Spaceflight Now

Sunday: February 2, 2003		0700 GMT

Columbia & crew lost
In a devastating tragedy that took the lives of seven astronauts, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated in the skies over Texas on Saturday morning as the ship was heading back to Earth. Mission Control lost contact with the shuttle around 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT), about 16 minutes before its planned Florida touchdown. Debris from the shuttle fell in north and east areas of Texas. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER - live updates SATURDAY NEWS SUMMARY NASA ISSUED REPORT

Break-up appears to have started with left wing In the final minutes of shuttle Columbia's doomed reentry, flight controllers began to see indications of a major problem in the area of the shuttle's left wing, NASA officials said on Saturday in their first detailed news briefing since the tragedy. FULL STORY - posted at 0230 GMT

Shuttle's left wing struck during launch Columbia's left wing was struck by debris during its launch on January 16. Prior to the reentry, flight controllers had said they had no concerns about possible damage to the shuttle's tiles, but following the loss of Columbia the incident will receive more attention. ANIMATED IMAGE OF LAUNCH INCIDENT

Space shuttle Columbia's seven-member crew Aboard shuttle Columbia were Rick Husband, commander, and Willie McCool, pilot. Mission specialists Dave Brown, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Mike Anderson (payload commander) and Israeli payload specialist Ilan Ramon. CREW BIOGRAPHIES

President Bush makes address on shuttle tragedy "The Columbia is lost; there are no survivors," President Bush said in an address from the White House. The president vowed the tragedy would not mean the end of the space program: "The cause in which they died will continue." STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT BUSH

Statement by NASA chief "This is indeed a tragic day for the NASA family, for the families of the astronauts who flew on STS-107, and likewise is tragic for the Nation," NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said. "The loss of this valued crew is something we will never be able to get over. We have assured the families that we will do everything, everything we can possibly do to guarantee that we work our way through this horrific tragedy." STATEMENT BY O'KEEFE

Shuttle debris cloud visible in weather radar The space shuttle broke up at an altitude of 200,000 feet as it hurtled through the upper atmosphere at 12,500 miles per hour. The resulting debris cloud was visible on weather radar images. WEATHER RADAR IMAGE

Saturday: February 1, 2003		0010 GMT

Shuttle Columbia to land in Florida on Saturday Columbia commander Rick Husband, pilot William McCool and flight engineer Kalpana Chawla tested the shuttle's re-entry systems Friday, setting the stage for landing Saturday to close out a 16-day science mission. Touchdown on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center currently is targeted for 9:15:50 a.m. EST. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER ENTRY AND LANDING TIMELINE

Friday: January 31, 2003		0219 GMT

Environmental satellite set to detect solar storms The nation's newest environmental satellite, GOES-12, is being readied for operations, NASA and NOAA announced Thursday. The Solar X-ray Imager aboard the satellite will enable forecasters and scientists to detect solar storms that could impact billions of dollars worth of assets. FULL STORY

Ocean surface saltiness influences El Nino forecasts NASA sponsored scientists have discovered by knowing the salt content of the ocean's surface, they may be able to improve the ability to predict El Nino events. FULL STORY

Thursday: January 30, 2003		0610 GMT

Delta rocket launches GPS navigation satellite For the first time in two years, a replacement satellite is en route to bolster the U.S. military's Global Positioning System constellation following a successful launch Wednesday that was dedicated to the heroes of September 11. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER (update on XSS-10) LAUNCH EVENTS TIMELINE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM FACT SHEET XSS-10 MICROSATELLITE FACT SHEET

Astonauts in home stretch of ongoing science mission The Columbia astronauts, in the home stretch of a grueling dual-shift 16-day science mission, told reporters Wednesday their research is proceeding in fine fashion and that scores of scientists on the ground should be pleased with their results. FULL STORY MISSION STATUS CENTER

South Pole telescope follows trail of neutrinos A unique telescope buried in Antarctic ice promises unparalleled insight into such extraordinary phenomena as colliding black holes, gamma-ray bursts, the violent cores of distant galaxies and the wreckage of exploded stars. FULL STORY

