Sable Colby

# Sable Colby

## Abstract

Sabella "Sable" Scott Colby is a fictional character from the ABC television series Dynasty and its spin-off The Colbys, both created by Richard and Esther Shapiro. Portrayed by Stephanie Beacham, the character was introduced on Dynasty in the November 1985 two-part episode " The Titans " as the socialite wife of wealthy California CEO Jason Colby (Charlton Heston). Beacham was subsequently a series regular on The Colbys for two seasons from 1985 to 1987. She reappeared as Sable on Dynasty for its ninth and final season from 1988 to 1989.

## Development and casting

In March 1985, ABC announced that its rumored Dynasty spin-off, The Colbys, had been greenlighted, to debut the following season. Charlton Heston was cast as patriarch Jason Colby in July 1985, and it was reported that The Colbys ' versions of Dynasty rivals Krystle Carrington (Linda Evans) and Alexis Colby (Joan Collins) would be named Anthea (later changed to Francesca) and Sable. Faye Dunaway, Angie Dickinson, Elizabeth Ashley, and Diana Rigg all turned down the role of Jason's wife Sable. Producers started auditioning British actresses to play one of the sisters as the equivalent of Collins's Alexis. According to Kate O'Mara, she and Stephanie Beacham were the final two choices to play Sable, but O'Mara was already under contract with a stage play in London. O'Mara later played Caress Morell, the sister of Collins' character Alexis, on Dynasty. In August 1985, producers cast Beacham, "a household name" in the UK who had starred in the title role of the ITV drama Connie.

On vacation after playing a ruthless businesswoman on Connie, Beacham almost passed on the request that she return to London to screen test for The Colbys. She was compelled to return when her housesitter locked the keys in her home. Beacham tested on a Friday, was flown to Los Angeles a week later, and was in wardrobe the next day. She noted of her audition, "I said whatever rubbish I could remember and camped it up". Beacham later explained that her main reason for doing The Colbys was her pay, which was an estimated $20,000 per episode. Beacham said that she and Heston were "a very lovely team", and that "What was really flattering actually was that the crew always used to gather around to watch the first run-through of our scenes, not just because they had to." Beacham is completely deaf in her right ear and has only 70 percent hearing in her left, and she compensates by positioning herself to the right of other actors in as many scenes as possible.

## Appearances

Beacham debuted as Sable in the Dynasty episodes " The Titans - Part 1 " and " The Titans - Part 2 ", which aired back-to-back on November 13, 1985. She subsequently appeared as a series regular on The Colbys, which ran for two seasons from November 20, 1985, to March 26, 1987. Beacham later played Sable in the ninth and final season of Dynasty from 1988 to 1989. Sable did not appear in the 1991 miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion.

## Characterization

Jasper Rees of The Telegraph wrote in 2016 that "Stephanie Beacham will forever be known as blow-dried, shoulder-padded vamp Sable Colby". Barbara Holsopple of The Pittsburgh Press called Sable "scheming" and "smarmy", noting that Jason's wife is ruffled by his sister Constance Colby 's (Barbara Stanwyck) bestowal of her company shares on her nephew Jeff (John James) rather than to Jason and Sable's three children. David Wallace of People described Sable as "wily", and recounted how Sable deals with Constance by first trying to have her declared incompetent and then by sabotaging her horse's saddle. Dynasty co-creator Esther Shapiro said of Beacham, "We loved her patrician quality. Despite Sable's seamy side, you understand why a major tycoon would stay married to her." Wallace dubbed Beacham "the show's real fire", and wrote that she "might just be the one to show Joan Collins the real meaning of she-deviltry." In February 1986, Beacham said that a confrontation between Sable and her cousin Alexis (Collins) might be "jolly good fun." Beacham commented in 2012 that she and Collins "felt we represented the Eighties."

Beacham said of Sable, "When she gets cross, frightful things can happen...I've allowed Sable to get more and more neurotic...she's such a terror." Beacham agreed it could be a challenge playing someone with so much emotion, but called Sable "a nearly three-dimensional human being".

## Storylines

### Dynasty season six

The Colbys of Los Angeles come to Denver to celebrate a new business venture with oil tycoon Blake Carrington (John Forsythe) in the 1985 Dynasty episodes "The Titans - Parts 1 and 2". Sable is the wife of mogul Jason Colby, and the mother of his three children Miles (Maxwell Caulfield), Monica (Tracy Scoggins), and Bliss (Claire Yarlett).

### The Colbys season one

In the series premiere, " The Celebration ", the Colbys return to Los Angeles and Sable is upset that Jason's sister Constance has given her shares to her nephew Jeff rather than Sable and Jason's three children. A dismissive Jason tells Sable to stay out of it, but she makes a failed attempt to convince Constance that she has made a mistake. Sable is getting worried that no one has heard from Miles, and also tells Monica that it is unlikely Jason will ever treat her like he would a man. In " Conspiracy of Silence ", the Colbys are surprised when Miles comes home married to Randall, who they now know is an amnesiac Fallon Carrington (Emma Samms). Sable is delighted that her son has married an heiress. She is reunited with her estranged sister Francesca (Katharine Ross), Jeff's mother with Jason's deceased brother Philip, but makes it clear she hopes Frankie will not stay in town long. Hoping to tie Fallon to Miles, Sable suggests to Fallon that she have a baby as soon as possible in " Moment of Truth ". Sable accuses Frankie of conspiring with Constance to benefit Jeff. Frankie intends to leave town, but is convinced to stay by Jason, with whom she had an affair many years ago. Sable comes across Jason's medical report and is shocked to learn that he is dying, unaware that his doctor has told him the diagnosis was a mistake. Sable apologizes to Frankie in " Family Album ", hoping she will talk Constance about the shares she gave Jeff. Sable is told that the only way to reverse Constance's decision is to have her declared incompetent. When Constance dismisses Sable a final time, Sable goes to Jason with false concern about Constance's mental state. Sable is sure that Zach's interest in her is only a means to get to Jason, but she begins to soften to him. Sable continues her plan to make Constance appear senile in " Shadow of the Past ". Sable loosens Constance's saddle, but is horrified when Frankie takes the horse and is almost injured. Constance, however, starts doubting herself.

