# Shuttle Columbia breaks up on re entry. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 1, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099 "2003-02-01T14:43:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/1 "2003-02-01T14:43:14Z")
Turn on your TV’s. ---
**Author:** ![monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monster)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/2 "2003-02-01T14:51:23Z")
My news says that COMMUNICATION has been broken, not the shuttle. Not that that is nothing to worry about, but a big difference. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/3 "2003-02-01T14:54:24Z")
There is video of the shuttle breaking up. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/4 "2003-02-01T14:58:43Z")
It’s true. Guess to say anything else would be meaningless right now. ---
**Author:** ![monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monster)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/5 "2003-02-01T15:10:48Z")
I don’t think saying something now would be meaningless Duke. I see what you mean now about it “breaking up”, but CNN isn’t playing the death march yet. Unless I’m missing something, their main concern right now is the lack of communication. Their website says they aren’t sure of any other problems right now. I just don’t want to be the voice of doom until all the information is in. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/6 "2003-02-01T15:14:28Z")
They’re dead. Video shows piesces of the disintegrated shuttle falling to earth. The really sick thought that went through my head as I watched this was: how long until John Edward does a show when he “channels” the dead astronauts. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/7 "2003-02-01T15:15:55Z")
The sick thought that went through my head is that “C” names are bad luck. ---
**Author:** ![Skid\_Row](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/779978/32.png) [@Skid\_Row](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skid_Row)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/8 "2003-02-01T15:17:35Z")
During CCN’s early morning news show, the anchors referenced the shuttle’s return today and noted that, since one of the crew was an Israeli, the U. S. Air Force would escort the shuttle to its landing site “just in case.” They didn’t make it that far. God help us if this was not an accident. No, wait. God help _ **them** _. ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/9 "2003-02-01T15:20:35Z")
It was too high for a SAM attack. I’d be very surprised if this was terrorist related. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/10 "2003-02-01T15:21:58Z")
Go to the [pit thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=160032). Not here. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/11 "2003-02-01T15:24:16Z")
I don’t think it matters. Hell, we’re about to go to war with Iraq, a country that couldn’t even REACH us without our help, much less ATTACK us, because they can’t/won’t prove they don’t have nuclear weapons, for potato’s sake! I don’t think we NEED to prove terrorism or sabotage. Hell, even if we prove it was an ACCIDENT, there are a million loony Islamic fundamentalists out there right now, thinking, “Americans and Israeli went to heaven in a can. Allah killed them. Obviously, this is a sign from Allah that the Jihad should begin immediately.” Hell, if someone DID find proof, I’d spend the rest of my life wondering if Bush’s people put it there. ---
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/12 "2003-02-01T15:26:08Z")
which channel do you guys watch when stuff like this happens? I go to CNN, their graphics seem a bit less intrusive. People saw a ball of fire. I know it’s very very slim but could someone survive a descent from 200,000 feet? I have no idea how high that really is in terms of the atmosphere, etc. ---
**Author:** ![monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monster)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/13 "2003-02-01T15:26:11Z")
Shoot, it looks now like they are saying “shuttle lost”. Ugh. Those were some brave people. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/14 "2003-02-01T15:30:35Z")
We have both a [Pit thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=160032) and an [MPSIMS](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=160038) thread, so I’ll close this one. ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2003, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shuttle-columbia-breaks-up-on-re-entry/152099/15 "2003-02-01T15:33:03Z")
This isn’t really the proper forum for this, and as this is already being talked about [over in MPSIMS](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=160038), I’m closing this thread in deference to that one.