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Space Shuttle Discovery Lifts Off; Interview With Florida Senator Bill Nelson; Citizens Step In To Pay for Military Helmet Upgrades; G.M. Testing the Waters of Fuel Efficient Cars
Aired July 04, 2006 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Start. Two. One. Booster ignition, and liftoff of the Space Shuttle Discovery, returning to the space station, paving the way for future missions beyond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: If you are just joining us, America is back in space on its birthday.
Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off minutes ago from Florida in a series of firsts, the first Fourth of July shuttle launch and the first mission in almost a year.
CNN space correspondent Miles O'Brien saw it all from the Kennedy Space Center.
And, Miles, Commander Lindsey said he wanted to deliver an up- close-and-personal look at the rockets' red glare. Boy, he knows how to put on a show.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: I should say.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: You know, we always tell people to be careful around fireworks.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: I don't know if we should be scolding Steve Lindsey about that, but there he was, riding the fireworks in an amazing blaze of glory.
Best we can tell, it was a pretty flawless launch. Of course, we will spend a lot of time going over it all and making sure that Discovery is in good shape, now that it's in orbit. As a matter of fact, that's probably the top job for this crew, is to make sure they have a safe vehicle for return.
Joining me now to talk a little bit about that is Jim Reilly.
Hours and hours on orbit will be spent making sure that that heat shield is intact. JIM REILLY, ASTRONAUT: In fact, that starts tomorrow.
They -- one of the first things they will do tomorrow is actually do the initial survey of the outside of the vehicle, and take a look at the leading edges, and make sure everything is looking nice and clean. And, of course, the video analysis that is being done here on the ground will be showing up in a lot of detail tomorrow as well.
O'BRIEN: So, how soon -- by tomorrow, we should have a fairly good picture, if there's anything they're really looking at, if there's any problems?
REILLY: That will be the first, yes. We will get our first piece of information back tomorrow.
O'BRIEN: Of course, I recall, a year ago, when Eileen Collins docked at the space shuttle, they did that somersault flip on the way. They took pictures from the station and found those little pieces of almost like cardboard -- they are not cardboard, of course -- gap fillers sticking out between some of the heat-protecting tiles there.
Ultimately, they were worried enough about those that they did a space walk to pluck those out. So, as the mission goes on, they will be constantly looking. And who knows. They might end up in a scenario like that.
REILLY: It's possible. But we have gone through and pretty much replaced all of the critical gap fillers, so that problem will have been taken care of on this vehicle.
It will -- if there's anything, it will be something else on this next one. And -- but, hopefully, it will be a clean bird.
O'BRIEN: It sure is great to have the opportunity to watch the launch this way. Prior to having these cameras on the external fuel tank and that capability, that point there is about when we would lose sight of the shuttle. And that would be it, unless you were on board.
REILLY: Exactly. In fact, the nice thing about having that external camera is that it allows us to look back in a critical pathway for being to assess anything that might have come off that would have been any critical damage item for the shuttle itself.
O'BRIEN: It's all about engineering. But the public affairs office doesn't mind it either.
Jim Reilly, thank you very much for helping us...
REILLY: My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: ... get Discovery safely into space -- back to you, Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Miles.
I don't know about you guys at home, but I know all of us here, we breathed a big sigh of relief when it finally got into space.
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: But no doubt, tense minutes for the astronauts on board.
Let's listen in now to the crew talking to the managers on the ground in mission control just minutes before liftoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: LTS?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houston flight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houston flight is go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: MILA?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: MILA, go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: STM?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: STM is go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Safety console?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Safety console is go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: STE?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: STE is go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: LRD?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: LRD is go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SRO?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SRO is go. You have range clear to launch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And CDR?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CDR is go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy all.
And launch director entity, our launch team is ready to proceed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy that. Thank you, Jeff (ph).
Chief engineer, verify an open fence (ph) to launch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The team is go, Mike.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Charlie (ph).
KAC (ph) safety mission assurance?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: KAC safety is go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
KLO (ph), launch manager?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike, the space station team is go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you a lot, Bill.
Constraints in weather?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Weather has no constraints for launch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy, Kathy (ph). Thank you.
