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American Morning

Preparing for Space Shuttle Discovery Launch; Iraq Murder Case

Aired July 04, 2006 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Close to launch here at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA deciding a small piece of broken foam will not stand in the way of the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. But will the weather -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Serious charges against a former Army private in a brutal attack in Iraq. Now the military is deciding how to proceed.

A day of mourning in Spain after more than 40 people are killed in a subway accident. Now crews may have to tunnel underground to recover the overturned train.

And still no word on the fate of a kidnapped Israeli soldier as a deadline from Palestinian militants passes.

Also, tonight, we'll see the rockets' red glare as the skies light up with fireworks. We are celebrating the 4th of July on this AMERICAN MORNING.

And Happy 4th of July to you.

I'm Carol Costello in for Soledad.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien live from the Kennedy Space Center today, where the countdown continues for the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, set for 2:38 p.m. Eastern time. We hope you'll join us live here on CNN to watch that launch, should it happen.

In the meantime, NASA engineers have settled a late debate over a small crack in a piece of foam that fell off that external fuel tank in the wake of two attempted launches over the weekend that were scuttled on account of weather.

Just a little while ago I spoke with the NASA administrator and asked him if the agency has launch fever.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE GRIFFIN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: We work through the count. If we get to the point where we are going to violate one of our launch commit criteria, we stand down. You saw that twice in the last three days. If we to the end of the count and we weaved our way through the launch commit criteria with no violation, we go. That's how we do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: the problem was located right here, along this part of the Space Shuttle Discovery. A piece of foam on a strut, a bracket holding this pipe on the external fuel tank first developed a crack, which engineers noticed during a routine inspection and then ultimately flaked off, a piece very small, half the size of what they consider potentially damaging to the orbiter and weighing about as much as a penny.

Take a look at some pictures that the engineers were able to get with some high-powered telephoto lenses and telescopes of that particular strut.

As we look at the close-up here, there you see that triangle there is the piece that is missing. We're talking about something that is only about four to five inches in length. And it fell down onto the base of the mobile launch platform, caught everybody's attention.

One of the biggest uses they tried to figure out what this might do is would ice form inside there during the fueling of the Space Shuttle Discovery, flood with liquid hydrogen, the coldest substance on Earth, could that cause a problem with ice, particularly if it's raining in the area?

What about the loss of insulation? is that a problem?

They went through that and said that that was not an issue.

And then the other concern was, was there any damage to the other side? the concern was how do you get to see the other side of that strut?

Well, a team here at the Kennedy Space Center came up with a very novel approach and put a camera at the end of a long plastic pole and came up with the picture you're about to see. This is the north side, if you will, of that bracket, something they thought initially they'd have to build some special scaffolding to see.

And on that north side, on the top side of the bracket, A-OK. Nothing wrong there. And that is what gave engineers and NASA launch managers the sense that this was safe, in fact, to launch with.

They'll be watching that strut as -- along with all the other struts -- very closely. The so-called ice team, as a matter of fact, is out on the launch pad right now. They've got their telescopes and their binoculars and their special cameras going up and down the 185- foot stack of the space shuttle, making sure no ice is forming and making sure there's no other additional cracks that might cause some concern.

So we'll watch that.

Right now the weather is looking good. An 80 percent chance the weather will, in fact, be favorable for the launch of Discovery and her crew of seven.

In just a few moments, we're going to talk to Scott Kelly.

He is the twin brother of the Discovery pilot, Mark Kelly. He happens to be an astronaut himself. He'll soon be a commander on a subsequent mission.

Stay with CNN. Complete coverage of today's scheduled lift-off, 2:38 Eastern Time. We'll have a special beginning at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. So you don't want to miss it. A good way to spend the 4th, before you go out and see some fireworks -- Carol.

COSTELLO: it certainly is.

Thank you, Miles.

In other news this morning, Iraq's justice minister demanding international oversight into a U.S. murder case. Former Army Private Steven Green faces charges now after allegedly raping and killing an Iraqi woman and murdering her family.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken live in Charlotte, North Carolina to tell us more -- hello, Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And he's being held here in the county jail civilian authorities, at the moment, are in charge of the investigation, because Steven Green had been honorably discharged from the military after the alleged March 12th incident in which he and three others, according to the FBI affidavit, went to the house of a family in Mahmudiyah.

