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.

[DBrow]

Thought I'd share this:

Fire in the Sky
Prometheus, they say, brought God's fire down to man.
And we've caught it, tamed it, trained it since our history began.
Now we're going back to heaven just to look him in the eye
And there's a thunder 'cross the land, and a fire in the sky.

Gagarin was the first, back in nineteen sixty-one,
When like Icarus, undaunted, he climbed to reach the sun.
And he knew he might not make it, for it's never hard to die.
But he lifted off the pad and rode a fire in the sky.

Yet a higher goal was calling, and we vowed we'd reach it soon.
And we gave ourselves a decade to put fire on the moon.
And Apollo told the world, we can do it if we try:
And there was one small step, and a fire in the sky.

Bridge:

I dreamed last night of a little boy's first spaceflight,
Turned into me, watching a black and white TV.
There was a fire in the sky, I'll remember until I die.
A fire in the sky...a fire in the sky!

Then two decades from Gagarin, twenty years to the day.
Came a shuttle named Columbia, to open up the way.
And they said she's just a truck, but she's a truck that's aiming high.
See her big jets burning, see her fire in the sky.

Yet the Gods do not give lightly of the powers they have made.
And with Challenger and seven, once again the price is paid.
Though a nation watched her falling, yet a world could only cry.
As they passed from us to glory, riding fire in the sky.

Now, the rest is up to us, and there's a future to be won.
We must turn our faces outward, we will do what must be done.
For no cradle lasts forever, every bird must learn to fly---
And we're going to the stars, see our fire in the sky.

Yes, we're going to the stars, see our fire in the sky!
There's a fire in the sky, I'll remember until I die.
A fire in the sky, a fire in the sky!

mp3 fo fthis is at http://artists.mp3s.com/artist_song/2475/2475506.html

Music and lyrics by Jordin Kare, Bridge by Kristoph Klover.

One of my favorite space songs, so full of hope.

[sharktrager]

And you are beating a dead horse.

[iconoclast]

If they can't afford the PR, they shouldn't fly anyone but test pilots and military aviators.

IMHO, there's absolutely no reason to fly anything but rats or monkeys anyhow.

[Timesink]

Anybody know how much control these astronauts have over the shuttle during the time this thing broke-up?

Largely on auto-pilot. Just communications with Houston making sure all the gauges say what they should be. The astronauts probably realized something was wrong for about one to two seconds maximum before they were dead.

[Jhoffa_]

Right over Palestine TX........???

Wow, talk about ironic.

[hattend]

Agreed. A short and inspirational speech.

Well Done, Mr President!

[DoughtyOne]

Yes, she does somewhat.

[txradioguy]

Dittoes on your BUMP my friend.

[The South Park Republican]

She wasn't behind the controls. She was " upstairs" - belted in, and a "passenger" at the time of the breakup. The pilots were on the level below.

Thank you. Any idea how much control the pilots have at the guesstimated time of the break-up?

[prisoner6]

God Bless W! What a fantastic address!

...Tanking license...
"The crew did not return to earth but the seven souls are home."

THere are tears in my eyes, and trust me that takes a lot.

prisoner6

[SarahW]

Then fox has it reversed too. They showed the crew above
and the pilots in front and below.

[twyn1]

Wonder which reporter will be the first to complain about Pres. Bush quoting the Bible and using God references

[DoughtyOne]

I agree. It's is a sad day.

[Poohbah]

Despite the known risks these folks pressed forward. They are at once one of the saddest and most magnificent examples of humanity. Instead of being less, I think we are greater for their showing what humans are capable of in the face of constant danger.

They carried on the tradition of exploration that began when some brave soul said to his tribesmen, "Let's go see what's on the other side of that hill."

I don't know if we are able to NOT want to see what's on the other side of that hill...

Eternal rest grant unto the crew of Columbia STS-107, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them.

[virgil]

Of course, my questions are based on the assumption that she really did screw-up like Shep alluded too.

The report of the mistakes by the Indian lady was also on AOL news, so you can't just blame it on FNC.

I doubt that pilots have much control at 12,500 mph.

[prisoner6]

YES!

Too choked up to comment more...

prisoner6

[McGruff]

You can see the tears in his eyes.

[DoughtyOne]

We are all searching for that phrase that explains the emotions we feel today. Thank you for your thoughts.

[Moose4]

One minute and 26 seconds before the shuttle touches the runway, it's still over two miles up in the air and moving 425 mph. A 22,000 fpm descent rate, like the paragraph says, is about 30 times what an airliner uses on final approach. 22,000 feet per minute = roughly 4 miles per minute = 240 mph straight down.

Terminal velocity for a skydiver is 120-180 mph, straight down.

In other words, it's damn near falling out of the sky. It really does glide like a brick. Apparently what they do, is keep that high descent rate up, and then at the last second, pull back on the stick to gain more lift, slow the orbiter, and greatly slow the descent. It's the same maneuver airliners do when they pitch up right before landing, called a "flare".

The 210 mph landing speed is about half again as fast as a fully-loaded 747, I think.

Oh yeah, and the worst part? If something screws up, there's no second chance, no going around. It's going to come back to Earth, one way or the other. All they're trying to do is aim it and make the landing soft.

}:-)4

[txradioguy]

At that time they are totally on auto-pilot. The shuttle pilot doesn't get manual control until about the 50-60K altitude range. Though JSC does have the option of letting the computers complete the entire landing sequence right through the rollout.