Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!noose.ecn.purdue.edu!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!mace.cc.purdue.edu!dil From: dil@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Perry G Ramsey) Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle Subject: Re: Fuel Leaks - Historical Perspective Summary: Rockwell doesn't do the ground work at the Cape Message-ID: <5570@mace.cc.purdue.edu> Date: 20 Sep 90 16:22:33 GMT References: <1333@ke4zv.UUCP> Organization: Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Lines: 43 In article <1333@ke4zv.UUCP>, gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman) writes: > In article mbullock@ADS.COM (Michael E. Bullock) writes: > And something else; low bid contractor > labor is being used now to prep and launch the shuttles. I remember > reading about the massive turnover in ground crew when the changeover > to contract labor was made. This may have nothing to do with the > current problem and I'm sure that there are plenty of sharp, experienced, > and dedicated people working for Rockwell. > > Gary Rockwell doesn't do the ground preparation at the Cape anymore. During the early 80's (84?) a shuttle processing contract was let at the Cape with an eye on lowering labor costs (i.e. cutting everyone's salary.) The contract was won by a team led by Lockheed, Grumman, USBI, and (somebody help me). By my sources, most of the people there with the original team signed on with the new contractors, but with time a whole lot got fed up with the situation and found other employment with other companies, often the one they were with originally. Rockwell won a contract at JSC under roughly the same conditions, so they do things like certain mission planning and support roles. Rockwell-Downey still does a lot of work on keeping the Shuttle flying, but turning the screws belongs to the Cape operations contractor. NASA has established by this sort of thing a two-tiered pay structure for contractor personnel. If you are in design and building, or are at least on the contract that does you get to work for regular pay. If you are making the stuff fly, you get one of these operations contracts with an eye on keeping it cheap. Do you wonder where the best people go? (statistically, of course. There are good people in operations, there just tougher to find.) Rockwell-Space Transportation Systems Division alumnus " Station " " " If you are making the stuff fly -- Perry G. Ramsey Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences perryr@vm.cc.purdue.edu Purdue University dil@mace.cc.purdue.edu We've looked at clouds from ten sides now, And we REALLY don't know clouds, at all.