The final moments of the lives of the crew of the doomed shuttle Columbia’s that were captured on video and are to be released tonight.

A small meteorite or piece of man-made space junk may have struck the Columbia shuttle while it was still in orbit causing it to crash on its return to earth, Nasa said today.

A STUNNED world sent words of sorrow to grieving Americans after watching the dramatic break-up of the US space shuttle Columbia in the clear blue skies over Texas.

ISRAELIS yesterday mourned the death of their country’s first astronaut on the space shuttle Columbia with a weary sense of familiarity with dashed dreams.

INVESTIGATORS were last night focusing on Columbia’s left wing as they tried to determine what destroyed the space shuttle, killing all seven astronauts on board.

The remains of all seven astronauts aboard the Columbia have been found, Nasa said today, as the investigation continued into what caused the shuttle to disintegrate.

One focus of attention in the investigation into the tragic loss of the space shuttle Columbia is possible damage to its protective thermal tiles on the left wing from a flying piece of debris during lift-off on January 16.

Space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames over Texas today, killing all seven astronauts just 16 minutes before they were supposed to land in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Americans today expressed “shock and disbelief” as they woke up to news of the shuttle disaster.

Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, gave a troubled country something to cheer about when he blasted off on January 16 on the space shuttle Columbia.

The White House has said there is no indication there was any terrorist involvement as the space shuttle appears to have been lost as it returned to Earth.

Space shuttle Columbia apparently disintegrated in flames over Texas today minutes before it was to land in Florida.

Nasa lost communication with space shuttle Columbia as the ship soared over Texas several minutes before landing this morning.

By Jason Keyser, Jerusalem

When Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, rockets away aboard shuttle Columbia, he will take along the first kosher meals ever packed for space.

The launch of space shuttle Columbia will be delayed until engineers determine the cause of minuscule cracks found on two other shuttles.

The launch of space shuttle Columbia will be delayed until engineers determine the cause of minuscule cracks found on two other shuttles, the US space agency said.