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The Columbia STS-107 mission lifted off on January 16, 2003, for a 17-day science mission featuring numerous microgravity experiments. Upon reentering the atmosphere on February 1, 2003, the Columbia orbiter suffered a catastrophic failure due to a breach that occurred during launch when falling foam from the External Tank struck the Reinforced Carbon Carbon panels on the underside of the left wing. The orbiter and its seven crewmembers (Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, David Brown, Laurel Blair Salton Clark, Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon, and Kalpana Chawla) were lost approximately 15 minutes before Columbia was scheduled to touch down at Kennedy Space Center." The subsequent triumphs of NASA's human space program serve as a tribute, a memorial to the quest for knowledge and discovery that so filled the lives and hearts of these seven brave men and women. We must NEVER turn our backs on them or on our destiny in space. We owe it to them, and to ourselves and to the world, to continue our human exploration of the cosmos in honor of those who paid the price. |
To the Crew and their Families,
We Thank You for Your Sacrifices.
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Images courtesy NASA
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