N.A.S.A. men unhappy about cold

Press, 8 February 1986, Page 10

N.A.S.A. men unhappy about cold

NZPA-Reuter Washington The commission appointed by the President of the United States, Mr Ronald Reagan, to investigate the shuttle Challenger disaster was to get a classified briefing at the White House today and then consider how to proceed with its inquiry. The 12-member commission has been given four months to report. Officials said the investigation could take longer. The commission began its work with a public

session on Thursday and heard space programme officials acknowledge that they had been- uneasy about launching the shuttle on January 29 because of freezing weather at Cape Canaveral, Florida. But the officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said they doubted that the weather was a factor causing Challenger to explode after it was launched, killing five men and two women astronauts.

N.A.S.A. associate administrator, Jesse Moore, said investigators were concentrating on the right-side booster rocket but would need improved photographic evidence to pin-point the exact cause of the explosion. Space experts have closely examined a photograph showing a finger of white-hot flame leaking from the right-side rocket seconds before the SUSI billion ($1.91 billion) spacecraft exploded. A leading theory is that a small leak burned

through the shuttle’s external fuel tank, setting off about two million litres of hydrogen and oxygen. Another N.A.S.A. official, Arnold Aldrich, told the commission that there was no way the crew could have scuttled their mission and returned safely to earth. “For the first two minutes of the flight, there is no practical way to abort,” he said. • Sonar soundings have indicated that the second

of Challenger’s two solid booster rockets has been found a relatively short distance from the launching pad. The space agency said there would be no confirmation until underwater photographs were made. One of the boosters apparently lies 48km offshore, the other about 24km. N.A.S.A. ships have been concentrating- their search efforts in those areas and the closer area has been made off-limits to all boats.