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Space Shuttle COLUMBIA explodes over Texas


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I was saying earlier today when I first heard of the tragedy that it might be helpful to NASA if local cachers could provide the lat/lon of the pieces of debris so that when they were removed from where they fell they would have accurate data of exactly where each piece landed and a very accurate picture of the distribution of the debris.

 

$1000 Bill geocaching is living in a 30 foot circle

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We were in the Ocala forrest in cent Fla caching when we heard it the radio. I saw the Challanger blow up from our back yard and it brought back the memorys that i thought i had forgotten. It sure made the rest of the day a somber one. My heart goes out to the familys of the astronauts.

 

Altree

(you will not starve with a p38 and a can of food)

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quote:
Originally posted by Treasure Hunters Inc.:

I was saying earlier today when I first heard of the tragedy that it might be helpful to NASA if local cachers could provide the lat/lon of the pieces of debris so that when they were removed from where they fell they would have accurate data of exactly where each piece landed and a very accurate picture of the distribution of the debris.


 

Off one of the news services:

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

Debris also fell in western Louisiana, including a smoldering bundle of wires in a Shreveport front yard and pieces that reportedly dropped into Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Texas line, threatening water supplies.

 

"I heard the piece coming down through the air. It sounded like it was fluttering," said Elbie Bradley, 69, who was fishing on the reservoir.

 

One of the pieces that fell into the reservoir was the size of a compact car, said Sheriff Tom Maddox.

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

 

It was stated on the news on TV, that the fishermen had a portable GPS receiver, & boated over to the area where the piece went into the water, & set a waypoint to get the co-ordinates. They passed the numbers on to the authorities, who went to the area with sonar equipment, & sure enough, somethings there. The reservoir is apparently about 50 miles long, & right along the path of the debris field.

What a tragedy. icon_frown.gif

 

Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7th of your life.

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A few years ago I was attending an exercise with the Texas Army National Guard at Fort Hood, Texas. As a member of the staff of the 36th Brigade headquarters, and a first lieutenant, I drew the night shift in the S-2 shop. We were behind the center where computer generated exercises are conducted and we were set up in our tents and vehicles just like we were out in the field. At one point there was very little happening so I stepped outside to take a quick break and just happened to look up.

 

It was a clear cool night with a huge moon out, and I could clearly see one of the space shuttles coming across the sky on the way to land in Florida. It was speeding across the Texas sky at a speed I can only imagine. It left a huge beautiful contrail across the clear night sky, illuminated by the bright moonlight. I was quite literally stunned at the beauty and grandeur of the sight. I had not even known a shuttle was on it's way in at the time but I knew one was on a mission, and I didn't even recall which one it was. This was several years after the Challenger explosion though.

 

I have never forgotten that night, or the sight of it passing overhead at just that moment. I never knew it was so beautiful till then. I listened on the radio later as they reported the shuttle had safely landed and everything was okay. I was so thrilled to have seen it and felt almost as if I had been a part of it due to what I had seen.

 

Now I have seen another contrail, and feel only sadness. The beauty of the former cannot remove the devastation of the new one. One represents beauty and adventure, while this one represents hopes and dreams unfulfilled, of loved ones lost.

 

I can only hope we do not fail to continue to push the envelope, to explore our environs at every level, and to push out into space as is our destiny. I pray for the families, and for the people of NASA as they have lost so much in these seven individuals.

 

God bless them all.

 

"Trade up, trade even, or don't trade!!!" My philosophy of life.

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When I was in college I was in the AF ROTC & was invited to view the launch of the third shuttle mission from NASA itself. I rode my motorcyle down to Fl & was let into one of the gates onto the base. I was able to view the launch from an area quite close ( still a couple of miles) to the actual launch site. I'll never forget the feeling of the actual trembling of the ground and the pressure of the air as the shuttle lifted off.

 

Wherever you go, there you are!

 

[This message was edited by Crusso on February 02, 2003 at 08:39 PM.]

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When I was in college I was in the AF ROTC & was invited to view the launch of the third shuttle mission from NASA itself. I rode my motorcyle down to Fl & was let into one of the gates onto the base. I was able to view the launch from an area quite close ( still a couple of miles) to the actual launch site. I'll never forget the feeling of the actual trembling of the ground and the pressure of the air as the shuttle lifted off.

