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.

[Miss Marple]

NASA lost contact with the shuttle as it was in re-entry . Last contact was at 200,000 feet over Texas. Israeli astronaut on board. Video shows disintegration. Search and rescue teams have been sent out, although I wouldimagine they will find nothing but debris, if that.

[txrangerette]

It is pronounced "PalestEEEN".

[Lurking2Long]

Amazing...they were re-entering, not LAUNCHING!!!

[Cagey]

And this thread was just posted a few days ago by SeeRushtoldu_so. Another sad day.

Where were you 17 years ago today? (Challenger Explosion)

[mewzilla]

Why wouldn't they have aborted the launch? Did they do any kind of damage assessment befor the shuttle tried to land? Why would they let the flight continue or not plan for something if they knew about the insulation hitting the wing?

[RayChuang88]

Unfortunately, I'm afraid they're goners. :(

Given the speed and the altitude when Columbia broke up, they'll be lucky if they can find pieces a foot (circa 300 mm) in size at best.

God bless the astronauts and their families, along with everyone at NASA. :(

[oldvike]

That explains everything.

[prisoner6]

They may need to bring the crew down via Soyuz.

Without a doubt. The US needs a shuttle replacement. Something more than a "flying brick" and with mcuh updated electronics and computer systems.

As an aside I checked in at the radio stations whee I work. NO ONE THERE HAD A CLUE AS TO WHAT HAPPENED! They were busy watching the weather channel! No call from teh PD, or station manager or anyoe except me! AND THAT WAS a half hour after contact with the chuttle was lost.

I only checked in because I live only a couple opf miles from teh station and might have to report.

As it is nwo I can gather info at home and pass it along.

prisoner6

[linear]

Haven't really been listening. All my neighbors outside, watching the fading contrails...

[2timothy3.16]

missle shootdown

What about laser? Or other energy device?

[bonesmccoy]

That's my concern... there's hypergolics in the area... the local police need to be in chemical gear to protect themselves.

[Wyatt's Torch]

They had already reentered as well. That occurs around 400,000 ft...from what I gathered from the news reports.

[Luis Gonzalez]

The Green Hills of Earth

Let the sweet fresh breezes heal me
As they rove around the girth
Of our lovely mother planet
Of the cool, green hills of Earth.

We rot in the moulds of Venus,
We retch at her tainted breath.
Foul are her flooded jungles,
Crawling with unclean death.

[ --- the harsh bright soil of Luna ---
 --- Saturn's rainbow rings ---
 --- the frozen night of Titan --- ]

We've tried each spinning space mote
And reckoned its true worth:
Take us back again to the homes of men
On the cool, green hills of Earth.

The arching sky is calling
Spacemen back to their trade.
ALL HANDS!  STAND BY!  FREE FALLING!
And the lights below us fade.

Out ride the sons of Terra,
Far drives the thundering jet,
Up leaps a race of Earthmen,
Out, far, and onward yet ---

We pray for one last landing
On the globe that gave us birth;
Let us rest our eyes on the friendly skies
And the cool, green hills of Earth.

    -- Robert A. Heinlein

Pray for the families, the crew is resting easy, craddled in the hand of God.

[Texas_Jarhead]

insulation foam? sounds inconsequnetial

Did I just hear FNC talking head say debris could be radioactive?

[The South Park Republican]

Could this be a terrorist attack?

No. The last I heard, it's fairly hard for a suicide bomber to jump that high into the sky.

[Yardstick]

A second failure that kills the entire crew should not be ignored. No bandaids will fix the problems with the shuttle. We need new space vehicles, plain and simple.

Isn't the Columbia the oldest of the shuttles? It seems like it was the first one they launched.

[undergroundwarrior]

How could sabotage take place???

But then again, how could such an event take place??? The ship was getting ready to land. No engines or fuel on board.

[engrpat]

We live in the Dallas area and we went outside to watch the shuttle, saw bright lights, etc but didn't realize what we were watching. Went back in to watch the NASA station on TV. It took a few minutes to realize what they were talking about...well now we know. How sad.