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Remains thought to be from Columbia crewNASA vows to find cause of shuttle disaster
HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- Human remains found in a field in Texas late Saturday are believed to be those of at least one of the seven astronauts who perished aboard space shuttle Columbia when it disintegrated nearly 40 miles above the Earth. Along with the remains, a charred NASA patch and a flight helmet were found on a rural road in Hemphill, east of Nacogdoches, Texas, according to The Associated Press. (Full story) FBI agents in Texas are helping local authorities recover shuttle debris, FBI Dallas field office spokeswoman Lori Bailey told CNN. Streaking through the atmosphere at 18 times the speed of sound, Columbia disintegrated Saturday morning about 15 minutes before its scheduled landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Disaster timeline) Those killed on the ill-fated shuttle flight were commander Rick D. Husband; pilot William C. McCool; payload commander Michael P. Anderson; mission specialists David M. Brown, Kalpana Chawla and Laurel Clark; and Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon. "Columbia's lost. There are no survivors," a grim-faced President Bush later said in an address to the American people. "These astronauts knew the dangers and they faced them willingly, knowing they had a high and noble purpose in life." (Full story) With their voices sometimes threatening to break, NASA officials vowed they would find the cause of the disaster so their colleagues' sacrifice would not be in vain. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, assisted by military forces from Fort Hood, Texas, have begun collecting debris from Columbia. People were urged not to go near the debris because it could contain toxic substances from the shuttle fuel. To assist the recovery effort, the Federal Aviation Administration prohibited aircraft from flying below 3,000 feet in an area 160 miles long and 40 miles wide extending from Cedar Creek, Texas, to Fort Polk, Louisiana. The FAA also urged pilots and airlines to be alert to a debris cloud in the area -- 95 miles long and more than 22 miles wide -- that could create a "visibility issue" for pilots. Witnesses in Texas reported debris falling from the sky, accompanied by a cascade of thunder. "When it got nearer, we could see flecks or pieces coming off of it," said Linda Steed, who lives near Nacogdoches, Texas. She said the sound "reverberated" for several minutes, "like a rolling thunder." "I'm devastated. It's unbelievable. It makes me so sad," she said. (Witness reports) Heat-detecting weather radar showed a bright red streak moving across the wide Texas sky. Reports of charred debris stretched from Corsicana, southeast of Dallas, into Louisiana, and could turn up as far east as Arkansas, and as far west as Arizona and New Mexico. More on debris found) Officials asked anyone who finds shuttle debris to call (281) 483-3388. Questions raised about foam piece that fell during launchEven as they mourn for their seven friends and colleagues killed in the shuttle disaster, NASA officials have begun investigating why Columbia broke into pieces. "My promise to the crew and to the crew families is that the investigation that we have just launched will find the cause, we'll fix it and then we'll move on. We can't let their sacrifice be in vain," said NASA associate Administrator Bill Readdy, a veteran of two shuttle flights. (Transcript) Shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore said the first indication of trouble was loss of temperature sensors on the left wing. "They were followed seconds and minutes later by several other problems, including loss of tire pressure indications on the left main gear and then indications of excessive structural heating." Officials said they will take another look at a piece of foam that came off during takeoff. The fact that the foam struck the left wing, site of some of the sensors that failed Saturday, means that the incident will need to be investigated further, NASA chief flight director Milt Heflin said. But Dittemore cautioned against jumping to conclusions, saying what looks like "the smoking gun" many times turns "out not even to be close." "Is that the smoking gun?" he said. "It is not. We don't know enough about it. A lot more analysis and evidence needs to come to the table." (More on investigation) A NASA official said the shuttle's altitude made it "highly unlikely" that it was a victim of a terrorist act. FBI officials also quickly discounted the possibility of foul play or terrorism. (Full story) Space shuttle flights have been put on hold until NASA can learn what caused the disaster. NASA says the international space station, where two astronauts and a cosmonaut remain, has enough supplies to last the crew until June.
The next shuttle flight had been scheduled for March 1. Columbia is the oldest of NASA's shuttle fleet, first launched in 1981. It was on its 28th mission. The shuttle underwent an extensive, 17-month overhaul that began in September 1999. (Columbia history) It rejoined the shuttle fleet in February 2001 and flew its first mission after the upgrades in March 2002. Columbia was lost less than a week after the anniversaries of two other deadly space program disasters -- the 17th anniversary of the explosion of the shuttle Challenger on January 28 and the 36th anniversary of a launchpad fire that killed three Apollo astronauts January 27. (Challenger disaster) Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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