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.

[txradioguy]

'Touch the Face of God'
The Challenger speech.

BY RONALD REAGAN

(President Reagan delivered this speech Jan. 28, 1986, after the space shuttle Challenger exploded as it was taking off. This morning the space shuttle Columbia broke apart on re-entry, killing seven astronauts: Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon.)

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 25 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 school children 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.

I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute. We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.

I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."

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 their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."

[lavrenti]

True.

[George W. Bush]

Now people (scum) are trying to sell pieces of the shuttle on Ebay...

eBay pulled the ad for the debris. But I saw a single $5 1991 Columbia commemorative coin from the Marshall Islands which was listed at $9.99. It's over $1900 right now.

[lodwick]

Good point, but I'm just reporting what happened this morning. Perhaps the local LEO's were directed to do this?

SIL also reported that several local residents picked up/touched/fondled the debris and are now in local hospitals with G*d knows what complications.

Another thought - what about the wildlife that will come into contact with the debris?

Man oh man. What a mess.

[Robert_Paulson2]

"I know that the friends and families of those who died in Apollo I, Challenger, and Columbia surely find little personal solace in that fact"

---

Actually, many DO take GREAT solace and comfort in the KNOWING that their family member or loved one has paved the way for ALL of us... things like MRI, missile defense and advanced disease treatments have all benefitted greatly from their willingness to lay down their lives for us.

Heros are heros because of what they purchase with their blood.
These folks launched a lot of very important weather and military satellites... and contributed to the saving of thousands of lives, if not millions.

I for one would hurt for the loss, but take GREAT comfort from the knowlege and influence of such people in my life...
and I do.

---

not really an argument and I DID get your point... but wanted to point out that family members OFTEN don't feel as bad as we do about their loss... it was a price they were more than WILLING to pay. And I think I understand why.

[Timesink]

But I saw a single $5 1991 Columbia commemorative coin from the Marshall Islands which was listed at $9.99. It's over $1900 right now.

Hopefully those are fake bids by people that are disgusted with the attempt to cash in on the tragedy.

[hole_n_one]

[sweetliberty]

"I for one do not care to muddy my mind with them"

Then don't! Nobody is making you click on the links. Sheesh; this petty bickering is more disruptive than the links.

[Orion78]

Closing thought, in 1998, the ChiCOMs all but promised that someday they would do something like this.

Got any reference material?

[George W. Bush]

The reports of body parts being found, although surely a need-to-know part of the investigation for those whose job it is to decipher what happened and why, are not something about which the average American needs a detailed description (let alone photographs).

I didn't believe the earlier reports of remains being found.

But I'm glad there are remains for their relatives to bury. Maybe we can build a memorial and a common grave area for them if the families want that. I hope we find some remains from all of them. But the details of that don't have be publicized.

[not-an-ostrich]

On a news wire, Betty and Doug Haviland of Ames, Iowa watched the re-entry film on TV. Laurel Clark is their niece. They watched the film of the WTC collapse on 9/11. Their son Tim was on the 96th floor and killed. Their daughter-in-law's brother was a fireman lost at WTC. Very sad!

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

I am sad this happened; that said it really upsets me that we rely on such old technology. We need to invest our cash better.

At any given point in time we make use of "new" and "old" technology, as well as anytime in between. Most plumbing technology is millenia old yet works quite well. The Boeing 747 is "old" technology in commercial aviation yet it has a superb safety record. Due primarily to cost constraints, we never employ the "newest" technologies all at once. But this may in fact be wise, as most "new" technology is not quite proven.

[George W. Bush]

Hopefully those are fake bids by people that are disgusted with the attempt to cash in on the tragedy.

No. Auction for the coin started n 1/25/03. Just a coincidence. It ends in about 1 hour.

Space Shuttle Columbia $5 Commemoritive Coin

[ken in texas]

Boy, aren't you just the know-it-all on all these threads. Obviously you should have given the news conference and coordinated the cleanup. Heck, we should have had you in charge of Columbia, then it wouldn't have crashed. And now I guess you can get your trial lawyer buddy to analyze my thread, find the weak points, and sue me.

No, I won't sue you. I'll just be sure to ignore your future posts. Why don't you chill out a bit.

[Timesink]

No. Auction for the coin started n 1/25/03. Just a coincidence. It ends in about 1 hour.

In that case, the winning bidder is an INCREDIBLY stupid individual. That coin is probably only worth a buck or so more tonight than it was this morning, and even that extra dollar will disappear as this tragedy fades into the past. (How many ultravaluable pieces of Challenger memorabilia do you have in your collection?)

[Timesink]

Wow, now THAT'S creepy. Did they say where that was found?

[sweetliberty]

We have certainly been immersed in tragedy the past couple of years. Too bad that one family has had to endure so very much. May God's comfort be abundant and His presence real to them through this.

[joanie-f]

Heroes are heroes because of what they purchase with their blood .... family members often don't feel as bad as we do about their loss .... many do take great solace and comfort in knowing that their family member or loved one has paved the way for all of us.

Yes, but how common is such self-sacrificing heroism these days? And therein lies the unfathomable sadness that must lie in the hearts of those they leave behind. Such heroes are hard to find (heroism (or what passes for it) today is defined by much flimsier, self-aggrandizing stuff). So those of us who are fortunate enough to have personally known the kind of heroes about which you are speaking can’t help but mourn their passing doubly: once because of the personal loss, and again because there generally are very few who can step in and fill their empty shoes.

Yes, I know there are (and always will be) other astronauts waiting in the wings. But that particular type of courageous, duty-bound, adventurous person is vastly outnumbered (and their proportion is growing smaller by the day) by the type who place no value on such virtues. (And, mark my words, the latter type will be the most vocal in criticism of the mistakes which contributed to today’s tragedy, while really caring very little about the loss of noble human life).

[hole_n_one]

FNC reporter says he happened upon it......he didn't specify where.

[sweetliberty]

"What argument will they use to link the shuttle disaster to NOT acting on Iraq?"

Why do we care what their arguments are? It is obvious they are not rational, therefore they should be irrelevant in the decision making process. They have no capacity for good judgement.