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CNN Saturday Morning News

Reports on Expected Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery; Violence Continues in Iraq

Aired July 01, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, a car bomb explosion in Baghdad today has killed more than 60 people and injured dozens more. We'll have a live report just ahead.
NASA is getting ready for its first shuttle launch in almost a year. Here is a live picture. And forecasters say there is a 60 percent chance the weather will cooperate. We're going to go live to the Kennedy Space Center to speak with Miles O'Brien in just a little bit.

Just one day after the latest purported message from Osama bin Laden, an Islamic Web site claims a new tape from the al Qaeda leader is on its way. Yesterday's tape mourned the death of al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The next one is supposed to deal with Somalia as well as Iraq.

Doctors say Vice President Dick Cheney's heart is stable and his pacemaker is working properly. Cheney had his annual physical this morning at George Washington University Medical Center. It took about three hours. The he left without speaking to reporters.

President Bush says the key to resolving the current Middle East crisis is freeing the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants a week ago. The White House says the president offered that assessment during a phone conversation today with Turkey's prime minister.

Well, good morning, everybody.

It is Saturday, July 1st, the 4th of July weekend, a holiday weekend and a big day for NASA.

From the CNN Center right here in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris.

Thank you for joining us this morning.

The first space shuttle mission in almost a year is scheduled to begin in less than five hours.

Will it be a go? Is it safe? We'll check with space correspondent Miles O'Brien in a moment.

River levels are finally going down in the Northeast, but wait until you see the cleanup job. And the Tour de France begins without some of cycling's biggest stars. Who's missing and why? We'll have, well, excuse the expression, the straight dope.

NGUYEN: Oh.

HARRIS: But first -- sorry.

Less than five hours to lift-off and counting. The Shuttle Discovery is on the launch pad being juiced up. People at the Kennedy Space Center are getting pumped up for today's big launch.

Let's go live to our Miles O'Brien -- Miles, good morning.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You're looking at live pictures right now of the close out crew. They wear orange jump suits so that they're well easily locatable. There you see a black and white engineering cameras. You notice they have numbers, too, so they can keep track of them as they're up there.

That's a fully fueled space shuttle -- 500,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen. About the explosive power of a small nuclear device, so you don't want to mess around.

And what they're doing is looking very closely at what the impact of that very cold fuel is on the 185-foot shuttle stack. The concern is, of course, ice, primarily. But there are also other things that -- I remember a launch not too long ago where one tiny little pin which was supposed to keep a gate in place was lodged on the external fuel tank and the mission got scrubbed on account of that.

So they are -- they go over these space shuttles from stem to stern to make sure they're fit to fly.

One of the things that engineers are looking at is something that these guys can't do much about, and that are the very, very tiny jets, the 24-pound thrusters called Vernier jets. The typical thrusters on the shuttle, the main thrusters, are 800 pounds, to give you some perspective. For subtle maneuvering, the left rear one has a bulk thermometer or heater and they're trying to decide right now if they can fly without that Vernier thruster.

Eileen Collins is a former shuttle commander, the first woman to have that role. And she's been talking to some people around here. The sense is they're trying to come to a rationale, get comfortable, as they say, with the notion of flying without this. It might actually end up working once they get into orbit anyway, right?

EILEEN COLLINS, FORMER SHUTTLE COMMANDER: That's right. There's actually enough redundancy back there. In fact, the crew has control of switches in the up cockpit for the A and B heaters. There is enough redundancy there. We do have redundancy in the jets, also. So there are options.

We could fly without them and we could have just a perfectly fine mission. Flying without them is going to cause a little more fuel use. So that's one of the concerns that the mission managers will have to look at.

O'BRIEN: And one of the things that will come into play here is that optional third space walk. The decision on whether to do that toward the end of the mission will be based on how much fuel they have left on board, right?

COLLINS: Right. It will be based on how much fuel, as well as how much cryogenics that provide power to the electrical system. If we have enough, we'll be able to go another day.

O'BRIEN: All right.

Now, let's take a look at that this close out crew and talk a little bit about -- more about they do down there.

This is, you know, nothing to mess around with when you're beside a fueled rocket. You're the kind of person who was strapped into one, so you can attest to that fact.

