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.

[mr.pink]

We should launch no matter how dangerous it is.

I agree.

If our astronauts are willing, and I'm sure they are, we must go forward as a brave exploratory nation.

However, there should be no more John Glenn, Chrissy Macaulif (sp?) joy rides. This ain't Six Flags.

[STEAMER]

Thank you for that post, Luis. I'm going to read that to my Sunday school class tomorow.

[E Rocc]

hmmm... the Palestinians must be leaking their chops.

Sheeesh...at a time like this a comment like this. Some around here have truly lost it.

-Eric

[The South Park Republican]

We should launch no matter how dangerous it is.

BRAVO! ONWARD AND UPWARD! IT'S THE AMERICAN WAY!

I WOULD GIVE MY LEFT ARM TO STEP ONTO A SPACE SHUTTLE ABOUT TO BE LAUNCHED!! AND I WOULD DO IT TOMORROW GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY!!

[BlessedBeGod]

Please let me know via freepmail if I can help pay for them.

[anniegetyourgun]

Would you consider starting a live thread when President Bush addresses the nation? Sad to think that there are people on the west coast who haven't even awakened and still don't know....

[cajungirl]

Oh, I never knew there was proof they lived after the explosion on challanger,,I wondered about that for a long time. This is so sad and terrible, just last week we were all thinking about the challenger, I called my daughter who was with me then and she had just turned on the tv. This is so similar, those lovely young astronauts, gone now. It must be of some comfort to their families that they were doing what they loved and in service to their country and to humanity. I think we ought to ban the talk of politics and DU and Saddamn now,,it is the mmomment to think about these people, that can come later.

[GRRRRR]

"normally"...during the mission, up to several hundred tiles are damaged, chipped and so forth and need to be replaced before the next mission. Some tiles DO fall off during re-entry each mission with little to no effect. The tiles are made from expanded foamed Silcon Oxide (if I remember correctly) and are highly insulating. You have all seen the videos years ago, of a tile coming out of a furnace and being held by fingers on the corners of the tile, while the center of the tile glows cherry red...I suspect a structural failure or an explosion of the on board APU's that spin up as the shuttle enters the atmosphere. These APU's provide electrical power during re-entry...

Bless them...

[The South Park Republican]

Sheeesh...at a time like this a comment like this. Some around here have truly lost it.

Idiots. Total and complete, out of touch with reality IDIOTS!!

[okkev68]

I know that the odds of sabotage are extremely low but what are the odds that the space shuttle would break up over a town called palistine in the home state of our president with the first Israeli pilot on board?

It's just weird and eerie.

[George W. Bush]

My opinion, since this was probably an engineering/age problem, this should in fact spur us on to replace the shuttle fleet.

In retrospect, the tiles are such an obvious problem with them. We simply have to have something better. And we need to return to traditional rockets for the launch of spy satellites and communications satellites and other heavy lifting. And we need a new safer shuttle for human transport. The one-vehicle-for-all-missions approach has failed. And that should surprise no one familiar with it.

The most meaningful memorial we can make to these brave astronauts is to rebuild our space program properly without taking shortcuts.

[unixfox]

Thanks for the picture, that is great.

May God bless them all and their families.

[SkyPilot]

I am sure that after seeing this, with the US and Israeli flags in the background...

We shall soon be seeing THIS in the Middle East:

[KneelBeforeZod]

sad to say we can expect the democraps to be on the hill talking about republican tax cuts/lobbying/etc causing this.

[prisoner6]

Thank you...a wonderful picture to accompany the prayer.

prisoner6

[Movemout]

"Anyone know the status of our big KH spy satellites? It's pretty certain we won't be able to launch more for a while and the shuttle is the only way to carry our biggest spy birds into space. "

Not true. DSP launches have been accomplished using Titans. Civil access to space will be extremely curtailed for the near term. Back when Challenger went down the military, who had been forced into all eggs in one basket strategy, created a policy of Shuttle/Expendable capabilities. Miltary ability to launch assets is intact.

[Howlin]

Yes, I will.

[Smile-n-Win]

Thanks for posting that heartening speech. President Reagan knew exactly what to say in a situation like this.

I especially like this paragraph:

And I want to say something to the schoolchildren 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...

[mombonn]

Tears rolling down my cheeks looking at those smiling faces.

Such a horrible day.