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Just saw the space shuttle Colombia is missing just before landing

How can a space shuttle go missing?????

From BBC

The American space agency Nasa says it lost communication with the space shuttle Columbia about 15 minutes before it was due to land at the Kennedy space centre.

There were seven crew members aboard the shuttle - six Americans and the first Israeli in space.

It was not immediately clear what had happened to the shuttle, but there are reports of debris falling to the ground.

Relatives of the astronauts who were awaiting the shuttle's arrival were taken away from mission control.

The shuttle's landing was overdue. It had been scheduled to arrive at the Florida space center at 0916 (1416 GMT).

Television pictures showed a vapour trail from the craft as it flew over the Texas city of Dallas.

It then appeared to disintegrate into several separate vapour trails.

Nasa has declared an emergency and search and rescue teams have been mobilised.

According to Nasa, the shuttle was about 200,000 feet up and travelling at 12,500 (20,000 kph) mph when contact was lost.

Although Nasa did not say what had happened to the shuttle, it warned that any debris found in the area should be avoided and could be hazardous.

In 42 years of human space flight, Nasa has never lost a space crew during landing.

Shit! That sounds bad!

There seems to be no confirmation of falling debris yet, but NASA has issued a caution about not to approach any if found. Could be just a precaution.

The only other significant things about tis mission was the Israeli astronaut- which caused extre security to be present due to vague fears of terrorist action- and that a piece of insulation fell off the shuttle as it took off. That was meant to be insignificant.

Worrying.

Bbye shuttle (!)
well something went wrong, I hope they find out what went wrong so they can try to do something against it next time

Hold on, wot has happened to my sig? Who put that? Sorry, if it's caused offense to anyone.

Back to topic....

It's just been confirmed that the shuttle has exploded!

yes

Prior to burnout from orbit there was indications of damage to some heat shield tiles. It was inspected from the inside of the shuttle, but no EVA was performed.

The go/no go was called and a go was confirmed.

Shuttle contact was lost over Texas as the shuttle was in excess of 200,000 feet up and travelling at mach 25!!!

"Broken up" is the term they are using. But yes, very bad news.

OMG!
I saw what happened with my own eyes.

They have been talking with people in the suburbs who actually heard an enormous sonic boom, I didn't hear anything, but it looked absolutely fine, I've seen about 7 shuttle landings, most of them at night, they always flyover Dallas.

About 20 seconds after first spotting it, I could see that is was breaking up. Its hard to tell on the videos that they have been showing on TV, but in person, I could tell that it was drastically slowing down as it broke up.
Really sad. Kind of in shock right now.
On TV they have been telling people not to touch any debris.
They belive the wereckage is in East Texas.
I woke up early just to see it.

NASA have confirmed that there is NO viable bailout procedure for this part of the re-entry process.

I have only ever seen a shuttle in flight once, and that was from 60 miles away.

It must be a chilling site to see one breaking up in the atmosphere.

One thing is for sure, shuttle flights can probably NOT be suspended at this point.

must have been unreal

There was a KNOWN problem with the LEFT wing of the shuttle.

This was the problem that was visually inspected.

just saw it on tv, hard to see anything but there might be better films comming in throughout the day

They are finding debris in the area.
My friend Alex said he was woken up by a loud boom that shook his entire house. He lives about 10 miles north of me.

God this is just sad...just like when the Challanger exploded.

The local news channel helicopters have been sending back shots of debris.
Most about the size of a car hood.

One of the crew members, the woman from India, was an Alumni from my school. UTA.

Really sad.
Cant believe I actually saw it.

remember I saw when the Challanger exploded live on tv, I was at school in Arkansas then and it wsa live because of the teacher that was with the expedition. But actually see it live above your head that is just so unbelivable

Just heard about this now. Really sad.

Terrible!

One Iraqi official was quoted as saying ""God wants to show that his might is greater than the Americans. They have encroached on our country. God is avenging us,"

Statements like that will not help with the anti-war effort.

America has allot of stuff on its plate now. The economy, the war, terrorism and now the continuation of the space shuttle program is in question.

Thank God we have Dubya in charge
Sorry.

Yes it was a stupid thing to say

Yeah.

Remains have been found.

Its a big mess over here.
The debris is spead out for a hundred miles.

Today was my day off so I decided to sleep in. When I awoke I called my mom because she called me and left a msg on the machine to call. The frist thing I hear is did you turn on the tv. OMG I was thinking we were attacked again. I turned it on and saw that were werent attack but something just as bad happend.

I also heard my step dad heard the big boom. He is a truck driver and heard the boom then saw picese following, he called mom and and told her and ask what the hell was going on.

My thoughts and preyers are with the familys of the 7 brave men and women.

We as people, have had a great pain in our hearts today.

I've been watching it today, they said that the only problem they could think of was that the insulation falling from the engine damaged the heat-absorbing tiles on the left wing.

i saw the thing about it(the whole thing) on the news. it was really sad

ummm that was strange i didn't mean to do that

i was very sad to hear about this. they entrerupted the normal broadcast with special buletins allover.
Earth's space program is fragile as it is...and 7 trained astronauts...it's just sad man

Tragic. Just a horrible, horrible thing. Watched CNN most of the day yesterday and the NASA conference.....very depressing.