As you look down there -- let's get a little bit of sense of scale here. What we're looking at there -- by the way, that is liquid hydrogen, correct, that is still -- that is boiling off there? Is that correct to say? Enough, at the base there of one of the main engines?

COLLINS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Yes?

COLLINS: That's used for thermal control around the main engines. And we'll continue to do that until just a few minutes before launch, when we stop the recycling.

O'BRIEN: All right. And what they're doing, they have -- they're putting on some, I guess they have devices which are there to detect small leaks that they wouldn't be able to necessarily see otherwise, correct?

COLLINS: Right. A hydrogen leak would be very serious. Obviously, hydrogen is very volatile, I would say, and they're also looking at the potential for ice. There is an ice team that goes out and they look at very specific area. You cannot have an ice buildup because, of course, on the launch, if ice fell off, it could cause a debris hazard. It could hit the shuttle and cause damage.

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's a big solid rocket booster there, just to give you a sense of the scale.

There's nothing quite like being on the base of that mobile launch platform and seeing a space shuttle up above u. It really gives you a sense of the power that is there.

COLLINS: Well, when the crew goes out to strap in, they're going to look up at the shuttle and it's going to be like a living, breathing machine. You hear the hissing sound. You see the fog coming out. And you realize you're going to strap into this machine and you're going to go flying in space.

It's a pretty awesome feeling.

O'BRIEN: It's a machine. It's also kind of like a beast, isn't it? You're riding a wild animal, in a sense, aren't you?

COLLINS: Yes, and we -- it's a very controlled -- we call it a controlled explosion. It's six-and-a-half million pounds of thrust that's launching you up there and five-and-a-half million pounds of weight.

O'BRIEN: As they do their job here, they're looking for ice, they're looking for debris, that sort of thing, they report back to launch control and they will not launch until they get a clean bill of health from this close out crew, correct?

COLLINS: You cannot hit any ice buildup on the external tank or anywhere around the shuttle. You can have frost. Frost wouldn't be an issue today because, you know, obviously the weather is hot enough here. But it's so humid down here that the humidity in the air can condense on to the tank and if we're at minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit inside that external tank, which could cause the ice buildup. That's why we have the foam, is to prevent the ice from falling.

O'BRIEN: All right, let's get a piece of the foam here. I think we have a piece over there. We can show you -- people what we're talking about here. This is -- this is the famous foam which, when it is sprayed on at the Michoud facility in New Orleans, is this color of white. It turns rusty orange in the ultraviolet sunlight. And I wish you could feel it, it's so incredibly light.

But what this does is crucial, because if it wasn't on there, that super cold liquid hydrogen, the coldest substance we know on Earth, would -- it would be a giant shuttle popsicle and that would be a big problem.

So the foam has a very crucial role to play. A lot of people say well, why don't you just get rid of it, you wouldn't have a problem with the debris. You'd have a much bigger problem if you didn't have it.

COLLINS: Well, true. The foam is an insulator. And the piece you're holding here might weigh an ounce.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

COLLINS: It's like the picnic containers that you take out on the 4th of July to hold your beverages. It's a good insulator. But it is very light. But if lost a piece of this foam on ascent, the shuttle is going fast enough that if it came off the tank and hit the shuttle, it could be, you know, a relative speed of 700 miles an hour, which could cause some damage.

O'BRIEN: Well, and that was -- the assumption was, for years and years, this can't be a serious risk, until somebody actually did the mathematics and said, you know, 700 miles an hour, light as it is, on a fragile specific such as the space shuttle, can cause some serious damage.

We were talking earlier about how the design of this shuttle has created some problems. The future generation, the next generation vehicle, won't put the people and the re-entry craft below anything that could shed debris. It will be at the top of the stack, right?

COLLINS: Right. Back in the Apollo days, the heat shield, or the thermo control shield, was all the way up on the top of the Saturn V and it was protected. That's what we're -- the type of design that we'll be using when we go back to the moon.

