![]() ![]() NASA marked the 20th anniversary of the tragedy with somber ceremonies and remembrances during its annual tribute to fallen astronauts on Thursday, Jan. Space shuttle Columbia broke apart in flames 200,000 feet over Texas on Saturday, killing all seven astronauts just minutes before they were to glide to a landing in Florida. flag, along the base of the Washington Monument, flies at half-staff in memorial of those who died aboard space shuttle Columbia, Saturday, Feb. Credit: AP Photo/Jason Hutchinson/fileĪ U.S. Credit: Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via APĭebris from the space shuttle Columbia streaks across the Texas sky as seen from Dallas on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2023, for the 20th anniversary of the mission disaster that killed seven astronauts on Feb. Space Shuttle Columbia team members remember the loss of the STS-107 crew during NASA's Day of Remembrance ceremony, presented by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, on Thursday, Jan. McCool, pilot and payload commander Michael P. From the left (top row), wearing blue shirts, are mission specialist David M. Clark and Ilan Ramon, payload specialist. From the left (bottom row), wearing red shirts to signify their shift's color, are mission specialist Kalpana Chawla, commander, Rick D. This picture was on a roll of unprocessed film later recovered by searchers from the debris. ![]() 1, 2003, the seven crew members were lost as the Columbia fell apart over East Texas. ![]() This undated photo released in June 2003 provided by NASA shows STS-107 crew members aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Credit: Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP NASA is marking the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy with somber ceremonies during its annual tribute to fallen astronauts. "I don't ever want to have to go through another Columbia."įrom left, Bob Cabana, Associate Administrator of NASA Sheryl Chaffee, daughter of Apollo 1 astronaut Roger Chaffee, and Janet Petro, NASA KSC director, bow their heads in prayer during NASA's Day of Remembrance ceremony, hosted by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Thursday, Jan. "When we look back, why do we have to keep repeating the same hard lessons?" he said. Like NASA's earlier tragedies, Columbia's loss was avoidable, said former shuttle commander Bob Cabana, now NASA's associate administrator. At space centers across the country, flags were lowered to half-staff, with ceremonies held along with spaceflight safety discussions. 27, 1967.īecause of the clustering of these three dates, NASA sets aside the last Thursday of every January to commemorate its fallen astronauts. The Apollo 1 launch pad fire claimed three astronauts' lives on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven aboard, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. That same kind of cultural blunder led to the loss of shuttle Challenger during liftoff on Jan. NASA managers dismissed the impact during the flight despite the concerns of others. The shuttle broke apart over Texas, just 16 minutes from its planned Florida touchdown. 1, 2003, after a piece of fuel-tank foam came off and punctured the left wing during liftoff 16 days earlier. We pause to recall the memory of all those courageous souls," said Konikov.Ĭolumbia was destroyed during reentry on Feb. No matter how fast we're going, no matter how important our work, we must pause and think about why we're here on Earth, and that's what we're doing today. But Zvi Konikov, a local rabbi, recalled how Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, asked him before the flight how to observe the Sabbath during two weeks in orbit with multiple sunsets a day. None of the Columbia astronaut family members attended the morning ceremony. NASA's two shuttle accidents account for more than half of the names carved into the black granite of the Space Mirror Memorial plane crashes are to blame for the rest. More than 100 people gathered under a gray sky at Kennedy Space Center to remember not only Columbia's crew of seven, but the 18 other astronauts killed in the line of duty. ![]()
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