Ron Dittemore
Ron Dittemore
Ron D. Dittemoreis a former shuttle program manager for NASA, and is currently the president of ATK Launch Systems Group, formerly known as ATK Thiokol Propulsion, part of Alliant Techsystems, Inc...
although cannot crew location memory pause recovery reflect stop time
We're going to pause and reflect upon the crew of Columbia, their lives, their contributions, their memory, and although we cannot stop our investigation and the recovery effort, we will pause in this location to take the time to reflect upon their lives, their sacrifice. It's a day of remembering. It's a day of remembering our friends, and for us it's a day of mourning.
information pieces teams thousands
We are getting thousands of pieces of information and the teams are working through each piece deliberately.
becoming organized progress support
We're becoming very organized and making progress in support of each other.
mission space
This mission ... effectively jump-starts us back into assembling the International Space Station.
complexity extremely far gone level missions shuttle station takes
The shuttle missions that have gone to the station so far have been extremely successful. This mission takes the level of complexity up a notch.
indicative missing root rough shows smoking sure
It could be indicative of a rough tile or missing tile. We are not sure yet. I don't have a smoking gun. I don't have anything that shows a root cause.
necessary satisfied taken
We're satisfied that the necessary precautions have taken place or we wouldn't launch.