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Breaking news on cnn right now...

Was just coming here to type that...Bastid!!!!

They just showed a video over texas of multiple trails...

Was this the flight that went up with the Israeli Astronaut??

They have lost all tracking of it also.....that's more worrisome.

Originally posted by Needlefreak
Was this the flight that went up with the Israeli Astronaut??

Yes...


The shuttle looked like it just started disintegrating on reentry

This is not good...

someone just told me they reacquired communication with it. not sure though

CNN is reporting accounts of a loud impact about 100 miles south of Dallas...

this is not good news

///silence///

This would be a nightmare if true... *switches on CNN*

Nasa's declared an emergency...

keep me updated guys im in class right now, and it looks like internet news is running behind what you guys are seeing.

CNN is reporting that the Bush administration is convening...

Very, very bad...

They advised anyone in Texas, especially Dallas Ft.Worth area to stay away from debris because it could be toxic and to alert your local authority about it!

Moment of silence for family and friends of the 7 onboard.

We can't seem to catch a break can we?

I can't even imagine what their families are going through right now. The families were in mission control when it happened. when NASA figured that something was wrong, they hurried the families into private rooms.

*shakes head* Sad... just sad...

Moment of silence for family and friends of the 7 onboard.

I second that

From an AP report:




SPACE CENTER, Houston, Feb. 1 — NASA declared an emergency after losing communication with space shuttle Columbia as the ship soared over Texas several minutes before its expected landing time Saturday morning.

FEARING THE WORST, NASA ordered flight controllers to pull out emergency procedures and ordered them to retain all their records.
Columbia was aiming for a touch down at 9:16 a.m.
It was at an altitude of 200,700 feet, traveling at 12,500 mph when mission control lost contact. There was no further communication and no further tracking data.
Reporters at the landing strip were ordered away 7 minutes after the scheduled touchdown with still no sign of the shuttle.
In 42 years of human space flight, NASA has never lost a space crew during landing or the ride back to orbit. In 1986, space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff.
Security had been tight for the 16-day scientific research mission that included the first Israeli astronaut.
Ilan Ramon, a colonel in Israel’s air force and former fighter pilot, became the first man from his country to fly in space, and his presence resulted in an increase in security, not only for Columbia’s Jan. 16 launch, but also for its landing. Space agency officials feared his presence might make the shuttle more of a terrorist target.
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.

Nasa error? or Terrorist bastards?

Originally posted by neowing_zero
Nasa error? or Terrorist bastards?

I doubt it was terror related just due to the fact that it was up at 200,000 feet when it happened...

I'd say it's more likely due to what was reported in the AP report from my last post...

I'd say it's more likely due to what was reported in the AP report from my last post...

ur probably rite. it just said on cnn that no missile is fast enough to catch that flying brick at 12500 mph...

Originally posted by neowing_zero
ur probably rite. it just said on cnn that no missile is fast enough to catch that flying brick at 12500 mph...

I will have to admit that the terror aspect of it did flash thru my head first off when I heard this breaking, due to the fact of the Israeli astronaut on board...

ya... they said somethin bout extra security at launch site.

I'd never thought I'd see the loss of one shuttle in my lifetime, much less two

Is there anymore new news guys?

Indy,

I'm sure that the debris from the launch damaged the left wing.

WE'll probably see pre-entry inspections now....spacewalks specifically to check the outer shell of ceramic tiles.

Originally posted by Roody
Is there anymore new news guys?

They've got some new photos of multiple pieces of the shuttle up on CNN right now...

Nothing new other than that..

Originally posted by UOD
Indy,

I'm sure that the debris from the launch damaged the left wing.

WE'll probably see pre-entry inspections now....spacewalks specifically to check the outer shell of ceramic tiles.

Yep, they showed the launch a few minutes ago and you could see pretty clearly the debris falling from the external tank during takeoff...one of the engineers said it was of 'no grave concern'...ominous words if I ever heard any

This is so sad

Talking to an eye witness that said he heard what sounded like a sonic boom. Said he had just gone out to see if he could see the shuttle because this was the closest that he would ever get to seeing the shuttle return to Earth. He said he would have been able to see the vapor trail as it landed. He saw the trails but thought that maybe that was the way it looked ... since he had never actually seen one land before.

The news is reporting that they do NOT feel that terrorist has anything to do with this.

Originally posted by Indy
Yep, they showed the launch a few minutes ago and you could see pretty clearly the debris falling from the external tank during takeoff...one of the engineers said it was of 'no grave concern'...ominous words if I ever heard any

Those were almost the exact words that the engineers used when describing the problems with the "O" rings prior to the Challenger disaster.

Originally posted by UOD
Those were almost the exact words that the engineers used when describing the problems with the "O" rings prior to the Challenger disaster.

Almost 17 years to the day...

I've got the same feelings running thru me right now as I did that day as a senior in high school watching it in our AV lab on CNN

Every launch, ice and insulation breaks off...it's normal. It's a matter of if pieces big enough hit critical spots and do any damage to the ceramic tiles. Some spots being more critical than others. Ceramic tiles always have fallen off on all prior shuttles...it's a matter of which ones, where, what they were covering component or structural wise.

Nasa is officially reporting the shuttle lost

msnbc's got a better video up of the shuttle:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/857733.asp?0cv=CA00

Their finding debris is the streets of Nacogdoches Tx...

Is it me, or does anyone else find it ironic that this shuttle flight, with an Israeli onboard, explodes and debris is falling in Palestine, TX?