Kalpana
Chawla

Kalpana Chawla, 41, was an aerospace engineer and an FAA Certified Flight Instructor. Selected by NASA in December 1994, Chawla logged more than 376 hours in space.

Rick Husband, 45, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, was a test pilot and veteran of one spaceflight. Selected by NASA in December 1994, Husband logged more than 235 hours in space.

Michael P. Anderson, 43, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, was a former instructor pilot and tactical officer. Anderson logged over 211 hours in space.

David M. Brown, 46, a captain in the U.S. Navy, was a naval aviator and flight surgeon. Selected by NASA in April 1996, Brown was making his first spaceflight.

Laurel Clark, 41, was a commander (captain-select) in the U.S. Navy and a naval flight surgeon. Selected by NASA in April 1996, Clark was making her first spaceflight.

William C. McCool, 41, a commander in the U.S. Navy, was a former test pilot. Selected by NASA in April 1996, McCool was making his first spaceflight.

Ilan Ramon, 48, a colonel in the Israeli Air Force, was a fighter pilot who was the only payload specialist on STS-107. Approved by NASA in 1998, he was making his first spaceflight.

Thanks for coming

Shuttle Columbia and Deep Purple connection?

So, Kalpana joined the ranks of Purple fans, and decided to take their music on her Columbia mission. This is very poignant for me considering Purple is my favourite band, and I have a huge interest in anything NASA does - only one downside - it would seem that to get the attention of your favourite band, you have to be someone other than a joe blow off the street. Maybe that is not fair, I am sure the Purple members do many things for the average person, but I still haven't met with them! I plan to, trust me.

I just hate to think that the only way I may be able to meet them is if I am dying of cancer or something - or if I had many thousands of dollars to hire them for a private party.

Anywho, I've included below a letter from Steve Morse about his thoughts of the Columbia disaster, and his response to all the e-mail he gets that he doesn't have time to respond to.

March 25, 2003

"It is a very busy time for me, but we have basically finished the Deep Purple album. It is more of a collaborative effort this time since we have recorded a couple of songs that came from our producer, Michael Bradford. Michael is a super intelligent, very musically gifted guy who can play anything, engineer, produce, write, etc.... He looks like Randy Jackson from "American idol" (I think that's the title of the show.....the one where the English guy rips the contestants apart).

"So, we went to L.A. to redo some songs with Michael, and then returned to do the actual recording. It's been quite an experience, and I'm always hyped up whenever I can work with super talented people.......one of my best job perks. Actually, it's the reason I got into this business.

"Anyway, while we were in California, the shuttle tragedy occurred. Ironically, I, as well as the other band members, had just gotten an e-mail from one of the astronauts, Kalpana. We were lucky enough to have made acquaintance with many of the folks associated with STS-107 and were invited to the launch in a special area, but we had to go do the recording. I totally freaked out when I saw the disintegration on TV. That afternoon, I brought in a little musical idea, which I titled, "Contact Lost", which is probably going to be on the album to pay homage to all of them. Like combat forces, test pilots, police and firefighters, they all know they are exposing themselves to higher levels of risk, but nobody had ever been witness to such a horrendous accident on re-entry.

"I am nearly finished with Major Impacts 2, which includes songs influenced by ELP, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Yardbirds, Cajun, Bluegrass, Bach, Celtic ballads, and others. I finally trusted Van Romaine enough to let him do his own interpretation of everything, since I had more or less arranged the songs already. He and Dave do an amazing job, of course. I've got to turn this in soon, so I better get back to work..........

"Oh, before I go....I've gotten a lot of personal requests and questions at the e mail address "fan mail......Steve will read it but don't expect a reply". In an amazing number of cases there are detailed responses and requests, and in many cases detailed and varied requests to send things. Just to put this in perspective.......I sleep 4 or 5 hours a night, have a very full life of many responsibilities and all I can do is occasionally check and read these e-mails. I will try to get some kind of assistant who could maybe help in the future, but for now, I'm swamped and beg any of you who didn't get an answer to just know that I love you but I'm overwhelmed. I know how weird it is to leave a message and get no reply, and I can't believe the shoe is on the other foot, but it is beyond my capability at this time to keep up with all the requests. Music has to be a priority when it comes time to work, as opposed to typing for hours.

"On the other hand, I really have appreciated the incredibly thoughtful, and insightful comments that have been my pleasure to read that arrive through the e-mail portal. I don't want to change that, and I do thank you for taking the time to offer encouragement, opinions, observations, etc. to me.

"Demographically, I appear to have an enormously eclectic group of friends on the web and don't want to lose any of them. Thanks for your taking part."

© stevemorse.com 2003