According to the charges, they murdered all members of the family and raped a daughter, who is variously put at 15, 20 or 25 years old.

In any case, he had left the military, according to the FBI, with what was described as a personality disorder. So he has been held by civilian authorities while they determine whether or not he's going to maintain under civilian control or be reverting back to military, if, perhaps, he is re-enlisted in the Army because of these charges.

The others, three others who are mostly involved -- in fact, there's a fourth who may be peripherally involved -- have been ordered to give up their weapons. They're still in the military and they're being confined, Carol, while this investigation continues.

COSTELLO: It's just curious to me that this was so premeditated. I mean they actually sat down and allegedly talked about how they would carry this crime out.

FRANKEN: And, as a matter of fact, some family members were known in Mahmudiyah to have expressed some concern about how these soldiers were watching the daughter and they were worried that there was going to be some sort of action to try and engage in romance with the young woman, according to the family. Of course, their worst fears were realized.

These were soldiers who were manning a traffic checkpoint not far from where this incident occurred. COSTELLO: The other question I have, you would think that the military would want to take Mr. Green and deal with him itself, for a lot of reasons.

FRANKEN: Well, the military is, right now, having discussions, we are told, to see if that can occur. You make a good point, that this is something that happened while he was a military man and that there might be some strong feelings that they want to try him under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

It must be noted that whether he is tried as a civilian or in the military system, in a court martial, if he is found guilty of these charges, he could face the death penalty in either case.

COSTELLO: Bob Franken reporting live for us from Charlotte, North Carolina this morning.

A kidnapping to tell you about this morning in Baghdad. Iraq's deputy electricity minister and 19 bodyguards were taken by gunmen dressed in Iraqi police uniforms. The attack occurred near the Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City. A Sunni female legislator and eight bodyguards were kidnapped three days ago and another Sunni member of parliament says he survived an assassination attempt on Sunday.

Israel refused to respond to this morning's deadline. Now militant Palestinians won't say any more about what will happen to a kidnapped Israeli soldier. Instead, Israel is turning up the pressure on the Palestinian Authority.

CNN's Paula Hancocks live in Gaza City to tell us more -- hello, Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

Well, yes, there has been an increase in shelling in northern Gaza. We know that a small contingency of tanks and troops are in northern Gaza at the moment, surrounding a small village, Bait Hanun, where a Palestinian militant died from an air strike attack in the early hours of Tuesday.

Now, week that that deadline has come and gone. And what we're hearing from the militants, through Palestinian sources, is the discussion is closed. They now say that there will be future consequences, they said on Monday, not specifying what those future consequences would be.

Now, according to the Maan News Agency, which is an independent Palestinian news agency, the militants have said they would not kill the abducted soldier because that is not in keeping with Islam, also saying that they would not allow mediators to talk anymore.

So it does appear as though the military action is stepping up. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert having given the green light to do every possible, in military terms, to bring this soldier home. And on the mediation front, if this report is true, mediators will not be speaking to militants, it would appear as though that could be the end of the road for diplomacy -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Paula Hancocks reporting live for us from Gaza City today.

A memorial service planned tonight in Valencia, Spain for the more than 40 people killed in a subway train crash about 24 hours ago.

CNN's Aneesh Raman has more from Valencia.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Valencia a city very much in shock today, as it grieves the 41 people killed in the train derailment that took place yesterday. That incident has been deemed an accident, but they are still trying to figure out exactly what caused it, whether it was human or mechanical error.

Five minutes of silence were observed both in Valencia earlier today and west of us in the capital, Madrid. This just hours ahead of a memorial service that is planned. In attendance will be members of the royal family, as well as Spain's prime minister, who has cut short an official visit to India.

Now, behind me is the main funeral home within the city of Valencia. This is where we're told all of the bodies of those killed will be brought. Family have time in individual rooms to grieve. They are saying, the Red Cross officials who are working with the families, that the biggest fear they have psychologically is in the days and weeks ahead. Family members very much still in shock. The grief to come later on.

Now in terms of the accident scene, earlier today I was over at Jesus Station, where the incident occurred. Officials were contemplating whether they have to drill through the street in order to get to the remaining debris.

