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CNN Live At Daybreak
Investigation into Columbia Tragedy Centering on Liftoff
Aired February 04, 2003 - 05:02 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 investigation into Saturday's Columbia tragedy is centering on events that happened two weeks earlier during lift-off.
With more on what NASA knows, our Miles O'Brien from the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
(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 16th.
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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger, roll, Columbia.
O'BRIEN: NASA clearly was concerned enough about the launch debris strike to study the problem, proceeding 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 the briefing the day before landing.
QUESTION: 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 the amount of tile that might actually be missing or had been removed, 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 have 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)
COSTELLO: And as the investigations proceed, let's look at how Americans are mourning and remembering the astronauts. Ilan Ramon, the Israeli astronaut, is remembered at the Jewish Community Center in Philadelphia. The memorial was organized by the consul general of Israel. Some of Ramon's family will be at today's memorial service in Houston.
In Racine, Wisconsin, this is the Unitarian Church Laurel Clark attended when she was young. Several of the people who knew her were at the memorial. Clark grew up in Racine, attended high school there in the mid-'70s and was married in the Wisconsin community.
And in Spokane, Washington, a memorial for Michael Anderson at Morningstar Missionary Baptist Church, the church he attended as a young boy. Yesterday, teachers and students at Cheney High School held a moment of silence for Anderson, a 1977 graduate.
As we mentioned, one of the largest memorials for Columbia's astronauts will be held this afternoon after NASA's Johnson Space Center. President and Mrs. Bush will join family members of the fallen heroes.
CNN senior White House correspondent John King has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Aides say the president's overriding goal at the memorial service is to pay tribute to the lost astronauts and to try to offer some comfort to their families. Mr. Bush also hopes to boost morale at the space agency by making clear his commitment to resuming manned space flights once the cause of the Columbia tragedy is determined and studied.
In a bit of a preview to his memorial service remarks, Mr. Bush did pay tribute to Columbia's astronauts Monday during an appearance at the National Institutes of Health.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Two days ago, America was yet reminded again of the sacrifices made in the name of scientific discovery. The seven brave men and women from the Columbia will be remembered for their achievements, their heroism and their sense of wonder.
KING: The president received a briefing on the early stages of the investigation earlier Monday from NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, who later traveled to Capitol Hill to brief key law makers.
Now, the president's new budget, written before the Columbia tragedy, raises some questions about the management of the shuttle program and there also have been concerns about safety and about budget levels raised by the congressional investigative agency as well as other government agencies in recent years. Still, both administration officials and key law makers saying there is no evidence so far that proves the Columbia tragedy had anything to do with spending levels, safety concerns or management problems.
SEN. THOMAS DASCHLE (D-SD), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I think it's totally premature to come to any conclusions about what may have caused it and I think it would be a mistake to even hypothesize at this point.
KING (on camera): The White House is not ruling out some form of presidential commission to investigate the Columbia tragedy, but the clear preference here, as of now, is to rely on the several investigations already under way.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: CNN, of course, will bring you live coverage of today's memorial service at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Our Miles O'Brien, Judy Woodruff and Aaron Brown are all there. And that will be at 1:00 p.m., 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. And you can find all kinds of information about the shuttle program, including more about those heat tiles that protect the spacecraft. It's easy. Log onto cnn.com/shuttle for an interactive gallery.
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 - 05:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The investigation into Saturday's Columbia tragedy is centering on events that happened two weeks earlier during lift-off.
With more on what NASA knows, our Miles O'Brien from the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
(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 16th.
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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger, roll, Columbia.
O'BRIEN: NASA clearly was concerned enough about the launch debris strike to study the problem, proceeding 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 the briefing the day before landing.
QUESTION: 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 the amount of tile that might actually be missing or had been removed, 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 have 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)
COSTELLO: And as the investigations proceed, let's look at how Americans are mourning and remembering the astronauts. Ilan Ramon, the Israeli astronaut, is remembered at the Jewish Community Center in Philadelphia. The memorial was organized by the consul general of Israel. Some of Ramon's family will be at today's memorial service in Houston.
In Racine, Wisconsin, this is the Unitarian Church Laurel Clark attended when she was young. Several of the people who knew her were at the memorial. Clark grew up in Racine, attended high school there in the mid-'70s and was married in the Wisconsin community.
And in Spokane, Washington, a memorial for Michael Anderson at Morningstar Missionary Baptist Church, the church he attended as a young boy. Yesterday, teachers and students at Cheney High School held a moment of silence for Anderson, a 1977 graduate.
As we mentioned, one of the largest memorials for Columbia's astronauts will be held this afternoon after NASA's Johnson Space Center. President and Mrs. Bush will join family members of the fallen heroes.
CNN senior White House correspondent John King has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Aides say the president's overriding goal at the memorial service is to pay tribute to the lost astronauts and to try to offer some comfort to their families. Mr. Bush also hopes to boost morale at the space agency by making clear his commitment to resuming manned space flights once the cause of the Columbia tragedy is determined and studied.
In a bit of a preview to his memorial service remarks, Mr. Bush did pay tribute to Columbia's astronauts Monday during an appearance at the National Institutes of Health.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Two days ago, America was yet reminded again of the sacrifices made in the name of scientific discovery. The seven brave men and women from the Columbia will be remembered for their achievements, their heroism and their sense of wonder.
KING: The president received a briefing on the early stages of the investigation earlier Monday from NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, who later traveled to Capitol Hill to brief key law makers.
Now, the president's new budget, written before the Columbia tragedy, raises some questions about the management of the shuttle program and there also have been concerns about safety and about budget levels raised by the congressional investigative agency as well as other government agencies in recent years. Still, both administration officials and key law makers saying there is no evidence so far that proves the Columbia tragedy had anything to do with spending levels, safety concerns or management problems.
SEN. THOMAS DASCHLE (D-SD), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I think it's totally premature to come to any conclusions about what may have caused it and I think it would be a mistake to even hypothesize at this point.
KING (on camera): The White House is not ruling out some form of presidential commission to investigate the Columbia tragedy, but the clear preference here, as of now, is to rely on the several investigations already under way.
John King, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: CNN, of course, will bring you live coverage of today's memorial service at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Our Miles O'Brien, Judy Woodruff and Aaron Brown are all there. And that will be at 1:00 p.m., 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. And you can find all kinds of information about the shuttle program, including more about those heat tiles that protect the spacecraft. It's easy. Log onto cnn.com/shuttle for an interactive gallery.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
