Congress Adjourns for Day : Official Washington Comes to Standstill

News of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger brought official Washington to a standstill Tuesday. But even as flags outside some government buildings were being lowered to half-staff moments after the tragedy, stunned lawmakers began questioning its causes.

Both houses of Congress adjourned for the day after passing resolutions expressing “profound sorrow” for the families of the crew members and receiving the news that President Reagan’s planned State of the Union address had been canceled.

At the National Aeronautics and Space Administration headquarters near the Mall, grim-faced employees stood around the hallways. Dozens gathered in a small auditorium to watch the latest developments from the scene of the explosion on large television screens that originally had been set up to give them an opportunity to watch what the agency anticipated would be a smooth, successful launch.

NASA Administrator William R. Graham had been paying a call on Capitol Hill to Rep. Manuel Lujan Jr. of New Mexico, ranking Republican on the House Science and Technology Committee, and had tuned into the launch on a television set there.

“We were dumbstruck by what we saw,” said Jack Murphy, an aide who had accompanied Graham. “It was such a shock to all of us.”

‘Hoping Against Hope’

Lujan, in one of the dozens of emotional congressional tributes to the crew, said later: “You keep hoping against hope that there are survivors, but you know there can’t be. . . . Wherever we will go, we will carry in our hearts the memory of those brave men and women who died today so suddenly and unexpectedly.”

Congressmen almost unanimously expressed hope that the deaths of the seven crew members would not dampen U.S. zeal for space exploration, and most heartily praised NASA’s overall record.

Echoing the sentiments expressed by many, California Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) said the nation “must continue to give (the space program) the same commitment and emphasis” and added that it was “not a time to make preliminary judgment or cast doubt on the future of the program.”

Similarly, Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) said, “The only way to adequately honor (the shuttle crew) is to keep their rendezvous with destiny in space.” And Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) added: “I am sure those who died would want America’s exploration of space to go on undeterred. I am sure it will.”

But amid their shock and sorrow, some in Congress raised doubts about the directions NASA has taken in trying to build the shuttle program into an almost routine operation. Many also said no further flights should be allowed until the cause of Tuesday’s accident had been determined.

Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio), who 24 years ago had piloted Friendship 7 through the first manned U.S. orbit of Earth, noted that he had reservations about NASA’s decision to allow non-astronauts, such as teacher Sharon Christa McAuliffe, to ride in the shuttles.

“I never was a big proponent of that,” he said. “The main reason for having a (space) program is basic fundamental research. It’s not just to see whether we can put the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker on these rides.”

Rep. Bill Green of New York, ranking Republican on the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees NASA’s budget, said the accident underlined “a need to pause and reevaluate the program. It also will reopen the debate of the value of manned space exploration versus unmanned missions.”

California Rep. Mervyn M. Dymally (D-Compton), head of the congressional science and technology caucus, said NASA may have been “too rigid” in scheduling shuttle flights close together and possibly “put themselves under too much pressure.”

Closed Session

Rep. Don Fuqua (D-Fla.), chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, convened the committee in closed session but told reporters the panel would wait until NASA had completed its official investigation before beginning its own probe.

“We’re not trying to place blame,” Fuqua said. “We’re trying to search for answers. We’re not trying to jump to any conclusions. . . . The space program will go forward.”

Those on Capitol Hill who had been most closely involved with the space program and most familiar with the shuttle crew were particularly moved by the accident. Sen. Jake Garn (R-Utah), who had traveled aboard the shuttle Discovery last April, choked back tears as he told reporters that the crew members--”my friends”--had never discussed the dangers of their mission.

“We just always assumed that everything would go right. You always assumed that if it happened, it would happen to somebody else,” said Garn, who wore a lapel pin identifying him as an astronaut.

Glenn, contrasting his experience with Garn’s, told reporters that the possibility of death had weighed heavily on the earliest astronauts: “We used to speculate among the first group of seven how many of us would be around after the program was over. . . . I guess we always knew there would be a day like this. This is a day we all hoped we could push back forever. We all feel a tremendous sense of loss.”

Times Staff Writers Sara Fritz, Penny Pagano and Bob Secter also contributed to this story.