Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Tropical Storm Florence Heads Towards Bermuda; Space Shuttle Atlantis Has Taken Off; Ralph "Buck" Phillips Caught; Margaret Spellings Interview
Aired September 09, 2006 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And here we go. Is the fifth time the charm?
You are looking at live picture of the space shuttle in Florida. Two hours ago, the crew buckled into the Atlantis. There they are walking out, waving to the crowd. Right now it's T minus 15 minutes and counting. And it looks like, so far, it's going to be a go.
It is Saturday, September 9th.
Good morning from the CNN Center in Atlanta.
I'm Rick Sanchez.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everybody.
I'm Betty Nguyen.
All right, set your clocks. Look at the countdown. Watch right there. Just minutes now from the Space Shuttle Atlantis, and it could be headed skyward. After four delays, NASA is trying again.
CNN technology correspondent, Daniel Sieberg, is watching and waiting at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida -- and, you know, Daniel, we would have heard by now if this thing wasn't a go. So pretty much we're all looking to the sky.
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're hanging by a thread here.
It's all come down to this -- the weather forecast is holding at this point. But, you know, anything can happen right up until the last couple of seconds before launch. So we're sort of holding our breath here, waiting and seeing what will happen.
They are reporting no technical glitches that they have been expecting over the last couple of weeks. We can give you a rundown of what the astronauts have been going through over the last few hours.
They walked out through a cheering crowd of some friends and family and some folks here at Kennedy Space Center. They got on board the silver AstroVan, made their way to Launch Pad 39B, went up to that 195-foot level, got strapped in, all six astronauts, five men and one woman, who are now sitting there, waiting to hear the final count to go ahead for launch. And the important thing we're going to be talking about is, of course, the mission itself. We have talked about this in the past, they're meeting up with the International Space Station. And that is, of course, what they are hoping to do a part of this mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And lift-off of the Space Shuttle Discovery.
SIEBERG (voice-over): July's shuttle mission was about getting back to the business of flying and flying safely. NASA, sticking another toe in the water since the loss of Columbia three-and-a-half years ago. Now, astronauts say they're ready to get back to work.
BRENT JETT, COMMANDER, SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS: Will my guard ever be let down? Personally, no. But it will be great to get back to space station construction. And from that sense, I think we are back.
SIEBERG: Atlantis, which first flew in 1985, is gearing up for its 27th launch. The mission? To resume construction of the International Space Station after a nearly four year hiatus.
HEIDEMARIE STEFANYSHYN-PIPER, MISSION SPECIALIST: I couldn't have asked for a better group, a better team to be assigned with. And it's really just going to be like I'm up there with four brothers. You know, we're on a family trip and we're just going to bring a piece of furniture to the space station.
SIEBERG: Atlantis will carry to space one of the heaviest loads any shuttle has ever had -- a 17-1/2 ton truss, which will become part of the space station's girder like skeleton -- and a new set of solar arrays are the key elements in the shuttle's payload.
Unfurled, the massive solar panels will be just 20 yards shy of a football field. They'll provide the necessary power for future station editions, science modules from Europe and Japan.
DAN BURBANK, MISSION SPECIALIST, SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS:
It's a big payload. It's 17-1/2 tons of hardware and it's got fairly tight clearances between the payload itself and the normal attach mechanisms that we have forward in the payload bank. We're going to use the shuttle's robotic arm to do this. This will be Chris Ferguson and myself. And we'll do this right after docking.
SIEBERG: Atlantis will hook up with the space station on day three of the 11-day mission. Then crews will begin the complex work of installing the truss, involving robotic arms and three scheduled space walks. Mission specialists Joe Tanner and Heide Stefanyshyn- Piper will perform space walks one and three, the second extra- vehicular activity will be conducted by Steve MacLean and Dan Burbank.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG: And just moments ago, we heard Flight Director Mike Leinbach polling his team in the Firing Room Number 4 as a go or a no go for launch.
They are a go. You were listening in to them as he polled the room there; also talked to the commander, Brent Jett. And you can see them there in Firing Room 4. Commander -- or Flight Director Mike Leinbach there with the white shirt and the tie.
And if we can go now to that poll itself, we've got some video from just a few moments ago.
MIKE LEINBACH, FLIGHT DIRECTOR: OK, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have reports that appears to be an improving situation at the shuttle landing facility. It appears to be less than our ceiling constraints.
LEINBACH: PTC?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: PTC is go.
LEINBACH: LTS?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: LTS go.
LEINBACH: Houston flight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houston flight is go.
LEINBACH: MILA?
Stand by. Let's go for launch. SCM.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SCM is go.
LEINBACH: Safety council?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Safety, go.
LEINBACH: SPE?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: SPE, go.
LEINBACH: LRD?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: LRD is go.
LEINBACH: SRO?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SRO is go.
You have range crew to launch.
LEINBACH: And CDR?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: CDR is go.
LEINBACH: Copy. And launch director entity, the launch team is ready to proceed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I copy that and I'll do my poll at this time.
Chief engineer, verify no constraints to launch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Charlie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: KFC safety emission assurance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: KFC SNMA is go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Lana.
Payload launch manager?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike, the space station team for the is looking forward to getting back in here September to do the launch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy that, Bill.
Thank you.
Range weather?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Weather has no constraints to launch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy.
Thank you.
And ops manager?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Launch director ops manager. This management team is not working on the issues (ph).
Mike, it's a good day to fly.
