
Tuesday’s meeting. “Denton businesses
are deprived of a I t of revenue," he
said, "and lots of this money is going out
of the city to other cities.
"The council still has some time to
reconsider,” LaGrone said. “They don’t
have to hold the ordinance up for public
election."
At the Tuesday meeting, LaGrone
said Denton citizens should not have to
go through the expense of a public elec-
tion. “People would rather have their
entertainment here in Denton, than have
to go elsewhere for it.
"I could not find any figures showing
that crime has been deterred by the
earlier closing hours,” he said. “I’ve
checked the police blotter and I could
find very little evidence, if any at all, that
the crime rate has gone down during
those hours."
LaGrone, vice president of the Ben F.
Keith Co. in Fort Worth, said the coun-
cil only listed figures of how much crime
has occurred during the late hours, but
did not list any comparisons of crime at
other hours. “There is still nothing to
say that crime has been deterred."
"I believe he (LaGrone) is right,” Vela
said. "I think the early closing of the
clubs has not affected the crime rate at
all"
Vela said he did not think the council
would reconsider adopting the or-
dinance. “They showed Tuesday night
that they were against it. they don’t
look like they're going to change their
minds."
"The club owners xvere giving the
council a chance to set up an ordinance
rather than set up an election," Vela
said. "An election can be very expen-
sive.”
Margaret Green of the city manager’s
office said an election for the ordinance
could cost up to $5,000. "That money
does come out of the taxpayers' pocket,”
she said.
A public election will almost surely be
held now that the council has chosen not
to vote in favor of the ordinance. Vela
said.
Jan. 16 is the date of the election as of
right now, he said.
People who would like to attend night
clubs until 2 a m. should have the right
to attend, Vela said. “No one is forcing
those of us who don’t want to go to go to
the clubs.”
Club owners tried to comprimise with
the council agreeing to only stay open
until 2 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and
Saturday. C.J. Taylor, city attorney,
responded saying that according to the
Texas Alcohol and Beverage ( ode. the
night clubs had a right to stay open
every day of the week until 2 a.m.
"It's not a halfway decision," Vela
said. "It’s either all or nothing."
Taylor said the council could either
adopt the petition as circulated or, not
adopt it and hold a public election. “The
petition contains sufficient signatures to
do that (hold an election)," Taylor said.
City Secretary Brooks Holt said the
petitions were submitted to him calling
for the reinstatement of an ordinance al-
lowing clubs and bars to extend closing
time from midnight to 2 a.m.
In other business, the council voted
unanimously to adopt an ordinance
prohibiting the parking on the south side
of Scripture Street west of Fry Street.
The Citizens Traffic Safety Support
Commission recommended approval of
the ordinance.
By DA Ml I ( \\ \/OS
Staff Writer
Vice President for Administrative Af-
fairs Al Hurley told the Faculty Senate
Wednesday that NI must :< rrect the
communication and organizational
problems of the past in an effort to
improve university facility capabilities.
Hurley, whose office oversees 343
employees and a $21.9 million budget,
has been at NT for 14 months since ar-
riving from the Air Force \cademy
“There is a need to develop plans We
were just reacting ti puiicie ... la.
and that hurt us,” Flurley said
Hurley said overlap of responsibilties,
lack of communication, unclear work
priorities and no replacement cycle tor
equipment or facilities have been among
NT’s administrative problems.
In an effort to streamline operations.
Hurley said, the entire Wnikiun.e t'; t
deals with facilities has been moved to
the Physical Plant and can be reached at
one telephone number.
Four offices, the Equal Opportunity
Office, Facilities, Planning irid
Construction, safety and security opera-
tions (including the NT Police Depart-
ment), and the Physical Plant, are under
Hurley’s office.
Of the $21.9 million in the ad-
ministrative affairs budget, SI 1.5 million
is from ad valorem funds and S10.4 mil-
lion appropriated by the legislature,
Hurley said
Hurley aid $11.5 million will be spent
for construction costs on the Research
Science * ddmg and the fifth floor ot
the General \eadem:c Building.
1 he legislature appropriated 54 mil-
lion tor improvements for NT buildings
which will make them more energy ef-
ficient and 52 5 million for energy costs,
he said.
Other costs within the administrative
affair’s budget are $1.7 million for the
maintenance of 69 NT buildings. $1.8
million for custodial services and
$557,000 for electrical distribution.
In addition, Hurley said he sigi
letter of intent Thursd iv to enter ml a
10-year contract with General
Telephone Company of the Southwest.
Hurley said a final contract would
be signed with GTE only after a univer-
sity survey of telephone needs.
Hurley said he hopes a new telephone
system, which would update and
improve telephone facilities now, can be
in place by the beginning of the fall 1982
semester. The university is now
budgeting over $900,000 a year for the
operation and equipment of telephone
services, he said.
NT is seeking a manager of telephone
. , . v. h will coordinate all phone
operations on campus. Hurley said.
