[Saturday, February 01, 2003] Space Shuttle Columbia broke up as it reentered Earth's atmosphere this morning - the crew is now feared lost. Debris has been sighted falling to Earth.

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[Saturday, February 01, 2003] A Space Shuttle contingency has been declared in Mission Control, Houston, as a result of the loss of communication with the Space Shuttle Columbia at approximately 9 a.m. EST Saturday as it descended toward a landing at the Kennedy Space Center,

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[Saturday, February 01, 2003] Space Shuttle Columbia broke up as it reentered Earth's atmosphere this morning as it was over Texas - the crew is lost. Debris has been found in Texas and Louisiana.

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[Saturday, February 01, 2003] And again we were all reminded, that spaceflight is dangerous and uncertain. And that, even in times as unsettled as these, there are heroes that fly that winged imperfect machine that is still the triumph of America's will and determination.

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[Sunday, February 02, 2003] As the world mourns the loss of the Columbia, the continuing mission of the international space station goes on as a Russian Progress cargo ship launched today with a regularly scheduled re-supply mission.

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[Monday, February 03, 2003] As part of its 2004 fiscal year budget which NASA unveiled today, is a proposed new mission using new nuclear power to three of Jupiters moons, Callisto, Ganymede and Europa within the decade.

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[Tuesday, February 04, 2003] "This case of exploration and discovery is not an option we choose, it is a desire written in the human heart. We are that part of creation which seeks to understand all creation."

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[Tuesday, February 04, 2003] "Their mission was almost complete, and we lost them so close to home. The men and women of the Columbia had journeyed more than 6 million miles and were minutes away from arrival and reunion."

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[Tuesday, February 04, 2003] Astronomers have successfully tested a new method to remove atmospheric blurring from large ground based telescopes.

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[Tuesday, February 04, 2003] After the launch of STS-107 NASA performed an assessment anomalies during the launch. This report and video excerpt shows insulation coming off of the External Tank and striking Columbia's left wing.

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[Tuesday, February 04, 2003] NASA should be assigned to lead a new research program to better determine the population and physical diversity of near-Earth objects that may collide with our planet according to the final report of a workshop on hazardous comets and asteroids.

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[Wednesday, February 05, 2003] Deputy NASA Administrator Frederick Gregory rendered honors to the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware this afternoon.

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[Wednesday, February 05, 2003] European Space Agency Director General Antonio Rodota and EU Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin met reporters in Brussels on 27 January 2003 to discuss the newly-adopted Green Paper on EU Space Policy.

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[Thursday, February 06, 2003] The Prime Minister of India has annouced that India's meteorological series of satellites, METSAT, will be named as KALPANA.

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[Thursday, February 06, 2003] High-resolution images taken from a ground-based Air Force tracking camera show serious structural damage to the inboard leading edge of Columbia’s left wing, as the crippled orbiter flew overhead about 60 sec. before the vehicle broke up.

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[Friday, February 07, 2003] I came on board with NASA in 1981, the first year Columbia flew. She represented for me the culmination of so many of the hopes and dreams I wrote about in my memoir "Rocket Boys" and in the movie adaptation, "October Sky."

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[Friday, February 07, 2003] At a briefing Friday afternoon, NASA's Ron Dittemore showed a series of detailed charts of Columbia's left wing which show the progression of sensor events just before the Shuttle began to break up.

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[Monday, February 10, 2003] NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe will take reporters' questions today at 3 p.m. EST during the next Space Shuttle Accident Briefing from NASA Headquarters in Washington.

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[Monday, February 10, 2003] Solar Physicists at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London have discovered new clues to understanding explosions on the Sun.

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[Monday, February 10, 2003] An aging star's last hurrah is creating a flurry of glowing knots of gas that appear to be streaking through space in this close-up image of the Dumbbell Nebula, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope.

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[Monday, February 10, 2003] If the net result of Wednesday's joint hearing is political bickering, partisan grandstanding, finger pointing, and delaying tactics we will all have done the greatest collective misdeed to Columbia's crew we could possibly imagine.

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[Tuesday, February 11, 2003] Today, Russia's Minister for Foreign Affairs and the ESA's Director General signed an Agreement between ESA and Russia on Cooperation and Partnership in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes.

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[Tuesday, February 11, 2003] NASA today released the best "baby picture" of the Universe ever taken; the image contains such stunning detail that it may be one of the most important scientific results of recent years.

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[Tuesday, February 11, 2003] On the ISS, Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox, Don Pettit and Nikolai Budarin took time out from unpacking items delivered by a Progress supply craft for their first news conference since the Columbia accident.

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[Wednesday, February 12, 2003] "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion."

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[Wednesday, February 12, 2003] NASA scientists have discovered how an intricate martian network of streams, rivers and lakes may have carried water across Mars.

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[Thursday, February 13, 2003] NASA has released a detailed timeline of events leading up to the destruction of Space Shuttle Columbia as it returned to Earth.

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[Thursday, February 13, 2003] California Institute of Technology planetary scientists studying new satellite imagery think that the Martian polar ice caps are made almost entirely of water ice-with just a smattering of frozen carbon dioxide, or "dry ice," at the surface.

