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CNN Live Saturday

Weather Potential Hindrance for Discovery Launch; Weeks Ago, Two NASA Officials Recommended Against Launching Due To Possible Problems With Foam Flying Off External Fuel Tank; Osama bin Laden Delivers New Message

Aired July 01, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

s FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to more of CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We are preempting the start of "IN THE MONEY" to continue our live coverage coming out of Kennedy Space Center. This is far from what NASA has called a pedestrian mission. A lot is riding on the Space Shuttle Discovery launch scheduled for today, just under three hours from now.
But weather is a particular serious potential hindrance here. You're looking at live pictures of the crewmembers getting suited up and fitted inside the shuttle. At the bottom of the screen there at the Kennedy Space Center you're seeing Miles O'Brien and NASA commander Eileen Collins.

Eileen let me begin with you, let's talk about the importance of why NASA feels the pressure; they have to get it right.

EILEEN COLLINS, FORMER SHUTTLE COMMANDER: Well I think, of course we always have to get it right. I mean it is always the issue of crew safety; there is the issue of mission success. We want to fly a very successful shuttle program because our goal is to build the International Space Station; we like to do it with the next 16 flights. We want to get a mission to the Hubbell space telescope off in the next couple of years that would be something I that would extend the Hubbell life quite a bit.

WHITFIELD: But it seems a lot more is riding on this mission than perhaps previous missions.

COLLINS: Well, I think the big issue this time is because there was a disagreement on the foam on the ice frost ramps as to whether or not we fix that before we go fly again or whether it is OK to fly now, the decision was made by the NASA administrator to go ahead and fly this mission.

We don't really understand as much about the ice frost ramps until we fly a test mission. We did remove a huge area of the exterior of tank, which was called the PAL foam. The same area where foam was lost on my flight last year.

That has been removed, we like to fly this mission and see what the results are of that foam removal before we go make any more modifications. I thought it was a good decision, I agree with the decision to go ahead with the launch attempt today. I think we're going to be safe, and we're all crossing our fingers to make sure we don't loose any large foam. We know we're going to lose small foam, but we are hoping not to loose any large foam.

WHITFIELD: And Miles as closely as you have witnessed, watched, observed a space exploration through NASA, is it apparent to you that a lot more energy, time and resource has been put into this mission or perhaps recent missions, as a result of the most recent tragedies?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think it is safe to say that the attention to detail here is, it as good as it gets for NASA. Because in the wake of Columbia, it really was a wake-up call. I think one of the big findings, if you read that Columbia accident investigation board, one of the big findings in all of that was a general sense there was a lack of good healthy communication, up and down the chain and concerns at lower levels about problems, weren't getting to the people who were making the decisions.

And I guess if you wanted to look at this whole debate over foam that we've been witnessing in a half full way right now, you could say it is a case in point there's a healthy internal debate under way and discussions aren't being tamped down, they're coming right out in the open. That's the good news.

In the final analysis, what has happened here is the administrator has personally accepted the responsibility to overrule a couple of his chief deputies, his chief engineer and chief safety officer and as well as some misgivings from the inspector generals office who indicated that this was a bit of a roll of the dice.

But he's looking at an entire program transitioning into the museums quite frankly and the next vehicle, if you look at that big picture, the time frame that the shuttle has up until 20/10 and the mission it is set to accomplish, you factor in all those risks and all the potential delays on making it just so, so it doesn't have those pieces of foam or whatever the latest concern might be, you may come to the conclusion that you might never fly.

I think he's saying look we have a flawed vehicle here, this isn't the best design, it is flying for 25 years, its design goes back longer than that, the next time we do this we are not going to put the reentry vehicle and the astronauts below anything that might come from it, we are learning a lesson from it and now we have to decide, manage this risk as we go forward, but not be, but not be, if you're going to take every single possible problem here, you never would get off a launch pad.

I think you can bear me out on this. Astronauts understand the risk and appreciate it, and the engineers understand the risk and I think a lot of times, NASA doesn't communicate to the rest of the world very well how much they fully processed all of that, all of the possibilities.

