As concern mounted over NASA's handling of the doomed space shuttle Challenger, the space agency's astronaut corps had stayed stoically tight- lipped. When beleaguered NASA officials trotted out four shuttle veterans for a press conference last week, the astronauts expressed concern about the agency's conduct, but not condemnation. In particular, they reserved judgment on reports that NASA had failed to heed warnings that the weather on Jan. 28 was too cold to launch, leading to Challenger's destruction and the deaths of its seven crew members. "I'm not sitting here angry," said Astronaut Vance Brand. "If there was a mistake, that doesn't...
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