According to the BBC we have a second space shuttle crash

Nasa loses contact with shuttle
The US space agency Nasa loses contact with the space shuttle Columbia, minutes before it is due to land in Florida.
...

Apparently it was seen breaking up over Dallas...

Compared to Iraq or N Korea its nothing, but somehow it seems worse. The dream of leaving this planet becomes a nightmare (again).

I'm sure we will learn more over the coming days, but I just wonder if this isn't caused by the same institutional ignorance of statistics and probability that caused the Challenger disaster all those years ago...

My thoughts and condolences are with the families of the astronauts

DD