Now, the shuttle system, your re-entry, well, let's see, your thermal control system or your tiles are exposed to this potential falling foam or falling ice, which is why the foam is so important. You've got to have it. You cannot get rid of the foam. You just need to design it in such a way that it won't fall off. And that's been an ongoing problem, an ongoing work in process at NASA.

O'BRIEN: Eileen Collins, thank you very much.

A 60 percent chance go for launch on account of weather. Still trying to work out that small thruster problem, thermometer or heater issue. NASA trying to get comfortable with flying without it operating. They, we are told they're sort of headed in that direction.

So we'll keep you posted from here -- Tony and Betty.

HARRIS: Boy, Miles, Eileen, that's great stuff.

We appreciate it.

Thank you.

NGUYEN: Yes, a lot to be worked out in four hours and 40 minutes, including the weather outside. You saw those clouds surrounding the launch pad there -- Reynolds Wolf, what's the verdict?

Are you seeing any signs that it may be A-OK for launch?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, as Miles said, there is a 60 percent chance that the weather is going to cooperate to help with that launch. But, see, the climate of Central Florida is that you have that sea breeze that kicks in. You have the daytime heating. And at this time of the year, around 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, you have the showers and the storms that do form.

Now, Miles also mentioned earlier this morning what you need is about a 20 mile circle around the Cape for, a nice window, if you will, for the launch. And it looks like, again, we have a 60 percent chance that the weather is going to cooperate.

Otherwise, we do have that possibility of thunderstorms. High temperature only 82 degrees. The launch expected at 3:49 if all goes well.

That is the latest on your forecast.

We're going to take a look at your travel weather here on Earth coming up in just a few moments.

Let's send it back to you downstairs.

NGUYEN: Oh, back to those here on Earth.

HARRIS: Reynolds, thank you.

NGUYEN: I like that.

WOLF: There you go. Not the up in space folks, but also what's happening here.

NGUYEN: Yes, especially on this holiday weekend. You know a lot of folks will be traveling, so they'll be interested in that.

Thank you, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

HARRIS: Just a reminder. Be sure to join CNN for live coverage of today's launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery. It begins at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. That's 12:00 Pacific.

NGUYEN: It is the bloodiest attack in Iraq in almost three months. A car bomb exploded in a Baghdad market, killing 62 people and wounding more than 100 others.

CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us with the latest -- Nic, it's been a bloody day.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been a very bloody day, Betty.

The police say that the bomb went off when the market was crowded at 10:00 in the morning. The police say that the roadside bomb, built into a car, was designed to target an Iraqi police patrol passing through that market area.

Now, this has all the hallmarks of the sectarian attack. The area is a Shia area. It's on the northeast side of Baghdad. Sadr City is home to about two million people, the vast majority Shia Muslims. The police patrol passing through that area almost undoubtedly, without any shadow of a doubt, Shia Muslim policemen in vehicles. So the targets were all Shia Muslims.

So this very much has the hallmarks of a sectarian attack -- Betty.

NGUYEN: OK. So along with these 62 people that have been killed, what, 100 others wounded, then you have this kidnapping of a Sunni member of the Iraqi parliament.

What happened there? HARRIS: Well, in a neighborhood not far away, a Sunni politician, Tayseer Mashhadani, was traveling to Baghdad for a meeting. She was traveling in a convoy -- two vehicles with eight armed guards. She had just gone through a police checkpoint, according to her colleagues, when her vehicles were surrounded by gunmen.

The gunmen stopped the vehicles, kidnapped her and all the guards. At this stage, police do not know where she is. Her colleagues are appealing for her release.

She is a relatively young parliamentarian, just born in 1973. She is from a moderate Sunni party. She's from an area just north of Baghdad. Not somebody with a particularly high profile.

But this is what we've seen over the past year or so here, parliamentarians being targeted for kidnapping and assassination in this way -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Nic Robertson following all of the developments in Iraq today for us.

Thank you for that. A very busy day.

And there will be a public memorial service in Redmond, Oregon later today for Private First Class Thomas Tucker. Tucker was one of two soldiers abducted by insurgents in Iraq last month, then tortured and killed.

The other soldier, Private First Class Kristian Manchaca, was buried in Texas on Wednesday.

Later today on CNN, can Iraq come together in peace?

