Discussion Remembering Columbia: 10 years later

Kyle

Kyle

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Today, 10 years ago Space Shuttle Columbia lifted off into the heavens from KSC LC39A.

They were never to return.

We salute you all, Rick Husband, William McCool, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon.

Hail Columbia!

Code: 
[SIZE="4"]High Flight[/SIZE]

[B]Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941
[/B]

0325.jpg
 
I remember hearing about it as I was leaving high school to go to my work-study program.



EDIT-

Let me give myself a facepalm, I had Challenger on the brain. I remember Columbia pretty well too, I watched it live as it happened. I woke the wife up (we were sleeping late, or at least she was).

It serves as a sad example of what happens when schedule pressure and institutional arrogance meet up and start making decisions.
 
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Astronauts. The most privileged people on earth. Rest in peace
 
I was in third grade, standing atop a slide in the school's playground back home in Merritt Island. I remember, vividly, the whole school coming out to see the launch, as is the custom on the Space Coast. It was a joyous event, especially because of Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. February 1st, 2003 brought a dark cloud over many of my friend's and family's lives that was not lifted until we launched again in 2005. I think losing Columbia in more ways affected my life more than September 11, 2001. Godspeed the crew of STS-107, and Hail Columbia!
 
I remember it just as I entered my teenage years, I was in 8th grade, it was on a vacation. My uncle's mountain villa can only get good TV signal at certain hours so we always turn it on for news at those times. I remember playing with my cousin when we were suddenly called to the living room, they said it was urgent, I didn't understand, or rather, couldn't understand what it was at the moment, only years later would I be able to.
 
I only vaguely remember the launch. I have a memory of briefly seeing the taped footage on a news station in my art class the day it launched, but that's all unfortunately.
 
I've been reading Wayne Hale's blog, which has been running his recollections about Columbia's final flight since last August.The first post is here(link) and mostly focuses on why it happened.

As for my own recollections, I wasn't into space as much as I am now, and all I remember is the sharp intrusion of the news reports. It wasn't news for long, and it faded away. That is until a few years ago, when I really caught the space bug and started reading(and Orbiter-ing). I've learned much more than I was aware of at the time, and I feel guilty now for not caring enough back then.
 
This really makes me feel old. I can remember Challenger quite clearly and that was almost 30 years ago! The loss of Columbia seems like it was just yesterday. Hard to believe that 10 years has come and gone since that awful day.
 
I was getting ready to leave the apartment to help my father come home from the hospital after recovering from a tough bout of chemotherapy when CNN came in with the Columbia news. He was by no means out of the woods health-wise but was just good enough to go home. I remember that my girlfriend (now my wife) was watching with me and asked whether they could have bailed out. I was a survival equipment specialist in the air force and knew enough about the escape systems that I knew the only answer was "no way". I recall it being a cold, gray, rainy day. It was really one of those can-life-get-any-worse? sorts of days for me.

When I saw my father in the hospital he was watching the news and just shaking his head at the tragedy of the accident. He felt that it was unfair that these young, smart people should lose their lives at the pinnacle of their careers while he, a sick man in his late 70's, managed to live another day and go home to his family. He thought it was funny how life could be like that sometimes.
 
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Mantis said:
This really makes me feel old. I can remember Challenger quite clearly and that was almost 30 years ago! The loss of Columbia seems like it was just yesterday. Hard to believe that 10 years has come and gone since that awful day.
Click to expand...


+100000

It was not long after that (2005 I think) that I found Orbiter and started posting on the old m6 forum.
 
It was that long ago...
 
orbitingpluto said:
I've been reading Wayne Hale's blog, which has been running his recollections about Columbia's final flight since last August.The first post is here(link) and mostly focuses on why it happened.

As for my own recollections, I wasn't into space as much as I am now, and all I remember is the sharp intrusion of the news reports. It wasn't news for long, and it faded away. That is until a few years ago, when I really caught the space bug and started reading(and Orbiter-ing). I've learned much more than I was aware of at the time, and I feel guilty now for not caring enough back then.
Click to expand...

Great link, I've been reading Mr. Hale's blogs myself and I truly do recommend it.
 
Mantis said:
This really makes me feel old. I can remember Challenger quite clearly and that was almost 30 years ago! The loss of Columbia seems like it was just yesterday. Hard to believe that 10 years has come and gone since that awful day.
Click to expand...

Old? I remember how worried I was about the missing TPS tiles on Columbia...... on STS-1. :hmm:

Kyle said:
Great link, I've been reading Mr. Hale's blogs myself and I truly do recommend it.
Click to expand...

+1
I've been reading his blog for quite some time.
 
I was 9 years old and was visiting relatives in Taiwan on that day (it was exactly the first day of the Lunar New Year). The accident occurred at night time there (10 pm) and I have just finished enjoying a hot spa when my uncle told the news, and I realized at once that it was the first ever Space Shuttle Orbiter that broke up during descent.....

Shortly after I (which already had a bit of basic spaceflight knowledge) speculated that somehow the Orbiter pitched too low during re-entry (!) (either by computer failure or, as I incorrectly assumed, pilot error). Turns out it wasn't, but much closer to truth than any of the sabotage theories!

My, my, a decade has passed since then.....
 
This hour, 10 years ago, we lost Columbia into the heavens. May Columbia and her crew forever rest in peace.
 
Some of us have been around almost as long as the history of spaceflight. Such anniversaries bring back memories of every event, both good and bad.

I remember well, watching Ed White and Gemini flying high above New Brunswick as I walked home from a Wolf Cub (Cub Scout) meeting ... and my grief at the Apollo 1 fire. Challenger and Columbia ... but also the losses experienced by the cosmonauts ... brave explorers all.

May a gracious God keep them all in the palm of his hand ... and shining in the heavens ... always ...
 
insanity said:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/01/nasa-knew-columbia-crew-would-die-but-chose-not-to-tell-them/
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Not fair.

Think of the movie Apollo 13. The scene where Gene Krantz was asked if he wanted the crew informed about the possibility of the heat shield being damaged ...

You can always argue about the benefits of knowing when the ultimate is going to happen to you ... versus the benefits of not knowing ... IMHO, why increase the stress of those last few moments?
 
llarian said:
Not fair.

Think of the movie Apollo 13. The scene where Gene Krantz was asked if he wanted the crew informed about the possibility of the heat shield being damaged ...

You can always argue about the benefits of knowing when the ultimate is going to happen to you ... versus the benefits of not knowing ... IMHO, why increase the stress of those last few moments?
Click to expand...
I agree with you 100% here, just thought it was an interesting article.
 
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