スペースシャトル空中分解 | 英語のニュース

National News

U.S. space shuttle Columbia disintegrates, killing entire crew

U.S. space shuttle Columbia disintegrated in a fireball over Texas on Feb. 1 as it returned to Earth from a 16-day mission, killing the entire crew and stunning a nation still nursing painful memories of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

NASA lost contact with Columbia 16 minutes before it was due to land at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Several white trails were seen coming from the shuttle as it broke apart.

U.S. space officials said it may take weeks or months to determine the cause of the breakup and correct it, but vowed to do whatever it takes to accomplish that.

NASA said Feb. 3 that damage to Columbia's thermal tiles during liftoff is the leading theory as to why the space shuttle shattered on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

The thermal tiles are designed to keep the heat generated during re-entry from reaching and melting the aluminum hull of the space shuttle.

U.S. President George W. Bush paid tribute to the "courage and daring" of the dead astronauts, who included Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli to go into space.

"These men and women assumed great risk in this service to all humanity," Bush said in an emotional nationwide address, after he ordered the U.S. flag lowered to half-staff on all federal buildings.

The Columbia disaster was also a national tragedy for Israel, which had followed Ramon's progress with pride.

Indians were also grief-stricken on learning of the death of 41-year-old Kalpana Chawla, a naturalized American who was born in northern India, and who had become a source of Indian national pride.

The loss of Columbia, the oldest of four shuttle spacecraft, brought back painful memories of the explosion of the Challenger as it took off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Jan. 28, 1986, also killing all seven people on board.

Columbia had been on a 16-day mission to carry out experiments on the effects of weightlessness on human physiology, on the growth of crystals and proteins, and on combustion.

The shuttle was on its 28th mission, having just returned from a major refit. All of the shuttles were grounded for four months last year after cracks were found in part of their propulsion systems.

Shukan ST: Feb. 14, 2003

●英字新聞社ジャパンタイムズによる英語学習サイト。英語のニュース、英語教材、TOEIC、リスニング、英語の発音、ことわざ、などのコンテンツを無料で提供。
	脚注を印刷吹き出し表示フレーム表示
National News U.S. space shuttle Columbia disintegrates, killing entire crew U.S. space shuttle Columbia disintegrated in a fireball over Texas on Feb. 1 as it returned to Earth from a 16-day mission, killing the entire crew and stunning a nation still nursing painful memories of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. NASA lost contact with Columbia 16 minutes before it was due to land at Cape Canaveral in Florida. Several white trails were seen coming from the shuttle as it broke apart. U.S. space officials said it may take weeks or months to determine the cause of the breakup and correct it, but vowed to do whatever it takes to accomplish that. NASA said Feb. 3 that damage to Columbia's thermal tiles during liftoff is the leading theory as to why the space shuttle shattered on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. The thermal tiles are designed to keep the heat generated during re-entry from reaching and melting the aluminum hull of the space shuttle. U.S. President George W. Bush paid tribute to the "courage and daring" of the dead astronauts, who included Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli to go into space. "These men and women assumed great risk in this service to all humanity," Bush said in an emotional nationwide address, after he ordered the U.S. flag lowered to half-staff on all federal buildings. The Columbia disaster was also a national tragedy for Israel, which had followed Ramon's progress with pride. Indians were also grief-stricken on learning of the death of 41-year-old Kalpana Chawla, a naturalized American who was born in northern India, and who had become a source of Indian national pride. The loss of Columbia, the oldest of four shuttle spacecraft, brought back painful memories of the explosion of the Challenger as it took off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., Jan. 28, 1986, also killing all seven people on board. Columbia had been on a 16-day mission to carry out experiments on the effects of weightlessness on human physiology, on the growth of crystals and proteins, and on combustion. The shuttle was on its 28th mission, having just returned from a major refit. All of the shuttles were grounded for four months last year after cracks were found in part of their propulsion systems. Shukan ST: Feb. 14, 2003 (C) All rights reserved