Columbia Discussion thread

Feb 1, 2003

[Admin Moderator]

'

On behalf of posters on Free Republic, I post this with deepest sympathy for the crew and their families.

Mission - sts107

---

This is a continuation of the original thread.

Shuttle Contact LOST-No Tracking Data During RE-Entry!

ANY DU LINKS OR POSTS WILL BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY. Keep them on the original thread.

[CyberAnt]

FOX has also confirmed from AP - torso - skull - leg - same location.

[EternalVigilance]

It all suddenly feels very epic.

Very well said.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

The Chi-coms sent US a mighty big message today.
And nobody will ever know.

The illogic of your statement glares through.

If nobody will ever know, how could it be a message?

[Republic of Texas]

Gonna need some proof of that tall tale pal.

[Dog]

CNN is showing what looks like human remains found in a field..

[sinkspur]

The Chinese hit Columbia with a laser.

You're a flake. Keep your hairbrained conspiracy theories to yourself.

And don't publish pictures from your comic books on Free Republic.

[Republic of Texas]

Only those who have actually been in an alien spacecraft know about the laser.

[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Well, that leaves me out.

[Admin Moderator]

knock it off.

[SpookBrat]

Hi. Are you ok?

[hole_n_one]

[CyberAnt]

The report is that they have enough supplies to get them thru June. And ... with a Russian space capsule attached, they can leave anytime they have to.

[Lady Jag]

The fact is they probably weren't prepared to fix a broken tile. They wouldn't necessarily literally fix the tile but it would be possible to bandage an area if they had materials. As far as my expert knows, this is theoretical.

Since NASA wrote off the takeoff incident it is likely no one thought twice about it. Do they know something about takeoff that we don't know? I think so.

[CyberAnt]

Sorry, I wasn't trying to insult you. I was just repeating what the media people had said - that terrorism did not come from the ground.

I don't know any answers to your other questions.

[Trust but Verify]

From what they have said, they studied the situation very carefully. It wasn't just like, "Oh well, whatever it was, there's nothing we can do about it now" kind of an attitude.

In the news conference, they did say there was another similar incident on one of two previous missions. Again, a piece of insulation from the external fuel tank broke off and struck the orbiter. The damage was negilgible and the orbiter returned safely.

I think it is quite possible the damage was in part responsible for today's event. I bet they do, too. But we don't KNOW that right now.

[Lady Jag]

With some 500 debris sites in Nacogdoches alone, I pray that we find the cause.

[DoughtyOne]

Here is a screen saver I made this morning.  It is sized 800x600 and 1024x768.
Right click down download for 800 x 600.
Left click, then right click download for 1024x768.

[isthisnickcool]

Thank you for the flowers from FReepers, nic. That was very thoughtful of you.

Regarding #867. Some people have mailed me offering to help pay for the flowers. That's OK. The flowers were not much $$$ but they were the best I could find. A nice little basket. The last time I saw it some TV photographer was kneeling over it taking a picture of the card. And likely trying to read my handwriting and/or wondering what the heck a "freeper" was. I don't need any help with the $$$. Thanks though.

Maybe they will setup a fund for the kids who lost their parents today. That would be a good place for money. Or just send some to Jim Robinson. That's a dollar well spent.

My wife just talked to a wives of one of the astronauts who's husband has flown other missions. Their child sits next to ours at school. She said that this is something they all live with and that this will likely shutdown the missions for 1.5 to 2 years. I don't think that she is too upset about that.

Someone mentioned that maybe someone said something negtive about the Indian woman that was up on this mission? I never met her but I've met a lot of people that have flown on the shuttle. They are damn geniuses! Scary smart people. Well, maybe with the exception of John Glenn who had no business being on the shuttle. He bumped someones ride when he went. That stunk! Sorry, pet peeve of mine.

I hope those poor souls went to Him swiftly. I pray for their families. Especially for some of their very young children.

I was happy to drop off a small token on behalf of the people here. To show our respect for those lost today.

[hole_n_one]