National Geographic September 1983

Satellites That Serve Us { Spacelab 1: [ Columbia] }
Above earth’s atmosphere, six men in a shuttle- based laboratory will conduct more than 70 international experiments. By Michael E. Long.
High- Flying Tulsa
Big oil, big evangelism, and big ideas helped build Oklahoma’s high- tech, down- home boomer city and island port. Robert Paul Jordan and photographer Annie Griffiths assess its progress.
Washington’s Old Post Office { New Life for the Old Post Office; A Preservation Victory Saves Washington’s Old Post Office}
The former home of the nation’s postal service escapes the wrecker and reopens to pealing of bells as a center for lively arts and commerce. By Wolf Von Eckardt, with photographs by Volkmar Wentzel.
The Aleutians: Alaska’s Far- out Islands
Born of volcanoes, blasted by storms, the thousand- mile chain spans hemispheres, continents, and cultures. Lael Morgan and photographer Steven C. Wilson report on the nation’s westernmost tip.
The Living Sands of the Namib
Fed on little more than fog, plant scraps, and each other, creatures of Africa’s southwest desert coast develop ultimate survival tactics. William J. Hamilton III and photographers Carol and David Hughes chronicle a bizarre desert world.