Wednesday: January 29, 2003		0320 GMT

Delta to launch today A satellite to sustain the U.S. Global Positioning System remains scheduled for launch at 1:06 p.m. EST (1806 GMT) today aboard a Boeing Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. MISSION STATUS CENTER

Crew fixes experiment The Red team of astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia accomplished repairs on the third and final combustion experiment of STS-107 Tuesday afternoon, and support scientists on the ground were looking forward to working with the Blue team on the first scientific runs. MISSION STATUS CENTER UPDATED NASA TV SCHEDULE ASTRONAUTS' MASTER FLIGHT PLAN
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Tuesday: January 28, 2003		0102 GMT

Microquasar's path traced back in time Astronomers have traced the orbit through our Milky Way Galaxy of a voracious neutron star and a companion star it is cannibalizing, and conclude that the pair joined more than 30 million years ago and probably were catapulted out of a cluster of stars far from the Galaxy's center. FULL STORY

On the trail of earliest stars Somewhere in the distant, old Universe, a population of stars hide undetected. They were the first to form after the birth of the Universe and are supposed to be far bigger in mass than any star visible today. FULL STORY

Monday: January 27, 2003		0300 GMT

Delta rocket to launch GPS satellite Wednesday After its liftoff was delayed last fall by a launch pad crane incident, an Air Force Global Positioning System satellite is now ready to fly atop a Boeing Delta 2 rocket Wednesday to replace an ailing craft in the military's orbiting navigation network. MISSION STATUS CENTER

Link found between impacts, volcanic activity Supporting the theory that catastrophic events significantly influence major Earth processes, researchers have determined that comet and meteorite impacts on Earth occurring over the last 4 billion years have directly correlated with the activity of strong and normal mantle plumes -- heated mantle rock causing volcanic eruptions. FULL STORY

Shuttle astronauts study Earth's dust from space More investigations were conducted into the effect of dust storms on the atmosphere with multispectral cameras in Columbia's cargo bay. The MEIDEX experiment focused on plumes of dust in the Mediterranean region and in the Middle East as well as sprites in the targeted areas of interest. MISSION STATUS CENTER UPDATED NASA TV SCHEDULE ASTRONAUTS' MASTER FLIGHT PLAN

News Archive
Jan. 20-26: Air-launched rocket gives boost to climate research; Shock waves may explain water in meteorites; First Milky Ways found at edge of Universe; NASA announces Educator Astronaut Program; Vandenberg receives first Boeing Delta 4 rocket.

Jan. 13-19: Shuttle Columbia rockets into orbit for science flight; Delta 2 pulls double duty with launch of two satellites; Three new moons found around Neptune; Researchers seek 'heart' of black hole mystery; Stellar cocoons found in harsh environment; Rocket issues keep Rosetta grounded indefinitely.

Jan. 6-12: Farthest known planet discovered; Coriolis launched to track ocean winds, solar storms; ; Nozzle failure doomed Ariane 5 rocket; Biggest zoom lens in space extends Hubble's reach; New lower limit for age of universe claimed.

Dec. 30-Jan. 5: China launches fourth Shenzhou capsule; Russian rocket delivers Canadian satellite in space; Ariane 5 launch failure investigation delays Rosetta; Engine 'destroyed' in Proton mission failure; Volcanoes on Jovian moon spew salt into atmosphere.

More news See our weekly archive of space news.

The ultimate Apollo 11 DVD

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Apollo 11 special patch

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Apollo 12 tribute DVD set

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Fallen Heroes special patch

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Soviet Space

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Viking patch

This embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.

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Apollo 7 DVD

For 11 days the crew of Apollo 7 fought colds while they put the Apollo spacecraft through a workout, establishing confidence in the machine what would lead directly to the bold decision to send Apollo 8 to the moon just 2 months later.

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Gemini 12

Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.

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STS-134 Patch

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The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!

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Final Shuttle Mission Patch

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The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!

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Apollo Collage

This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.

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STS-133 Patch

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The final planned flight of space shuttle Discovery is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-133. Available in our store!

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Anniversary Shuttle Patch

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This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia's historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.

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Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard's historic Mercury mission with this collectors' item, the official commemorative embroidered patch.

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Fallen Heroes Patch Collection

The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.

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Station Calendar

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