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American Morning
Memorial Service for Columbia Seven to be Held at Kennedy Space Center
Aired February 07, 2003 - 06:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Just under two hours from now, NASA workers involved in the launch of the space shuttle Columbia will honor the seven astronauts who lost their lives.
A memorial service is being held at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and that's where Gary Tuchman is. Let's take you live there now.
Gary -- good morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning to you.
And behind me is runway 3-3, where the space shuttle Columbia was supposed to land this past Saturday. Instead, thousands of NASA employees and dignitaries will be literally standing on the runway to honor the seven astronauts who died.
A memorial service will begin at 8:15 Eastern Time this morning. It will continue precisely for one hour and one minute, until 9:16 a.m., the exact time the space shuttle was supposed to land. At that point, there will be a missing man formation fly-over over the runway, NASA T-38 aircraft, those are the airplanes the astronauts fly on from Houston to the Kennedy Space center to participate in their missions.
Speaking at the memorial service, which will be the third one this week -- there's been one in Houston, one in Washington yesterday and now here at the Kennedy Space Center -- will be the NASA administrator, Sean O'Keefe. Also Captain Robert Crippen. He was the first pilot of the Columbia in the first space shuttle mission on April 12, 1981. Florida Governor Jeb Bush will also be speaking.
Participating in the ceremony will be Florida Senator Bill Nelson. When he was a congressman, he flew aboard the Columbia. Ironically, it was the last mission before the explosion on the space shuttle Challenger.
:"Taps" will be played before the fly-over. It will be a very emotional moment. A lot of people here have been working in disbelief over the last several days. Reality will hit during this ceremony today.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Oh, well, I'm sure it will. Gary Tuchman, many thanks to 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
Space Center>
Aired February 7, 2003 - 06:38 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Just under two hours from now, NASA workers involved in the launch of the space shuttle Columbia will honor the seven astronauts who lost their lives.
A memorial service is being held at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and that's where Gary Tuchman is. Let's take you live there now.
Gary -- good morning.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning to you.
And behind me is runway 3-3, where the space shuttle Columbia was supposed to land this past Saturday. Instead, thousands of NASA employees and dignitaries will be literally standing on the runway to honor the seven astronauts who died.
A memorial service will begin at 8:15 Eastern Time this morning. It will continue precisely for one hour and one minute, until 9:16 a.m., the exact time the space shuttle was supposed to land. At that point, there will be a missing man formation fly-over over the runway, NASA T-38 aircraft, those are the airplanes the astronauts fly on from Houston to the Kennedy Space center to participate in their missions.
Speaking at the memorial service, which will be the third one this week -- there's been one in Houston, one in Washington yesterday and now here at the Kennedy Space Center -- will be the NASA administrator, Sean O'Keefe. Also Captain Robert Crippen. He was the first pilot of the Columbia in the first space shuttle mission on April 12, 1981. Florida Governor Jeb Bush will also be speaking.
Participating in the ceremony will be Florida Senator Bill Nelson. When he was a congressman, he flew aboard the Columbia. Ironically, it was the last mission before the explosion on the space shuttle Challenger.
:"Taps" will be played before the fly-over. It will be a very emotional moment. A lot of people here have been working in disbelief over the last several days. Reality will hit during this ceremony today.
Carol -- back to you.
COSTELLO: Oh, well, I'm sure it will. Gary Tuchman, many thanks to 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
Space Center>