You're clear to launch.
LEINBACH: Copy.
Thank you.
Atlantis, launch director.
BRENT JETT, COMMANDER, SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS: Go ahead, launch director.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Brent, it looks like your long wait is over and both for you, Fergie, Joe T. Dan, Steve and Zena, we wish you all the best of luck in the world. Godspeed and we'll see you back here in about two weeks.
JETT: Thanks, Mike.
We appreciate those words and the effort to make this launch window. You know, by our account, it's been almost four years to return to flight missions, a tremendous amount of work by thousands of individuals to get the shuttle program back to where we are right now. And that's on the verge of restoring the station assembly sequence.
What will happen is that over the next few weeks and few years, for that matter, that NASA is going to prove to our nation, our partners and our friends around the world that it was worth the wait and the sacrifice. We're ready to get to work.
SIEBERG: That was Commander Brent Jett talking there to Flight Director Mike Leinbach.
This is a very tightly knit crew who has been training for more than four-and-a-half years for this mission to go up to the International Space Station. They've worked through a number of technical problems over the last couple of weeks. They are now in the terminal count, which is the T minus nine countdown. So we are really getting close to the launch now. It is coming down to the final few minutes. And when we come back, Betty, I will be joined by Miles O'Brien and we will talk about the launch itself and what lies ahead.
NGUYEN: Well, this definitely is an exciting time as we watch that clock count down. We've just a little over eight minutes to go and we are waiting anxiously.
Thank you, Daniel.
We'll be checking with you shortly.
We want to give you a live look, though, at the space shuttle in Florida lifting off just moments from now. There it is. What a beautiful sight.
We are bringing you live coverage of this launch, so stick around for that.
SANCHEZ: It's interesting listening to that roll call. It's almost like they're going through and everyone is giving their two cents on how they expect this thing is going to work perfectly well. And so far all of them sounded extremely confident.
This is going to be fun-to watch.
By the way, we're also keeping tabs on this story. A fugitive captured last night. Now, it's his day in court. It could come any time. We'll take you there when it happens.
NGUYEN: And school bells -- they may be ringing. But are your children learning?
I'm going to ask the U.S. education secretary and hear what she has to say, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And there you go, one of the pictures we haven't been able to show you. This is a little up close shot. You see it right there, from up where the astronauts are going to be. And you see it starting to pull away now, which means we'll be able to see a whole lot of the activity going on there.
We did, just moments ago, by the way, see, as the astronauts were actually going into the area where they're going to be. In fact, we were talking about how incredibly confined it looked as they were trying to get into that area to see if they can get that shot.
This is a very important shuttle. It's a trip that's going to take this shuttle into the area where the International Space Station is. You know, International Space Station scheduled to retire in 2010. You heard one of the flight specialists say well, we're really up there going to take some furniture. Actually, they're going to be doing a little bit more than that. They're going to be...
NGUYEN: It's a little more technical than that, isn't it?
SANCHEZ: Yes, it is, as a matter of fact. And they're going to be doing something that's very important. And most important, I suppose, is for people who watch the shuttle program is to get another shuttle launch off safely and effectively, which seems to be like what they're trying to do.
NGUYEN: Yes, and safety is the key word here. We've been watching, and, as you know, this has been delayed for quite some time due to some technical difficulties; also due to the weather outside.
Today, the weather looks like it is going to cooperate. And you're looking at that clock right now. We're just five minutes away from lift-off.
Let's bring in now CNN's Daniel Sieberg at the site there in Florida to talk about today's shuttle mission and what it means and the importance of this -- Daniel, quite a sight to see.
But, more importantly, they've got a job to do.
SIEBERG: They certainly do.
Yes, good morning, Betty.
The weather here is cooperating so far. We are looking at a green condition or a go for launch. And at this point, I want to bring in Miles O'Brien, anchor from CNN's AMERICAN MORNING, as well as our space and aviation guru -- Miles, if you were a betting man, are we looking to go this morning?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you know, you never bet on these things, because there's all -- you know, with a million parts all done by the lowest bidder, there's a lot of things that can go wrong between here and there. But take a look at that beautiful picture there, a picture perfect day. The wind just barely whispering. You can see, at the top, the liquid oxygen gas spilling off of that, gaseous oxygen vent hood. And then -- whoa, that was a NASA camera there. We apologize for that.
And then at the bottom, the liquid, the gaseous hydrogen venting out, barely moving a bit. There you can see probably some close-up pictures there of the shuttle on the launch pad.
This is the first construction mission to the International Space Station since we lost Columbia in February 2003. This crew has an incredibly difficult task ahead of them.
At the helm is...
SIEBERG: Yes, let's talk about the crew.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
At the helm is...
SIEBERG: Yes, absolutely, Miles.
Let's get into it some.
O'BRIEN: Commander Brent Jett is at the helm. And it's interesting, the last time he flew, he flew SDS97 back in December of 2000 and did a very similar mission on board the Space Shuttle Endeavor, where they delivered a solar array and truss to the International Space Station, which is what is going on precisely in this mission.
This is his fourth flight. First in his class at Annapolis, this guy is, you know, the right stuff kind of guy.
SIEBERG: Yes, and from a veteran to a rookie with the pilot who's sitting to his right. That would be Chris Ferguson. An interesting little tidbit about Chris Ferguson. He is -- he is a drummer in a rock and roll band called Max Q. And I think he was hoping to bring up some drumsticks on board, but was unable to. But he is the pilot on this mission and this is mission. It is his first time up there. He will be working the right side of the shuttle on their way up.
