UW alumnus killed in space shuttle break-up
February 1, 2003
UW Alumnus Michael Anderson and six of his crewmates are presumed dead this morning after the space shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry. Debris continues to fall in east Texas and across the border into Louisiana.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has not yet determined the cause of the tragedy; both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have commented that the altitude of the incident makes terrorism unlikely. Experts predict that it was an accident that caused the shuttle to shatter.
Also on board the shuttle were David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, Rick Husband, William McCool and Ilan Ramon. All are presumed dead.
The shuttle Columbia lost communication with NASA at 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time; it was scheduled to land at Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 9:16 a.m. When communications broke, the Columbia was traveling at 12,500 miles an hour -- Mach 18 -- at and altitude of about 203,000 feet.
Anderson graduated from the UW in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy. He was 43 years old and married.
The Daily will strive to distribute more information as events continue to unfold.
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