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American Morning

Interview With Family of Challenger Pilot Michael Smith

Aired February 04, 2003 - 09:41   ET

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

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


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: A memorial service will be held today in Houston for the Columbia crew. Among those paying their respects to the lost astronauts will be the family of Captain Michael Smith. He was the pilot of the Challenger, and died with the rest of the crew when it exploded just after liftoff 17 years ago. And his widow, Jane Smith Wolcott, helped to establish Challenger learning centers to educate kids about space travel.
She joins us now from the Johnson Space Center, along with her daughter Alison Balch who was just 14 years old when she lost her father. Good morning to both of you, thanks so much for being with us today.

ALISON BALCH, MICHAEL SMITH'S DAUGHTER: Good morning.

JANE SMITH WOLCOTT, MICHAEL SMITH'S WIDOW: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: I want to apologize to both of you ahead of time, we are told that prime minister Tony Blair and his French host, Jacques Chirac will be coming out of a series of pretty tempestuous meetings, and we'll have to take that live if and when it happens, but in the meantime, I would love to talk with the two of you.

Jane, I know that you were watching the landing on live TV on Saturday, and I'm just curious as you were watching the mystery of what was going on, what kind of memories flooded your mind?

WOLCOTT: My first thought was with the families of the astronauts. I -- my husband now was a former Navy pilot, and a test pilot, and we both were saying this doesn't look very good, and so my heart and deepest sympathies go out to the families, and to all of the NASA families.

ZAHN: Alison, how did you find out?

BALCH: Actually, I was walking my daughter and dogs, and came back and there were an odd number of messages on the phone at 8:30 in the morning, and my mom told me, Turn on the TV, and I did.

ZAHN: I know that both of you have a very good understanding of some of what these families will be going through today because you were subjected to the same kind of treatment. On one hand, they want to have some privacy with the president and honor the dignity of the moment, but at the same time, a lot of very tough questions are being raised about NASA and the safety of the shuttle program. Jane, how complicated must all those emotions be today? WOLCOTT: Well, I feel like NASA will be on top of this. There is a system in place now, after challenger, everybody was so shocked over that, and they just thought, What can we do? They will -- NASA officials will take care of finding out the problem and fixing it, and as the families have said, much as we said, we wanted the space program to continue safely. And there is a lot of emotion going on.

ZAHN: Yes. They released a very powerful statement yesterday saying that that is the legacy of their lost loved ones.

Alison, you and your brother were teenagers at the time that you lost your own father in the Challenger disaster. What advice could you give to the young children who lost their moms and dads on this mission?

BALCH: I could talk to you all day about that. I think that there is so much they're going to have to deal with. It's just terrible. But I think about my father, and it is very confusing to watch the world grieve your parent as the pilot of space shuttle Challenger or Columbia, and my dad was my dad, that's how I always knew him. He took us water skiing, he kissed my mom in the kitchen, he helped us mow lawns. And I just would tell them to remember the simple things about their parent, remember how much they loved them, what they talked about, what they taught them about living life, because these children are really going to be the legacy of these astronauts, because they are first and foremost parents.

ZAHN: Jane, a final thought on legacy of this crew?

WOLCOTT: Of this crew, we are, as a nation, so proud of accomplishments, we are proud of their early beginnings as children who sought to seek a higher understanding of life, and they did it for all of us, for all of the American people, for all of the people around the world. These astronauts were unique, each one in themselves, unique individuals, and we were proud.

ZAHN: Well, we thank you both for inspiring us this morning on a very tough day ahead that the two of you face. Jane Smith Wolcott and Alison Balch, we very much appreciate your dropping by AMERICAN MORNING.

WOLCOTT: Thank you.

BALCH: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired February 4, 2003 - 09:41   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: A memorial service will be held today in Houston for the Columbia crew. Among those paying their respects to the lost astronauts will be the family of Captain Michael Smith. He was the pilot of the Challenger, and died with the rest of the crew when it exploded just after liftoff 17 years ago. And his widow, Jane Smith Wolcott, helped to establish Challenger learning centers to educate kids about space travel.
She joins us now from the Johnson Space Center, along with her daughter Alison Balch who was just 14 years old when she lost her father. Good morning to both of you, thanks so much for being with us today.

ALISON BALCH, MICHAEL SMITH'S DAUGHTER: Good morning.

JANE SMITH WOLCOTT, MICHAEL SMITH'S WIDOW: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: I want to apologize to both of you ahead of time, we are told that prime minister Tony Blair and his French host, Jacques Chirac will be coming out of a series of pretty tempestuous meetings, and we'll have to take that live if and when it happens, but in the meantime, I would love to talk with the two of you.

Jane, I know that you were watching the landing on live TV on Saturday, and I'm just curious as you were watching the mystery of what was going on, what kind of memories flooded your mind?

WOLCOTT: My first thought was with the families of the astronauts. I -- my husband now was a former Navy pilot, and a test pilot, and we both were saying this doesn't look very good, and so my heart and deepest sympathies go out to the families, and to all of the NASA families.

ZAHN: Alison, how did you find out?

BALCH: Actually, I was walking my daughter and dogs, and came back and there were an odd number of messages on the phone at 8:30 in the morning, and my mom told me, Turn on the TV, and I did.

ZAHN: I know that both of you have a very good understanding of some of what these families will be going through today because you were subjected to the same kind of treatment. On one hand, they want to have some privacy with the president and honor the dignity of the moment, but at the same time, a lot of very tough questions are being raised about NASA and the safety of the shuttle program. Jane, how complicated must all those emotions be today? WOLCOTT: Well, I feel like NASA will be on top of this. There is a system in place now, after challenger, everybody was so shocked over that, and they just thought, What can we do? They will -- NASA officials will take care of finding out the problem and fixing it, and as the families have said, much as we said, we wanted the space program to continue safely. And there is a lot of emotion going on.

ZAHN: Yes. They released a very powerful statement yesterday saying that that is the legacy of their lost loved ones.

Alison, you and your brother were teenagers at the time that you lost your own father in the Challenger disaster. What advice could you give to the young children who lost their moms and dads on this mission?

BALCH: I could talk to you all day about that. I think that there is so much they're going to have to deal with. It's just terrible. But I think about my father, and it is very confusing to watch the world grieve your parent as the pilot of space shuttle Challenger or Columbia, and my dad was my dad, that's how I always knew him. He took us water skiing, he kissed my mom in the kitchen, he helped us mow lawns. And I just would tell them to remember the simple things about their parent, remember how much they loved them, what they talked about, what they taught them about living life, because these children are really going to be the legacy of these astronauts, because they are first and foremost parents.

ZAHN: Jane, a final thought on legacy of this crew?

WOLCOTT: Of this crew, we are, as a nation, so proud of accomplishments, we are proud of their early beginnings as children who sought to seek a higher understanding of life, and they did it for all of us, for all of the American people, for all of the people around the world. These astronauts were unique, each one in themselves, unique individuals, and we were proud.

ZAHN: Well, we thank you both for inspiring us this morning on a very tough day ahead that the two of you face. Jane Smith Wolcott and Alison Balch, we very much appreciate your dropping by AMERICAN MORNING.

WOLCOTT: Thank you.

BALCH: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com