O'BRIEN: All right, we've got about three minutes to launch now. Max Q, of course, refers to the moment during lift-off when the orbiter encounters its highest aerodynamic pressure, so a little astronaut joke there.
Joe Tanner is a veteran. This is his fourth flight. He last flew with Brent Jett as commander on SDS97 to that space station mission. He has a lot of experience as a space walker. He was on one of the Hubble repair missions, conducted a couple of space walks there. Married with a couple of kids. And a true veteran in this mission. SIEBERG: Yes, affectionately known as "papa," I think, by the crew. He's age 56.
There's also a woman going up on this flight. She will be the sixth U.S. woman to perform a space walk. Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper. She talked about having a teenaged son who thinks that's pretty cool that mom is going up.
She is a rookie. This is her first mission. She's also a diver, so that, she has said, is going to help her with some of these rather complex space walks. And she's got two of them planned with Joe Tanner.
O'BRIEN: Her parents emigrated from the Ukraine and Germany to the United States.
Dan Burbank is also on this mission. Dan Burbank is the only member of the United States Coast Guard ever to fly in space. He went to the Coast Guard academy.
And we're about two minutes away from launch.
He has logged over 3, 500 hours flying Coast Guard rescue helicopters, including a rescue mission in the famous perfect storm, which was memorialized in a book and movie. And 300 search and rescue missions. He flew on STS106. That was also aboard Atlantis, back in September of 2000. That was also a mission to the space station.
And now I'm going to let you do the Canadian, Dan, because I know that's important to you.
SIEBERG: Yes.
Right.
Full disclosure, I am Canadian and all of Canada will be watching with Steve MacLean. He will actually be the first Canadian astronaut to use the Canada arm, or the robotic arm that's part of the shuttle and part of the International Space Station. He has been up once before. He's affectionately known as the professor, sort of a quiet guy, but a very smart guy and all of Canada will be watching him as we go up.
And, Miles, as you pointed out, we're getting very close here -- about a minute or so left.
At this point, you figure the astronauts actually think this is going to happen.
What's sort of going through their mind right now?
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, they are constantly going through a checklist right now. And it's a moment by moment thing. I've talked to many astronauts who say the closer you get to launch, the more you live not just in the moment, but in the second.
And what they're doing right now is probably getting a few butterflies, as you would before you go out on a stage, if you will.
But at this point, it's checklists and going -- and remembering the astronaut creed and prayer: "Dear lord, please don't let me be the one to screw up."
SIEBERG: Right.
And now the on board computers or the control has been switched over to the shuttle, at this point, Miles?
O'BRIEN: Yes. That is exactly at this moment right now.
It just happened.
SIEBERG: OK.
So we're getting close now, at about T minus six-and-a-half seconds or so. The main engines will start at this point. The crew has closed the visors on their helmets. They are strapped in. They are preparing to go.
Let's listen in now to the Kennedy Space Center commentator, George Diller, as he counts down the final few seconds before launch.
GEORGE DILLER, NASA: ... six, five -- three main engines up and burning.
Two, one, and lift-off of Space Shuttle Atlantis, opening a new chapter in the completion of the International Space Station for the collaboration of nations in space.
(VIDEO FOOTAGE OF SHUTTLE LIFTING OFF)
JETT: Roger, go.
Atlantis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Houston is now controlling. Roll maneuver is underway. Atlantis is heading into a heads down position on course for a 51.6 degree, a 137 by 36 statute mile orbit.
(VIDEO FOOTAGE OF SHUTTLE LIFTING OFF)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atlantis already two miles down range from the Kennedy Space Center, at an altitude of 2.8 statute miles.
(VIDEO FOOTAGE OF SHUTTLE LIFTING OFF)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Engines now at 72 percent, beginning to throttle back up as the vehicle passes through the area of maximum dynamic pressure.
(VIDEO FOOTAGE OF SHUTTLE LIFTING OFF)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atlantis, Houston.
Go at throttle up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy.
Go at throttle up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All three liquid fueled engines are back at full throttle.
(VIDEO FOOTAGE OF SHUTTLE LIFTING OFF)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A minute and 20 seconds into the flight. At lift-off, the fully fueled shuttle, boosters and external tank, weighed about four-and-a-half million pounds. It now has burnt half of that weight in propellant.
(VIDEO FOOTAGE OF SHUTTLE LIFTING OFF)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The solid rocket boosters are burning 11,000 pounds of propellant every second.
SIEBERG: We are just about 15 seconds away from the separation of the solid rocket boosters, a very critical point here in the launch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Standing by for first stage.
O'BRIEN: It is a critical point, Daniel, because up until this point, there is really no possibility of any sort of evasive or return capability for the crew. Once those solid rocket boosters come off at two minutes, five seconds -- right now. There you go. Watch them go off. Everybody breathes a sigh of relief. A lot of things can still happen, but the ride gets smoother and the options for the crew if something goes wrong increase dramatically.
SIEBERG: And those two solid rocket boosters continue upwards for some period of time. They will actually be recovered off the coast of Florida here when they actually return to the ocean. They have a satellite tracking system to retrieve them.
Miles, what's happening to the crew right at this point? Because obviously it's a very intense ride. Some forces at work on their bodies.
Are they just sort of hanging on at this point?
