Posted on 02/09/2003 4:02:34 AM PST by leadpenny
From Excitement to Horror: Columbia's Last Flight Online
By TOM KUNTZ
The 1937 Hindenburg airship disaster was carried live to a large radio audience. The 1986 space shuttle disaster happened live on network television before millions of stunned viewers. Almost from the beginning, the 9/11 attacks were broadcast live worldwide.
Last weekend's shuttle disaster also unfolded live, but the primary medium was arguably not radio or television. It was the Internet. A small audience of space enthusiasts learned of trouble in real time by tuning in to mission control in Houston via NASA TV's Webcast (also available via satellite dish and some cable providers).
Some of the shuttle trackers in the western United States also kept an eye on the skies, and shared their impressions online. An illustration of their reactions, moving from excitement to confusion to horror, can be found in an online discussion for shuttle buffs on the Free Republic Web site; it was begun by a reader 38 minutes before the Columbia's scheduled 9:16 landing (www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/833885/posts).
The first sign of something wrong comes at 9:05 — at least 11 minutes before The Associated Press moved the first wire-service alert and the TV networks began live coverage (which had the first video of the breakup, shot minutes before).
Excerpts from the online discussion follow. All times are Eastern unless otherwise noted.
The discussion was begun by "leadpenny" at 8:38 a.m.:
Space shuttle Columbia is in a descent for the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and will pass over the San Francisco area around 6:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Route will take the shuttle over Las Vegas, Flagstaff, etc. NASA has still not decided which runway will be used. Landing will be at 9:16 a.m. Eastern.
From leadpenny at 8:42:
I'm watching on NASA TV but I believe you can also watch at nasa.gov. Just north of Hawaii now.
From SamAdams76 at 8:42:
As I write this, the Shuttle should be re-entering the atmosphere of the planet Earth.
From leadpenny to SamAdams76 at 8:44:
We can only hope.
From winodog at 8:53:
I am up and in Vegas. Sounds like I better put some shorts and a T-shirt on and go outside to watch.
From leadpenny to winodog at 8:54:
Just a few minutes away from you.
From leadpenny to winodog at 8:56:
45 miles overhead just to the north of you.
From ken in texas to leadpenny at 8:56:
Supposed to be passing by around 8:03 [C.S.T.] here in Dallas. Getting ready to check it out.
From winodog at 8:57:
Wicked!!!! I was just in time to see it streak across leaving a white trail.
From leadpenny to ken in texas at 8:57:
Hope you have clear skies.
From leadpenny to winodog at 8:58:
Was it glowing at all?
From winodog to leadpenny at 9:00:
It came from just north just like you said. I was out looking already. As soon as I read the time it hits S.F. and touchdown time I knew I better hurry up. That is on the list of cooler things I have ever seen. Thanks!
From leadpenny at 9:01:
15 minutes to touchdown. Heads up north of New Orleans.
From winodog to leadpenny at 9:03:
It wasn't a glow that spread back like a comet but it must have been "on fire" because it was bright and big.
From ken in texas to leadpenny at 9:04:
Perfectly clear . . . what a sight!!!!!
From leadpenny at 9:05:
Little commo [communication] problem right now.
From leadpenny at 9:07:
Still no UHF commo. They gotta have backup.
From leadpenny at 9:08:
Seven minutes to touchdown.
From leadpenny at 9:11:
No commo for the last 11 minutes. Five minutes to touchdown.
From leadpenny at 9:13:
Don't know if anyone is watching NASA TV but it is awfully quiet.
From leadpenny at 9:13:
By now there would have been cameras on the shuttle.
From leadpenny at 9:15:
Don't know about the controllers but my pulse is going up. They are still seeking tracking data. Going to contingency procedures.
From don-o at 9:15:
Contingency procedures.
From leadpenny at 9:15:
Folks we are at touchdown. Something is wrong.
From ken in texas to leadpenny at 9:15:
An unsettling quiet. I hope all is well.
From nicepaco to leadpenny at 9:16:
Hope they find them soon.
From SMEDLEYBUTLER to leadpenny at 9:17:
No radar track either. Hope everything is all right and this is only a technical snafu. Should be visible from the Cape [Canaveral, Fla.] by now.
From leadpenny at 9:17:
Everyone, check the networks.
From 1john2 3and4 to ken in texas at 9:17:
This really happened: got to this thread, clicked on browser to get NASA TV, heard sonic BOOM, Fort Worth (just after 8 a.m.), run outside, MASSIVE contrail leading right into the eastern sun. . . . . . . awesome!
From SamAdams76 to leadpenny at 9:19:
I hope everything turns out okay.
From leadpenny at 9:19:
It should already be down. Nothing!
From don-o to leadpenny at 9:20:
Folks, I fear the worst has happened.
