posted 02-01-2004 01:06 PM               

So--where were you?

posted 02-01-2004 01:52 PM               

I turned on NASA TV while checking my e-mail. I noticed a fellow cS member, Ben Cooper, on my AIM buddy list and sent him a quick message about how NASA's website had been redesigned and debuted overnight.

Ben was also instant messaging with a friend of his in Texas, who was outside watching for Columbia to pass overhead.

Ben and I were discussing how all of NASA's websites would eventually be folded under the main website (and its new design) when he repeated an urgent message from his friend:

"A streak...pieces started breaking off...huge huge huge huge huge...pieces"

I was staring at the TV. Mission Control was reporting not being able to raise the crew, but that was normal right? No one in the control center was acting as if anything was wrong. Ben's friend had to be wrong or was pulling a really sick joke.

"...it came from the west in one piece...then tiny pieces started coming off and i was perplexed..."

Now I was nervous. Scanning the channels for any news, any confirmation that the crew was okay. Ben found it first, but the news wasn't good -- MSNBC was confirming what Ben's friend had described minutes earlier.

I picked up the phone and called my family. I woke up my sister on the west coast. Then I started calling a network of friends all of whom work within different areas of the space industry. Some had heard, some not.

I knew I had to post something to collectSPACE but the idea of putting the facts into print seemed too real, too final. I had a very small connection to one of the members of the crew. Its not anything to write about here, but suffice to say it made what was happening even more upsetting (if that was possible).

I decided that if I was going to post anything I would focus on the existing theme of this site, and wrote about what to do with debris as it was located.

The full archive of the front page posts are here:
http://www.collectspace.com/archive/archive-0203.html

posted 02-01-2004 02:34 PM            

I had some longer thoughts about it in the days after 02/01/03, at my blog here:
http://www.patheticearthlings.com/archives/000403.html

posted 02-01-2004 02:45 PM               

I awoke at 8:40 to watch landing, flipping on the computer first thing to chat with others who were up to watch; Robert and a friend who lives in northern Texas, directly under the path of reentry. For anyone who has read the new book or first chapter (online) of Comm Check by Bill Harwood and Mike Cabbage can relate to this, as it is the correspondance noted there. (see www.spaceflightnow.com for the first chapter).

My friend ran out to watch and came back in flashing "OMG OMG" in instant messenger followed by exactly what I pasted to Robert, above. Indeed I thought he was joking, but it was about a minute later when I heard Charlie Hobough, CAPCOM, do a UHF comm check. It sank in immediately.

I reflected on that morning today, at the memorial at the Space Mirror at Kennedy Space Center, as well as Friday and Saturday as I viewed Columbia, and attended a memorial in Titusville to dedicate new plaques for the fallen crew members.

posted 02-01-2004 07:25 PM               

My wife and I had plans to go skiing that day, and we did so, albeit with a late start. I didn't enjoy myself much, and I had to keep reminding myself to pay attention to my skiing or the day might see another casualty. I definitely wasn't all there.

It was a sad, sad day. One to add to others observed in this past week that I also remember well. May all those lost in these and other accidents rest in peace, and know that we appreciate their sacrifice and grieve their loss.

posted 02-02-2004 12:18 PM               

For some reason that day I got my time wrong and thought the flight had ended 12 hours before.

So I'm stood in the line buying a chocolate bar when I hear the news on the radio, Which was a did I hear that and then it was repeated.

So when the bus came I headed to my inlaws who have Sky and comendered the TV, Which upset my Father in law who was waiting for the soccer results..

The envelopes remain un posted and unopened and still in a desk drawer waiting to be posted.

posted 02-02-2004 12:30 PM               

I went downstairs and turned on the TV. I watched for about a minute -- enough to know that there had been an accident, that the orbiter had broken up, and that there wasn't the slightest chance of survivors.

And then I went on with my day. I figured that the media coverage for the rest of the day would be those same video clips of Columbia breaking up over and over again. Additionally, the commentary would be (understandably) poorly informed and repetitive. (Informed content, I can get here). There would be plenty of time for answers.

Rest in Peace, crews of:

STS-107 (2003)

STS-51L (1986)

Apollo 1 (1967)

posted 02-02-2004 08:08 PM               

When the Merritt Island Tracking Station confirmed that Columbia was not to be found on radar, the fear was real that another orbiter had been lost.

About 9:30 am EST, the first video's were on the air about what had happened. And I believe it was an amatuer video that was first to be aired.

Godspeed to all men and women to have lost their lives in the space program.

posted 02-02-2004 08:10 PM               

"All the astronauts DIED"!

I went into a denial like I never have before or since. First, I just thought I'd heard wrongly. Then, I thought she might be talking about the anniversary of the Challenger accident, until the customer asked, "Was anyone hurt on the ground"? I also started figuring out that yes, this was the day they were coming home...but I still went home and couldn't even turn on the TV. I said to myself, "If it's really true, Mom will call me". I started fanatically scrubbing at a sinkful of dishes, and as I got done, the phone rang.

