Allan J McDonald - Three reasons not to launch the Challenger — Transcript

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1. 0:05still no
2. 0:06response so then I got frustrated I said
3. 0:09well let me tell you something I said if
4. 0:10I were the launch director I would
5. 0:12cancel this launch for three reasons not
6. 0:14just one first one being this concern
7. 0:17with the coldo Rings secondly as says I
8. 0:19talked uh to my other vice president
9. 0:22who's responsible for the ships out at
10. 0:25Sea that brings the boosters back and I
11. 0:28said he talked to those folks out there
12. 0:29and they're in absolute survival mode
13. 0:31they're in 30t
14. 0:33Seas uh they're in winds at 50 knots
15. 0:37gusting to 70 they're going like 3 or
16. 0:39four knots in toward Shore not going to
17. 0:41be out in the recovery area in the
18. 0:43morning so we're putting all those
19. 0:44boosters at risk and parachutes and all
20. 0:46of our recovery system I said the third
21. 0:49reason for not launching is I heard the
22. 0:52the water protection plan from from from
23. 0:54NASA for the launch site and the pad
24. 0:56there's a lot of servicing the vehicle
25. 0:59with water
26. 1:00and and they don't have any freeze
27. 1:02protection down there other than to
28. 1:04leave the spigots open to keep the pipes
29. 1:06from freezing and I said based on the
30. 1:09weather that I heard if that's really
31. 1:10true I thought there going to be ice all
32. 1:12over that thing tomorrow morning and
33. 1:14it's going to blow around and it's going
34. 1:16to be all over it's a it's a huge debris
35. 1:18risk for the
36. 1:20Orbiter but I said it may even change
37. 1:22the launch Acoustics for all I know and
38. 1:24I said I'm I'm recommending not
39. 1:26launching not based on what I know but
40. 1:29based Bas on what I do not know and
41. 1:32you're in the same position and
42. 1:34therefore you shouldn't launch