They soared like eagles into the sky...

They soared like eagles

into the sky

Few have ever flown so high

Years of training doing what they loved

For a chance to look down from so far above

They knew the risk but

gave their all

did there best to complete their call

To the seven brave astronauts

who loved to fly

We now respectfully say good-bye.

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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. This site presents information about the STS-107 flight, as well as information related to the accident and subsequent investigation by the formal Columbia Accident Investigation Board.

http://history.nasa.gov/columbia/Introduction.html

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Image Left: Seven hills on Mars have been

named for the STS-107 crew Click image for panoramic color photo Photo Credit: NASA/JPL

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe today

announced the Martian hills, located east

of the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover's landing

site, would be dedicated to the Space Shuttle Columbia STS-107 crew.

"These seven hills on Mars are named for those seven brave souls, the final crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. The Columbia crew faced the challenge of space and made the supreme

sacrifice in the name of exploration,"Administrator O'Keefe said.

The Shuttle Columbia was commanded by Rick Husband and piloted by William McCool. The mission specialists were Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark; and the payload specialist was Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. On February 1, 2003, the Columbia and its crew were lost over the western United States during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

The 28th and final flight of Columbia (STS-107) was a 16-day mission dedicated to research in physical, life and space sciences. The Columbia crew successfully conducted approximately 80 separate experiments during their mission.

NASA will submit the names of the Mars features to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for official designation. The IAU serves as the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and their surface features.

An image taken by the Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera of the Columbia Memorial Station and Columbia Hills is available on the Internet at:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/mer2004/rover-images/feb-02-2004/captions/image-10.html

For information about NASA and the Mars mission on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington. Additional information about the project is available on the Internet at:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov

Kennedy Space Center Honors Fallen Astronaut Heroes

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On Feb. 1 of last year, Kennedy Space Center and the surrounding Central Florida community -- along with the rest of the nation -- were stunned by the loss of seven astronaut heroes and Space Shuttle Columbia.

To mark the one-year anniversary of the tragedy and bring a sense of closure, KSC hosted several memorial events.

This closeup image shows the words of the plaque displayed in the Columbia room of the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC.

Debris from Columbia has been painstakingly preserved in a room on the 16th floor of KSC's massive Vehicle Assembly Building. A commemorative plaque was unveiled on Jan. 29 at a private dedication ceremony for KSC's 40-member Columbia Preservation Team.

"As we were going through this tragedy, we knew we had to take it and make something out of it and learn from it," Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach said of the preservation effort. "Hopefully, we'll be able to design better spacecraft and flight crew systems of the future.

The dedication of the "Columbia room" inside the VAB took place on the first NASA Remembrance Day. Starting this year, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe designated the last Thursday in January as a time for the NASA family to remember those who gave their lives in the pursuit of exploration.

"On Monday, there's going to be a dedication ceremony at Arlington to honor the STS-107 crew," said NASA astronaut Pamela Melroy, who attended the dedication of the Columbia room. "As I was thinking about it, I realized that this facility here is Columbia's Arlington. We have a very special place; it's where we come to reflect. Yes, to grieve, but also to be inspired. If you've ever been to Arlington, it's a very inspiring place, to see all the people who dedicated their lives and sacrificed everything for the sake of our country. And it's the same thing here: the thousands of lives that went into building Columbia, maintaining her, launching her, and flying her."
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At a public ceremony at the Space Mirror Memorial on Feb. 1, KSC Director James Kennedy and Deputy Director Woodrow Whitlow were joined by Florida Space Authority Executive Director Winston Scott and Astronauts Memorial Foundation Executive Director Stephen Feldman. Located at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, the polished-granite mirror honors all NASA astronauts who died in the line of duty.

Kennedy and Whitlow together placed a wreath in front of the mirror. Guests at the ceremony then placed flowers in the fence surrounding the memorial.

Astronauts Memorial Foundation Executive Director Stephen Feldman, Florida Space Authority Executive Director Winston Scott, KSC Deputy Director Woodrow Whitlow and KSC Director James Kennedy attended the ceremony at the Space Mirror Memorial.

The ceremony at the Space Mirror Memorial was followed by a special tribute from high school students, staff and members of the Shoshone-Bannock Native American community in Fort Hall, Idaho. Astronaut John Herrington, the first member of a federally recognized Native American tribe, attended the healing ceremony.

One of the Student Experiment Module projects that flew on STS-107 was built by students from Shoshone-Bannock High School.

"They were our friends; they are our heroes," Kennedy said to a crowd of about 150 people gathered under a gloomy sky in front of the mirror. "Their loss will not be in vain. We will come back bigger, better and stronger than ever before. And their beloved families will never be forgotten."