Columbia

[Benji]

I just saw an ABC exclusive with the best video of the breakup over TX. It was from a military helicopter in the area on a training mission.

[Boomerang]

I wish i'd seen that but i missed it. Oh well i'm sure it will be shown again.

[Benji]

I found a good article about America that relates to the STS-107 disaster. It's really long, so I uploaded it. If you want to read it, it's here: http://www.biggestpaininthebutt.com/ssb.rtf. Enjoy.

[Boomerang]

Well its time for 3 more PAO announcements here is the first one. Also i read on AOL a few minutes ago that its official they have identified remains of all the columbia crew.




STS-107 Mishap Response Status Report #2
Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003 - 2 p.m. CST

Two trucks containing debris from the space shuttle Columbia arrived at
Kennedy Space Center (KSC) this morning. They were the first bringing debris
from Barksdale AFB near Shreveport, La., to KSC where investigators will lay
them out, about as they were positioned on Columbia.

Members of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) arrived at KSC
about 11 a.m. EST today. The group toured facilities, including the Orbiter
Processing Facility Bay 2, housing the Shuttle Endeavour, and Bay 3, where
Discovery is undergoing maintenance. The CAIB also visited the Vehicle
Assembly Building where Shuttle Atlantis, with its external tank and solid
rocket boosters, is atop its mobile launch platform. The CAIB met at
intervals throughout the day with KSC officials to get an overview of ground
processing activities.

On Thursday the board is scheduled to visit the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB)
Disassembly Facility and tour the SRB assembly and refurbishment facilities.
Members also will visit the Launch Control Center and Launch Pad 39A, where
Columbia was launched.

Retired Navy Admiral Harold Gehman, CAIB chairman, spoke briefly with news
media representatives. He said the CAIB wants to look at four things at
KSC: launch procedures; Shuttle refurbishment between flights; the Columbia
mishap reconstruction site; "and be sure in our own minds the process here
for Columbia reconstruction meets our investigatory needs." The efforts
will take place in the Reusable Launch Vehicle Hangar located adjacent to
the Space Shuttle runway at KSC.

Gehman described the trip to KSC as an orientation visit. He said the CAIB
would return to KSC a number of times during the investigation. The CAIB is
scheduled to travel to Huntsville, Ala., and then New Orleans before
returning to Houston Saturday night. Gehman said Sunday would be a workday,
and that the board would be working seven- or six-day weeks "from now on."

More than 2,500 federal, state and local employees continued to search for
Columbia debris in Texas and Louisiana today. Officials say they have the
resources to cover every body of water in the debris trail within 5 weeks.
While teams continue to investigate reports of debris as far west as
California, no confirmed pieces of debris from Columbia have been found west
of the Fort Worth, Texas area.

Hundreds of items continue to be collected from areas in eastern Texas and
western Louisiana. Several hundred items were shipped in the past 24 hours
to Barksdale from locations in Lufkin, Nacogdoches and Hemphill, Texas.

The International Space Station's Expedition 6 crew, Commander Ken Bowersox,
Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and NASA Station Science Officer Don Pettit,
took time Wednesday for interviews with CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC
representatives. They talked about their shock and grief after being told
the morning of Feb. 1 by Johnson Space Center Director Jefferson D. Howell
Jr. of the loss of Columbia, and their willingness to remain aboard the ISS
as long as necessary.

For more information about NASA on the Internet, see:

www.nasa.gov <http://www.nasa.gov>

[Boomerang]

Glenn Mahone/Bob Jacobs
Headquarters, Washington Feb. 12, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-1600)

RELEASE: 03-069

JOINT CONGRESSIONAL HEARING RESULTS IN SECOND
CHARTER AMENDMENT FOR GEHMAN BOARD

Based on the recommendations from congressional leaders
at today's joint hearing into the Space Shuttle Columbia
accident, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe today issued a
second amendment to the charter of the Space Shuttle Accident
Investigation Board. The independent panel is led by Admiral
Hal Gehman and is known as the Gehman Board.

The changes to the charter removes any requirement, either
real or perceived, that asks Admiral Gehman to coordinate or
await approval from NASA for any dimension of the panel's
investigation.

Administrator Sean O'Keefe appeared before a joint committee
hearing co-chaired by U.S. Senator John McCain, who chairs
the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
and U.S. Representative Sherwood Boehlert, who chairs the
House Science Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics.

At the hearing, Rep. Boehlert said, "The words of the charter
simply do not guarantee the independence and latitude that
both the Administrator and the Admiral have sincerely
promised. The charter's words need to match everyone's intent
now to avoid any problems later. I also continue to believe
that several more members should be added to the Board to
ensure that it has the appropriate breadth of experience and
expertise."

