Challenger Launch-Pad Transcript to Be Released

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Friday that it plans to release a transcript of the intercom conversations that the seven Challenger crew members had as they waited for launch on their fatal flight Jan. 28.

Spokesman David Garrett said the recording covers about an hour, from the time the crew entered Challenger’s cabin on the launch pad to blastoff.

He said the recording was not previously transcribed because it “provided no information pertinent to either the cause of the accident or cause and time of crew death.”

NASA also said it has not released the transcript because the recordings contain spontaneous comments and information that is personal. NASA agreed to release it at the request of news media.

Garrett said the recording is garbled in places and has some crew members talking at the same time that other conversations were under way between launch control and crew members.

The transcript will be reviewed by NASA’s general counsel before it is released to the public, probably in a few days.

Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine said the conversations contain some references to cold weather but not to the decision to proceed with the launch.