Americans expecting the triumphant return of the space shuttle Columbia Saturday morning were greeted instead by tragedy.
At 9 a.m., the sounds of a roaring explosion echoed above central Texas as the shuttle disintegrated in the air upon reentry into the earth's atmosphere, just 16 minutes before its scheduled landing at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
All seven astronauts aboard were killed.
While the cause of the accident remains unknown, NASA officials have assembled a "mishap investigation team" to identify explanations leading to the shuttle's demise. In addition, an external review board comprised of federal officials from the Department of Transportation, the Air Force, the Navy and the National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an independent investigation.
As the nation anticipates a possible war with Iraq, U.S. officials said there is no indication that the explosion was caused by foul play.
Debris from the spacecraft and bodily remains of crew members reportedly are scattered across Texas and Louisiana. NASA has issued warnings to citizens not to handle any of the materials, which include toxic fuel.
The mission control team first noticed signs of a problem moments before 9 a.m., as the shuttle approached its peak heating period of 3,000 degrees and temperature sensors in the left wing hydraulic systems abruptly began to fail in sequence.
Shortly afterwards, Houston lost communication with Shuttle Commander Rick Husband.
Saturday afternoon, President Bush told Americans, "The Columbia is lost."
Among the crew were the first Israeli astronaut, Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon and six Americans, one of whom was Mission Specialist David Brown, a Virginia native and a William and Mary alumnus.
The other five astronauts onboard included Husband, Co-pilot William McCool, Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Payload Commander Michael Anderson and Flight Surgeon Laurel Blair Salton Clark.
The tragedy was particularly personal for Kathryn Thornton, assistant dean for graduate programs at the University. A former astronaut, she flew aboard the Columbia in 1995.
"It was a little eerie," said Thornton, who completed a 16-day mission similar to that of the deceased crew.
Some local residents gathered for reflection and prayer Saturday afternoon at what originally had been planned as a property rights rally sponsored by the Jefferson Area Libertarians at the Arby's restaurant in Forest Lakes.
"Our hearts must go out to those who suffered so grievously today," JAL Secretary James Lark said. "We don't feel that it's appropriate to go forward with the original purpose of this rally."
The JAL postponed the rally, which was organized to support Tom Slonaker, the owner of the Arby's restaurant, who is challenging local zoning regulations.
"Those are brave people who go up there," said Scottsville resident Ken Smith, who attended the makeshift memorial service. "But they go up there knowing they're on the edge and these things can happen."
Current speculations about what caused the accident focus on a piece of foam insulation that came loose during the launch. Other possible causes include structural failure, a failure in the flight control system and overheating due to a loss of protective heat shield tiles.
According to Astronomy Prof. Robert O'Connell, NASA engineers insert each of the tiles --- there are about 20,000 --- by hand.
"It's one of the most time-consuming parts of reprocessing the shuttles after each mission," O'Connell said.
He discredited claims that the shuttle was too old to function properly.
"Just like any aging technology, you can make it work as long as you can keep on top of it," he said. "The question is, how much of what we do scientifically in space can we do without human beings?"
Since its first flight in 1981, the Columbia had left earth 28 times, most recently in March 2002.
For many, the loss is a jolting reminder of the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster. In a statement reminiscent of remarks made then, NASA announced it will continue the space program.
"You can't quit just because you had an accident," Thornton said. "Quitting is just not an option."
University almumnus Tony Reichhardt, editor of the book, "Space Shuttle: The First 20 Years," agreed.
"The importance of having a frontier like that outweighs the accidents," said Reichhardt, who collected anecdotes for the book from numerous astronauts, including two members of the Columbia crew.
In a public statement, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe offered his sympathies to the astronauts' families.
"We diligently dedicate ourselves every single day to assuring these things don't occur," O'Keefe said. "The loss of this valued crew is something we will never be able to get over."
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