Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy. 10 Years ago today

[Deberg_1990]

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.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

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 think your not alone. For whatever reason, this disaster didnt touch the American psyche quite as hard.

[LiveSteam]

I dnt remember what I was doing. Coyote hunting I think.
I remember where I was for the Challenger, High school science class. Very sad days both of them.
Watching NASA be tossed aside like an old used doll. Is the saddest & one of the most maddening things for me personally

[Frazod]

It was a Saturday, IIRC - I had to work that day and was driving into Chicago listening on the radio. The local news radio station was broadcasting what they thought would be the landing and I just happened to have it on. I remember the first thing they said was that the shuttle was "overdue." Didn't sound good at the time, and kept getting worse and worse.

[alpha_omega]

I remember both clearly.

Just in case anyone is interested, here is a link to the accident investigation report. Very interesting reading. I have read parts of it, and NASA had multiple opportunities to prevent the accident.
http://www.nasa.gov/columbia/home/CAIB_Vol1.html

[houstonwhodat]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

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.

Damn time flies.

Seems like just yesterday.

Here's a pic of the Space Shuttle Enterprise that just landed in Houston at the Johnson Space Center.

They are refurbishing it for public viewing.

When they get done it will be the only Shuttle that you can play around in the cockpit.

[bevischief]

I was in 5th grade for Challenger, for Columbia was in class at the time it happened, found out about 3 hours after it happened. I was working on my BA degree.

[Marcellus]

My brother who lived in Titusville Fl, right down the road from Canaveral called me and woke me up. They were all freaking out because the shuttle was supposed to land and hadn't made it to Florida yet.

I was hungover as hell and sleeping on my couch after getting just blasted the night before.

I laid on the couch and watched CNN all day.

[Chief_For_Life58]

didnt the crew supposedly survive the blast and die when the hit earth?

[bevischief]

Originally Posted by Chief_For_Life58

didnt the crew supposedly survive the blast and die when the hit earth?

That was Challenger.

[saphojunkie]

I was finishing college as well and I don't remember this at all. Jeez.

[R8RFAN]

Columbia- Was watching it live on FoxNews

Challenger - I was working at a construction company helping build a fire station and heard it on the radio

[houstonwhodat]

[Chief_For_Life58]

Originally Posted by bevischief

That was Challenger.

almost as sad as the history of the chiefs franchise

[gblowfish]

Both stories were bad. Challenger was really bad, because it was the first time NASA had deaths since Apollo 1 (Grissom-White-Chaffee). Also, it blew up in such a spectacular manner, like a giant Bottle Rocket.

Columbia was bad because the crew was only 16 minutes from landing safely. They didn't know the ship had a fatal wound in the left wing. It was a hole that let hot gas into the body of the ship on re-entry. They were doomed when they decided to land.

[siberian khatru]

Challenger -- I was in college and came back from class to my dorm room, flipped on the TV and it had just blown up. So I skipped the rest of my classes and watched the coverage.

Columbia -- Was out running Saturday errands with the wife and walked into Books-A-Million to browse. There was a TV on in the magazine section (on CNN, IIRC) and it was probably 10-20 minutes or so after they had lost contact. I kind of went numb, went over to the wife and told her we needed to go home.