And ops manager?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Launch director, ops manager. The MMT (ph) has no constraints. You're clear to launch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Discovery, launch director.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Discovery. Go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, Steve, it looks like Discovery's weather is -- Discovery is ready. The weather is beautiful. America is ready to return the space shuttle to flight. So, good luck and Godspeed, Discovery.
STEVE LINDSEY, COMMANDER, SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY: Thank you, Mike.
And I can't think of a better place to be here on the Fourth of July and Independence Day to be getting ready to launch into space. To all the folks at Kennedy Space Center and the shuttle program, thanks a lot for working so hard in the last few days and the last year to get us ready.
To all the folks on the Florida East Coast, we hope to very soon get you an up-close-and-personal look at the rockets' red glare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The rockets' red glare. Boy, those were some fireworks.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Let's take you back now to Kennedy Space Center and Miles O'Brien.
And, Miles, you're going to give us a little more insights to the commander and the pilots, some of the voices that we just heard.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
You were listening to Mike Leinbach, who of course, is the launch director here for NASA. But he was talking to Steve Lindsey, who is a veteran on his fourth spaceflight, second as commander.
He hails from California. And you might remember him, if you really follow space closely, as the pilot on the mission that carried one Senator John Glenn to space in October of 1998.
Most recently, got to know him in a different way. He was the astronaut assigned to the family of Rick Husband's. He helped out the widow of the commander of Columbia in ways that are too innumerable to mention.
He's a great guy and an excellent pilot. Beside him in the right seat is Mark Kelly, who -- pride of West Orange, New Jersey, well, actually, half the pride, because he has got a twin brother in the astronaut corps as well, Scott. And we remember it's Mark only because he has a mustache. I remember because mustache begins with M., and M. is Mark, and that is how you go from there, because they are absolutely identical in every way.
He is a commander in the U.S. Navy on his second flight. He is flying as the pilot. And while Scott has not had his second flight yet, he is quick to point out that, on his second flight, while he is flying after his brother, he will be a commander. He is, of course, a twin. He's got to point these things out.
And, so, there you have it. They are just leading the crew in the -- in the front seat, so to speak, a crew with many dimensions and a lot of capabilities, on their way to the International Space Station for this critical resupply mission, and, if all goes well, kind of a resumption of a more steady pace for shuttle flights, as the shuttle enters its golden years, if you will.
NGUYEN: Miles, I know that when we watched launch there, all of us were just hoping and praying for the best.
But you have said something during that that I want to ask you about. You said that they are flying on a less power profile. Talk to me about, one, what does that mean -- you are talking in NASA-speak -- but, two, why?
O'BRIEN: Well, what they have, on every shuttle launch, they have a thing they call -- the term is the throttle bucket.
That means, when the orbiter is enduring its greatest stresses -- here's another term to throw at you, "Max Q," they call it -- but it's a combination of speed and its position in the atmosphere, the thickest part of the atmosphere, that creates the greatest amount of stress on the space shuttle as it's going other space.
What they do during that period of time, so it doesn't cause problems or cause it to break up is, they always pull back on the throttle, in the 70 percent range. In this case, they went down to about 67 percent of the capability of those shuttle main engines through that period of Max Q, or the highest dynamic pressure on the shuttle.
And the idea here was, to do that, you sacrifice a little performance on the other end, and you might have to burn engines a little bit longer at the top. But, during that period, when the air is thickest and you are going so fast, it may lessen the possibility of debris coming off that external fuel tank.
So, it will be interesting to see if that bore itself out in this case, if that helped. Of course, there's no way to know for sure. You are not going to fly another mission with it under higher power settings to see how that works. But if there isn't a lot of debris that comes off in this case, if they determine this was a pretty clean launch, I am sure they are going to stick with that different and modified throttle bucket.
NGUYEN: There you have it. That's why you are our expert, Miles.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Thank you.
HARRIS: Fourth of July.
NGUYEN: Yes. What a day.
HARRIS: OK.
NGUYEN: What a show NASA put on.
HARRIS: Wasn't it something?
It means a lot of things to a lot of people. Great to have a shuttle launch on the Fourth of July.
Other activities going on, of course.
NGUYEN: True.
HARRIS: All decked out on the Fourth, huge celebrations planned.
The National Mall, Washington, D.C., crowds are starting to gather. Visitors have a chance to sign a replica of the Declaration of Independence for some activity on this day. Soldiers wounded in Iraq are reading from the Declaration at the National Archives. And there is plenty of food...
