Scientology

Eleven high-ranking Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard, served time in federal prison for their involvement in this infiltration. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board called this tendency the "normalization of deviance" -- a gradual acceptance of abnormal events simply because they haven't been catastrophic to date. Another source of controversy was Scientology's infiltration of the United States Internal Revenue Service in what Scientology termed "Operation Snow White". Over time NASA managers gradually accepted more tile damage, similar to how O-ring damage was accepted. To date, such a suit is not known to have been filed. The original shuttle operational specification said the orbiter thermal protection tiles were designed to withstand virtually no debris hits at all. Judge Silverman concurred, [12] saying:. The foam had not been designed or expected to break off, but had been observed in the past to do so without incident.

On January 29, 2002 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the IRS's opposition. Columbia failed because of damaged thermal protection from foam debris that broke off the external tank during ascent. 00-70753, attempted to obtain the same deduction for their payments to a Jewish school. Challenger's O-ring eroded completely through, with fatal results. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL No. Unfortunately NASA and Thiokol senior managers overruled him and allowed the launch to proceed. The Sklars, in the case MICHAEL SKLAR; MARLA SKLAR v. He raised concerns that the unusually cold temperatures would stiffen the O-rings, preventing a complete seal.

[10] Six levels of indents down in the eventually leaked "closing agreement", [11] the IRS is contractually required to discriminate in their treatment of Scientology to the exclusion of all other groups:. Morton Thiokol designed and manufactured the SRBs, and during a pre-launch conference call with NASA, the Thiokol engineer most experienced with the O-rings pleaded repeatedly to cancel or reschedule the launch. Many critics assert that, in order to obtain its tax-exempt status in the United States, Scientologists paid private investigators to obtain compromising material on the IRS commissioner and blackmailed the IRS into submission, NYT article costing taxpayers 1-2 billion dollars. Instead of finding out why, managers felt because it had not previously eroded by more than 30%, that this was not a hazard as there was "a factor of three safety margin". [9]. In the case of Challenger, an O-ring which should not have eroded at all did, in fact, erode on earlier shuttle launches. The organization cites numerous scholarly sources supporting its position, many of which can be found on a website the Church has established for this purpose. In both cases a mind set among senior managers developed that concerns had to be objectively proven rather than simply suspected.

The Church pursues an extensive public relations campaign arguing Scientology is a bona fide religion. A heavily layered, procedure-oriented bureaucratic structure inhibited necessary communication and action. This last criticism is referenced, among other places, in a May 1980 Reader's Digest article, which quotes Hubbard, "If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion.". In both cases the vehicle gave ample warning beforehand of abnormal problems. The ongoing controversies involving the Church and its critics include:. In both cases, junior engineers were greatly concerned about possible problems, but these concerns were not properly communicated to or understood by senior NASA managers. The overall attitude in the Scientology community has partially shifted to spreading Scientology through direct application to communities, rather than combating those who attempt to stop or belittle it. In both cases events happened which were not planned for or anticipated.

Since that time, many Scientologists have adopted a more relaxed view toward minor criticism. While the technical details of the accidents are quite different, the organizational problems show remarkable similarities. Also, the number of legal battles in which the Church has engaged seems to have peaked in the early-to-mid-1990s, and has been declining since then. This gives a 2% death rate per astronaut per flight. However, a notable number of countries around the world have apparently embraced Scientology, including Italy, Spain and Thailand. Two Shuttles have been destroyed in 114 missions, both with the loss of the entire crew of seven:. The many legal battles fought by the Church of Scientology since its inception have given it a reputation as an extremely litigious organization, characterized by forcing litigants to enter into a lengthy and costly legal process using a number of highly trained lawyers, expert at prolonging cases. † Satellites deployed
* This was flight STS-80, during November 1996.

[7]. Whilst all three Orbiters are externally very similar, they have minor internal differences; new equipment is fitted on a rotating basis as they are maintained, and the newer Orbiters tend to be structurally lighter. These accusations continue to the present day, bolstered by numerous accounts from Hubbard's fellow science-fiction authors that on various occasions he stated that the way to get rich was to start a religion. Individual Orbiters are both named, in a manner similar to ships, and numbered, using the NASA Orbiter Vehicle Designation system. Hubbard was accused of adopting a religious façade for Scientology to allow the organization to maintain tax-exempt status and to avoid prosecution for false medical claims. After landing the vehicle stands on the runway to permit the poisonous hydrazine fumes used for part of the attitude control during descent to dissipate. The religious bona fides of Scientology have been repeatedly questioned. Landing speed is very high -- 213 to 255 mph, vs 160 mph for a jet airliner.

Scientology has also been the focus of criticism by anti-cult campaigners and has aroused controversy for its high-profile campaigns against psychiatry and psychiatric medication. It glides to landing with a glide angle of 4:1. [6]. In the lower atmosphere the orbiter flies much like a conventional glider, except for a much higher descent rate, over 10,000 feet per minute (roughly 20 times that of an airliner). In Belgium, the minister of justice refused Scientology as a candidate for the status of recognized religion. Attitude control is achieved from a mixture of RCS thrusters and control surfaces. The church has been subjected to considerable pressure from the state in Russia. This is achieved by performing s-curves at up to 70 degree bank angle.

