![]() ![]() “The state of Israel and its citizens are as one at this difficult time,” Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s office said in a statement Saturday. The crew included six Americans and Israel’s first astronaut, whose mission had stirred excitement in his home country. NASA officials warned residents to stay away from any shuttle remnants because of the “toxic propellants used aboard the Space Shuttle” and to report any debris to authorities. Press reports quoted residents in Nacogdoches, Texas, a city some 135 miles north of Houston, as saying parts of machinery and other debris has been found there. It had been scheduled to land in Florida at 9:16am. Some Texas residents said they saw flames in the sky and heard a “big bang” over the eastern area of the state at about 9am, the same time that officials lost contact with the craft. “It will take us some time to work through.” “We cannot yet say what caused the loss of Columbia,” Dittemore told reporters. Shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore said shuttle fights are on hold while an investigation into the incident continues. Later Saturday, Chief Flight Director Milt Heflin said one sign of trouble was the loss of data from temperature sensors in the left wing’s hydraulic system. “Obviously the investigation is just beginning, but that is the information we have now,” Johndroe said. ![]() NASA officials did not discuss what might have caused the shuttle to break apart, however O’Keefe said there was “no indication the mishap was caused by anything or anyone on the ground.”Įarlier Saturday, Homeland Security Department spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters there was no indication of foul play or terrorism involved in the shuttle disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will head up effort to recover shuttle debris, O’Keefe said. He said the president had since spoken with the shuttle crew’s family members and offered NASA the government’s full and immediate support. O’Keefe said he alerted President Bush shortly after NASA officials lost contact with the Columbia just after 9am Eastern time. O’Keefe also said that information from the mission had been secured and an external board made up of Air Force, Navy and Department of Transportation personnel, among others, will investigate the incident. ![]() NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe said a rapid response team had been dispatched to northeast Texas, where debris from the flight has been discovered. And those you loved will always have the respect and gratitude of this country.” Speaking to the crew’s families, the president said, “Our entire nation grieves with you. Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand,” the president added. “The cause in which they died will continue. “It is easy to overlook the dangers of travel by rocket… These astronauts knew the dangers, and they faced them willingly knowing they had a high and noble purpose in life.” “These men and women assumed great risk in the service to all humanity,” Mr. Addressing the nation Saturday afternoon, President Bush said, “the Columbia is lost. ![]()
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