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According to USA Today: "Until a few years ago, NASA was exploring several designs for vehicles to replace the space shuttle. But NASA's new administrator, Sean O'Keefe, shelved those designs and committed to operating the [3 remaining] space shuttle[s] for the next 10 to 15 years...[Now] the next generation of reusable space vehicles is at least 10 to 15 years off said Donald H. Emero, who served as the shuttle's chief engineer from 1989 to 1993."

A spacecraft is a metaphor of national inspiration: majestic, technologically advanced, produced at dear cost and entrusted with precious cargo, rising above the constraints of the earth. The spacecraft carries our secret hope that there is something better out there—a world where we may someday go and leave the sorrows of the past behind. The spacecraft rises toward the heavens exactly as, in our finest moments as a nation, our hearts have risen toward justice and principle. And when, for no clear reason, the vessel crumbles, as it did in 1986 with Challenger and last week with Columbia, we falsely...

Partial According to eyewitness and video accounts, the disintegration of the Space Shuttle Columbia could be seen, heard and felt by Texans all across North-Central and East Texas and western Louisiana. As we await more information concerning the events of this great tragedy, I want to re-emphasize a note of caution to all living in North and East Texas: if you spot shuttle debris, do not touch it nor go near it. Shuttle materials could pose a grave risk to human health because of toxic propellants used aboard the space shuttle. If you find debris, please call local authorities immediately...

An Italian astronaut who's been on two space flights says an incorrect angle of re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere could have caused the space shuttle Columbia to disintegrate. Falling space shuttle debris (Photo: nbc5i.com) "It is too early to speculate on the precise causes of the accident but the images from Texas suggest that the Columbia broke up into at least three pieces due to an improper angle as it returned into the atmosphere," Umberto Guidoni told Italy's ANSA news agency. NASA declared an emergency after losing all contact with Columbia 16 minutes before it was due to land at...

As Americans mourn the loss of the Columbia space shuttle today, two other nations – Israel and India – are also in shock as a day of anticipated national celebration turned to sadness and grief. Ilan Ramon One of the seven astronauts aboard the craft that took off Jan. 16 was Israeli Air Force Col. Ilan Ramon, part of Columbia's science mission. In a press statement early on, newly re-elected Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said: "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."...

My fellow Americans, this day has brought terrible news and great sadness to our country. At 9:00 a.m. this morning, Mission Control in Houston lost contact with our Space Shuttle Columbia. A short time later, debris was seen falling from the skies above Texas. The Columbia is lost; there are no survivors. On board was a crew of seven: Colonel Rick Husband; Lt. Colonel Michael Anderson; Commander Laurel Clark; Captain David Brown; Commander William McCool; Dr. Kalpana Chawla; and Ilan Ramon, a Colonel in the Israeli Air Force. These men and women assumed great risk in the service to all...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The following is a recap of President Bush's day, as recounted to CNN by a senior administration official: 8 a.m. EST President Bush, at the Camp David retreat, receives his usual intelligence briefing. 9 a.m. EST White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, also at Camp David, is channel surfing, flipping through TV stations, and begins watching NASA Television, awaiting the landing. He sees that NASA has lost contact with the space shuttle Columbia. Card calls the Situation Room and then NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe but could not reach him. Card tells Bush that NASA has lost...

As the U.S. and much of the world mourns the loss of seven astronauts killed aboard space shuttle Columbia, NASA's search for the "smoking gun" cause of the disintegration is already underway, and President Bush vows to continue America's leadership in space exploration. "The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors," the president told the nation. "The cause in which they died will continue. Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into space will go on." Nearly 17 years to the day after the Challenger explosion,...

It didn't take long for many Americans to try to cash in on the space shuttle Columbia disaster, with numerous postings of shuttle memorabilia on eBay – with some claiming to be actual debris. Columbia radio offered on eBay The online auctioneer yanked a handful of listings purporting to be remnants of the orbiter which disintegrated yesterday morning during its descent into the atmosphere. EBay's Kevin Pursglove says executives are considering reporting the sellers to federal authorities who are looking to gather Columbia's pieces for their investigation. It's a federal offense to take pieces of an aircraft involved in an...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. CHICAGO (Reuters) - The explosion of the space shuttle Columbia will present yet another challenge for Boeing Co., the largest NASA contractor, as it struggles through an unprecedented downturn in commercial aviation that has sharply hurt its profitability. Chicago-based Boeing builds space shuttles after acquiring the space business of Rockwell International in 1996. It also maintains the orbiter as part of a 50/50 joint venture with fellow defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. called United Space Alliance, based in Houston. Boeing also builds, tests and maintains the shuttle's main reusable liquid-fueled rocket...