COLLINS: Well you know I will say, of course, it is the astronaut's lives that are at stake, so it is important for us. We know exactly what is going on with all of these risk areas on the shuttle. The astronauts not assigned to fly the next mission, still have astronaut representatives that will sit in on the meetings and listen to what the controversy is, the controversy is good, it is healthy, it is important for everybody to know that our management and our leadership is listening to what people are saying.

Sometimes that's hard to do because there are so many issues that are coming at the managers and coming at the leaders. They're doing a great job of listening to it all. You can't fix everything. Some things you say, well, I think it is OK that we fly with this risk, because the crew, if it is not a safety threat to the crew or if there's a control on it, for instance the ice frost ramps, the control is we have a safe haven on board the space station should this low probability incident ever happen of ice frost ramp foam hitting the shuttle. We have a safe haven for the astronauts. So it is really in this case it is a problematic risk where we're risking the shuttle spacecraft itself, we are not risking the lives of the astronauts.

O'BRIEN: All right, Eileen, let's leave it at that for now.

Fredricka, we're going to do something a little different right now. We are going to go take this discussion and head to CNN.com/pipeline. We have a bunch of e-mails waiting for us there. A bunch of viewers there, we're going to get deep into space commercial free for about an hour.

We'll, of course, keep you posted if anything significant happens, that's to say all of you CNN viewers out there, but we invite you to check us out on pipeline as well. We'll be on CNN 2:00 p.m. Eastern and take you right to the launch on that so you really won't miss a thing either way, but if you really want to get deep under the hood of the shuttle, meet us on pipeline.

Fredricka we will see you later.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much for being with me in the last hour and of course we'll all be joined together, in less than an hour from now. Eileen Collins and Miles O'Brien there at the Kennedy Space Center.

In the meantime let's go to Reynolds Wolf who is in the weather center, and Reynolds we've been talking throughout this hour how weather was 60 percent favorable for this launch, but now is it still?

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well they're patient; they are making a day of it. If you have ever gone down there to watch a watch a launch, it is a blast. Not just to see how remarkable, what a stunning site it is to see that launch, but just the camaraderie of so many people coming from all parts of the country, to camp out there along the space center, along the cape there to witness a piece of history in the making.

We're going to continue to document this history in the making, as the seven crewmembers on board shuttle Discovery get strapped in and they get suited up, getting ready for launch time, scheduled for two hours, 38 minutes from now.

More of our coverage right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Ready for liftoff? The Space Shuttle Discovery crew, you're seeing at least one member of the crew there getting suited up and ready on the mobile platform. Just before making their way inside the shuttle where they'll be strapped in and fitted into their seat, just under three hours away, two-and-a-half hours away from the scheduled liftoff.

But weather has certainly been a factor, less than an hour ago it was 60 percent favorable weather conditions for the scheduled launch but now a few clouds have rolled in and still they're keeping a close watch on the weather.

Our Daniel Sieberg is at the Kennedy Space Center with a bird's eye view of things there. Dan, how serious is this weather potentially a problem, still 60 percent or just under that?

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Well they actually sort of dropped the percentage part at this point. What they're doing is they are doing something called, a go or no go, sort of a green or red for launch. Right now we're in a no go or a red for launch, because of these clouds and thunderstorms that are in the area, there have been reports of lightening as well.

Because of that, they're saying that if it were going to do off right now, if Discovery was going to lift off right now it would be a no go for launch. That could and probably will change between now and the scheduled liftoff time of 3:49 this afternoon. It could go back and forth, it has already has gone back and forth through out the day today. So they are just going to have to keep an eye on it and wait until that launch window.

WHITFIELD: Why is that, because when you look at the pictures of the launch pad, it seems nearly clear but then we see a few puffs of cloud? They're talking about these puffs of cloud or potential storms not just in the immediate area but somewhere in the periphery as well?

SIEBERG: Right. They actually need a 20 nautical mile radius around the launch pad area in order to have a safe liftoff. There are a couple of reasons for that, part of it obviously they don't want have any lightening in the area during the lift off. If there's an emergency return landing, they need to have a fairly clear sky in order to bring the shuttle back, so they have to have all of these things in place and all of them line up.