Hurley said NT is proceeding with
plans to build a 60,000-square-foot
Research Science Building, even though
the Texas Coordinating Board has ap-
proved only a 30,000-squar foot
building.
" The challenge before us is to present
our case more effectively for a 60.000-
square-foot building. We have invited
board members from the Metroplex area
to visit the campus to get a personal look
at our needs,” Hurley said. “They do
tend to talk in abstract terms like square
feet and numbers in Austin."
Hurley said heavy rains during the fall
semester had caused leaks in 31 NT
buildings, including a $16.(X)0 cost to
repair leaks in the library roof.
In other Faculty Senate business.
Senate Chairman J B Smallwood said
the NT administration had accepted a
committee recommendation that an as-
sociate v ice president for research be es-
tablished
Ihe newly created position will be
housed in the vice president for
academic affairs office and will serve as
an adviser to the vice president on all
sponsored programs and research
related matters, Smallwood said.
Advertisements for the position have
been sent out, he said.
I lie Faculty Senate also accepted
recommendations from the ad hoc com-
mittee for electronic instructional media
on the operation and distribution of
electronic media equipment on campus.
• I
Report to provide
total of damages
The Federal Emergency Management
Agency should have the final report on
the Denton County flood damages : v-
day, John Maxwell, Denton County
Civil Defense Director, said Tuesday
“In order to declare Denton ( ounty a
disaster area the area must he surveyed,
Maxwell said. “The agency surveyed
Friday and thev’re supposed to have
some kind of declaration today
Maxwell said if the report declares
Denton County a disaster area, Denton
residents and businessmen can qualify
lor federal aid. “If we don’t get a
declaration from them, we don't get any
money,” he said.
The estimates the agency look Friday
were for county roads and bridges not
including public property, private
business and agriculture The estimates
for the damages on county roads and
bridges was placed at approximately
$5,(XX), Maxwell said
Maxwell said the Small Business Ad-
ministration issued a declaration for
private and business property Tuesday
The Civil Defense Office will be ac-
cepting applications for federal aid
beginning Nov 18 from businesses and
people who sufferd damages to private
property,
The agricultural damage in Denton
county alone comes to about $1 million.
Maxwell said.
Maxwell said he and commissioners
from precincts one, two, three and four
surveyed the damage all over Denton
County.
Lee Walker, precinct three commis-
sioner, estimated the flood damage in
his precinct at S14"’.610 while Wallace
Batey, precinct one commissioner, es-
timated the damage in his precinct at
$ 125,(X)0.
I stimales from precincts two and four
were not available. Maxwell said
ms 1W W MwA'W^:WJKm ^tDIL'W W.l
Photo by STEVE RUSHING
L EAF ME ALONE—Dennis Casey, Alpine sophomore, rests on leaves while having, the leaves on the trees are beginning to turn to their fall colors To-
reading his ' Football Register." With the relatively mild weather Denton is day’s high temperature should be in the 60s.
LONDON (Al*) — Even though the
I anted States has the world’s 11 fth-
largest standing army, it “forms the ma-
im force m NATO and there is no doubt
that it is the chief defense against Soviet
aggression anywhere in the world," says
a new military handbook issued Thurs-
day.
In equipment with the exception of
tanks "it is safe to say that U.S.
designs are ahead of their Soviet con-
temporaries. and sometimes very far
ahead, though the gap is closing as
budget restrictions have hampered
research and development and closed
government arsenals,” the handbook
said.
I he pocket-sized reference book, put
out by Jane’s Publishing Co. Ltd. of
London, is called Armies of the W orld
It lists the world's four largest standing
armies as those of China, the Soviet
Union, Vietnam and India.
The illustrated book, published al
$11.30, gives U.S. Army strength at
750,8(X) plus 534,000 reserves It was
compiled by retired British Army Col.
John Weeks who is also editor of Jane's
Infantry Weapons.
“ The (U.S.) Army has survived a very
difficult It) years in which it has all but
lost a major war (Vietnam) and has
changed from a conscript to a volunteer
force,” the handbook says.
"It is still wrestling with many
problems, not the least being motivation
and efficiency, but a major one is man-
power. This has led to a number of
alterations, including the introduction of
a substantial proportion of women in
non-combatant tasks The tail effects of
these changes have vet to be felt
The hook says the Vietnamese have I
million troops plus a reserve of 2 mil-
lion, including people’s m.litia and
armed para-militaries
This puts the Vietnamese army third
in size behind China's J,250.000 and :lie
Soviet Union’s 1,825,(XX).
The 170-division Soviet army is
backed bv an estimated 4 million
reserves, says the book "Such a huge
war machine is inevitably stronglv
centralized in it' command structure and
tins is probablv its great weakness."
On ( hina's force, Weeks writes “It is
diliic,ill lot Western minds to imagine
the size of China and the enormous
numbers of men and women involved in
the niilitarv forces."
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Clark, Karen. The North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 65, No. 43, Ed. 1 Thursday, November 12, 1981, newspaper, November 12, 1981; Denton, TX. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1003830/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.