Page 170 - MY STORY

nuclear propulsion systems way back in the 60’s and 70’s

have been ignored or forgotten, and we’re working with
propulsion technology that is obsolescent. We’ll see. A
real letdown for those of us embedded in the space

program. We could have done it

SPACE SHUTTLE BID
McDonnell acquired Douglas in 1967. For those of us
from Douglas that was traumatic enough! Douglas was
on the verge of going ”belly up” because of the cash flow

debacle in developing and producing the DC-9, along
with the financial institution's memories of financial

problems with the DC-8. It took years of being one
corporation before it stopped being “us” and “them” in
the relationship between Douglas at Huntington Beach
and McDonnell in St. Louis.

The bid for NASA’s Space Shuttle program in the early

1970’s was a good example of that dysfunction.
Huntington Beach (Douglas) folk were expert in
propulsion and space flight systems. McDonnell had the

expertise in manned space systems.

The Space Shuttle had to marry these two capabilities into

a single, complex system. The bid and proposal effort