About 8 am this morning as I was getting up here in Dallas, and heard a
very loud boom, similar to one the old sonic booms, but louder. (I lived
on military bases as a child and know what they sound like). It rattled
the windows and the bedside lamp, and was very odd and unexpected. About
a half and hour later, I became aware that the shuttle was in trouble.
It appears what I heard was the airframe parts of the shuttle either
going subsonic or an explosion of the airframe components. Here in
downtown Dallas the shuttle was supposedly over 200,000 feet up going
over 12000 mph, and if so, it was one hellish event. I am new here in
Dallas, and am told it is normal to view the shuttle on re-entry over
eastern tx, but that no sonic boom is usually heard...
My prayers go with the families of the 7 astronauts and the courageous
people who challenge the boundaries of our knowledge of space travel.  

Marc Wiese