From leadpenny at 9:21:
The Columbia was making four drastic turns over the Western U.S. to dissipate speed. That's the last they heard from it.
From don-o to leadpenny at 9:24:
Anything on TV, besides NASA TV?
From McGruff to leadpenny at 9:24:
This is scary! I was monitoring your thread when MSNBC started having someone on who was saying: "We should have seen it by now. It should be here by now."
From My back yard to McGruff at 9:26:
Prayers going out. Hope they aren't too late.
From leadpenny to McGruff at 9:27:
They should have had cameras on it about 10 minutes out. I fear the worst.
From 1john2 3and4 to My back yard at 9:28:
Prayers
From SMEDLEYBUTLER to leadpenny at 9:29:
Unconfirmed reports of debris discovered in Texas. Looks as though the shuttle has been lost. God bless the crew.
From McGruff to leadpenny at 9:29:
CNN showing video of it breaking up over Dallas! It's gone!
From leadpenny to ken in texas at 9:30:
You may have been the last to see the Columbia.
From 1john2 3and4 to leadpenny at 9:35:
Dear lord . . . what I heard was the EXPLOSION! not a sonic boom.
From leadpenny to 1john2 3and4 at 9:36:
Are you in Texas?
From 1john2 3and4 to leadpenny at 9:40:
Yes . . . Ft. Worth.
From Molly Pitcher to ken in texas at 9:47:
It's said to have broken up over Dallas. Was it intact when you saw it? Or did you see multiple trails?
From ken in texas to Molly Pitcher at 9:53:
At first I was just in awe of the sight. After it passed from view I realized that something just didn't look right. Instead of just one glowing spacecraft it looked as if there were smaller glowing pieces moving off and away from it. In retrospect, I realize that it was breaking apart.
From Molly Pitcher to ken in texas at 10:10:
Okay. Thanks, the fellow in Vegas just ahead of you probably saw it intact then.
From My Favorite Headache to leadpenny, 1:17 p.m.:
This thread needs to be saved as a piece of symbolic history . . . of the last moments of Columbia.
From seamol to leadpenny; don-o; ken in texas; winodog; 1john2 3and4; all, 11:48 p.m.
Thank you for your contribution to history today.
I am vey pleased that he corrected the syntax in my original. My fingers were shaking, and I belive my pulse was 300.
May I ask how that worked? Did you dial into your university at any time from miles away? To be connected? Or did you have to go to the campus?
I could dial in at faster rates in later years but it was a long distance call and eventually that account expired from lack of use. A small server was set up at a coffee/bar nightclub in town in the early 1990s and it offered a simple monitor/keyboard setup (one user at a time, no charge).
I haven't done much world travelling but am surprised by how few people in other countries have tried to open free email accounts (many countries have cyber storefronts that allow websurfing for as low at 50cents an hour). When I went to Europe, I went to a few US sites to get a rundown on recent events/headlines.
I think that there may be some text signalling that you can type into a Usenet post to prevent it from being archived (never tried it myself). Retention of Usenet posts varies by server.
I think that much of the SPAM I receive came originally from Usenet posting and eBay bidding.
It'll be surprising to see what future researchers find out there lingering on the internet.
The "American" Taliban's conversion from hiphop loving musician to Islamist revolutionary can be traced in his Usenet posts (some of which he adopted a "black" persona for). One of the early details I located on the 3 students who were stopped in Florida (after being accused of making terrorist threats in Georgia) was a university blog where one of them encouraged fellow muslims to bias an MSNBC poll as to who was the most influential philosopher (they ran Mohammed's name to number one).
There is some anonymity on the internet just as there is some anonymity behind the wheel of a car but always be mindful of what you say. These electronic bits stay around longer than regular conversations (and they don't always portray the image of us we would like others to see).
I generally hold to my posts and will confess that I've eliminated some phrasing before posting (typing something has been enough to get it out of my system on occassion).
I haven't done much world travelling but am surprised by how few people in other countries have tried to open free email accounts (many countries have cyber storefronts that allow websurfing for as low at 50cents an hour). When I went to Europe, I went to a few US sites to get a rundown on recent events/headlines.
This is reflected by more liberal yahoo email policies in Europe. I just set up a yahoo France e-mail account since it allows 6mb storage (4 in USA) and allows POP access via your e-mail program. (Yahoo now charges for this in the USA)
I tell you it's vanity, all vanity. I don't know how many gas stations, 7-11's, bookstores, super-markets, etc., I have visited in the last couple of hours looking for a copy of the NYT. Finally found the last copy they had at a Starbucks nearby.
I go belive for believe.
Can we possibly get a spellcheck installed here?
bump
Here's what I do when I'm not in a hurry. I copy the text I'm gonna post into a blank Microsoft Word document and let that do my speel checkin.
Should work with other word processors too.
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