NASA marks 10th anniversary of Columbia loss

Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

Schoolchildren joined NASA managers and relatives of the lost crew of space shuttle Columbia on Friday to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy and remember the seven astronauts who died.

More than 300 people gathered at Kennedy Space Center for the outdoor ceremony, just a few miles from where Columbia was supposed to land Feb. 1, 2003, after a 16-day science mission. It never made it, bursting apart in the sky over Texas, just 16 minutes from home.

Representing the families of the Columbia seven, the widow of commander Rick Husband told the hushed audience that the accident was so unexpected and the shock so intense, “that even tears were not freely able to fall.”

“They would come in the weeks, months and years to follow in waves and in buckets,” said Evelyn Husband Thompson.

She assured everyone, though, that healing is possible and that blessings can arise from hardships. She attended the ceremony with her two children, her second husband and Sandra Anderson, widow of Columbia astronaut Michael Anderson.

Also present were 44 students from Israel, the homeland of Columbia astronaut Ilan Ramon. He was Israel’s first astronaut.

The other Columbia crew members were co-pilot William McCool, Kalpana Chawla, Dr. Laurel Clark and Dr. David Brown.