"Her legacy is one of an outstanding graduate of Horlick. She had a goal set for her life, and she wanted to achieve it. It was a sad ending, but we can say she did reach her goal," said Horlick teacher Bill Frayer, who taught clark anthropology and international relations.

• Shuttle manager Ron Dittemore said the crew wouldn't have been able to repair tile damage.
  

  
  There's nothing that we can do about tile damage once we get to orbit. We can't minimize the heating to the point that it would somehow not require a tile. So once you get to orbit, you're there and you have your tile insulation and that's all you have for protection on the way home from the extreme thermal heating during re-entry.
  

  
  
• The shuttle didn't have their robot arm and couldn't use its camera to examine the damage.
  
• NASA didn't ask for telescopes to look at the shuttle, but they might not have helped anyway.
  
• In October, pieces of insulation from the main fuel tank fell off during an Atlantis lift off.
  

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.

The contrail goes spiral after the first bit comes off. That almost clinches it in my mind. The first bit to break off had to be large from what the image shows: I would think it more likely a wing than the vertical stabilizer; the subsequent spiral looks like a violent roll to me, which is what a would expect after losing a wing.

Since, like Rand, I do not feel fatigue failure of the spar as highly likely, I'd say it is a burnthrough on the wing, possibly abetted by the insulation loss from the ET damaging the thermal protection system (TPS) on takeoff as reported earlier.

I suggest there was damage to the TPS on one wing, causing a burn through and structural damage leading to failure of the wing structure when aerodynamic forces built. The shuttle has very high wing loading, so any loss of margin would be disastrous. If one wing fails, the shuttle will immediately roll violently into the direction of the failed wing followed by god only knows what sort of tumble. It would break up into major components almost immediately. That is what we saw on the clip.

The attack, in which eight F-16 warplanes obliterated the French-built Osirak reactor near Baghdad, was a milestone for Israeli aviation because the planes flew over enemy Arab territory for hours without detection. The pilots flew in a tight formation to send off a radar signal resembling that of a large commercial airliner.

We were outside and my Dad said "there it is!" in one piece. Then a tiny, tiny piece came off and I was somewhat perplexed. That wasn't supposed to happen. Then bigger pieces rained away from the main piece. It looked very similar to the video we saw of the Russian space station Mir reentering. Later, there was one loud boom and accompanied by smaller booms. Normally we hear two distinct sonic booms when shuttles pass over during entries.

"We did our normal flight control systems checkout. ... All the systems we use for entry, we had no problems, the vehicle performed flawlessly today as it has the entire mission."

The only issue - and Cain said it was not significant - is a bit of possible tile damage on Columbia's left wing. Video of launch shows what appears to be a piece of foam insulation from the shuttle's external tank falling away during ascent and hitting the left wing near its leading edge.

But Cain said engineers "took a very thorough look at the situation with the tile on the left wing and we have no concerns whatsoever. We haven't changed anything with respect to our trajectory design. It will be a nominal, standard trajectory."

Ilan Ramon, 48, a colonel in Israel's air force and the first Israeli in space. His mother and grandmother survived Auschwitz death camp. Father fought for Israel's statehood alongside grandfather. Ramon fought in Yom Kippur War 1973 and Lebanon War 1982.

He served as a fighter pilot 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, flew F-16s and F-4s. He was chosen as Israel's first astronaut in 1997, then moved to Houston the next year to train for shuttle flight. His wife and four children live in Tel Aviv.

In the current Space Shuttle Program, DDMS has the responsibility for astronaut rescue and recovery, contingency landing site support, payload security, medical support, coordination of airlift/sealift for contingency operations, as well as other support services required in the event of a shuttle emergency. To carry out these responsibilities, DDMS receives and validates NASA requests for DoD support. The support office then selects assets best able to provide the required support, tasks selected units through appropriate command channels, and provides tactical control of those DoD forces supporting a specific Space Shuttle mission.

In the Kennedy Space Center area, U.S. Air Force air-refuelable H-60 helicopters, HC-130 tanker aircraft, pararescue and medical personnel; and U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships are deployed to support launch contingencies and astronaut recovery. Additionally, the Navy provides a KC-130 tanker for helicopter air refueling, E-2C aircraft for enhanced air traffic control and P-3 aircraft for search and rescue operations in the mid-Atlantic region. To support the potential for a Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL), NASA has selected four TAL sites in Spain and Africa. These sites are Moran and Zaragoza Air Bases in Spain; Ben Guerir, Morocco; and Yundum International Airport, Banjul, The Gambia. Three of these four TAL sites are activated for each shuttle launch. DDMS supports these TAL sites with C-12 or C-21 aircraft for on-scene weather reconnaissance and in-flight checks of Space Shuttle unique landing aids; C-130 aircraft with pararescue and medical support personnel; and DoD fire/crash/rescue equipment and personnel.