NGUYEN: Mmm-hmm.
HARRIS: ... from folk festivals, featuring the cuisines of several cultures. The fun reaches kind of a -- well, a crescendo...
NGUYEN: Yes. HARRIS: ... nightfall, of course, with a National Symphony concert and, of course, fireworks.
NGUYEN: Oh, the food on the Fourth.
I don't know if you are interested in this kind of food, though.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Or at least this much food. The Mustard Belt remains in the hands of the defending champion, Takeru Kobayashi.
He won his sixth victory -- six times. Can you believe it?
HARRIS: No.
NGUYEN: At New York's Coney Island today, downing -- OK, this is what is going to set you back -- he downed 53.75 hot dogs in 12 minutes. I guess he just couldn't get that little bit left of the last hot dog.
HARRIS: Right. Right.
NGUYEN: But, hey, that's OK. Fifty-three? No one can accuse him of dogging it. Oh. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.
But he did get some competition from American Joey Chestnut, who was in the lead for most of the contest, but fell behind.
HARRIS: On your left there. On your left there, ready to pass out.
NGUYEN: Yes, the guy who looks like he's about to throw up, yes, that would be him.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: But he did fall behind and, you know, just couldn't catch up. It's definitely a victory, though, for Kobayashi, and one that he will relish.
HARRIS: Couldn't ketchup?
NGUYEN: Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.
Yes, I know, full of those. Did you get them all?
HARRIS: Yes, we got them all.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: All right. Now, we have been talking a lot about the weather conditions surrounding launch of Discovery. But, you know, it's the Fourth. And we have got barbecues, cookouts, and folks...
(CROSSTALK) NGUYEN: I am ready to go to one.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: Yes. Yes. It's about that time.
So, we want to check in with Jacqui Jeras now and get a sense of what the weather is like for the rest of the nation. I mean, there are fireworks displays going off a little bit. We talked about the National Mall.
Jacqui...
NGUYEN: It's a busy day.
HARRIS: Yes. Give us a sense of it all.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Still to come, we will go back to the Kennedy Space Center and talk with a man who is not only a U.S. senator but a former astronaut, and your e-mails about the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery.
You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hope you got a chance to see the launch live right here on CNN. Boy, it was spectacular.
We are going to send you out now, back to Florida, Kennedy Space Center, and Miles O'Brien.
Miles, it's been quite a day
And, in fact, you have got a man there with you who has seen a lot of what these astronauts have just gone through.
O'BRIEN: Yes. He says he sees NASA from all kinds of perspectives.
I'm joined by Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, who, in 1986, all of 10 days before the Challenger disaster, flew on the space shuttle Columbia, as a congressman at the time, and -- and as -- as a member of the committee, of course. It was a fact-finding tour.
And he is here now to -- first of all, it was a nice launch. It was good to see, wasn't it, finally?
SEN. BILL NELSON (D), FLORIDA: It was wonderful.
And Dr. Griffin was certainly vindicated in taking the acceptable risk, as he said.
O'BRIEN: Were you at all uncomfortable with the way he handled that all throughout that?
NELSON: No, because there's a new culture in NASA. And it's openness.
You have never seen the openness like this. What brought down two space shuttles was the lack of communication, two-way communication. It was always the managers telling everybody down, but they weren't getting the information from the bottom up.
And Mike Griffin has changed that. And, so, when he hears any objection, he says, tell me your objection. And then he makes the final decision.
O'BRIEN: So, you would say that whole debate with the chief engineer, the chief safety officer saying, no go for launch, is a sign that things are good at NASA?
NELSON: Absolutely.
It's the first time that there's no question of intimidation to shut your mouth. Bring forth all the objections, evaluate it, and then the top guy makes the decision.
O'BRIEN: This is a very critical time for NASA right now. They not only have -- they have a lot on their plate, trying to fly out an old system, an old system with some flaws in it, safely, trying to honor a commitment to the International Space Station, doing that before 2010, so they can pave the way for a new vehicle.
And some would suggest there's not enough money in the pot to do all that. What are your thoughts?
NELSON: Well, I think it's true. We passed an authorization bill for the next three years. And, all of a sudden, the White House whacks over $1 billion off of just next year's budget. So, poor Mike Griffin has to decide what does he cut.
