on her 28th flight, the 113th shuttle mission, 16 days seemingly flawless ending with a sudden and seemingly inexplicable disintegration over northeast texas. things happened very quickly. there was a conversation, a transmission from rick husband, the shuttle commander, sort of half of a roger, if you will, that kind of thing, and it was all over. let s try to put together what we know and give you a sense of where this investigation might be headed. i felt like it was my responsibility to talk about the foam strike, to get it out there in the public. if you take a close-up here, that bipod is the place where they think a little piece of foam fell off and hit the leading edge of that wing. i talked to the folks in the control room, and i said, you know, can you cue up the launch replays?
but, i mean, i was in mission control. i was a nasa employee. i knew about the foam strike. when there s blame that s laid out, i am right up there saying i knew. and i and i wish i could ve done something differently. but i-i can t undo that. and it you can just make it better for those that follow. -i feel ashamed. so, who s guilty? i m not just gonna say the program managers are. we re all guilty. if you don t speak up for your own system and you re the victims of this environment, we re guilty, too. -during the mission, i could have easily done a story saying, this thing happened. while nasa is saying it s nothing, some engineers believe there may be some concern. what if i had done that?
[ Upbeat Music Playing On Radio ] i was thinking about this Foam Strike all weekend. And i thought, cant we get the astronauts to look through this Side Hatch Window . Theres a little Window Right here. This little dark circle. Could they have looked back to this area in here to see if theres any damage debris, residue, anything . What i was expecting is you first look with your eyes. Just look
I felt like it was my responsibility to talk about the foam strike, to get it out there in the public. If you take a closeup here, that bipod is the place where they think a little piece of foam fell off and hit the leading edge of that wing. I talked to the folks in the control room, and i said, you know, can you cue up the Launch Replays . Alright. Lets take a look at this launch. Look what happened a minute after launch. Got this very, very slow look at that piece of foam right there that struck the shuttle as it came off. The question was, what did it do . I didnt know for sure. I still was the armchair analyst. But challenger was deep in our memory. And this was kind of a similar scenario. In the wake of challenger,
And if somebody says, hey, lets get better data to make a decision, why is getting better Data Aa Problem . But, i mean, i was in mission control. I was a nasa employee. I knew about the foam strike. When theres blame thats laid out, i am right up there saying i knew. And i and i wish i couldve done something differently. But ii cant undo that. And it you can just make it better for those that follow. I feel ashamed. So, whos guilty . Im not just gonna say the Program Managers are. Were all guilty. If you dont speak up for your own system and youre the victims of this environment, were guilty, too. During the mission, i could have easily done a story saying, this thing happened