I hope we didn't lose another space shuttle...

DAMN... this doesn't look good....

We lost it... there is no doubt about that. Its just if anyone survived is the big thing.

[Kai]

damn damn damn

She's gone.. but what happened and now where does the space program go?

Sigh.

Damnit to hell this is terrible my mom just woke me up with the news

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- The space shuttle Columbia, with seven astronauts aboard, broke up as it descended over central Texas Saturday toward a planned landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Police in Nacogdoches, Texas, reported "numerous pieces of debris" both inside the city limits and in Nacogdoches County.

"Information is really sketchy," Det. Greg Sowell said. "We want people to stay away, because some of it could be toxic."

Sowell said officers and city and county employees were being dispatched to stand by the debris until the arrival of FBI and NASA representatives.

Residents as far east as Shreveport, Louisiana, reported seeing and feeling an apparent explosion.

Search-and-rescue teams from the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area were alerted and residents were urged to stay away from any possible debris from the shuttle, which may be hazardous, said NASA public affairs officer James Hartfield.

Shuttle commander Rick D. Husband, pilot William C. McCool, payload commander Michael P. Anderson, mission specialists David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark and Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, were on board.

President Bush was briefed at Camp David, Maryland, and cut short his stay at the retreat to return to the White House.

The administration was preparing to convene a "domestic event" conference among all domestic and military agencies that may be involved in the next step.

An administration official said the shuttle's altitude -- over 200,000 feet -- made it "highly unlikely" that the shuttle fell victim to a terrorist act.

"We have no information at this time that indicates that this was a terrorism incident," said Gordon Johndroe, press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. "Obviously, the investigation is just beginning, but that is what we know now."

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge went to the White House shortly after hearing the report.

NASA officials at the Johnson Space Center in Houston said they last had contact with the shuttle about 9 a.m. EST, and it had been expected to touch down at about 9:16 a.m. EST.

Video of the shuttle tracking over Dallas showed multiple vapor trails, but NASA spokesman Kyle Herring said it was too early to determine the source.

Steve Petrovich, a police officer in Palestine, Texas, said he heard "a rumble and boom" at about 8 a.m. CDT (9 a.m. EST).


The crew members of STS-107 walked out January 16 for launch aboard Columbia's last mission.



Jim Hubbs of New Boston, Texas, said he heard police discussing over a police scanner "a smoking object going southeast" that disappeared in the Bowie County area near the Arkansas state line.

Amy Townsend, of Carthage, said she heard a loud boom that shook her house. She said there were two or three loud noises that lasted about a minute and that she saw a cloud of smoke outside her house.

Don Farmer of Lufkin, outside of Dallas, said he heard loud noises that lasted for 10 to 15 seconds. The noise sounded like dynamite exploding, and he thought it was an aircraft breaking the sound barrier.

Dozens of people, including several officers, reported seeing "a ball of fire," Bowie County Sheriff's office dispatcher Jodine Langford said. "They saw it go out and then break into pieces," she said.

Officials said no tracking data were available.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington has dispatched a small team to Florida to be with Col. Ilan Ramon's wife, four children and his parents, a spokesman for the Israeli embassy told CNN.


Mission control officials in Houston lost contact with the shuttle Saturday morning.



Ramon's family members had traveled from Israel to watch the planned return of the shuttle to the Kennedy Space Center Saturday morning.

Ramon's father was at a television station watching the unfolding coverage. Ramon, 48, took part in the 1981 bombing of the nuclear reactor in Iraq.

Columbia is the oldest of NASA's shuttle fleet, first launched in 1981. It was on its 28th mission. The shuttle underwent an extensive, 17-month overhaul that began in September, 1999.

It rejoined the shuttle fleet in February, 2001 and flew its first mission after the upgrades in March, 2002.

Originally posted by Kai
damn damn damn

She's gone.. but what happened and now where does the space program go?

Maybe they'll carry on regardless. I hope they do.

[scaramanga]

They should, if they need an extra shuttle they should get the russian space shuttle one back into action!

