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Space Shuttle COLUMBIA explodes over Texas


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on its final approach to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, it exploded over Texas.

 

Man! Not again! This is definitely tragic.

My prayers go out to the family of the astronauts.

 

Mission control lost contact at 8am CST when the shuttle was over North Central Texas at 200 000 feet.

 

Pres. Bush is convening his staff for a TV announcement soon.

 

[This message was edited by The Artful Dodger on February 01, 2003 at 07:12 AM.]

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Is it confirmed to be an explosion? The stories I've read only say NASA lost contact.

 

It's even more sad that this has happened just 5 days after the 17th "anniversary" of the Challenger accident.

 

Mr. 0

 

"Remember that nature and the elements are neither your friend or your enemy - they are actually disinterested."

 

Department of the Army Field Manual FM 21-76 "Survival" Oct. 1970

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I saw in the article that you posted, that they mentioned NASA said not to touch any debris, but I was hoping that was just a precaution.

 

icon_frown.gif

 

Mr. 0

 

"Remember that nature and the elements are neither your friend or your enemy - they are actually disinterested."

 

Department of the Army Field Manual FM 21-76 "Survival" Oct. 1970

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I was a freshman in college when the Challenger exploded. Amazingly my reaction now is like then--total disbelief. When I first heard the news I assumed it was a bad joke.

 

We were in Florida when this shuttle went up. I'll probably always regret that we didn't go over to see it like we had planned.

 

Bret

 

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44

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I saw in the article that you posted, that they mentioned NASA said not to touch any debris, but I was hoping that was just a precaution.

 

The Shuttle uses some highly toxic substances. Anyone going to the crash site for a souvenier would be getting *exactly* what they deserved if they got a whiff of monomethyl hydrazine.

 

What Would Yoda Do?

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The main reason is, I believe, they don't want you taking debris is the one piece that someone takes may be the clue of what happened. You could find yourself subject to charges of impeding a federal investigation.

 

I think only a fool would seek "souvenirs."

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It's times like this that a cloud of sadness surrounds me. All the feelings that I had when I saw the Challenger explode, came rushing back to me this morning.

 

I've always taken a great interest in our space program. One of the biggest thrills in my life was to visit the Kennedy Space Center this past October. Seeing all the old rockets and seeing a space shuttle on the launch pad, just made it all more real to me... More important... There was finally a personal connection between me, and something I love.

 

My thoughts and feelings go out to the families of the crew, the mission control people, the shuttle designers, and so many more. Too many to list because this is such an important thing.

 

We will find out what happened. We will correct it. We will fly again...

 

A moment of silence...

 

-Gary

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

N 45? 30.ish

W 122? 58.ish

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This is strange stuff.

 

My dad saw the shuttle blast off earier in the month, from his house in Lakeland Florida.

 

I saw the TV in Jan 1986 when the Challenger blew up on lift-off, from the Orderly Room of the Military unit where I was stationed at that time.

 

Big setbacks for us with this accident. NASA has had problems before with some of the Mars missions, but I do hope that there is a future to the space program.

 

An Auxilary Power Unit(APU) may have exploded, or that the metal Structure of the shuttle overheated where tiles fell off during Launch.

 

------------------------

5_Rubik.gifMy home page about GPS units and information

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I was in high school when Challenger happened. I can remember watching it in class because the teacher wheeled in a TV for it.

 

I got up this morning intending to go on my first geocache hunt (Yeah, I'm the newbie). I powered up my computer and hit the local news to get the weather and found the news. I actually cried. I'm a sci-fi fan/physics/astronomy fan from the word go and I'm worried already about what congress will do to NASA after this.

 

I'm still trying to decide if I feel like going out on my first hunt today, but I know this: I will be watching to make sure that the administration doesn't try to use this as an excuse to cut NASA funding. I hope that others feel the same way.

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Untimely death due to accident is always so tragic - in a weird sort of way I'm glad these folks got to go after a trip into space - and not on their commute to work like so many hundreds die each day. icon_frown.gif

 

My heart goes out to the children who lost their parents - no amount of compensation is worth that loss.

