Columbia is missing!

“You Americans are so self centered. You wail when any tragedy strikes. You feel you are too good to suffer. Take that. Remind you are mortal. Too arrogant.

More people die of attacks each day at the hands of American sponsored terrorists than have died in the history of the American space program. Those astronauts are not suffering now, they are with Allah if they lived holy. You are soaking in your own shatered pride. You are above the fray, but when it happens to you wail. Let more tragedy strike America, let you be as the rest of the world.”

“This is a bad time and subject for trolling.

Tasteless.”

“Sorry Ahaab, we cannot, will not be like the world as you wish us to be. We know our mortality, too bad you don't know our hope.”

“Ahaab, Guess what? My neighbor works for the FBI and I'm going to show him your comment. I don't take comments like that lightly, and neither would he.”

“Yeah, its been pulled already. Turns out some dipsh-t from Germany posted it. It appeared to be a part of a hose nozzle.

The trip to AZ went nice but it's still first in my mind every minute. Oh well, time is the great healer.”

“Let go of your bitterness Ahaab.

El Moro Sky
”

“We are all mourning the loss of our fellow Americans. Astronauts are some of the bravest souls.”

“God bless the men and women who go in harm's way for the betterment of humanity. I took these photos from Laguna Woods, CA..Orange County..at about 10:15 PCT. the Columbia vapor trails..perhaps someone could turn this into a clickable link.

http://community.webshots.com/user/mountainmaster2003-date”

“Thanks, PATHMAN..BTW...sorry to hear about your business trip to Yuma. There ain't much there unless you want to wander around the desert.”

“Very sad. I, like many others, have vivid memories of the Challenger explosion. Brings back those same emotions.

I wish we wouldn't speculate that terrorism was involved. Must that be our first thought every time? It sickens me, truly.”

“I was at the library when I heard and when I went up to tell the librarian I could feel myself getting emotional over it.

Very Sad.

6 famalies and a whole nation behind them morn today.”

“I thought there were 7 people”

“Artex, report the guy, and if you are a troll, that was pretty lame.

However, if you are real, I'd be glad to meet you and let you make comments like that to my face.”

“There is no terrorism in this matter. I think what happened was that during liftoff, the "material" or insulation they keep talking about, damaged the left wing. They talked about it for awhile and determind it was fine. The shuttle was in the process of doing it's braking maneuvers, the first of which was a bank to the left, this put too much stress on the damaged area and there was a "zipper effect", where the wing seperated and the shuttle lost control. Just a theory from what I've been able to put together so far.”

“They had problems with the regulating the temp during orbit. Shuttle asked if they could open some compartments to help cool off the main areas, which they got permission to do. This is, as far as I know, a first. Maybe they didn't secure all areas before re-entry, causing cabin pressure problems, almost like an implosion......”

“Buddha Bear, I already did. No joke.

I realize that person is probably just a lame-ass troll, but I prefer to let the authorities have the final say.”

“Artex, he's an idiot, but he made no threats or claims of responsibility. Seems a waste of taxpayer's money to have the FBI out looking for some message board troll.”

“Sorry Phaedrus, I disagree. Things like this should always be reported. The FBI will decide if it's worth pursuing. They don't chase every little thing that is called into them, but they're always appreciative when things like this are called in to them. That was made clear to me during my conversation with them this afternoon.

I'll probably continue to get flamed further for this. That's fine. I feel better knowing I made a phone call.”

“I found out about this while out helping at a cub scout field day. One of my Assistants used to work on the shuttle program and said that if he had to guess. His guess would be that they lost too many of the heat shielding tiles and something got overheated and caused the oxygen tanks to blow.”

“Didn't mean to flame you. Sorry if you took it that way.”

“Don't report me! LOL!”

“LOL @ Phaedrus! No, it's all good, my man.

