[Joe Hadenuf]

SPACE CENTER, Houston - Space shuttle Columbia began losing pieces over the California coast well before it disintegrated over Texas, the accident investigation board reported Tuesday, finally confirming what astronomers and amateur skywatchers have been saying from Day One.

Funny, I seem to remember quiet a few on this forum, that were almost fanatical, in disagreement with this. I mean, some of them were actually calling others nasty names over this.....LOL

[TLBSHOW]

see post 11 here, it was worth it. Anyways the simple answer to it all was right here at FR all along! You were there too! LOL

[jimtorr]

Large craft like the space shuttle and the Concorde produce double sonic booms caused by bow shock and wake shock.

I recall that we wanted to mute some of the wild speculation that was going on, though I don't recall much of the intensity that you describe.

I noted the above, because a few weeks ago I was talking with an actual "rocket scientist" who works for the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Laurel, Maryland.

Anyway, he didn't know about the double sonic booms, as noted above, and was speculating about debris based on reports of the double booms. He also didn't know about the strange behavior that plasma sometimes exhibits on re-entry.

This is why