O'BRIEN: Yes. What's happening now is that they call this portion of the ascent the electric ride, if you will. It goes from bone rattling, filling, jarring ride on those solid rocket boosters, which just shake you around like crazy, through the atmosphere. And now they're up so high -- here they are at 48 miles in altitude. Things get very smooth and much quieter all of a sudden. And what happens from now on is they have a steadily increasing amount of G forces on them, up to a maximum of about three Gs, three times your weight here on the planet Earth.
So, that is -- I'm trying to listen to that call right now. But that's what's happening right now, steady pressure on them right now.
SIEBERG: Right. So the clock is now counting up toward about eight-and-a-half minutes, when they will get into orbit, break through the Earth's atmosphere. That is a very critical point.
Miles, it's like the first two minutes or the first two inches is the toughest part in terms of the preparation, just getting off the ground. This first eight-and-a-half minutes is essential in terms of safety and risk because of, as we've been hearing for so long, the potential for foam to come off, or debris, and hit the orbiter itself, as we, of course, learned after Columbia in 2003.
O'BRIEN: Yes. I've been looking at these pictures as closely as I can, Daniel. And these pictures are wonderful for us to experience this. But they really are there for the engineers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atlanta to Houston, negative return.
O'BRIEN: All right, negative return, that's an important thing. That's an -- as they gain altitude and speed and continue this ride into space, negative return is the point at which they will not be coming back to the Kennedy Space Center under any circumstances in the event of some kind of emergency.
All right, there's something wrong with...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... alpha to off? Back to GPC.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, we'll cycle that (INAUDIBLE) off then back to GPC.
O'BRIEN: All right, they're working something in the...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good. Copy.
O'BRIEN: ... something to do with the flash evaporator system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then to cycle the flash evaporator system again. All auxiliary power units still working fine, as are the electricity producing fuel cells. Four minutes 45 seconds into the launch. Atlantis is at an altitude of 65 statute miles down range from the Kennedy Space Center, 225 miles, traveling 7,000 miles per hour.
O'BRIEN: Now, those auxiliary power units, as you know, Daniel, are the electrical source which power the arrow surfaces of the space shuttle and during launch and landing are critical for providing electricity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... class evaporator system is suspect. A little bit of water in that unit. That all continues to work...
NGUYEN: Hey, Daniel. This is Betty.
Let me ask you about this while we're waiting and we're watching.
You guys have been talking about this flash evaporator.
What exactly is that, for those of us who don't know NASA-speak?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atlantis, Houston.
SIEBERG: I'm sorry, say that again, Betty.
There's a helicopter landing just right behind me here.
NGUYEN: Oh, OK.
I was asking you about the flash evaporator. I know there's been some talk -- just recently you and Miles were discussing that as we were listening to NASA on the ground talk about the system there.
What exactly is that, for those of us who aren't familiar with a flash evaporator?
SIEBERG: Well, I'm actually going to turn that over to Miles, because I'm sorry, I just cannot hear you. The helicopter is literally right behind us here.
NGUYEN: Miles, I'm sure you know. You're very familiar with NASA speak and all of the equipment and technology that they use.
The flash evaporator, what is that?
O'BRIEN: The flash evaporator is part of the auxiliary power unit system. It's how that system discharges heat. And it -- the auxiliary power units are a crucial thing. They're run-by hydrazine, which is a toxic substance in and of it's own right. There are multiple auxiliary power units.
But what we're hearing from Carl Herring (ph) -- and I'm hesitating just listening to Carl Herring, who is in Houston giving us a sense of this...
CARL HERRING: Atlantis, Houston.
Press Tamiko (ph). And we're seeing good cooling on Fast Fry Alpha (ph).
O'BRIEN: OK. There we go.
That's what you want to hear right now. They're telling them to go to main engine cutoff. That means that they're not telling them to do any sort of abort maneuver. And what they're saying is that this flash evaporator, which provides cooling for these auxiliary power units, which heat up hydrazine, which is a toxic chemical, essentially. It's very hot and it needs to be -- that heat needs to be discharged somehow. Apparently there was something with that -- wrong with that flash evaporator, or some indication.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're go for the plus...
SIEBERG: And it's that Miko (ph) or main engine cutoff point that's a little over a minute from now, about a minute and 20 seconds from now. And you will see that orange external fuel tank begin to fall away and burn up as it falls through the Earth's atmosphere.
SANCHEZ: So you kind of left us hanging there a little bit, guys.
Is everything OK with the flash evaporator...
NGUYEN: Right.
SANCHEZ: ... as far as we can tell?
O'BRIEN: Yes, I'm sorry...
SANCHEZ: Or are they having some questions about it?
O'BRIEN: I'm trying to, you know, trying to listen in on the radio calls when I'm talking and it's kind of difficult, Rick.
I apologize.
SANCHEZ: No, that's fine.
O'BRIEN: Yes. I think what happened was, what they've determined is they got some sort of errant indication from it. There might have been a piece of ice or something that got caught on this flash evaporator system, which -- there's a Freon loop which cools this -- these systems. And somehow that might have caused some sort of problem in there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Forward left...
O'BRIEN: The key we want to impart to you and our viewers is that, obviously, everything is all right here. They have made -- they're already very close to main engine cutoff. They are go for main engine cutoff and go for orbit.
SANCHEZ: And, Daniel, you were saying that something is about to happen here.
SIEBERG: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Bring us to that moment, if you can.