 

I also remember coming home from my girlfriend's house & my mom telling me the shuttle had exploded in "86. My first thought was she misheard something, a shuttle couldn't explode. It had.

 

Yesterday I was sleeping when my girlfriend called me & told me the shuttle had blown up on reentry. My first thought was 'Please let her be mistaken, not again.'

 

And of course, with the current climate, everyones first thought was 'terrorism?' When I got to work at the airport our opening briefing was about this possibility. We were sure it wasn't the cause because of altitude, speed, etc. but I can tell you that we were extra vigilant all day. The mood was very somber. The flags went to 1/2 mast....

 

The image that I found most disturbing is the one of the helmet sitting upright in the field. That's the one that really brought home the impact of this tragedy.

 

I've met several astronauts during my life (some shuttle astronauts from previuos crews & even 2 russian cosmonauts) & all I can say is my thoughts & prayers go out to the families of all those involved.....

 

And thanks to anyone reading this for letting me share some of my sorrow.

Chris icon_frown.gif

 

Wherever you go, there you are!

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I did not even know about it until about 8pm because I had been geocaching the whole day. When I was coming home, I turned on the radio and heard about it then.

 

I was a junior in high school when the challenger blew up. Dick Scobee had been a graduate of my high school and the news crews were camped out at my school for a week.

 

icon_geocachingwa.gif

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While out having fun on Saturday caching with my friends I was unaware of the tragedy overhead. I was shocked to read it when I came home that night. For those of you who believe please don't forget to pray for thier surviving families and friends. You should also be thankful no one on the ground was seriously injured.

 

As a teenager I remember the Challenger tragedy. I was working that day and we had the shuttle launch on the TV. I left to attend a customer and my boss came running out and said "The Shuttle Just Blew Up!" Being the jokester that he was I didn't believe him. I didn't believe him until I watched the replays over and over again.

 

Also think of those still on the ISS (International Space Station). Since they are not sure how they are going to get them home since shuttle missions have been suspended pending investigation.

 

My memories of the Space Shuttle also includes Ham Radio, Shuttle Amatuer Radio Experiment (SAREX). I've talked to the Shuttle Atlantis once using 2 meter Voice, and to Columbia itself using 2 meter Packet (digital) radio. I've also talked to the ISS twice on 2m voice this year. Although my conversations were very brief they zip overhead faster than the speed of sound. even though you have about enough time to exchange callsigns and a greeting before they fade away it still gives one a friendly connection with these heroes of space and earth. I've also been a control operator quite a few times for WA3NAN Greenbelt, Maryland. Which many of you may have heard on many Ham Radio frequencies retransmitting space to ground communications during shuttle missions.

 

Remember without these brave souls exploring space we would probably have no GPS System to play with. It's people like them who launch and maintain the satellites orbiting our earth we use in nearly all of our daily routines in some way or another as well as conducting countless other medical experiments to benefit mankind which may not be possible here on Earth.

 

These people are just as important to mankind as any uniformed service man or woman. It's not just a tragedy to the USA, all have suffered a great loss. Regardless of which flag you wear on your sleeve these men and women are risking thier lives for you.

 

Randall J. Berry

davros@mdgps.net

MicroLogo.jpg

 

www.mdgps.net

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of ham radio, I run a program that keeps me informed of orbital data for many spacecraft. I knew the shuttle was due to land, and my daughter and I were outside watching for it. We never saw it over El Paso. Don't know why. When it was 10 minutes overdue, I told Heidi maybe they decided to make one more orbit to avoid fog or something. We jumped in the jeep and headed out to do some geocache maintenance. About 10 minutes down the road my wife who was at a dog show called with the news. What a shock. When I got to the statepark, I told the rangers, and then brought the flag down to 1/2 mast. We did our cache maintenance, but there was no joy in it. My daughter was born 6 months after Challenger, so she didn't remember it. So sad she now has such a memory too.

 

God bless them and their loved ones.

 

Mike. Desert_Warrior (aka KD9KC).

El Paso, Texas.

 

Citizens of this land may own guns. Not to threaten their neighbors, but to ensure themselves of liberty and freedom.

 

They are not assault weapons anymore... they are HOMELAND DEFENSE WEAPONS!

