Debris Photos (GRAPHIC)

Yahoo News photos ^ | 2/2/03 | freepers

[Mark Felton]

[Your attention please. This thread has generated a ton of abuse reports. Some have been from long established freepers. Others have been from relative newbies. Some have been complaining about the thread. Others have been complaining about the complainers.

Throw on top of it the fact that some of the newbies who showed up on this thread happen to be returning bannees, who before being banned were friendly with some of the very people they are bickering with here, and something is striking us as just not right.

If you are interested in the debris photos, this is the thread for it. If not, don't join in this thread. It is not disrespectful to those who died to post pictures of the debris in our opinion. What they show and where they landed may help piece together what killed these brave people.

If you feel that is the wrong decision, we apologize and mean no harm. But please, no more arguing about it on the thread, and no more abuse reports on the matter.

Thanks, AM.]

Sun Feb 2, 1:14 AM ET

Fires, believed started by debris from the downed space shuttle Columbia, burn in an area near Dallas, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003. Seven astronauts perished when the shuttle broke to pieces as it re-entered the atmosphere at the end of a 16-day mission. (AP Photo/Joe Cavaretta)

Sat Feb 1, 9:31 PM ET

A video image of a helmet that dropped into a yard in Norwood Community, Texas from the space shuttle Columbia is seen Feb. 1, 2002. Many parts of the shuttle, along with human remains, were found in the area. NASA (news - web sites) officials later removed the helmet. (Rick Wilking/Reuters)

Sat Feb 1,10:35 PM ET

A small brush fire started by a falling piece of debris from the space shuttle Columbia outside Athens, Texas after the shuttle broke apart during re-entry over Texas on its way to a scheduled landing in Fla., Feb. 1, 2003. Authorities have not speculated on the cause of the crash. (Jeff Mitchell/Reuters)

Sat Feb 1, 9:31 PM ET

A piece of debris believed to be from the space shuttle Columbia is photographed near Lufkin, Texas, Feb. 1, 2003. NASA (news - web sites) lost contact with the shuttle at around 9 a.m., about 16 minutes before its scheduled landing at Kennedy Space Center (news - web sites). (Reuters)

Sat Feb 1, 9:15 PM ET

Goldie Hamilton looks at a piece of debris that dropped into her yard in Alto, Texas from the space shuttle Columbia February 1, 2003. Many parts of the shuttle along with human remains were found in the area. Hamilton lives in the house in the background. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Sat Feb 1, 9:18 PM ET

A piece of debris from the space shuttle Columbia dropped into this yard in Alto, Texas, February 1, 2003. Debris from space shuttle Columbia rained down onto fields, highways and a cemetery in Texas on Saturday, sending dozens of residents to hospitals after they handled the smoldering metal wreckage. All seven astronauts on board were killed in the break-up, which scattered potentially toxic debris across a 120-mile (190-km-long) swath of eastern Texas. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

Sat Feb 1, 7:43 PM ET

Stan Melasky, left, and his brother Steve Melasky look over a piece of debris, believed to be from the space shuttle Columbia, that fell on their farm near Douglass, Texas, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

Sat Feb 1, 8:52 PM ET

An Anderson County sheriff's deputy walks past a piece of debris from the space shuttle Columbia outside Palestine, Texas after the shuttle broke apart during reentry over East Texas on its way to a scheduled landing in Florida, February 1, 2003. Shaken NASA (news - web sites) officials vowed to find out what caused the space shuttle Columbia to break up, saying they would look closely at the impact of a piece of foam insulation that struck the orbiter's left wing at takeoff. REUTERS/Jeff Mitchell

Sat Feb 1, 7:25 PM ET

A piece of space shuttle debris sits on the ground outside Bronson, Texas, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003. Space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames 200,000 feet over Texas on Saturday, killing all seven astronauts just minutes before they were to glide to a landing in Florida. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Sat Feb 1, 7:29 PM ET

Searchers mark a small piece of debris while looking for remnants of the space shuttle outside Bronson, Texas, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003. Space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames 200,000 feet over Texas on Saturday, killing all seven astronauts just minutes before they were to glide to a landing in Florida. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Sun Feb 2,10:11 AM ET

Resident Bugs Arriola looks at a piece of debris from the space shuttle Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2003 in Nacogdoches, Texas. People have been told not to touch any of the debris as there could be toxic chemicals on the material. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

Sat Feb 1, 7:41 PM ET

Vollunteer firefigher John Berry looks out at small piece of debris believed to be from the space shuttle Columbia in a rural area north of Palestine, Texas, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003. The shuttle broke apart in flames over Texas on Saturday, killing all seven astronauts just minutes before they were to glide to a landing in Florida. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Sat Feb 1, 9:23 PM ET

A couple looks at a piece of debris from the space shuttle Columbia that dropped onto the highway in Alto, Texas February 1, 2003. Debris fromColumbia rained down onto fields, highways and a cemetery in Texas on Saturday, sending dozens of residents to hospitals after they handled the smoldering metal wreckage. All seven astronauts on board were killed in the break-up, which scattered potentially toxic debris across a 120-mile (190-km-long) swath of eastern Texas. REUTERS/Rick Wilking

[finnman69]

3 bits of advice.