In " A House Divided ", Jason confides in Frankie that Sable has become very greedy and selfish, but Frankie encourages him to work on his marriage. Sable learns of Constance's secret boyfriend Hutch Corrigan (Joseph Campanella), and mistakenly comes to believe that he is a con man extorting money from her. Zach continues to pursue Sable, but she keeps him at arm's length. Sable tells a horrified Jason that she has taken the first steps to have Constance declared mentally incompetent. Sable tries to justify her actions to Jason in " The Reunion ", but he does not like how she has changed and vows to fight her on Constance's behalf. Fallon has regained her memory, and Sable is unhappy when Miles offers to annul their marriage. Sable tells Constance that she can avoid a trial by simply undoing her gift to Jeff, but Constance refuses. Sable asks Frankie to take Jeff and to leave town so that she can save Miles's marriage and her own. Learning of Sable's lawsuit, Jeff goes to Constance and offers to return the shares in " Fallen Idol ", but she refuses. Sable goes to Zach's apartment to view a painting and resists his advances. Sable apologizes to Frankie for her hostility, and though Jason is willing to give his marriage a second chance, he changes his mind when Sable refuses to drop her lawsuit. In " The Letter ", Zach buys an expensive painting for Sable, who refuses to be bought but is drawn into a kiss. Sable accidentally hits Constance with her car, and then finds a letter Constance tried to destroy that suggests Jeff may not have been fathered by Philip. Though Constance only has a concussion, Sable is filled with remorse in " The Turning Point ". She drops her lawsuit against Constance and tries to reconcile with Jason, who says it is too late.

Sable rejects the painting from Zach. She is shocked when a drunken Miles mentions Jason and Frankie's attraction to each other. Sable tries to stop Jason from divorcing her by threatening to expose Frankie's indiscretions, but Jason is unmoved. Sable reveals the letter concerning Jeff's paternity in " Thursday's Child ", but Frankie reassures Jeff he is Philip's son. Sable is angry that Zach has been manipulating her family, but she cannot deny her attraction to him. In " The Pact ", Sable threatens to use the letter against Frankie unless Jeff gives up Fallon. Jason agrees not to divorce Sable if she stops trying to prove in court that Jeff is not a Colby. In " Fallon's Choice ", Constance discovers that Sable gaslighted her to make her seem confused. When Fallon chooses Jeff over Miles, Sable gives the letter to Miles, who intends to use it against Jeff in court. Jason blames Sable for showing the letter to Miles in " The Trial ", and neither he nor Constance can convince Miles to drop the case. Sable calls out Frankie as a slut in public. In " Burden of Proof ", Sable is shocked to hear Jason claim to be Jeff's father in court, and vows to never forgive him. Zach comforts Sable. She and Jason agree to divorce in " My Father's House ", and she rejects Frankie's attempt at a reconciliation. Sable wants the house in the divorce, and though Jason is willing, Constance refuses to sell her half to him. Despite everything that Jason has done to her, Sable cannot sleep with Zach. She spends a platonic night as his penthouse, where Miles is shocked to find her. Sable is " The Outcast " horrified by the idea of Jeff and Fallon's wedding, which Jason insists she plan. Sable explains her being at Zach's place to Miles, and then clashes with Fallon over wedding arrangements. Constance's private investigator records a conversation in which Zach professes to Sable his desire to sleep with her. Sable enrages Jason when she attacks Frankie again.

In " The Wedding ", Sable asks both Zach and Miles not to attend Jeff and Fallon's nuptials, but both men ignore her. Sable has hope for her marriage when it is clear Jason is still attracted to her. Sable is desperate when Miles is arrested for murder, and seeks comfort with Jason in " The Honeymoon ". Knowing it will irk Sable, Constance invites Frankie to move into the pool house. Frankie, already angry with Sable, accepts. Sable is horrified when Miles tells her that he blacked out and does not know whether he committed the murder or not. Sable tells Zach in " Double Jeopardy " that she hopes to reconcile with Jason. Sable tries to mend fences with Constance, who does not believe Sable is being genuine. Sable overhears Frankie telling Constance that she is now divorced. In " A Family Affair ", Sable remains unable to convince Constance of her good intentions, but manages to ingratiate herself to Jason by offering concern for Jeff, who has also been arrested for murder. Witnessing the chemistry between Jason and Frankie, Sable makes Frankie believe that she and Jason have reconciled and spent the night together, and does not admit that she is aware of Frankie's divorce. Believing Jason still loves Sable, Frankie is surprised when he proposes to her. Leaving for Greece to investigate Jeff's case, Jason and Frankie are joined by Sable, who has invited herself along for moral support. Sable tortures Frankie with details of her renewed relationship with Jason in " The Reckoning ". Sable is terrified when it seems like Miles has jumped bail, and when he reappears she makes it clear she is willing to lie in court to give him an alibi. Fearful that when Jason divorces Sable she will ally with Zach against the Colbys, Constance gives Jason the tape of Sable and Zach. In " Anniversary Waltz ", Miles turns down Sable's offer to perjure herself on his behalf. Faced with a surprise anniversary party planned by Sable, Jason presents the tape to her and says he loves Frankie. Jason confronts Zach, who he suspects framed Jeff and Miles, and they fight for Zach's gun. Sable arrives and is shot. In " Checkmate ", Jason is overcome with guilt when he learns that a hospitalized Sable may lose her sight. Zach tells Jason that he loves Sable, but she has never been unfaithful. When the news comes that Sable will recover, a remorseful Jason tells her she will always be special to him, and gives her the tape. Sable takes this, and her belief that Jason confronted Zach over her, as a profession of Jason's love. She is distraught when he tells her he is going to the Dominican Republic to get a divorce. Sable chases after Jason to stop him but trips and falls down the stairs. Hurt and angry, she tells the district attorney that Jason attacked her. Jason is arrested.

