Shuttle explodes Over Texas

USA TODAY ^ | 2/01/03 | AP

[Thermalseeker]

repoprts of debris found in various places in TX...

But specifically Palestine, TX?

[Kevin Curry]

I believe he means the focus of the reports are coming from the vicinity of Palestine, Texas. He's right, too. Militant Muslims will spin this as Allah championing their cause.

[Ipberg]

If this was not an accident, may those responsible burn in hell.

[Terry Mross]

CNN said it broke up over Palestine, Texas. South and a little east of Dallas.

[MeekMom]

I am more than sad. This is sick.

[Rockitz]

My mom called and woke me up to tell me about this. From the spiraling reports on Drudge I'm guessing some aerodynamic instability- maybe damage to a control surface that made the vehicle uncontrollable. I'm guessing we we'll be doing CFD analyses to see what defect in the control surfaces could cause loss of control.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

Columbia (OV-102)

Background

Columbia, the oldest orbiter in the Shuttle fleet, is named after the Boston, Massachusetts based sloop captained by American Robert Gray. On May 11, 1792, Gray and his crew maneuvered the Columbia past the dangerous sandbar at the mouth of a river extending more than 1,000 miles through what is today south-eastern British Columbia, Canada, and the Washington-Oregon border. The river was later named after the ship. Gray also led Columbia and its crew on the first American circumnavigation of the globe, carrying a cargo of otter skins to Canton, China, and then returning to Boston.

Other sailing ships have further enhanced the luster of the name Columbia. The first U.S. Navy ship to circle the globe bore that title, as did the command module for Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission.

On a more directly patriotic note, "Columbia" is considered to be the feminine personification of the United States. The name is derived from that of another famous explorer, Christopher Columbus.

The spaceship Columbia has continued the pioneering legacy of its forebears, becoming the first Space Shuttle to fly into Earth orbit in 1981. Four sister ships joined the fleet over the next 10 years: Challenger, arriving in 1982 but destroyed four years later; Discovery, 1983; Atlantis, 1985; and Endeavour, built as a replacement for Challenger, 1991. A test vehicle, the Enterprise, was used for suborbital approach and landing tests and did not fly in space. The names of Columbia's sister ships each boast their own illustrious pedigree.

In the day-to-day world of Shuttle operations and processing, Space Shuttle orbiters go by a more prosaic designation. Columbia is commonly refered to as OV-102, for Orbiter Vehicle-102. Empty Weight was 158,289 lbs at rollout and 178,000 lbs with main engines installed.

[MetalHeadConservative35]

Person on phone to CNN just said that he saw a plane by the shuttle??? he making this up>>>>>

[xkaydet65]

Terrorism can't be entirely ruled out, but I think it extremely unlikely. There was no way to get something on board and no nation has the capability of hitting the shuttle with a beam or projectile at that altitude and speed.I don't think any terrorist would claim credit unless they were misidentifying themselves in order to bring Armageddon down on a rival group. Or unless... NO I won't go there.

[Double Tap]

I'm in Spring. Apparently there have already been pieces come down in the Houston area.

God bless them all.

[UCFRoadWarrior]

The shuttle broke up much lower than 200K feet. Who knows what happened. After 911 terrorism can never be ruled out

You are right about the heat tiles breaking off in flight. Its normal for a few of them to come off upon re-entry. I dont think flying tiles caused the tragedy.

One thing I do know is that security at NASA uses contracted (rent a cop) security. Contracted security is much worse than in-house, and they will hire questionable people. It wouldnt be too hard for a terrorist to compromise security and put something on the shuttle, for detonation at a later time.

RWK

[shadowman99]

"Leroy Cain"
What is your point? It's his last name.

[Jonathon Spectre]

Something like this leaves you speechless. We all know that it is going to happen sometimes, but when it does it's too awful to put into words. All I can think is that I wish there was some way I could be there for the families of the lost right now to give whatever comfort I could. On the off chance that any of them ever read this, know that your nation is proud, and that the pain of parting you feel today and in the days to come is not "Goodbye," but "See you later."

[Maigrey]

Bump!

[Braak]

I was twelve when Challenger exploded, and I prayed I'd never see something like this again. But, as I realized, with exploration, comes risks, and I hope, in the names of those who lost their lives to expand man's knowledge, that we keep on risking and pushing the envelope.

[unixfox]

I doubt it was a plane, although I have to wonder what is going to be buried this weekend because of this disaster.

Keep your ears and eyes open.

[DWPittelli]

I wrote: "but the shuttle landed in Palestine Texas"

Then you wrote: "How could you possibly know that?"

Well, "landed" is probably the wrong term. But callers and videotapers from Palestine Texas have had the best view. So "near Palestine Texas" is certainly correct at least as far as the initial breakup location. At any rate, if Islamists claim that Allah did it, as I suspect they will, they will seize on this little fact also.

[GreenLanternCorps]

I was watching "Extended Play" on Tech TV feeding my 16th month old son oatmeal, when my wife (a nurse) calls me to ask, "have you seen the news?"

Terrible, just terrible... Seven astronauts dead...

God bless them, please...

[knighthawk]

We are at a great loss.

[Believe_In_The_Singularity]

Where have you gone Dr. Feynman?

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