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CNN Live At Daybreak
Investigators Scour Columbia's Launch Video for Clues
Aired February 04, 2003 - 06:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The tale of the tape. NASA engineers are taking another look at Columbia's launch video for a possible key to the shuttle disaster.
Our Miles O'Brien has the latest on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, an even closer look at the area of Columbia drawing most attention, as debris flies off the external fuel tank and strikes the underside of the left wing during the launch on January 16.
Shuttle program manager, Ron Dittemore:
RON DITTEMORE, SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGER: We're making the assumption from the start that the external tank was the root cause of the problem that lost Columbia. That's a fairly drastic assumption, and it's sobering.
O'BRIEN: Also today, home video possibly showing debris flying off the shuttle much farther west, over San Francisco. NASA says data shows that temperatures on the shuttle were rising even before the shuttle reached the coast.
DITTEMORE: If we can get our hands on that piece of debris that really helps us indicate where the genesis of the problem is, that would be very important. If we find a piece of tile -- each tile is individually coated. And if we find that tile and can decipher the code, we'll know exactly where it came from on the wing. And that's the missing link that we're trying to find.
O'BRIEN: NASA clearly was concerned enough about the launch debris strike to study the problem, producing a memo estimating the size of any possible damage, and concluding it would likely cause no burn-through and no safety-of-flight issue, a point echoed by flight director Leroy Cain during a briefing the day before landing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leroy, could you just review what the minor damage is to the tile on the left wing?
LEROY CAIN, FLIGHT DIRECTOR: I believe that at this time, we can't say with great detail the degree of the damage, other than all of the analysis suggests that it would be very minor. In terms of tile that might actually be missing or had been removed, it would be very minor. All of the analysis says that we have plenty of margin in those areas in that regard, but I can tell you we think it's going to be very small.
O'BRIEN: Now, of course, there is a lot of second-guessing about that engineering analysis, and it will be redone. But shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore says he heard no reservations prior to Columbia's fiery descent.
DITTEMORE: I am aware, here two days later, that there had been some reservations expressed by certain individuals, and it goes back in time. And so, we're reviewing those reservations again as part of our database. They weren't part of our play book at the time, because they didn't surface, they didn't come forward.
O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien, CNN at the Johnson Space Center, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 4, 2003 - 06:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The tale of the tape. NASA engineers are taking another look at Columbia's launch video for a possible key to the shuttle disaster.
Our Miles O'Brien has the latest on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, an even closer look at the area of Columbia drawing most attention, as debris flies off the external fuel tank and strikes the underside of the left wing during the launch on January 16.
Shuttle program manager, Ron Dittemore:
RON DITTEMORE, SHUTTLE PROGRAM MANAGER: We're making the assumption from the start that the external tank was the root cause of the problem that lost Columbia. That's a fairly drastic assumption, and it's sobering.
O'BRIEN: Also today, home video possibly showing debris flying off the shuttle much farther west, over San Francisco. NASA says data shows that temperatures on the shuttle were rising even before the shuttle reached the coast.
DITTEMORE: If we can get our hands on that piece of debris that really helps us indicate where the genesis of the problem is, that would be very important. If we find a piece of tile -- each tile is individually coated. And if we find that tile and can decipher the code, we'll know exactly where it came from on the wing. And that's the missing link that we're trying to find.
O'BRIEN: NASA clearly was concerned enough about the launch debris strike to study the problem, producing a memo estimating the size of any possible damage, and concluding it would likely cause no burn-through and no safety-of-flight issue, a point echoed by flight director Leroy Cain during a briefing the day before landing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leroy, could you just review what the minor damage is to the tile on the left wing?
LEROY CAIN, FLIGHT DIRECTOR: I believe that at this time, we can't say with great detail the degree of the damage, other than all of the analysis suggests that it would be very minor. In terms of tile that might actually be missing or had been removed, it would be very minor. All of the analysis says that we have plenty of margin in those areas in that regard, but I can tell you we think it's going to be very small.
O'BRIEN: Now, of course, there is a lot of second-guessing about that engineering analysis, and it will be redone. But shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore says he heard no reservations prior to Columbia's fiery descent.
DITTEMORE: I am aware, here two days later, that there had been some reservations expressed by certain individuals, and it goes back in time. And so, we're reviewing those reservations again as part of our database. They weren't part of our play book at the time, because they didn't surface, they didn't come forward.
O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien, CNN at the Johnson Space Center, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