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From Houston Texas

 

With tears still in my eyes. My heart still hurting... I want to say God Bless to the family's of the heroes that dared to touch the Face of God. It is Threw their courage that all Mankind continues to explorer. We will never forget their sacrifice or their spirit to push the boundaries of man.

 

I am heading to The Space Center here in Houston. I have seven Flowers and one sign. It Reads

 

NASA Family

Keep going...

I Need You.

Respectfully,

Mankind

 

Forgive them Father, for they know not why they press enter

 

www.ManuelCasillas.com

 

[This message was edited by manuelcasi on February 03, 2003 at 04:14 PM.]

 

[This message was edited by manuelcasi on February 03, 2003 at 04:16 PM.]

 

[This message was edited by manuelcasi on February 03, 2003 at 04:17 PM.]

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It was a very sad day indeed. I was setting up the bar for lunch at the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge #1373 when the Shuttle Challenger exploded on launch. I was all alone and just cried. Now I'll have this sad memory too, but as I sit here 2 days later, and think of the 500 square mile swath of debris that landed over Texas and Louisiana, I am so thankful and consider it a miracle that no one has been reported hurt or killed on the ground. I have not heard of one incident of injury or death from the falling debris and this is truly a blessing. The space program will go on. It has to. So many great things have come from it. GPS system, Velcro, Kevlar, long lasting food, and so much more.

 

God Bless the families and friends of the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia and all of the NASA workers.

 

Cache you later,

Planet

 

"You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will

give you a look that says, 'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'" - Dave Barry

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My dad called me at my fiancee's apartment just a few minutes after contact was lost, and told me to turn the TV on. We both watched the video of the breakup and fall in disbelief... I can't even begin to imagine what it would be like to be going that fast, that high, and then have everything come apart.

 

My parents were actually outside watching for the shuttle to pass by overhead, and when they didn't see it, went inside and turned the television on. They were shocked to find out the reason for not having spotted it.

 

----

When in doubt, poke it with a stick.

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I was putting my boots on and my son and I were getting ready to go hide our USA- All The Way cache to honor patriotism in a memorial park for veterans killed in the great wars. I surfed to CNN to get a weather report since they were calling for snow in Pennsylvania. Of course the tragedy unfolded in front of us. My son and I talked it over and decided to hide the cache in honor and memory of the seven astronauts who lost their lives. I agree with davros's thoughts completely. There would be no Geocaching if not for the endevour of a brave and talented few.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=53026

 

Wags, Russ & Erin

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I was working for NASA in New Orleans when the Challenger accident occured. I worked there when the first TDRS Navigation Satelites were launched on different shuttle missions. On this past Saturday I was with my brother-in-law delivering a boat to Kentucky.

 

I have met several astronauts in person, they are the most likable and intelligent people you could ever hope to know. They are painfully aware of the risks they take going to work each day. I followed the space program as a kid and I was proud to work at NASA in New Orleans building the external tank. I am proud to be an American and I am proud to live in a free country that allows people to persue dreams and live life to the fullest.

 

If a shuttle was launching tomorrow I would be happy to go with them. icon_smile.gif

 

[image]http://www.simplysailing.com/images/Mice_in_Snake.jpg[/image]

Capn Skully

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We were just getting up. Curly Tiger and I were in the living room at our home on the north side of Fort Worth. He was looking for a video to watch, so I turned on the TV. It happened to be on the local station that was showing the live footage of the shuttle going overhead. Just about the time Curly Tiger popped the video in the slot, I thought to myself that something about the vapor trail didn't look quite right to me. The video started, and I didn't give it any more thought.

 

A couple of minutes later, we all heard a loud THUMP on the roof. I thought it was just the wind or something. My wife said it sounded to her like someone had jumped on the roof. Never made the connection between the noise and the shuttle.

 

Half an hour later, when we turned off the video, I saw the news that the shuttle was "missing." Suddenly it all "clicked" in my mind - the odd vapor trail and the noise on the roof.

 

Really freaked me out. I went outside and checked the roof and sky. The vapor trail was gone, and there was nothing but a Frisbee on the

roof.

 

One of our local cachers has contacted NASA about having members of the North Texas Geocaching Association help with the recovery efforts, but we haven't gotten an answer back yet.

 

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and those at NASA.

 

ntga_button.gifweb-lingbutton.gif

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icon_frown.gif

Sorry, but I felt compelled to bump this topic.

