STS-107 - Columbia

thecommander

Launched 10 years ago today.

shedweller

10 years already?:(

ZeRoY

For those not aware...

Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

Beeker

It scares me how fast time goes. I remember that launch like it was last week. Little did we know at the time how it would end.:(

lord lucan

Sadly today marks the 27th anniversary of the challenger disaster.

12april1981

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/national/greater-heightsvideo-recalls-shuttle-victim-who-to/nT6xC/

This is wonderful,found it yesterday and would like to share with everyone.Its stories like these that makes the Astronaut Office at Nasa such a special place. A great human story.

Beeker

12april1981 wrote: »

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/national/greater-heightsvideo-recalls-shuttle-victim-who-to/nT6xC/

This is wonderful,found it yesterday and would like to share with everyone.Its stories like these that makes the Astronaut Office at Nasa such a special place. A great human story.

Nice find Eamonn, Thanks

DubOnHoliday

10 years ago today, seems like yesterday.

http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/DOR2013/columbia/columbia.html

http://news.msn.com/science-technology/10-years-since-loss-of-space-shuttle-columbia

Redshift

I can remember watching the news coverage like it was yesterday.

12april1981

Can anyone tell me what do the the Father of the pilot of Columbia, and the Captain of last years Football all Ireland team have in common ?

Hotblack Desiato

Redshift wrote: »

I can remember watching the news coverage like it was yesterday.

I was meeting this young lady on our 2nd or 3rd date that night, was on my way to the bus stop when an acquaintance pulled up and offered me a lift, 'You like space don't you, it was just on the news that the Space Shuttle blew up', couldn't get any further info, was weighing on my mind all night. Had to tell her in the end what was distracting me.
She's my wife now and we have two kids... it all seems like the blink of an eye.

Columbia was the first ship and somehow always seemed the safest and steadiest, 22 years before I'd followed every bit of info on her countdowns and scrubs as best I could on RTE and Ceefax, that ten year old kid never thought the Shuttle programme would end up in mismanagement, budget cuts, disregard for safety, incompetence and tragedy in the way it did I was sad when the Shuttle programme ended, but also relieved. Unsafe by design and we can blame the USAF and pork barrel politics. There was no engineering reason to have segmented SRBs. There was no civilian mission requirement for the Shuttle to have large wings.

Beeker

12april1981 wrote: »

Can anyone tell me what do the the Father of the pilot of Columbia, and the Captain of last years Football all Ireland team have in common ?

You have me stumped there! No idea:(

Beeker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzPkRz9Eqow

12april1981

I should have asked..What does the Captain of last years All Ireland football champions (Donegal) the father of the pilot of Columbia (Willie Mccool) and the father of four time Shuttle flyer Bryan Duffy have in comman.
What all of them have in comman is they were all born in Donegal !!
Col Mccools Father returned to Ireland for family events up too a few years ago,and I had the great privilege to meet Bryan Duffy three times and he described himself as a Irish man !!