from space shuttle columbia as columbia continues to orbit the earth at an altitude of about 150 statute miles. columbia, houston, laurel, you re loud and clear on air to ground one. -the second day, i drive in to work kind of euphoric because another launch, another successful launch. you know, the flight director s office and the mission control center in houston is working with them. they re everything s good. i walked into the analysis lab to start reviewing film from the launch. we started the film at the beginning. [ rockets roaring ] we re watching this liftoff. you see the roll maneuvers, beautiful blue sky. we do the normal review, and we start pointing out all the things that we normally see. and we got to 81 seconds, and then we see this object come off of the external tank area. it moved down, and then striked the vehicle and explode into a white cloud. my reaction was, oh, shit. - you ll always find me sunny side up you ll always find me sunny side
uh, no. the area that was struck was not visible from the orbiter cabin. -okay, well, good morning or good evening as the case goes for all you guys working around the clock there in houston. -you have to understand nasa works on procedures. we have a mission plan. -red shift is just finishing up their day. -any deviation needs to be evaluated and assessed on how it will impact everything. -laurel, just to be advised, you have about two minutes of video. -to deviate from the processes and the procedures, you need to have a reason, and the reason needs data. it s not just i have a bad feeling about this. -and i got no reply to my e-mail. my request was never answered.
So lets see. Rodney sent me an email. We know that the remote Manipulator System Arm and cameras are not available, but what about the left Side Hatch Window . Uh, hes questioning whether theres been any action, uh, to ask the crew to look for damage. Uh, no. The area that was struck was not visible from the orbiter cabin. Okay, well, good morning or good evening as the case goes for all you guys working around the clock there in houston. You have to understand nasa works on procedures. We have a mission plan. Red shift is just finishing up their day. Any deviation needs to be evaluated and assessed on how it will impact everything