NASA confirms shuttle explosion during reentry for Florida landingKENNEDY SPACE CENTER -- Space shuttle "Columbia'' is missing.
NASA declared an emergency after it lost contact with Columbia.
Columbia was scheduled to land in Florida at 9:16 a.m. Eastern time, but NASA lost contact with the shuttle as it passed over the Dallas-Forth Worth area around 9a.m., Eastern time.
Dallas TV station WFAA played video of the shuttle passing overhead. The video appeared to show "multiple trails" from the shuttle as it moved across the sky.
NASA has scrambled search and rescue teams in the Dallas region. It warns people to be on the lookout for "debris'' and says such debris could be "toxic.''
The shuttle was traveling at more than 12,000 miles an hour at an altitude of more than 200,000 miles an hour at last contact.
NASA was very concerned about security for this mission as it was carrying Israel's first astronaut.
Columbia was launched on Jan. 16 on a science mission that made headlines because of the presence of the first Israeli astronaut in space.
Security was tighter than usual because of Ilan Ramon's presence but blast off went smoothly and the mission was going well until Columbia was reported missing just minutes before it was supposed to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
There were six Americans on board the shuttle along with Ramon.
Columbia's crew completed all of their 80-plus experiments in orbit. They studied ant, bee and spider behavior in weightlessness as well as changes in flames and flower scents, and took measurements of atmospheric dust with a pair of Israeli cameras.
Regards, Ivan