The United Kingdom government does not recognize Scientology as a bona fide religion. In addition, the standard reentry aims deliberately high- the vehicle needs to bleed off extra altitude and speed to reach the landing site. The case is pending. The vehicle attitude is controlled to take on a nose up attitude of up 40 degrees to maximise drag. Scientologists in August of 2005 filed complaints with the Human Rights court of the European Union in an effort to force the German government to put an end to discrimintory practices. The vehicle will then start significantly entering the atmosphere at about 400,000 ft doing around Mach 25. In several court cases Scientology lost filed complaints against continued surveillance because the court holds the opinion that Scientology still pursues anticonstituitional activities. However the reentry can be and has (once) been flown manually.

Two German states and the political party, the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) have passed rules or regulations limiting the particpation of Scientologists in politics, business and public life. The entire reentry, except for the lowering of the undercarriage, is under complete computer control. No criminal or civil charges have been brought as a result of this surveillance. This OMS firing is done roughly halfway around the globe from the landing site. Fifteen of the sixteen German states, positing that Scientology had potentially anti-democratic tendencies, have to a greater or lesser degree and for varying periods subjected Scientology and Scientologists to state surveillance since the early 1970's. The deceleration of the Shuttle lowers its orbit perigee down into the atmosphere. In Germany, for instance, Scientology is not considered a religion by the government, but a commercial business. The vehicle begins reentry by firing the OMS engines in the opposite direction to the orbital motion for about three minutes.

Other countries, notably in Europe, have regarded Scientology as a potentially dangerous cult and have significantly restricted its activities at various times, or at least have not considered local branches of the Church of Scientology to meet the legal criteria for being considered religion-supporting organizations. The Shuttle then fires the OMS engines to circularize the orbit and avoid reentry. Some European governments (including Germany) do not consider the Church to be a bona fide religious organization, but instead a commercial enterprise or totalitarian cult. At this point the Shuttle is still slightly suborbital, since the trajectory intersects the atmosphere. Applications for charity status in the UK and Canada were rejected in 1999. The tank then falls to largely burn up in the atmosphere, with some fragments falling into the Indian Ocean. In the United States, the church obtained "public charity" status (IRS Code 501(c)(3)) and the associated preferential tax treatment after extended litigation. Before complete depletion of propellant (running dry would destroy the engines) the main engines are shutdown, and the empty external tank is released by firing explosive bolts.

In Canada the Church of Scientology is legal, but has the unique distinction of being criminally convicted as a corporation on two counts of breach of the public trust (for an organized conspiracy to infiltrate government offices) following a trial by jury. Finally, in the last tens of seconds of the main engine burn, the mass of the vehicle is low enough that the engines must be throttled back to limit vehicle acceleration to 3g, largely for astronaut health and comfort. Scientology is technically considered a religion in the United States and Australia, and thus enjoys and regularly cites the constitutional protections afforded in both nations to religious practice (First Amendment to the United States Constitution; Australian Constitution, s 116). The vehicle continues to climb and takes on a somewhat nose-up angle to the horizon — it uses the main engines to gain and then maintain altitude whilst it accelerates horizontally towards orbit. Different countries have taken markedly different approaches to Scientology. However, as the burn continues, the weight of the propellant reduces, the ever-lighter vehicle produces more and more acceleration until the thrust to weight ratio exceeds 1 again and the vehicle can hold itself up. The Church has come into conflict with the governments and police forces of several countries (including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany) numerous times over the years, though supporters note that many major world religions have found themselves in conflict with civil government in their early years. The vehicle at that point in the flight has a thrust to weight ratio of less than one — the main engines actually have insufficient thrust to exceed the force of gravity, and the vertical speed given to it by the SRBs temporarily decreases.

Of the many new religious movements to appear during the 20th century, Scientology has from its inception been the most controversial. The Shuttle then begins accelerating to orbit on the Space Shuttle Main Engines. Breakaway groups avoid the name "Scientology" so as to keep from being sued, instead referring to themselves collectively as the Free Zone. The SRBs parachute back to the ocean to be reused. The Church takes an extremely hard line on breakaway groups, labeling them "apostates" (or "squirrels" in Scientology jargon) and often subjecting them to considerable legal and social pressure. 126 seconds after launch, explosive bolts release the SRBs and small separation rockets push them laterally away from the vehicle. Ron Hubbard's principles or otherwise become overly domineering. Around a point called "max-q", where the aerodynamic forces are at their maximum, the main engines are temporarily throttled back to avoid overspeeding and hence overstressing the Shuttle (particularly vulnerable parts such as the wings).

Such groups are invariably breakaways from the original Church, and usually argue that it has corrupted L. Orbital velocity at the 380 km (236 miles) altitude of the International Space Station is 7.68 km per second, or 17,180 mph, roughly equivalent to Mach 23. Although "Scientology" is most often used as shorthand for the Church of Scientology, a number of groups practice Scientology and Dianetics outside of the official Church. This isn't visually obvious since the vehicle rises vertically and is out of sight for most of the horizontal acceleration. This includes:. To achieve orbit requires expending much more energy in a horizontal direction than in a vertical direction. Ron Hubbard's philosophies in all areas of life. The vehicle climbs in a progressively flattening arc, accelerating as the weight of the SRBs and main tank decrease.

It forms the center of a complex worldwide network of corporations dedicated to the promotion of L. Shortly after clearing the tower the Shuttle rotates so that the vehicle is below the external tank and SRBs. Today's Church of Scientology was established in 1954. At takeoff the vast majority (~71%) of the thrust is provided by the SRBs. A Church of Scientology was first incorporated in Camden, New Jersey as a non-profit organization in 1953. After the Challenger disaster, there were extensive upgrades to abort modes. In a lecture given on July 19, 1962 entitled "The E-meter", Hubbard said:. Many of these concern SSME failures, since that is the most complex and highly stressed component.

