The space shuttle Columbia apparently shattered into pieces as it descended over central Texas, about 38 miles in the sky and headed toward Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

One of the seven crew members killed Saturday was born in Ames.

It was the first flight into space for Laurel Clark, a 41-year-old U.S. Navy commander and flight surgeon. Clark was born in Ames and studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Clark was helping with a number of biological experiments on board Columbia.

Although Clark moved from Ames at the age of 2, she still has family here. Her uncle and aunt, Douglas and Betty Haviland, and 96-year-old grandmother, Mary Haviland, reside in Ames.

It was a difficult morning for the Havilands, who lost their son Timothy in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.

“This morning, we were watching television and the news came on and said what had happened,” Betty Haviland told the Daily Saturday. “Our son, Bruce, called from Minnesota soon after that and told us what was happening.”

NASA officials contacted Clark’s relatives Saturday morning, including Mary Haviland, who was not available for comment.

It had been less than one day since the Havilands had heard from Clark.

“We received a communication from her through e-mail yesterday, and she was very pleased and proud to be in charge as a mission specialist,” Betty Haviland said. “She said she was impressed with what she was seeing in space, of course.”