SIEBERG: Yes, we're about 15 seconds or so away, judging from the countdown or count up clock at this point, from seeing that large external fuel tank, which was filled with the super cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen providing the fuel to the launch. It will begin to slowly separate away from the belly of Shuttle Atlantis. We should be seeing that in just a few seconds. As the shuttle reaches that point of getting up into orbit.
And the main engine cutoff, we're hearing, has been confirmed.
Let's listen in.
We're getting some fuzzy pictures there.
The -- as I say, that external fuel tank should be falling away...
NGUYEN: There it goes.
SIEBERG: ... any second now.
NGUYEN: Yes.
SIEBERG: There it goes.
It's an amazing picture to see this camera here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... confirmed Atlantis now off of the external tank. Commander Brent Jett will fire the -- pulse the engines on Atlantis to position it for photography of the tank as it falls away.
A beautiful view of Atlantis as it falls away from the tank. You can see the jets firing, those reaction control system jets, to position the orbiter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Atlantis, Houston.
Nominal Miko. Olms one (ph) is not required and no action on the cabin DPDT.
SIEBERG: Miles, so they were talking about that camera getting a shot of the orbiter, of Commander Jett positioning the orbiter to get a picture. That's a camera that's actually on the external fuel tank that they're trying to line up with the orbiter to check for any debris that may have hit.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
There's also -- there's a series of fixed cameras. There is also the crew. There's a person assigned on the crew with a handheld camera, actually, to get some pictures of that external fuel tank before they become too far from each other. And that will give them a lot of confidence about any foam loss, which, of course, would take us back to Columbia and the issues surrounding that, the loss of Columbia. Of course, it was a big piece of foam falling off that fuel tank which caused that fatal breach in Columbia's heat shield.
And just to clarify, that flash evaporator system -- just to put that to rest...
NGUYEN: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... which turned out to be nothing.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
O'BRIEN: But what happened was it basically sends -- it's part of the cooling system. It's very critical for those auxiliary power units to stay cool because of the hydrazine which powers them. And that's why they were concerned about them overheating and there was the possibility that if that flash evaporator system wasn't working properly, they might have to shut down one of those. And that was the option I believe they were talking about.
Eventually, they decided that whatever happened, whether it was a piece of ice or whatever it was giving problems to that flash evaporator system, was not a real issue.
So...
NGUYEN: But, Miles, let me ask you this.
O'BRIEN: Um-hmm?
NGUYEN: The flash evaporator, if, say there is something wrong with it, would that be a problem when the shuttle does decide to return?
O'BRIEN: Well, it's something that -- yes, because it's something that is used during launch and landing. In space they have radiators which are kind of inside the doors of the payload base. The flash evaporator is critical during those periods.
It's something they will look at. If they determine it was, for whatever reason, somehow -- a piece of ice that clogged things up, I suspect that probably will not change the way they come in. Maybe it'll change the way they thermally heat the orbiter before it comes in for re-entry. There are some possibilities there.
But I suspect, in the grand scheme, this will just be a little -- a little glitch that they will look back on.
NGUYEN: OK.
Well, that's good to hear.
SANCHEZ: All right, Daniel, Miles, thanks, gentlemen, for bringing us up to date on all of this.
We'll be checking back, if necessary.
It certainly has been, from all indications, a successful launch, right?
SIEBERG: By all accounts, it certainly seems that way. Some smiling faces in the firing room here at Kennedy Space Center. A lot of people with some smiles on their faces after a couple of weeks of a lot of frowns, a lot of people dealing with some pretty big issues.
Miles, I want to thank you for joining us.
I know it's your day off, but thanks for providing all of your expertise for the last half hour or so.
O'BRIEN: My pleasure. SIEBERG: That's...
SANCHEZ: I'd say Miles O'Brien knows a little bit about this, doesn't he?
NGUYEN: Just a little bit. I mean he's just our guru here, our space guru.
SANCHEZ: Thanks to both of you.
NGUYEN: All right, gentlemen, we'll be checking in with you.
We do want to talk about something new that has surfaced.
SANCHEZ: A new tape surfacing, an Osama bin Laden tape. It's just days before the anniversary of 9/11.
Also, we're going to be checking in on that story in New York. Allan Chernoff is going to be checking on that -- Allan, what have you got so far?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, federal prosecutors have dropped a criminal charge against Ralph "Buck" Phillips.
We'll explain the legal implications and the strategy in just a few minutes -- Betty.
NGUYEN: And are U.S. schools making the grade?
I'm going to ask the education secretary that question and find out what she has to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEBASTIAN THRUN, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: My name is Sebastian Thrun.
I work for the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is his car, Stanley, that drives by itself, using a GPS system, laser cameras, radar and advanced severe software. There are other robotic cars out there, but what makes Stanley unique is his smarts.
THRUN: We found that if we could teach our car how to drive, it could learn very, very rapidly from us. I sat in the car for a number of miles and drove it by hand and the car was meticulously watching what exact choice I made. And from that, it copied my behavior.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thrun-hopes that one day all cars will be driverless, to help reduce accidents and increase productivity.
THRUN: I mean I can close my eyes. I can do my e-mail. I can watch a movie. That's the way driving should be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three main engines up and burning, two, one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: There you go. Right now in the news, the space station Atlantis headed to the International Space Station, lift off just minutes ago. You saw it right here. The fifth launch attempt was the charm, with shuttle's long delayed mission finally getting off the ground.