### The Colbys season two

In the season two premiere " The Gathering Storm ", Sable refuses pleas from Frankie and Miles to drop the charges against Jason. He asks her to do so himself, and Sable says she will if he gives up his plan to divorce her. Sable's lawyer, Arthur Cates (Peter White), makes it clear that she will need Zach to testify for her. She goes to Zach and sleeps with him before asking him to back her up in court, but he refuses to lie for her. Sable is angry and humiliated in " No Exit ", and seeing Jason and Frankie together ignites another tirade against Frankie. Despondent, Sable asks Monica for advice, and confesses that she lied to the police about Jason and now wants to drop the charges. Jason confronts Zach, certain he encouraged Sable's accusations, but learns that Zach refused to lie for Sable. Taking Arthur's advice, Sable drops the charges and, to avoid legal repercussions, pleads temporary mental incompetence brought on by her shooting. The family is happy with Sable's decision, but Jason is convinced that she only did it because Zach would not back her up. Frankie is appalled when Jason throws Sable out of the mansion, but she faints before she can leave. In " Jason's Choice ", the doctor advises the family that Sable needs to stay in bed for a week. Sable decides that it is best for her to leave, but Miles, Monica, and Bliss ask Jason to let her remain in the mansion. Jason agrees if she does not oppose the divorce. She accepts, but Frankie is not happy about it. Jason gives the divorce papers to Sable in " The Matchmaker ", while Zach gives her the Excelsior, the hotel he bought from Dominique. Zach offers to teach Sable how to wield the power she will receive by way of her divorce settlement.

Sable encourages Miles to make up his mind about his new girlfriend, Channing Carter (Kim Morgan Greene), unaware that she has been sent by her uncle, ruthless publisher Lucas Carter (Kevin McCarthy), to be his spy within the Colby family. When Channing accepts Miles's proposal and tells Lucas she will no longer spy for him, he maligns her with lies to Sable, who accompanies Lucas to Las Vegas to stop the wedding. Learning of their plan, Channing convinces Miles to marry her immediately in " Something Old, Something New ". Arriving too late, Sable warns Channing not to hurt Miles like Fallon did. In " The Gala ", Zach advises Sable to ask for class C stock in her divorce settlement, and Arthur recommends she offer Jason a quick divorce in exchange. Sable pressures Jason to give Miles a seat on the Colby Enterprises board, but he insists that Miles first needs to prove that he is serious about his marriage. Sable encourages an unreceptive Channing to get pregnant as soon as possible, but is concerned when she learns that Miles is still attracted to Fallon. While investigating Channing's fertility in " Bloodlines ", Sable inadvertently discovers that the paternity of Fallon's child is uncertain, and deduces that the father may very well be Miles. In " Deceptions ", Miles is furious when Sable reveals that he may be the father of Fallon's baby. Sable follows Jason and Frankie to Brussels in " And Baby Makes Four ". In " Bid for Freedom ", Sable helps convince Jason to assist Bliss's Russian ballet dancer boyfriend, Kolya Rostov (Adrian Paul), in defecting to the US. In " Sanctuary ", Sable learns from Zach that Scott Cassidy (Coleby Lombardo), the young son of Senator Cash Cassidy (James Houghton) and his wife Adrienne (Shanna Reed), is really Monica's son with Cash whom she gave up for adoption eight years before. Sable confirms this with Monica, and advises her not to tell Jason yet. Meanwhile, Sable encourages Miles to resolve his latest issues with Channing because he will need a wife to get custody of Fallon's baby. Angry with Arthur for keeping her in the dark about Monica's child, Sable compels him to help her fix the situation now. In " Power Plays ", Sable goes behind Monica's back and tries to convince Adrienne to give up Scott as a means to give Jason his first grandchild. Adrienne refuses and lashes out at Monica, who warns an indignant Sable to stay out of her private life.

With Zach's guidance, Sable creates a stir at her first Colby Enterprises board meeting, embarrassing Jason and then shocking him with the news that she co-owns with Zach an electronics company involved in Jason's satellite project. At the Excelsior, Jason reproaches Zach for weaponizing Sable against him, and Zach offers to call her off if Jason lets him into the project. With Constance presumed dead in a plane crash, in " The Legacy " Sable pretends to be affected and apologizes to Jason for all she did to Constance. Sable is triumphant when Constance's voting power is left to Miles, but she is disappointed when he will not use his new power to help her. Sable suggests that Monica tell Jason the truth about Scott in " The Home Wrecker ", but Monica recognizes her mother's self-serving motives and forbids Sable from telling Jason. Sable tells Zach that his attacks on Colby Enterprises are also attacks on her, and he responds with an engagement ring. She asks for more time to decide. In " The Manhunt ", Sable tries to convince Cash and Monica that Scott will be better off away from Adrienne, who has had addiction issues and made suicide attempts. Zach pressures Sable for an answer to his proposal in " All Fall Down ", but she runs back to Jason when she learns that he was almost shot. She is pained to learn that Jason and Frankie are engaged. Jason tries to talk Sable out of marrying Zach, who Jason believes is dangerous. Sable assures him she is not ready to jump from one marriage to another so quickly. After Fallon falls down the stairs, her baby is in jeopardy in " Guilty Party ". Sable tries to calm a distraught Miles, who is more afraid to lose Fallon than the child. Sable and Frankie find common ground in their concern for the baby. Sable and Monica finally talk about Monica's pregnancy and Scott's birth. In " Fallon's Baby ", Sable continues investigating Adrienne, and witnesses Adrienne telling Cash that she is taking Scott back to Washington. Cash and Monica again refuse Sable's interference. Jason tries to convince Sable that her machinations will only alienate her children.