I picked it up, and without even waiting to hear who it was or saying hello, I said "Have you got the news on have you heard anything I was in the store and the lady said the astronauts died please say they didn't..."

I suppose I needed to hear the confirmation from a close relative before I could hear it from anyone else. I told my mother how I'd been keeping up the mission, how there was an experiment on board from a local high school (Fowler High), etc.

I finally turned on the news after that, and cried for hours.

A year later, wearing my own blue flight suit, I watched the whole tribute from the Super Bowl, and was so proud that my idols were finally getting equal billing among the music stars, sports heroes, and political figures. I teared up with the family interviews, then laughed when Aerosmith 'suited up and launched', looking nervous and frantically trying to tighten their straps! I watched in awe as Josh Groban sang "You Raise Me Up" and the STS-114 crew stood with the responsibility of carrying on in their eyes. And I thought about how that moonwalker was a tribute not only to the past, but the future. Where I felt only sadness a year earlier, now I felt a full range of emotion. I have a feeling the STS-107 crew would have been proud of the job everyone did; I was. I'm so glad the game was in Houston, one year later.

I just have a few questions; in addition to the 114 crew, there were other people on the field performing, dressed in what looked like blue flight suits. Were these other members of the astronaut corps, or performers dressed as astronauts? Was the moonwalker's suit a real spacesuit, or a replica, and was it being worn by an actual astronaut?

Thanks for listening, Carrie

posted 02-03-2004 11:56 PM               

I live in California, and I was ecstatic to see the shuttle re-entry overhead. This is a rare sighting in California, and I missed one a few years ago because I had the date wrong.

I live near San Francisco, and when I woke up at 0545, all I could see was FOG outside my window. I was bummed out, and just went back to sleep. As it turns out, I should have gotten up to look because someone saw the re-entry just a few miles from where I live through a hole in the fog layer.

When I woke up at around 0800, my first thought was, "Ah, they're on the ground now." I turned on the news shortly thereafter and couldn't look away for several hours.

Overcome with emotion, I was crying and shaking. I very nearly threw up.

posted 02-04-2004 02:08 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Carrie:

I watched the whole tribute from the Super Bowl, and was so proud that my idols were finally getting equal billing among the music stars, sports heroes, and political figures. (edited February 02, 2004).]

---

...and then Janet Jackson "launched" and all the shuttle stuff was forgotten.

Tom

posted 02-05-2004 11:38 AM               

I completely forgot about the flight over the next two weeks and on February 1, around the time of the accident, I was in the process of permanently cutting the cable of my internet connection, preparing my computer for the trip to the new home. I had kept the connection intact up to the last moment, because I did not have internet yet in my new home, but never realized I could have watched the Shuttle land.

When I had just arrived at my new home with my computer, some 15 minutes later, my friend Jacques called me on my mobile. ,,Hey, how are you?", I said, surprised that he called. ,,I am fine, but..." He sounded serious, a bit nervous. Something bad had happened, I could hear. "...I think we have a crashed Space Shuttle." "What?" "They have lost contact".

An image of a Shuttle crashing just prior to landing, in the Florida swamps, flashed before my eyes. I had dreamt about it, haven't we all? But he had said: ,,I think", so it must have happened earlier. How can a Shuttle crash before landing? And why wasn't he sure? Hadn't there been any communications? Eye witnesses? Camera's? Why hadn't I watched it over the internet? How stupid to forget - it was even a Saturday, I had all the time.

I switched on the television and zapped to CNN. It was showing a blue sky, with a contrail. The bright dot at the beginning of it was followed by two seperate, bright objects. It looked as if they were missiles, homing in on their target. ,,They shot it down", was my first reaction, still with a terrorist attack on my mind. Then I saw the cloud of debris, which looked too similar to the images we had seen of Mir's re-entry, and I realized the two seperate dots must have been parts fallen off earlier. A rush of disbelieve hit me. ,,They're dead", I concluded, while I tried to remember who were on the crew.

I was immediately aware of the personal impact. Challenger, well... had just happened. But this... Jacques and I had been 9 when Columbia first flew. Se had attracted us to space flight. We were 30 now. To me, it marked the end of a long era and I immediately felt it. Still, I did not feel too emotional about it. It surprised me, but I just didn't. I had not followed this mission and to be honest, I had not missed it. Some years ago, I could not have immagined not knowing who was on a Shuttle crew. Not having the Flight Plan at hand all the time. Not watching NASA TV through the internet during a mission. Yes, it surprised me. But maybe it was just time to move on. Half an hour later, I was on my way to a sports tournament.