 

Last year I was speechless. All I could post was a frown.

It is now exactly one year after the point where contact was lost.

 

I woke up that day and it was not just any ordinary day. It was my birthday. I turned on the news and there were the pictures. I sat on my couch and just could not speak. All I could do is sit and think, "Why did it have to happen? Why today of all days?"

 

I sat and watched. I followed the news and watched a lot of NASA TV for weeks after that. I watched the memorial service and I followed the work of the commission. The revelations over the last year have been tough for me. They have been tough for many of us. I have followed space travel for many years. I was up in the middle of the night as Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.

 

Still, the one thing to remember is that these seven people were doing what they trained for and most likely what they had wanted to do all of their lives.

 

Please remember them today. Remember all of NASA’s Fallen Heroes.

 

sts107-735-032.jpg

 

STS 107 (Columbia) – Februay 1, 2003

Rick Husband, Commander

Willie McCool, Pilot

Michael Anderson, Payload Commander

Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist

David Brown, Mission Specialist

Laurel Clark, Mission Specialist

Ilan Ramon, Payload Specialist (ISA)

http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/shuttle...ts107/index.htm

 

STS 51-L (Challenger) -- January 28, 1986

Francis R. Scobee, Commander

Michael J. Smith, Pilot

Judith A. Resnik, Mission Specialist 1

Ellison S. Onizuka, Mission Specialist 2

Ronald E. McNair, Mission Specialist 3

Gregory B. Jarvis, Payload Specialist 1

Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Civilian, Teacher

http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/chron/sts51-l.htm

 

Apollo 1 (or 204) -- January 27, 1967

Gus Grissom

Ed White

Roger Chaffee

http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history...-1/apollo-1.htm

http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo1info.html

 

65bf1c05-8a6e-4938-861b-cf2a34d8b9ad.jpg

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...... I have followed space travel for many years. I was up in the middle of the night as Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.....

Yeah, me too...... still, compared to aviation, space travel has been less hazardous...

 

I was living in Hawaii when Neil stepped on the moon. I didn't have to stay up late to see it. :mad:

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Being in the space launch business myself, this event is particularly tragic to me. For those that are interested, here is a link to the accident investigation report:

 

Report of Columbia Accident Investigation Board

 

Here is the cause statement pulled from the summary page:

 

The physical cause of the loss of Columbia and its crew was a breach in the Thermal Protection System on the leading edge of the left wing, caused by a piece of insulating foam which separated from the left bipod ramp section of the External Tank at 81.7 seconds after launch, and struck the wing in the vicinity of the lower half of Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panel number 8. During re-entry this breach in the Thermal Protection System allowed superheated air to penetrate through the leading edge insulation and progressively melt the aluminum structure of the left wing, resulting in a weakening of the structure until increasing aerodynamic forces caused loss of control, failure of the wing, and break-up of the Orbiter. This breakup occurred in a flight regime in which, given the current design of the Orbiter, there was no possibility for the crew to survive.

 

All I can say is SAD!

 

RM

Edited by Rocket Man
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:mad: Ahhh, the memory of two space shuttle crews. I remember Challenger and 1986 all too well. One of my former teachers had been a semi-finalist to Christa McAuliffe, so we were all well aware of the shuttle launch that day. I was in 6th grade, and remember that day all too well.

 

It doesn't seem possible that it has been a year since Columbia. I hope that all of their families are doing well and my thoughts are with them!!!

 

By the way mtn-man thanks for posting the pictures.

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I woke up that day and it was not just any ordinary day. It was my birthday. I turned on the news and there were the pictures. I sat on my couch and just could not speak. All I could do is sit and think, "Why did it have to happen? Why today of all days?"

Mtn-man

 

May your future birthdays be more pleasant as the years fade the memories. It will always be there, but hopefully not as intense in the following years.

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That's a picture of the whole crew.  In space.

 

Did that photograph survive reentry??

 

Pan

It is a digital photograph. They are downloaded from the crew in-flight via high-band antenna.

 

Here's a link for more pictures (semi-chronological...in-space are towards the end).

 

Shuttle Gallery from NASA

 

 

EDIT: It's also my brother's birthday today. My mom said she pushed really hard because it was getting late at night and she did NOT want to have a groundhog for a son.

