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Five years ago today we were anxiously awaiting the return of Shuttle Columbia from it's successful 16 day mission. STS-107 ended 16 minutes too soon as families, friends, and nasa employees were waiting at the SLF on that clear Saturday morning. Now five years later we still remember them and we keep the families in our prayers. Not far from the SLF on Launch pad 39-A Space Shutle Atlantis stands poised for launch on STS-122 ready to continue the legacy of Columbia and her crew. Rick, Willie, Dave Mike, Laurel, Kalpana, Ilan Thank you for serving your country and helping our country to explore the unknown. Columbia and her crew are missed.

We will never forget. God speed Columbia.

God Bless Columbia

We miss ya guy's. :'(

They Sacrificed their lives for sake of exploration :'(

>Salute<

Columbia was the most enduring shuttle in the fleet. As was her crew. God speed

I was 8 at the time and I was sitting at home watching as it happened.

Columbia was my favorite shuttle.
Rest In Peace Columbia and her crew.

We are at the 6 Year mark of the STS-107 Launch.
Let them rest in peace. :'(

I was only 10 going on 11 when I was watching central florida news 13 watching it disintegrating before my very eyes!

That will always be in my mind, for years until my death.

But at least we know that NASA won't make the same mistake again.

rest in peace Columbia :'(

speed on Columbia, speed on

... I'm a pilot, I almost live for flight with a deep and huge passion for STS spaceflight (and NASA paste manned missions in general) ... and that day ... what a coincidence ... is my birthday ...

Anyway, I'll never forget that day, STS 107 and the crew most of all.

Good speed Columbia, STS-107 and it's crew!

Denis Ferrari - Italy

Bump for the sad anniversary coming up. :'(
RIP Columbia and her crew

God Bless and God speed Columbia Crew..

" Columbia, Houston, UHF Comm check...." rings in my head just like "Challenger, Go at throttle up...."

Godspeed to all lost crews as we remember them once again.

I had just woken up that day, and my inbox was going bonkers. I flipped on the TV and I was suddenly that 13 year-old again, trying to make sense of what I was seeing and hearing. I had to stop watching, all the insain wild speculation was too much for me.

I still feel NASA should have launched a rescue mission... penny-pinching O'Keffe. His legacy to the program is murdering 7 astronauts in my opinion.

 :'( Godspeed Columbia :'(

I was sitting in full combat gear at the airfield on Ft. Bliss awaiting our flight to Kuwait. I could not believe what I witnessed on all the overhead monitors they had going. Has it really been seven years??  :'(

Quote from: schmidtrock on February 01, 2010, 04:57:12 PM
:'( Godspeed Columbia :'(

I was sitting in full combat gear at the airfield on Ft. Bliss awaiting our flight to Kuwait. I could not believe what I witnessed on all the overhead monitors they had going. Has it really been seven years??  :'(

Not the best sendoff wave... sad moment indeed!

/Admin

Very nice article by NSF to commemorate STS-107. Also includes STS-51L
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2010/02/sts-51l-sts-107-challenger-columbia-legacy-honored/

I ws whatching the german TV news.
First Massage:
"Space Shuttle Columbia is destroyed in the upper atmospheric"
Then I thought that is impossible, but wehn I saw the pictures in begann to cry.

Rest in peace Cloumbia.
I will never forget.

I was pretty young, still in elementary school, but I remember the day it happened pretty well... The night before, I had been watching the mission on NASA TV. However, I wasn't paying as much attention to the mission as I wish I would have. I knew the shuttle was to land on Feb. 1st, although I didn't know when and didn't make plans to watch it. The next morning, my sister ran in to wake me up... She had this weird surprised smile on her face, and shouted, "The space shuttle blew up!" "What?" "The space shuttle blew up!" "No, it can't blow up. It's landing today, but it couldn't blow up!" "Yes it did!" "No, it can't, go away." Then I went back to sleep... Later when I woke up and looked at the news, I realized that indeed it had disintegrated. It was extremely hard to believe. I spent lots of time looking on the internet to find out as much as I could about what had happened. A few days--or maybe even a week or two--later,the teachers at my school passed out small newspapers dedicated to it. I think they were printed by the Amarillo Globe News. They were full of lots of pictures and stories of the crew, the disaster, the recovery efforts, the debris, etc. I don't know what happened to my copy, I wish I would have kept up with it x.x The tragedy was pretty big in my area, considering that Rick Husband was from Amarillo. A lot of the younger 1st-2nd grade kids drew pictures and hung them up in the hallways. As for me, I built a few space shuttle paper models and thought about it for months.

The Amarillo airport was quickly renamed Rick Husband International Airport. In the baggage claim area, they hung up a large copy of his astronaut portrait. There's also a bronze statue of Rick Husband in his ACES suit. Here's some pictures I took of it about a week ago when I was flying back from Houston.

(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a66/Spaceguy05/JSC%20Pictures%20-%20June%2013-18/Statue.jpg)

(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a66/Spaceguy05/JSC%20Pictures%20-%20June%2013-18/Plaque.jpg)

Today we remember Columbia...

/Admin

28 January and the 1 February are too close ... It's a very bad moment each year ...

I'll never forget...