This being Florida in the afternoon, these thunderstorms, they roll in and they roll out, they change very quickly and very frequently. They'll have to watch it and that's what the NASA forecasters are doing at this point.

WHITFIELD: How quickly are you able to get the updates from NASA, how forthright have they been since the time that you have been there to try and give you the most immediate updates possible on whether this launch will be affected by any unforeseen circumstances?

SIEBERG: The weather updates happen sort of when they change at this point, so if goes from a go to a no go, they will announce that on NASA TV. So we are hearing that as it happens, there's a lot of speculation with all the media here, wondering if it is going to happen or not. NASA has quite a number of briefings that have talked about the weather leading up to this point.

At one point yesterday, we heard that it was a 60 percent chance of no go. Then it was changed to 40 percent today, so there was actually an improved chance that it would happen today. There will be no mission briefings, official mission briefings until after the launch if it does happen. But they're providing information on fairly frequent basis.

Of course, we have our ears to the ground trying to determine what is going to happen. I thing everyone has become an amateur weather forecaster over the last couple of days, trying to predict exactly what is going to happen, but nobody can second guess NASA and ultimately they will have the final decision.

WHITFIELD: And Dan describes the scene around you. Even though you know thousands of folks who work there at the Kennedy Space Center are geared up and focused on this kind of mission all the time, even they come out with their families and their RVs and camp out along the route to see the astrovan as it was called with the astronauts pull up to the mobile platform. Describe the shear excitement even among those NASA employees who are there at the Kennedy Space Center to witness this.

SIEBERG: Absolutely, even the veterans are here getting out their cameras, they are taking pictures. They have the RVs lined up. Maybe if we can get a shot of the scene that is just to my left here where there are a number of RVs that are parked, there are also some media satellite trucks that are set up getting some live shots of what is happening.

And just off to the right, you can also see the count down clock, as it counts down. There are people gathering as you mentioned the astrovan driving by, there were a lot of people out their with their own personal cameras not just professionally speaking.

You know, I talked to one guy who has been here since the very first shuttle liftoff, he's just as excited now as he was back then. So it is hard not to get excited, personally speaking, this is my first shuttle launch, so I'm hoping it goes forward today as well so it is hard to escape the excitement here.

WHITFIELD: Well everybody is hoping for the best, but at the same time tell me about the kind of trepidation and nervousness that a lot of folks feel there. I was there covering the John Glenn launch a few years ago, even then people were both excited and nervous all wrapped up into one.

SIEBERG: Absolutely. There is a mix of apprehension and excitement here. Of course this space flight is not without risk built into it. NASA's administrator Michael Griffin has talked about this repeatedly over the last few days. That he's committed to moving forward with this mission at this point, even though there's talk about the foam coming off that we heard about with Columbia the fatal hit from the foam that came off back in 2003.

That happened with Discovery's last year, a piece of foam came off, it was not serious, but of course they've been taking it seriously since then. Because of that they set up high-resolution cameras that will capture images both on the ground with planes flying overhead, as well as when Discovery docks with the International Space Station.

It will in a since go belly up and they'll get pictures of that and assess all that information. They're telling me it will be at least until day six before they make an official assessment of any damage to Discovery because of the foam or the debris, that will inevitably come off during liftoff. So of course they're a little bit nervous about this, they have some contingency, some safety plans that are in place if any of this does happen; they're taking it very seriously.

In addition to the foam, they have to worry about the birds in the area. This is a wildlife sanctuary here at the Kennedy Space Center. There are hundreds of birds in the area, vultures and pelicans and the like. They actually had a process of rounding up all of these birds over the last couple of days and they'll keep them penned up until after the launch and then release them in order to have a safe area around here.

Back during "Discovery's" last year, there actually was an impact of a bird just within the first few seconds of Discovery lifting off, no serious damage was done, but they looked at it as a possible concern ever since. You know these vultures can be four to six pounds that are much bigger than the pound and a half of foam that struck Columbia. So this is something they certainly have to take very seriously Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dan Sieberg at the Kennedy Space Center. Thanks so much. We'll going to take a short break and we will be back with more, with the count down to the shuttle Discovery launch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well two hours, 25 minute, before the scheduled launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery, on board seven crew members at the bottom of the screen, you are seeing right there mission specialist Lisa Nowak who is being strapped into her suit and awaiting the escorted off the mobile platform and into the shuttle before she's strapped into her seat.