By reading what I posted here, my actions could easily read into as an overreaction. Heck, it probably was. But all I did was just make a simple phone call to the FBI, explained it was probably nothing, but thought you guys may want to take a look at it... they asked a few questions, thanked me, and that was pretty much it. No big deal. Better safe than sorry, and they totally agreed. End of story.”

“Sorry! 7 famalies.”

“Artex, if nothing else it'll keep the jerk from posting more crap.”

“can you report jello mold while your at it.”

“I guess I'm still in shock.

In the summer of '95 I did an internship at Goddard Space Flight Center. For a Space Nut like me, it was like being a kid who got to go to work in the biggest candy store ever built.

I've never seen a more professional and motivated group of people ever. And they are like a family. For them it seemed as if the Challenger disaster had happened only the day before... every person there had the official crew photo hanging in their office with a black ribbon across the corner of the frame.

The one thing about Columbia that lends me comfort is knowing that they couldn't have felt a thing. At Mach 18 it must have been instantaneous.”

“The other thing that lends me comfort is that they were of the type to have wanted to be doing nothing else, knowing the risk.”

“Absolutely.”

“Yes, considering they were on the way back, I would hope their hearts were light at the time, in hopes they would soon be commended for a job well done.

They died doing that which inspires the rest of us. Their names will be remembered. Can any of us ask for more than that?”

“Well said Phaedrus.”

“Yes, very well said.”

“This is a mean thing to say, but I will say it. Its only 7 people. I bet more then 7 people die every minute because of car crashes in the US.”

“sad but true tea. i sometimes think it's bogus the way the news will pick up on a lost person and just totally feed on the story untill your sick of it. what bothers me is that there are other lost people in the nation who never get any attention. it's like the rich and famous are more important.


something about astronauts that really r\breaks your heart though...


did anybody noticec that the isreali was actually THE pilot that bombed the nuclear plant in iraq? he's a big time war hero to them. a household name. sad....


God bless them and their families and their countries...”

“"This is a mean thing to say, but I will say it. Its only 7 people. I bet more then 7 people die every minute because of car crashes in the US."
Ice Tea
06:55:14 PM
02/01/03

Young man, sometimes you show wisdom beyond your years.”

“Ice Tea,

It isn't a mean thing to say. It is a pointless thing to say.”

“"They died doing that which inspires the rest of us. Their names will be remembered. Can any of us ask for more than that?"


My heart and prayers go out to the family's and friends of these brave souls.”

“I feel very sorry about what happened. I can recall exactly where I was when the other space shuttle exploded. Sitting in my car in horrified silence.

Well, the conspiracy theories are starting to fly around. They're saying friendly fire (or whatever by our people) brought it down, serving what seems to be 3 purposes:
1. To bring the nation together in sorrow and take their mind off war
2. With an Israeli on board, what a perfect time to place suspicion of terrorism, which could hype a call to war
3. They're thinking money will now be cut to the space program, till things are determined to be safe again. Money that can be re-allocated to war.”

“This is a mean thing to say, but I will say it. Its only 7 people. I bet more then 7 people die every minute because of car crashes in the US."
Ice Tea
06:55:14 PM
02/01/03

I thought the same thing Tea, but asked my self why it mattered more to me. I think it is because they were exploring, not mindlessly hurtling down a freeway.”

“The answer for why we mourn great people's passing is a complex one.

They were taking risks for science that will enhance and possibly prolong the rest of our lives. They were on center stage. They were people who steeled themselves before a task and followed through. It's not just another seven people. It's these seven people.

In our world today, most titles don't mean much. Most professions have some quick way to achieve success, some shortcut, some cheat. Most labels and titles have become cheapened and sometimes soiled. Astronaut is not one of those. They are the last of the wholly pure and good in the American mythos.

To see them go down is to lose a little of perhaps our last hero myth. It is more important than seven people dying on a freeway in a car pileup, despite the equal loss of life.

I'm reminded on Stephen Spender, one of my favorite poets, in what may be my single favorite poem, "the Truly Great". He writes:

Born of the sun, they travelled a short while
towards the sun,
And left the vivid air signed with their honor.”

“....
On board was a crew of seven: Colonel Rick Husband, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Anderson, Commander Laurel Clark, Captain David Brown; Commander William McCool, Doctor Kalpana Chawla and Ilan Ramon, a colonel in the Israeli Air Force. These men and women assumed great risk in the service to all humanity.

In an age when space flight has come to seem almost routine, it is easy to overlook the dangers of travel by rocket, and the difficulties of navigating the fierce outer atmosphere of the Earth. These astronauts knew the dangers, and they faced them willingly, knowing they had a high and noble purpose in life. Because of their courage and daring and idealism, we will miss them all the more.

All Americans today are thinking, as well, of the families of these men and women who have been given this sudden shock and grief. You're not alone. Our entire nation grieves with you. And those you loved will always have the respect and gratitude of this country.

The cause in which they died will continue. Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into space will go on.

In the skies today we saw destruction and tragedy. Yet farther than we can see there is comfort and hope. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, ``Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.''

The same creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home.

May God bless the grieving families, and may God continue to bless America.”

“"....and may God continue to bless America."

George Bush has a strange way of seeing God CONTINUE to bless America....9/11, shuttle tragedy, tens of thousands of American soldiers lined up to go to war, the economic problems....I'm glad God isn't pissed at us.”

“Iraqis are apparenty celebrating this, sayins it's divine retribution, God showing Iraq he's on their side.

They are really asking for it.”

“ahaab may be an ass, but he did nothing illegal. besides, hes a troll. and i really think the fbi has better things to do than follow up on every bonehead that says things anti-american or who speaks out against our leaders. if we're going to sick the dogs on ahaab, then we gotta sick the dogs on ourselves, becuz many of us are critical of our own government and leadership and country as a whole. as well we should be. the ironic thing is, one of the things that makes this country great is that youre allowed to say how terrible you think it is, if that is what you feel. and i cant say i didnt have similiar feelings after 9/11. we did feel sorry for ourselves. suicide bombings are a common occurence in the middle east and they just shrug it off, but we get attacked once (granted, it was a huge attack) and we go on and on about it (i will admit, i cried for the victims of 9/11). this time, however, i havent (so far) gotten any sense of any jingoistic carrying on, just appropriate sadness at the loss of some brave souls. and no, stratdewd, im not trying to excuse ahaab.

i forget who said it, but astronauts are our bravest souls. they are our last pioneers. many ppl poo poo the space program, they say we have more important things to worry about back on earth (starvation, disease, tin-pot dictators), but eventually we have to get off-planet. number one, its getting crowded here, but more importantly, the earth will not always be habitable, not only will we eventually use up all our resources if we're not careful, but the sun will eventually be too hot to live this close to. this is not science fiction. fortuneately, that scenario is lifetimes away. but we should continue taking the baby steps towards deep space exploration. some day, an astronaut will walk on another habitable planet, and he will be the christopher columbus of space. and if there are indigenous ppl there, hopefully we will treat them better than earths indigenous ppl have been treated. the astronauts are heroes, and their deaths will not be in vain.”

“I posted a link to Columbia vapor trails yesterday. After doing a bunch of research and checking with other folks who also suspected those were not the contrails from the space shuttle, the OC Register this morning published a statement from an atmospheric scientist at UC Irvine who said the large contrail down the coast of So Cal was not the vapor trail from Columbia, but it was apparently caused by a commercial jet. The Columbia passed over Owens Valley up by Bishop and a couple hundred miles north of me at 5AM. Don't wanna mislead you guys.”

“The astronauts, they are all my heroes.”

“This makes me think about that poem about, ...."those in peril on the sea..."

There has always been and will always be plenty of brave souls who go forth inspite of the danger.”

“why would and how could anyone be a Howard Stern fan??????????”