"I look back on it, and it was the best part of my career. "It was honestly the best team I've ever been associated with," said Bill Lang, who was the director of quality during the construction of Endeavour. (Image credit: Boeing)įor Hoffman, and so many of his colleagues, being a part of the space shuttle program was more than just a job: it was a distinction they were proud to be a part of, and the workers banded together like a family. The crew module initial build continues in Bldg 290 high bay at the Rockwell Downey facility on July 18, 1986. After spending all those years, I could absolutely relate." I thought about the time I spent on the program since then. Then, 17 years after the Challenger accident, early in the morning on the anniversary, I woke up thinking about it. "I saw how everybody was devastated, but at the time, I could not fully realize the impact of the devastation. "My second day with Rockwell was the day we lost Challenger," Hoffman said. Even though Endeavour, the youngest of NASA's fleet, was the first vehicle he worked on, Hoffman was quickly inducted into a close-knit group of shuttle workers who were tied together through triumph and tragedy. Hoffman and his team were involved in everything from the installation of mechanical and electrical units to the interior and exterior thermal protection systems on the shuttles. In the late 1980s, Hoffman became the director of assembly and test operations for the space shuttle program at Rockwell International, the company contracted by NASA to design and manufacture the orbiters.
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