Also joining me is Daniel Sieberg who is at the Kennedy Space Center with a bird's eye view of things going on there and meteorologist Reynolds Wolf who is in the Weather Center. Weather being a significant factor in this scheduled launch while we are two hours, 25 minutes and counting to go Reynolds. We know that these clouds have popped in, that could be interfering with this scheduled launch time. What are you seeing right now?

(WEATHER REPORT) WHITFIELD: All right. Reynolds thank you so much. On the left side of your screen, you're seeing Lisa Nowak, is all strapped, all suited up and ready to go. We're not quite sure though, Daniel, why it seems that her wait period seems to be much longer than some of the other crew members who are in their suits, checked out before they're taken right into the shuttle. Do you have any idea what the holdup might be?

SIEBERG: That is a good question. You know some of them have to sit in there for two or thee hours once they are strapped in, they have to wedge themselves into the very tight space. They're going to have to it one at a time, getting in position so the ones who are closest to the back so nobody has to crawl over each other.

Obviously, they're going to go through this process, it is a very slow process, you might look at it and think it is fairly tedious, but it is pretty routine for these guys and girls. Once they have their space suits on, they got to get into this position, which is a very, very tight compartment and wait for the official countdown begins.

WHITFIELD: Commander Eileen Collins was with us earlier explaining the importance of these orange suits and while they're very heavy in weight, they're also very hot, they have great new cooling mechanisms, of water cooling mechanisms under the suits and some of the checking that is taking place right now involves checking all of the loops and pouches, they want to make sure that, that their parachutes which they're now equipped with are fitted properly also before they're put into their seats.

The first person who, was put on board the shuttle was the commander. Commander Steve Lindsey, he's always the first to go, or the commander is always the first to go on to the to the shuttle to get strapped in. For Commander Lindsey, this is his fourth flight, Daniel, and I understand however this is his second time as commander. What do we know about him?

SIEBERG: He's a veteran flyer in the U.S. Space Shuttle. He's a family man. He had said previously of all of the talk that has gone on in terms of safety and the space shuttle program, he said he would tell his family he would not fly if he felt it wasn't safe enough to go.

At this point, he's continuing to go, obviously you have seen him there, so he's continuing to fly, he's very committed guy. Fairly quiet man, not the most garrulous of the talkers, but very passionate about what he does, solid engineering background like so many of these astronauts, he's the commander in this case, so he's going to have to take control.

WHITFIELD: Daniel, before I go on with what is taking place at the shuttle, we're also learning that Osama bin Laden, it was threatened that he would be releasing yet another statement, whether it be recorded remarks audio only or perhaps only video. We know that earlier in the week, an Arabic station released videotape of Osama bin Laden as he was saluting the leader, the leader of al Qaeda, Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi following his death. Now, we're told that, in a message being released by him, he's warning Iraq Shiites, that your areas won't be safe from retaliation if you raid Sunni cities. If we get more information on the forum in which this message is being conveyed, we'll be able to bring this to you. This just in according to Reuters, the newest message from Osama bin Laden.

We'll have more shuttle coverage right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We continue to watch the launch pad and the goings on inside the space shuttle Discovery, live pictures right now as the crewmembers are suited up, they are strapped in, seven crewmembers in all. Are almost ready.

For the scheduled launch which is just two hours 17 minutes away. The plan is the 17 crew members will go up into space, going to the International Space Station for a 12-day mission, they'll be carrying supplies for the International Space Center, like oxygen, water, food and other supplies.

And right now, crew members are getting a once over, a check by the NASA administrators and specialists there, making sure that they have everything they need as the countdown continues. But so far weather is a factor. They don't have the all clear for weather as of yet, but we're still two hours 16 minutes away.

Now I want to get you caught up on other news. President Bush spoke with Turkish prime minister by phone today about the latest Middle East crisis. Mr. Bush says the key to resolving the situation is freeing the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants almost a week ago.