The word itself is a pairing of the Latin word scientia ("knowledge", "skill"), which comes from the verb scire ("to know"), and the Greek λογος lógos ("reason" or "inward thought" or "logic"). There are extensive emergency procedures (abort modes) to handle various failure scenarios during ascent. However, it is not clear to what extent Hubbard was aware of these earlier uses. The SRBs cannot be turned off once ignited, and afterwards the shuttle must take off, no matter what. [5] Nordenholz's book is a study of consciousness, and its usage of the word is not greatly different from Hubbard's definition, "knowing how to know". Initially the main engines are ignited and computers verify their operation for several seconds; if successful, the SRBs are ignited and the vehicle is then committed to takeoff. [4] In 1934, the Argentine-German writer Anastasius Nordenholz published a book using the word positively: Scientologie, Wissenschaft von der Beschaffenheit und der Tauglichkeit des Wissens ("Scientology, Science of the Constitution and Usefulness of Knowledge"). It is called the Shuttle-C and would trade re-usability for cargo capability with large potential savings from reusing technology developed for the Space Shuttle.

Although today associated almost exclusively with Hubbard's work, it was originally coined by philologist Allen Upward in 1907 as a synonym for "pseudoscience". A cargo-only, unmanned variant of the Shuttle has been variously proposed and rejected since the 1980s. The word scientology has a history of its own. In addition the Air Force developed their own much lighter single-piece SRB design using a filament-wound system, but this too was cancelled. [3] Scientology also reflects the influence of the Hindu concept of karma, as well as the less metaphysical theories of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and William Sargant. The loss of the ASRB program forced the development of the Super LightWeight external Tank (SLWT), which provides some of the increased payload capability, while not providing any of the safety improvements. An influence that Hubbard did acknowledge is the system of General Semantics developed by Alfred Korzybski in the 1930s. These culminated in the considerably simpler, lower cost, probably safer and better performing Advanced Solid Rocket Booster which was to have entered production in the early to mid-1990s to support the Space Station, but was later cancelled to save money after the expenditure of $2.2 billion.

Some investigators have noted similarities in Hubbard's writings to the doctrines of Crowley,[2] though the Church of Scientology denies any such connection. Several other SRB improvements were planned in order to improve performance and safety, but never came to be. Immediately prior to his first Dianetics publications, Hubbard was involved with occultist Jack Parsons in performing rites developed by Aleister Crowley. Notable is the adding of a third O-ring seal to the joints between the segments, which occurred after the Challenger accident. Other ideas such as the origins and age of the Earth, the root of evil, and the nature of man make it impossible to hold literal beliefs in most other religions while being a Scientologist. The SRBs (Solid Rocket Boosters) have undergone improvements as well. Whether this comes from Hubbards theories as presented in the highest levels of Scientology or is just the belief of some Scientologists to create a way for the religion to better mesh, no proof of the claim has ever been presented. As the Shuttle cannot fly unmanned, each of these improvements has been "tested" on operational flights.

Most notably is the concept of past lives which most western religions reject, although some Scientologists believe that Christianity at one time believed in reincarnation but the idea was taken out by the early Catholic Church. It weighs 7,500 lb (3.4 t) less than the last run of lightweight tanks. In addition to the clergy of the religions not getting along beliefs in Scientology as one progresses into higher levels become increasingly contradictory with other religion. This version of the tank is made of the 2195 Aluminum-Lithium alloy. (Hubbard, Hymn of Asia, 1952). STS-91 saw the first flight of the "super light-weight external tank". Based on an interpretation of Buddhist writings which described, among other things, a man from the west with hair like flames around his head who was said to be due to return some 2,500 years after the first Buddha, the red-haired Hubbard sometimes identified himself with Maitreya, the Buddha of the future. The resulting "light-weight external tank" has been used on the vast majority of Shuttle missions.

However, those who have done this (Buddhists, Christians, Communists and other fanatics) have dead ended or are dead ending." (Hubbard, HCOPL of January 21, 1965). Additional weight was saved by removing some of the internal "stringers" in the hydrogen tank that proved unnecessary. Mainstream religions, in his view, had failed to realize their objectives: "It is all very well to idealize poverty and associate wisdom with begging bowls, or virtue with low estate. The 600lbs saved by not painting the tank results in an almost 600lb increase in payload capability to orbit. Hubbard claimed that Islam was also the result of an extraterrestrial memory implant, called the Emanator, of which the Kaaba is supposedly an artifact. For STS-1 and STS-2 the external tank was painted white to protect the insulation that covers much of the tank, but improvements and testing showed that it was not required. Again, it should be emphasized that even if this teaching is genuine, only a minority of Scientology adherents have learned it. The normal maximum throttle is 104%, with 106% and 109% available for abort emergencies.

Thus, critics claim, Hubbard makes clear his belief that advanced Scientologists are to identify Jesus and Christianity more as a force of evil than as a force for good. The 109% thrust level was finally reached in flight hardware with the Block II engines in 2001. Some critics have claimed that one of the highest levels, OT VIII, tells initiates that Jesus was a pederast (it is decidedly unclear whether the version of OT VIII in the Fishman Affidavit, where this claim originates, is genuine). The upgrades have improved engine reliability, maintainability and performance. In some of the teachings Hubbard had intended only for this select group, he claimed that Jesus had never existed, but was implanted in humanity's collective memory by Xenu 75 million years ago, and that Christianity was an "entheta [evil] operation" mounted by beings called Targs (Hubbard, "Electropsychometric Scouting: Battle of the Universes", April 1952). SSME upgrades are denoted as "block numbers", such as block I, block II, and block IIA. Critics claim that a select group of advanced practitioners eventually discovered that Hubbard had left little doubt in his writings and lectures about the dim view he took towards existing major religions. However this would have required revising much previous documentation and software, so the 104% number was retained.

