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Most of the world is grieving, but some say 'God has retaliated' 02/02/2003 The Washington Post LONDON – Much of the world expressed shock, grief and condolences Saturday for the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew, but some in the Arab world saw the tragedy as divine justice against the United States and Israel. < snip > But on the streets of Baghdad, Iraq, where many are braced for U.S. military action, some said the loss of the shuttle and its crew was God's retribution. "We are happy that it broke up," government employee Abdul...

Debris brings out curiosity, grief 02/02/2003 By LEE HANCOCK / The Dallas Morning News NACOGDOCHES, Texas - A small, curved sheet of metal transformed a downtown parking lot into an instant memorial to the seven astronauts who perished Saturday. Hundreds of people showed up to look at the 3-by-3-foot piece of debris from space shuttle Columbia. It was one of hundreds that showered the landscape from North Texas east to the Louisiana border - objects including a space helmet, shuttle tiles and a 4-by-6-foot door. Chris Nelson and his family stood at the edge of the parking lot surrounded...

'It just kept rolling and thundering' For Texans, hearing was believing that something wasn't quite right 02/02/2003 By MICHAEL GRANBERRY / The Dallas Morning News Vaudie Dowdy of Tyler gazed out her big picture window, using a quiet Saturday morning to think and pray. Ken Foster sat at his kitchen table in Rowlett, reading newspaper stories about war and terrorism. Gary Hunziker and his wife stepped onto their patio in Plano to watch the space shuttle Columbia fly overhead. Suddenly, an explosion rattled windows and shook rooftops across North Texas and East Texas. To people waking to the new...

Saturday, Feb. 01, 2003 'Aerodynamics May Explain Space Shuttle Breakup' TIME science correspondent Jeffrey Kluger examines the possible causes and consequences of the Columbia disaster Seven astronauts, including the first Israeli in space, were lost Saturday when the space shuttle Columbia broke apart in the skies of Texas. The incident occurred at an altitude of some 200,000 feet, shortly after reentry and 15 minutes before Columbia had been scheduled to land at Cape Canaveral. TIME science correspondent Jeffrey Kluger explains some of the possible causes and consequences of the accident: CNN TIME.com: What are the possible scenarios that could have...

JANUARY 29, 08:17 ET Astronauts Remember Challenger Disaster By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Space shuttle Columbia's astronauts briefly interrupted their science work on the 17th anniversary of the Challenger disaster to remember their fallen comrades. NASA's work force, in orbit and on Earth, observed a moment of silence Tuesday at the exact time that Challenger exploded in the sky Jan. 28, 1986. They honored not only on the seven Challenger astronauts, but also the three who were killed by a fire in their Apollo spacecraft at the pad Jan. 27, 1967. At the launch...