Clean up duty in the northeast today, the ravaging floods are receding after claiming 18 lives. CNN's Jason Carroll will bring us a live report from Trenton, New Jersey later on today.

New Jersey casinos could close from a budget dispute that has the state government deadlocked. Governor John Corzine ordered the government closed his afternoon, or this morning rather after failing to reach an agreement with lawmakers on a proposed tax increase.

An ominous bombing in Baghdad today, scores of people were killed, scores more injured when a parked car exploded near a crowded Shia market. It is the bloodiest single attack to challenge Iraq's new government.

The Tour de France hit by a major doping scandal is now under way. Nine riders, including the top two are forced out of the competition, in the post Lance Armstrong era, it is now anyone's race.

Now, we continue to watch the crewmembers get checked out; they're inside the Space Shuttle Discovery at the Kennedy Space Center. Our Daniel Sieberg is there, and Daniel weather still being a factor and are you getting any more updates as to whether it is a go or not?

SIEBERG: Weather is still a variable here, Fred. Right now the chief astronaut is flying around in the shuttle training craft checking the weather conditions over head here at Kennedy Space Center, right now we're a no-go for launch, that means as the conditions are right now, shuttle Discovery would not lift off, now that can change, and goes back and forth over time.

As these clouds move in overhead and as they move away. The concern is thunderstorms, lightening in the area and rain. These thunderstorms have been moving through in the afternoon here in Florida quite often, they had to monitor them, up until today there was a 40 percent chance that the shuttle launch would be prohibited by clouds in the area.

Right now they're still checking on that. With the shuttle launch a little more than two hours away. They'll be making this decision over that time and it really is going to go back and forth. Probably go down to almost to the last minute, to make a decision on whether to scrub this launch because of the weather or not. They had a technical concern earlier today that was totally unrelated to the weather.

This had to do with a thermostat or heater on one of the thrusters that is on the shuttle itself, this has nothing to do with the launch, this actually controls the orbiter, or once it is up in space it helps with maneuvering, once it is up there, there are number of these thrusters that are on the shuttle.

It was malfunctioning, not reading properly, we have not heard officially that this is going to cause a problem or be what is called a show-stopper, they were looking at it as a minor problem, and something that has built in redundancy and something they could possibly deal with once they're up there and work through it.

So at this point, the weather if they were to take off now, which they're obviously not going to. The weather at this time would stop them from doing that. But again that could change. We'll wait and see what happens -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: And, Dan, you have to wonder what this does to the state of mind of those astronauts, they're strapped in, they are ready to go and they are pumped up and excited. They're privy to most of these details, they get the updates just like everybody else there at the Kennedy Space Center, as part of this mission, so they know that weather is a factor at this juncture, but they also know that they still have to be at the ready.

SIEBERG: They do, and of course they've trained for this for quite a number of months and years leading up to this. They know that this is a possibility, that weather could delay the launch. If it does delay it today, you know this launch window opens up at 3:49; it does open up again tomorrow 22.5 minutes earlier. It would probably stand out on Monday, take a day off and then try again on Tuesday and Wednesday. This launch window is open right through July 19th and then it picks up again at the end of August. The launch window, the reason it happens, is like a quarterback throwing a ball to the receiver or a pitcher to the catcher to draw sports analogies, the whole idea being they have to lineup. In this case the shuttle is the ball and the International Space Station is the catcher or the receiver.

All of these things have to line up for this launch window to happen. But you pointed out those astronauts are in there, the hatch will close, I'm told that about 1:43 this afternoon they will close up the hatch and then they will proceed with some final systems checks and wait and see if the weather cooperates. But of course that's one system, the one variable they simply don't have control over.

WHITFIELD: So just six minutes away, the hatch could close?

SIEBERG: That's right. They'll be doing a number of checks once they're in there. Then they will as you point out get updates periodically on what happens whether it is a go or no-go for the weather. There's a fair bit of a breeze right now, where I'm standing, coming off the coast there, so they'll obviously have to keep an eye on this. These thunderclouds will move in and move out very quickly. All they need is a small window. They have five minutes. As long as the weather is OK during that time, then they can go. So they are just going to have to wait.

