FC: Space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during descent today

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Articles:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/02/01/shuttle.columbia/index.html 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10088-2003Feb1.html

---

Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2003 06:48:54 -0800
From: Tim Pozar <pozar () lns com>
To: Asilomar-News List <asilomar-news () amw org>
Cc: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>, Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Subject: Shuttle "missing"...

Video on CNN show an object breaking up over Texas.

>From AP...


  Shuttle missing...Administration wants rethinking O-T rules...Flag flap
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           (Kennedy Space Center-AP) -- Space shuttle ``Columbia'' is
missing. NASA declared an emergency after it lost contact with the
space shuttle over Texas as it prepared to land in Florida. Dallas
T-V station W-F-A-A has recorded an image of what is being
described as ``multiple trails'' behind the shuttle. (Watch for
latest bulletin series.)
        
           (Kennedy Space Center-AP) -- Space shuttle ``Columbia'' was
supposed to land at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:16 a-m
but NASA has not had communication with the shuttle since 9 a-m.
NASA has never lost a space crew during landing. There are six
Americans and an Israeli astronaut aboard the shuttle, which was
launched January 16th.

           (Kennedy Space Center-AP) -- Search and rescue teams in the
Dallas area are on alert for possible debris from the shuttle,
though nothing official from NASA yet on what happened to Columbia.
NASA says any debris should be avoided because it is hazardous.

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[From earlier in the week -- this message went out over the IP list... 
--Declan]

------ Forwarded Message
From: "Joseph C. Pistritto" <jcp () jcphome com>
Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 23:49:18 -0800
To: dave () farber net
Cc: Laurie Mann <lmann () nethome com>, roger () xchng net, "John K. Doyle, Jr."
<jkd () cyberspace org>, Robert Jesse <bob () csp org>
Subject: Rare opportunity to see shuttle reentry in western USA

Dave:
   You might want to put this out on IP for early risers saturday morning.

The shuttle is scheduled to be landing at 6:16AM Pacific Time in Florida
early Saturday Morning,  after a reentry that will cross just north of the
Bay Area of California and then continue eastward before sunrise.   The
Shuttle shoudl be very visible as it reenters (I saw this once before for an
Edwards landing and it stopped traffic on I-5 it was so dramatic).

We don't see these on the West Coast very often.  This should be visible
over much of California, Oregon, Nevada and Utah and east at least to the
edge of the Mountain Time Zone.

Shuttle ground tracks are at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/groundtracs/index.html

Current shuttle status is at:
http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts107/status.html

One of these sights should have the updated information in case they decide
to land later, however right now everythign looks good for an early morning
landing.   Flight over the Bay Area (inside the atmosphere during reentry)
will be at 5:54AM PST Saturday morning (22 minutes before touchdown at
Kennedy Space Center).  You can hear a sonic boom when this happens, over *4
and half minutes* later.


--
Joseph C. Pistritto                                  jcp () jcphome com
Belmont, California                                 650 464 4859


------ End of Forwarded Message 




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