As a sort of a confirmation of the Church's position that it is superior to other religions, in its application for tax exempt status in the United States, the Church of Scientology International states:. They could have rescaled the output number, saying in essence 104% is now 100%. Hubbard himself cautioned against the unwise or improper use of powers in his book History of Man. During the lengthy development program, Rocketdyne determined the engine was capable of safe reliable operation at 104% of the originally specified thrust. Critics maintain that, within Scientology, "spiritual abilities" tends to be synonymous with "mystical powers" rather than with "inner peace". The 100% figure is the original specified power level. Scientology's claim of religious compatibility to entry-level Scientologists is soon modified by the additional teaching that the various levels of spiritual prowess which can be reached through Scientology are more advanced than those attainable in other religions. This explains phrases such as "Main engines throttling up to 104%." This does not mean the engines are being run over a safe limit.

The Church of Scientology has also worked closely with other religious groups on community outreach projects and campaigns against perceived persecution by governments around the world. The Space Shuttle Main Engines have had several improvements to enhance reliability and power. Many members of the Roman Catholic Church reject Scientology, because of the CoS's views on Jesus, and believe Scientology to be a form of agnosticism, which many Christians regard as a heresy. With the coming of the Space Station, the Orbiter's internal airlocks are being replaced with external docking systems to allow for a greater amount of cargo to be stored on the Shuttle's mid-deck during Station resupply missions. However, the Church of Scientology has clashed with other religious groups, including the Church of England, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Lutheran Church, all of which have at times criticized Scientology's activities and doctrines. In the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project tradition, programmable calculators are carried as well (originally the HP-41C). The Church of Scientology has publicly stated:. This is called a "glass cockpit".

Scientology teaches that it is fully compatible with all existing major religions. In addition to the computer upgrades, the original vector graphics monochrome cockpit displays were replaced with modern raster color displays, similar to contemporary airliners like the Airbus A320. the Xenu incident). Internally the Shuttle remains largely similar to the original design, with the exception of the improved avionics computers. On the other hand, Scientology literature does include many references to extraterrestrial past lives, and internal Scientology publications are often illustrated with pictures of spaceships and oblique references to catastrophic events that happened "75 million years ago" (e.g. The memory was changed from magnetic core to semiconductor with battery backup. Thus accusations and criticisms by critics of ordinary Scientologists based on the above tend to work against the intention of the critics, since it is not published in commonly available materials, and is not part of what the vast majority of ordinary Scientologists believe. In 1990 the original computers were replaced with an upgraded model AP-101S, which has about 2.5 times the memory capacity (about 1 megabyte) and three times the processor speed (about 1.2 million instructions per second).

Therefore, while knowledge of Xenu and Body Thetans is said to be crucial to the highest level church teachings, it cannot be regarded as a core belief of rank and file Scientologists. They have no hard disk drive, but load software from tape cartridges. Although reliable statistics are not available, it is fair to say that most Scientologists are not at a sufficiently high level on "the bridge" to learn about Xenu. The CPU could process about 400,000 instructions per second. These included memories of being "deceived into a love affair with a robot decked out as a beautiful blond-haired girl", being run over by a Martian bishop driving a steamroller which transformed him into an intergalactic walrus that perished after falling out of a flying saucer, after which he was "a very happy being who strayed to the planet Nostra 23,064,000,000 years ago". The IBM AP-101 computers originally had about 424 kilobytes of magnetic core memory each. For instance, Hubbard's 1958 book Have You Lived Before This Life documents past lives described by individual Scientologists during auditing sessions. It is specifically designed for a real time embedded system environment.

Journalists and critics of Scientology counter that Xenu is part of a much wider Scientology belief in past lives on other planets, some of which has been public knowledge for decades. The software for the shuttle computers are written in a high-level language called HAL/S, somewhat similar to PL/I. Scientologists argue that published accounts of the Xenu story and other colorful teachings are presented out of context for the purpose of ridiculing their religion. However in theory it can fail, so the BFS exists for that contingency. He is said to be still alive today. For example the number of code lines is tiny relative to a commercial operating system, changes are only made infrequently and with extensive testing, and many programming and test personnel work on the small amount of computer code. Xenu is allegedly imprisoned in a mountain by a force field powered by an eternal battery. This should never happen, as embedded system avionic software is developed under totally different conditions than commercial software.

He then stacked hundreds of billions of these frozen victims around Earth's volcanoes 75 million years ago before blowing them up with hydrogen bombs and brainwashing them with a "three-D, super colossal motion picture" for 36 days, telling them lies of what they are and what the universe should be like and telling them that they are 3 different things: 'Jesus, God, and The Devil.' The traumatized thetans subsequently clustered around human bodies because they watched the motion picture together, making them think they are all the same thing, in effect acting as invisible spiritual parasites known as "body thetans" that can only be removed using advanced Scientology techniques. The BFS was created because although the four primary computers are hardware redundant, they all run the same software, so a generic software problem could crash all of them. These space planes were said to have been copies of Douglas DC-8s, with the addition of rocket engines. The Backup Flight System (BFS) is separately developed software running on the fifth computer, used only if the entire four-computer primary system fails. Among these advanced teachings, one episode that is revealed to those who reach OT level III has been widely remarked upon in the press: the story of Xenu, the galactic tyrant who first kidnapped certain individuals who were deemed "excess population" and loaded these individuals into space planes for transport to the site of extermination, the planet of Teegeeack (Earth). In the rare case of two out of four computers simultaneously failing (a two-two split), one group is picked at random. He also explained how to reverse the effects of such traumas. If a second computer of the three remaining fails, the two functioning computers vote it out.

