In discussion several times this morning with Secretary Tom Ridge, the effort is heavily under way to coordinate an understanding of exactly where the orbiter path had taken it from West Texas toward the Kennedy Space Center here in Florida, and to make sure that the material on the ground is secured so that the investigation can begin promptly.

CNN: O'Keefe: 'A tragic day for the NASA family'

However, overall success of interventions in changing the long-term path of a currency is less certain--and they only seem to work when nations coordinate their efforts--highly unlikely in this environment.

FORBES