 

God bless these brave folk who risked this danger to make our lives down here a little better and safer.

 

I hope they launch another bird ASAP - but hopefully are able to learn what mistake was made on this one, first. icon_frown.gif

 

If you hide it, they will come.

Grandmaster Cache

Tank at: FISH WHISPERER'S LAGOON

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I looked up where it would pass on Heavens Above last night, and saw that it would be passing overhead a little after 5am here in SoCal. I have used Heavens Above to predict and see ISS pass overhead before, but never the shuttle, and thought about getting up and watching it go by. I didn't, and instead woke up to images on TV of this terrible tragedy. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the lost, and the extended NASA family.

 

We need to get back on the horse and ride again as soon as safely possible.

 

SteveL

 

These are my opinions and only my opinions, unless you share them as well, which would make them our opinions, but I am not of the opinion that I can express your opinion as my opinion without your prior expression of said opinion, and then my re-utterance of that opinion would, in my opinion, be foolish unless I were expressing agreement to your opinion, and then it wouldn't be my opinion but your opinion to which I only agree.

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When the Challenger incident took place, I was at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, where I was doing an undergraduate internship. They had a small party to celebrate the liftoff, since astronaut Judith Resnick's brother was a doctor at MCV at the time. When it exploded, the room went silent. I can honestly say that the saddest image I have ever witnessed was the look on Dr. Resnick's face.

 

Always wear proper caching safety equipment!

60748_1200.jpg

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We live a few miles down the road from the cape.

I was leaving work for lunch when the challenger

blew up.With the cold still air that morning,the

2 contrails stayed together in the sky for a very long time.

A very sad time indeed.

We were caching this morning when we heard todays

bad news on the radio.

Seatrout

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It's so strangely coincidental. Our local TV weatherman said last night to be sure to get up this morning to see the re-entry of the shuttle. Though I didn't get up in time, I thought about it as I lounged around the house. Interesting, because I haven't ever heard a 'forecast' for an upcoming re-entry. Then this one time...

 

I got on the computer at 9 AM CST, 1 hour after the incident, and before my TV came on, I saw the headline on Yahoo! about NASA losing contact.

 

This is very close to home, as much debris is landing within 90 miles of my home.

 

Note to scavenger hunters: It is a crime to posess any portion of the orbiter! Since most of us are pretty responsible, I don't expect anyone here to get in trouble.

 

It seems like our local newscast had the best video prior to the plume, showing a piece break off of the orbiter then break into two. This is before you see any contrail. So critical, yet haven't seen it on any other broadcast.

 

To the families of the flight crew, I offer my condolences. To the crew, I salute. To our country, I join in grief...

 

flag%20at%20half%20mast.jpg God bless.

 

---------------

burnout.gif Go! And don't be afraid to get a little wet!

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Other ships named Columbia:

 

Columbia was a sloop out of Boston that explored the Pacific Northwest coast in 1792. The river and other landmarks in the area are named after her. Later, she made the first American circumnavigation of the Earth.

 

The steamer Columbia was built in England for use as a Confederate warship, but was captured running the Federal blockade in 1862. She was put into commission as USS Columbia, but didn't last long. She ran aground in Jan 1863 and was later destroyed by fire.

 

(Aside: You might not know this, as we tend to dwell on surface battles, but naval operations during the Civil War are fascinating. Steamships were prevalent, armor plating went from notional to common, the first kill by a submarine was scored by the Confederates...)

 

USS Columbia (Cruiser #12, later CA-16) built in 1894. She was a cruiser that was very fast but expensive to operate, and as such spent a lot of her time in dock. She served in the Spanish-American War and the Great War, and was sent to the breakers in 1922.

 

The light cruiser Columbia (CL-56) was comissioned in 1942 and served in the South Pacific. In Jan 1945 she survived two kamikaze hits. She was decomissioned in 1946 but remained on the lists as a reserve vessel, until she was sent to the breakers in 1959.