He starts cutting -- he's not going to cut safety. So, he starts cutting science programs. He starts stretching out the new follow-on vehicle, the CEV, so that it doesn't fly right after you shut down the space station -- the space shuttle.
And, as a result, that's just not good. So, we are going to try to -- there are a bunch of us, bipartisan, that are going to try to restore that money in the Congress.
O'BRIEN: Louis Friedman, who is the director of the Planetary Society, recently wrote an op-ed in "Publication Space News." I know you get it.
And he -- I just want to share with you a little -- a small portion one of that. He said, one the ironies in the current budget debate -- you're talking about this debate which led to the recommendation of the administration to cut NASA's budget by $1 billion -- is that the word exploration has been hijacked to mean human spaceflight. And science is seen to compete with exploration. Some would suggest that is a bit a fallacy, because it is the science which really should drive the exploration, and vice versa.
NELSON: Yes.
And you don't have to be mutually exclusive. You need to have both. It's the complement of the humankind space exploration, along with the robotic and all the scientific efforts that then come together for this tremendous expansion of our knowledge, as well as fulfillment of our character as a people. And that is, we are explorers by nature.
O'BRIEN: It is still a difficult sell at a time of war, in particular...
NELSON: Of course it is.
O'BRIEN: ... and a time of high deficit to go around and say, we need an extra $1 billion for NASA to do something that is discretionary at its very core. We want to explore. We want to learn these things, but we have some very palpable needs right here.
What do you say to that?
NELSON: Well, what I say, look at the spin-offs from the space program. Look at how our daily lives have been improved by the micro- miniaturization, the modern medical advances that have come directly out of the space program.
Look at the frontiers of knowledge that have been opened up to us, with now what we are learning about the universe and the origins of the universe. We never want to sit still, no matter the competition is for those dollars.
And just one other thing: The space program is less than 1 percent of the entire federal budget.
O'BRIEN: We are looking at animation right now of how NASA envisions a mission to the moon, and maybe one day to Mars. Are they on the right track there? What I see is a mission which reminds me an awful lot of Apollo, an updated version of Apollo.
Is that really what we should be doing? Why do we need to go back to the moon in this day and age?
NELSON: It's an Apollo-shaped capsule, but it will be constructed and designed with new technology.
And, if you go to the moon, we learned something there that we would then be able to employ when we go to Mars on a far, far distant part of the universe. And, so, everything comes together. The question is, do we want to advance, or do we want to sit still?
And, Miles, you know better than anybody, because you know the space program. You know the history of this country. We have always had a frontier. It used to be westward. Now that frontier is upward and, in other cases, it's inward. And we never want to stop pressing that frontier, or we die as a character of people.
O'BRIEN: Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, former astronaut as well, thanks for your time.
NELSON: Thanks, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Back to you, Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Miles.
HARRIS: Well, I will tell you what. We asked you about an hour or so ago to send us your thoughts on, I guess, 30 years ago, the centennial.
NGUYEN: Yes, the bicentennial.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes, and where were you at that time, and to send us some pictures of what you looked like back then.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: But you have taken the bull by the horns, and you have decided you are going to send us your e-mails on the launch of Discovery today.
NGUYEN: And why not?
HARRIS: And why not?
So, we will get to some of those in a moment.
NGUYEN: Yes. Those are really exciting, so we are going to share some of those, but send them in, if you still got them coming.
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: Also, helmets can be lifesavers for U.S. troops, but standard-issue ones, well, they don't do enough. There's a simple fix, though, but the fee, that's the problem. And it can be anything but simple for military families. Find out who is coming to their aid.
That is coming up right here on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Demands for justice and a pledge to get to the truth behind more alleged atrocities by U.S. troops in Iraq.
The latest focus is in the town of Mahmoudiya, just south of Baghdad, tales of a late-night home invasion, rape and mass murder -- the suspects, four U.S. soldiers, possibly five, all members of the 101st Airborne Division. One is in U.S. custody here in the U.S. Steven Green is now a former private, honorably discharged over what's described as a personality disorder.
Earlier, I spoke with Major General William Caldwell in Baghdad about the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, U.S. ARMY SPOKESMAN, COALITION FORCES IN IRAQ: The charges as laid out in the charge sheet, those allegations that have been made are absolutely unacceptable. How you would define them, I would tell you that they are unacceptable behavior by anybody from any different organization, whether in the military or not in the military. It's not something that anybody in our civilization would condone, those kinds of allegations.