The black box will be essential in determining whether or not the train was traveling too fast -- i.e. human error -- or whether or not it was a maintenance issue, that wheel breaking off.

The subway line, open for some 18 years. There's a very public debate ongoing right now as Valencia, a city that was celebrating a Christian gathering that is taking place -- the pope set to come on Saturday -- is now a city in mourning.

Aneesh Rahman, CNN, Valencia, Spain.

COSTELLO: And we're just getting word that the black box that was aboard that train was found. We're getting word from officials in Spain. Of course, they will be examining what's recorded on that black box. And as soon as we know, we'll pass it along to you.

Let's check the forecast now and head to Atlanta -- good morning, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT) MYERS: Miles, it looks good for you, looking at you on the launch pad right there. A couple of showers, but literally only a couple.

O'BRIEN: Man, you've got a good satellite. You can actually see me on the launch pad.

MYERS: You are right...

O'BRIEN: that's amazing.

MYERS: You are right there. I can see u. You're one dot.

O'BRIEN: You -- excellent.

All right, well, I'll wave to you next time.

MYERS: All right.

O'BRIEN: So you can say there I am. That's me! That's me!

Thank you, Chad.

Yes, 80 percent go on the weather front. That's good news. It will be the first ever Independence Day launch of a space shuttle if all goes well. So far no technical problems.

How is the crew doing, you may ask?

We're going to check in with the twin brother and fellow astronaut of the Discovery pilot, Mark Kelly.

Scott is with us in just a few moments -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Also, more on the latest black eye for the U.S. in Iraq. That ex-soldier charged with rape and murder -- how much damage has it done to America's image in the Middle East?

We'll take a closer look.

And if you plan on boating this 4th of July, you'll want to stick around. Tips on having a fun-and safe time on the water.

That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the 143rd Transportation Command at Camp Udairi in Kuwait, we'd like to wish the Sacred Heart Elementary School from Kingston, Massachusetts Happy 4th of July!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: take a look at that picture. The rocket's white glare, I guess you could say.

That's the sun-reflecting off one of the windows on the Space Shuttle Discovery.

I've been coming down here many years. I've never seen it line up just like that. That's some picture. The reflection of the sun- there. Maybe that's a good omen for the day that lies ahead.

the launch of Discovery is slated for 2:38 p.m. Eastern time.

Up there on that scaffolding -- you probably can't see them if you -- maybe if you look closely, you'll see them. They look like little ants. It is a group called the ice team. They've been poring over the Space Shuttle Discovery, 185 feet in length. Now that it is loaded up with 500,000 gallons of super cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, looking for buildup of ice, and in particular at that location where they found a crack in the foam.

So far, no frost, no ice and that is a good indication that this countdown will proceed as planned.

How is the crew doing, you might ask?

For some answers on that front, we turn now to Scott Kelly.

His twin brother Mark is the pilot of this mission.

Scott just so happens to be an astronaut, as well.

You might say they're competitive twins.

Good to have you with us, Scott.

You talked with Mark this morning.

What did he have to say?

SCOTT KELLY, ASTRONAUT, BROTHER OF SHUTTLE PILOT: Yes, they were -- they were feeling great. They feel ready to go and they're encouraged about the weather forecast this morning, which is a -- only a 20 percent chance of no go now.

O'BRIEN: All right, walk us back -- and that's a good forecast. That makes any astronaut happy when they hear that. Walk us backward in time a little bit, when they first heard about this crack in the foam.

What were their thoughts then?

Did they think maybe it might be good to stand down for a day to get a good look at this crack and see what the implications were?

KELLY: Well, I was talking to Mark about it and, you know, I can't speak for the rest of the crew, but at least his feelings were that they should take a good look at it, you know, whether that was building the scaffolding to look at it or finding another method.

And it seems the method that they came up with was sufficient, in fact, possibly better than if they would have actually had a person right by the crack.

O'BRIEN: Any time you put people in close proximity to fragile pieces of equipment, you have a potential problem. And so building scaffolding had its own risks built in. And this idea, which is what they -- they are proud to call themselves pad rats.

