It's all over the news now, and the video pretty much sums it up. There is no doubt now since its been confirmed by NASA; the space shuttle Columbia broke up while in decent to Florida. Today is a sad day.

This is very sad, heres the article

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/01/shuttle.landing.ap/index.html

I just turned on the tv -- and this is what popped on.

Very sad news!!

Even more so, since NASA reported problems with the shuttle before launch the other week. There were some structure problems with the shuttle... But they decided to launch anyways.

:bawling:

Actually as far as I've heard there were no structure problems, just a problem with the humidifier.

I'm now watching CNN they don't have any released information from what the problem was because they don't know what it was, but as you can see by the video they keep showing its being broken into many pieces:(

ahhh...
There was debris in the fuel cell.

But on the CNN website they said:
On launch day, a piece of insulating foam on the external fuel tank came off during liftoff and was believed to have struck the left wing of the shuttle. NASA said as late as Friday that the damage to the thermal tiles was believed to be minor and posed no safety concern during the fiery decent through the atmosphere.

so they're dead then ?

This is very tragic... and very saddening....

A scary statement they said just now on CNN

"With an Isreali onboard, could their be a possiblity that this is a terrorist threat?"

I sure hope it wasnt. :(

Jim

Bush is preparing to make a statement. They are saying there is no indication of terrorist actions

As high up as the shuttle was, I'd think that it'd be pretty difficult to pull off a terrorist attack.

Please, CNN speculates on everything nowadays. It's more like there have been way over 100 STS missions and not to sound harsh but statistically one was bound to fail. Also there were problems at launch.

Oh please... CNN is not credible on anything. A terrorist attack would be impossible at 200,000 feet. No stinger missile launcher could even go pass 7,000 feet.

man this is horrible ....

The crew.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/space/0301/gallery.mission.guide/gallery.crew.jpg

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/space/0301/gallery.mission.guide/gallery.husband.jpg
Name: Rick D. Husband
Position: Commander

History: Husband, 45, makes his second trip into space. The U.S. Air Force colonel and mechanical engineer piloted a shuttle flight in 1999, which included the first docking with the international space station.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/space/0301/gallery.mission.guide/gallery.mccool.jpg
Name: William C. McCool
Position: Pilot

History: The 40-year-old former test pilot makes his first foray into space. The U.S. Navy commander and Naval Academy graduate is responsible for maneuvering the shuttle as part of several experiments.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/space/0301/gallery.mission.guide/gallery.anderson.jpg
Name: Michael P. Anderson
Position: Payload Commander

History: Anderson, 42, went into orbit once before, a 1998 shuttle flight that docked with the Russian space station Mir. The U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and physicist is responsible for the shuttle science mission.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/space/0301/gallery.mission.guide/gallery.brown.jpg
Name: David M. Brown
Position: Mission Specialist

History: The U.S. Navy captain makes his first flight into space. Brown, 46, an aviator and flight surgeon, is working on many experiments, including numerous biological ones.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/space/0301/gallery.mission.guide/gallery.chawla.jpg
Name: Kalpana Chawla
Position: Mission Specialist

History: Born in India in 1961, Chawla earned an aerospace engineering doctorate from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Chawla, who has logged more than 375 hours in space, was the prime robotic arm operator on a shuttle flight in 1997.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/space/0301/gallery.mission.guide/gallery.clark.jpg
Name: Laurel Clark
Position: Mission Specialist

History: Clark, 41, a U.S. Navy commander and flight surgeon, is making her first flight into space. A medical school graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Clark is taking part in a variety of biological experiments.

http://i.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/space/0301/gallery.mission.guide/gallery.ramon.jpg
Name: Ilan Ramon
Position: Payload Specialist

History: Ramon, 47, is the first Israeli astronaut. A colonel and former fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force, he saw combat experience in the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the Lebanon War in 1982.

I am suspecting technical failure in the shuttle itself.

This is a very sad day.... :(

*Nothing* could shoot down the shuttle at 200,000 feet and Mach 20 -- even the fabled anti-ballistic shield wouldn't be able to do it (even if the targetting systems worked properly).

i heard its falling down over Texas now.. Isn't the Rackshack data center located in Texas? :eek:

I agree with the fact that’s its not terrorist related; but, this sure is ironic when it's the first Israeli crewmember onboard.

sorry i am making another useless post because my post count was at: 666..