Zach wants an answer to his proposal, but Sable is still smarting over Jason and Frankie's engagement. In " Answered Prayers ", Sable is as upset as Miles that Fallon's baby is not his, and recommends that he distance himself from Fallon. Sable and Jason sign their divorce papers as friends, but Sable assures him that he will not be happy with Frankie. Frankie hopes to patch things up with Sable before her wedding to Jason, but Sable is unforgiving. Monica and Miles are worried that Sable plans to marry Zach. In Marrakech, with Zach, Sable can only think about the wedding happening in Los Angeles. In " Return Engagement ", Sable and Zach are set to marry when Sable learns that presumed-dead Philip Colby (Michael Parks), Frankie's ex-husband and Jeff's father, has returned. Sable reconnects with Philip and assures him that Frankie loves Jason, but Philip is doubtful. Sable witnesses a near-kiss between Philip and Frankie. Zach, spurned again by Sable, suggests to Adrienne that they help each other with their problems. Sable rebuffs Zach in " Devil's Advocate ", and commiserates with Philip about wanting to reunite with their former spouses. Sable is furious in " Betrayals " when she learns from Monica that Zach tried to blackmail Cash about Scott. Sable lashes out at Zach and returns his ring, vowing never to return to him. When Jason comes home unexpectedly, Sable tries to keep him away from the pool house where Philip is visiting Frankie, but Jason finds his fiancée and his brother in bed together. In " The Dead End ", Sable tries to keep Jason and Philip apart, but they fight brutally. Jason remembers Sable's warning about Frankie, and thanks her for trying keep him away from the pool house to spare his feelings. Zach apologizes to Sable for his misdeeds, and though she believes he is remorseful, she is not in love with him and wants to stop the charade. Philip steals Sable's Colby Enterprises access card and steals sensitive information for Zach. In the series finale " Crossroads ", Zach tells Sable that the person who tried to kill Jason is Philip, which she tells Jason. After witnessing Monica's heartbreaking goodbye to Scott, Sable picks the boy up from school without the Cassidys' consent and persuades him to come with her.

### Dynasty season nine

In " A Touch of Sable ", Sable is still living in Los Angeles when she runs into her cousin Alexis Colby. Alexis is there to meet with Sable's wealthy friend Hamilton Stone (Christopher Neame) to aid her in recovering her ships, which are being held in the African nation of Natumbe. Sable flirts with Alexis's ex-husband Dex Dexter (Michael Nader) in " She's Back ", which merely amuses him. In " Alexis in Blunderland ", Stone has earned Alexis's trust, and Sable uses his new inside knowledge of Colbyco 's business dealings to attempt to seize control of Alexis's oil tankers. Tasked to sell the Carlton Hotel for Alexis, Dex inadvertently sells it to Sable in " Every Picture Tells a Story ". When Fallon shows her an old photo of Blake with a man recently found dead in the Carrington lake, Sable suggests that Fallon talk to her mother Alexis about his identity. Sable tells Blake he has her support if the story comes out, as the dead man is Roger Grimes (J. Eddie Peck), Alexis's lover from 25 years before. Sable's friendship with Blake's wife Krystle deepens in " The Wedding ". Krystle recognizes the man whom Sable has been sending to dive in the lake, Gibson (Stan Sells), so Sable tells him to discontinue his efforts. In " Ginger Snaps ", Jeff accuses Sable of trying to replace Krystle at Blake's side. Having discovered an underground passage, Gibson continues his investigation, only to be warned away from Denver by Sable in " Delta Woe ".

Sable and Dex flirt after they each independently follow Colbyco's comptroller, Fritz Heath (Kenneth Tigar), to a casino. In " Tankers, Cadavers to Chance ", Sammy Jo Carrington (Heather Locklear) recognizes Gibson as the man Krystle described, and Gibson threatens Sable to get him out of police custody. Alexis romances Dex to get him away from Sable, but soon Sable taunts Alexis with the news that she has taken possession of Alexis's tankers. Blake confronts Gibson in " All Hands on Dex ", and learns that Sable hired him. Blake accuses Sable of acting on her ex-husband Jason's behalf, but before she can explain, Alexis arrives and vows to destroy them both. Heath becomes indebted to Sable when she acquires his gambling marker, and she jubilantly throws herself in Dex's arms. In " Virginia Reels ", Sable tells Blake and Dex she was searching the lake to discover what Jason was keeping hidden there. She explains that she had no idea Blake and Dex would be harmed by her investigation, and Dex is intrigued by her honesty. Jealous of Dex's interest in Sable, her assistant Joanna Sills (Kim Terry) befriends Adam Carrington (Gordon Thomson. Sable threatens to reveal that Heath is embezzling money from Colbyco unless he helps her obtain leverage against Alexis. He demands $5 million for such information, and when Sable laughs, he pulls a gun on her. Sable is able to convince Heath to lower the gun in " House of the Falling Son ", and he tells her how she can ruin Colbyco. Rattled by the encounter, Sable goes to Dex and they spend the night together. Sable questions Joanna's loyalty when she confronts Sable for putting herself between Joanna and Dex, and Dex later rebuffs Joanna's advances. Sable apologizes to Dex for their night together, saying she respects his love for Alexis. But despite their mutual protestations that their encounter meant nothing, they fall into bed together again. Adam tries to charm Joanna into spying on Sable for him and Alexis in " The Son Also Rises ". Sable's doubts about Joanna are confirmed when she sees Joanna go into Adam's suite. Sable asks Dex if he will choose Blake over Alexis if they go to war, and Joanna accepts Adam's offer.

