Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 1

Wednesday Jan. 29, 1906 ill (BjElMg COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE, PAGES 1 A-5A a 1 35 cents Copyright "1986 Lansing State Journal, Lansing, Michigan A Gannett Newspaper noon 001 Dt(Q)l7l7(Q)7 Nation mourns 7 astronauts ByCHET LUNNER Gannett News Service CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. All they found was an empty parachute, a ghostly marker floating in 10-foot seas 20 miles from the launch pad. There was no sign of space shuttle Challenger or its seven astronauts, and a nation that had cheered "the magnificent flying machine" as it roared off its launch pad Tuesday morning fell into mourning less than 2 minutes later. "Oh no? Oh God! I can't look," spectators cried, as the 100-ton orbiter disintegrated in a giant ball of smoke and flame that scarred the cloudless sky above Kennedy Space Center.

"There has been an explosion," Mission Control announced from Houston. The shuttle is fueled by 500,000 gallons of volatile liquid hydrogen and oxygen. Space center regulars, usually the picture of "Right Stuff stoicism, were stunned, then tearful, as the magnitude of the tragedy sunk in. Thousands of reporters rushed to the site of America's worst space tragedy, the first inflight fatalities of the space program. NASA managers Immediately impounded all evidence concerning the tragic flight, named an investigation board and suspended the shuttle program until Tuesday's events can be understood.

"We will not speculate on the specific cause," Jesse Moore, head of NASA's shuttle program told reporters Tuesday afternoon. As he gravely fielded questions See CRASH, Page 5A Unthinkable but true. 8A V- CS Associated Press Plumes of heavy smoke are the aftermath of the explosion Tuesday of the space shuttle Challenger's 100-ton orbiter with its huge external fuel tank laden with liquid hydrogen and oxygen shortly after liftoff at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. NASA officials said there were no problems at the time of liftoff. All seven astronauts aboard were killed.

Special meaning in Jackson By SUE NICHOLS Lansing State Journal JACKSON The keepers of the Michigan Space Center already are laying plans to bring meaning to Tuesday's space shuttle tragedy. They are calling the shuttle crew modern-day pioneers. "I think I will go back in history and compare the Challenger crew to the other pioneers that have given their lives for new ventures," said Fran Greene, center program and education coordinator, on what she would tell the children who come to the center. "These people have given up their lives for something they believed In, just like other patriots did." In this community, which lays special claim to the United States' space program, the Challenger's fatal explosion was an especially crushing blow. Four astronauts have had some association with Jackson and another three are from Michigan.

"Overall, I'm sure we will regroup and continue," said center Executive Director James E. Satterelli, of U.S, See JACKSON. Page 5A Associated Press Today Gov. James Blanchard delivers a preview of his annual State of the State message on television tonight. The broadcast, from WKAR-TV in East Lansing, begins at 7:30 p.m.

and ends with a one-hour call-in segment for the public. See stories on 1B. Tomorrow Sports tverett basketball twins Carl and Charles Thomas. McAuliffe didn't dwell on danger State Journal Wire Services CAPE CANAVERAL, Ha. The bewildered faces of Ed and Grace Corrigan turned to shock and grief when they realized that the fireball in the sky spelled death for their daughter.

Standing on bleachers in a viewing area with another daughter, Lisa Corrigan, the parents of Christa McAuliffe watched Tuesday morning as the Challenger soaring overhead and then the explosion. "Where is it?" a youngster in the.crowd asked. The horror of what had happened set in. A NASA official approached the Corrigans and quietly said, "The vehicle has exploded." They were hustled away from the viewing area, plumes of smoke still trailing overhead. A medical staff was on hand to care for their needs.

The last time McAuliffe saw her parents was last Friday at lunch when they had a barbeque at a beach house. McAuliffe's spokeswoman, Linda Long, said she didn't think the teacher-in-space had spoken to her two children Tuesday because the children were staying in Orlando with their father, Steve McAuliffe. He and the children Scott, 9, and Caroline, 6 See SCHOOL. Page 5A fil 2 teacher hopefuls stunned By COREY WILLIAMS Lansing State Journal Okemos and Owosso teachers who yearned and prayed to occupy a seat on the space shuttle Challenger said they were shocked and saddened by Tuesday's tragedy, in which New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe died. But despite the accident, both said they would gladly join a future space mission if offered a chance.

Steven L. Thomas, an Okemos High School social studies teacher, and Gail Weeks, a math and computer teacher at Owosso Junior High School, had applied for NASA's National Teacher in Space Project See TEACHERS. Page 5A Inside 0 Ann 2D BusinessStocks 6B Classified 6C-10C CrosswordComics 5D 2D 2B Metro 1B-4B 8A Sports 1C-6C Television 6D Theater 4D Today Outside Cloudy; today with a 60 percent chance of snow. Details, Page 5 A. i Lansing State JournalNORRIS INGELLS Stephen L.

Thomas, a social studies teacher at Okemos High School, had been a candidate for the ill-fated flight. Lisa Corrigan (left), sister of teacher-astronaut Christa McAuliffe, reacts as she watches the space shuttle Challenger explode at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida Tuesday. Behind Corrigan are Christa's parents. Grace and Ed Corrigan. President shocked; cancels talk Newsmaker Gannett News Service WASHINGTON President Reagan, shocked by the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger, canceled his State of the Union address Tuesday after watching the tragic fireball replayed on television time and time again.

"We've never had a tragedy like this," Reagan said nationwide address, explaining that he canceled the State of the Union speech because "today was a day for mourning and remembering." Reagan called the seven crew members "pioneers (who had) that special grace, that special spirit that says give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy." The president, who in 1984 proposed sending a teacher in space, mourned the loss of 37-year-old Christa McAuliffe as a member of the team, but he vowed to continue the program, and the invitation to civilians to serve as astronauts. "The future doesn't belong to the faint-hearted, it belongs to the brave," Reagan said. The State of the Union address he was to deliver to the nation was an upbeat speech, painting an America "on the move." The White House was flooded with calls from supporters, urging the president not to attempt an upbeat message in the midst of such tragedy. By 1:30 p.m., Reagan decided the annual ritual could wait for a week, until Feb. 4.

President Reagan: "The future doesn't belong to the faint hearted, it belongs to the brave." 3 I.