David M. Brown, Rick D. Husband, Laurel B. Clark, Kalpana Chawla,
Michael P. Anderson, William C. McCool and Ilan Ramon

"A Space Shuttle contingency has been declared in Mission Control, Houston, as a result of the loss of communication with the Space Shuttle Columbia at approximately 0900 EST Saturday as it descended toward a landing at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. It was scheduled to touchdown at 0916 EST.

Communication and tracking of the shuttle was lost at 0900 EST at an altitude of about 203,000 feet in the area above north central Texas. The shuttle was traveling approximately 12,500 miles per hour (Mach 18.3). No communication and tracking information were received in Mission Control after that time.

Search and rescue teams in the Dallas-Fort Worth and in portions of East Texas have been alerted. Any debris that is located in the area that may be related to the Space Shuttle contingency should be avoided and may be hazardous as a result of toxic propellants used aboard the shuttle. The location of any possible debris should immediately be reported to local authorities.

More information will be provided when available." – NASA.

[ NASA ]
[ KSC Landing Coverage ]
[ US Human Spaceflight ]
[ Space Shuttle Columbia ]
[ STS-107 Mission ]

[ CNN Coverage ]
[ BBC Coverage ]
[ Orlando Sentinel Coverage ]
[ President Bush's Statement ]

CDR: Commander Francis R. Scobee
PLT: Pilot Michael J. Smith
MS 1: Mission Specialist 1 Ellison S. Onizuka
MS 2: Mission Specialist 2 Judith A. Resnik
MS 3: Mission Specialist 3 Ronald E. McNair
PS 1: Payload Specialist 1 Gregory B. Jarvis
PS 2: Payload Specialist 2 S. Christa McAuliffe



T-2:05 MS 2 Would you give that back to me?
T-2:03 MS 2 Security blanket.
T-2:02 MS 2 Hmm.
T-1:58 CDR Two minutes downstairs; you gotta watch running down there?
T-1:47 PLT OK there goes the lox arm.
T-1:46 CDR Goes the beanie cap.
T-1:44 MS 1 Doesn't it go the other way?
T-1:42 *** Laughter.
T-1:39 MS 1 Now I see it; I see it.
T-1:39 PLT God I hope not Ellison.
T-1:38 MS 1 I couldn't see it moving; it was behind the center screen.
T-1:33 MS 2 Got your harnesses locked?
T-1:29 PLT What for?
T-1:28 CDR I won't lock mine; I might have to reach something.
T-1:24 PLT Ooh kaaaay.
T-1:04 MS 1 Dick's thinking of somebody there.
T-1:03 CDR Unhuh.
T-0:59 CDR One minute downstairs.
T-0:52 MS 2 Cabin Pressure is probably going to give us an alarm.
T-0:50 CDR OK.
T-0:47 CDR OK there.
T-0:43 PLT Alarm looks good.
T-0:42 CDR OK.
T-0:40 PLT Ullage pressures are up.
T-0:34 PLT Right engine helium tank is just a little bit low.
T-0:32 CDR It was yesterday, too.
T-0:31 PLT OK.
T-0:30 CDR Thirty seconds down there.
T-0:25 PLT Remember the red button when you make a roll call.
T-0:23 CDR I won't do that; thanks a lot.
T-0:15 CDR Fifteen.
T-0:06 CDR There they go guys.
T-0:06 MS 2 All right.
T-0:06 CDR Three at a hundred.
T+0:00 MS 2 Aaall riiight.
T+0:01 PLT Here we go.
T+0:07 CDR Houston, Challenger roll program.
T+0:11 PLT Go you Mother.
T+0:14 MS 1 LVLH.
T+0:15 MS 2 Fuckin' hot.
T+0:16 CDR Ooohh-kaaay.
T+0:19 PLT Looks like we've got a lotta wind here today.
T+0:20 CDR Yeah.
T+0:22 CDR It's a little hard to see out my window here.
T+0:28 PLT There's ten thousand feet and Mach point five.
T+0:30 *** Garble.
T+0:35 CDR Point nine.
T+0:40 PLT There's Mach one.
T+0:41 CDR Going through nineteen thousand.
T+0:43 CDR OK we're throttling down.
T+0:57 CDR Throttling up.
T+0:58 PLT Throttle up.
T+0:59 CDR Roger.
T+0:60 PLT Feel that mother go.
T+0:60 *** Woooohoooo.
T+1:02 PLT Thirty-five thousand going through one point five
T+1:05 CDR Reading four eighty six on mine.
T+1:07 PLT Yep, that's what I've got, too.
T+1:10 CDR Roger, go at throttle up.
T+1:13 PLT Uhoh.
T+1:13 *** LOSS OF ALL DATA.