In the confidential OT levels, Hubbard describes a variety of traumas commonly experienced in past lives. This isolates it from vehicle control. Because Scientology is a mystery religion, the more closely guarded and esoteric teachings imparted at these higher levels may not always be entirely consistent with its entry-level teachings. If one computer fails the three functioning computers "vote" it out of the system. The highest level, OT VIII, is only disclosed at sea, on the Scientology cruise ship Freewinds. The four general purpose computers operate essentially in lockstep, checking each other. The most advanced of all are the eight Operating Thetan levels, which require the initiate to be thoroughly prepared. After two failures it can land safely.

They have never been published by the Church, except for use in highly secure areas. After a single failure the shuttle can continue the mission. The contents of these courses are held in strict confidence within Scientology. The design goal of the shuttle DPS is fail operational/fail safe reliability. The "Hidden Truth" about the nature of the universe is taught to only the most advanced Scientologists, those who have achieved the level "clear", in a series of courses known as the Advanced Levels. Collectively they are called the shuttle Data Processing System (DPS). Scientology doctrine includes a wide variety of beliefs in extraterrestrial civilizations and alien interventions in Earthly events, collectively described by Hubbard as "space opera". A fifth backup computer runs separate software called the Backup Flight System (BFS).

According to Hubbard, some of the past traumas may have been deliberately inflicted in the form of "implants" used by extraterrestrial dictatorships to brainwash and control people. Four computers run specialized software called the Primary Avionics Software System (PASS). (For example, not everyone was a Roman, or Chinese, etc, although each was common enough). The shuttle uses five identical redundant IBM 32-bit general purpose computers (GPCs), model AP-101, constituting a type of embedded system. Not all things found have been experienced by all beings. Much research went into the shuttle computer system. Hubbard stated that Scientology materials as described in books, tapes, and research notes include a record of everything that was found in the course of his research. A primary concern with digital fly-by-wire systems is reliability.

As a result, Hubbard's 30-year development of Scientology focused on streamlining of the process to address only key factors. This means no mechanical or hydraulic linkages connect the pilot's control stick to the control surfaces or reaction control system thrusters. According to an early lecture of Hubbard's, it is, as a practical matter, both impossible and undesirable to recall each and every such event from such vast stretches of time. The shuttle was one of the earliest aircraft to use a computerized fly-by-wire digital flight control system. During that time, Hubbard explains, they have been exposed to a vast number of traumatic incidents, and have made a great many decisions that influence their present state. The SRB cases are made of steel about 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) thick. He extended this view further in Scientology, declaring that thetans have existed for tens of trillions of years. They are jettisoned two minutes after launch at a height of 36 nautical miles (67 km), then deploy parachutes and land in the ocean to be recovered.

In Dianetics, Hubbard proposed that the cause of "aberrations" in the human mind was an accumulation of pain and unconscious memories of traumatic incidents, some of which predated the life of the individual. The Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) contain the solid fuel that provides about 71% of the vehicle's liftoff thrust. According to Scientology, the lower the person is on the tone scale, the more complex and convoluted his or her day-to-day problems tend to be, and the more care and judgement should be exercised regarding communication and interchange with the individual. The ET is made of aluminum-lithium alloy. The tone scale is used by Scientologists in everyday life to evaluate people. It is discarded 8.5 minutes after launch at an altitude of 60 nautical miles (111 km) then burns up on reentry. The scale ranges from -40 or "Total Failure" to +40 or "Serenity of Beingness." Positions on the tone scale are usually designated by an emotion, but Hubbard also described many other things that can be indicated by the tone scale levels, such as aspects of an individual's health, sexual behavior, survival potential, or ability to deal with truth. The External Tank (ET) contains the 2 million liters (528,000 gallons) of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant that feeds the SSMEs.

The tone scale is a characterization of human mood and behavior by various positions on a scale. The orbiter structure is made primarily from aluminum alloy, although the engine thrust structure is made from titanium. Scientologists utilize ARC as a central organizing principle in their lives, primarily based upon the belief that improving one aspect of the triangle increases the level of the other two. Unlike previous space vehicles which used insulation that burned off during reentry and couldn't be reused, the orbiter thermal protection can be reused up to 100 times with only minor repairs. Hubbard called this the "ARC Triangle". Lower temperature areas on the upper surfaces are protected by flexible thermal blankets. Another basic tenet of Scientology is that there are three interrelated (and intrinsically spiritual) components that make up successful "livingness": affinity (emotional responses), reality (an agreement on what is real) and communication (the exchange of ideas). The underbelly and much of the fuselage sides is protected by silica tiles.

While such a claim would be actionable as extortion, blackmail or harassment within most legal jurisdictions, no such claim has to date been legally confirmed against Scientology based upon use or revelation of auditing records. The hottest areas are on the wing leading edges and nose, which are protected by reinforced carbon/carbon. In some instances, former members have claimed the Church used information obtained in auditing sessions against them. Various materials are used, depending on the amount of heat. Auditing records are referred to within Scientology as "confessional formulary" and stored under lock and key when not being added to during auditing sessions. The Thermal Protection System (TPS) covers the outside of the obiter, protecting it from the intense heat during reentry. The Church maintains that its auditing records are kept confidential, after the manner of confession in Christian churches. The Reaction Control System (RCS) provides attitude control and translation along the pitch, roll, and yaw axes during the flight phases of orbit insertion, orbit, and reentry.