Sable's daughter, Monica, comes to Denver for a visit, and Sable convinces her to stay and help her with her campaign to destroy Alexis. In " Grimes and Punishment ", Joanna tells Adam everything she knows about Sable. Alexis reveals to a shocked Sable that her tankers have been destroyed, and Sable vows revenge. Alexis is devastated to learn that Dex slept with Sable, and Monica tries to persuade Jeff to take Sable's side in the impending war between Alexis and Sable. In " Sins of the Father ", Alexis is emotionally crushed by Dex's affair with Sable. Seeing a painting that Roger Grimes gave to Alexis, Sable deduces the secret of the lake. Blake confesses to her and Dex that hidden beneath the lake is a Nazi treasure of precious art innocently obtained by his father which the Carrington, Colby, and Dexter families have kept secret to protect their reputations. The treasure vanishes in " Tale of the Tape ", and Blake tasks Sable to find out what Alexis may know about it. Jeff warns Blake not to trust Sable. Sable serves Alexis with a lawsuit with which she intends to ruin her cousin. Alexis indicates she knows a secret or two about Sable. Sable learns that Alexis is having the painting appraised in " No Bones About It ", and convinces the appraiser to tell Alexis it is worthless. Sable learns she is pregnant in " Here Comes the Son ", but is unable to tell Dex he is the father. An altercation between Jeff and Adam in " Blasts from the Past " prompts Alexis to reveal in front of Sable and Monica that Jason is not Miles or Monica's father. A furious Sable attacks Alexis and they have a public catfight in the lobby of the Carlton. Sable tells Dex that he is the father of her baby, but rejects his offer to help raise the child. Sable confides in Blake that twins Miles and Monica were the products of rape. Having learned about the Nazi treasure, Alexis offers to spare Blake public scorn in the series finale " Catch 22 " if Sable withdraws her lawsuit against Colbyco. Sable agrees and they sign the appropriate contracts at the Carlton, with Dex, Adam and Monica also present. During the meeting, Adam and Dex get into a fight which results in Dex and Alexis being sent toppling through the upper floor balcony as Sable and Monica watch in horror.


Leucoraja lentiginosa

# Leucoraja lentiginosa

## Abstract

Leucoraja lentiginosa is a species of hardnose skates.

## Description

It looks like other members of its genus.

## Habitat

It has been observed on iNaturalist near Galveston and Gulf Snores.


Rocketdyne

# Rocketdyne

## Abstract

Rocketdyne is an American rocket engine design and production company headquartered in Canoga Park, in the western San Fernando Valley of suburban Los Angeles, in southern California.

Rocketdyne was founded as a division of North American Aviation in 1955 and was later part of Rockwell International from 1967 until 1996 and Boeing from 1996 to 2005. In 2005, Boeing sold the Rocketdyne division to United Technologies Corporation, becoming Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne as part of Pratt & Whitney. In 2013, Rocketdyne was sold to GenCorp, which merged it with Aerojet to form Aerojet Rocketdyne.

## History

After World War II, North American Aviation (NAA) was contracted by the Defense Department to study the German V-2 missile and adapt its engine to Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) measurements and U.S. construction details. NAA also used the same general concept of separate burner/injectors from the V-2 engine design to build a much larger engine for the Navaho missile project (1946–1958). This work was considered unimportant in the 1940s and funded at a very low level, but the start of the Korean War in 1950 changed priorities. NAA had begun to use the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) high in the Simi Hills around 1947 for the Navaho's rocket engine testing. At that time the site was much further away from major populated areas than the early test sites NAA had been using within Los Angeles.

Navaho ran into continual difficulties and was canceled in 1958 when the Chrysler Corporation Missile Division's Redstone missile design (essentially an improved V-2) had caught up in development. However the Rocketdyne engine, known as the A-5 or NAA75-110, proved to be considerably more reliable than the one developed for Redstone, so the missile was redesigned with the A-5 even though the resulting missile had much shorter range.

As the missile entered production, NAA spun off Rocketdyne in 1955 as a separate division, and built its new plant in the then small Los Angeles suburb of Canoga Park, in the San Fernando Valley near and below its Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

In 1967, NAA, with its Rocketdyne and Atomics International divisions, merged with the Rockwell Corporation to form North American Rockwell, becoming in 1973 Rockwell International.

### Thor, Delta, Atlas

Rocketdyne's next major development was its first all-new design, the S-3D, which had been developed in parallel to the V-2 derived A series. The S-3 was used on the Army's Jupiter missile design, essentially a development of the Redstone, and was later selected for the competitor Air Force Thor missile. An even larger design, the LR89/LR105, was used on the Atlas missile. The Thor had a short military career, but it was used as a satellite launcher through the 1950s and 60s in a number of different versions. One, Thor Delta, became the baseline for the current Delta series of space launchers, although since the late 1960s the Delta has had almost nothing in common with the Thor. Although the original S-3 engine was used on some Delta versions, most use its updated RS-27 design, originally developed as a single engine to replace the three-engine cluster on the Atlas.

The Atlas also had a short military career as a deterrent weapon, but the Atlas rocket family descended from it became an important orbital launcher for many decades, both for the Project Mercury crewed spacecraft, and in the much-employed Atlas-Agena and Atlas-Centaur rockets. The Atlas V is still in manufacture and use.

### NASA

Rocketdyne also became the major supplier for NASA 's development efforts, supplying all of the major engines for the Saturn rocket, and potentially, the huge Nova rocket designs. Rocketdyne's H-1 engine was used by the Saturn I booster main stage. Five F-1 engines powered the Saturn V 's S-IC first stage, while five J-2 engines powered its S-II second stage, and one J-2 the S-IVB third stages. By 1965, Rocketdyne built the vast majority of United States rocket engines, excepting those of the Titan rocket (built by Aerojet), and its payroll had grown to 65,000. This sort of growth appeared to be destined to continue in the 1970s when Rocketdyne won the contract for the RS-25 Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), but the rapid downturn in other military and civilian contracts led to downsizing of the company. North American Aviation, largely a spacecraft manufacturer, and also tied almost entirely to the Space Shuttle, merged with the Rockwell Corporation in 1966 to form the North American Rockwell company, which became Rockwell International in 1973, with Rocketdyne as a major division.

### Downsizing

During continued downsizing in the 1980s and 1990s, Rockwell International shed several parts of the former North American Rockwell corporation. The aerospace entities of Rockwell International, including the former NAA and Rocketdyne, were sold to Boeing in 1996. Rocketdyne became part of Boeing's Defense division. In February 2005, Boeing reached an agreement to sell what was by then referred to as "Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power" to Pratt & Whitney of United Technologies Corporation. The transaction was completed on August 2, 2005. Boeing retained ownership of Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Lab.