Stop bitching.

Don't look at the thread if you don't like it.

Personal insults made in public threads are very tacky and tasteless.

[freepersup]

As stated in another post- how the shuttle came to be travelling at mach 18 sideways is the six million dollar question.

Not to be insulting by stating the obvious, the shuttle was doomed once it assumed a fatal sideways re-entry position. I just found that fact so compelling when watching the video because it was the first time that I had seen this image captured on film and it was a foregone conclusion as to what would happen next. Granted we already knew the outcome, but to see the final seconds of the shuttle's existence still in a relatively intact configuration, was chilling, to say the least.

Chunking down the thought process to a caption sized comment would be something like-

Super heated shuttle knifes through atmosphere sideways, disintegration follows.

[antaresequity]

This Patch Needs To Be In The Smithsonian

[XBob]

Looks like one of those oxidizer tanks in #263 to me.

you have a good eye, tom

[amom]

A small brush fire started by a falling piece of debris from the space shuttle Columbia outside Athens, Texas after the shuttle broke apart during re-entry over Texas on its way to a scheduled landing in Fla., Feb. 1, 2003...
Photo by Jeff Mitchell/Reuters

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/030202/170/36apj.html

[Lancey Howard]

bttt

[facedown]

It's easy I'll FReepmail you.

[freepersup]

The video IMHO does show the shuttle, wings level, hurtling across the sky sideways. The nose is facing south, 90 degrees off course of the flight path. Some disintegration appears to take place in the video. The camera man zooms in for 4-5 seconds of the 9 second capture, and then zooms back out.

[zeaal]

"Are you saying the folks from DU were gleeful about what happened yesterday? If so, that's AWFUL!!!!"

With each day I am more and more convinced that the liberal, left-wing and/or democrats' hate for George W. Bush and the Republicans far exceeds their concern, hope, interest and care for the future of American and the well-being of the American people.

[amom]

OH that would be fantastic! Thank you so much!

[.30Carbine]

Thank you for bringing flowers for all of us. I hope that is the start of a new tradition at Free Republic, that whoever of us is closest to the scene of heartache will represent all of us who cannot be there. I know this is what is done already in other aspects of FReeper activity. I hope you don't mind, I posted one of your pics on my homepage.

[amom]

This radar image taken at 9:15 A.M. EST Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003 from NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Shreveport, Louisiana report station shows the area where the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated. This particular type of radar image is used to report the density of particles in the area. The reddish yellow streak is thought to be caused by the extensive debris and smoke from the space shuttle Columbia. (AP Photo/NASA) - Feb 01 5:33 PM ET

[EggsAckley]

[XBob]

mark, let me try again:

thanks for this thoughtful thread.

it shows a lot about the fine, honest, honorable, patriotic people of Texas.

if the debris fell over the "blue zones" we could have video tapes of the kids zipping down the streats with the pieces they were absconding with, and advertizers showing them proudly holding their 'souveniers' they got because they were wearing ???? brand sneakers.

please tell the anti-Americans to go to their own website, libertypost.com

[amom]

A piece (bottom) of the space shuttle Columbia lies in the middle of a parking lot in downtown Nacogdoches, Texas February 1, 2003.

[Poohbah]

It could be how the picture was processed. Sometimes the color separation comes out differently, and you wind up with the picture looking more reddish or bluish (the first picture seems to have a bluish cast to the whole thing).

[amom]

Thanks

A piece of the space shuttle Columbia with the thermal tiles clearly visible beside Highway 21 near Nacogdoches, Texas February 1, 2003. In the background, right, is sheriff's deputy Kenny Hensley.

[Thud]

I'd also like to know if Columbia in the 90 yaw before or after loss of contact. Did the two flight crew have time to realize it was in a yaw?

I completely missed the press conference because I was out walking, and my wife watched only part of it. She mentioned that the NASA spokesmen said the shuttle's attitude changes (nose movements up and down from the horizontal vector) were much greater than any seen before, due to minute changes in atmospheric pressure, but didn't recall if NASA had said that was planned in advance or something done spontaneously by the autopilot as it encountered the changes in atmospheric pressure. This may or may not be related to the other problems, but I have no idea how it might be.

[amom]

A piece (center) of the space shuttle Columbia lies in the middle of a parking lot in downtown Nacogdoches, Texas February 1, 2003...REUTERS/Richard Carson - Feb 01 4:22 PM ET

[TomServo]

you have a good eye, tom

Thanks Bob. Fortunately, my eyes saw their best days sitting behind a scope. ;-)

Nowadays - it's reading glasses for me.