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NASA Delays 'Flying Lab' Research Jet's Arrival

Posted on: Monday, 4 April 2005, 18:00 CDT

Apr. 3--A NASA DC-8 research jet was supposed to be in Grand Forks by now, according to initial plans, but school officials say changes in leadership within the massive space administration might have it in a holding pattern.

Also, George Seielstad, director of the UND-based Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium, which will administer the jet, said an agreement between NASA and the university on a budget and how the jet will be used has yet to be finalized.

Seielstad said NASA and UND officials close to the research jet are tired of waiting.

"We're all saying let's accelerate this thing, because we've spent a lot of time talking about it -- there's nothing more to say."

No agreement

Seielstad said that he's completed a budget plan for the research jet with detailed information on how it will be managed over the next five years, broken down by quarters. He said the information should've been at NASA headquarters late Friday.

"We've worked out a heckuva plan; I think it's beautiful," Seielstad said.

He also has been working on getting facilities ready for the jet and recruiting personnel.

Seielstad estimated that after some haggling between UND and NASA and legal reviews, an agreement could be finalized before June. A revised timeline could have the jet on a Grand Forks area runway by next fall, he said.

Uncertain future

But before that happens, NASA still needs to see its newest administrator, Mike Griffin, confirmed by congress, and the administration must have a clear aim where its money will be focused.

One priority would stress manned exploration of the moon and Mars, possibly taking away funding from established and ongoing science projects, such as shuttle missions and the DC-8.

"That's a topic that will be a hot topic for the new administrator," Seielstad said. "But it's too early to be pessimistic."

The 154-foot-long "flying lab," as it's known, comes stocked with advance research equipment, onboard computer systems and Internet capability. It performs scientific missions across the planet, flying as low as 1,000 feet and as high as 8 miles.

It can carry a payload of 15 tons and has a maximum flying range of 5,400 miles (12 hours).

Runway work

Organizations around the world vie for chances to conduct their research projects on the jet.

UND beat out NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., other federal research centers and a private company for the right take on the jet.

It was announced last December, NASA would pay UND $4 million annually to house and maintain the DC-8. The school would get another $2.5 million each year to defray costs of missions.

Proposals would keep the plane at Grand Forks Air Force Base, which has a runway long enough to launch and land the jet fully loaded.

However, Seielstad said, the Air Force base runway would not have been available for use had the jet arrived in Grand Forks on time because of a massive reconstruction of the base's airstrip that will take place this spring and summer.

BRAC impact?

And then there's the issue of the Pentagon's intention to close numerous bases, possibly Grand Forks', through the Base Realignment and Closure process.

Peter Alfonso, UND vice president of research, said that the university is fully behind the effort to keep the Grand Forks base operating, but that should it be closed, the DC-8 plane still could be flown out of Grand Forks.

"It's physically possible to operate it out of the local airport," Alfonso said. "It's not what we'd rather do, but it's possible to do it."

Seielstad said that the jet's weight determines the size of runway that would be needed. The DC-8 simply would have to land and take off from the Grand Forks International Airport with a less-than-full fuel tank.

It then could fill up at another location, he said.

"It would just complicate things a little bit more," Seielstad said.

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Source: Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.)

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