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[Friday, February 14, 2003] Managing natural disasters, medical science, and the promotion of public health will be among the items discussed at the upcoming meeting of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.

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[Friday, February 14, 2003] 300 representatives from more than a dozen countries met for a workshop entitled "Europe-Russia co-operation in the space sector" from 22-24 January 2003.

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[Friday, February 14, 2003] Scientists have long considered Europa, the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter, as a prime candidate for life outside Earth because it is one of the few places in the solar system where liquid water may be found.

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[Friday, February 14, 2003] Some researchers believe that only asteroid collisions made Mars warm enough to have running rivers. Another researcher believes the planet had to be continuously warmer to form Mars' deep valleys, but he does not know how the planet warmed up.

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[Saturday, February 15, 2003] This morning, Arianespace launched the Intelsat 907 communications satellite for international communications provider Intelsat. This launch marked the 74 success in a row for the Ariane 4 rocket. This was also the last launch of an Ariane 4.

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[Saturday, February 15, 2003] Clusters of sunspots form their own weather patterns on the sun, according to new observations by a team of University of Colorado at Boulder researchers.

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[Saturday, February 15, 2003] From South African gold mines, to cooled seafloor lavas, these subsurface bugs have provided clues to the potential for life on Mars, and the diversity of possible fuel sources for life, including nuclear energy and toxic waste.

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[Tuesday, February 18, 2003] In the late afternoon of Friday 31 January, a final trim maneuver nudged Artemis into its assigned position in geostationary orbit, completing a most remarkable satellite recovery operation which has lasted 18 months.

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[Tuesday, February 18, 2003] When Americans are asked how they picture the future, the reply very often includes a vision of routine spaceflight and distant exploration.

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[Tuesday, February 18, 2003] NASA today released the top level requirements for the Orbital Space Plane. These requirements set the foundation for the design of the vehicle and its associated systems.

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[Wednesday, February 19, 2003] Columbia carried more than 80 experiments, science, commercial and student, on a 16-day mission devoted to research, entrepreneurship and education.

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[Wednesday, February 19, 2003] ESA is looking for innovative, imaginative ideas, concepts and technologies to enhance Europe’s long-term Aurora programme for the robotic and human exploration of the Moon, Mars and asteroids.

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[Wednesday, February 19, 2003] Lurking just beneath the surface of Mars is enough water to cover the entire planet ankle-deep, says Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist Bill Feldman.

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[Wednesday, February 19, 2003] Images from several NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars suggest melting snow is the likely cause of the numerous eroded gullies first documented on Mars by Mars Global Surveyor.

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[Thursday, February 20, 2003] The interpretation of Martian gullies as resulting from the melting of snow and ice patches in response to obliquity variations of Mars was proposed and published by other researchers for the past three years.

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[Thursday, February 20, 2003] The Boomerang Nebula is a young planetary nebula and the coldest object found in the Universe so far. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image illustrates how Hubble's keen vision reveals surprises in celestial objects.

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[Thursday, February 20, 2003] Early on Nov. 15, 1953, an amateur astronomer photographed a fireball rising from the Moon's face. If his theory was right, he would be the first human in history to witness the impact of an asteroid-sized body on the Moon.

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[Thursday, February 20, 2003] A Chandra X-ray Observatory image, in blue, has been combined with Hubble's optical image, in red and green, to compose this stunning and revealing picture of the spiral galaxy NGC 3079.

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[Friday, February 21, 2003] Why do life forms that are vibrant and thriving one minute end up on the cutting room floor the next? How can magnificent creatures such as dinosaurs be cast as extras while the common cyanobacteria continue to receive top billing?

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[Thursday, February 27, 2003] After more than 30 years, it appears the venerable Pioneer 10 spacecraft has sent its last signal to Earth. Pioneer's last, very weak signal was received on Jan. 22, 2003.

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[Thursday, February 27, 2003] NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the mysterious "Black Widow" pulsar reveals the first direct evidence of an elongated cocoon of high-energy particles.

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[Thursday, February 27, 2003] Using a sensitive new imaging instrument on NASA's Cassini spacecraft, researchers have discovered a large and surprisingly dense gas cloud, called sharing an orbit with Jupiter's icy moon Europa.

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[Thursday, February 27, 2003] The flight team for NASA's Jupiter-orbiting Galileo spacecraft will cease operations on Friday, Feb. 28 after a final playback of scientific data from the robotic explorer's tape recorder.

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[Friday, February 28, 2003] Astronomer Charles Lada of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and colleagues have discovered that the dark molecular cloud known as Barnard 68 seems to pulsate like a heavenly tribute to Saint Valentine.

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[Friday, February 28, 2003] ESA has agreed to six-month postponements of the Soyuz flights by two members of its astronaut corps planned for April and October 2003. The purpose of the agreement is to allow the April Soyuz flight to be used for an ISS crew rotation.

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[Friday, February 28, 2003] The search for materials from the Space Shuttle Columbia accident is entering a new phase. NASA is consolidating two of the primary search coordination field offices and establishing four incident command posts and base camps.

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