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SHUTTLE UPDATE:
COLUMBIA BREAKS UP - COMPLETE LOSS OF CREW AND VEHICLE! Latest updates here.
LEFT: We, too, remember the seven heroes of
Columbia: David Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla,
Michael Anderson, William McCool, Ilan Ramon.
RIGHT: STS-107 mission patch.
New!
and more at
!
Pick up some cool for your favorite astronaut this holiday season!
Coverage continues at Part 2 of our Investigation Journal.
08 February 2003 -
- A week has
since the
terrible day we lost
and
her
. Here is a little info on the military's
involvement in the
and
of
Shuttle
. Here are
from
the , the , the
, and the
. Latest from :
Note to Media
No briefings are scheduled for the weekend of Feb. 8-9. A briefing is
expected Monday at a time to be determined.
Sensor Wire Diagrams and Shuttle Photo
Diagrams of sensors on Columbia's left wing and photograph, released
at the Feb. 7 briefing in Houston.
NASA Announces Corrected Procedure for Filing Damage Claims
Instructions for Uploading Digital Material to NASA
Anyone who has photos, video or other digital material that may
assist in the investigation can upload directly to NASA.
The crew's remains were flown to
Wednesday, where they were
greeted by an honor guard, and treated with
.
There will be no
this weekend. Watch
for replays of this week's events.
07 February 2003 -
- The
for Columbia
was hampered by bad
weather Friday. Among the wreckage is a super-secret
that the government is anxious to get back. The
took over the
yesterday. Pictures
from a high-res telescope at
show
to Columbia's
,
as well as possible debris trailing it, 60 seconds before the orbiter
over Texas.
reports:
As
the search for debris spread westward into Arizona and California on
Thursday, the independent investigation board began work to learn why
Space Shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry.
NASA
Administrator Sean O'Keefe met with the Columbia Accident Investigation
Board, or CAIB, on Friday. Located at the Johnson Space Center, Houston,
Texas, and chaired by retired Navy Admiral Harold Gehman, Jr., the CAIB
has now taken over the inquiry.
Administrator O'Keefe also met with JSC employees, praising
them for their dedication and vowing the space program will emerge from
the accident stronger than ever.
At an afternoon briefing, Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron
Dittemore discussed the finding of a small portion of insulation from
one of the shuttle's wings in the Fort Worth, Texas area. The reinforced
carbon-carbon insulation measures between 66 and 68.5 centimeters (26-27
inches) long and 46 centimeters (18 inches) wide. It has not been
determined whether it is from the left or right wing. More than 1,200
people are involved in the recovery effort.
Dittemore also took some time describing the pace of the
investigation and complimenting the Shuttle Program team members.
During the briefing, Dittemore provided a presentation showing
the sequential shutdown of Columbia's sensors in the final minutes of
the orbiter's flight. The Shuttle Program Manager also discussed a photo
taken by Air Force cameras saying, "It is not clear to me that this
photo reveals anything significant at this point."
For more information see the
and
.
More news .
Next
now showing on Friday, Feb 7 at 5:30PM EST (2230 GMT).
Watch live on .
JSC Memorial pics
. Cheney's remarks at the D.C. service
.
06 February 2003 -
- The
and investigation
.
This morning, some of the
was located, and the recently-found nose cone was
and sent to in
. They seem to be
from the "" theory as the root cause of the
accident.
reports:
The
search for clues about what caused Columbia's breakup during re-entry
Saturday, and the hunt for key debris from the orbiter, expanded Wednesday
with recovery teams deployed in California and Arizona.
Four days after Columbia broke apart 16 minutes prior to
landing, Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore said the inquiry
into the cause for Columbia's demise is "picking up speed". But
Dittemore said efforts to draw any new information from an additional 32
seconds of data acquired by ground computers following the loss of voice
communications with Columbia have so far been unsuccessful.
In a briefing, Dittemore said the engineering evaluation teams
are focusing their attention on "something other" than insulating foam
on Columbia's external tank that fell off 80 seconds after launch
striking the left wing, as the reason for the accident.
Watch at [5:30PM EST/2230 GMT] today for an STS-107 Accident
Briefing. Visit the . For instructions on uploading
media related to the Columbia accident
. Media
are invited to attend a ceremony to honor the crew of Columbia scheduled
for Friday, Feb. 7, at [8:15AM EST/1315 GMT] at the KSC Shuttle Landing
Facility (SLF) in Florida.