Yes it has overshadowed all other events this weekend

May they rest in peace!

indeed

brave souls they where!

my god, i can't belive how long they took to actually admit they're dead.....

Yeah.
These little kids stumbled upon an entire leg, and one farmer found a skull and a another man found the little blue space shuttle patch that the astronauts wore on their space suits. He stayed up all night outside to make sure no one took it.

Its becoming clearer now that NASA has been cutting costs at the expense of safety.

Terrible news.

What will happen to the 'nuats that are still in space? Wasn't this flight going out to take supplies and "swap shifts" as it were?

Haven't seen much news on this as its been a busy weekend, I only really half caught the story at the gym this morning.

What is up with you guys...........

Seven people died, big deal, that happens in car crashes around the world. And there are probably bigger more devistating than this.

(Sorry if I hurt feelings. Had to speek my mind on this subject cause in my opinion it had gotten out of hand.)

Don't be a prick, Kiligan.

kiligan...they're trained astronauts.it's not easy nor safe. Not EVERYONE can do it. they're somewhat symbols. I'm not glad at plane crashes either but this is a very big loss too.

i saw the little blue shuttle patch at the news. very dramatic...and that helmet.

I can see where Kiligan is coming from, not too many mention the explosion in Nigeria where at least three times as many people died.

But this is about the space program so it will headline all the entire news even if the casualties were "low", if casualties ever can be called that, compare to other accidents.

These were people that risked their lives to better humanity.
They don't go into space to float around and play with food.

They do experiments to find cures for diseases and new medicines, as-well as technology to better man kind.

So it is a big deal you dumb ass
(Sorry if I hurt feelings)

well Tex it aint a big deal for everybody, there are those who belive all the money that are put into the space program could be used on research "down" here

Yes, that is not an excuse that can really be used, Tex- only the fact they are pushing frontiers makes them special.

Because the fact is that the shuttle programme is a colossal expenditure for little practical benefit- that money would be far more productive used for normal research on Earth.

Listen! Im not going to go into a huge debate over this.
I watched 7 people die on Saturday, 7 people that risked their lives to better humanity.
Doing research that could no be done on earth.
Only certain metals can be mixed in space. Metals that can one day treat disease and all sorts of other things.

I understand that people die everyday and that every loss is tragic. I dont understand why someone has to blantantly come into this thread and dishonor the memories of those seven brave people. The research they did over those 16 days might save your life one day Killgan!

dont think his intention was to dishonor those, but the world doesnt stop because of this.... just the space program, at least for awhile.

Indeed. And they risked their lives to push back frontiers. But the practical fact is they we cannot pretend they were bringing great beneift to humanity when they were not. They were part of the human dream of looking outside what we currently have, which is admirable, and it should be left at that- like I say, the research benefit is almost zero.

And in fact, almost none of the research they do, of the sort you mean, actually needs a human component; it is all pretty much automatic. There will be increasing calls now to do away with pointlessly risking human lives in space when robots can do all the research work.

The only work that requires humans relates to future space exploration (and in fact such work was taking up 80% of Colombia's time). Which, as I say, is to be saluted in tis own right but it doesn't actually improve things for people on Earth.

There was a special ....talk show today about it...
I was surprised on the public's oppinions. They're basicly divided into pro and against american ppl. Most of the guyz engaged in techincal details WAY out of their league. Almost none of them mentioned the HUMAN loss, instead of technical. Ofcourse..there were many to have had 'perfect' solutions for this situation. "ooh..they were cheap on the revisions" "ooh, they were neglijent".
And above all...one sick **** (he was 18 immagine that) sugested that they should've taken another shuttle to pick them up...while they were coming in :sick:

Weird.

actually..it's the 'what's the first thing in my mind to say on TV' thing..

I guess.

so r the russians going after the ramaining 3?

what remaining three?

No they aint they are sending an unmaned thing/shuttle with supplies

Listen, I don't want to start some damn debate, but I beleive it is an insult to brush off the deaths of these seven people.

These individuals were not up in space drinking beers and playing Playstation, they were up there for the benefit of mankind. What the details and goals were of this particular mission, I don't know. But I don't need to know. Studying space is one of the most important plans for the future. I think this because, eventually, human beings will use up all of Earths resources. It's not going to happen tomorrow, but it's there. . . you know what I mean?

Members of NASA arn't playing BINGO to see who is next in line to fly around the Earth. This isn't a game.

I don't mean to insult the intelegence of those here who disagree with me. But some of the most powerful and thoughtful people in the world beleive that space exploration is a very important part of our future. How else would you explain it's funding for so many years?

And I really don't like this attitude of "Well, they shouldn't have been up there in the first place."

Most importantly, and personally, I feel for Tex. This poor dude watched it with his own eyes. I'm sure we all saw it on TV, but Tex saw the God damn ship break apart in the sky above his house. Can any of you compete with that trama? Then he comes here to talk about it, and you guys tell him it doesn't matter? Who the hell are any of you to say such things?

