#sts-107

Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia

"In the Orbiter Processing Facility, Columbia's engine no. 2 is seen at left after its removal from the orbiter. After small cracks were discovered on the LH2 Main Propulsion System (MPS) flow liners in two other orbiters, program managers decided to move forward with inspections on Columbia before clearing it for flight on STS-107. The heat shields were removed, and after removing the three main engines, inspections of the flow liners will follow. The July 19 launch of Columbia on STS-107 has been delayed a few weeks."

Date: June 28-29, 2002

(1962-2003)

Kalpana Chawla was an Indian-American astronaut and the first Indian-born woman to go to space. Chawla was born on March 17, 1962 in Karnal, Haryana, India. In 1982, she graduated with a bachelor of science degree from Punjab Engineering College. She moved to the United States in the same year, where she studied at the University of Texas, graduating with a master's degree in aerospace engineering in 1984. After earning a PhD in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado in 1988, Chawla began working at NASA's Ames Research Center, "where she did computational fluid dynamics (CFD) research on vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) concepts." Chawla became a U.S. citizen in 1991, and, in 1993, she joined Overset Methods Inc. as Vice President and Research Scientist. In December of 1994, she was selected as a member of the 15th Group of Astronauts by NASA and began training in 1995. Upon completion of her training, Chawla was assigned as "crew representative to work technical issues for the Astronaut Office EVA/Robotics and Computer Branches." On November 19, 1997, Chawla entered space for the first time, becoming the first Indian-born woman to do so. She spent 16 days aboard Space Shuttle Columbia as part of STS-87. Chawla was selected as a crew member of STS-107 in 2000, her second flight. Space Shuttle Columbia launched on January 16, 2003 after a series of delays. Throughout the 16-day mission, the crew "performed nearly 80 experiments studying Earth and space science, advanced technology development, and astronaut health and safety." During the launch, a piece of foam insulation struck the port wing of the orbiter. Upon re-entry on February 1, "the damage allowed hot atmospheric gases to penetrate and destroy the internal wing structure, which caused the spacecraft to become unstable and break apart." Chawla, along with her crew mates Michael P. Anderson, David M. Brown, Laurel B. Clark, Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, and Ilan Ramon, died. Chawla posthumously received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

Crew of STS-107

Sources

Sometimes I watch the mission control recordings of that morning. It's a reminder of what —of who— we've lost on our path to the stars. it's a reminder that things can go so wrong so quickly in spaceflight.

HOBAUGH: Columbia, Houston, we see your tire pressure messages and we did not copy your last. HUSBAND: Roger, uh—

The loss of Columbia was the nail in the proverbial coffin for the shuttle program. NASA kept the other three orbiters flying without incident until 2011, but... we were supposed to go further. The shuttles were meant to be the dawn of the new age of spaceflight. We were meant to keep new shuttles, better shuttles, flying higher and higher for thirty more years. We were meant to get back to the Moon by 2011, and Mars by now. And instead, the swans of the space age were grounded. We're making a halfhearted, direly underfunded push for the Moon only now.

CAIN: FDO, when you expecting tracking? JONES: One minute ago, Flight.

I hope all this waiting has been worth it. I hope the contractors that NASA has been forced to buy spacecraft from (instead doing everything in-house like they always have) did not cut corners. I hope we make up for lost time, and we get to touch the sky again without losing anyone else.

CAIN: GC, Flight. GC, Flight. FOSTER: Flight, GC— CAIN: Lock the doors. FOSTER: ...Copy.

Lock the doors. The most horrible sentence in spaceflight. It means no information leaves the building. It means the emergency protocols are kicking in. It means the mission is over because everyone died, and now all we can do is try to figure out what happened so that it doesn't happen ever again.

I hope I never hear that phrase spoken in my lifetime.

Sixteen minutes from home. Remembering the crew of Columbia STS-107, twenty years ago today.

Colonel Rick Douglas Husband, USAF (July 12, 1957 – February 1, 2003)

Commander William Cameron McCool, USN (September 23, 1961 – February 1, 2003)

Captain David McDowell Brown, USN (April 16, 1956 – February 1, 2003)

Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003)

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Phillip Anderson, USAF (December 25, 1959 – February 1, 2003)

Captain Laurel Blair Salton Clark, M.D., USN (March 10, 1961 – February 1, 2003)