GenCorp purchased Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne in 2013 from United Technologies Corporation, and merged it with Aerojet to form Aerojet Rocketdyne.

## Facilities and operations

### Canoga Park, California

Rocketdyne maintained division headquarters and rocket engine manufacturing facilities at Canoga Park from 1955 until 2014.

North American Aviation's rocket development activities began with engine tests nearby the Los Angeles Airport. In 1948, NAA began testing liquid rocket engines within the Simi Hills which would later become the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. The company sought a location for a manufacturing plant nearby the Simi Hills testing site. In 1954, North American Aviation purchased 56 acres of land within the current Warner Center area then deeded the property to the Air Force. The Air Force, in turn, designated the site Air Force Plant No. 56 and contracted with Rocketdyne to build and operate the facility. NAA completed construction of the main manufacturing building and designated Rocketdyne as a new company division in November 1955.

Rocketdyne's success resulted in the addition of buildings within a growing footprint. At its peak, the Rocketdyne Canoga facility comprised some 27 different buildings over 119 acres of land, including over one million square feet of manufacturing area plus 516,000 square feet of office space. The Canoga plant grew into areas both east and southeast of the original location. In 1960, Rocketdyne opened a headquarters building at the southeast corner of Victory Boulevard and Canoga Avenue. A pedestrian tunnel underneath Victory Boulevard east of Canoga Avenue provided access between buildings to the South (including the Headquarters) and those located to the North of the street. (The tunnel was removed in 1973.)

The Canoga plant shrank over time via piecemeal property sales and building demolitions into the 2000s. With the completion of the Apollo program in 1969, Rocketdyne ended the leases of several facilities and returned the headquarters offices to the Canoga Main building. In 1973, Rocketdyne repurchased the Air Force Plant No. 56 property, thereby ending the government designation. The Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, and further reductions followed. Pratt and Whitney retained ownership of the Canoga property when Rocketdyne was sold to Aerojet in 2013; the remaining property measured roughly 47 acres with buildings and structures comprising a total of 770,000 square feet.

Rocketdyne played a key role in the United States space program and the development of propulsion systems. Ten years after being established, the Canoga plant produced the vast majority of America's United States liquid rocket engines (except those of the Titan rocket, them being built by Aerojet). Through the end of the twentieth century, Rocketdyne products powered all major engines for the Saturn program and every space program in the United States.

Six specific periods of liquid rocket engine development and manufacturing programs took place at the Canoga plant: Atlas (1954-late 1960s), Thor (1961-1975), Jupiter (1955-1962), Saturn (1961-1975); Apollo (1961-1972); Space Shuttle (1981-2011). Key rocket engine technologies were advanced at the Rocketdyne Canoga plant: gimbaling of rocket engines, introduction of engine injector baffling plates for improved combustion stability, tubular regenerative cooling, "stage and a half" engine configuration first used on Atlas, thrust chamber ignition using pyrophoric chemicals and electrically controlled starting sequences.

Aerojet Rocketdyne moved its office and manufacturing operations to the DeSoto campus in 2014. Demolition and site clearing of the former Rocketdyne facility in Canoga Park commenced in August 2016. As of February 2019, the future land use of the site has not been announced.

### McGregor, Texas

Rocketdyne's Solid Propulsion Operations business unit was engaged in the development, testing and production of solid rocket engines at McGregor, Texas for nearly twenty years.

The Rocket Fuels Division of Phillips Petroleum Company began using the former Bluebonnet Ordnance Plant in 1952. In 1958, Phillips and Rocketdyne entered a partnership to form Astrodyne Incorporated. In 1959, Rocketdyne purchased full ownership of the company and renamed it Solid Propulsion Operations (later designated the Solid Rocket Division). The purchase caused Rocketdyne to invest in facilities and research at McGregor towards diversification into other propellant types and rockets engines. Notably, Rocketdyne installed a facility capable of testing engines having up to three million pounds of thrust.

The Solid Propulsion Operations initially used ammonium nitrate-based propellants in the manufacture of gas generators used to start aircraft jet engines, turbopumps of the Rocketdyne H-1 rocket engine and the manufacture of the Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) rocket engines. Ullage motors were developed for the Saturn V Space Vehicle. The group also built solid propellant boosters providing for the zero-length launching of North American F-100 Super Sabre and Lockheed F-104 Starfighter aircraft. The motor provided a takeoff thrust of 130,000 lbf for 4 seconds, accelerating the aircraft to 275 miles per hour and 4 g before separating and dropping away from the jet.

In 1959, the group began using ammonium perchlorate oxidizer combined with carboxyl-terminated polybutadiene (CTPB) binder to produce solid propellants marketed under the trade name "Flexadyne." For the next nineteen years, Rocketdyne used the formulation in the production of solid rocket motors for three major missile systems: the AIM-7 Sparrow III, AGM-45 Shrike, and the AIM-54 Phoenix. Rocketdyne transferred operation of the McGregor plant to Hercules Inc. in 1978. A portion of the former Bluebonnet Ordnance Plant is now used by SpaceX as their Rocket Development and Test Facility.

### Neosho, Missouri

A rocket engine manufacturing plant was operated by Rocketdyne over a twelve-year period at Neosho, Missouri. The plant was constructed by the U.S. Air Force within a 2,000-acre portion of Fort Crowder, a decommissioned World War II training base. The Rocketdyne division of North American Aviation operated the site, employing approximately 1,250 workers beginning in 1956. The plant primarily produced the MA-5 booster, sustainer and vernier rocket engines, H-1 engines and components for the F-1 and J-2 rocket engines. The P4-1 (a.k.a. LR64) engine was also manufactured for the AQM-37A target drone. The engines and components were evaluated at an on-site test area located approximately one mile from the plant. Rocketdyne closed the plant in 1968. The plant has been used by several different companies for the refurbishment of jet aircraft engines. The citizens of Neosho have placed a commemorative monument dedicated to the men and women of Rocketdyne Neosho "whose tireless efforts and relentless pursuit of quality resulted in the world's finest liquid rocket engines."

