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

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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.

[Freedom2specul8]

PS: I think we should be aware that it happens...but am not sure of how to report it without giving them publicity.

[rintense]

Interesting stuff on FNC. They said the female astronaut, the one who was born in India, made some mistakes on a previous shuttle mission that other astronauts had to correct via a space walk to retrieve a satellite.

[exnavy]

Father god we thank you for all that exists, we ask your mercy on the souls of these brave men and women, be with their families, and the american people. Amen

[ladysusan]

FOX 4 Dallas reporting that National Guard has been deployed to Nachadoches

[DoughtyOne]

[rintense]

AP (via FNC): Texas National Guard is being deployed to guard debris.

[Howlin]

Get this: I was asleep and got a call from a fellow Freeper! Woke me up!

We have such a great group of people.

[Sally'sConcerns]

This is now my background in memory of those brave people who were lost today.

[ambrose]

Terrorism?

[rintense]

Large piece of debris- 5 ft around, a steel tank, has been located in Nocadoches.

[muslims=borg]

Traveling at 5 miles per second there is virtually zero margin for error. Amazing that these have been flying since the late 70's. I think its time to design a new shuttle. God Bless them all.

[Mamzelle]

List of foulups infinite, and not significant, could list you chapter and verse from the test pilot bunch, too. My bet is that the tiles started it.

[MeekOneGOP]

Isn't it nice we have FR to gather together?

Yes. It surely is, my FRiend...

[Howlin]

Too high. 200,000.

[steveegg]

I want to know what the last communication with the shuttle was. Did they know they were in trouble?

Courtesy Moonman62 from the original thread (reply 214):

The last voice communications from the crew involved a tire pressure message. Communications were then garbled and static. Contact with the shuttle was lost at about 9 a.m. EST.

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts107/status.html

The main gear is housed in the wing. According to CBS (Radio) News, a piece of the external fuel tank appeared to hit the left wing during launch. It seems plausible to me that these are related.

[mountaineer]

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israelis watched in shock on Saturday as their country's first astronaut was feared lost when the space shuttle Columbia apparently broke-up over Texas just minutes before landing. Israeli Air Force Col. Ilan Ramon was part of Columbia's science mission, which took off on January 16, bringing a rare sense of celebration and pride to Israelis mired in more than two years of conflict with the Palestinians.

Israeli television networks had cued in to the anticipated shuttle landing on Saturday at 9:16 a.m. EST, but ended up breaking live reports from the United States that the NASA space agency lost contact with the shuttle and feared it crashed in Texas.

"The government and people of Israel are praying together with the peoples of the world for the safety of the astronauts on the shuttle Columbia," Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said in a statement. full story

[rintense]

I think they will discuss every possibility. That's why I think right now, the FBI has begun a background check on every single person that was involved with the Columbia upgrade this past year.

[snopercod]

Fox reporting debris fell all over Nachadoches.

5' diameter metal tank fell on the runway.

[Freedom2specul8]

Thanks for posting a pic with their names on it...

[Darlin']

": Why is the President returning from Camp David to the WH via car rather than Marine 1? "

I imagine it has to do with the weather. The meeting he had yesterday with Tony Blair was to have taken place at Camp David instead they stayed a the White House because the weather was so bad they didn't want to risk it in the helicopter.