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 See more coverage here:       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 This exceptional chronicle of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission features new digital transfers of film and television coverage unmatched by any other.  U.S. STORE  U.K. WORLDWIDE STORE Contact us If you have a comment or question for Spaceflight Now, just send us an e-mail.