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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 1 of our Investigation Journal.
Our condolences to the astronauts' families, and to the entire NASA family.
01 February 2003 - 11PM EST - From
:
If you have film or video evidence that may help
, please phone the
space agency at 281/483-3388 or email your report to
columbiaimages@nasa.gov.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency ()
is in
recovering and securing the
debris.
has
flags on federal buildings to be flown at half-staff until Wednesday.
have sent
expressing their
over the
of the seven
,
and and
is being felt around the
. Unidentified
have been located in Hemphill, Texas. Three committees will be
the disaster. More news
.
01 February - 8:20PM EST - We are hearing reports
of some suspected
being found among the
scattered
across .
Nothing has been
. NASA Administrator
has been with the
.
Here's
's statement on the catastrophe:
Saturday morning over north central Texas, the Space Shuttle Columbia
and all seven astronauts were lost during reentry from orbit. Columbia was
returning to Kennedy Space Center, Fla. after a 16-day scientific research
mission.
At [8:15AM EST/1315 GMT] Columbia fired its braking rockets and
began its descent from orbit. As the shuttle was traveling at 18 times the
speed of sound at an altitude of 63,100 meters (207,000 feet), Mission
Control Center, Houston, Texas lost communications about [9AM EST/1400
GMT]. Prior to loss of communications there were no indications of
abnormal activity with the shuttle's return to Earth appearing normal.
At KSC, NASA Administrator Sean 0'Keefe and Associate
Administrator Bill Readdy met with the astronauts' families, offered
condolences and vowed to uncover the cause of the accident and continue
with the shuttle program.
More information will be released as it becomes available.
to learn how to send NASA photos and videos that may be relevant to the
Columbia investigation.
It is that NASA will build a
, and all flights are
suspended pending the results of the
.
01 February - 5:20PM EST - The news conference with
Shuttle Program Director Ron Dittemore and Chief Flight Director Milt Heflin is over.
Dittemore said that the full resources of the federal government - including
the , ,
, and
and
law enforcement, were available to
NASA. The and
are also involved. National Guardsmen could be
seen cordoning off small pieces of
. Flight restrictions
have been declared over Louisiana (perhaps to allow search teams to
operate?).
01 February - 4:25PM EST - The new conference is in progress.
Ron Dittemore expressed confidence that there would be a return to flight as
soon as the
could be determined. He cautioned against jumping to conclusions
about tile damage as the cause of the
,
and noted that there is no way for
to perform EVAs to repair
damage outside the payload bay.
The government stressed that there was
as the cause of the disaster, and the
has ordered all flags to half-staff today. Audio of O'Keefe
statement
and
.
Video of
speech
and
; audio
.
01 February - 3:50PM - Shuttle Program Manager
is
discussing the . The
is underway. There is no
indication of the
, but
downlinked from
indicated a loss of hydraulics temperature data from the left wing at 8:53AM
EST, as well as a loss of tire pressure data from the left main landing gear.
reports:
Search and rescue teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth and in
portions of East Texas have been alerted. Any debris that is located in
the area that may be related to the Space Shuttle contingency should be
avoided and may be hazardous as a result of toxic propellants used aboard
the shuttle. The location of any possible debris should immediately be
reported to local authorities.
No decision has been made on where the
will be moved. Meanwhile, the International Space Station crew
is expecting a
which will enable them to
, if necessary. Of course, they have a Soyuz spacecraft if
they need to return to Earth before the resumption of Shuttle flights.
01 February - 3:25PM EST - The news conference keeps getting pushed back. Perhaps 3:30?
NASA has released a phone number for anyone who spots debris they feel may be
wreckage:
(281) 483-3388 - also the governor of Texas announced a toll-free 800-525-5555
number.
Debris has been tracked as far south as New Mexico and Louisiana.
Officials stress that the wreckage may have toxic residue and should NOT be
touched.
01 February - 3PM EST - The NASA news conference scheduled for now has been pushed back 15 minutes.
It is due to be more technical than the
.
Weather services are
the
. Reports indicate that Columbia was in a steep
left turn when it broke up at
. The orbiter executes a series of
S-turns when it approaches the landing strip.
01 February - 2:30PM EST - CNN is showing footage of smoking
areas on the ground in
, possibly burning vegetation. NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe spoke at 1PM, and President Bush made a brief address to the nation at 2PM EST.
There will be a full news conference at 3PM EST.
reports:
NASA PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR 3 P.M. EST FEB. 1 A press conference by Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore and
Chief Flight Director Milt Heflin will take place from NASA's Johnson
Space Center, Houston, beginning at 3 p.m. EST today. The briefing will be
carried on NASA TV with two-way question and answer capability from other
agency centers.
A Space Shuttle contingency was declared earlier this morning in Mission
Control when communication was lost with the Space Shuttle Columbia during
its return to Earth following a 16-day mission.
Communication and tracking of the shuttle was lost at 9 a.m. at an
altitude of about 203,000 feet above north central Texas while traveling
approximately 12,500 miles per hour (Mach 18). No communication and
tracking information was received in Mission Control after that time.