Edited by ju66l3r
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That's a picture of the whole crew. In space.

 

Did that photograph survive reentry??

That's a great observation Pan. While looking at the NASA site over the past few days for a great photo of the crew I found that one of them floating in the orbiter. It was linked off of the crew's memorial page.

 

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/memorial/

 

On the left there is a link called "Recovered Images". The page for this image is:

 

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images...07-735-032.html

 

It says: "This picture was on a roll of unprocessed film later recovered by searchers from the debris."

 

The great thing about that shot is the big smile on each of their faces. The one good thing about this mission over the Challenger mission is that this crew did get to live their dream of being in space.

 

Thanks webfoot and all.

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The physical cause of the loss of Columbia and its crew was a breach in the Thermal Protection System on the leading edge of the left wing, caused by a piece of insulating foam which separated from the left bipod ramp section of the External Tank at 81.7 seconds after launch, and struck the wing in the vicinity of the lower half of Reinforced Carbon-Carbon panel number 8. During re-entry this breach in the Thermal Protection System allowed superheated air to penetrate through the leading edge insulation and progressively melt the aluminum structure of the left wing, resulting in a weakening of the structure until increasing aerodynamic forces caused loss of control, failure of the wing, and break-up of the Orbiter. This breakup occurred in a flight regime in which, given the current design of the Orbiter, there was no possibility for the crew to survive.

I think there's something more important that came out of this report. They determined that one of the factors which led to this tragedy was the idea of "We must succeed at all costs." Apparently NASA employees were never supposed to say something couldn't be done. If people had felt the ability to say that risks were too high, then these astronauts would probably be alive today.

 

It's a fine and noble thing to have high goals, but it's another to ignore the risks. Especially when it can cost people their lives.

 

Remember that next time your boss says he expects 110%.

Edited by Indiana Cojones
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Strange that the first post in the thread is dated the day before the tragedy...

I don't think it is. FEB 1, 2003

 

Didn't see the date on the first post in this topic when it showed up this morning. I yelled for my wife to turn on the TV because another space shuttle went down...

Aren't the shuttles still grounded?

 

I woke up that day and it was not just any ordinary day. It was my birthday. I turned on the news and there were the pictures. I sat on my couch and just could not speak. All I could do is sit and think, "Why did it have to happen? Why today of all days?"

Happy Birthday Mtn-Man. I hope this year's was better for you than last year. Hopefully it was with the Super Bowl

Edited by wildearth2001
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Didn't see the date on the first post in this topic when it showed up this morning. I yelled for my wife to turn on the TV because another space shuttle went down... ;)

Actually some good news came from space today... NASA's second rover Opportounity rolled off the lander. Speaking of the rovers has anyone heard if they fixed spirit?

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They do think they have Spirit repaired. I would give it a week before I call it a resounding success though. Time will tell.

 

Thanks to all for your post on this topic and the well wishes for the day. J.C., Athena and I went for a little hike today. I built a fire and burned some of the limbs in my yard for the rest of the day. The Pats won the Super Bowl. Space related -- a Progress supply ship docked with the International Space Station last night. It was a great day today.

 

The next crew is set for STS 114. They were even at the Super Bowl tonight. Hopefully we will get back in space soon. Thanks for keeping this topic positive.

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This one got me going. The dates fooled me and at first I thought that we had just lost another shuttle from the fleet,the third one be lost. I was all too readyl to believe so given that I'm going to a funeral tomorrow. I was searching a few news sites for word on loosing a third shuttle.

 

A better worded topic header would have been helpful.

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I noticed the time thing when I bumped this topic. It must have been a *burp* from the import of the forums from Infopop to the new format.

 

I bumped the topic since I quoted myself with an explaination of the post I quoted. I also thought the orbiter name in all caps in the topic name and the fact that we have not flown another shuttle since then would not be confusing. You can bet that when we fly again everyone will know since it will be quite the top story of the day. I'm sorry that a few have been confused.

 

Let's let this topic go down the page now, but never forget our NASA heroes.

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Let's hope (and pray) for better fortune this time...Monday 4:40 am landing time.

Geez, thanks for the scare :lol: !!!

 

Shoulda locked this thread long ago!

 

if yoiu hover your cursor over the posting title link you will see the original posting date in a little pop-up -

 

scared me for a second also until I checked the date -

 

cc\

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