During the auditing process, the auditor may collect personal information from the person being audited in a manner similar to a psychotherapy session or confessional. The Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) provides orbital maneuvers, including insertion, circularization, transfer, rendezvous, abort to orbit, and abort once around. So, according to the Church, the psychotherapist treats mental health and the Church treats the spiritual being. They are used for propulsion during ascent. Licensed psychotherapists have alleged that the Church's auditing sessions amount to mental health treatment without a license, but the Church vehemently disputes these allegations, and claims to have established in courts of law that its practice leads to spiritual relief. Three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) are mounted in the rear part of the obiter. Indeed, an Australian report stated that auditing involved a kind of command hypnosis that could lead to potentially damaging delusional dissociative states. Since the arm is a crucial part of the Thermal Protection Inspection procedures now required for Shuttle flights, it will probably be included on all future flights.

Scientologists have claimed benefits from auditing including improved IQ, improve memory, alleviated dyslexia and attention deficit problems, and improved relaxation; however, no scientific studies have verified these claims. Until the loss of Columbia, the Canadarm had been used only on those missions where it was needed. The E-meter is used to help locate an area of concern. Inside the payload bay is the Remote Manipulator System, also known as the Canadarm, a robot arm used to retrieve and deploy payloads. they are forbidden from suggesting, interpreting, degrading or invalidating the preclear's answers. Thermal control is also maintained by adjusting the orientation of the Shuttle relative to Earth and Sun. Per Church policy, auditors are trained not to "evaluate for" their preclears, i.e. The payload bay doors have heat radiators mounted on their inner surfaces, and so are kept open for thermal control while the Shuttle is in orbit.

Auditing requires that the preclear be a willing and interested participant who understands the questions, and the process goes more smoothly when he or she understands what is going on. The orbiter has a large 60 by 15 ft (18  m by 4.6 m) payload bay, filling most of the fuselage. The auditor asks the preclear to respond to a list of questions which are designed for specific purposes and given to the preclear in a strictly regulated way. Astronauts pass through the airlock hatch to put on their space suits. The auditing process is intended to help the practitioner (referred to as a preclear or PC) to unburden himself of specific traumatic incidents, prior ethical transgressions and bad decisions, which are said to collectively restrict the preclear from achieving his goals and lead to the development of a "reactive mind". Galley, toilet, sleep locations, storage lockers, and the side hatch for entering/exiting the vehicle is also located there, as is the airlock hatch into the payload bay. Most auditing uses an E-meter, a device developed to be easy to set up and to be easily interpreted in a way the user sees fit. The mid-deck has three more seats for the rest of the crew members.

The auditor follows an exact procedure toward rehabilitating the human spirit. The highest flight deck seats the commander and pilot, two mission specialists in the back. The central practice of Scientology is "auditing" (from the Latin audire,"to listen"), which is one-on-one communication with a trained Scientology counselor or "auditor". Its crew cabin consists of three levels: the flight deck, the mid-deck, and the utility area. For more information regarding these explanations, see Scientology - Outsider Explanations. The orbiter resembles an airplane with delta wings. Many non-Scientologists and Critics have offered explanations of Scientology beliefs and practices. The vehicle is launched vertically like a conventional rocket, and the orbiter glides to a horizontal landing like an airplane, after which it is refurbished for reuse.

This freed state is called Operating Thetan, or OT for short. The tank and boosters are jettisoned during ascent, so only the orbiter goes into orbit. According to the church, the ultimate goal is to get the soul (thetan) back to its native state of total freedom, thus gaining control over matter, energy, space, time, thoughts, form, and life. The shuttle is a partially reusuable launch system composed of three main assemblies: the reusable Orbiter Vehicle (OV), the expendable External Tank (ET), and the two reusable Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). Exact methods of spiritual counseling are taught and practiced which are designed to enable this change. Columbia was lost, with all seven crew members, during reentry on February 1, 2003, and has not been replaced. Scientology claims to offer an exact methodology to help a person achieve awareness of their spiritual existence and better effectiveness in the physical world. Endeavour was built to replace it (using spare parts originally intended for the other Orbiters) and delivered in May 1991.

Some central beliefs of Scientology:. Challenger was destroyed when she disintegrated during launch on January 28, 1986, with the loss of all seven astronauts on board. This is described as a passage along "the Bridge to Total Freedom", or simply "the Bridge," where each step of the Bridge promises a little more personal freedom in the area specified by the Bridge's definition. The Shuttle was meant to visit Space Station Freedom, announced in 1984, an ambitious and much-delayed project later downsized and merged into the International Space Station program. The steps lead to the more advanced strata of Scientology's more esoteric knowledge. Challenger was delivered to KSC in July 1982, Discovery was delivered in November 1983, and Atlantis was delivered in April 1985. For example, the bad effects of drugs should be addressed before other issues can be addressed. The first fully functional Shuttle Orbiter, built in Palmdale, California, was the Columbia, which was delivered to Kennedy Space Center on March 25, 1979, and was first launched on April 12, 1981—the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight—with a crew of two.

