This is a very sad day for all of us. Looking at the footage, there can be no doubt. Too early to know what happened.

I pray for those lost souls on the shuttle, and hope that no one gets heart on the ground.

We may want to check with our folks in Texas, as they say that the debri came down there...... (Dallas, Fort Worth)

too emotional now..........

Ed

 

I've been watching it now for the past half hour. Truly sad day for everyone.

 

Wow, I just heard the news. I really feel bad for the families. On a lesser note, it does not look good for the country or Nasa.

 

that is for sure. No other way of describing it.

 

i just woke up and turned it on... waiting for the president to speak, they say he'll speak in 3 minutes...

-Paul

 

My heart felt condolence goes to the families of the lost.

 

Hello,

I also woke to it on the radio. I don't have TV. Paul, can you post up the gist of what the President said?

Joel

 

He basically listed the names of the 7 astronauts on board, confirmed that they were dead... talked about how even with their deaths, the cause will go on.. and just how our hearts go out to them.

He didnt say anything for a cause of the incident, but the news said there will be a breifing from NASA at 3:00. So i'll check back then and hopefully they'll announce what caused this whole thing.

may the astronauts of the shuttle Columbia R.I.P.

-Paul

 

Hello,

Thanks. It's now hosted on Yahoo (the president's speach).

Joel

 

Truly a sad day for humanity.

 

i'm a pretty crazy news buff.

i watch cnn all the time... and local news.

i didn't even know there were returning today.

its sad... and just goes to show that even w/ millions and billions of dollars... humans are prone to mistakes.

i think they were saying they were going like 5 miles a second... i can't even imagine how that would feel.

but i think its safe to say that they went without pain and suffering.

May the rest in peace.

sd

 

Hello,

---
The shuttle was at an altitude of about 203,000 feet (now saying 207,000 ft) over north-central Texas at 9 a.m., traveling at 12,500 mph, when Mission Control lost all contact and tracking data.
---

That's about 18 times the speed of sound, but only 3.5 miles a second *chuckle* Sounds like the problem originated with the damage to the wing at launch. Then systems went one by one. They lost hydraulics, then the tires deflated. That sounds like overheating - something wrong with the tiles? The shuttle gets to over 3,000 degrees on re-entry.

Joel

 

A former astronaut turned congressman I forget his name, but it wasn't John Glenn) opined that the re-entry auto-pilot calculated the wrong entry angle. Combined with whatever damage the insulation piece caused, it was enough to bring it down. A tragedy in many ways. On a sour note, Iraq immediately claimed that the death of 6 Americans and one Israeli was "God's punishment." Right. Hmm, this is definitely a tangent not to be debated here. Go here for that:https://www.i-club.com/forums/showth...&threadid=8058

 

I heard about this earlier today.