Appears To Have Broken Up Over Texas

NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia broke up in flight this morning as it re-entered Earth's athmosphere over Texas. All seven crew members, including Israel's first-ever man in space, are feared lost.

Columbia was approximately 13 minutes from touchdown, flying 200,000 feet above the Texas plain, when it apparently broke up. Videotapes show a single contrail becoming many just after the traditional sonic boom was heard in Dallas-Fort Worth. The shuttle disappeared from NASA radar and ground controllers lost contact with the astronauts immediately.

It appears to be the first time in 42 years of manned space flight that a spacecraft was lost on re-entry.

Debris is reportedly being found in towns like Claire, (OK), and Groving, (TX), approximately 45 miles south of Dallas. Residents of Groving reported hearing a loud noise as the shuttle apparently broke up overhead. Debris has also been reportedly found along I-45, southeast of Dallas.

There is no indication at this point as to what causes STS-107 to break apart.

The shuttle was landing after a grueling 16-day mission, a platform for science experiments including the study of dust interactions in the atmosphere. The crew split into two 12-hour shifts, working around the clock.

On board  were astronauts Commander Rick Husband, Pilot Willie McCool, Mission Specialists Dave Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson and Laurel Clark, and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon.

Col. Ramon, Israel's first man in space, was one of the daring pilots who staged a miracle-raid on an Iraqi nuclear weapons research facility in 1981.

Families of the Columbia astronauts were in Florida's Mission Control Center when the spacecraft dropped from radar and stopped communicating. They were immediately hustled to an area away from video screens and visitors.

FMI: www.nasa.gov