Reason
By HARRY F. ROSENTHAL
Associated Press Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The
Coast Guard pulled 600 pounds of
metal and tiles from Challenger out
of the Atlantic Ocean yesterday, and
experts impounded every bit of data
for clues to the death of seven people
in the world's worst space disaster.
NASA said the five men and two
women aboard the 100-ton shuttle
probably had no warning of the im
pending explosion. The debris col
lected by yesterday afternoon did not
include any clothing or personal ef
fects of the astronauts.
A cone-shaped object, possibly
from the nose of one of the shuttle's
solid rocket boosters, was spotted,
but it was too big to put aboard the
small cutter U.S. Dallas. A buoy
tender was sent to the area.
The largest piece of debris found
after a full day of searching was 15
feet by 15 feet. Other pieces were 12
feet long and 10 feet long. Most were
of aluminum, some containing pip
ing, others covered with tiles.
More helicopters would be used
today to see if a large object could be
seen in shallow areas. Sonar equip
ment was to be added later.
Experts were studying computer
readouts that timed events at one
thousandths of a second, hoping to
learn if the problem could have been
a rupture of the shuttle's huge exter
nal tank. Much speculation has fo
cused on the tank as the source of the
explosion.
Flight diiector Jay Greene said
data from the tank is not read in
Mission Control, but that it is record
ed and will be available for the analy
sis of the tragedy.
"Obviously the ET temps would be
very nice to have right now, but
operationally we have no use for it so
we don't display it (during launch)"
he said. "We have a limited number
of operators and you want them to
look at'a limited amount of data."
Mission Control, with all of its so
phisticated technology, had no warn
ing of the impending explosion, said
Greene, who was directing Challeng
er's climb to space.
"We train awfully hard for these
flights and we train under every
scenario you can possibly imagine,"
he said. "There was nothing anyone
could have done for this one. It just
stopped."
He described the mood in the con
trol room as "extremely professional
under the circumstances, very somb
er, there was not much said."
When computer screens showed no
Meanwhile, the nation's
By TAMARA JONES
Associated Press Writer
"Why did all these good people have to die?
Why now? Why them?"
The unanswerable questions of a 10-year-old
Minneapolis schoolgirl reflected the anguish of
a nation yesterday as families, friends and
admirers grieved for the seven victims aboard
the shuttle Challenger.
Wall Street tickers briefly halted and flags
fluttered at half staff. Radio stations, schools
and legislatures observed moments of silence.
Hundreds of mourners packed a church last
night in Christa McAuliffe's hometown of Con
cord, N.H., where she was remembered as a
teacher "who led us to the threshold of space
and on to the face of God."
At the White house, President Reagan pledg
ed to continue the space program, then turned
to the sad task of telephoning families of the
victims to offer his condolences.
Reagan and his wife, Nancy, planned to
attend a memorial service for the Challenger
crew tomorrow in Houston.
In Washington, legislation to establish a
national recognition day for teachers in McAu
liffe's memory was introduced in Congress.
"However painful it is to remember, we must
always cherish the pioneering spirit that led
Christa McAuliffe and our brave astronauts to
break the barriers of the unknown," said Rep.
Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., the bill's sponsor.
The legislation would establish National Tea
cher Recognition Day to be celebrated each
year on Jan. 28.
Counselors tried to help children cope with
the trauma after classes across the country
turned on television sets Tuesday to watch
teacher Christa McAuliffe become the first
private citizen in space and instead saw the
world's worst space disaster.
Fifth- and sixth-graders at Barton Open
School in Minneapolis had listened to the
launch over the classroom loudspeakers, and
heard the horrified reaction of spectators at
Kennedy Space Center.
"I couldn't believe it. It seemed unreal,"
recalled 10-year-old Liza Moscovice. "I could
hear the screams of agony over the loudspeak
er, the crying and moaning. I could see their
faces and I could feel what they must have been
feeling. It was terrible.
"Why did all these good people have to die?
Why now? Why them? It was like a nightmare
-
.come true."
the
daily
for shuttle explosion remains a mystery
more data was coming in, he said,
engineers watched the views from
television cameras.
"We were hoping something better
would come out of it," he said. "After
a while, we resumed gathering data,
put it all up and called it a day."
Speculation focused on an ominous
bright flash that was visible at the
base of the fuel tank before the explo
sion, but shuttle director Jesse Moore
said he wanted to discourage that.
"You are asking me to lay out
causes," he said. "I'm not prepared
to do that."
NASA scheduled a memorial serv
ice at the Johnson Space Center in
Houston tomorrow and said Presi
dent and Nancy Reagan will attend.
In Palm Bay, a community south of
the space center, plans were made to
name a school after Christa McAu
liffe of Concord, N.H., who was
aboard the shuttle as the first "com
mon citizen" to fly in space. She had
planned to teach two lessons from
space to schoolchildren all across the
country.