Flight controllers in Mission Control immediately began the process of
securing all information, notes and data pertinent to today's reentry and landing.
NASA TV is on AMC-2, Transponder 9C, vertical polarization at 85 degrees
West longitude, 3880 MHz, with audio at 6.8 MHz.
NOTE TO PERSONS IN THE AREA: 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.
NASA TV is available on the web
,
,
, and
.
01 February - 11:10AM EST - Mourning - Flags are flying
at half-staff at Kennedy Space Center, and Israeli President Sharon is
for more information. President Bush is expected to make a
statement .
Keep an eye on the links at top right
for commentary, and watch on .
Check back later here for more updates.
01 February - 10:30AM EST - President Bush will return
to the White House at about noon today.
with Columbia at
9AM EST, as it was
over north-central Texas at 12,500 miles per hour.
is
reporting that they are securing the toxic debris as they find it.
reports:
STS-107 Entry Flight
Director Leroy Cain declared a contingency for the
shuttle Columbia at around 8:14 central time this morning [9:14AM EST/1414 GMT] as
the shuttle and its seven astronauts headed for a landing at the Kennedy
Space Center.
Columbia fired its braking rockets at 7:16 this morning [8:16AM EST/1316
GMT] and entered the Earth’s atmosphere with all of its systems
functioning normally for a landing at the Florida spaceport at 8:16
a.m. [9:16AM EST/1416 GMT].
But communications were lost with Columbia around 8 o‘clock
[9AM EST/1400 GMT] as the orbiter streaked over Texas.
Contingency procedures remain in effect and landing support
officials are currently being dispatched near the Dallas-Forth Worth area
to search for possible debris.
Local video coverage
.
Break-up video
. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the astronauts.
01 February - 10:20AM EST - More local residents report debris being sighted in several counties in Texas, and the smell of burning rubber
as well.
Local law enforcement is advising anyone who may encounter Shuttle debris to
(not to mention that the evidence must be
preserved). What will this mean for the space program? What of the
Expedition 6 crew aboard the International Space Station?
01 February - 10:10AM EST -
is being briefed at Camp David.
Columbia was flying at Mach 6 and 200,000 feet over Texas, putting it out of
reach of any anti-aircraft missiles - so
.
Attention is being turned to a piece of debris that may have damaged
Columbia's left wing during liftoff. Is it possible that a missing tile on
the leading edge could have caused some sort of burn-through? NASA has
officially declared Columbia and her crew of seven astronauts to be
.
Pic .
01 February - 9:55AM EST - Another Shuttle veteran, Jerry Linenger,
is now calling in to CNN, describing the sensations of launch and landing,
and what could go wrong. NASA has declared a contingency, and is advising
mission controllers to gather up all their notes and data.
(Personal note
from Tony: My hands are shaking as I type this - the horror of this
situation is not something I ever wanted to feel again, having experienced
the Challenger explosion in 1986). Local residents are calling in recounting
a ,
like the roar of a freight train, that shook their houses.
reports:
STS-107
A contingency has been declared. The Human Space Flight Web will be
updated with the latest information as soon as it becomes available.
Keep an eye on the links at top right
for commentary, and watch on .
Check back later tonight for more updates.
01 February - 9:40AM EST - BREAK-UP! - CNN's Miles
O'Brien is speaking with astronaut Norm Thagard, who believes that the
resemble a
. The White House is about to convene a "Domestic
Event Conference." Search And Rescue Teams are being dispatched to the
Dallas/Ft. Worth area. NASA is advising anyone who may come across and
debris to STAY AWAY, as toxic substances may be present. Anyone who finds
debris should report it to local law enforcement. Columbia was flying at
about 200,000 feet over the North-Central Texas area.
01 February - 9:30AM EST - EMERGENCY! - News video shows multiple pieces of debris shooting from the sky over Texas,
resembling a meteorite. Columbia was due to land at KSC 15 minutes ago, but
no contact has been made since about 9AM EST. NASA has declared an
emergency, and local residents report the sound of a loud impact.
01 February - TROUBLE - Mission Control reports a loss of downlink data with Columbia, and Texas residents report a
in the air.
We fear the worst.
01 February 2003 -
- DEORBIT BURN!
is to
! So far, they are
at Runway
33, but that could change to Runway 15.
reports:
At [8:15AM EST/1315 GMT] today, STS-107 Commander Rick Husband and
Pilot Willie McCool fired Space Shuttle Columbia's engines to begin the
descent to Florida. Columbia is slated to touch down at Kennedy Space
Center, Fla., at [9:16M EST/1416 GMT].
STS-107 is returning home after spending 16 days in orbit
conducting more than 80 experiments in a wide range of research areas. In
order to accomplish the mission's goals, they worked in split shifts to
have 24-hour operations.
Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla, who is the mission's flight
engineer, and Laurel Clark are sitting on the flight deck with Husband and
McCool. Mission Specialists Michael Anderson and Dave Brown and Payload
Specialist Ilan Ramon are on the middeck.
Keep an eye on the links at top right
for , and watch on .
Check back later tonight for more updates.
For earlier reports, see Part 5 of our Mission Journal.
