Some Fear Learning How Loved Ones Died : Crew Discovery Upsets Shuttle Kin

Families of the shuttle Challenger’s crew wait anxiously each day for a telephone call that will tell them the latest details of the space agency’s efforts to recover and identify their loved one’s remains.

At the North Carolina home of Challenger pilot Michael J. Smith, the vigil has grown more difficult with the passage of each day since the shuttle’s crew capsule was discovered under 100 feet of water on March 7.

“It’s pretty hard on Jane,” Smith’s brother Pat said of the astronaut’s widow. “She gets a little more nervous, a little more anxious, as the time drags on.”

Grief Sharpened

For some family members, the prospect of autopsies has raised new fears about the way the astronauts died and has sharpened the grief.

Although experts say it is extremely unlikely that crew members survived the initial blast, the possibility that an examination could prove otherwise has frightened some family members.

“It’s taking so long to get anything done,” said Marvin Resnik, 66, father of astronaut Judith A. Resnik. “We’re all concerned that we know for sure that they all died without feeling any pain. If they find out that someone drowned, that means they suffered and that’s bad . . . . We had thought that they vaporized.”

On the other hand, A. Bruce Jarvis, 68, father of Challenger payload specialist Gregory B. Jarvis, is relieved that remains have been brought ashore.

‘He Is Back on Earth’

“I want to know where my son is,” he said. “At least I know that he is back on Earth.”

The longing for more specific news has been painful for Mitsue Onizuka, the elderly mother of Challenger astronaut Ellison S. Onizuka.

“I would like to know what’s going on,” she said in an interview from her home in Hawaii. “I wish they would find out and let us know . . . . I wait and make my prayers and hope that everything is all right.”

Astronauts assigned to each of the families call the closest relatives nearly every day, generally at the same time. But, often, there is little to report.

Resnik said he has been told that most, but possibly not all, of the remains have been recovered and has received the impression that identification could take anywhere from “a couple of days to two months.”

“They don’t know whether they have all seven (crew members) or not,” the Ohio resident said.

Quick Identification

Smith said his family has been told that the remains will be identified “fairly easily.” Jarvis said he expects to receive word of identification this weekend or by Monday.

The crew compartment was discovered after disclosures that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched the Challenger despite strong concerns by engineers that cold weather could lead to catastrophe. Those family members who watched and read the reports described a deep sense of disappointment and regret.

“I can understand why some of the families might be pretty bitter about it,” Smith said.

The delicate effort to retrieve the twisted crew compartment continues almost furtively, with NASA officials refusing to release any information about the progress of the search or the nature of the findings.

The Preserver, the naval ship assigned to retrieve the cabin wreckage, stole into port late Wednesday night with its lights off and its deck crammed with large chunks of the mangled compartment. A Navy honor guard stood silently in the darkness in front of what appeared to be a container covered with a huge American flag.

On Saturday, despite eight-foot waves, the Preserver returned to the search area 15 miles off shore. It was followed by the civilian salvage vessel Stena Workhorse, but two other recovery ships that put out to sea turned back because of the weather.

The space agency attributes its information blackout about the cabin wreckage to concern for the families, who, paradoxically, have filled the vacuum by passing on what they learn to the news media.

‘Part of NASA Family’

“As far as NASA informing us is concerned, we have no complaints,” Resnik said. “They have taken good care of us. We’re still considered part of the NASA family.”

But, he added, “I wish I knew more.”

The discovery of the crew compartment disturbed some families as much as it heartened others.

“We thought we were through with all of this,” said Resnik, who was “disappointed” by the discovery. “Here we go all over again--only worse.”

Resnik said he was told that his daughter could be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

“But we’ve made up our minds that we’re going to have her remains cremated and scattered over the water,” he said. “We went through one service, and it’s still the same person. There is no need to go through another one. It brings up old wounds.”

Some families are divided in their feelings about the recovery and the prospect of memorial services.

Smith, the pilot’s brother, said he feels that the find has intensified the grief and prolonged the family’s ordeal. But, for his brother’s widow, it was welcome.

“She will be satisfied that he will be at a place where she can visit him--sort of a way to end it,” he said.

Smith said that his sister-in-law favors burial at Arlington. “That’s what she and Mike had talked about,” he said.

When asked if his sister-in-law had considered filing a lawsuit against the space agency, Smith said: “I don’t think that Jane has made any decision about that whatsoever. That certainly has not come up yet.”

No matter what the investigation uncovers, he added, “It’s not going to make a bit of difference as far as bringing Mike back.”

Upset By News Article

Smith said his sister-in-law read the first media report about the accident only last week. “She said she read Time magazine, and I think it upset her,” he said.

In the six weeks since the accident, mail from people across the nation has continued to pour into the homes of the crew’s families. There are children’s crayon drawings of flagpoles at half staff, letters from people from various corners of the country who once happened to meet one of the astronauts, and note after note of sympathy.

Smith said he has learned more about his brother from the mail than he knew when the astronaut was alive. “There are so many people he touched individually,” he said. “It makes us proud.”