• Killed along with McAuliffe were
commander Francis R. Scobee, 46;
pilot Michael J. Smith, 40; Judith A.
Resnik, 36; Ronald E. McNair, 35;
Ellison S. Onizuka, 39, and Gregory
B. Jarvis, 41.
An investigation team held its first
meeting to start the long inquiry into
why the $1.2 billion shuttle, appearing
to be on a perfect course, suddenly
exploded 74 seconds after liftoff Tues
day, raining fiery debris into the
Atlantic Ocean.
Lt. John Philbin, commander of the
Coast Guard cutter Point Roberts,
brought back the first load of debris.
He said there was 600 pounds of it,
much of it in small pieces.
"Most of what we found was bulk
head-type material, aluminum with
insulation attached to it," he said.
"There were a couple of charred
pieces and we did bring in some small
cylinder-type tanks this morning."
The Point Roberts was the first
military ship on the scene. He said his
crew watched the debris coming
down and got the location from a tug
in the area.
The space agency impounded every
scrap of paper, film and data con
nected with the launch and pleaded
with souvenir hunters to turn in any
thing they find on the beaches in this
central Florida area.
"We need every piece of that be
cause we don't know where the clue
might be," said Richard Smith, the
director of the Kennedy Space Cen
ter.
Moore said it was unlikely bodies of
The cold weather reflects the feelings of the nation in the wake . of the seven passengers of the ill•fated•shuttle by lowerings its flags to half
Tuesday's explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. Penn State honored mast shortly after the disaster.
Residents of several states, including Illi
nois, Indiana and New Mexico, were urged to
turn on their porch lights for 12 hours starting
at 7 p.m. last night to honor the Challenger
crew.
The porch-light vigil originally was intended
to honor McAuliffe as part of a nationwide
effort promoted by state school superinten
dents. It was to have taken place on the eve of
McAuliffe's lessons from space, to symbolize
the illumination of teaching and learning.
Mike Brasher, general manager of KANW
FM, a public radio station operated by Albu
querque Public Schools, was the man who
suggested live lessons from space for school
children.
Brasher said he was "sickened" when he saw
olle • ian
One of the military personnel searching the area of the shuttle catastrophe
removes a piece of debris thought to be part of the Challenger, which exploded
Tuesday, killing all seven persons aboard. The debris was found on Cocoa
Beach and is being impounded by NASA for its investigation of the disaster.
the crew members would be found
"I would always like to hold out
hope," he said. "However, we've
seen a lot of small debris."
The crew apparently had no warn
ing.
"We have no indication that the
commander had any sense of any
thing wrong," said William Graham,
acting administrator of NASA. "The
spacecraft was traveling at more
than twice the speed of sound at 47,000
feet, which is at the boundary of the
stratosphere where there are physi
cal changes such as optical and visual
phenomena and shock waves."
Graham said the ship's two solid
rocket boosters, which could be seen
heading away from the fireball and
forming a huge Y-shaped trail in the
i'
,
l'ili!._
sky, were deliberately destroyed by
the range safety officer, who gave a
computer command that triggered
explosives stored aboard the rockets.
"There was an indication one of the
solids was heading for a populated
area and he took the correct action,"
Graham said. After a normal launch,
the boosters drop off the shuttle fuel
tank, parachute into the ocean, and
are recovered by waiting ships.
Their condition, had they been in
tact, might have helped solve the
incredible jigsaw puzzle confronting
the space agency.
The officials reiterated that there
will be no more shuttle flights until
investigating teams have made their
report and corrective actions are
taken.
grief continues
the shuttle explode, but added, "I hope that
they'll try again and have another teacher go
up in space."
On Wall Street, trading stopped, tickers froze
and the shouts of traders faded away when a
bell clanged twice at 11 a.m. signaling a minute
of silence.
Similar observances were held at the Ameri
can Stock Exchange, the New York Commodity
Exchange, the New York and Chicago Mercan
tile exchanges and.the Chicago Board Options
Exchange.
"It's not often that we do it, but I think it's
important that some respect be shown to peo
ple who have' paid a price for America," said
New York Stock Exchange spokesman Richard
Torrenzano.
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Repercussions seen
for space
By ADAM BOONE
Collegian Science Writer
Tuesday's space shuttle tragedy
may deal a crippling blow to astrono
my and other areas of space science
research, said a University professor
of astronomy.
Daniel W. Weedman said the disas
ter will undoubtedly have an impact
upon the launching schedule of future
shuttles, which will gfeatly affect
planned satellite programs.
"I consider it a disastrous setback
for space astronomy," he said. "Ev
erything that relies on the space
shuttle will be delayed and deferred."