HARRIS: How about war crimes?
CALDWELL: I'm not sure how you'd want to define war crimes. I'll just tell you that those actions are absolutely unacceptable. And we are very transparent. We are very open, we are very thorough in investigating each and every one of these allegations.
We're looking at this one very closely, and if, in fact, we find the allegations have some substance behind them, they'll be taken to court and if found guilty will be appropriately charged.
HARRIS: We know that Green is going through a process here stateside. Does the coalition operating in Iraq operate with full and total immunity?
CALDWELL: No, not at all. We hold every one of our service members accountable for their personal actions, each and every man and woman serving over here in uniform, and those who are serving with us side by side who are civilian counterparts, too. There is nobody exempt from the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: If the allegations prove true, Iraq's justice minister is demanding the U.N. Security Council make sure the troops are punished.
A kidnapping ordeal is over for Iraq's deputy minister of electricity. Insurgents ambushed his convoy today in Baghdad, whisking him and several of his bodyguards away, but releasing them several hours later -- this attack just three days after gunman abducted a female lawmaker east of Baghdad. She and seven bodyguards are still missing.
NGUYEN: President Bush saluted U.S. troops today at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
And, as you may have seen live right here on CNN, the commander in chief talked patriotism, helping the oppressed, and heroism in Iraq and Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You've kept America what our founders meant her to be: a light to the nations, spreading the good news of human freedom to the darkest corners of earth.
I want to thank you for all you do for our country and for the world. May God bless you all. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Mr. Bush paused to have his picture taken with the pilot who flew Saddam Hussein to Baghdad after his capture. That pilot is heading back to Iraq. Now, he's not being identified for security reasons.
HARRIS: State-of-the-art combat helmets are not standard issue for most American troops. And some troops heading to Iraq and Afghanistan can't afford to pay for the upgrades itself.
You may have heard of Operation Helmet and its big-name patron. Cher. It's Cher.
NGUYEN: Cher?
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: Now from San Diego, a move to kick that effort into high-gear.
Bob Lawrence of CNN affiliate KGTV has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB LAWRENCE, KGTV REPORTER (voice-over): A Marine convoy heads out on patrol and runs head first into an IED, improvised explosive device. This is only a simulation, but these Marine reserves will face the real thing soon enough. And many believe they're not as protected as they could be.
SHANNAN LIMON, MARINE'S WIFE: The main thing that these pads do is absorb energy of a bomb blast, which these lightweight helmets were not necessarily designed to do.
LAWRENCE: Before Shannan's husband deployed, he was looking to upgrade his standard issue Marine helmet, but the upgrade kit cost about $100. That's where 10,000 RVs stepped in.
TONY FREEMAN, 10,000 RV DEALERSHIP: Cher happened to be on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER" talking about operation helmet.
LAWRENCE: Cher attended a hearing with Dr. Robert Meaders, the founder of operation helmet, who went to congress convinced that the webbing in the other helmets does not offer the protection when it comes to IEDs.
LIMON: This is something that the guys are asking for. And they either have to purchase it themselves if they want it or they have to depend on operation helmet to send it to them.
LAWRENCE: To that effort, 10,000 RVs stepped up with a $10,000 check and a challenge to others.
FREEMAN: Send it operation helmet and we will match all the donations up to $10,000 during the month of July. And we believe that will help eliminate that backlog of needed upgrade kits.
LAWRENCE: That back log is roughly 450 kits. As far as standard issue, the Marines are not yet convinced, but they are beginning tests.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And if you'd like to contribute, visit the Web site operationhelmet.org for more information.
NGUYEN: We now salute fallen heroes, military men and women who have sacrificed their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, Marine Private First Class Christopher N. White planned to marry his girlfriend the day he returned home from his tour. The machine gunner was killed by a roadside bomb June 20th in Anbar Province in Iraq. His brother Mike says Chris talked about being a Marine all his life. A high school classmate says Chris never met a stranger.
