By Jordan Burke
Saturday morning, Feb. 1, minutes before landing, the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded.
The shuttle, which was carrying seven astronauts, was returning from a 16-day science mission. NASA lost contact with the shuttle at about 9 a.m. EST, just before its 9:16 a.m. scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
At the time of the last radio contact with Columbia, the shuttle was 207,000 feet above Texas, moving at over 12,000 miles per hour.
?Obviously it?s a tragedy for the country,? said Brett Lunsford, an aerospace instructor for the BYU Air Force ROTC.
The wreckage, strewn over large areas of eastern Texas, included some pieces over 10 feet in size. Local, state, and federal law enforcement officers secured many of pieces for investigators. The newly created Department of Homeland Security will oversee much of the security on the ground, according to Sean O?Keefe, a NASA administrator.
After NASA lost contact with Columbia, O?Keefe notified both Pres. Bush and Secretary Tom Ridge of the Department of Homeland Security.
Aboard the shuttle was the first Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, a colonel in the Israeli Air Force.
?We mourn their loss and honor their service,? said Rep. Chris Cannon, in a statement released Saturday afternoon. ?This tragedy is a somber reminder that space flight remains a dangerous endeavor that requires great courage on the part of our astronauts.?
In previous terms of office, Cannon served on the Science Committee, which oversees the NASA space shuttle program.
Columbia is the oldest of NASA''s shuttle fleet, first launched in 1981. It was on its 28th mission.
?We feel for the families,? Lunsford said. Lunsford added that any further conclusions were purely speculation until more information is made public.
Many local Texas residents saw the wreckage falling towards the earth, separating into multiple pieces.
?The families knew the crew was dedicated,? said Bill Readdy, Associate Administrator for Space Flight at NASA. Many of the crew?s families and relatives were waiting for their return in Florida.
?This morning they (the families and crew) were to be celebrated,? O?Keefe said as he tried to hold back his emotions. ?This loss is something we will never get over.?
?We mourn their loss and honor their service,? said Rep. Chris Cannon, in a statement released Saturday afternoon. ?This tragedy is a somber reminder that space flight remains a dangerous endeavor that requires great courage on the part of our astronauts.?
Attempts to contact Sen. Orrin Hatch were unsuccessful.
While the nation mourns, others want to know if terrorism played a part. The odds of the disaster being a terrorist act are limited according to NASA officials. Many familiar with the situation said the spacecraft was too high and moving too fast.
?There is no indication this was caused by anything or anyone on the ground,? O?Keefe said.
?This is a great sadness for our country,? Pres. Bush said. ?These men and women assumed great risk. Our nation will mourn for them.?
Pres. Bush addressed the country and family members Saturday afternoon.
O?Keefe said, in a NASA press conference Saturday morning, Feb. 1, said he also appointed an external mishaps group to investigate the explosion. The team will be comprised of transportation experts from other federal agencies including certain arms of the military.
?We will find the cause, fix it and move on,? Readdy said, underlying the point that the program will not end.