From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Sat Feb 01 2003 - 07:44:02 PST
This article is also available on the web at:
http://www.spacetoday.net/getsummary.php?id=1459 .
Columbia breaks apart during reentry; crew feared lost
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Updated: Sat, Feb 1 10:18 AM ET (1518 GMT)
Originally Posted: Sat, Feb 1 9:15 AM ET (1415 GMT)
The space shuttle Columbia apparently broke apart during
reentry at 9 am EST (1400 GMT) over Texas while on approach
to land at the Kennedy Space Center, and its seven-person
crew is feared lost. Contact with the shuttle was lost
while the shuttle was reentering the atmosphere over north
Texas at an altitude of approximately 60 kilometers, on
approach to a 9:16 am EST (1416 GMT) landing at the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida. Contact was not regained with the
shuttle and the orbiter failed to land in Florida as
scheduled. Mission controllers declared a flight
"contingency" shortly after the shuttle was overdue, as
controllers preserve data collected during the reentry to
aid investigators. NASA announced around 9:30 am EST (1430
GMT) that it had alerted search and rescue teams in the
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area about the incident. NASA is
asking people who find debris to report it to local law
enforcement and not to approach it, as it may be hazardous.
Video taken by amateurs on the ground, and broadcast on
network television, show a single spot -- the shuttle --
appear to break apart into a cloud of debris around the time
contact was lost. People in the Dallas/Fort-Worth area also
reported hearing and feeling a loud boom believed to be
associated with the incident. Wire services report that
President Bush has been briefed at Camp David about the
incident, and officials are meeting at the Pentagon,
although administration officials state that they have no
reason to believe that the incident was an act of
terrorism.
Related Links:
--------------
Spaceflight Now mission status center:
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts107/status.html
AP article :
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=624&ncid=624&e=1&u=/ap/20030201/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle
Reuters article:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=2UGGQ53ZVXSIYCRBAEOCFEY?type=scienceNews&storyID=2152089
AFP article:
http://www.spacedaily.com/2003/030201143655.gyyb0z0y.html
SpaceRef article:
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=722
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