Out of This World : Mission Noted for Mishap ‘Spectacular’ Memory for Astronaut, CSUN Grad

For astronaut and CSUN alumnus Scott Horowitz, the problems on his first mission began six seconds after liftoff.

“As pilot my job was to look after all the systems, and the power gauge for the left engine was registering only 40% power,” recalled Horowitz, who piloted space shuttle Columbia on a mission that began Feb. 22.

“It turned out to be a false alarm, but it really got my adrenaline going.”

In addition, hot gas singed two seals in the booster rockets during the liftoff and there were immediate glitches in the cabin cooling system. But these launch complications proved minor compared to the problems that came later.

This flight of the oldest shuttle in NASA’s fleet, with Horowitz at the helm, will probably always be remembered for a broken satellite tether--the one that brought a sudden and embarrassing end to a $443-million experiment.

“When it broke and I saw the satellite floating in space, I felt a lot like a kid who’s just lost his kite,” said Horowitz, speaking from Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The satellite experiment, during which electricity was supposed to be generated along the 12-mile tether, was the primary goal of the 16-day mission and its seven-man international crew. The whole world was watching as the satellite was deployed.

But even given his disappointment over the failed experiment, Horowitz, who was raised in Thousand Oaks, said the mission was an incredible experience for the crew.

“All through training, me and the three other rookies on the flight always had this feeling it was not real,” he said. “It was only after blastoff, I looked out a window and watched the Earth’s atmosphere go away. Then the sky turned black. Then, I felt, it was real.”

Fellow crew members told Horowitz the journey--the 75th for a U.S. shuttle--was one of the smoothest ever.

“The ride was spectacular,” Horowitz said with enthusiasm. “Just imagine pure acceleration. And the overwhelming feeling of near-zero gravity was a lot like swimming underwater, without the friction of the water against you.”

The satellite mishap came on Day 3 of the flight. Horowitz said the crew had been deploying the spaghetti-thin tether with the half-ton satellite on its end for about five hours. In that time, the tether had already generated 3,000 volts of electricity, not too far from its goal of 5,000. The crew members decided to take turns fishing the line out, so Horowitz and two others took a nap.

A few minutes later, he was awakened to the sad sight of the satellite drifting away.

But the Newbury Park High School grad said the bungled experiment was not a total failure. NASA scientists, he said, are studying the fact that the tether was able to generate more electric current than anyone had expected up to the moment when it broke.

Horowitz and other crew members are also now working with the scientists to try explain why, after the tether snapped, the satellite unexpectedly picked up speed.

“We found out that tethers can boost as well as reduce energy,” he said. “You just never know what you’re going to find up there.”

Horowitz also pointed out that several other experiments were performed successfully on the mission. The crew was able to produce crystals that may be used one day to advance the development of antiviral drugs.

They did the first test of a smoke detector in orbit, demonstrating that a unit designed for future space stations could be set off by burning insulation and other smoldering materials. And they experimented with an extinguisher.

“Yes, I’m disappointed that we didn’t get to bring the satellite back,” Horowitz said. “But I’m really excited about all the other stuff. I guess it’s a double-edged sword.”