[Janette]

SPACE SHUTTLE 'BREAKS UP OVER TEXAS'

NASA has lost contact with space shuttle Columbia just minutes before its scheduled landing - and reports say it may have broken up over Texas.

The shuttle had seven astronauts on board. Nasa has ordered flight controllers to pull out emergency procedures, and ordered them to retain all their records.

Columbia was at an altitude of 200,700ft travelling at 12,500mph when mission control lost contact.

There was no further communication and no further tracking data.

The mission, which blasted off on January 16, was carrying a special pressurised laboratory into space for 16 days of experiments.