Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy. 10 Years ago today
 

Feb 1 2003, Shuttle busted up over Texas.....


Where were you?




http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...21475e6dab.1d1




With somber ceremonies, the United States on Friday commemorated the loss of the space shuttle Columbia and its seven-member crew on the tenth anniversary of the disaster.

Columbia, NASA's first space shuttle orbiter to be put into service, disintegrated during re-entry on February 1, 2003, as it was ending its 28th mission.

All seven astronauts on board died in the landmark incident that triggered the end of the shuttle mission.

"Ten years ago, seven brave astronauts gave their lives in the name of exploration when America's first flight-ready space shuttle, Columbia, failed to return safely to Earth," President Barack Obama said in a statement.

At a ceremony at the Space Mirror Memorial on the grounds of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, those remembering the dead included Evelyn Husband Thompson, the widow of the shuttle commander Rick Husband, as well as former astronauts and representatives of the US space agency, NASA.

Meanwhile, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and a delegation gathered at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington where three of Columbia's crew members are buried.

Columbia's demise was triggered when a loose piece of insulating foam from the external fuel tank that had peeled off during the shuttle's launch 16 days earlier struck one of Columbia's carbon composite wings.

After the incident, the administration of former president George W. Bush decided to put an end to the shuttle program, allowing the three remaining orbiters to fly only as long as it took to complete the International Space Station -- in 2011 -- and to honor Washington's commitments to its partners.

Aside from 45-year-old Husband and his co-pilot William McCool, 41, the crew consisted of: Kalpana Chawla (41), Michael Anderson (43), Laurel Clark (41), David Brown (46) and Ilan Ramon (48), Israel's first astronaut.

Six of the seven were married and together they had a total of 12 children.

Friday's annual Day of Remembrance also honors others killed in other space-related incidents.

Three American astronauts died after a fire swept through the Apollo 1 aircraft during a test run in January 1967, and the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger in January 1986 shortly after take-off killed all seven crew members aboard.

"As we undertake the next generation of discovery, today we pause to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice on the journey of exploration," Obama said.

When I first saw this I was thinking Challenger.

That was now slightly over 27 years ago. Jesus I'm old...

RIP to both brave crews.

I think this happened on a Saturday or Sunday. I took this picture in my hometown of Independence at Sundown the night this happened. The big flag is flown by a motel at I-70 and Noland Road. Thought it was an appropriate reminder of what that day was like.

http://i49.tinypic.com/11t36np.jpg

Holy crap. Thats where I stay st when I come down to chiefs games.

It was in the morning, around 9:15 to 9:30 am or so. I heard the boom and ran outside to check it out. Saw the trail, but it was really weak, so wasn't sure if that was it. Spent the rest of the morning watching TV and checking news reports and updates on CP.

Yea it happened on a Sat morning, so for whatever reason, the story didnt seem to get as big and tragic as much as the Challenger one did.

I searched for the original thead on CP to bump, but couldnt find one?

Hmmm....no luck for me neither. I'll keep digging.

I was eating breakfast at a diner in Hutchinson, KS. Ten years already?? Wow.

I remember I was in a barber shop that day & watching the coverage.

Ironically, I was in that same barber shop yesterday.

I was at a conference in Texas. They had TVs on in the lobby showing the footage.

I was in college.

No wonder you don't remember

I don't remember what I was doing when this happened, but I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the Challenger blew up.

I bet your hair was getting really long.