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Opinion by Douglas Brinkley
4 minute read
Published 4:00 PM EDT, Sat April 6, 2024
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He dreamed of being an astronaut. Hear what his widow has to say
01:09 - Source: CNN
Editor’s Note: Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University. He is the author of “American Moonshot:John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race.” The CNN Original Series “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight” uncovers the events that ultimately led to disaster. The four-part documentary premieres 9 p.m. ET/PT Sunday. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. Viewmore opinionon CNN.
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Around the start of this century, the world counted only two major players in manned space exploration: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency. Ten years later, the heavens were crowded by comparison, with a number of private companies vying to restart the space race with Russia.Internationally, China had regular manned missions and the United Arab Emirates, Japan and the European nations were drawing close to success.
Douglas Brinkley
The turning point between the two eras was an unforeseeable tragedy: the disintegration of the Columbia space shuttleon February 1, 2003. It occurred almost exactly17 yearsafter a previous shuttle, the Challenger, burned just after lift-off.
That 1986 disaster had resulted in a towering wave of public anger at NASA, mainly because top officialshad been advisedvery specifically to scrub the launch. Simply put, the weather was too cold for the equipment. The intrepid American space program survived the Challenger horror, but NASA’s self-doubt never subsided. Not even two decades later, after the Columbia exploded during re-entry, the two deadly failures broke the faith that many among the American people had in NASA.
Seven astronauts were onboard the Columbia for its16-day mission, primarily to perform scientific experiments. The launch in mid-January had been uneventful – except for one thing. The team assigned to review video of the voyage noticed what seemed to be a loose piece of the protective foam layer insulating the shuttle’s external tank. Soon thereafter a chunk of foam about asbig as a briefcasedislodged and struck the front of the left wing. The analysis of the malfunction was communicated to others at NASA, but the problem was considered minor.
Shuttles were invariably damaged during missions.It was only to be expected. “There’s this term in NASA called accepted risk,” explainedNancy Currie-Gregg, who flew four shuttle missions, the last in 2002, “There is no such thing as zero-risk space flight, but how do you decide how much risk is acceptable?”
Becauseother shuttle missionshad returned safely with “shredded” surface tiles – and because the stalwart Columbia had brought astronauts home from27 previous flights– many NASA officials were lulled into complacency. They went so far as to assure the pilot and commander viaemailthat “there is no concern … We have seen the same phenomenon on several other flights and there is absolutely no concern for entry.”
NASA officials also decided against enlisting spy satellite photography to examine the shuttle damage more thoroughly. If they had, it’s possible that the astronauts could have repaired the spaceplane or at least abandoned it for refuge on the International Space Station. Instead, as the Columbia made its descent from space, superheated atmosphericgasesentered through the gaping hole left by the dislodged chunk of foam. The structure was compromised and the shuttle broke apart in midair. Wreckage spread overTexas and Louisiana.
Space Shuttle Columbia launches from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003.
The crew of NASA's STS-107 mission attends a news conference at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 20, 2002. Pictured from left are payload commander Michael P. Anderson; pilot William C. McCool; commander Rick D. Husband; mission specialist David M. Brown; mission specialist Laurel B. Clark; payload specialist Ilan Ramon; and mission specialist Kalpana Chawla.
Space Shuttle Columbia sits on Launchpad 39A, atop the mobile launcher platform, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 9, 2002.
The STS-107 crew members wave to onlookers on their way to the launchpad for liftoff at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003.
People work in the control room at NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston on January 16, 2003. Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10:39 a.m. ET.
Members of the closeout crew help Anderson, front, with his launch and entry suit in the White Room at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003. The environmentally controlled chamber was mated to Space Shuttle Columbia for access into the orbiter. Behind Anderson is McCool.
Space Shuttle Columbia lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003. It was the 28th mission for the orbiter, with the STS-107 crew set to carry out experiments over the course of 16 days.
The VIP stand at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is filled with friends and families of the STS-107 crew on January 16, 2003. Representatives of Israel were there as well to support Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut and a colonel in the Israeli Air Force.
Chawla performs work in the SPACEHAB Research Double Module (RDM) on January 18, 2003. She is pictured through the tunnel linking SPACEHAB to the Space Shuttle Columbia's crew cabin.
Some of the STS-107 crew are pictured prior to their sleep shift in bunk beds on the middeck of Space Shuttle Columbia on January 20, 2003. From left are Clark, Husband and Chawla. Along with Ramon, out of frame, they were members of the Red Team; Anderson, Brown, and McCool were on the Blue Team. The teams worked opposite shifts in order to perform continuous research for 16 days.
The STS-107 crew pose for an in-flight portrait in the SPACEHAB RDM aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. This photo was on a roll of unprocessed film that searchers later recovered from debris.
Clark looks through an overhead window on the aft flight deck of Space Shuttle Columbia. This photo was on a roll of unprocessed film that searchers later recovered from debris.
A store employee in New York pauses to watch a breaking news broadcast about Space Shuttle Columbia minutes before its scheduled landing on February 1, 2003.
Kathryn O'Neill of Laguna Hills, California, and her son Zachary kneel by the entrance sign of Johnson Space Center in Houston on February 1, 2003. A makeshift memorial for the STS-107 crew had been set up there.
Former astronaut and then-Florida Sen. Bill Nelson addresses the news media at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on February 1, 2003. Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart during reentry over east Texas at around 9 a.m. ET, and the STS-107 crew was lost.
