NASA controllers lost contact with Columbia at 9 a.m. EST -- 
16 minutes before it was scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center.....






 

 

 

                                              

First Row Left to Right-  Rick Husband, Kalpana Chawla, William McCool
Second Row Left to Right-  David Brown, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, Ilan Ramon

 

HIGH FLIGHT

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth

And danced the skies on laughter  silvered wings:

Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth

Of Sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of- wheeled and soared and swing

High in the sunlit silence, hovering there

I chased the shouting wind along, and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air.

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue

I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace

Where never lark or even eagle flew,

And while with silent lifting mind I've trod

The rich un-trespassed sanctity of space,

Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

                John Gillespie Magee, Jr. 

 



We Remember
The STS 107 Crew  of Space Shuttle Columbia



Ilan Ramon, 48, a colonel in the Israeli Air Force, was a fighter pilot, and the first Israeli to go to space.
He received a bachelor of science in electronics and computer engineering from the University of Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1987.


Rick Husband, 45, a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, was a test pilot and veteran of one spaceflight.
He served as commander for the flight and was due to guide in and land the shuttle.


William McCool, 41, a commander in the U.S. Navy, was a former test pilot prior to the mission.
He was selected by NASA in 1996 and served as pilot for what was his first shuttle mission.



Michael Anderson, 43, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, was a former instructor pilot and tactical officer, and a veteran of one spaceflight.
Prior to the flight, Anderson had more than 211 hours experience in space.


David Brown, 46, a captain in the U.S. Navy, was a naval aviator and flight surgeon.
Selected by NASA in 1996, he served as mission specialist 1 for what was his first shuttle flight.


Kalpana Chawla, 41, was an aerospace engineer and an FAA Certified Flight Instructor.
She served as Flight Engineer and Mission Specialist 2 on the shuttle, and had nearly 400 hours of experience in space.



Laurel Clark, 41, a commander (captain-select) in the U.S. Navy and a naval flight surgeon, was Mission Specialist 4 on what was her first shuttle mission.		  

 


The ones that we lost are with us in spirit...
In the thoughts of family and friends, their presence still lingers...
The dreams they once cultivated, still shape our futures...
In the hearts that embrace them, they live on forever...
Every day and every night, as long as there is memory...
We will remember the Columbia Crew.

Stars are openings in  the heavens  
where the love of our lost ones shine down.