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration spokesman John
Lawrence at the Johnson Space Cen
ter in Houston said he could not
speculate on how far back the space
shuttle ..launch schedule will be
pushed as a result of the ongoing
inquiry into Tuesday's explosion.
"I feel it will be a very lengthy
investigation," Lawrence said, add
ing that the investigative team began
gaithering information in hopes of
discovering the cause of the disaster.
Dick Smith, director of Kennedy
Space Center, said, "(NASA) hasn't
made any decisions yet on how (the
disaster) will affect the shuttle pro
gram."
Weedman said a number of astro
nomical satellites were scheduled to
be carried into orbit by the shuttle
later this year.
NASA planned to observe Halley's
Comet with instruments launched
from a shuttle. Because of the shuttle
delay, these will be unable to reach
their necessary positions in time to
view the comet, he said.
Gordon P. Garmire, professor of
astronomy, said the Galileo space
probe will also miss its scheduled
launch in May. Galileo was to travel
to Jupiter, where it would go into
orbit and release a probe into the
planet's atmosphere.
The Galileo and the Ulysses a
solar satellite were dependent on
the shuttle for specific launch dates,
times that will now be missed be
cause of the launch delay, •Garmire
said.
Galileo will have to wait at least a
year before Jupiter will be in the
right position for the probe launch, he
said.
u
1
~;
In East Hanover, N.J., Al Lasso said he hung
red, white and blue ribbons on trees in front of
his house as a gesture of mourning for the
shuttle astronauts.
"It'd be nice if the whole nation could do it,"
Lasso said.
At the University of Oklahoma, students
were planning a candlelight vigil tonight.
Most of the families of the Challenger seven
returned to Houston but remained in seclusion
with NASA guards outside their homes as
friends and colleagues from the space commu
nity sought to comfort them.
McAuliffe's parents and siblings returned to
the family home in Framingham, Mass., under
heavy security.
Thursday, Jan. 30, 1986
Vol. 86, No. 120 18 pages University Park, Pa. 16802
Published by students of The Pennsylvania State University
©1986 Collegian Inc.
„.„..„. .4e.fiar:” 't;ro
n Photo I Ralph Oswald
program
Another large astronomical tele
scope, called Space Telescope, was
planned to be carried into orbit. This
launch will also suffer a delay, Gar
mire said.
Smith said conventional rocket
boosters are available to carry satel
lites into orbit the Atlas Centaur
and the Delta vehicle thus provid
ing an alternative to the shuttle.
However, Weedman said these will
not work in the case of the Galileo.
"(The Galileo is) far too big to be
launched by any other vehicle (than
the shuttle)," he said.
Weedman said he believed NASA's
reliance on the shuttle for launching
its probes and satellites is necessary
because of the money involved. NASA
could not afford to develop the shuttle
program and continue to use non
reusable rocket boosters. .
Garmire said he believes NASA
may have put too much effort into the
shuttle program, adding that the
agency should have continued to de
velop larger, unmanned rocket boost
ers to back up the shuttle for satellite
launches.
"I've always felt scientific mis
sions did not benefit from the shuttle
specifically," he said. "I never felt
secure in putting all the eggs in one
basket."
Garmire said the cost is typically
less for an unmanned satellite launch
than for the shuttle; however, in
space technology development, "it's
expensive to change direction now."
Garmire agreed that scientific as
pects of space exploration will be
significantly delayed. "(However),
that pales with the loss of (human)
life," he said.
Smith said the other shuttles
Discovery, Columbia, and Atlantis
have been shut down until the investi
gation is completed.
NASA will halt work on the remain
ing shuttles "until we understand the
fundamental causes of the incident
and take corrective measures on the
other vehicles," he said.
Smith said while the future of the
shuttle program may be questioned,
he is optimistic.
"I'm confident we'll have many
more shuttle launches in the future
because the needs of the space pro
gram aren't going to go away," he
said.
Wachob
vows to
unseat
Clinger
By MEGAN 0 MATZ
Collegian Staff Writer
William Wachob last night an
nounced his intention to unseat
U.S Rep. William F. Clinger dur
ing November's congressional
race, in what promises to be an
interesting rematch between Wa
chob and the incumbent con
gressman who defeated him by a
narrow margin in 1984.
Claiming that he has set out to
finish the job he began two years
ago, Wachob, a former state rep
resentative and a consultant for
Penntech Papers, said the prob
lems he addressed in his last
campaign have not been solved.
Speaking from the Sheraton
Penn State, 240 S. Pugh St., his
fourth stop on a five-day spree of
announcement parties and press
conferences, Wachob said prob
lems concerning unemployment,
toxic waste and the growing arms
race still need to be resolved.
In 1984 Wachob, a Democrat;
mounted a powerful challenge to
Please see 'Wachob,' Page 18.
weather
This afternoon, it will be windy at
times with a mix of sunshine and a
few clouds. High of 24.
Heidi Sonen