By the way, there's that ice team we've been telling you about, as they continue their inspections. They have telescopes and telephoto lenses and all kinds of equipment to make sure no ice has built up on the skin of Discovery, and, for that matter, any other debris that might cause a problem.

But, you know, when you look at this potential problem with the foam, what they came up with was a long plastic pole with a camera at the end. It's simple and it's kind of brilliant, too.

KELLY: Yes, it's simple and the other advantage to it was it allowed a lot of other people to actually look at the images they were getting, you know, the experts on the foam, and not just one person that may have been able to put their eyes on it if they would have gotten close to the -- where the damage was.

O'BRIEN: So the concern was that kind of the north side, the up side of the strut, which wasn't easily seen, they got that camera at the end of the pole and they found no problems there, which answered the last of the concerns. And we just heard the other concern -- would ice build up there? The answer, no. Would there be a problem with the insulation? Apparently there's plenty of extra foam on there. And, finally, you know, is there additional damage that needs to be considered?

All of that puts you in a configuration where you say you'll go for launch.

I asked the administrator a little while ago about this whole notion of all of this attention on foam. And maybe it's a media issue, but I think it is an internal issue, as well.

Is there a concern that too much attention is put on foam, putting blinders to other problems?

KELLY: Yes, sure. That's definitely a concern. I think, you know, if we do have another -- another accident in this program, it's not going to be due to the foam. It's probably going to be due to something that maybe we don't even know about now.

But, you know, hopefully that won't happen with the number of flights we have remaining. You know, our goal is to fly these flights as safely as we possibly can. And if, you know, in this case, with, you know, this crack, I think we took the appropriate look at it and determined that it was safe enough to fly today. O'BRIEN: how about the assembled Kelly masses, family and friends numbering a couple of hundred, at best? I know they're all still here.

How is everybody doing? Are they still intact? Are they feeling good about a 4th of July launch?

KELLY: You know, they're doing great. You know, some folks obviously have to go home. They have to work tomorrow. But I know my brother feels, you know, very grateful for the folks that are sticking it out and the folks that were actually down here.

You know, it's really expensive and time consuming to come to one of these launches and it can be frustrating when it doesn't go on time. So the crew, you know, really appreciates the effort that their guests take.

O'BRIEN: All right, kind of like a wedding, a movable feast, though. And, of course, the bridegroom in this case not there for the party.

Scott Kelly, thank you very much.

Good luck to you and, of course, to Mark today.

And we wish you well.

That's the brother of Discovery pilot Mark Kelly.

Stay with CNN.

We'll have complete coverage of today's scheduled 2:38 lift-off and that special program begins at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Coming up, we're going to meet a kid who might wind up as an astronaut himself one day. He's 14 years old. He's got an amazing passion for flying and it has landed him in the record books.

We're going to share his story with you. He's a kid you want to meet.

Stay with us -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Also ahead, Andy is minding your business, to tell us why the 4th of July isn't just about America's independence. It's about money, and lots of it.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: And now the story of a 14-year-old boy with a passion for flying, and we mean a passion. It landed him in the record books.

We're talking about young Jonathan Strickland of Englewood, California, who wanted to learn how to fly, but not in the usual fashion. He decided to have his first solo flights in a fixed wing and Rotocraft aircraft on the same day.

On Wednesday, he became the youngest person ever to accomplish that feat in a single day.

He joins us now with his flight instructor at his side, Robin Petgrave, from Vancouver, where this all transpired.

Gentlemen, great to have you with us.

Jonathan, first of all, how was it?

What a great accomplishment. You must feel great.

How did you ever get the idea that you wanted to do this one particular accomplishment? I mean most 14-year-olds wouldn't even be thinking about learning how to fly, much less do what you did.

JONATHAN STRICKLAND, 14-YEAR-OLD PILOT: I got on the honor roll back in June and my grandma bought me a helicopter license. And I did really good on it, so I had this idea because about two years ago, one -- two boys came up here and set a world record for one day for flying (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and one day for flying solo.

So I thought if I fly the helicopter good and the airplane good, I could solo in the airplanes and the helicopters.

O'BRIEN: And there you did it.

Now, let me ask you this. I remember when I first soloed in an airplane. And it was kind of a surprise to me. The instructor just kind of got out and suddenly there I was. And I remember that when I took off, I got very nervous all of a sudden because it was quite obvious to me that there was nobody that was going to help me out in getting this thing on the ground.