As a result of the recommendations, the Gehman Board charter
was amended a second time. "I want to thank Rep. Boehlert and
the rest of the congressional leadership for their insight
and concern. There should be no doubt as to the independent
nature of this investigative body," added Administrator
O'Keefe. "NASA will do whatever it takes to ensure the
integrity of the Gehman Board as it works to identify the
cause of this horrific accident."

A copy of the amended charter and the complete text of
Administrator O'Keefe's opening statement are available on
the Internet at www.nasa.gov/columbia/COL_resources.html.

-end-

[Boomerang]

Glenn Mahone/Bob Jacobs
Headquarters, Washington Feb. 13, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-1600)

Eileen M. Hawley
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281/483-5111)

RELEASE: 03-070

COLUMBIA ASTRONAUT REMAINS IDENTIFIED

The remains of all seven members of Space Shuttle
Columbia's crew have been positively identified at Dover Air
Force Base, Del.

"We are comforted by the knowledge we have brought our seven
friends home," said Bob Cabana, Director of Flight Crew
Operations at the Johnson Space Center. "We are deeply
indebted to the communities and volunteers who made this
homecoming possible, and brought peace of mind to the crew's
families, and the entire NASA family," he said.

The seven astronauts, Rick Husband (Colonel, USAF), Willie
McCool (Commander, USN), Michael Anderson (Lieutenant
Colonel, USAF), David Brown (Captain, USN), Kalpana Chawla,
Laurel Clark (Commander, USN), and Ilan Ramon (Colonel,
Israel Air Force), died Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003, when the
Space Shuttle Columbia broke up over the southwest United
States.

Private memorial services for the crewmembers will take place
within the next few weeks. Burial services for Ilan Ramon
took place February 11 in Israel.






-end-

[Boomerang]

Ok here we are another PAO announcement. I'll keep posting them as they are released. Hopefully sometime in the near future i can stop posting these and start posting shuttle status reports again when the orbiters return to flight.

Steve Nesbitt
Columbia Accident Investigation Board Feb. 13, 2003
(Phone: 713/301-9571)

RELEASE: 03-072

STATEMENT BY THE COLUMBIA ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BOARD (Feb.
13, 2003)

Note: The CAIB has asked NASA for administrative support
to release information to the public and the media. The
following statement was provided by the CAIB for release.

Thermal Analysis Shows Hot Plasma Possible in Columbia Left
Wheel Well Area

Preliminary analysis by a NASA working group this week
indicates that the temperature indications seen in Columbia's
left wheel well during entry would require the presence of
plasma (super heated gas surrounding the orbiter during re-
entry).

Heat transfer through the structure as from a missing tile
would not be sufficient to cause the temperature indications
seen in the last minutes of flight.

Additional analysis is underway, looking at various scenarios
in which a breach of some type, allowing plasma into the
wheel well area or elsewhere in the wing, could occur.

Other flight data including gear position indicators and drag
information does not support the scenario of an early
deployment of the left gear.

The search continues for possible debris from Columbia in the
western U.S., but as of early Thursday, no debris further
west than Ft. Worth, Texas has been confirmed as Shuttle-
related.

[Boomerang]

Here is the latest PAO briefing.

Feb. 13, 2003

Glenn Mahone/Robert Mirelson
Headquarters, Washington
Phone: 202/ 358-1600


Eileen Hawley
Johnson Space Center, Houston
Phone: 281/483-5111



Report #N03-016

NASA ANNOUNCES COLUMBIA ENTRY FLIGHT DIRECTOR PRESS BRIEFING

Leroy Cain, the flight director who oversaw the ascent and entry of the Space Shuttle
Columbia on Feb 1, 2003, from Mission Control, Houston, will hold a press conference beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST, Friday, February 14 from the Johnson Space Center, Houston. The briefing will be carried live on NASA Television.

Prior to the start of the press briefing, at Noon and at 3 p.m. EST, a videotape of events inside the Space Shuttle Flight Control Room will air on NASA TV. It will include the audio of the Flight Director's conversations with his flight control team and air-to-ground communications between Mission Control and the Shuttle Columbia.

NASA TV is on AMC-2, Transponder 9C, vertical polarization at 85 degrees West longitude, 3880 MHz, with audio at 6.8 MHz.

For more information about NASA or the Columbia investigation on the Internet:

http://www.nasa.gov

-end-

[Benji]

Ok here we are another PAO announcement. I'll keep posting them as they are released. Hopefully sometime in the near future i can stop posting these and start posting shuttle status reports again when the orbiters return to flight.

I'll be glad for that day, too.

[ApolloXI]

The Space Camp website has a memorial http://spacecamp.com/columbia.asp

[Boomerang]

Well unfortunately here come more of the PAO investigation status reports. Again there are a few so this will be multiple posts.

