Shuttle explodes Over Texas

USA TODAY ^ | 2/01/03 | AP

[nwrep]

The morons at DU will stop at nothing. They have lost their marbles.

[IronJack]

Only those who soar may fall.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

Oh, this is so awful; my heart simply breaks for what the families must be feeling.

My father called to inform me of the news from an emergency contingency assesment regarding the Challenger about thirty minutes ago.

Prayers offered to everyone involved.

[Marauder]

The idiots of the Middle East - Palestinians, maybe other Arabs as well - will be dancing in the streets just as they did after 9-11.

[Rockitz]

Yes, I'm sure the fault tree will have many branches and the failure investigation will cost many millions of dollars. Look for Analex and SAIC among others to get rich on the failure investigation.

[seams2me]

If that's what they want to do with their time and brainpower, it's their business. Sad, sick, yes, but their choice.

Isn't it comforting to know that they aren't rational thinkers? They really pose no risk to us whatsoever, being irrational nutcases.

[seams2me]

They never had any marbles, only rocks.

[MetalHeadConservative35]

No one knows yet, so let's put away the pointy tinfoil hats and watch Fox News

wish i had it im on network TV only watching CNN from channel 7(local station but cnn is on it)

[rimtop56]

Local radio says an arm and a hand plus debris found in St. Augustine, Texas; a piece of debris fell through an apartment roof in Plano and started a small fire; a piece spotted by a reporter in a field in Corsicana.

[Kevin Curry]

Not rocks. Black holes.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

NASA doesnt want people to touch the debris because it is highly flammable (moreso than toxic),and, also they do not want the debris handled by civilians so it can be studied later to see what happened.

Remember, the Challenger was lost due to bad o-rings (a very small piece of equipment). Even handling a minute piece of the debris could affect an investigation

[antaresequity]

Why are they saying explosion...nobody knows if it exploded...MSNBC says Explosion..Fox says Explosion...And now on FreeRepublic it says Explosion...

The only conclusion at this point is that the shuttle burned up on re-entry

Where is the proof of Explosion

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

My father called to inform me of the news from an emergency contingency assesment regarding the Challenger about thirty minutes ago.

I can't believe I made this of mistake...My father called from the contingency assesment regarding COLUMBIA of course.

Wow...

[Marauder]

Without escape pods, which I undertand the Shuttle does not have, ejection isn't possible. Never mind the lack of oxygen, the shock of hitting the slipstream unprotected at 12,500 MPH will kill you.
The slipstream when ejecting from a jet fighter knocks the hell out of you.

[RaceBannon]

If they knew about the insulation coming off during launch, why didn't they repair it with space walks?

Those insulation panels have to be bonded on, then a vaccuum bag applied over the patch. It would have to be cured at room temperature or higher, and space is absolute zero. There is no way that I can think of to bond that panel onto the wing in space through a space walk.

I think it is possible that the area that had the broken panel, had more damaged panels that came off during re-entry, and that section of the wing/bofy, flared up, and the heat brought the ship down.

May God grant their famlies peace.

[RaceBannon]

If they knew about the insulation coming off during launch, why didn't they repair it with space walks?

Those insulation panels have to be bonded on, then a vaccuum bag applied over the patch. It would have to be cured at room temperature or higher, and space is absolute zero. There is no way that I can think of to bond that panel onto the wing in space through a space walk.

I think it is possible that the area that had the broken panel, had more damaged panels that came off during re-entry, and that section of the wing/body, flared up, and the heat brought the ship down.

May God grant their famlies peace.

[RoseofTexas]

Lord, I'm just sick to my stomach over this! This brings back 9-11 memories all over again! Pray for the families of those brave crew members and our President! How terrible! Pray for Israel! Seems our president can't get a break this days!

[Thinkin' Gal]

Flame away if you must, but at or before the launch, I found that the only place in the Bible, where "Ilan" was mentioned, was in Daniel 4. Good time to read the whole chapter. Ilan is the tree:

6 verses:

Daniel 4:10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold
a tree in the midst of the earth, and the *height thereof was great*.

Daniel 4:11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof *reached
unto heaven*, and *the sight thereof to the end of all the earth*:

Daniel 4:14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off
his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts
get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches:

Daniel 4:20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, *whose
height reached unto the heaven*, and *the sight thereof to all the earth*;

Daniel 4:23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down
from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the
stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass,
in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven,
and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass
over him;

Daniel 4:26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots;
thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that
the heavens do rule.

God bless them all and may they rest in peace on this Sabbath day. What a terrible day for America and Israel.

America = spiritual Babylon, and is the only remaining superpower. Daniel 4 IS relevant.

>>>And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots;
***thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that
the heavens do rule***.<<<

[Gunder]

Yeah, I saw those postings too and I could not believe my eyes. I guess I shouldn't put anything past those hate-filled jerks over on D.U. But good Lord! To accuse Bush of orchestrating this disaster to distract the world from his SOTU speech?? Why the heck do I even log onto that sick site?? (Don't answer that.)

[kattracks]

Space Shuttle Columbia Feared Crashed in Texas
Sat February 1, 2003 10:42 AM ET
By Brad Liston

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Reuters) - The space shuttle Columbia was feared crashed in Texas on Saturday with seven astronauts on board after it lost contact with NASA minutes before landing.

Television images showed several white trails in the blue sky, which could be an indication of the breakup of the shuttle because normally only a single trail is visible. Officials immediately warned about the possibility of toxic debris in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The U.S. space agency said it scrambled rescue units to search in Texas for the shuttle and its astronauts, which included the first Israeli to fly on the shuttle, Col. Ilan Ramon. There was no immediate indication of any foul play, officials said.

A NASA spokesman said the agency lost contact with the shuttle, which was completing a 16-day mission, at around 9 a.m. while it was 207,000 feet above the Earth, and 16 minutes out from its scheduled landing at Kennedy Space Center.

It was almost 17 years to the day that the Challenger shuttle exploded on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven astronauts on board.

NASA would say only that it had declared a "contingency" and that search and rescue units had been scrambled to search for any wreckage.

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe at Kennedy Space Center in Florida had no comment.

President Bush was briefed on the situation at the Camp David presidential retreat outside Washington, and citizens in the Dallas-Fort Worth area were warned not to approach any wreckage they might find.

NASA mission control in Houston said, "Any debris that is located in the Dallas-Fort Worth vicinity should be avoided and may be hazardous due to the toxic nature of propellants used on board the shuttle and should be reported to local law enforcement authorities."

In Palestine, Texas, a city southwest of Dallas that could be on a flight path that would turn up debris, police spokesman Steve Petrovich said, "We've gotten numerous calls throughout the city of some type of sonic-type boom and people seeing vapor trails."

Columbia is NASA's oldest shuttle and first flew in 1981.

There were numerous eyewitness reports of the shuttle apparently breaking apart, with several trails seen as it headed toward Earth.

Dan Archer told local television from Waco, Texas. "I kept tracking the shuttle and then it appeared to be breaking up."

Another witness told CNN: "We heard a rumble. It eventually got to where our house was shaking ... it lasted for about a minute and a half. It felt like you lived with a railroad in your backyard."

Weather forecasters had predicted clear skies and light winds at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA headquarters said there had been no reported difficulties from the shuttle before it lost contact with ground control.

The shuttle's seven astronauts had closed out science experiments conducted on the 16-day mission, which had been deemed a success by scientists and NASA officials.

The astronauts had conducted more than 80 experiments on behalf of NASA and the European, Japanese, German and Canadian space agencies, as well as numerous student and commercial investigations. The shuttle did not visit the International Space Station on this trip.