The HonoluluAdvertiser ·nal Edi t1·on Oahu Edition: :J.";c Fl Be .rnnd 011hu: -10(' Aloha! Shuttle explosion still mystery Today is Wednesday, Jan. 29, 1986 • Food -Americans Ill shock, sorrow Combined New, Seroice, on the inside: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Hours after the worst space • The nation's shocked dis­ disaster in history, NASA belief turns to mourning. Pages scientists hadn't the slightest A-2, A-3. idea what had caused the first • McAuliffe's family and fatal in-air accident in 56 U.S. friends watched·disaster unfold manned missions. above them. Page A-3. The space shuttle Challenger Chili,America's "bowl of bless­ exploded 72 seconds after a • Delay in shuttle program edness" spectacular launch yesterday may affect "Star Wars," other Page F-1 morning, disintegrating 10 military programs. Page A-3. Hawaii miles above the Florida coast • Schoolchildren nationwide and killing a crew of seven - watched disaster and some including Christa McAuliffe, City Prosecutor Charles Mars­ may be traumatized. Page A-2. land gives his definitionof por­ America's first teacher in nography and a state judge space, and astronaut Ellison • Lessons from the tragedy: rules that a videotape probably Onizuka from the Big Island of an editorial. Page A-10. is pornographic Hawaii. • NASA - What's ahead. Page A-5 Ships, planes and helicopters Page A-10. rushed to a vast area 50 miles House Judiciary Committee ap­ off the Florida coast where • Prolonged grounding of the proves a "livingwill" bill flaming debris rained down for shuttle· could result in sizable Page A-3 an hour after the mighty explo­ economic losses throughout The Nation sion, but all they found were the military and commercial parts of Challenger's booster space industry. Page C-7. Reagan administration will pro­ rockets. pose catastrophic health insur­ Hours later, heat-resistant ance for all Medicare benefici­ shuttle tiles and other debris Addressing America's school­ aries in return for a higher began washing ashore south of children, Reagan said, "The fu. monthlypremium Cape Canaveral. Passers-by ture doesn't belong to the faint­ Page D-1 were taking them to the south hearted. It belongs to the gate of the Cape, where they brave." The space program will Tip O'Neill accuses Reagan of were . then delivered to the continue, he said, as will the handing lawmakers "a line of policy of sending private citi­ baloney" about unemployment Kennedy Space Center. Page D-1 Early speculation, based on zens aloft. fuzzy television pictures, was The 11:38 a.m. EST launch The World centered on the shuttle's giant looked picture-perfect. A external fuel tank, loaded with' minute later, cable TV viewers In another offer of arms reduc­ 526,000 gallons of highly explo­ and spectators at the Cape tion, Gorbachev may be sug­ sive liquid hydrogen and oxy­ knew otherwise. gesting a willingness to side· gen. Then the voice of Mission step the "Star Wars" dispute Control confirmed. First, the Page A-12 But NASA, normally a fount of information, stqpped talking voice said, "Obviously a major late yesterday, denying re­ malfunction." Then, seconds Entertainment qu~sts for interviews with later, "Vehicle has exploded. Zachary Helm dedicates his space experts and.astronauts. We are checking with first album to his brother, the "We will not speculate as to recovery forces to see wbat can late George Helm, among the specific cause of the explo­ be done." others sion based on that footage," Rescue teams boarded ships, Page B-3 said Jesse Moore, NASA's top helicopters and planes and shuttle administrator. A NASA combed the cold Atlantic ·Focus investigating board will con­ waters 18 miles from the coast, Lane Nemeth founded Discov­ duct a "careful review" of ail searching against hope for ery Toys - safe, educational data "before we can reach any signs of the crew. Paramedics fun for children conclusions," he said. Moore leaped into the water amid a Page B-1 said he did not know how long rain of spacecraft wreckage. the investigation might last. There was no one to be Money Around the nation, flags flew found. Stock market Jumps 18.81 at half staff while Americans "Everybody's sick," said Bob point to 1,556.42 boosted by attempted to · come to grips Osterblom, an engineer who General Motors' stro'ng per­ with their sudden grief. works on the solid rocket formance "We've never had a tragedy boosters at Cape Canaveral. Page C-7 like this," said President Rea­ "It's like a morgue around here. r gan, who postponed for a week There are so many backup sys­ Sports last night's State