Page 3 - 200303 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - February 2003

Shuttle Columbia Special 3 Shuttle Columbia Special 3 Shuttle Columbia Disaster, Seven Astronauts Dead (Continues from Page 2) At the Vatican, Pope John Paul prayed for the dead astronauts during a mass at St Peter's Basilica. Condolences poured in from the leaders of a raft of countries including Britain, France and Germany. NASA lost contact with the shuttle, which was completing a 16- day mission, at around 9 a.m. EST while it was 207,000 feet above Earth. "The first indications of a potential problem occurred minutes before 8 o'clock central standard time. The first indications were of the loss of sensors, temperature sensors in the hydraulic systems on the left," Ron Dittemore, shuttle program manager, said at Johnson Space Crowds along State Road 50 in Titusville, Florida, watch the Center. space shuttle as it lifts off from its launch pad. "They were followed seconds and minutes later by several other problems, including loss of tire pressure indications on the left main gear," said Dittimore who summed up the mood at the center by saying: "We're devastated." On Friday, NASA flight entry director, Leroy Cain, was asked about possible damage to the left wing of the orbiter which might have occurred on lift-off. He said analyzes by NASA engineers had shown any damage to be minor, adding: "We're not working any concerns on the orbiter." There were many reports from local residents of the shuttle breaking apart and of a loud "boom." DISASTER RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT SPACE TRAVEL The accident is likely to raise questions over the longevity of the Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, from left, Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon, Commander Rick Husband and Mission Specialist shuttle fleet as Columbia was NASA's oldest shuttle and first flew in Kalpana Chawla communicate with the crew aboard the 1981. It was 32 months after the Challenger disaster before NASA flew international space station. Ramon became the first Israeli to fly a space shuttle again. into space on this flight. (Photo:AP) It also raised questions about the resupply of the International Space Station. The shuttle is the main resupply vehicle for the outpost in space. Bush was grieving for the astronauts but adamant. "The cause in which they died will continue," he said, adding: "Our journey into space will go on." The rest of the Columbia crew were Americans -- Mission Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, Mission Specialist David Brown, Mission Specialists Laurel Clark and Indian-born Kalpana Chawla. Ramon was listed as a payload specialist. Ramon's mother was a Holocaust survivor from the Auschwitz concentration camp. In memory of family members who did not survive the Nazi rule of World War II, Ramon took with him a pencil drawing by a Czech Jewish boy. There was mounting concern about toxic chemicals from the As the shuttle descended over Texas, an amateur photographer debris. NASA mission control in Houston said, "Any debris that is captured a flash of light from the shuttle's path. The shuttle was to have landed at Kennedy Space Center at 9:16 a.m. ET located in the Dallas-Fort Worth vicinity should be avoided and may be Saturday. (Photo:AP) hazardous." Nacogdoches, Texas, received one report of the finding of what appeared to be a door from the orbiter. "We do have a debris field. It is scattered all throughout Nacogdoches," said Victoria Lafollett, city manager of Nacogdoches about 145 miles northeast of Houston. The shuttle had closed out experiments conducted on the mission, which was deemed a success by NASA. The shuttle did not visit the International Space Station this trip. The next space shuttle mission was to have left on March 1 to carry a new segment to the space station, with astronaut Eileen Collins in command of the shuttle Atlantis. A National Weather Service image shows the area of the debris field (Photo:AP)