Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew

by Michael D. Leinbach

Brother Fred learned that Columbia’s commander Rick Husband had recited Joshua 1:9 to his crew as they suited up before their flight: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Brother Fred incorporated that verse into all of his services in the field. He and Kelly also researched appropriate words to say for Hindi and Hebrew services. All of the services delivered in the field after the first day included Christian, Jewish, and Hindu prayers.

There is heavy grief in our hearts, which will diminish with time, but it will never go away, and we will never forget. Hail Rick, Willie, KC, Mike, Laurel, Dave, and Ilan. Hail Columbia.34

The landowner on whose property Ilan Ramon’s remains were found had been informed that Mrs. Ramon was coming to see the site. In preparation for her visit, he built an access road through the woods to the recovery area—at his own expense—to ease her journey.17

On May 1, NASA announced that only one single failure scenario would explain all of the evidence contained in the debris, the OEX recorder, the telemetry received in Houston, and the videos provided by the public and other sources. Something—most likely the collision with the foam from the external tank—caused a breach in the leading edge of the left wing. This breach allowed plasma to penetrate the wing and erode it from the inside during the reentry. Whether the foam actually penetrated the leading edge—or if it pushed spacers apart and created a gap in the panels—will never be known.

“Each piece was evidence of how hard Columbia fought to come home to us,” Pam Melroy said.

Ilan Ramon was buried at Moshav Nahalal in the Jezreel Valley in Israel. Rick Husband was buried in Amarillo, Texas, on February 21. A few days later, a memorial service was held for Kalpana Chawla at Zion National Monument in Utah, one of her favorite places. Willie McCool was buried in Anacortes, Washington, on March 4. Mike Anderson was buried on Friday, March 7, at Arlington National Cemetery.

On what would have been her forty-second birthday, Laurel Clark was laid to rest at Arlington on March 10. Dave Brown was interred nearby on March 12. Clark, Anderson, and Brown’s graves are near the Columbia Memorial and within a short distance of where the Challenger astronauts are interred.

The Columbia crew’s mission gave them the chance to fulfill their dreams. It was an opportunity to fly to space, have an adventure, visit microgravity, live and work in a totally new and unusual environment, experience a feeling and freedom that you cannot possibly simulate on the surface, look down on our beautiful planet, push yourself to achieve the mission’s challenging goals, and be part of a team with a meaningful vision. That vision included understanding the universe we live in, the human body, the possibilities of new technologies, our Earth’s natural processes, the secrets of our neighboring planets, and the mysteries of deep space.

Rick was a man that any astronaut would want as their commander. He was wise and charismatic. People often praised his beautiful singing voice. Willie was so proud of his children! I remember the day he stopped in my office to show me his son’s artwork. Laurel and I had many conversations about the challenges of being both a mom and an astronaut. Mike was also a family man, and he always seemed to have a smile on his face, especially when he was going out to fly the T-38. Ilan often asked me to fly with him in the T-38. He was very humble and quiet, and clearly dedicated to his family. I wish I had gotten to know him better. KC and I worked together in the simulator, trying to solve the sneaky problems presented to us by the training team. She had such a calm and logical way about her. And Dave was an optimist. No matter how tough a problem he faced, Dave was a man of ideas and solutions.