Hello from Lakeland, Tennessee

[Kingbird87]

My name is Mitch Scrivener. I grew up in Cocoa Beach as a NASA brat. My dad, James M. Scrivener was Director of RFM at KSC during the Apollo Program and is now deceased. He started with NASA in 1961. I went to Tulane University on an Air Force ROTC scholarship, and upon graduation, worked at KSC while awaiting my slot at UPT at Reese AFB. I worked at APSAT-41 for Bill Wheeler and Bob Plasner in systems QC and worked primarily on rebuilding the Shuttle Payload transporter, which Kamag in W. Germany had built. It was all but destroyed in transit to the Cape. Upon graduation from Undergraduate Pilot Training, I flew HC-130 rescue aircraft at Kadena AB, Japan. We had primary range and alternate Rescue and Recovery duties. After active duty, I became a pilot for Northwest Airlines and the Tennessee Air National Guard. I am grateful to have experienced so much of NASA history as a child growing up in the early days, and fulfill my dad's enthusiasm with his profession through my interest in NASA and spaceflight with my son, Hunter. Thanks for allowing me to visit your forum.

Mitch Scrivener

[Andrew]

Welcome aboard!

-Andrew

[Rick]

My name is Mitch Scrivener. I grew up in Cocoa Beach as a NASA brat. My dad, James M. Scrivener was Director of RFM at KSC during the Apollo Program and is now deceased. He started with NASA in 1961. I went to Tulane University on an Air Force ROTC scholarship, and upon graduation, worked at KSC while awaiting my slot at UPT at Reese AFB. I worked at APSAT-41 for Bill Wheeler and Bob Plasner in systems QC and worked primarily on rebuilding the Shuttle Payload transporter, which Kamag in W. Germany had built. It was all but destroyed in transit to the Cape. Upon graduation from Undergraduate Pilot Training, I flew HC-130 rescue aircraft at Kadena AB, Japan. We had primary range and alternate Rescue and Recovery duties. After active duty, I became a pilot for Northwest Airlines and the Tennessee Air National Guard. I am grateful to have experienced so much of NASA history as a child growing up in the early days, and fulfill my dad's enthusiasm with his profession through my interest in NASA and spaceflight with my son, Hunter. Thanks for allowing me to visit your forum.

Mitch Scrivener

Mitch, thanks for joining and we are very fortunate you have. Did you work at the Cannister Rotation Facility at all? I visit there time to time in my daily duties at KSC.

We look forward to your input, as I bet you've got some interesting stories to tell. :)

[Kingbird87]

Rick, thank you so much for the warm reception. As far as ever working at the Cannister Rotation Facility, If I was ever there, I sure don't remember or even recall the name. At that time, things were very sleepy at KSC. Columbia was in the OPF getting tiled up for the first time, the complexes were still being converted to shuttle applications, the O and C still had Apollo junk everywhere, and Delta's with strap-ons were brand new, and experiencing about 50% burn throughs. We were primarily complying with verification testing to meet man rated criteria of all the new support equipment. Since I was new, and temporary, anything done up high, out in the heat or rain, or anything to do with the Germans became my baby. This was great, because I spent a lot of time at 39A just waiting to test something and loving the view, I was fine with the German technicians, I spoke some German, didn't mind getting dirty, and didn't flip out when I saw how much amber refreshment they had at Harold's with lunch. It was a magical time for me, and it gave me a lot of confidence, which helped later. I'd be less than honest if I didn't confess my dad surely pulled strings to get me out there on a temporary slot. It also helped me relate with my future father-in-law, an aeronautical engineer at Arnold AEDC for 40 years. He had everything high mach in his tunnels from the mid fifties until the early nineties. So thanks to my brief time at KSC, I wasn't a complete idiot.

[Rick]

My name is Mitch Scrivener. I grew up in Cocoa Beach as a NASA brat. My dad, James M. Scrivener was Director of RFM at KSC during the Apollo Program and is now deceased. He started with NASA in 1961. I went to Tulane University on an Air Force ROTC scholarship, and upon graduation, worked at KSC while awaiting my slot at UPT at Reese AFB. I worked at APSAT-41 for Bill Wheeler and Bob Plasner in systems QC and worked primarily on rebuilding the Shuttle Payload transporter, which Kamag in W. Germany had built. It was all but destroyed in transit to the Cape. Upon graduation from Undergraduate Pilot Training, I flew HC-130 rescue aircraft at Kadena AB, Japan. We had primary range and alternate Rescue and Recovery duties. After active duty, I became a pilot for Northwest Airlines and the Tennessee Air National Guard. I am grateful to have experienced so much of NASA history as a child growing up in the early days, and fulfill my dad's enthusiasm with his profession through my interest in NASA and spaceflight with my son, Hunter. Thanks for allowing me to visit your forum.

Mitch Scrivener


Mitch, I agree with you. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on which side of the fence one is on, there is a much higher probability of getting 'in' knowing someone. My neighbor 11 years ago helped me a bit in that regard.

It also sounds like your activities where quite facinating as well, as your life is for that matter. :)