WHITFIELD: We're hoping for the best, Dan Sieberg thanks so much. We'll be checking back with you momentarily. When the Space Shuttle Discovery does blasts off a lot of people will be crossing their fingers, worried at the same time. They'll be thinking about the doomed Columbia.

A couple of weeks ago, two NASA officials recommended against launching because of possible problems with foam flying off the external fuel tank. Susan Roesgen looked into the details for the "SITUATION ROOM."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is where the external fuel tanks are made, in fact you can see the nose of one of them being built here behind me. When they're finished they're 15 stories tall. It is the external fuel tank that powers the shuttle into orbit. It is the protective foam on the tank that is the big concern.

The foam is sprayed on wet, when it dries it is about as stiff as Styrofoam. That foam covers critical, because that is what keeps the tank from getting too hot or too cold. Here at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, workers not only spray the foam on the tanks they're now scrapping some foam off the tanks for future shuttle flights. The foam on the tank attached to shuttle Discovery right now also has had large sections of foam removed.

On most of the external fuel tank, the foam is only one inch thick. Before Columbia there were some areas of foam that were as much as a foot thick, it was in those areas that some of the foam fell off, ultimately leading to the Columbia shuttle disaster.

These are two of the areas where large sections of foam have been removed from the tanks. NASA admits that some pieces of foam are still likely to fall off during the launch, but the hope is that any falling pieces will be too small to seriously damage the shuttle.

NASA expects to make even more modifications after the upcoming launch. In fact NASA has ordered more than a dozen external fuel tanks for flights that are suppose to go up between now and the year 2010.

Susan Roesgen, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And more of our coverage of the scheduled launch right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A new warning reportedly from Osama bin Laden. CNN has confirmed the statement was posted on the Internet and bin Laden's latest audiotape message warns Iraq's Shiites that their areas won't be safe from retaliation if they raid Sunni cities. This comes one day after the terrorist leaders Web address utilizing slaying al Qaeda in Iraqi leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Meantime, minutes away from the closing of the shuttle hatch, with seven crew members on board the shuttle Discovery you're looking at the engines there, fired up, almost ready to go. They're scheduled to spend 12 days in space and at the International Space Station.

Those seven crewmembers, this launch being closely watched. A lot is riding on this launch, particularly at one year after the last manned launch. And weather is certainly a factor this time around. So far a no-go as a result of weather because of those kinds of clouds that are moving in and thunderstorms.

NASA wants a clear path, a clear way into space, with that shuttle Discovery. Our meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is in the Weather Center. So far a no-go, but Reynolds we know in the next two hours, anything can happen, particularly since those clouds move in and out rather quickly in that part of Florida.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Reynolds Wolf, thanks so much.

WOLF: You bet.

WHITFIELD: We want to update you on the other story just in. Another message coming from Osama bin Laden, CNN has confirmed that this new message from Osama bin Laden is directed toward the Iraq Shiites where he says, the, he says your areas will not be safe from retaliation if you raid Sunni cities. Our editor of Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr is on the line with us now. Octavia, clarify for us in what form is this message being conveyed?

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS (via telephone): You know, it is a new message. It is a message that we were expecting, Fredricka; yesterday the Islamic Web sites announced that there would be a new message from bin Laden. So at this point, we did see that posting on the Islamic Web sites, it is conveyed in two formats, which has been the norm for al Qaeda.

The first format is a text document of the speech and the second format is a download, at this point we're downloading the, what we believe is going to be very much like what we've seen in the last, a few days from al Qaeda, which is an audio message of bin Laden with video overlaid over that audio.

And this is done by a group called La Hassid (ph), which means cloud in Arabic this is like the video production company for al Qaeda. So we're downloading that, and we will as soon as we know, we'll tell our audience which format it is. At this point we have the text of that message.

I'll give you the highlights as we continue to listen and download and translate that text. The highlight is basically, it is a focus on Iraq and Somalia, when it comes to Iraq, and basically bin Laden is calling on the Sunni in Iraq to fight the Shiite. Basically he's saying that, that the Sunni in Iraq are undergoing what he calls annihilation. He says the only way to win freedom in Iraq is to push the occupier out, he says.

