March 1988
From The Space Library
The Air Force and NASA debated possible new destruct guidelines covering when a malfunctioning Shuttle and crew would have to be blown up to prevent greater loss of life on the ground. In the wake of the Challenger accident, the debate over new Shuttle range safety guidelines focused on increasing public safety while at the same time giving the crew of a malfunctioning Shuttle as long as possible to overcome the problem and "fly it out" before a destruct order would have to be issued. As a result, the Air Force suggested barring all non-essential personnel-VIPs, journalists and spectators-from the Kennedy Space Center for future Shuttle launches. "It's the kind of thing [where] you wish you could hide your head in the sand and pretend like it didn't have to exist, that there was never going to be any problem," said veteran Robert "Hoot" Gibson, Commander of the second post-Challenger Shuttle flight. (UPI, Mar 5/88, H Chron, Mar 6/88)
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