Couple Who Lost a Son on Sept. 11 Now Loses Niece Aboard the Shuttle By Miranda Leitsinger Associated Press Writer Published: Feb 1, 2003 DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Astronaut Laurel Clark's death on the space shuttle Columbia was the second sudden and very public tragedy to hit Doug and Betty Haviland in 17 months. Laurel Clark was their niece and her final moments were broadcast again and again on television Saturday, exploding white dots 200,000 feet above the earth. On Sept. 11, 2001, television had first brought tragedy. The Havilands were watching after the World Trade Center absorbed...

This is the picture that Rintense and I have seen...from the WFAA video...you can see the shuttle from the REAR clearly, and it is traveling from FRAME RIGHT TO FRAME LEFT--look closely, you can certainly see the shuttle's main engines at the rear, also the PROFILE of the shuttle from underneath...and in the video, it's moving in the direction of the left wing...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A stunned world watched the dramatic breakup of the U.S. space shuttle Columbia in the clear blue skies over Texas on Saturday, and sent their words of sorrow to grieving Americans. The world's other major space power, Russia, sent its condolences to Washington, but said the disaster would not affect the launch of a supply rocket to the orbiting international space station on Sunday. The seven members of Columbia's crew had "given their lives to conquering the dangers of space in the name of peace, science and progress of civilization," Russia's President Vladimir Putin said. A spokesman...

CBS Radio News Now Reporting Human Remains Found. Believed To Be From Shuttle / at the 7:45 PM EST update. Unconfirmed report from rural area near Palestine, TX. Sheriffs Dept in that area reports human remains found, believed to be from shuttle.

<p>WASHINGTON - (KRT) - It's too soon to say why the space shuttle Columbia exploded, but the early signs suggest that a heat problem enveloped the left wing and side of the spacecraft before it disintegrated more than 39 miles above north central Texas.</p>

Officials with the U.S. Attorney’s office, Eastern District of Texas, issued strong warnings Saturday afternoon to those who tamper with or attempt to take debris of the space shuttle Columbia. United States Attorneys Matthew D. Orwig and Michael Shelby jointly announced that their offices will take “all necessary steps to ensure that the monumental investigative and recovery efforts following the tragic accident are not impaired by the actions of those who seek to obtain pieces of debris,” according to a press release. While it was widely reported that debris from the accident could hazardous, and contact with that debris should...

<p>LANCASTER, Calif.(AP) - Retired astronaut Gordon Fullerton on Saturday recalled Columbia's 1982 re-entry sequence when he was at the helm of an eight-day flight. "Re-entry begins with a mild rocket burn halfway around the world to help get the orbiter into the right position," he told the Antelope Valley Press. "It's very interesting, for the pilots especially, during the gradual transition from spacecraft to aircraft."</p>

<p>San Jose(AP) - - Online auction site E-Bay has yanked several listings off its Web site today from people trying to sell items they claim are debris from the space shuttle Columbia. E-Bay executives may report the sellers to federal authorities who are trying to collect the debris for an official investigation.</p>

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Seven astronauts -- six Americans and Israel's first astronaut -- died Saturday morning when space shuttle Columbia broke up in flames about 200,000 feet over Texas just minutes before it was due to land in Florida. One of them -- Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born woman in space -- never got to say goodbye to her family. Chawla (pictured) was a new kind of heroine in India, which has launched satellites for years and is preparing for a moon orbit this decade. She died Saturday with her six colleagues when the space shuttle disintegrated over Texas....

Paramount to Pull THE CORE Trailers Due To Shuttle Disaster Hey folks, Harry here... Well, at 9-11 we lost the SPIDER-MAN teaser that had the World Trade Center on display, this time with the shuttle disaster, they've pulled THE CORE trailer which features the Space Shuttle having massive difficulties upon reentry and seemingly landing I believe in what looks like the THEM! canals in Los Angeles. If you don't remember the trailer, you can get it at ComingSoon.Net if you want it, go get it soon, because... well, the trailer is already being pulled from theaters, online will be next....