The next event will be a news briefing on Feb. 7 at [4:30PM EST/2130
GMT]. To learn more, go to the .
There was a for
in her hometown of Racine, Wisconsin yesterday. Private memorial at today at 10AM EST. Vice President Dick
Cheney will be in attendance. A memorial at the
,
where was due to
, will be held on
. Watch
it all live on .
05 February 2003 -
- The
for
is looking west,
in the flight path.
taken by
in
, clearly showing something coming off of Columbia as it
. If you have pics or video that could help the
, you can send it in.
reports:
Anyone
who discovers debris from the accident or who has film or video evidence
that may be of value to the investigation team is urged to use these
contacts. Please avoid contact with any debris, because it may be
hazardous as a result of toxic propellants aboard the Shuttle.
Telephone reports should be directed to the following number:
281/483-3388
Text reports and images should be e-mailed to:
columbiaimages@nasa.gov
All debris is United States Government property and is
critical to the investigation of the shuttle accident. Any and all
debris from the accident is to be left alone and reported to government
authorities. Unauthorized persons found in possession of accident debris
will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
More news:
Companies with space-themed advertising are
in order to avoid appearing insensitive.
Federal flags are flying at
through today.
Was the only thing that brought
?
How will the disaster
NASA's budget?
More
have been found; Ilan Ramon's have been
Two Texas college students were charged with
.
Celebs
on the tragedy.
News briefing schedule
.
Was the
coverage
? (NO!!!)
A private
will be held in Huntsville, Alabama (
of the )
today. President Bush
at the JSC memorial service.
.
Get the schedule for today's press briefings .
04 February - Evening Update - The
, and clues, goes on. NASA paused for a while to
their seven family members, who
so
on Saturday. and
both gave , and astronaut
told stories about the crew. These were some really
we
lost here.
reports:
NASA
paused Tuesday to pay tribute to the STS-107 crew, but the process of
recovering Space Shuttle Columbia debris and analyzing data about its
final moments continues. As recovery teams in Texas and Louisiana collect
pieces of the downed orbiter, other teams are en route to California and
Arizona, where more debris has been reported. NASA engineers are working
around the clock, using Mission Control data to reconstruct the timeline
of the moments leading up to the accident.
During a memorial service at Johnson Space Center in Houston,
Texas, President and Mrs. Bush and NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe
joined crewmembers' families, special guests and thousands of NASA
employees and contractors to remember the seven astronauts who were lost
on Feb. 1.
Watch at 10:30 a.m. CST [11:30AM EST/1630 GMT] and 3:30 p.m. CST
[4:30PM EST/2130 GMT] daily for STS-107 Accident Briefings.
.
For instructions on uploading images and video related to the
Columbia accident . Send to the NASA Family. [Here is a] from the families of the STS-107 crew about the Space
Shuttle Columbia accident.
Was that this could happen someday? Video clips
. More news
and
. Here's on the Gehman Board.
04 February 2003 -
- Today's will be
by the , as well as . It will be carried live on - we expect CNN and other
to show it as well. The ceremony will start at 1PM EST
(1800 GMT).
The President and Mrs. George W. Bush will join NASA Administrator Sean
O'Keefe Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 4, in paying tribute to the brave heroes
of the Space Shuttle Columbia crew during a special memorial service at
the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA is planning two-per-day press briefings starting Monday, Feb. 3,
2003. There will be a daily press briefing from NASA Headquarters, 300 E
Street SW, Washington, at 11:30 a.m. EST and at 4:30 p.m. EST from the
Johnson Space Center. Senior NASA officials will participate in the press
briefings. Read more...
Check back later for more updates...
03 February 2003 -
-
after the
Columbia tragedy, the
continues. Here's what we know so far:
The
for debris is expanding westward, as the breakup may have
happened earlier in the flight path. Columbia's
was found near
the Louisiana border, and part of the
was located also.
NASA strongly suspects that several tiles, possibly near the landing-gear
door, may have been knocked off during launch, but not enough to cause a
catastrophic failure. Did something else contribute to the loss of Columbia?