### Nevada Field Laboratory

Rocketdyne established and operated a 120,000 acre rocket engine test and development facility nearby Reno, Nevada from 1962 until 1970. The Nevada Field Laboratory had three active open-air test facilities and two administrative areas. The test facilities were used for the Gemini and Apollo space programs, the annular aerospike engine and the early (proposal-stage) development of the Space Shuttle main engine.

## Power generation

In addition to its primary business of building rocket engines, Rocketdyne has developed power generation and control systems. These included early nuclear power generation experiments, radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG), and solar power equipment, including the main power system for the International Space Station.

In the Boeing sale to Pratt & Whitney, the Power Systems division of Rocketdyne was transferred to Hamilton Sundstrand, another subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation.

## List of engines

Some of the engines developed by Rocketdyne are:

- Rocketdyne A1 to A6 (LOX /Alcohol) Used on Redstone

- Rocketdyne A7 (LOX /Alcohol) Used on Jupiter C

- Rocketdyne 16NS-1,000

- Rocketdyne Kiwi Nuclear rocket engine

- Rocketdyne M-34

- Rocketdyne MA-2

- Rocketdyne MA-3

- Rocketdyne MB-3 see S-3D

- Rocketdyne Megaboom modular sled rocket

- Rocketdyne P

- Rocketdyne LR64

- Rocketdyne LR70

- Rocketdyne LR89

- Rocketdyne LR79 family (XLR71-NA-1, B-2C, XLR83-NA-1, LR79-7, S-3D, XLR89-1, MB-3-1, X-1, LR83-NA-1, H-1, LR89-5, XLR89-5, S-3, LR89-7, MB-3-J, MB-3 Press Mod, MB-3-3, RZ.2, H-1c, H-1b, RS-27, RS-27A, RS-56-OBA, RS-27C)

- Rocketdyne LR-101 Vernier engine used by Atlas, Thor and Delta

- Rocketdyne LR105 family (S-4, LR105-5, XLR105-5, LR105-7, RS-56-OSA, LR105-3)

- Rocketdyne Aeolus

- Rocketdyne XRS-2200, linear aerospike engine, tested for X-33

- Rocketdyne RS-2200, linear aerospike engine, intended for Venturestar

- Rocketdyne S-3D (RP-1 / LOX) Used on PGM-19 Jupiter and PGM-17 Thor missiles, and on the Juno II

- Rocketdyne E-1 (RP-1 / LOX) Backup design for the Titan I

- Rocketdyne F-1 (RP-1 / LOX) Used by the Saturn V.

- Rocketdyne H-1 (RP-1 / LOX) Used by the Saturn I and IB

- Rocketdyne J-2 (LH2 / LOX) Used by both the Saturn V and Saturn IB.

- Rocketdyne RS-25 Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) (LH2 / LOX) The main engine for the Space Shuttle, also used on the Space Launch System

- Rocketdyne RS-27A (RP-1 / LOX) Used by the Delta II / III and Atlas ICBM

- Rocketdyne RS-56 (RP-1 / LOX) Used by the Atlas II first stage

- Rocketdyne RS-68 (LH2 / LOX) Used by the Delta IV first stage

- Rocketdyne XLR46-NA-2, intended for the North American NA-247 interceptor proposal


Reid technique

# Reid technique

## Abstract

The Reid technique is a method of interrogation after investigation and behavior analysis. The system was developed in the United States by John E. Reid in the 1950s. Reid was a polygraph expert and former Chicago police officer. The technique is known for creating a high pressure environment for the interviewee, followed by sympathy and offers of understanding and help, but only if a confession is forthcoming. Since its spread in the 1970s, it has been widely utilized by police departments in the United States.

Proponents of the Reid technique say it is useful in extracting information from otherwise unwilling suspects. Critics say the technique results in an unacceptably high rate of false confessions, especially from juveniles and people with mental impairments. Criticism has also been leveled in the opposite case—that against strong-willed interviewees, the technique causes them to stop talking and give no information whatsoever, rather than elicit lies that can be checked against for the guilty or exonerating details for the innocent.

## Background

In 1931, the Wickersham Commission reported that violent forms of interrogation (known as the "third degree" after investigation and interview) were widespread and actually reduced crime-solving by causing false confessions. From 1936, interrogations causing obvious physical harm were ruled inadmissible by the US Supreme Court in Brown vs. Mississippi. A number of manuals were developed based on deception rather than assault, such as by W. R. Kidd in 1940, Clarence D. Lee in 1953 and Arther and Caputo (1959). The most infuential was from the writings of Fred E. Inbau (1942).

Fred E. Inbau, a Northwestern University lawyer and criminologist, and John E. Reid, a Chicago street cop who used the polygraph, developed new techniques. Inbau had become the director of the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory when it was sold to the Chicago police in 1938, and he trained police officers.

In 1955 in Lincoln, Nebraska, John E. Reid had helped gain a confession from a suspect, Darrel Parker, for Parker's wife's murder. This case established Reid's reputation and popularized his technique. Parker recanted his confession the next day, but it was admitted to evidence at his trial. He was convicted by a jury and sentenced to life in prison. He was later determined to be innocent, after another man confessed and was found to have been the perpetrator. Parker sued the state for wrongful conviction; it paid him $500,000 in compensation.

In spite of Parker's false confession, Reid co-authored a text explaining his interrogation techniques. The first edition of the 'Reid Manual', in 1962, was heavily criticized by the US Supreme Court. Its famous Miranda v. Arizona warnings were made in large part in response to the psychological subjugation and risks of the Reid techniques. A second edition of the manual, in 1967, incorporated advice on how to use Miranda warnings. A third edition, in 1986, marked the start of what has been called 'the new Reid method'.

Reid died in 1982, and Joseph Buckley became president of Reid Inc and Associates. By 2013, according to The New Yorker, the company "train more interrogators than any other company in the world", and Reid's technique had been adopted by law enforcement agencies of many different types, with it being especially influential in North America.