We'll get analysis from Baghdad, Washington and around the world.

Join John Roberts for "A WEEK AT WAR," 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 p.m. Pacific.

HARRIS: Well, the water receding and now there's a bunch of muck to clean up.

Live to the Northeast flood zone.

Plus, look out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're impossible to see. I had my high beams on and I was -- you were constantly scanned. They were from this shoulder to the road to the shoulder to the road.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Look what a half ton moose can do to you and your car.

NGUYEN: Wow!

Oh, my.

HARRIS: Man, we look at the big hidden danger on the highway.

NGUYEN: And the Tour de France sans Lance. Cycling's premier race rolls. The field? Well, just wide open. Our guest is ahead to tell you about what all has happened. A lot of developments there.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The top stories now.

Less than five hours to go and Shuttle Discovery is ready. But storm clouds could keep it grounded. This launch is going ahead despite concerns inside NASA. Two top managers say safety issues that doomed Columbia haven't been fixed.

CNN plans live launch coverage beginning at 3:00 Eastern.

Carnage in Iraq -- Baghdad police say a car bomb exploded at a busy market today. The blast killed more than 60 people. Police believe an Iraqi police patrol was the intended target of the bomb.

And Osama bin Laden may have more to say today. An Arab language Web site says an audio message from the al Qaeda leader will be posted soon. Now, just yesterday bin Laden mourned Iraqi insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, killed recently in a U.S. air strike.

NGUYEN: Well, across waterlogged parts of the Northeast and Mid- Atlantic today, plenty of people are spending the holiday weekend with a shovel or a mop.

Jason Carroll joins me in Trenton, New Jersey this morning, where the Delaware River is falling and the flood cleanup will soon gear up.

Not the way people want to spend their 4th of July weekend, but I think a lot of folks, Jason, will just be happy to be back in their own homes.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think so. I think you're absolutely right, at least from the people that we spoke to.

They've been watching, also, the Delaware River very closely. So have we. It's water levels have been dropping about two feet every 12 hours. One of the areas most affected by the flooding out here has been an area called Glenafton. That's located near downtown Trenton.

That area was under several feet of water and the water there, Betty, receded very slowly, unlike some other areas, like Wilkes- Barre, Pennsylvania, where we were earlier this week, where the water seemed to recede very quickly.

Not the case in Glenafton, where the water seems to be -- it took much longer for the water to recede.

More than 1,000 people in this area of Trenton had to be evacuated. We spoke to one of the emergency crews about what it's like to deal with all of those people who had to be evacuated who want to come home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN BARYLA, CEDAR BRIDGE MILITARY ACADEMY: I guess the toughest part about this is when you get out of the area and the residents want to know from you what does my home look like? And they're giving you house numbers. Are my cats alive? You know, and you have to be compassionate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: At this point, most of the water in that area of Glenafton has receded.

So the next question is when can the people get back to their homes?

We're told that's going to probably be the July 4th holiday -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Just in time. I don't think there will be many barbecuing going on.

HARRIS: No. No, no.

NGUYEN: Lots of cleanup. Boy, folks have a lot on their hands.

Thank you, Jason.

HARRIS: Well, more than three years ago now, foam fell off a fuel tank and doomed the Space Shuttle Columbia. As the countdown continues for today's launch of Discovery, we'll look at what's being done to private a similar disaster.

NGUYEN: And Lance Armstrong won it seven times.

Could another American now win the Tour de France?

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: Yes, well, hey, Tony...

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: ... some experts actually agree with you, believe it or not. We'll explain, after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Officially, it is the Tour de France. But this year you could call it the tour without Lance. For the past seven years, the winner, as you know, has been American Lance Armstrong. The race got started today without Armstrong.

"Outside" magazine asks on the cover of their new issue -- "Lance Who?"

John Bradley of "Outside" joins me.

And, John, yesterday some of the biggest names in cycling were thrown out of the race, accused of doping.

Give us a rundown.

Who were there and what does that mean to this race?

JOHN BRADLEY, "OUTSIDE" MAGAZINE: They were far and away the biggest names in cycling. And it really means that the race -- I mean the race is already pretty wide open with Lance gone. But now, you know, honestly, there's a really good chance that Americans could sweep the podium.

