But it doesn`t change the grieving process. ''It`s just that now there`s more tangible proof of it. The people are still dead,'' Springer said. ''When you reflect upon this, you realize it doesn`t change much. Robert Springer, a mission specialist who was close to several of the crew members, shared Charles Resnik`s feelings.
The Resnik family held a memorial service for Judy Resnik in her hometown of Akron, Ohio, three days after the explosion.Ĭharles Resnik said the family would await further word from NASA officials before deciding whether to travel to the Cape.Īir Force Col. As far as I`m concerned, services have already been performed.'' Marvin Resnik, Judy Resnik`s father, told the Associated Press. ''It`s not going to bring anybody back,'' Dr. ''As much as it`s been in the news, we`ve gotten accustomed to the grief being stretched out over a long period of time.'' ''It doesn`t really change anything,'' said Dr. Some relatives of the dead crew members said the discovery of human remains wouldn`t substantially alter their mourning. The Armed Forces pathologists initially set up facilities at the air base following the explosion, but have not remained there. There, experts from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology will attempt to identify the remains. NASA officials said Sunday that any remains that are recovered would be taken to a hospital at Patrick Air Force Base, about 25 miles south of Cape Canaveral. Onizuka was seated beside the hatch used by the crew to enter the spaceship. Immediately behind them were Resnik, who was serving as flight engineer, and McNair to her right.īelow on the mid-deck, Jarvis and McAuliffe were strapped to seats in front of an airlock leading to the ship`s payload bay. Scobee and Smith were riding in the two forward seats on the upper flight deck. The crew cabin, a two-level, 2,525-cubic-foot vehicle likened by NASA officials to a very strong vacuum bottle, is designed to protect crew members in the event of a water ditch, a highly risky escape maneuver that has never been attempted.Ĭhallenger`s crew members were wearing helmets but did not have to wear spacesuits because the cabin was pressurized. NASA officials steadfastly declined to comment on the discovery and announced they would neither confirm nor deny whether any remains of the crew members had been located. At about the same time, a beachcomber found a small piece of what appeared to be a human bone washed up on a Florida beach. The question of whether the crew cabin could have survived the explosion of the Challenger first surfaced only a few days after the explosion when two remote-controlled submarines located a large object on the ocean floor. McAuliffe`s crewmates were McNair, commander Francis ''Dick'' Scobee, copilot Smith, Judith Resnik, Ellison Onizuka and Gregory Jarvis, a commercial engineer with Hughes Aircraft Corp. So far, a massive salvage operation has recovered about 10 percent of the giant spaceship since it exploded. All previously recovered cabin debris was found floating. However, sources have earlier disclosed the finding of personal effects such as astronaut flight helmets. Until now, NASA repeatedly has refused to confirm the reported recovery of body parts or personal effects of the crew. But debris from inside the cabin, including personal effects from crew lockers, already has been recovered, indicating its possible rupture. The condition of the reinforced crew compartment was not known. Richard Truly, associate administrator for space flight. The exact location of the module was not given for security reasons, according to the brief NASA announcement, which was approved by Rear Adm. ''Subsequent dives provided positive identification of Challenger crew compartment debris and the existence of crew remains.''
''On Saturday morning, after securing operations during the night for safety reasons, the USS Preserver, whose divers are thoroughly briefed on debris identificaton and who have participated in similar recovery operations, began to work,'' a NASA statement said. But at least one family member, the father of astronaut McNair, apparently did not find out until Sunday. NASA spokesman Hugh Harris, who stressed that he did not know how many of the shuttle`s crew members may be inside the wreckage, said the cabin was found Friday by sonar at a depth of about 100 feet.Īt that time, Harris said, family members of the dead astronauts, including New Hampshire high schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, were notified.
0 kommentar(er)