The most surreal part of it was the next week. I had followed every mission and no one ever cared about it. Now, I had not followed it and everybody was talking about Space Shuttles. It was even confusing. I had been responsible for the website of our newspaper that weekend and the chief editor asked me that Monday why for heavens sake I had not put any news on it about THE Shuttle, especially me, who was such a fan of spaceflight? I never managed to explain. It just was too complicated.

posted 03-18-2004 05:45 AM               

Hail columbia. Hail STS 107.

posted 04-08-2004 04:07 PM               

Just wondered why would the news media be calling you ? In what way are you associated to the flight of 107 ?

posted 02-01-2005 11:13 PM               

There would be an inquiry. Filing cabinets would be locked. Software had to be pristine. I had to get to building 5 right away. I didn't have a cell phone with me then, so I just drove as quick as I could to the main gate at JSC.

My hand was trembling as I held out my badges for the guard to check. The guard had no idea something had gone wrong with the shuttle landing. I was afraid if I said something he wouldn't let me on-site.

Parked and ran into the building. Asked SimControl if the software had been installed yet. No. And it wouldn't be installed until further notice. Good.

I was still under the assumption (hope) that Columbia didn't land at KSC for some reason, but that it landed somewhere else like Tallahassee or Mobile. We just had to find out where it landed or maybe even crash landed.

Told SimControl that I was going to remain in 5 just in case the flight director wanted any scenarios run with the 107 training load. The building was locked down. They made a list of personnel remaining in the building. My name was on a list that allowed me to remain and help with whatever was asked of us. Found a box of 107 flight data files that were used by the 107 crew that were ready for pick up for archive just sitting in the simulator control room. Had them moved to a more secure location.

I watched all the news channels. No report of a landing anywhere. No report of paramedics being called to aid a strange plane that crashed in a field. Nothing.

The reports of the shuttle breaking up over Texas seemed more and more of a reality. The more I channel surfed the more often a coworker kept telling me to "get over it". I'm sure this guy wonders why I currently think he's the north end of a mule going south.

A few hours passed and the flight director made the decision that he didn't need our simulator to recreate anything in the entry. He didn't need to recreate anything because it wouldn't make any difference. The 107 crew were lost. It was an awful thought that now had more credibility than before. I went into the bathroom to have a cry in private before I went home. No in the mood to hear another "get over it". When I walked into the bathroom I remembered how the summer before I was in the same spot and heard a little girl singing her heart out. How out of place but wonderful! I looked at the first stall and could see little legs hanging from the adult toilet just swinging back and forth in time to the little tune. What a welcome sight in such a serious building. Chawala was holding the door shut for her little guest. She saw me looking down and looked herself to see the tiny swinging legs. We both laughed and exchanged smiles.

Clark wearing silky oversized aloha shirts that fluttered as she walked. Me getting the attention of one of their trainers through the glass door as I walked by during one of their training sessions. He looked like he'd been sitting in front of the workstation a few hours too many so I got him to smile and wave back. McCool coming in on my time to get a sneak peak at the new MEDS crew station. He flew an ascent and entry, something like that. Later he was chosen for a MEDS flight. Couldn't think of any other person flying MEDS. Lots of memories.

Every one of the 107 crew I had seen around the simulator building the past few years. None of them were grumpy. They were always upbeat and cheerful. My opinion is that they were all ready to pass into the next life in peace when their time came. It's something that is always in my mind when I think of that unbearable day.

I couldn't bring myself to type this into this thread last year. It's hard to believe it's been two years.

Volunteered to help walk through the East Texas brambles to find pieces of Columbia. I know what the switches and meters look like. Etc. Thought I knew more than most about some of the hardware and could help. I was 47 at the time and overweight. Coworkers half my age didn't put their name in, can't speak for them on why they didn't offer to help. Don't know if my name never got forwarded because someone thought I would have a heart attack or something. Perhaps they had all the names they needed. Just wanted to help. Willing to get my jeans torn up and my fingers cut and pinched. The least I could do.

Have helped get the simulator checked out and ready to go for the crews in training. My company gave my group a technical achievement award for helping with Return to Flight. What an honor. With or without it, I know I have helped in some way with getting back into space.

posted 02-02-2005 05:44 PM               

It was a dreadful day and, like everyone else who has posted, I was numb. In retrospect, it's strange how I can recall the exact words of the news broadcast; the same happened with Challenger. I remember, as a 15 year old, watching the news with my parents and hearing Sue Lawley (a famous British news anchor) say "It's 6pm on 28th January 1986 and the main news tonight is the major disaster in the American space program - the Space Shuttle explodes soon after lift-off, all seven aboard are presumed dead."

Like most of you, the sense of deja vu was one of the most terrible things about the disaster, the awful feeling in the pit of your stomach that won't go away and the constant feeling of ... if only.

posted 02-03-2005 02:17 PM               

Well, the story got an entirely different slant altogether. Actually, it became an entirely different story altogether. And it was updated and updated again with the latest news bits until the deadline was over.

THIS story I had prepared until then was only published a month later, in a shortened version, adding a background box about "what was this mission all about after all".

posted 02-03-2005 05:42 PM               

Per Ardua ad astra