HARRIS: Could sweep?

BRADLEY: Could sweep, yes.

HARRIS: Oh.

BRADLEY: Yes, you know, Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, who are the two favorites, Italian Basso and German Ullrich, are both out in the biggest doping scandal ever to hit the sport. And right behind them is a whole squad of Americans who really could now dominate this race.

HARRIS: Hey, you know what, John? Help us understand the scope of this scandal. Because I think we understand doping scandals. When we think of it here, we think of BALCO and everything associated with that scandal.

Where does this rate when comparing it to something like BALCO, something that we all understand?

BRADLEY: Well, this would be like if BALCO had ensnared not just Barry Bonds, but, say, Derrick Jeter and A-Rod and Roger Clemens and several other big names in the sport, and that baseball had actually gotten serious about its doping problem and had kicked them all out of the sport.

HARRIS: Wow! That's huge.

OK, that helps us.

BRADLEY: Yes, it's that big.

HARRIS: Well, why is it that these riders continue to run-this risk of this kind of embarrassment -- personal and professional embarrassment -- to dope? BRADLEY: Well, I think the assumption at this point in cycling, which has a pretty intractable drug problem, is that everybody else is doing it, so if you don't do it, you can't compete. And you speak about the risk, but what these guys were -- well, they weren't even caught. They're just under investigation is why they were kicked out.

But the whole investigation is about blood doping, which is actually re-injecting blood that's been extracted earlier to boost the body's oxygen carrying capacity. And it's undetectable. These guys were caught in a sting operation. There were, you know, photographs of them walking into this apartment where this ring has been operating out of.

So the sting is a new operation for the authorities. And before that it was just testing. And what they've been caught with is really undetectable in testing.

HARRIS: I've got you.

So, why -- you mentioned intractable.

Why is this so intractable to this sport?

BRADLEY: Well, I mean I think a lot of it is that a lot of the techniques that people are using now are completely undetectable. There's no testing for re-injecting your own blood. It's just not going to show up in anything. So when you look at what this sport demands of athletes, I mean it's, by far, the most grueling sport on the planet. And under those demands and with the payoffs, I mean you look at, you know, what happened to Lance Armstrong. He's a worldwide hero. And if you look at the payoffs compared to the very slim chances of getting caught, you know, it kind of makes sense with these guys.

I mean it doesn't -- not to legitimize it, but you can understand what's going on in their heads.

HARRIS: Lance is not in any way being implicated at all in this scandal, is he?

BRADLEY: No, not in this one. Not at all. The only American caught up in this one is Tyler Hamilton, who was already serving a two year suspension for blood doping.

HARRIS: Hey, John, good to see you.

Thanks for taking the time.

BRADLEY: Thanks a lot.

HARRIS: OK -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, as we wait for today's blast off of the Shuttle Discovery, a lot of people wonder if it is safe to launch. We're going to take a look at those concerns ahead. And before there was NASCAR they raced on dirt. Yes. And they still do. Thirty million fans a year watch this sport. We'll explain the attraction ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Now in the news, more bloodshed in Baghdad. A car bomb kills at least 62 people and wounds 114. That blast happened this morning near a popular outdoor market. Now, it is believed to have targeted a police patrol.

All systems still go. The Shuttle Discovery is being prepared for today's launch. Forecasters at the Kennedy Space Center say that is now a 60 percent chance of a lift-off.

You can watch it live right here on CNN, 3:39 p.m. Eastern, to be exact.

HARRIS: Another message from Osama bin Laden is reportedly coming. That's the word today from an Arab language Web site. It says this time the terrorist leader will address the Mujahedeen in Iraq and Somalia. It will be his fifth statement this year. One was posted just yesterday. It was a eulogy to slain terrorist mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says the Supreme Court has hampered the administration's ability to use a key anti-terror tool. His remarks today were in response to the court's ruling on military trials for detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

And it's apparently a good checkup day for Vice President Dick Cheney. Results have just been released from his annual physical in Washington. Doctors say the V.P.'s high tech pacemaker is working properly and his overall heart condition is stable. Cheney has a long history of heart problems.

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