Space Shuttle Columbia Lost over the Skies in Central TX
 

Please turn on a national news feed or NPR for details. Debris is falling over the area and there were no signs of trouble from the shuttle before it disappeared.

Pray for the families of the astronauts.

The President is scheduled to speak to the country in a little while.

It appears OV-102 (Columbia) broke up upon reentry into the earth's atmosphere at well over 100,000 feet over North Texas. Reports are coming in (unconfirmed) of pieces of the Orbiter coming down over NE Texas near Palestine and SE Oklahoma. NASA instructing people not to touch any wreckage because of the possiblility of hazardous material. (The steering rockets of the orbiter carry highly corrosive and hypergolic (which literally explode when mixed) fuels. (Nitrogen tetroxide (oxidizer) and monomethyl hydrazine (fuel).)

If we die, we want people to accept it. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life. -- Lt. Col. Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom, at a press conference before the Apollo 1 fire in 1967.

My prayers to the families of the astronauts at this tragic time.

This happened almost exactly 17 years to the hour(!) that the Challenger exploded shortly after lift-off (January 28, 1986).

My thoughts and prayers are with the astronauts' families and prayers for the astronauts.

Sarah

Not quite. Challenger (OV-099) 'bought the farm' on January 28, 1986. I remember that day as if it were yesterday.

Unlikely, but until a thorough investigation is conducted, any possibility must be investigated.

Absolutely crazy.

My prayers go out to the families.

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Through the great spaces of the sky;
Be with them traversing the air
In darkening storms or sunshine fair

Thou who dost keep with tender might
The balanced birds in all their flight
Thou of the tempered winds be near
That, having thee, they know no fear

Control their minds with instinct fit
What time, adventuring, they quit
The firm security of land;
Grant steadfast eye and skillful hand

Aloft in solitudes of space,
Uphold them with Thy saving grace.
O God, protect the men who fly
Thru lonely ways beneath the sky.

The U.S. Air Force Hymn

That is why it was almost 17 years - both occurred in the early morning hours (give or take 2 hours). Basically it was about 17 years, 3 days, and a few hours. It is still rather eerily similar and very much as tragic.

Sarah


P.S. They (White House, NASA, etc) have ruled out terrorism because of the height and rate of descent.

Unconfirmed report from local TV station here in Dallas that a piece of the Orbiter appears to have struck the roof of an apartment complex almost practically in my neighborhood in Plano. (Actually, about five miles away, at the intersection of Park and Shiloh Road).

I say again, this report is UNCONFIRMED.

Well I just found out about it. My roommate told me as I walked into the bathroom; he didn’t want to wake me up with the bad news. Any tragedy like this affects our nation greatly but when you grow up in the area I did where having an astronaut as a soccer coach is normal it can really take your breath away. In my prayers.

Official press release from NASA:

Robert Mirelson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600



NOTE TO EDITORS: #03-030

NASA STATEMENT ON LOSS OF COMMUNICATIONS WITH COLUMBIA


A Space Shuttle contingency has been declared in Mission Control, Houston, as a result of the loss of communication with the Space Shuttle Columbia at approximately 9 a.m. EST Saturday as it descended toward a landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. It was scheduled to touchdown at 9:16 a.m. EST.


Communication and tracking of the shuttle was lost at 9 a.m. EST at an altitude of about 203,000 feet in the area above north central Texas. At the time communications were lost. The shuttle was traveling approximately 12,500 miles per hour (Mach 18). No communication and tracking information were received in
Mission Control after that time.

Search and rescue teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth and in portions of East Texas have been alerted. Any debris that is located in the area that may be related to the Space Shuttle contingency should be avoided and may be hazardous as a result of toxic propellants used aboard the shuttle. The location of any possible debris should immediately be reported to local authorities.

Flight controllers in Mission Control have secured all information, notes and data pertinent to today's entry and landing by Space Shuttle Columbia and continue to methodically proceed through contingency plans.

More information will be released as it becomes available.

OMG i can't believe this is happening. As soon as my parents heard what happened they called me this morning. I heard my voicemail beep, but rolled over and went back to bed. When I heard my dad's voicemail, all I could think was "OMG, something's wrong."

I'm in northern texas, and I didn't even know this happened until now. I haven't seen anything this bad since the Challenger.

tinydancer, are things with you ok?

Alphasig, I'm glad things in your part of northern texas are ok.

My prayers go out to everyone.

When I woke up just after 6 am PST this morning something told me to put the tv on not something I normally do that early on a Saturday morning. I started watching the TV and was just like - hmmm lets see if we went to war today something just doesn't seem right. I switched over to CBS and started watching the Early Show (I never watch it). Not even a couple of minutes later they break in with a special report and I'm thinking aw s--t we did go to war and then they said they had lost contact with Columbia 15 minutes ago. I kept hoping and praying for a miracle but when the first pictures started coming in the multiple contrails looked so eerily like Challenger. This is another one of those days where I'll always remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news.

I was trying to find the poem about something about Touching the Sky near the last stanzas of it that was read throughout the challenger disaster and memorials to post here but couldn't find it. It's as beautiful and as appropriate as the Air Force Hymn that was just posted. Hopefully if someone remembers what I'm talking about they can find the poem and post it here.

My prayers are for the families of all those affected and for the United States as we mourn this terrible loss