Posted on 02/01/2003 6:16:05 AM PST by GRRRRR
At high speeds, a pea is deadly.
1440 GMT (9:40 a.m. EST)
During a mission status news conference yesterday, Entry Flight Director Leroy Cain was asked about any possible damage to the shuttle's thermal tiles during launch. The tiles are what protect the shuttle during the fiery reentry into Earth's atmosphere.
Tracking video of launch shows what appears to be a piece of foam insulation from the shuttle's external tank falling away during ascent and hitting the shuttle's left wing near its leading edge.
But Cain said engineers "took a very thorough look at the situation with the tile on the left wing and we have no concerns whatsoever. We haven't changed anything with respect to our trajectory design. It will be a nominal, standard trajectory."
1436 GMT (9:36 a.m. EST)
NASA is asking that any persons finding debris should stay clear given the hazardous nature of the materials and alert local authorities.
1435 GMT (9:35 a.m. EST)
The last voice communications from the crew involved a tire pressure message. Communications were then garbled and static. Contact with the shuttle was lost at about 9 a.m. EST.
1429 GMT (9:29 a.m. EST)
Search and rescue forces are now being deployed, NASA says.
1427 GMT (9:27 a.m. EST)
NASA says the shuttle was about 200,000 feet up and traveling at 12,500 miles per hour when contact was lost.
From all the reports we're receiving, it is becoming clear that the shuttle broke apart over Texas.
1419 GMT (9:19 a.m. EST)
Contingency plans are in effect in Mission Control.
1416 GMT (9:16 a.m. EST)
This was the time of Columbia's landing. What we know is contact was lost with the shuttle at about 9 a.m. EST and a sighting by residents in Texas reported a debris cloud following the plasma trail as Columbia streaked overhead.
1415 GMT (9:15 a.m. EST)
The flight dynamics officer reports there is no tracking of the shuttle.
1414 GMT (9:14 a.m. EST)
Entry Flight Director Leroy Cain has instructed flight controllers to get out their contingency plan.
1410 GMT (9:10 a.m. EST)
NASA is still seeking tracking data. Communications with the shuttle were lost about 10 minutes ago.
1409 GMT (9:09 a.m. EST)
Still no contact with Columbia or crew.
1406 GMT (9:06 a.m. EST)
Mission Control waiting for C-band tracking data and UHF communications with Columbia through MILA. Houston lost communications with the shuttle a few minutes ago over Texas. We have gotten reports of debris in the sky.
1405 GMT (9:05 a.m. EST)
THERE HAS BEEN NO COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE SHUTTLE. Mission Controllers waiting for tracking data from the Merritt Island station.
1404 GMT (9:04 a.m. EST)
We're getting reports from Texas of debris behind the shuttle's plasma trail during reentery.
1401 GMT (9:01 a.m. EST)
Columbia is out of communications with flight controllers in Houston. Now 15 minutes from landing time.
1359 GMT (8:59 a.m. EST)
At an altitude of 40 miles, shuttle Columbia has entered Texas.
Though I have no evidence, my personal opinion is that this is a case of sabotage. Specifically terrorism.
The fact that the first Israeli astronaut was aboard is too telling and is not a coincidence.
I hope that it wasn't, but if it was, I hope for solid evidence to be found to prove it.
Worth repeating!!! Onward and upward!!
None of the crew were "tourists". They were trained mission specialists carrying on experiments on board, IIRC there were over 80 separate experiments on this mission.
They may not have known the extent of the damage until they were already orbiting, or not ever known how badly the shuttle was damaged at all.
Psalm 139: 9-10
I hope we can lay off the tinfoil posts for at least awhile--thing like stinger missiles reaching 220,000 feet! and strange sightings of "military jets in the area by eyewitnesses." Time to pray for the families.
I don't know. I was thinking of something using satelite technology. We may never know. Of course, terrorists usually like to take credit for their work, but they most certainly know there would be little glory in this kind of an attack because it seems it would be nearly impossible to prove or disprove. I think more likely we have just come to take for granted the safety of the space shuttle and forget just how many risk factors there actually are.
We heard it, too. My husband made me mute the TV, asking "What is THAT?" It was a rumble that lasted about 15 seconds and he decided it was a train, but I don't recall ever hearing that before. Gives me chills.
God be with their families.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.
Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But, we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, 'Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy.' They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.
We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.
And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them...
There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and a historian later said, 'He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it.' Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'
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