Also, police get their man. Fugitive Ralph "Buck" Phillips back in custody after his capture just hours ago in Pennsylvania. He has two court appearances today in Buffalo, New York. Phillips had been on the run for five months. Police say when he was cornered, he threw up his hands and surrendered. He's suspected of shooting three New York State troopers, one fatally since his escape from prison.
In Iraq, the civilian death toll climbs again. Insurgents launch another round of deadly attacks. At least three deaths are reported in several attacks in Baghdad, among those killed, an Iraqi journalist.
NGUYEN: Taliban leader Mullah Omar, intelligence sources tell CNN he is probably hiding in the Pakistani city of Quetta. The sources say Omar gives guidances to Taliban fighters, but is not involved in day to day operations. Omar fled Afghanistan in late 2001 as U.S. forces closed in. Now the Associated Press is reporting that a Pakistani official denies Omar is living in Pakistan.
President Bush is pushing Congress to give him quick authority to prosecute terror suspects. The legislation is necessary after the Supreme Court ruled his plan for terror trials violated the constitution. Republicans worry that President Bush's new plan still won't satisfy the Court, plan an alternate bill with more protections for terror suspects. Tomorrow, on the eve of the September 11th anniversary, the president visits the World Trade Center site.
Off the U.S. east coast, Bermuda gets ready for an encounter with Florence. Take a look at the satellite pictures right now. The tropical storm is gaining strength as it heads that way. Bermuda, now under a hurricane watch. Forecasters say the storm could become a hurricane later today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five -- three main engines up and burning, two one and liftoff of Space Shuttle Atlantis, opening a new chapter in the completion of the International Space Station.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: A new chapter. Well in case you missed it, we wanted to play it for you again. It's the Space Shuttle Atlantis now on its way to the International Space Station, lift off just moments ago. And the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is where it took place. And that is where our CNN technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg has been following things for us, bringing us up to date and really informing us throughout the morning and we thank you for that Daniel. How'd it go?
SIEBERG: Well, Rick, you could say it was a picture perfect launch. A couple of weeks of glitches, technical problems, weather issues were all forgotten about 15 minutes or so ago as shuttle Atlantis lifted off from launch pad 39-B.
The weather cooperated here at the Kennedy Space Center. Nothing flared up in the last minute or anything like that. As I say, it took off a little over 15 minutes ago. It is now in orbit on its way to dock with the International Space Station. That would happen Monday morning about 6:45 a.m. in the morning.
The International Space Station is actually somewhere over the north Atlantic right now. You sort of have to catch up with it. They are on their way up there right now. We saw the solid rocket boosters separate, the external fuel tank. Everything went pretty much according to plan here after dealing with a couple weeks of a lot of headaches for NASA.
So we will certainly be following this throughout the day here to see if there are any issues in terms of any falling foam. This is something you'll remember back with "Columbia" in 2003 and since that time, they've had to keep their eye on it. So we'll be watching that throughout the day to see what comes back. Rick.
SANCHEZ: In fact that's why they do the day-light launches now, right, in case there's any kind of abnormalities, they'd be able to literally see them with their own eyes.
SIEBERG: That's absolutely right, their own eyes and quite a series of cameras tool and they're going to be reviewing that data over the next few hours.
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Daniel Sieberg bringing us up to date on that. The weather really made it work, didn't it?
NGUYEN: It did, but the weather is causing a lot of problems for other folks out there. Let's talk about Florence, shall we? Bonnie Schneider is keeping a close eye on Florence, which is gaining in strength, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It absolutely is, Betty. I think Florence will be a hurricane very soon because maximum winds right now with the storm are at 70 miles per hour. Once they get to 74 miles per hour or greater, then it will be a hurricane. We're actually getting gusts reported at 85 miles per hour, so it's very close. Here's Florida in proximity, you can see it's still many hundreds of miles away from the storm. And as we take a look at the satellite perspective, what you're looking at right now really is a sizable storm. It's a very large tropical storm, outward of winds, 345 miles. That's how far they extend. So a large storm working its way further to the north and to the west. Here's a look at the track and you can see the intensity shows it does strengthen.
It looks like it becomes a category one hurricane as early as tomorrow and then possibly even a category two as it gets very close or maybe striking Bermuda on Monday. It's still difficult to say, as you can see, the cone of uncertainty stretches a pretty ways away, but Bermuda kind of smack in the center of that cone. Something we'll be watching. Back to you.
SANCHEZ: All right, thank you so much Bonnie.
NGUYEN: Well, it is the end of the road for Buck Phillips, Ralph "Buck" Phillips, the man accused of shooting three New York state troopers in Federal court this morning after five months on the run. Senior correspondent Allan Chernoff now, he's in New York, Buffalo, New York to be exact. Boy, what a turn of events. The man known as Buck was caught last night and today, already in court.
CHERNOFF: That's right, he did appear in court during the past hour. He sat alone in court without handcuffs, looking very tired, looking actually quite calm. And Mr. Phillips had the judge read to him the charge, the charge, being, fleeing prosecution across state lines, a charge for which the maximum penalty is five years.
And then the prosecutor announced that the U.S. government is actually dropping, dismissing, that charge. A surprise to many in the audience. But this was all part of a legal strategy to clear the decks for more serious state charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY FLYNN, NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY: There is a pending state warrant of a more significant penalty that you allow it to proceed in that manner. So you dismiss that charge, allows you to proceed in the more significant proceeding currently in state. It does not in any manner jeopardize our right under Federal law to proceed with other, more significant Federal charges at a later time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: Among those more significant charges could be possession of stolen weapons. Mr. Phillips is believed to have stolen more than 40 guns and rifles from a sports shop in this region. Now, right now, he is on his way to Elmira, New York, to face an arraignment for those more serious -- very serious charges, attempted murder of a police officer.
