Space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames 200,000 feet over
Texas on Saturday, killing all seven astronauts just minutes before
they were to glide to a landing in Florida.
"Columbia is lost; there are no survivors," President Bush
announced to a stunned nation.
Bill Readdy, NASA's associate administrator for space flight and a
former shuttle commander, said it was too early to speculate about
what had destroyed Columbia. A senior U.S. official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said there was no immediate indication of
terrorism.
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, his voice breaking at times, said
Bush had talked to the families of the astronauts who had been
waiting at Kennedy Space Center for the crew's return.
"We trust the prayers of the nation will be with them and with
their families," O'Keefe said. "A more courageous group of people
you could not have hoped to know than the families of these crew
members, an extraordinary, extraordinary group of astronauts who
gave their lives."
Neither he nor Readdy took reporters' questions.
The six Americans and one Israeli, that country's first astronaut,
who were aboard Columbia were 16 minutes from landing when the
shuttle broke apart. They had been expected to touch down in
Florida at 9:16 a.m.
At
9 a.m., Mission Control abruptly lost all data and voice contact
with the shuttle and crew. At the same time, residents of Texas,
Arkansas and Louisiana reported hearing "a big bang" and seeing
flames in the sky.
The final radio transmission between Mission Control and the
shuttle gave no indication of any trouble.
Mission Control radioed: "Columbia, Houston, we see your tire
pressure messages and we did not copy your last."
Columbia's commander, Rick Husband, calmly responds: "Roger, buh
..."
Then the transmission goes silent for several seconds, followed by
static.
Military satellites with infrared detectors recorded several
flashes as Columbia broke apart, according to a defense official
who spoke only on condition of anonymity. It was unclear whether
those "spikes" of heat indicated an explosion, the burning of
pieces of debris re-entering the atmosphere or something else.
Television footage showed a bright light followed by smoke plumes
streaking through the sky. Debris appeared to break off into
separate balls of light as it continued downward.
Hours after the shuttle had been expected to land, the giant screen
at the front of Mission Control showed a map of the Southwest
United States and what should have been Columbia's flight path. The
U.S. flag next to the center's countdown clock was lowered to
half-staff.
"A
contingency for the space shuttle has been declared," Mission
Control somberly repeated over and over from Houston.
At
Kennedy Space Center, O'Keefe met with the astronauts' families.
Six of the seven astronauts were married, and five of them had
children.
NASA officials, meanwhile, warned people on the ground to stay away
from any fallen shuttle debris. EPA spokesman Joe Martyak said he
didn't know what toxic chemicals could be amid the debris because
the shuttle can undergo reactions from the intense heat of
reentry.
The shuttle flight was the 113th in the shuttle program's 22 years
and the 28th flight for Columbia, NASA oldest shuttle.
In
42 years of U.S. human space flight, there had never been an
accident during the descent to Earth or landing. On Jan. 28, 1986,
space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff.
(China Daily, February 2, 2003)