| Summary: | Huntsville / 1. Woman astronaut Ann Whitaker / 2. Space shuttle ready for test / 3. Giant Santa at Dunnavant Mall / Huntsville woman physicist in payload Spacelab finals / Mrs. Ann F. Whitaker, a physicist and her laboratory's lead engineer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is one of the six finalist being considered for the first Spacelab mission. This initial Spacelab mission which is scheduled to fly aboard the Space Shuttle sometime in the mid-1980s, will have among its crew two payload specialists selected for the trip. Out of 18 scientists first considered, Mrs. Whitaker now stands the chance of being not only one of the first Spacelab scientists, but the first woman to be sent into outer space from the United States. The Spacelab mission is a joint venture of NASA and the European Space Agency. Here she is shown in a mock-up of the Spacelab where various types of tests will be undertaken at the MSFC before the actual flight. / Ho ho ho it's Santa! The giant paper Santa Claus attracts wee ones in Dunnavant's Mall, Huntsville. Alice Broadway with her grandmother, Mrs. Robert Broadway (left) and Nancy Walker with young Chris Williams gaze at the Old Jolly Elf who temporarily at least has here outgrown his Elf status! / Preparation for shuttle test / The practice lift of a homemade Space Shuttle Orbiter was made Thursday at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. As a stand in for the Enterprise, the name of the real Shuttle, the 123 foot long, 200,000 pound orbiter made from rocket scraps and steel beams was hoisted to a 430 foot tall test stand. This simulated orbiter will be used by engineers to practice many of the tasks which will have to be done on the Enterprise. / [Notes included]
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