Boys and girls, I have got to format my machine today. It will be my first reformat since upgrading from Windows 2000 Professional (still my favourite) to Windows XP Professional. In addition to the issue I already discussed with my system BIOS and ACPI, a number of other cute little issues have cropped up.*

As much of a pain in the ass as it can be, I really do love the format. That nice, fresh clean feeling afterwards makes it all worth while. As I write this, my self-written backup scripts are gathering and compressing all my important documents and settings so that I can safely stow them away on another PC while I do "the deed."

As obsessive-compulsive I can be about certain things, my computer is no exception. I maintain a directory of every application I have, along with any patches and upgrades. This saves me the time of having to find and re-download everything I already have and use. So while some people may still bitch and moan about the process, I really could not streamline it any more (unless I started drive imaging, but that is a pain in the ass in its own right).

* I was just remarking how pleased I was I hit day twelve of uptime with my machine. Normally I make many changes to the system that require a reboot, disallowing my ability to keep an accurate uptime count. But having made no such alterations as of late, my machine was just happily chugging along. Then the issues I have been experiencing all cropped up again, simultaneously, bringing Windows XP right to its knees. BSOD, eat your heart out; I made friends with the coveted "Stop Message" today (thrice).

In any event, enjoy the Super Bowl, Go Bucks and may the format gods be on my side today.

It was 26 January 1998 when then US President William J. Clinton made his now-famous "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" address to the nation, coming under fire from appointed special investigator Kenneth Starr who uncovered the affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

While many people felt that this initial denial, which was then somewhat retracted by the President, constituted perjury and obstruction of justice, I always disagreed with that assessment. When it comes to the job of being President of the United States of America, one's personal affairs are really non-relevant. Had it not been for publicly anti-Clinton Starr, the affair would likely had never surfaced to the point it did, debunking many Republicans' statements that his actions were a disgrace and a bad image to be sending to the children of America. Clinton was not advertising it, it was a private act brought out into the public eye by Starr. The only indictment for impeachment that should have come down upon Clinton was a personal one issued by wife Hillary, who showed significant restraint and support during this entire ordeal. Who would not have loved to have been a fly on the wall at their dinner table?

Addressing specifically the matter of lying under oath, I feel that Clinton should have never been asked those questions to begin with. Under law, I am protected from having to answer questions like those posed to him from my employer. It could be considered sexual harassment. Why is the President exempt from a policy against making private business public?

If anyone here is a disgrace it is Starr for looking for any excuse to get Clinton removed from office. I had no problems with the investigations into the other matters (real estate debauchery, payment for Presidential pardons and more), but this affair was truly non-relevant. I would expect any public official, Republican or Democrat, to come under scrutiny for alleged misuse of power or other illegal activities. Should President George W. Bush be removed from office because of his DUI? Of course not. Every major player, political or otherwise, was so quick to point out Clinton's faults, whilst having their very own skeletons that would be later uncovered (see Newt Gingrich, Rush Limbaugh, Laura Schlessinger, Dick Armey, Randy Cunningham, Ed Rollins and countless others).

Just because I agree with a majority of the policy brought forth by the Clinton administration does not mean I automatically will come to his defence. In this case, I really feel strongly against the very accusations coming to fruition. A man was impeached because he got a blow job from a willing, non-coerced and non-paid adult. And we the people spent millions of dollars to investigate it.