Scientology practices are structured in a series of levels, because Hubbard believed that rehabilitation takes place on a step by step basis. Amid great fanfare, the Enterprise was rolled out on September 17, 1976, and later conducted a successful series of glide-approach and landing tests that were the first real validation of the design. [1] Scientology also covers topics such as ethics and morality, (The Way to Happiness), drug and chemical residues as they relate to spiritual wellbeing, the (Purification Rundown), communication, marriage, raising children, dealing with work-related problems, educational matters (study technology), and the very nature of life (The Dynamics). The first complete Orbiter was originally named Constitution, but a massive write-in campaign from fans of the Star Trek television series convinced the White House to change the name to Enterprise. A chief difference between Dianetics and Scientology is that Dianetics focuses on rehabilitating an individual's mind, giving him full conscious recall of his experiences while Scientology is more concerned with rehabilitating the human spirit. The contractor for the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters was Morton Thiokol (now part of Alliant Techsystems), for the external tank, Martin Marietta (now Lockheed Martin), and for the Space shuttle main engines, Rocketdyne. By the mid-1950s, Hubbard had relegated Dianetics to a sub-study of Scientology. The prime contractor for the program was North American Aviation (later Rockwell International), the same company responsible for the Apollo Command/Service Module.

Scientology followed on the heels of Dianetics, an earlier system of self-improvement techniques laid out by Hubbard in his 1950 book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. The final design was less costly and less technically ambitious than earlier fully reusable designs. Most of the basic principles of the church were set out during the 1950s and 1960s. The Shuttle program was formally launched on January 5, 1972, when President Nixon announced that NASA would proceed with the development of a reusable Space Shuttle system. Scientology's doctrines were established by Hubbard over a period of about 34 years, beginning in 1952 and continuing until his death in January 1986. Ultimately the current design was chosen, using a reusable winged orbiter, solid rocket boosters, and expendable external tank. . During early shuttle development there was great debate about the optimal shuttle design that best balanced capability, development cost and operating cost.

Scientology's principles have been characterized as pseudoscientific by many mainstream medical and psychotherapeutic practitioners, and the Church has frequently been characterized as a cult. They evaluated the shuttle studies to date, and recommended a national space strategy including building a space shuttle. Critics — including government officials of certain countries — have characterized the Church as an unscrupulous commercial organization, and it is accused of harassing critics and exploiting members. Agnew. However, the Church of Scientology has attracted much controversy and criticism. Nixon formed the Space Task Group, chaired by vice president Spiro T. Church spokespeople claim that Hubbard's teachings (called "technology" or "tech" in Scientology terminology) have freed them from addictions, depression, learning disabilities, mental illness and other problems. In 1969 President Richard M.

The Church presents itself as a religious non-profit organization dedicated to the development of the human spirit and providing counseling and rehabilitation programs. The early studies were denoted "Phase A", and in June 1970, "Phase B", which were more detailed and specific. The term Scientology is a trademark of the Religious Technology Center, which licenses its use and use of the copyrighted works of Hubbard to the Church of Scientology. Even before the Apollo moon landing in 1969, in October 1968 NASA began early studies of space shuttle designs. In 1954 he established today's Church of Scientology which represents itself as an applied religious philosophy. . He stated, "Scientology" would be "a study of knowledge." He coined the word from "-ology" (study of) and from "Scien" (from Latin scientia - knowledge).
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Ron Hubbard. However, following the STS-114 return-to-flight mission in August 2005, the Shuttle program is currently grounded pending repairs and the solution of outstanding safety issues. Scientology is a word first introduced in 1952 by author L. According to the Vision for Space Exploration, use of the Space Shuttle will be focused on completing assembly of the ISS in 2010, after which it will be replaced by the yet-to-be-developed Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). [8]. The program started in the late 1960s and has dominated NASA's manned operations since the mid-1970s. Ron Hubbard's life, in particular accounts of Hubbard discussing his intent to start a religion for profit. Each Shuttle was designed for a projected lifespan of 100 launches or 10-years operational life.

Differing accounts of L. However this cabability is used to return large payloads to earth from the International Space Station, as the Russian Soyuz has limited capacity for return payloads. Lobbying search engines such as Google and Yahoo to omit any webpages that are critical of Scientology from their search engines (and in Google's case, AdSense), or at least the first few search pages(while Google now features pages that are critical of Scientology, one will find that the front page for a search on "Scientology" in Yahoo yields no websites critical of Scientology). While the vehicle was designed with the capability to recover satellites and other payloads from orbit and return them to Earth, this capacity has not been used often. Use of high-pressure sales tactics to obtain money from members. It carries large payloads to various orbits, provides crew rotation for the International Space Station (ISS), and performs servicing missions. Claims of brainwashing and mind control. It is also the first winged manned spacecraft to achieve orbit and land.

Criminal activities by Scientologists, both those committed for personal gain (Reed Slatkin, others) and those committed on behalf of the Church and directed by Church officials (Operation Snow White, Operation Freakout, Fair Game, and others). The Shuttle is the first orbital spacecraft designed for partial reusability. Scientology's disconnection policy, in which members are encouraged to cut off all contact with friends or family members critical of the Church. When its mission is complete, it re-enters the earth's atmosphere and makes an unpowered gliding horizontal landing, usually on a runway at Kennedy Space Center. Unexplained Deaths of Scientologists, most notably Lisa McPherson, allegedly due to mistreatment by other members. The winged shuttle orbiter is launched vertically, carrying usually five to seven astronauts and up to about 22,700 kg (50,000 lbs) of payload into low earth orbit. Scientologists claim that government files, such as those from the FBI, are loaded with forgeries and other false documents detrimental to Scientology, but have never substantiated this accusation. NASA's Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System (STS), is the United States government's sole manned launch vehicle currently in service.

