Shuttle Contact LOST-No Tracking Data During RE-Entry!

Nasa TV | 02/01/03 | GRRRR

[GRRRRR]

Shuttle has NOT been heard from or seen on tracking radar since 0800Hrs CDT. No contact at Merrit Island tracking station, no voice comm...DEVELOPING.

[litehaus]

" May God Bless their souls"

And comfort those they 'left behind'

[txrangerette]

It is pronounced "PalestEEEN".

[MeekOneGOP]

Lost in Space Alert !

Heads up Texans. The Shuttle exploded over the Dallas/Fort Worth area, 200,000 feet up (38 miles).

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Texas ping list!. . .don't be shy.

[barker]

Pray reallllly hard.

I'm praying as hard as I can.

[austen]

Does anyone know if I can get Fox News on the internet? I do not have acccess to a television right now.

[bonesmccoy]

MSNBC also reporting that AP has a story about insulation impacting the left wing of the orbiter.

Video of the wing impact should exist if it occurred on the pad or near it.

[IonInsights]

Think of this: there is nothing keeping OBL or whomever else to take credit for this as a terrorist act.

[oldvike]

Thanks.

[rface]

It wouldn't take much to sabatage a shutle. Just one little tweak on a system that is used durring re-entry....

Then again - it could also have been a malfunction

[Brett66]

Astronauts on board:

Rick Husband

William McCool

Kalpana Chawla

David Brown

Mike Anderson

Laurel Clark

Ilan Ramon

[College Repub]

True. They have prettier newsbabes and better political analysis though.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

The original shuttle design called for an escape capsule like an F-111 aircfaft has, but it was considered too costly and shelved. Until the Challeger disaster, they had no way of escape. They now put in a system where the astronauts could escape by parachute ( NASA tested it using a C-141), but the speed and altitude make that system most probably useless in this case.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Thank you, Catspaw, for the crew.

[Lion's Cub]

Newsperson I think. They were talking about Bush convening that "Dometic Event" meeting. Then they said something about Norad and a command center being activated. That's why I asked if anyone else heard it? I'm not sure what they said, but I had the impression that we were worried about some kind of an attack.

But I was sitting here crying, so I'm not sure what they said.

[MadIvan]

That's the cause. No terrorism.

A terrible tragedy nonetheless.

Regards, Ivan

[OutSpot]

Take a look at the pic below (Shuttle over texas)I believe it has seperated into various pieces.

I pray that it is not what I believe it is

"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 January 16 launch, but also for its landing. "

Could this be a terrorist attack?

[snopercod]

The Columbia broke up at 207,000 ft, and probably Mach 14 or so. Over Dallas.

The crew has to be dead.

[July 4th]

Shoot down is unlikely - not much can get to 207,000 feet to shoot it down. It appears that it broke up - for some unknown reason - on re-entry.

[MeekOneGOP]

Pray for the families...