Feb. 1 marks the 20th anniversary of the tragic accident of the space shuttle Columbia, which killed seven astronauts. NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida paid its respects to the crew and other astronauts who lost their while performing their jobs during the agency's Annual Day of Remembrance.
UNDATED FILE PHOTO: The crew of Space Shuttle Columbia's mission STS-107 pose for the traditional crew portrait. Seated in front are astronauts Rick D. Husband (L), mission commander; Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist; and William C. McCool, pilot. Standing are (L to R) astronauts David M. Brown, Laurel B. Clark, and Michael P. Anderson, all mission specialists; and Ilan Ramon, payload specialist representing the Israeli Space Agency.
"Different Kind of Observance"
A ceremony for the center's senior management and guests was held in the Space Mirror Memorial on Jan. 26 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
"In a community that frequently commemorates the milestones and achievements made possible through the teamwork and contributions of so many, today is a different kind of observance, a day to recognize and honor those who lost their lives in pursuit of knowledge, and those losses are heavy," Kennedy Space Center Director Janet Petro said in a statement.
NASA lost some of its bravest astronauts twenty years ago on Feb. 1, when Columbia broke apart during its re-entry.
Today we remember those brave souls and the marks they left in astronomy; such as mission commander Rick D. Husband; pilot William C. McCool; payload commander Michael P. Anderson; mission specialists Kalpana Chawla and Laurel B. Clark; and Israeli Space Agency's payload specialist Ilan Ramon.
The seven astronauts were aboard Columbia when it took out on January 16, 2003, at 10:39 a.m. EST from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A. The initial Spacehab Research Double Module was carried in the shuttle's payload bay.
Physical and biological sciences were the focus of the 16-day mission. The loss of the aircraft and crew occurred on February 1, 2003, during descent for landing at Kennedy at the height of 203,000 feet over north central Texas. This was due to a failure in the thermal protection system on the shuttle's left wing.
Hard-Earned Lessons
The astronauts from Apollo 1 and the Challenger space shuttle were also honored during the ceremony.
NASA's associate administrator Bob Cabana said that they held a Day of Remembrance to pay respect to their fallen comrades.
He stresses that the unfortunate incidents from Columbia, Challenger, and Apollo shall serve as hard-earned lessons for the space agency so that they may never repeat in future space missions.
"We take time to pause and reflect, to remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, but also to inspire us to future human exploration," Thad Altman, AMF president and CEO, said during the event.
Altman said that they honor every individual involved in these missions - from the engineers, and astronauts, to the administrators - the lessons acquired from them shall serve as an inspiration for future missions.
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