Agree that nthing can shoot down something in that altitude and speed... indeed a very sad day :(

Yah, it wouldnt be terrorist related. **** happens unfortunately, and this is one of those times. :(

Isnt it amazing how little we really know about flight in space? I mean look at it, any little thing could cause people to die. I really think we should step back and perfect what we do in the "unknown" before we actually do it again.

Originally posted by xaviahost
Isnt it amazing how little we really know about flight in space? I mean look at it, any little thing could cause people to die. I really think we should step back and perfect what we do in the "unknown" before we actually do it again.

To the contrary, we know a great deal about these matters. The difficulty is simply that there are so many things which could go wrong; but a failure here is no worse than a failure in a critical component of an automobile.

This is a tragedy, sure, but no more so than a car accident which kills seven people -- should we all step back and perfect what we do before we start driving cars again?

Sad day indeed. My thoughts and prayers are with the family members of the crew.

I disagree with the fact that we know a great deal. There is a lot out there, and we dont know it yet, let alone should we try to go out to it (said that wrong, couldnt say it any other way).

Cars are a different story. We arent going to be able to stop everyone from driving there cars ;). And on the contrary, we do know a lot about cars, and we do a lot of things to perfect them. But here's the main thing: Almost all accidents are caused by the people behind the wheel, not the car itself ;).

Thats just 1 more reason why im not an astronaut

It was the Columbia, the oldest Shuttle. It's been in operation since 1981. There were reports that insulation material had broken away from the fuel tank and struck the left wing at liftoff. But NASA had said they didn't think it would cause a problem. That seems unlikely, but I don't know what you can do once it's in space but roll the dice.

I'm in Texas. First hand accounts indicate that the plume first began over Ft. Worth, then there was a large explosion over Arlington that rattled houses, with the major breakup beginning over Dallas.

The area is called DFW because the two large cities are so close together. Arlington is in the middle.

Even after today's tragedy if I had the chance to go into space I would take it in a second! I wouldn't even need to think about it.

It was the Columbia, the oldest Shuttle. It's been in operation since 1981. There were reports that insulation material had broken away from the fuel tank and struck the left wing at liftoff. But NASA had said they didn't think it would cause a problem. That seems unlikely, but I don't know what you can do once it's in space but roll the dice.

I agree with you, and have heard the same. I don't thinkk they should have risked that ...

Anyway, one of my workers is in Dallas, he said his house shook, and he could see the stuff falling right outside.

what is weird is how a few websites I go to told everyone to go outside and watch the re-entry early this morning. Odd, shuttles coming back to earth is fairly common, but never saw a big deal about watching it before. Its like they knew it could be something spectacular, so they wanted more people to see it :eek:

I can't stop thinking about that last minute for the astronauts.. What they saw, what they heard if anything, did they even know something was wrong? Were they scared about the re-entry?
:bawling:

Oh my God... When I heard the news - it hit me bad. I still cannot believe that 7 brave men and women, heros of the Universe, have died in this tragedy.

My prayers and thoughts are with them. Good bless them. :bawling:

Originally posted by Rewdog
I can't stop thinking about that last minute for the astronauts.. What they saw, what they heard if anything, did they even know something was wrong? Were they scared about the re-entry?
:bawling:

Rewdog, I do not belive they were scared. They are trained professionals, trained to withstand any suddent problem that may arise. They know the risk of their job and its not their job to be afraid of anything.

Nasa Statment:
Shuttle Debris Now Found in Texas

Yes multiple debris sites have been reported. A local apartment fire is being investigated possibly being related to debris from the shuttle. Odd thing was right after the sonic boom, local new rminded people that was normal and not to cal 911.

Yes, I was wondering the same thing since DFW is a highly populated area. Hopefully most of the debris missed dense areas.

Very sad indeed, but i do have one question. Do you think anyone will be sick enough to find a peice of debris and put it on ebay?

Oh you know it, Just buy it before eBay and NASA take it.

All you that said it can not be a terrorist attack are completly correct, it was 200000 feet up and going at around 12000 miles per hour, and watching the space ship break up into many pices was very saddening when you know that they are now gone

NBC reporting U.S. military satellite says explosion...

NASA are meant to be holding a press conference in about 7 minutes. They have also issued a statement on the official NASA website: http://www.nasa.gov

This is sad our prayers go out to the familes of the crew.