And he says by pushing the occupier out, he is saying the only way is to fight the occupation. He's calling on Sunnis not to go for what the Iraqi government is calling for, which is national unity and political participation. He says political participation won't lead you anywhere; the only way for you to win is to fight the occupation.

He also, he also warned, he said by now it is clear we're not going to tolerate any dealings with the crusaders. He refers to the coalition forces and the Iraqi government dealing with the coalition forces as, as the infidels and the crusaders are in his mind the western force respect present in Iraq.

So basically saying no dealings with these people, it is by now clear, what we want. Then he moves on to Somalia. When he talks about Somalia, he talks about Somalia being a Muslim country and he says it is stable because it embraced Islam and nothing but Islam. The very interesting thing is what he says at the end.

He basically mentions the name Abu Hamza al-Muhajer. You may remember this is the name that the Mujahideen Shura Council named as the successor for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al Qaeda in Iraq leader that was killed in a U.S. raid on June 7th. Basically, he acknowledges that Abu Hamza al-Muhajer is the successor, he wishes him luck and he tells him to continue with the Jihad. He says he'll pray for him. WHITFIELD: All right. Senior editor of Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr. Thanks so much. We'll be talking with you again to get a little bit more detail about this tape and why it is being released and why there was great anticipation and expectation that this kind of message was expected from Osama bin Laden just a few days after his other message where he praised the leader of the al Qaeda Iraqi Abu Musab al-Zarqawi following his death.

All right more of CNN right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We continue to watch as the countdown continues for the scheduled lift off of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Seven crew members are on board now and likely Daniel Sieberg who is there at the Kennedy Space Center likely that hatch has been closed as you warned it that it would be by now, Daniel. So while it seems like everything is in place, still we don't have a go, because of weather.

SIEBERG: That's right, well the launch, the scheduled launch is about two hours or so away, 3:49 this afternoon, is the scheduled launch time and the call of what the weather is like at that point is all that matters. Right now, they're in a no-go in terms of weather. Those are the conditions in place right now; there are some thunderstorms in the area. Those are likely going to move out. They could go to go situation or they can go back to no-go.

All that matters is when they come out of this hole that is built in, there is a t minus 9 hole that is built in and when they come out of that, it'll say it is either a green for go or red no no-go. So that's in terms of weather.

Right now as you pointed out the astronauts are all strapped in, and they are going through some final communication checks, making sure their mics and their headsets are working. Doing some final checks as they're strapped in there and of course they are all eager to go.

If they don't make it today, there's a launch window that opens up tomorrow, they would take Monday off and possibly go Tuesday or Wednesday. So everybody here just standing by, a lot of amateur meteorologist among us, second-guessing what might happen. NASA will have the final call and we'll simply have to wait probably up until the last minute to find out what that is.

Fred back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. We know the hatch is closed, we're not able to see the pictures of the crew members inside like we were, we were able to watch minute by minute account of them being strapped in, getting their suits on, getting suited up and being put in their chairs, I saw high-fives and hand shakes and all of that. There's a lot of excitement involved in this mission isn't there?

SIEBERG: There is a lot of excitement. A lot of apprehension, you know NASA administrator Michael Griffin has said that the future of the shuttle program really depends on how successful this particular launch and this mission goes. That's the apprehension is built in, lots of safety concerns when you talk about falling foam and other things. So they're obvious wary of that, but they're also so excited too. They are definitely ready to go. Everybody here at Kennedy Space Center is ready to see Discovery liftoff.

WHITFIELD: All right. A few minutes ago it was very fun to see one of the missions specialist Stephanie Wilson, she turned around looking straight at the camera as she was getting into her chair and just kind of put both her hands up, as if to say I'm ready for this. We're going to continue to watch as the countdown continues there. Daniel Sieberg there at the Kennedy Space Center, 1 hour 52 minutes to go before scheduled launch, weather is a factor, we'll be keeping close tabs on that. Checking in with our Reynolds Wolf.

We are going to have more of CNN LIVE SATURDAY in a moment. .

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