Waiting to Launch
The NPR team, on site in Florida, waiting for liftoff. David Malakoff hide caption
To launch or not to launch... with a crack in the insulation foam on Discovery's fuel tank, it's a tough question. At NPR's afternoon editorial meeting, that was the topic of discussion.
Among the questions raised by NPR's astute editorial team... why is NASA in such a hurry to launch? Why would officials even consider it? Why can't they find these cracks earlier? Why can't they come up some other kind of insulation?
I called NPR's reporting duo David Kestenbaum and Nell Boyce, who are on-site at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida covering the drama. David notes that every time NASA scrubs a shuttle launch, it costs a million bucks. That kind of money adds up, I guess.
On a more serious topic, I asked David what NPR's science team is doing for July Fourth. Other than working, he said, they are looking for a restaurant in Cocoa Beach that offers something besides iceberg lettuce. Knowing a thing or two about Florida (being from Tallahassee), I suggested that they get in their rental car and get OUT of Cocoa Beach. He says they're enjoying all the fish, though, although "grouper three nights in a row," David said, "is a bit much. Think of the mercury content!"
He also informed me that they have been ending their days in the Florida heat with a nice after-dark dip in the balmy Atlantic. Doesn't he know that's when the sharks come in to feed? Science reporters!