This involves the shooting of an officer back in June. He was wounded, but the officer is actually back on the force. Mr. Phillips is also the prime suspect in the shooting of two other officers, one of whom died last Sunday. So certainly some very serious charges up ahead for Mr. Phillips. Betty.
NGUYEN: No doubt. But let me ask you about those weapons that you talked about, the stolen weapons because when he was captured last night, he was unarmed. So there's a big question as to what happened to all those weapons.
CHERNOFF: What happened to the vast majority is that they were found in Pennsylvania at one home where Mr. Phillips was alleged to have been staying. More than 30 weapons found at that home of the 41 in total. It's also believed that there were weapons found in some of the vehicles that Mr. Phillips allegedly had stolen. So he kept running and at one point, late yesterday, he finally ran out of ammunition, had no guns and simply gave himself up.
NGUYEN: Yes, but the minute -- one of the superintendents there supervising this case and leading to the capture of that, was also talking about the fact that still, even though many have been found, there's still a lot that are still unaccounted for. So we'll see where they show up and if it has anything to do with maybe if he had any help. Who knows? A lot of questions to be answered. Allan, thank you.
SANCHEZ: Al-Jazeera releasing more tape of Osama bin Laden on the Internet. The group says the video was shot in the run-up to September 11th of 2001 so it's obviously not brand-new video. New clips show bin Laden, though, as well as the young American Adam Gadahn. Snippets released earlier in the week show bin Laden meeting with 9/11 planners back then.
They also highlight some of the hijackers who hit the World Trade Center. Tonight, "Know your Enemy." Get a look at the man who brought terror to America. Watch "In the Footsteps of bin Laden," a "CNN Presents" investigation, seen by more than 10 million people. Encore presentations tonight and tomorrow night at 7:00 Eastern.
NGUYEN: Coming up, schools in America, are they leaving your child behind?
And we want to say a good morning to this lady, Veronica de la Cruz. Good morning Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there Betty. Good to see you. Well listen, you out there, have you ever wanted to say "I report for CNN?" Betty can. But we're going to show you how you can, too. Stick around. We'll show you after this break.
You have to be willing to try things, experiment. Ask a lot of questions and look for breakthroughs and ideas that haven't been out there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Surf is up at CNN.com. Let's check the most popular stories that you're going to be clicking on. One, of course this hour's liftoff of the shuttle Atlantis. After a few delays, the astronauts are finally on their way to the International Space Station.
You're also intrigued by that Air Force officer who was missing in Kyrgyzstan. She turned up safe last night. Major Jill Metzger reportedly says that she was kidnapped Tuesday while shopping at a department store. There's an investigation.
And this one, researchers identify a warrior effect in men. British scientists say men bond quicker and cooperate better than women.
NGUYEN: What, whatever. I don't believe that.
SANCHEZ: They say males are better suited for war because they tend to be autocratic and militaristic like we didn't already know that.
NGUYEN: You know what, you'd better stay away from that. You've got three women sitting up here next to you, Rick. You are headed into dangerous territory. We'll see how you hold up. All right, well, CNN has a new way for you to share your thoughts, your pictures and even your video. We invite you to do that through CNN's I-exchange and Veronica de la Cruz joins us with some of those submissions. Good morning.
DE LA CRUZ: Hey there Betty. We've received an overwhelming amount of e-mail and pictures on Steve Irwin. As you know, this week, he died while filming in Australia. Irwin was loved by people around the world for his fearless attitude and his contagious charisma. So we asked readers to send their thoughts and their pictures as a tribute. And it is amazing to see how Irwin affected the lives of so many people, especially children.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: Eight -year-old Andrew Wright of Utah says that because of Irwin he now cares for chickens, hamsters, snakes and other animals. He also traps spiders in his house and releases them in the yard. Maria Brush of New Hampshire says that her son Clayton, seen here in his croc hunter attire, has a passion for crocodiles. She also says Steve brought laughter, enjoyment and taught a love and respect for all wildlife. And Caroline Frasca shows off her award and pet corn snake. Caroline's mother credits Steve Irwin for her love of wildlife.
And you can see more pictures viewers like you sent in. You can also send us your own pictures and stories on Steve Irwin. Jus go to CNN.com and find the I-report logo. Once you click we give you step by step directions on how you can send in your own submission. So log on to CNN.com for more on Steve Irwin, as well as any major news topic. Look for that I-report logo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Sounds good, Veronica, thank you for that.
SANCHEZ: You know what's interesting. My son my 15-year-old son Ricky said the day that he died, Steve Irwin died, he said son I feel like, he said dad, I feel like Mickey Mouse has just passed away. Think about it, for their generation, at that age, they've grown up with Steve Irwin and he's a bigger than life character.
NGUYEN: He was so exciting to watch. I don't even think you have to be a kid just to see it. I mean he just really came through that television and brought a lot of excitement and really to a lot of children, educated them on the animals out there and the whole animal kingdom and what's out there to explore and see.
DE LA CRUZ: And a lot of us grown folks too.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: It's a little different for them. I mean it was really part of their generation. That's one of those things -- we have a lot of them, but to them it's something special.