They'll carry on. Remember when Challanger broke up on take-off years ago?

[Kai]

NOTE TO EDITORS: #03-030

NASA STATEMENT ON LOSS OF COMMUNICATIONS WITH COLUMBIA


A Space Shuttle contingency has been declared in Mission Control, Houston, as a result of the loss of communication with the Space Shuttle Columbia at approximately 9 a.m. EST Saturday as it descended toward a landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. It was scheduled to touchdown at 9:16 a.m. EST.


Communication and tracking of the shuttle was lost at 9 a.m. EST at an altitude
of about 203,000 feet in the area above north central Texas. At the time communications were lost. The shuttle was traveling approximately 12,500 miles per hour (Mach 18). No communication and tracking information were received in
Mission Control after that time.

Search and rescue teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth and in portions of East Texas have been alerted. Any debris that is located in the area that may be related to the Space Shuttle contingency should be avoided and may be hazardous as a result of toxic propellants used aboard the shuttle. The location of any possible debris should immediately be reported to local authorities.

Flight controllers in Mission Control have secured all information, notes and data pertinent to today's entry and landing by Space Shuttle Columbia and continue to methodically proceed through contingency plans.

More information will be released as it becomes available.

[Thomas P]

Originally posted by Kai
damn damn damn

She's gone.. but what happened and now where does the space program go?

Kate Hutchinson (Republican Senator - Texas) was interviewed on ABC, she sits on one of the NASA oversite commities. She basically said, that while this is terrible it is not an endeavor taken without risks. She acknowledged that these things can happen and we try to keep it from happening. She felt it was too premature to contemplate this would have a negative impact on the manned space mission.

Hope she's right - I'd hate for us to retreat from our future.

[skyhawk223]

She was the first operation shuttle. I remember watching her lift off for the first time 22 years ago...
May God help the families of those onboard through this tragedy...

Perhaps Enterprise will be brought up to operational specs, but I doubt it.

for now all shuttles are grounded. 3 astronauts are up on the space station. But a spare soyuz is docked there for such an emergency.

Right now the russian Soyuz is the only way to go.

Man this is so sad..

[Kai]

Nasa have just declared the crew lost..

man.. watching them on the screen here is heartbreaking

*speechless*

Originally posted by skyhawk223
Perhaps Enterprise will be brought up to operational specs, but I doubt it.

I recall after the Challenger incident, they said it would be cost-prohibitive to bring Enterprise up to specs... Either they would build a new shuttle, use the Russian bird (which I doubt..), or they'll just wait until the new fully-reusable shuttle can be built. Or they'll scrap the manned exploration program and shut down ISS.. None of which really matters considering the loss of life we have seen today..

[Darrell Lawrence]

......

If they shut it down they're not taking it seriously enough. I know it sounds harsh, and I cna understand if people react badly to that, but like they said, space flight invlves risks. Considering thsoe risks they've done rather well ou of the deal so far. Perhaps this time, instead of shutting the program down for a few years they can just carry on taking the risks and create something that truly honours these brave souls.

Laurel B. Clark

Rick D. Husband

William C. McCool

David M. Brown

MIchael P. Anderson

Ilan Ramon

Kalpana Chawla

Dammit, Resistance, you made me start crying again. But thanks for posting that crew picture.

Grounding the birds temporarily is completely understandable. Right now they're trying to find out whether this is a design flaw, or just a freak accident.

[Commodore-SirJohn]

I suspect it'll prove true that the damage Columbia suffered on launch (when she was struck by insulation from the ET) was a major contributing factor. From listening to the news conference, it seems that all of the losses of telemetry before she burned up (she was at maximum heating, so this wasn't just a break-up) were from systems in the left wing, which is where the damage was.

As for grounding the rest of the fleet, it's inevitable. I have a feeling that the next ISS crew rotation will be via Soyuz capsules. Hopefully, the shuttle fleet won't be grounded for too long...

May the universe welcome the crew and give them peaceful rest...

[Reaperman]

And as darkness settles over the land, let us not forget that tomorrow brings forth light yet again.