Did you have that feeling?

STRICKLAND: No, not really. It was like the opposite. When I -- when my instructor got out, I was like sweet. It's cool. So I checked it out and got clearance. I took off and I looked back and I looked to the side and nobody was there. And so I was like that's cool. So on my landing, you know, I have an instructor to guide you on if you do something wrong. And my instructor was there. So I was like that's cool.

O'BRIEN: You definitely have the right stuff. You've got more than I do.

Robin, let's talk about that.

You've had a lot of -- spent a lot of time with him. You helped him with his helicopter portion of his training.

What sets this young man apart, do you think?

ROBIN PETGRAVE, JONATHAN'S FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR, TOMORROW'S AERONAUTICAL MUSEUM: He's like a sponge, you know? You present him a new task, you show him something. If he makes a mistake, you show him how to correct it and the kid just absorbs it and does it. He was hovering the helicopter all three controls his first lesson. It made everybody -- actually, they jumped him when he got out of the helicopter because...

O'BRIEN: I can tell you, I did not do that the first time I was in a helicopter. It's like trying to balance on a beach ball. It's hard, right?

PETGRAVE: Yes. Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, a slippery beach ball.

O'BRIEN: Jonathan Strickland, congratulations to you.

Robin Petgrave, good to meet you, too.

Congratulations from all of us.

We wish you well.

And as we say in the pilot world, blue side up.

STRICKLAND: Yes, baby.

COSTELLO: Always good advice.

A good saying.

A lot of people will be hitting the water today for a little 4th of July fun.

Coming up, some easy tips to make sure your boating trip is a safe one.

Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back to our live coverage of the countdown of the Space Shuttle Discovery.

The intended launch, about six hours and 15 minutes from now.

And so many of you will ask, why is the clock reading three hours and it isn't even counting down?

It's in the middle of one of several holds in the countdown. This is a three hour hold that began an hour ago, at about 10:42 Eastern time, local time.

It'll start counting down once again. But then there's a handful of other holds on its way toward the actual launch.

This gives the launch team an opportunity to sort of have deadlines and mileposts along the way, to know precisely where they stand. And those holds can expand, if need be, if problems come up along the way.

So that's how -- that's why they do it that way, instead of just going chronologically.

Live now to the launch pad. Take a look at the so-called ice team. These are the guys that are out there taking a look very closely at Discovery from stem to stern. There you see them using, you know, binoculars, telescopes, telephoto lenses, sniffing devices to look for leaks. They have a full array of instruments, none the least of them is their human eye, which has, in many cases, discovered all kinds of problems, which have led to launch delays.

Yesterday, they found a crack in the foam, which NASA had decided to clear for flight, but that was all part of the ice team doing their job and doing it well.

It is Independence Day and this is the first time in the 25-year plus history of the space shuttle that they're going to try for a 4th of July launch. They did have a July 4th landing and NASA has had some key events on the 4th of July. What could be more patriotic than some space missions to fly the flag over.

Take a look at this shot, Columbia. 1982 is the year, Edwards Air Force Base. There, look who's in the crowd, President Reagan, First Lady Nancy Reagan, surrounded by astronauts, astronauts Ken Mattingly, Henry Hartsfield (ph) coming down. The fourth space- shuttle mission landing on the Fourth of July. It declared an operational vehicle at that time. How little we knew, though, about the shuttle and how operational it was not.

Fast forward, July 4th, 1997, remember Pathfinder, the little rover sojourner that landed July 4th. The folks at Jet Propulsion Laboratory thrilled, because about a 20-year hiatus from experience on Mars. Remember back to those Viking missions in 1976, ended with that landing. Pretty much ever since that time we've had something on Mars giving us one of pictures of the Red Planet.

Then July Fourth of last year, you might remember this one, Deep Impact. This was an on-purpose crash into a comet by the name of Temple One, and Temple One, like all comets, kind of leftover material from the creation of our solar system. If you crash into it and kick up some dust, you can learn a little bit more about what it's made of. Scientists are still trying to go through the data on that one, learning a little something more about age of our universe and our solar system and what we're all made of.

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