Army Staff Sergeant Patrick L. Lybert enlisted in the army after the September 11th attacks, he was killed last month when his unit came under enemy fire in Afghanistan. The police chief in Lybert's hometown of Ladysmith, Wisconsin said as a young man, Lybert believed in making a difference, he cleared a half mile trail for his eagle scout project. Lybert leaves behind a fiancee, two brothers, a father, mother and stepfather.
Army Private First Class Paul A. Beyer was killed by a roadside bomb near Baghdad, June 23rd. His wife Tally says she last saw him back in February. She says he was, quote, a great husband and an amazing friend. The two had known each other since kindergarten. Beyer's brother Paul told him after seeing the faces of the people in Iraq that he knew in his heart he was fighting for something good.
Now there are just three of the 2,539 who have died in Iraq and the 312 who have been killed in operation enduring freedom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: They have the same birthday, the same parents and were selected by NASA at the same time in April of 1996, we're talking about the brothers Kelly. About an hour ago Mark took the shuttle "Discovery" up for a little ride Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes he did.
HARRIS: Nice ride. His twin Scott is set to fly again next year. Today he is with our Miles O'Brien at the Kennedy Space Center. Miles take it away.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Tony Harris, thank you very much. I am joined by the twin brother of the pilot Scott Kelly. The pilot is Mark Kelly. Scott Kelly is here and he watched the launch from the VIP viewing area over there near the Banana River as they call it. As an astronaut and as a twin brother and then surrounded by a lot of family members who've never seen a launch, that must have been quite an experience.
SCOTT KELLY, ASTRONAUT: Oh it was a great experience today.
O'BRIEN: Looking at some of the tape and rewinding some of the tape and looking at things, we got, I think -- let's try to play this right now, if we could, Scott. It looks like a piece of foam coming off -- what time frame is this? I'm just being told about this.
What time frame is this in the launch, it's after solid rocket booster separation. About 40 seconds, can you feed that to us? I want to share this with viewers, if you can feed that out, please. And take a look in this area, I want you to look in this area right here. We're not going to be able to put this on TV? I want to show you what we're seeing here.
There you go, look inside that circle right there and right there, appear to be two small pieces which I want to point out, not unlike what we saw on the power ramp a year ago, that's the wing of Discovery there, fall what appears to be harmlessly away.
Roll it back one more time so we could take a look one more time, if we could. You will see what appears to be two small pieces. Now, let's point this out Scott, no one said this was going to be debris free. As you look at this, you know obviously I'm asking you to do this for the first time seeing this, what are your thoughts?
KELLY: Well you know we have more cameras and more ability to look at this tank than ever before. We knew that we would sea foam come off, likely more foam than ever before, because we had the capability to see more. So it doesn't surprise me that we're seeing something come off the tank right now.
The important thing, though, is for one, you now, did it do any damage, and if it didn't, was it something that was capable of doing damage, in other words. Was it a big enough size that came off at the proper time to cause some damage to the orbiter and we're going to just have to wait and see.
O'BRIEN: I think we have it cued back up if you could punch that out one more time. Let's just slowly -- back it up just a little bit if you could. OK there you go, just take it slowly, sort of frame by frame if you could. I think Aaron is probably doing this slowly but surely.
Play it forward, oh there you go, take a look. It's like two small pieces right there. They look very small to me, but it's hard to tell to scale. I am, by no means -- OK. Let it keep going. I hear there's more than this. Let's let it play here for a moment.
Hard to say where this is coming off the external fuel tank, but as you say -- there we go, there's additional little pieces there. Hard to say where that is, could those be those ice frost ramps that we heard so much talk about? We don't know. As we say though, I don't see anything that indicates that it got in the region of the wing area there, which is kind of obscured there because of the way the camera is exposed. But that's just the beginning of what will be a long period of going through, frame by frame, as you say, more camera evidence than ever has been acquired on any shuttle mission before. And as you say, you find things you never saw before.
KELLY: Yes absolutely. It's not unexpected. We knew we would see things come off and we'll just have to do the analysis over the next several days and throughout the remainder of the mission.
O'BRIEN: But first flash, and I have to put you on the spot a little bit, but first flash, does that in any way concern you, what you see there?
KELLY: Not at all.
O'BRIEN: All right Scott Kelly, whose brother Mark is up there, and soon the crew I'm sure will get a full report on what was seen and not seen and as the evening progresses and as more of these pictures become available to the engineers and to us, we will share that with you. Back to you Betty.
