- It is hard to believe the space shuttle would *not* be a target of terrorists, being a symbol of American pride after all.

- Columbia was carrying both an Israeli and an Indian astronaut, from countries both involved in military exchanges with islamic countries.

- This disaster comes just over 16 months after the Sept.11 attacks, after 17 years of safe shuttle flights.

- There were two power outages between 4am - 9 am where I live, the second lasting over two hours. Power outages are very rare, occurring perhaps once every 3-4 months. Perhaps a cyber attack on the electrical utilities coinciding with the shuttle disaster?

I dunno, it may have been an accident, but what if it wasnt? To damage the tiles, maybe a sniper took potshots at the external tank during liftoff, and some bullets ricocheted and hit the underbelly of the shuttle? Even with tight security a sniper could still get close enough with proper camouflage.... what about other kinds of incendiary devices?

Opinions?