Some critics charge Scientology with being a cult of personality, with much emphasis placed on the alleged accomplishments of its founder. The trailer allows the transportation of the Orbiter from the OPF to either the SCA-747 "Mate-Demate" stand or the VAB without placing any additional stress on the undercarriage. Scientology's harassment and litigious actions against its critics and enemies. Prior to the closing of the Vandenburg facility, Orbiters were transported from the OPF to the VAB on its undercarriage, only to be raised when the Orbiter was being lifted for attachment to the SRB/ET stack. The Gabriel Williams sexual abuse case. Air Force's launch facility at Vandenburg Air Force Base in California (since then converted for Delta V rockets) that would transport the Orbiter from the landing facility to the launch pad, which allowed both "stacking" and launch without utilizing a separate VAB-style building and crawler-transporter roadway. and a campaign directed to world leaders, as well as the general public, to implement the 1948 United Nations document "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (with particular emphasis on the religious freedom elements). A 36-wheeled transport trailer, originally built for the U.S.

a publishing company, e-Republic, which publishes Government Technology and Converge magazines and coordinates the Center for Digital Government;. The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft is a modified Boeing 747 that flies the Space Shuttle from alternative landing sites back to Cape Canaveral. a consulting firm based on Hubbard's management techniques (Sterling Management Systems);. The Crawler-Transporter moves the Space Shuttle from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39. World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, or WISE, which licenses Hubbard's management techniques for use in businesses;. While the shuttle might safely endure a lightning strike, a similar strike caused problems on Apollo 14, so for improved safety NASA chooses to not launch the shuttle if lightning is possible. a "moral values" campaign (The Way to Happiness);. However upon takeoff the shuttle sends out a long exhaust plume as it ascends, and this plume can trigger lightning, plus provide a current path to ground.

projects to implement Hubbard's educational methods in schools (Applied Scholastics);. Like most jet airliners, the shuttle is constructed of conductive aluminum which would normally protect the internal systems. activities to reform the field of mental health (Citizens Commission on Human Rights);. Airplanes are often struck by lightning with no adverse effects because the electricity of the strike is dissipated through the conductive structure and the aircraft is not electrically grounded. criminal rehab programs (Criminon);. The shuttle is not launched under conditions where it could be struck by lightning. drug treatment centers (Narconon);. Since then, NASA has installed commercial plastic owl decoys and inflatable owl balloons which must be removed prior to launch.

Thus, the tenets of Scientology are expected to be tested and seen to either be true, or not, by Scientology practitioners. One shuttle launch was delayed in 1995 when a pair of woodpeckers drilled almost 200 holes into the foam insulation of Discovery's external tank. No beliefs should be forced as "true" on anyone. When CNN reported on the breakup of the Columbia over Texas, they erroneously reported it was traveling at nearly 18 times the speed of light, instead of 18 times the speed of sound. What is true is what is true for you. (source : John Young's April 2003 After Dinner Speech). A person is basically good, but becomes "aberrated" by moments of pain and unconsciousness in his life. On the same subject, a little-publicised detail about the first Shuttle mission, STS-1, was that it had a protruding gapfiller that ducted hot gas into the right wheel well on re-entry, buckling the right main gear on landing as a result.

The thetan has lived through many past lives and will continue to live beyond the death of the body. This image from the NASA archives shows many missing tiles on the STS-1 OMS pods : [[5]] The problem on Columbia was that the damage was sustained to the carbon-carbon leading edge panel of the wing, not the heat tiles. A person is an immortal spiritual being (termed a thetan) who possesses a mind and a body. STS-1, STS-16 and STS-41 have all flown with missing thermal tiles from the orbital maneuvering system pods (visible to all the crew). In fact Shuttles had come back missing as many as 20 tiles without any problem. The subject of missing or damaged thermal tiles on the Shuttle fleet only became an issue following the loss of Columbia in 2003 as it broke up on re-entry.

At the point when it is perfectly vertical, the boosters ignite and the launch commences. This takes approximately 6 seconds. As the boosters flex back into their original shape, the launch stack springs slowly back upright. After main engine start, but while the solid rocket boosters are still clamped to the pad, the offset thrust from the Shuttle's three main engines causes the entire launch stack (boosters, tank and shuttle) to flex forwards about 2 meters at the cockpit level.

When watching a launch, look for the "nod" ("Twang" in "NASAese"). NASA was one of its main customers. The Compass sold poorly, because it cost at least $8000, but offered unmatched performance for its weight and size. Early Shuttle missions took along the GRiD Compass, arguably the first laptop computer.

This is still lower than the actual approximately $100 million per launch, but less difference than is commonly thought. Correcting for inflation to 2005 dollars, this equates roughly to $36 million incremental costs per launch. Early cost estimates of $118 per pound of payload were based on marginal or incremental launch costs, and based on 1972 dollars and assuming a 65,000 pound payload capacity. Some early hypothetical studies examined 55 launches per year, but the maximum possible launch rate was limited to 24 per year, based on manufacturing capacity of the external tank.

This does not reduce actual operating costs, but if dividing total program costs by number of launches, more launches per year produces a lower per-launch cost figure. Launch rate is significantly lower than initially expected. Before the current "Block II" engines, the turbopumps (a primary engine component) had to be removed, dissembled, and totally overhauled after each flight. The main engines were highly complex and maintenance intensive, necessitating removal and extensive inspection after each flight.

Maintenance of thermal protection tiles turned out to be very labor intensive, averaging about 1 person·week to replace a tile, with hundreds damaged with each launch. Columbia — lost during reentry, February 1, 2003. Challenger — lost 73 seconds after liftoff, January 28, 1986. Ulysses probe.

Galileo spacecraft. Magellan probe. An interplanetary orbit; these have included: