Hmm. First time a shuttle ever broke up when coming back to earth. Israeli on
board. US about to go to war with Iraq. Evidence lacking against Saddam.
Saddam has known anger towards Israel. The media lets us know all the time
he'd love to attack Israel. Presto! Evidence against Saddam. Should be
interesting to see how the US explains this. Will they blame Saddam or
terrorists? Was this really an accident? Any idea that this may have been
caused by the CIA or Mossad and "evidence" will pop up that "shows" Saddam
was involved in this crash? I'm trying to restrain myself from jumping to
conclusions, but it seems a bit strange that this sort of thing NEVER
happened before with a shuttle returning to earth. Obviously, the White House
is saying they don't think it is "terrorism" because they don't want to seem
to quick to play that card, but it should be interesting if they try to claim
Saddam was involved. We shall see. But what a great propaganda piece this
would be for Bush and Sharon to press ahead with a war against Iraq. If they
have any evidence that even remotely says Iraq may have been involved (the
letters "I", "R", "A", "Q" being found within a 100 mile radius of the
crash...well, God help us because you only need a moderate imagination to
imagine how Bush will respond. Remember that Operation Northwoods which was
proposed by the Pentagon during the Kennedy administration had the idea of
blowing up a rocket that astronaut John Glenn would be on. As the Pentagon
wrote: "the objective is to provide irrevocable proof ... that the fault lies
with the Communists et all Cuba [sic]." Shuttle Columbia crash....accident or
planned?
Andrew
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Shuttle Columbia Breaks Up Over Texas
By Marcia Dunn, .c The AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Feb. 1) - Space shuttle Columbia apparently
disintegrated in flames over Texas on Saturday minutes before it was to land
in Florida. TV video showed what appeared to be falling debris, as NASA
declared an emergency and warned residents to beware of falling objects.
Six Americans and Israel's first astronaut were on board.
In north Texas, people reported hearing ''a big bang'' at about 9 a.m., the
same time all radio and data communication with the shuttle was lost.
Television stations showed what appeared to be flaming debris falling through
the sky, and NASA warned Texas residents to beware of any falling objects.
NASA also announced that search and rescue teams were being mobilized in the
Dallas and Fort Worth areas.
Inside Mission Control, flight controllers hovered in front of their
computers, staring at the screens. The wives, husbands and children of the
astronauts who had been waiting at the landing strip were gathered together
by NASA and taken to secluded place.
''A contingency for the space shuttle has been declared,'' Mission Control
repeated over and over as no word or any data came from Columbia.
In 42 years of U.S. human space flight, there had never been an accident
during the descent to Earth or landing. On Jan. 28, 1986, space shuttle
Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff.
On Jan. 16, shortly after Columbia lifted off, a piece of insulating foam on
its external fuel tank came off and was believed to have struck the left wing
of the shuttle. Leroy Cain, the lead flight director in Mission Control,
assured reporters Friday that engineers had concluded that any damage to the
wing was considered minor and posed no safety hazard.
Columbia had been aiming for a landing at 9:16 a.m. Saturday.
It was at an altitude of 207,000 feet over north-central Texas at a 9 a.m.,
traveling at 12,500 mph when Mission Control lost contact and tracking data.
Gary Hunziker in Plano said he saw the shuttle flying overhead. ''I could see
two bright objects flying off each side of it,'' he told The Associated
Press. ''I just assumed they were chase jets.''
''I was getting ready to go out and I heard a big bang and the windows shook
in the house,'' Ferolito told The AP. ''I thought it was a sonic boom.''
Security had been tight for the 16-day scientific research mission because of
the presence of Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut.
Ramon, a colonel in Israel's air force and former fighter pilot, became the
first man from his country to fly in space, and his presence resulted in an
increase in security, not only for Columbia's launch, but also for its
planned landing. Space agency officials feared his presence might make the
shuttle more of a terrorist target.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said it had no immediate comment.
Columbia's crew had completed 80-plus scientific research experiments during
their time in orbit.
Just in the last week, NASA observed the anniversary of its only two other
space tragedies, the Challenger explosion, which killed all seven astronauts
on board, and Apollo space craft fire that killed three on Jan. 27, 1967.
AP-NY-02-01-03 1011EST
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