The behavior around here is not cool, sometimes. Not cool at all.

we just tried to explain things To, I know it is a great blow to you Americans to loose things in the space programs. But people have different opinion about the space program, and it is allowed to not see it eye to eye with those who belive in the space program. I think what Kiligan tried to say is that there are events worse than this one around the world but as long as they aint american it doesnt get covered so much press coverage. The media seem to think that events in USA is bigger news than events in other parts of the world

I have seen far worse in my time in the military, but seeing trama`s like this aint no bloody competition.

No one said it doesnt matter, try to read the post and understand the context of them before bursting out with your "fingerpointing " attitude.

The shuttle exploded, 7 people died. Tragic event, nothing more to say about it actually

And I was not saying it was not important. I was saying it was important as exploration, NOT as direct scientific benefit to mankind. That exploration MAY one day bring great benefits but for Tex to say to Killigan that his life might depend on the efforts of such people was just plain wrong.

Finti is right. You need to cool your attitude before steaming in with such accusations. We are not brushing off their deaths, far from it. But Killigan had a right to point out what he did, as it is a not uncommonly held view and he had reason behind it, and Finti and myself have a right to say what we have as well-which is NOT that their deaths do not matter, or that you should not mourn them, but simply that it is possible to overstate what this is. Whilst I feel for Tex the fact that he saw it happen does not change any of this.

As for the attitude that they should not have been up there in the first place- you will find that a majority of academia and scientists do indeed believe that manned space missions are a waste of money.

These are brave people who died doing what they believed in and knowing the risks they took, there is no doubt of that. But there was debate over whether what they were doing was worthwhile before this, and there will be after this, and if Killigan wants to point out that they were not the only people that died that day then he should be able to do so. It is a rather cold point, and not one I would have bothered making myself, but there is a certain sense behind it, and even if you do not like that attitude he certainly does not deserve to be assailed of talk about how much he should owe these people. That is his view and it should be respected.

I'm not fingerpointing, I'm not making accusations, and I'm not angry.

finti, it was probably wrong of me to ask if anyone can compete with that trama, because I don't know anyone here, really.

I just think that Tex saw something that disturbed him (as it would disturb ANY of us). And the last thing he wants to hear right now is a bunch of political and economical questions about NASA.

Im thinking of the victims next of kin, it must be heartbreaking see this thing over and over and over again

Thanks for your kind words ToMacco.

This thread has become so disgusting, I refuse to post in it anymore.

You're welcome, Tex.

Then he can stay awax from the thread if he wants, but the fact is that this tragedy is raising those very questions and that is not to be ignored, or silence on it enforced. To talk of it is not disgusting in the slightest.

I will remind people that all opinions (unless obviously extreme) are to be respected here. It does not matter how emotional the issue is.

Christ, Ush, are you trying to stur up trouble?

well....it's very very sad .I was away in vacantion when this thing happened and it was like a shock.I couldn't belive my eyes...it was really disturbing.But that doesn't stop you to ask some questions....

No, To. I am simply reminding you how things work here.

What happend To?what have you done?

he was born

har har har.

All I'm saying is don't be an ******* to Tex. Our friend, or at least my friend, needs some comfort. Don't question his emotions.

My feelings are not the issue.
(but I'm glad you care ToMacco )

I think that if members want to discuss whether going into space is a waste of money/time, and debate whether the astronauts deaths are inconsequential, you should do so in the debating forum.

This thread went from an innocent, show your sympathy kind of thing, to a sarcastic big deal who cares/they were not doing anything important anyways/just a big waste of money/lets debate about all the people in Africa who die and are never mentioned because Americans dont care about anyone but themselves kinda thread.

the truth in other words

that is a way to put it...

Actually, I do not recall anyone ever saying this thread had to be an innocent, show your sympathy thing, and talking of the consequences of this in the thread is perfectly acceptable. You can open a dedicated sympathy thread if you want.

indeed

Barbarians!

right on

As I see the americans on this site are very very very very affected....sry y'all.

It's not life changing, but it's still really awful. Plus, the (was it?) Israeli on the shuttle is going to make Israel pissed with us. Hopefully not. I don't watch the news much because I'd rather watch cartoons, so I have no idea what's going on over there.

Hey Tex, you're in Texas. Have any of the shuttle debris come down in Dallas?

Nah, it broke-up just south of Dallas, most of the pieces continued to travel East about a hundred miles away. Way out in the country.

Hopefully a piece landed on that whore Bjork.

Just imagine...she at a concert and a big part of the wing splits her skull...muahahahaha!!!

Good lord, that's morbid.

Yes, I know...

agreed. Okay, the point is, Bjork is an ugly *****, and should die.

Tex.....?

How outrageous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ToMacco is just jealous cause nothing ever blows up over that smelly ice cube Minnessota!

You *****!

This thread has become disrespectfull to the brave souls, CLOSE THIS ONE. AND let them rest in peace!

Nah, Ush aint gonna listen.

If you cant beat them, join them!

I agree with Tex on this one. This was more of a discussional thread, but not a discussion, more of a chat, and I'm confusing myself terribly...

what do you think you do to us Rex if you confuse yourself

i heard that one pice fell on a dentist chair