Shuttle Engineer Missed Earlier Flight After Reassignment
Gregory Jarvis, a shuttle payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Challenger today, had been scheduled to fly aboard the shuttle Columbia in December but was bumped when NASA assigned Rep. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) to the crew as a congressional observer.
Jarvis, an engineer with Hughes Aircraft Co., was assigned to the crew of the Challenger to conduct six days of orbital experiments in fluid dynamics to devise better ways to build satellites.
Just before the flight, Jarvis said he eagerly awaited his chance to fly in space.
“You get very comfortable that for any contingency they know what to do, so I feel very, very comfortable,” he said. “I’m excited but not nervous.”
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