Posted on 02/01/2003 6:56:54 AM PST by kattracks
Edited on 04/13/2004 1:40:20 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Shuttle and crew lostBy Irene Brown
UPI Science News
From the Science & Technology Desk
Published 2/1/2003 11:18 AM
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Space shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew, including Israel's first astronaut Ilan Ramon, were lost upon return to Earth Saturday following a 16-day space research mission.
Observers in Texas who could see the shuttle as it flew overhead enroute to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida reported debris falling from the sky.
"It looked just like the Mir breakup," said Stephen Clark, a contributor to spaceflightnow.com.
Ground control teams in Houston lost tracking and radio contact with the shuttle at 9 a.m. EST.
"Contingency procedures are in effect," said commentator James Hartsfield.
Under tight security, shuttle Columbia lifted off on Jan. 16. In addition to Ramon, the crew included commander Rick Husband, pilot Willie McCool, flight engineer Kalpana Chawla, payload commander Michael Anderson and astronauts David Brown and Laurel Clark.
Rescue teams were alerted in Texas and residents were warned not to touch any debris, which could contain toxic substances.
Police and witnesses said the debris appeared to be in a line from Dallas southeast to the Louisiana border.
Don Archer of Waco told NBC News he was videotaping the shuttle as it streaked overhead:
"It disappeared and seemed like it started breaking up."
"There was additional fire and smoke hanging in the sky."
"I didn't hear anything because I was concentrating on taking the video."
President George W. Bush was being briefed at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Md., and was preparing to convene domestic and military committees that may be involved in the shuttle emergency.
The mission was the first of six planned for this year, with the remainder of the flights devoted to space station assembly.
The loss of the shuttle and the crew comes 17 years after the Challenger accident, which claimed the lives of seven astronauts, including teacher in space Christa McAuliffe. The woman who trained alongside McAuliffe and served as her backup was to fly on Columbia's next mission this November.
There has been no determination on what caused Columbia to fall from the sky. Video taken during the shuttle's launch showed what appeared to be a piece of foam insulation falling from Columbia's fuel tank and striking the orbiter's left wing near its leading edge. Flight Director Leroy Cain said during a press conference on Friday engineers had studied the situation and had no concerns as they prepared for the landing.
"We haven't changed anything with respect to our (landing) trajectory design. It will be a nominal, standard trajectory," Cain said.
Copyright © 2001-2003 United Press International
The various tiles and parts on a shuttle pose a huge problem, bcause if one comes off, the skin underneath is vulnerable. The NASP would have solved this by being constructed out of an essentially single piece design. We could not (so far) get the scramjet engine to work, but then again, the program did not receive any kind of priortiy funding. Now, it is time to revisit that program.
God does not kill His children. Period. James said all GOOD and PERFECT gifts come down from the Father of Lights," and this disaster is no good gift. It is the other guy, the devil, whose job Jesus said it was, to "kill, steal, and destroy." Satan killed these astronauts, stole a vehicle of the United States, and destroyed it. Not GOD.
In other words, NASA knows a disaster is inevitable and they were getting increasingly nervous as they got closer to 100.
200,000 feet or almost 40 miles up.
That's not really accurate, because the odds of a disaster occurring don't change as time goes on.
If you toss a coin 100 times, the odds of it coming up heads every time are incredibly small. However, if you've already got 99 heads in a row and you're flipping the coin for the 100th time, the odds of getting a "head" are 1 in 2.
Have you ever seen a meteor burn up in the atmosphere. At a certain point during the heating, there is an explosion and and pieces are scattered. An overheating space craft is not like a house slowly burning to the ground. The vehicle will explode when it loses its integrity.
They don't? If scientific analysis predicts trouble in 1 of 100 cases, and the first 89 were trouble free, I'd be nervous as hell. The odds are its going to happen in one of the next 11 flights. I don't like those odds.
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