 

The first spacecraft named Columbia was the command module of the Apollo 11 mission. It carried the three astronauts to and from the Moon, and with Michael Collins at the helm, circled the Moon wating for the Eagle to bring Armstrong and Aldrin back to lunar orbit.

 

What Would Yoda Do?

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Kinda freaky. I had logged on the computer because I was watching Buckaroo Bonzai on one of the movie stations and at the beginning they mentioned exact coords:

 

N28 36 30.3 W80 36 14.8

( http://jerseyguy.com/bonzai.html )

 

I figured with them being that exact they had to point to something. Being the geocaching geek that I am I had to look up where that was. That's when I saw the news about the shuttle on my home page.

 

And guess where those coords are? Kinda freaked me out a bit . . .

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It looks like something caused a structural failure that broke the shuttle up like a large meteor. The contrail patterns don't support an internal explosion.

 

This is really too bad. However, like any worthy effort that pushed the bounds of what we know RISK is always the silent passenger.

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The families of the astronaunts at some point in time, find peace from this tragedy

Our Congress and President do not insult the memory of these brave explorers by stopping space exploration or unduly hindering it or waiting until everything is toddler-playground-safe before continuing. These people accepted their missions because they knew the gain to humanity was worth the risk to themselves.

 

Again: let's pray for the families, and honor the courage of the astronauts by continuing their missions.

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quote:
Originally posted by TeamJiffy:

 

+ Our Congress and President do not insult the memory of these brave explorers by stopping space exploration or unduly hindering it or waiting until everything is toddler-playground-safe before continuing. These people accepted their missions because they knew the gain to humanity was worth the risk to themselves.

 


 

To that end, I just read this from CNN.com....

 

President Bush said in a televised address to the nation Saturday the news had brought "great sadness to our country," but pledged, "Our journey into space will go on."

 

"These men and women assumed great risk in the service of all of humanity," Bush said. "In an age when space flight has come to seem almost routine, it is easy to overlook dangers. ... These astronauts knew the dangers and faced them willingly."

 

Mr. 0

 

"Remember that nature and the elements are neither your friend or your enemy - they are actually disinterested."

 

Department of the Army Field Manual FM 21-76 "Survival" Oct. 1970

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I also saw the shuttle take off. I watch everyone, usually from my front yard, and I hold my breath each time. I am sometimes awakened by the double sonic boom that rattles my windows when it returns home and lay there with a smile knowing they are back safe. Not this time. God bless them all.

icon_frown.gif

 

Peace

 

[This message was edited by Freelens&Mosie on February 01, 2003 at 03:21 PM.]

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I have been a keen US space program buff since John Glenn, Gus Grissom, and Al Shepard. Then 6 AM pacific time happens. Emotions of shock, fear, grief, anguish. Then a feeling of wanting to blame someone, or something.

 

I grieve with the families, and ask this of the United States Government:

 

In 1961, you inaugurated a president with dreams of going to the moon, and eventually, the stars.

 

Please, please, don't let the dream die. Allow your young people to take pride in you, and their heroes.

 

Refit the Enterprise. Carry on. That's what the crew would want.

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I learned of the Challenger explosion as a freshman in college. I was in a speech class and hardly anyone showed up. Then a student came in, told what happened, and said most of the class was watching the news in the student union. The Professor cancelled class and we went to the union to see the news.

 

Today, I am an Adjunct Professor. I learned of the tragedy around 8:30 this morning (CST) on my car radio on my way to the college to hold office hours with my students. Few showed up. I ended up cutting office hours short with my last student because he did not know of the news and when I told him, he wanted to go home. Later, several students called me to say they planned to come but stayed home to watch the news.

 

Odd how the experiences are opposite regarding my position in life. Regardless, as a huge supporter of the space program, I am very saddened. At the same time, I have no doubts that the space program will go on. The Astronauts and all involved know the risks and they bravely face them to further the program that they so strongly (and rightfully so) believe in.

