Posted: Sat, Feb 1, 2003, 2:17 PM ET (1917 GMT)
US President George W. Bush expressed his sympathies to the families of the crew of the shuttle Columbia while also saying that space exploration will continue. Bush, in a brief statement made from the White House around 2 pm EST (1900 GMT), called today's events "terrible news and a great tragedy." "Columbia has been lost, and there are no survivors," he said. Bush was at Camp David at the time of the accident, but returned to Washington by motorcade within a few hours, and has been in touch with NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe, the families of the shuttle crew, and other officials. He reiterated in his remarks that this accident will not cause the US to pull away from space exploration. "Our journey will go on," he said.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now mission status center
•  SPACE.com mission status center
•  Florida Today mission status center