LOSS OF THE SHUTTLE: TELEVISION; Catastrophe Is Transmitted On NASA TV

By MILT FREUDENHEIM
Published: February 03, 2003





Whether sitting in front of a television or at a computer screen, the public could hear the last words from the Columbia shuttle crew, followed by ominous static, live on the space agency's own media outlet, NASA TV.

As the shuttle began its descent, NASA TV -- available through satellite services and some cable systems as the NASA channel and streamed over the Internet -- showed the scene in the mission control room in Houston, not images of the shuttle in the sky.

Officials at NASA TV could not be reached for comment about Saturday morning's coverage. A spokesman for the agency said it could not provide a full transcript of the audio during the descent.

Throughout the Columbia's mission, NASA TV transmitted images from within the shuttle and images sent from the craft. But once a shuttle closes the doors on the antenna inside its cargo bay and begins a descent, only audio is available.

In the final exchange, the person on the ground said, ''We see your tire pressure messages, and we did not copy your last . . .,'' referring to data that was not coming in. The reply was, ''Roger, uh----.''


Wade Sisler, executive TV producer of the Goddard Space Flight Center, where the operation is broadcast, said that NASA TV had its roots in decades of NASA television operations. More than 20 years ago, he said, NASA was sending information from experiments in space by satellite to laboratories. ''A number of universities downlink it,'' he said, ''and put it on their own cable channels.

The channel broadcasts 24 hours a day during missions. Programs include daily news conferences and interviews with astronauts in orbit. When there is not a shuttle mission the channel carries daily briefings on space-related scientific and engineering developments.

In addition to being available at www.nasa.gov, NASA TV is picked up by online news organizations.