I have that same feeling I had when Challenger blew up. My stomach just turns.

Another sad day in history :(

I'm watching Fox News. Very sad day for those involved. The Israeli astronaut was considered a national hero.

Sad

I used to live in the exact area where folks are finding debris. I still can't believe it. I remember the Challenger, and having the same pit in my stomache

You can see the path of the shuttle on this weather radar

http://www.intellicast.com/Local/USLocalWide.asp?loc=kshv&seg=LocalWeather&prodgrp=NEXRADimagery&product=BaseReflectivityLoop&prodnav=none&pid=none

This is a very sad day and my heart goes out to the families of the lost astronauts.

A tragedy indeed :(

Puts things like servers/websites down in perspective

I am very saddened by this. My sympathy goes to the family and the relatives of the crew members. :(

remember what i said about something of debris going up on ebay...

well there was one http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&krd=1&from=R8&MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&query=space+shuttle+debris

and ebay has taken it down... the sad thing is... there were over 20 bids, and it was up to over 20 million dollars

people are sick

A very sad tragedy... I actually live in Clear Lake / Friendswood, Texas where the NASA Johnson Space Center is located, there is a restaurant just outside of it called Frenchies, almost every single astronaut from the space program has visited this restaurant and the Columbia astronauts stopped by the restaurant just before their mission ... they also gave the owner an autographed picture which he currently has posted on the wall.... Very tragic loss here and the whole community is mourning because one way or another everyone around here is involved with NASA....

They died for cause......
God bless there families.
:bawling:

George Bush just addressed the nation... very saddening... he tried to reassure the nation.. I think he did well.

I'm in Dallas and heard the explosion that rattled my windows. Local tv stations had footage of it exploding/breaking up.


And of course some idiot took the time to do a Howard Stern reference during a "spokesman" phone call in

And not to my surprise...

Iraqis Call Shuttle Disaster God's Vengeance

Updated 2:08 PM ET February 1, 2003

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Immediate popular reaction in Baghdad on Saturday to the loss of the U.S. space shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew -- including the first Israeli in space -- was that its was God's retribution on Americans.

"We are happy that it broke up," government employee Abdul Jabbar al-Quraishi said.

"God wants to show that his might is greater than the Americans. They have encroached on our country. God is avenging us," he said.

Car mechanic Mohammed Jaber al-Tamini noted Israeli air force Colonel Ilan Ramon was among the dead when the shuttle broke up shortly before its return to earth.

"Israel launched an aggression on us when it raided our nuclear reactor without any reason (in 1981), now time has come and God has retaliated to their aggression," Tamini said.

They will really see who "god" is avenging in a few weeks time. I am an atheist but I will wonder what they will say when they see cruise missiles flying up their butts. Stupid iraqis.

I was in high school in 1981 when Columbia was launched and I remember how big of a day it was - even to a far away country like Greece. We actually had the afternoon early off school, to go home and watch it on TV.

I am very saddened about the news and it's comparable to every other human disaster and loss. Let this serve as a sign that 7 people that lost their lives in such an unfair manner are as worthy as thousands of others that would be killed from both sides in the event of a war with Iraq. The human life is literally hanging by a thread over the Abyss; we don't realise that until it hits close to home.

I hope that no casualties occurred on the ground and that there is no contamination from the debris; I've friends and relatives in Dallas that I cannot reach.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by this tragedy.

My heart and feelings go out to the families of those brave people, as they do to anyone who has had to suffer the loss of a loved one or friend.

Originally posted by giancarlo
They will really see who "god" is avenging in a few weeks time. I am an atheist but I will wonder what they will say when they see cruise missiles flying up their butts. Stupid iraqis.
Don't be a jerk and tar everyone with the same brush. I suppose seen as you think Iraqis are stupid (taring them all with the same brush as Sadam) that all non white people are terrorists? Get real, these people only know what they are taught and brought up to believe, it's a case of the minority giving the rest a bad image and it doesn't help when the media always show the bad and never the good - Do you honestly think it makes good political propeganda for CNN etc. to show an Iraqi saying, "Yeah, we actually don't mind Americans"? Of course it doesn't, the news people only show you what they want to, what is sensational and what benefits the crusades of those in power.

I dunno,im still suspicious..........