NGUYEN: All right thank you Miles. Well back here on earth, are you looking for some relief from high gas prices? It could be just a showroom away. Imagine a car that gives you a free gallon of gasoline for every 11 you use? Sound too good to be true, well LIVE FROM checks the tank and takes you on a test drive when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Is that the average?
NGUYEN: Almost $3 a gallon, that's where we are.
HARRIS: On the Fourth of July? It's un-American is what it is. From the drawing board to the showroom as motorists cringe at gas prices, car makers are rushing to sell more fuel efficient vehicles, including a new breed of hybrid vehicles. Our John King took a test drive for "THE SITUATION ROOM."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Chevy Impala, a household name from the glory days of General Motors, and a test case now as the struggling automaker tries to remake its image and adapt to a market reshaped by high gas prices.
At first glance, this 2007 model looks the same as the 2006. But watch the dashboard. Six cylinders of engine strength as it accelerates, but a seamless shift to just three cylinders and dramatically better mileage as the car reaches coasting speed.
(on camera): For my July 4th family trip, and I'm driving a few hundred miles on the highway, with this as opposed to the standard V6 that's available today, what am I going to save in terms of fuel?
GARY HORVAT, GENERAL MOTORS ASSISTANT CHIEF ENGINEER: For every 11 gallons, you get one free.
KING (voice-over): G.M. calls its cylinder deactivation technology active fuel management, and hopes to sell two million cars with this efficiency over the next two years, just one piece of its effort to reach consumers looking to save at the pump, and of its broader, urgent effort to convince those who equate G.M. with gas- guzzling clunkers to take a fresh look.
The stakes for the world's largest automaker are enormous. G.M. lost nearly $11 billion last year, and is confronting a long list of critics who say when it comes it cutting America's dependence on foreign oil, G.M. is the problem, not the solution.
BRENDAN BELL, SIERRA CLUB: They sell some of the worst gas- guzzlers on the road, like the Hummer H-2, like some of the GMC Yukons. And they're very specifically going out and trying to delude the American public that they are making progress when they are actually taking us backwards.
KING: G.M.'s aggressive market of SUVs led "New York Times" columnist Tom Friedman to label the company "dangerous to America's future."
(on camera): We're at the July 4th holiday period where Americans are getting in their cars, they're driving to the beach, they're driving to their vacation, and you have people like him who say you are part of the problem.
RICK WAGONER, GENERAL MOTORS CEO: We have more vehicles that get more than 30 miles per gallon on the highway than any other manufacturer, or our commitment to ethanol, or the upcoming launch of several new hybrids. If we get that story out and tell it, than I think any perception issues will be handled in the right way.
KING (voice-over): G.M. granted CNN unprecedented access to its testing facilities as part of an effort to prove its critics wrong, show off a 2007 product line the company says offers a number of options for consumers looking to save at the pump.
This yellow gas cap means the vehicle can run on E85, ethanol. G.M. and other U.S. automakers last week promised to double annual production of these flex fuel cars, the most high-profile option for those looking to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. But of the 170,000 gas stations in the United States, only about 700 sell E85.
BELL: Ninety-nine percent of those vehicles never run on a drop of ethanol. These vehicles don't actually cut our dependence on oil. What can make a difference is investing in fuel economy.
KING: For all the attention on ethanol and talk of new fuel sources like next-generation batteries or hydrogen, to visit G.M. is to reminded gas is the fuel of the foreseeable future. So as they oppose new mileage mandates from Washington, carmakers are highlighting new technologies like direct fuel injection, an efficiency already common in diesel engines, to make modest improvements in fuel efficiency. Six speed transmissions instead of the usual four means about an extra mile per gallon.
BOB VARGO, GENERAL MOTORS: So that's about three million gallons of gas that we could save for the model year 2010.
KING: And after lagging behind Toyota and Ford, G.M. is making a major investment in hybrids.
(on camera): This is the first G.M. ...
MICKEY BLY, GENERAL MOTORS: This is the first high-volume hybrid that we'll have on the market.
KING: (voice-over): The Saturn VUE hybrid will be available in a few weeks.
(on camera): And how does that stack up the competition?
BLY: We will be the lowest sticker price hybrid in the marketplace.
(voice-over): The green eco light means the VUE is performing at above average fuel efficiency.