## Process

The Reid technique consists of a three-phase process beginning with fact analysis, followed by the behavior analysis interview (a non-accusatory interview designed to develop investigative and behavioral information), followed, when appropriate, by the Reid nine steps of interrogation. According to process guidelines, individuals should be interrogated only when the information developed from the interview and investigation indicate that the subject is involved in the commission of the crime.

In the Reid technique, interrogation is an accusatory process, in which the investigator tells the suspect that the results of the investigation clearly indicate that they did commit the crime in question. The interrogation is in the form of a monologue presented by the investigator rather than a question and answer format. The demeanor of the investigator during the course of an interrogation is ideally understanding, patient, and non-demeaning. The Reid technique user's goal is to make the suspect gradually more comfortable with telling the truth. This is accomplished by the investigator's first imagining and then offering the suspect various psychological constructs as justification for their behavior.

For example, an admission of guilt might be prompted by the question, "Did you plan this out or did it just happen on the spur of the moment?" This is called an alternative question, which is based on an implicit assumption of guilt. Critics regard this strategy as hazardous, arguing that it is subject to confirmation bias (likely to reinforce inaccurate beliefs or assumptions) and may lead to prematurely narrowing an investigation.

### Nine steps of interrogation

The Reid technique's nine steps of interrogation are:

- Positive confrontation. Advise the suspect that the evidence has led the police to the individual as a suspect. Offer the person an early opportunity to explain why the offense took place.

- Try to shift the blame away from the suspect to some other person or set of circumstances that prompted the suspect to commit the crime. That is, develop themes containing reasons that will psychologically justify or excuse the crime. Themes may be developed or changed to find one to which the accused is most responsive.

- Try to minimize the frequency of suspect denials.

- At this point, the accused will often give a reason why he or she did not or could not commit the crime. Try to use this to move towards the acknowledgement of what they did.

- Reinforce sincerity to ensure that the suspect is receptive.

- The suspect will become quieter and listen. Move the theme of the discussion toward offering alternatives. If the suspect cries at this point, infer guilt.

- Pose the "alternative question", giving two choices for what happened; one more socially acceptable than the other. The suspect is expected to choose the easier option but whichever alternative the suspect chooses, guilt is admitted. There is always a third option which is to maintain that they did not commit the crime.

- Lead the suspect to repeat the admission of guilt in front of witnesses and develop corroborating information to establish the validity of the confession.

- Document the suspect's admission or confession and have him or her prepare a recorded statement (audio, video or written).

## Validity

Critics claim the technique too easily produces false confessions, especially with juveniles, with second-language speakers in their non-native language, and with people whose communication/language abilities are affected by mental disabilities, including reduced intellectual capacity. While this criticism acknowledges that the technique can be "effective" in producing confessions, it is not accurate at getting guilty parties to confess, instead sweeping up people pushed to their mental limits by stress. Critics also dislike how police often apply the technique on subjects of unclear guilt, when simply gathering more information in non-stressful interrogations can be more useful both for convicting guilty suspects and exonerating innocent suspects.

Of 311 people exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing, more than a quarter had given false confessions—including those convicted in such notorious cases as the Central Park Five.

Some of the more minor details Reid propounded have since been called into question as well. For example, Reid believed that "tells" such as fidgeting was a sign of lying, and more generally believed that trained police interrogators could intuitively check lies merely by how they were delivered. Later studies have shown no useful correlation between any sort of body movements such as breaking eye contact or fidgeting and truth-telling. While police can be effective at cracking lies, it is via gathering contradicting evidence; police officers have been shown in studies to be no better than average people at detecting lies merely from their delivery.

Several European countries prohibit some interrogation techniques that are currently allowed in the United States, such as a law enforcement officer lying to a suspect about evidence, due to the perceived risk of false confessions and wrongful convictions that might result, particularly with juveniles. For example, §136a of the German Strafprozessordnung (StPO, "code of criminal procedure") bans the use of deception and intimidation in interrogations; the Reid method also conflicts with the German police's obligation to adequately inform the suspect of their right to silence.

In Canada, provincial court judge Mike Dinkel ruled in 2012 that "stripped to its bare essentials, the Reid technique is a guilt-presumptive, confrontational, psychologically manipulative procedure whose purpose is to extract a confession".

In December 2013, an unredacted copy of a secret FBI interrogation manual was discovered in the Library of Congress, available for public view. The manual confirmed American Civil Liberties Union concerns that FBI agents used the Reid technique in interrogations.

Abuses of interrogation methods include officers treating accused suspects aggressively and telling them lies about the amount of evidence proving their guilt. Such exaggerated claims of evidence, such as video or genetics, have the potential, when combined with such coercive tactics as threats of harm or promises of leniency, to cause innocent suspects to become psychologically overwhelmed.

In 2015, eight organizations, including John E. Reid & Associates, settled with Juan Rivera, who was wrongfully convicted of the 1992 rape and murder of 11-year-old Holly Staker. A number of pieces of evidence excluded Rivera, including DNA from the PERK (Physical Evidence Recovery Kit) and the report from the electronic ankle monitor he was wearing at the time, as he awaited trial for a non-violent burglary, but he falsely confessed to the Staker crimes after being interrogated by the police several days after taking two polygraph examinations at Reid & Associates. After his exoneration, Rivera filed a suit for false arrest and malicious prosecution. The case was settled out of court with John E. Reid & Associates paying $2 million.

### Alternative models

The PEACE (Preparation and Planning, Engage and Explain, Account, Closure and Evaluate) model developed in Britain "encourages more of a dialogue between investigator and suspect".

In 2015, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police adopted a new standard influenced by the PEACE model. Sergeant Darren Carr, who trains police with the new approach, described it as "less Kojak and more Dr. Phil ". This approach eschews the use of deceptive information to overwhelm suspects. It emphasizes information gathering over eliciting confessions and discourages investigators from presuming a suspect's guilt.