The Dude :angry:

Originally posted by MilkMan
I'm in Dallas and heard the explosion that rattled my windows. Local tv stations had footage of it exploding/breaking up.
Did it actually explode or just break up? The boom was likely the sonic boom from the aircraft traveling faster than the speed of sound, right?

I used to hear it boom all the time when I lived with my parents (about 1.5 hours south of the cape in FL). I live about 2.5 hours north of it now -- haven't gone outside to hear it landing since I've been here, though...

You only get a sonic boom when you cross the speed of sound -- the shuttle was going much faster than that at the time.

If people heard an explosion, it was definitely an explosion, not a sonic boom.

Originally posted by The Dude_
I dunno,im still suspicious..........

The Dude :angry:

For that to be an act of terrorism would grant a level of technical know-how and sophistication to a group of terrorists that I pray they will never have.
It's simply a tragic accident, probably caused by one of the 10's of thousands of parts failing. Space exploration may be a dream and vision of earth but it's done on very real machines built by very fallible humans.
I feel sorry for the three astronauts that are on the space station -- and were supposed to come home on a shuttle flight in a couple of months.

a very sad day indeed :( prayers goto thier family

The Dude, how could of it been terrorism? Explain to me one way it could of been. I been researching SAM launchers for a long time. Let me make a correction the highest altitude for a launcher is 50,000 feet. The Colombia spacecraft was at 200,000 feet. Even if it would of been at 50,000 feet, the missile launchers are way to slow (extremely slow) in comparsion to the spacecraft and by the time the missile reaches where the craft was... the craft would of been gone.

I think it was a tragic accident of technical failure. I don't know much about technical stuff as I never worked at NASA, but I been doing plenty of research in SAM launchers, and no one definitely could of not been responsible as it isn't possible.

I think the reason why some people assume its terrorism is because of the Israeli astronaut onboard. It's an extremely ironic situation, but, terrorism is almost positively not the case here.

Umm.. I just visited my backup host's website and noticed they copied my post word for word... Nothing wrong with that; although I'm not flattered about it. Just find it a little weird, wouldn't you?

http://www.edge-forums.com/showthread.php?threadid=26

That shows a high degree of unprofessionality.

Originally posted by flitcher
I think the reason why some people assume its terrorism is because of the Israeli astronaut onboard. It's an extremely ironic situation, but, terrorism is almost positively not the case here.

What made me think why this couldn't of possibly been terrorism is the fact that the Columbia was first put in active duty in 1981. Making it an old spacecraft and there is bound to be problems.

Originally posted by cperciva
You only get a sonic boom when you cross the speed of sound -- the shuttle was going much faster than that at the time.

If people heard an explosion, it was definitely an explosion, not a sonic boom. Actually, if an object enters the atmosphere travelling faster than the speed of sound it could create a sonic boom -- even if it had crossed that barrier first outside of the atmosphere. The pressure wave that results in the "boom" is only formed when the object encounters the atmosphere.

Sonic booms are frequently reported in connection with the sitings of meteors and meteorites, for example.

As I posted on the forums:

Since we just re-installed vB the permissions were not set and somebody posted this and it came up as Unregistered. I copied it, moved the post to a secret forum, fixed this categories permissions, and re-posted it, as well as adding the hopes from Edge Host part.


Edge Host has no reason to come to WHT, especially myself, and copy a post word-for-word.

I offered to change it at flitchers request :)

If it had been terrorism...and I don't believe it was... It would have had to been sabotage. There's just too much security for that.

The fleet is aging, and relying on very old technology, with absolutely no room for error. Hopefully, the new space plane and a different heat resistant technology will be concentrated on, inspite of NASA's financial position.

Originally posted by cperciva
*Nothing* could shoot down the shuttle at 200,000 feet and Mach 20 -- even the fabled anti-ballistic shield wouldn't be able to do it (even if the targetting systems worked properly).

That's true. But I bet HAARP or malicious code in the shuttle's telemetry computers could take it out. Not that I think that is what happened. I'm sure it was some sort of failure.

Just a horrible event though. I remember sitting in class during 8th grade when Challenger exploded and I feel just as terrible today as I did then.

Its not terrorism... I believe it wasn't

Mistakes are bound to happen, and it just so happens this mistake turned out to be very sad one.

Just reminds me that nothing and no one is perfect, anyone of us can go at any given time.

Its a black saturday for everybody .. :(