BLY: The engine is now off. You're running purely on electric mode now, so you're sitting here as long as you want with electric mode. And then if you lift your foot off the brake, it will start the engine up and ready to go.
KING: New hybrid sedans will follow the VUE, and the bigger Tahoe hybrid debuts next year, as a company that admits it is late to this growing market hopes its new entries can create a buzz, to help G.M. gain a better footing with consumers and to make an environmental statement or at least looking to make their gas money go a little further.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: John King is filling in for Wolf Blitzer today in "THE SITUATION ROOM." That'll be good. The show begins at 4:00 p.m. eastern, 1:00 pacific. And you can see more on John's reports on GM's hydrogen powered cars, industry experts are dying to see. But only our John King has exclusive access. Just thought you need to know that moving forward.
NGUYEN: He's the man with all the sources.
All right on this Fourth of July, the U.S., well it turns 230 years old and that means 30 years since we celebrated the bicentennial. Where were you back in 1976? Tony was combing out his fro. But we'll find out where you were and what you were doing, we're going to read those e-mails when LIVE FROM continues. HARRIS: Not.
NGUYEN: It's the truth.
HARRIS: Not helpful Betty, not helpful.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: So here's the question, where were you 30 years ago today, July 4, 1976? America was gaga over the bicentennial, 200 years of independence, a huge celebration. Here's New York harbor in 1976. Look at that picture. The Coast Guard launched operation sail.
A poignant image with the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the background, you see them there. So is this bringing back any memories for you? Well we asked you for your comments earlier on LIVE FROM. What do you remember about the bicentennial. We got some really good responses already.
HARRIS: Should I start?
NGUYEN: You go ahead.
HARRIS: With Craig from Oregon who writes, "In 1976 I was in the strategic air command serving proudly for our country as I do today as a civilian. Happy 4th to our troops around the world and our country. Go red, white and blue! Go Discovery! What a day for America!
NGUYEN: Oh what a day today, yes with the launch today, spectacular. Well George from Tennessee sends in an e-mail too, saying, "I was following closely the Viking I mission on Mars. The landing of Viking I established earth's first foothold on Mars. I watched that mission throughout the day and late into the night."
HARRIS: Are you ready for this one.
NGUYEN: This is good stuff right here, bring it on.
HARRIS: OK, so Jay Drew is the man responsible for this.
NGUYEN: He's going to hate us.
HARRIS: For the fronting that you see ...
NGUYEN: The guy right there, yes.
HARRIS: Yes, you today.
NGUYEN: You're in big trouble buddy.
HARRIS: Here's the deal, Jay's mom, Marty, sent us some photos. How about this. This is Marty, Jay's grandparents, and right there, 3-year-old Jay in a parade that's in Philadelphia. How about that?
NGUYEN: Check this out. Snapshot of Jay sporting his spirit of 76, but our favorite part is those sneakers. Can we see those sneakers at the bottom. Totally completing the colonial look. How cute are you.
HARRIS: Are those Chuck Taylor's back in the day. Chuck Taylor Converse shoes? Oh man, you Yankee Doodle Dandy you.
NGUYEN: Happy fourth of July everybody. We'll be right back after this break.
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HARRIS: Oh let's see here Betty. Let's say you're joining us from Los Angeles or Denver, Colorado. Take a look at this picture now, Washington, D.C., the nation's capitol, the national mall. Crowds gathering, fireworks display a little later today, just wanted to show you that shot. The Lincoln Memorial in the background there, beautiful day celebrating the fourth, happy fourth everyone.
NGUYEN: Yes, if you think it's beautiful now, just wait until those fireworks go off.
OK. We're going to talk now about U.S. veterans and actors. They are on the steps of the National Archives today, sharing the Declaration of Independence, with the thousands of visitors in Washington. It is just part of the festivities going on at the nation's capitol on this holiday, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please listen to our Declaration of Independence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, we hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants, only.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the soul purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We mutually.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mutually.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pledge to each other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pledge to each other our lives and our fortunes and our honor. (APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a soldier who had undergone a stroke and decided he wanted to participate in this process.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Adams. Robert Treat Payne.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From sea to shining sea
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And that does it for LIVE FROM. Now John King takes over in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
NGUYEN: He's in for Wolf Blitzer today. Have a safe and happy Fourth of July everybody.
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