Shuttle Phone Link Receives Many Calls
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BEDMINSTER, N.J. — More people than usual called a special telephone link between NASA Mission Control and the Challenger after the space shuttle exploded, officials said Wednesday.
Lori Garver, administrator of the National Space Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, said a “very high number” of calls were placed to the link from 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to midnight, when the line was disconnected.
The special phone was established in June, 1982, for the fourth shuttle mission and has been available since then for every mission two hours before launch time until the end of the post-flight news conference, Garver said.
During flights, callers have been able to listen to conversations between the astronauts and Mission Control at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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