This has been a great experience for me. The first couple of days you don't always feel too well. I feel wonderful now. The first couple of days you adjust to the fluid shifting, how to fly through space without hitting things or anybody else. But then after a couple of days you get in a groove. It's just an incredibly magical place.

On launch day, a piece of insulating foam on the external fuel tank came off during liftoff and was believed to have struck the left wing of the shuttle. NASA said as late as Friday that the damage to the thermal tiles was believed to be minor and posed no safety concern during the fiery decent through the atmosphere.

1401 GMT (9:01 a.m. EST)

Columbia is out of communications with flight controllers in Houston. Now 15 minutes from landing time.
---
1404 GMT (9:04 a.m. EST)

We're getting reports from Texas of debris behind the shuttle's plasma trail during reentery.
---
1405 GMT (9:05 a.m. EST)

THERE HAS BEEN NO COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE SHUTTLE. Mission Controllers waiting for tracking data from the Merritt Island station.
---
1406 GMT (9:06 a.m. EST)

Mission Control waiting for C-band tracking data and UHF communications with Columbia through MILA. Houston lost communications with the shuttle a few minutes ago over Texas. We have gotten reports of debris in the sky.
---
1409 GMT (9:09 a.m. EST)

Still no contact with Columbia or crew.

If James could hit a forehand instead of a free throw, he would have long ago been rich. But he wasn't. Instead, he had to stay an amateur until his high school class graduated. That's the system. Even if he was bigger than the system.

It made no more sense than if at age 16 Britney Spears was prohibited from signing a record deal and instead was told to spend the next two years singing in the Kentwood (La.) High School choir. For free. According to her label, Jive Records, Spears sold 19 million albums by the time she would have graduated from high school.

"It's just an odd situation," James told me during his junior year as he mulled that scenario over. "I never thought of it that way. Man, that's just odd."

If they had better instruction manuals I would've got their software working weeks ago. But their manuals are a disaster, and I was just trying to publicise that.

With a range of 200 metres they could split a man's head at 15 metres and penetrate a wooden wall at 90 metres.

The Iraqi regime and its weapons of mass destruction represent a clear threat to world security. This danger has been explicitly recognized by the U.N. All of us are bound by Security Council Resolution 1441, which was adopted unanimously. We Europeans have since reiterated our backing for Resolution 1441, our wish to pursue the U.N. route, and our support for the Security Council at the Prague NATO Summit and the Copenhagen European Council.

In doing so, we sent a clear, firm and unequivocal message that we would rid the world of the danger posed by Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. We must remain united in insisting that his regime be disarmed. The solidarity, cohesion and determination of the international community are our best hope of achieving this peacefully. Our strength lies in unity.

The combination of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism is a threat of incalculable consequences. It is one at which all of us should feel concerned. Resolution 1441 is Saddam Hussein's last chance to disarm using peaceful means. The opportunity to avoid greater confrontation rests with him. Sadly this week the U.N. weapons inspectors have confirmed that his long-established pattern of deception, denial and noncompliance with U.N. Security Council resolutions is continuing.

Before September the 11th, many in the world believed that Saddam Hussein could be contained. But chemical agents, lethal viruses and shadowy terrorist networks are not easily contained. Imagine those 19 hijackers with other weapons and other plans -- this time armed by Saddam Hussein. It would take one vial, one canister, one crate slipped into this country to bring a day of horror like none we have ever known. We will do everything in our power to make sure that that day never comes.

Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option.

The dictator who is assembling the world's most dangerous weapons has already used them on whole villages -- leaving thousands of his own citizens dead, blind, or disfigured. Iraqi refugees tell us how forced confessions are obtained -- by torturing children while their parents are made to watch. International human rights groups have catalogued other methods used in the torture chambers of Iraq: electric shock, burning with hot irons, dripping acid on the skin, mutilation with electric drills, cutting out tongues, and rape. If this is not evil, then evil has no meaning.

"The truth is we are not prepared, we are not supporting our first responders, and our approach to securing our nation is haphazard at best. Somewhere along the line, we lost our edge. We let our guard down."