STS-107 Mishap Response Status Report #3
Thursday, Feb. 13, 2003 - 7 p.m. CST

The Columbia Accident Investigation Board said today preliminary analysis by a NASA working group indicates the temperature indications seen in Columbia's left wheel well during entry would require the presence of plasma. Plasma is a super heated gas surrounding the orbiter during re-entry.

The CAIB said heat transfer through the structure, as from a missing tile, would not be sufficient to cause the temperature indications seen in the last minutes of flight. Additional analysis is under way, looking at various scenarios in which a breach of some type could occur, allowing plasma into the wheel well area or elsewhere in the wing.

Other flight data, including landing gear position indicators and drag information, indicate it is unlikely the left landing gear was deployed early, the CAIB said.

The search continues in the western United States for debris from Columbia. As of early Thursday, no debris found farther west than Granbury, Texas, about 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth, had been confirmed as Shuttle-related. The first two trucks containing debris from Columbia arrived at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla. Wednesday morning.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reported today the Shuttle debris recovery operation is proceeding well. FEMA said 72 percent of sites in Texas and 84 percent of sites in Louisiana have been cleared.

The Environmental Protection Agency has 42 teams conducting operations in five Texas counties. Searches are focused on large structural items, and a plan is being developed to support expanded searches in areas where NASA-identified critical items have been found.

The Civil Air Patrol is expanding operations west of Fort Worth, and negotiations are under way to bring in a blimp to help search in the area from Fort Worth east to Palestine, Texas. The Navy is taking control of water operations, with dive teams and equipment arriving today. Searches will focus first on the Toledo Bend Reservoir and then turn to other lakes in the affected area.

The CAIB spent its second day visiting KSC. The trip's purpose is to familiarize members with operations at the center from which Columbia was launched Jan. 16.

On Friday the board is scheduled to visit the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Ala. On Saturday members are scheduled to visit the Michoud, La., facility near New Orleans where Shuttle external tanks are fabricated, before returning to Houston Saturday night.

Leroy Cain, the Space Shuttle entry flight director on Feb. 1, will hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m. EST Friday. It will be carried live on NASA Television. Before that press conference, NASA-TV will carry a videotape of events inside the Shuttle Flight Control Room on Feb. 1. The video will be shown beginning at noon and 3 p.m. EST.

For more information about NASA on the Internet, see:

www.nasa.gov <http://www.nasa.gov>


-end-

[Boomerang]

Allard Beutel
Headquarters, Washington Feb. 13, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-0951)

Kylie Moritz
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 281/483-5111)


NOTE TO EDITORS: n03-017

NASA SEEKS HELP FROM SKY WATCHERS

NASA is still seeking help from the American public to supply video
and still images of the Space Shuttle Columbia on its return flight to
Earth. There has been a great public response, but more material will
help the investigation of the Columbia accident.

Columbia glided across the western U.S. just before sunrise Saturday,
February 1. The Shuttle flew just north of San Francisco around 6:50
a.m. PST and broke up over eastern Texas around 8:00 a.m. CST. Any
imagery, especially video, of the Shuttle's path might aid the Columbia
Accident Investigation Board in determining the cause of the accident.

Media and private citizens who have video or still images of Columbia's
entry path are encouraged to send it to investigators. Videotapes and
photos will not be returned. For more information call:

Johnson Space Center Emergency Operations Center
(Phone: 281/483-3388)

Mail videotapes to:

NASA Johnson Space Center
Mail Code JA17
2101 NASA Road 1
Houston, Texas 77058

Email digital images to: [email protected]

-end-

[Benji]

A well done Columbia memorial: http://www.interviewwithgod.com/columbia/

[Boomerang]

Well it probably is a great memorial unfortunately its taking forever to load on this computer so ill have to wait till tommorow when im on a faster one to see it.

[Richasi]

A well done Columbia memorial: http://www.interviewwithgod.com/columbia/

A very good memorial. It simply brought goosebumps... I've always loved the Apollo 13 soundtrack and I think it fused very well with what was shown on the memorial here. Thanks for sharing.

[Boomerang]

That was a beautiful memorial. Brought goosebumps to my skin and a tear to my eye. I'll definately have to share that with others.

[Benji]

That was a beautiful memorial. Brought goosebumps to my skin and a tear to my eye.

I think it does that for everyone. At least it certainly affected me.

[Boomerang]

Wello the internet is a wonderful thing. So many great memorials. Makes you wonder what kind of memorials we would have seen for challenge and apollo 1 if the internet had been around then.

[LaRsOnAtRiXkIx]

That was a beautiful memorial. Brought goosebumps to my skin and a tear to my eye.

I think it does that for everyone. At least it certainly affected me.

yeah..wow. that was really a beautiful memorial. i hadnt seen a lot of those pics before.

[Boomerang]

I had seen most of those photos before but put all together with music made them into an incredible memorial.