NGUYEN: And we're still talking about it and it happened earlier this week. You know how fast the news moves. And speaking of news moving fast, Fred's here to talk about what's coming up.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We've got a lot coming up in the noon hour. Of course, 9/11 right around the corner, the anniversary of. A lot of folks are commemorating it in lots of different ways. We're going to talk to the organizer of one group who is collecting pennies across the country to help turn minefields, say, in Afghanistan and in other places, into playing fields and even farm fields.
And then in our dollars and deals segment, how often do you buy something or get a service and you feel like, wait a minute, did I just get ripped off? Well, I think a lot of folks feel that all the time. We're going to talk to an author on a book who's come out with an interesting idea of looking at service industries and products, getting unscrewed. Is it possible?
NGUYEN: Hey.
WHITFIELD: He has some great ideas.
NGUYEN: Can I speak with your supervisor?
WHITFIELD: When you feel like you've gotten ripped off ...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Fred, look forward to it.
NGUYEN: Well, is your child being left behind in school? I'm going to ask the secretary of education. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: A little program note to bring you up to date on. At 12:15, NASA officials are going to have a briefing. Again, that's at 12:15,, probably to explain or detail how the shuttle launch went and whether they have any problems in the foreseeable future at this point. We'll bring it to you right here on CNN, 12:15. Betty.
NGUYEN: In the meantime, it is a new school year, but some of the same old problems of returning to the classroom. And I talked yesterday with the secretary of education, Margaret Spellings, about the challenges facing the nation's schools. And I began by asking her whether it was hard to find enough qualified, highly qualified teachers. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARGARET SPELLINGS, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: The same old way of doing business is not going to probably fix the problem. And that's why we need to make sure that we have more efficient ways to train teachers in their areas of expertise and we need to draw resources from our community. We need to get retired engineers to come teach in our classrooms, particularly in these critical fields that we're having such difficulty filling in math and science and foreign language and the like.
NGUYEN: You talk about math and science. You helped create the no child left behind act and that act requires that teachers have to at least attain a bachelor's degree in the subject taught. Now, information that we're receiving is that in high poverty schools, half of seventh through 12th grade teachers did not major -- math teachers, mind you, did not major in math while in college. That's a problem.
SPELLINGS: Absolutely. In education, one of the dirty little secrets is we have some of our least experienced people in our most challenging environments and vice versa. That if you're a masters degree or Ph.D. teacher, you're frequently teaching in, you know, far less challenging schools and the opposite is the case. So that's exactly what I'm worried about.
We need to start paying people additional salaries to teach in more challenging environments. We need to reward them for doing that. We need to make sure that they have the support and the subject area competency necessary to do that very difficult work and we do it backwards these days frankly in many places.
NGUYEN: It can have a trickle down effect because let's talk about students for a moment. A new study released yesterday by the National Public Policy in Higher Education Institute says that fewer people are going to college. In fact, the likelihood of ninth graders to enter college four years from now is less than 40 percent. What's being done to close that gap?
SPELLINGS: Well, it's very troubling and even more troubling is, once they get into higher education, the completion prospects are not very good. And we know that 90 percent of the fastest growing jobs now require post-secondary education, so it's absolutely critical you get more people in and out of higher education and those that do study in higher ed are fully qualified and prepared to do so and that obviously starts in high school. So those are the things that we're working on. The other issue, as you mentioned earlier is affordability, just access. The opportunity to pay for higher education is becoming more troubling in a day and time when it's even more necessary than ever.
NGUYEN: And we talk about higher education, but you have to pass the test to get there. And looking at the recent SAT scores, we have learned just last week that they are lower this year. So it seems like the problem is just compounding here.
SPELLINGS: Well, I think those scores point to our need for more work in high school, as the president has called for. We need more accountability in high school. We need more proficiency in our teachers, more competent subject area expertise, as we've talked about. And we need to reward people for teaching in these more challenging fields and more challenging places.
Those are some of the things. But high school reform really is so critical. No child left behind is working, is having a great effect, especially on the grades that are measured as part of that law, grades three through eight. But it tells us we have work to do in high school, no doubt about it.
NGUYEN: Yes, there is work to do and you say that it's working. But let me ask you this, no child left behind act is up for congressional renewal next year. Looking at the problems that we've just discussed in the past three minutes, do you see there needs to be any changes?
SPELLINGS: Well, I think no child left behind shows us we're on the right track when we measure every student every year and when we disaggregate data, we hold ourselves accountable for the achievement of every student. Those are things that are having a good effect.
We've made more progress with our nine-year-olds in the last five years according to our education report card than the previous 28 years combined. We had a flat line and then all of a sudden, when we started to hold ourselves accountable for the achievement of every child, we started to see improvement. What gets measured gets done.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That is Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Today, we saw quite an educational feat with space shuttle going up, making liftoff, getting into outer space, something that had been delayed, but not today.
SANCHEZ: And it seems by all indications, at least what we were able to see and from what some of our analysts were able to see, a very successful launch. But we'll learn for sure whether it was or was not, oh in about 15 minutes or so, exactly 12:15, NASA officials are going to hold a briefing. They're going to give us a rundown of how things are going with Atlantis.
NGUYEN: And we will have that live. CNN LIVE SATURDAY with Fredricka Whitfield is up s next, right after this short break. Have a terrific morning.
SANCHEZ: Thanks for being here. See you tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