Tommy Peltier of Houston stands next to debris from Space Shuttle Columbia that fell near San Augustine, Texas, on February 2, 2003.
Averi Forline, 4, plays with a model of a space shuttle as he visits a growing memorial outside the main gate of Johnson Space Center in Houston on February 3, 2003. The memorial was created by NASA workers and other Houstonians in honor of the STS-107 crew.
People attend a memorial for the STS-107 crew on the mall of the Johnson Space Center in Houston on February 4, 2003.
Capt. Gene Theriot, chaplain for the US Navy Corps, wipes his eyes as he and NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe listen to President George W. Bush speak during a memorial service at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on February 4, 2003. On Theriot's right is a portrait of the STS-107 crew. "To leave behind Earth and air and gravity is an ancient dream of humanity," President Bush said. "For these seven, it was a dream fulfilled. Each of these astronauts had the daring and discipline required of their calling. Each of them knew that great endeavors are inseparable from great risks. And each of them accepted those risks willingly, even joyfully, in the cause of discovery."
Ron Dittemore, NASA's space shuttle program manager, displays a piece of insulating foam, similar to that which coated Space Shuttle Columbia's fuel tank, during a briefing for the news media held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston on February 5, 2003.
Pieces of Space Shuttle Columbia that had been identified are placed within the outline of the orbiter on the reusable launch vehicle hangar floor at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 6, 2003. The Columbia Reconstruction Project Team was attempting to reconstruct the bottom of the orbiter as part of the investigation into what caused the destruction of Columbia and the loss of its crew.
Workers add the names of the STS-107 crew to the Space Mirror Memorial on July 15, 2003. Dedicated in May 1991, the memorial honors astronauts who gave their lives for space exploration. It was created by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation and is accessible through the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
Reporters ask NASA Administrator O'Keefe, visible in the monitor, questions about the "Columbia Accident Investigation Board Report" during a news conference at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, on August 27, 2003.
A member of the Shoshone-Bannock Native American community from Fort Hall, Idaho, displays a handmade item with the STS-107 insignia on February 1, 2004. Dancers from Shoshone-Bannock Junior/Senior High School also performed a healing ceremony during the one-year anniversary event at the Space Memorial Mirror in Florida. Students and staff of the Shoshone-Bannock High School had an experiment on board Space Shuttle Columbia.
Sandy Anderson, widow of Space Shuttle Columbia's Michael P. Anderson, is comforted by astronaut Carlos Noriega during the annual Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Johnson Space Center's Astronaut Tree Grove in Houston on January 27, 2011. Johnson Space Center Director Michael L. Coats is on the far left, and Evelyn Husband-Thomas, widow of the Columbia crew's Rick D. Husband, is on the right.
Visitors look at display cases at the "Forever Remembered" exhibit for the astronauts who died on the Columbia and Challenger space shuttles, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, on July 21, 2015. The exhibit is permanent and "displays personal items from each astronaut and recovered hardware from both orbiters, including a section of Challenger's left fuselage with American flag and the framework of Columbia's co*ckpit windows," according to the Kennedy Space Center website.
Members of the Space Coast Voices sing the national anthem during the NASA Day of Remembrance ceremony at the Space Mirror Memorial in Florida on January 30, 2020. The crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other fallen astronauts who lost their lives in the name of space exploration and discovery, were honored at the annual event.
A wreath is placed in front of the Space Mirror Memorial in Florida during the NASA Day of Remembrance on January 27, 2022.
In pictures: Space Shuttle Columbia's final flight
In the wake of the disaster, NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe said in a statement, “This is indeed a tragic day for the NASA family, for the families of the astronauts who flew on STS-107, and likewise is tragic for the Nation.”
As the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB)noted in its final report, “the NASA organizational culture had as much to do with this accident as the foam.” All of NASA’s launches were suspended fortwo years.While the shuttles eventually flew again, post-Columbia, the program was stunted and curtailed.
But as NASA floundered, Elon Musk’s upstart SpaceX scheduled its own launches. Musk’s undertaking initially proved justhow hard rocket science is, though his company finally foundsuccess in 2008with its reusableFalcon Heavy rocket. The billionaire’s club was usurping NASA in space. At about the same time, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Originwas developing rockets aimed mainly atsuborbital flight.United Launch Alliancebrought two legacy aerospace companies together, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, in a concerted effort to develop and launch massive rockets. All four companies are thriving today in the space industry.
Virgin Galactic, an American company operated by Sir Richard Branson, is dedicated to space tourism rather than exploration. Likewise,Axiom Spacewas founded in 2016 to establish a space station for adventurers. And now, SpaceX has set its sight onreturning humans to the moon.
Space entrepreneurswere themselves launched into action, driven by the chance to make money during NASA’s lull after the demise of the Columbia. NASA, far from feeling threatened, has encouraged many of the private companies withmassive contracts.The agency already had a long history of dealing with sub-contractors, using its pocketbook to steer aerospace development; that tradition has adjusted seamlessly to the current space economy.
Whether the rapacious current era in space will be propelled by the idealism of President John F. Kennedy’sAmerican Moonshotis an uncertain question. Certainly, the seven astronauts doing round-the-clock experiments in physics on the Columbia had, justas JFK hoped, “set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people.”
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