of the Union tems, NASA is so cautious, so address. In a short televised careful, so safety-minded, that Buddy Ryan, defensive coordi· ;,;. speech, Reagan said, "We it's incredible this happened." nator of the Super Bowl cham­ UPI photo mourn seven heroes ... They, For a moment, America stood pion Chicago Bears, is expect· The drama of the space tragedy is captured by photo of the shuttle Challenger as it lifts off (left) ed to be named coach of the the Challenger seven, were pio­ PhiladelphiaEagles and explodes (top right). The plume was visible across Florida from Miami to Tampa. neers." See Space on Page A· IA Page C-1 Family Circus 'Challeng~y:ou have to take' by Bil Keane. Onizuka prepared family for worst By Beverly Creamer bring herself to ask if he'd left to fly in space. Yesterday's mis­ Advertiser Staff Writer a letter for her in the folder. "I sion was to be his second shut­ didn't ask. I felt kind of sad." tle flight. "You launch, not knowing After his talk with his wife, Onizuka's January 1985 flight exactly what is going to hap­ Onizuka spoke individually to on Discovery, the 15th shuttle pen," Hawaii astronaut Lt. Col. each of his daughters, Janelle, mission, was the first ft:lly Ellison Onizuka told The Hono­ 16, and Darien, 10. classified American manned lulu Advertiser in a frank and "They became more emotion­ space flight. Although the mis­ lengthy · interview several al than I thought they would sion was shrouded in secrecy, "Want me to scratch some­ weeks ago. be," said their mother. "They the shuttle's payload was thing for you, Grandma?" "And that is the challenge had like confessions with him. thought to be a sophisticated you have to take. Without It surprised me the things they satellite designed to eavesdrop doing that, one would never be said. Our teenager related she on Soviet communications. able to accomplish the work had ups and downs. She apolo­ In that long and frank tele­ The Index you set out to do . gized for some things and he phone interview from his Hous­ 10 sections, 80 pages "You can always plan for apologized for not understand­ ton home as he handed out Ann Landers D2 ing some things sometimes. She Asia-Pacific roundup D1 what you expect to see, but the candy last Halloween, Onizuka Bridge D2 unknown is always there." -said she thought it was because talked about his early dreams Capitol Calendar A4 For that very reason, the Ha­ of growing up." in Kona, his hopes for the Classified ads D6-14 waii astronaut had tried to pre­ Onizuka's daughters never space program, and how contin­ Comics D2 pare his family for any eventu­ considered their father's profes­ gency plans for system failures Crossword puzzle D2 ality. Before his first shuttle sion as anything out of the were built into the astronaut Don Chapman AS flight a year ago, he sat down ordinary. "They go to school training regimen. Editorials A10 with his wife, the former with other kids whose parents For instance, he explained, in Entertainment 83.4 Lorna Yoshida of Naalehu, to do the same thing," said their the event of a guidance system Focus 812 Food FHO go over important documents. mother. failure, the astronauts could I •Global Report D1 "Before his last flight I said "My younger one, when I bring themselves home any­ Honolulu Calendar A4 'Come on, we have to talk asked her what Ell does for a way. Horoscope D2 about insurance,' " she recalled living, she was not all that im• "If everything else fails," he Legislative news AS during the same telephone pressed. She said 'Yeah, Daddy said, "we can still use the stars Letters to the editor A11 interview late last year. is an astronaut but Mr. So and to get home. We have about 50 Money C7-10 "But he did that all without So down the street is a real to 80 navigation stars we use National news roundup D1 my knowing. The night before estate agent and owns all these - depending on what software Obituaries D3,D4 he flew, he made me sit down houses."' you're .ising - and if we can People 81 Sports Report C1-6 with him and we went through Onizuka, 39, who grew up in find those stars we can realign Stocks CB the entire folder. Everything is Kealakekua, Kona, helping on the platform on the orbiter. Today on TV 84 step-by-step so I don't have to the family coffee farm and "We need to point the star Tides A4 think . A will, people tq_con­ dreaming of being an astronaut, tracker on the shuttle right at Wayne Harada 83 tact ... He has letters to the was one of the seven aboard the star and then realign the Weather A4 children in there and they don't the space shuttle Challenger platform .