Former President George H. W. Bush visited Mission Control with former
First Lady Barbara Bush; he spoke with the crew of the International Space
Station.
NASA continues to caution anyone finding wreckage not to disturb it or
touch it, due to the possibility of toxic residue or radioactivity. It is
federal property and illegal to take. Call 281-483-3388 or 800-525-5555 if you
find debris.
A
(to be shown on
, but not open to
the public) is scheduled for noon CST (1PM EST/1800 GMT) at Tuesday.
. There will be
.
Here's the latest
statement:
The investigation of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident continued Monday
with engineers reviewing data and recovering debris. During a briefing,
Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore said that engineers are making
progress and provided more information for the final few minutes of
Columbia's flight.
Tuesday, a memorial service for the STS-107 astronauts will be
held at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. President and Mrs.
George Bush and NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe will be in attendance to
pay tribute to the crew. The ceremony is slated to begin at [1PM
EST/1800 GMT] and will be broadcast live on NASA TV.
Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew -- Commander Rick Husband,
Pilot Willie McCool and Mission Specialists Michael Anderson, David
Brown, Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark, and Payload Specialist Ilan
Ramon -- were lost over north Texas as they were descending for landing
Florida.
A from the families of the STS-107 crew about the Space
Shuttle Columbia accident.
Tuesday's Columbia Accident Briefing is set for [4:30PM
EST/2130 GMT]. will air the briefing.
News
is
- we're still trying to pull this all together. Until then,
here are some good places to check in the mainstream media:
Of course, check the links in the right-hand column for the usual space
press.
02 February 2003 -
- On the
the
,
the investigation is underway. Here's what we know so far:
over Texas, New Mexico, and
Louisiana, mainly in Nacogdoches County, Texas. Some larger pieces, including
one report of a pickup-truck-sized section, are being found. Pieces of
Columbia splashed into a reservoir, prompting
.
Evidence is mounting that a
was at
work, rather than a structural one. There is a possibility of 32 seconds of
additional telemetry data that could be recoverable, which would obviously be
of extreme value to the investigation.
Human remains have been found; an earlier statement that all seven
astronauts had been identified was later retracted. Remains are being
transported to in
Delaware (the same place the
of the Challenger crew were
).
Shuttle debris will be taken to in Louisiana for analysis. So far,
law enforcement has been overwhelmed with reports of found wreckage,
and it will be difficult to keep it protected.
NASA continues to caution anyone finding wreckage not to disturb it or
touch it, due to the possibility of toxic residue or radioactivity. It is
federal property and illegal to take. Call 281-483-3388 or 800-525-5555 if you
find debris.
, the largest NASA contractor, has pledged their full support in the
investigation.
The entrance to Johnson Space Center in Houston, and the Astronaut
Memorial at KSC, are piled high with flowers, balloons, and messages of
condolence for the astronauts' families.
A
(not open to the public) is scheduled for noon CST (1PM
EST/1800 GMT) at Tuesday.
.
Here's the latest
statement:
Aided
by federal and local agencies, NASA stepped up its inquiry into the loss
of Space Shuttle Columbia and its seven astronauts. Multiple investigative
teams continue to pore over engineering data in an effort to uncover the
cause of the breakup of the shuttle over Texas on Saturday 16 minutes from
landing.
Ron Dittemore, Space Shuttle Program Manager said in a news
briefing Sunday afternoon that a Mishap Response Team is gathering data
from numerous engineering teams in the early stages of the
investigation. The team is receiving assistance from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency, the National Transportation Safety Board,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement agencies,
among others. Also, he said that the recovery of debris and human
remains is being coordinated at Barksdale Air Force Base, La.
Dittemore reconstructed the final minutes of Columbia's
flight, including the failure of four temperature sensors associated
with the shuttle's left hand elevons and the shuttle's reaction to drag
on it's left side. In addition, he said that ground computers may
contain an additional 32 seconds of data which could provide additional
information in the analysis of Columbia's breakup.
Two briefings are scheduled for Monday. The first will be
held at [11:30AM EST/1630 GMT] and the second at [4:30PM EST/2130 GMT]. will air the briefing.
. To learn how to send NASA photos and videos that may
be relevant to the Columbia investigation,
.
Stay tuned...
For the last flight report, see Part 6 of our Mission Journal.