 

God bless the employees of NASA and the families and friends of everyone affected by this tragedy.

 

pokeanim3.gif

 

[This message was edited by carleenp on February 01, 2003 at 05:12 PM.]

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I posted here earlier today and said that I had intended to go on my first caching expidition today but wasn't sure if I was because of the news.

 

I spoke to my father about it this morning when I learned and he told me that he had to turn the news off because he was so depressed about it. I, not having seen the footage yet, turned it on and watched for about 15 minutes, crying. He was right, it was too depressing to watch. I'm still in mourning over this, but I decided that calling things off for the day would serve no purpose and getting out to go caching might chear me up a bit.

 

In the end, I went. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I was touched to see flags everywhere at half-mast. I enjoyed my time caching, but I wish my first day at it hadn't had such a negative start.

 

Stupidity cannot be cured with money, or through education, or by legislation. Stupidity is not a sin; the victim can't help being stupid. But stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentance is death, there is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity. --Lazarus Long

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I was on my way to find a cache after placing a cache when I received a phone call from my wife telling me of this very tragic happening.

 

I'm so very saddened by this! icon_frown.gif

 

And for all the fine people involved in this mission and for all those hard working employees of NASA and other companies who work with them to make our space program so great.

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quote:
In the end, I went. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I was touched to see flags everywhere at half-mast. I enjoyed my time caching, but I wish my first day at it hadn't had such a negative start.

 

You were right to go caching. Why dwell on the tragedy when there was nothing you could do? It's not like it was going to get reversed and go away. Although it made your first cache a different experience, you went on just as everyone else and the space progam will and should. Obviously we are all very saddened by this, but surely the people who gave their lives would want us all to do the things that make us happy, just as they were doing.

 

I hope your first caching experience went well and that you will keep doing it!

 

pokeanim3.gif

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TeamJiffy - Well said. I agree wholeheartedly and I do believe that everyone signed on with the space mission does as well. There will always be accidents. We are human, and what we create is imperfect. To scrap this and go for "something safer" would be a disgrace to those that have shuttled and lived as well as those that paid the ultimate price. The shuttle is extremely safe - Consider what it has done for the United States! It was a pioneer and it is still one helluva design.

 

Something fell off and hit one of the wings on takeoff. Some of the tiles can be damaged (as we've seen on the rear of previous shuttles) upon re-entry with out being mission-critical. Some tiles would cause catastrophic failure if damaged/lost.

 

The heat is such a big concern. There was something mentioned about the tire pressure. Heat would cause it to be too high. It might be mere speculative propositions that NASA comes up with, but one thing remains: These have been some incredibly successful birds. I hope they are able to isolate the cause with pinpoint accuracy. With the remnants - we may never know. But those involved today would want this mission to go on. This was not a "test flight"; this was an accident. Accidents will always happen.

 

That said, may we also extend a prayer to the three astronauts still in space, aboard the space station. Two Americans, one Soviet. May they not lose confidence that we will return them home safely. This has got to be terrible news especially for them - I pray for them to have as much peace of mind as possible.

 

God bless those that pave the way for others to follow.

 

If you hide it, they will come.

Grandmaster Cache

Tank at: FISH WHISPERER'S LAGOON

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I want to add this to my last post: I also had planned to go caching today. I have a TB that a person mailed to me from Washington to place and was planning to do that today. On top of it the weather was great. Then, the news hit and I sat glued to my TV and feeling down even though the news was very repetetive and depressing. So, I didn't go caching and will go out tomorrow to place the TB. In hindsight, I wish I had done like you did and just went out there!

 

pokeanim3.gif

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"We're in a risky business, and we hope if anything happens to us, it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life."

 

"Our God-given curiosity will force us to go there ourselves because in the final analysis only man can fully evaluate the moon in terms understandable to other men."

 

-Gus Grissom, weeks before the Apollo 1 fire.

 

While Grissom spoke with reference to the moon, I feel that the words still hold true.

 

-----

Memory is a prism through which yesterday's light is passed.

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