Destruction of Space Shuttle Columbia

A disaster in the lightness of space weighs heavily on those back on Earth

February 03, 2003|The Morning Call

Many who heard the news Saturday that the Space Shuttle Columbia had been destroyed in flight had to mentally re-boot for a second or two in order to comprehend -- so routine has space adventure become that another flight's progress was in the background of awareness. By mid-day however, the image of an aircraft contrail flaring out of shape was being shown continuously on television, and the nation's second space disaster in 17 years was a fact.

The paradox is that as routine as flights by the space shuttle fleet have become, we are in awe of the skill, scientific knowledge and ordinary bravery that goes into them. Astronauts hold a special place in our esteem, they are people who have "the right stuff," to borrow the phrase that Tom Wolfe coined in his 1979 book about the pioneering Mercury Program astronauts.

These days, the shuttle crews look like America, being male and female, of different races and including naturalized citizens and those who sought the American dream of accomplishment as their birthright. On board were commander Rick D. Husband, an Air Force colonel from Texas; Dr. Laurel Salton Clark, a Navy flight surgeon from Wisconsin; shuttle pilot William C. McCool, a Navy commander from Texas; Lt. Col. Michael P. Anderson from Washington and one of only a few African American astronauts; Dr. David Brown, a Navy pilot and physician from Virginia who once performed as a circus acrobat; Dr. Kalpana Chawla, an aerospace engineer from India who emigrated to this country; and Col. Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut. Six were married; five had children.

Col. Ramon's presence led NASA and other federal agencies to increase security measures around flight preparations. So far, there is no evidence of terrorism, chiefly because the Columbia was 40 miles above the Earth and traveling 12,000 mph when it broke apart. And it is too soon to usefully speculate what went wrong.

Astronauts and space scientists say they explore on behalf of humanity, not just the United States. In one in-flight conversation, Col. Roman spoke of having trouble finding Israel, or any particular country, as he looked from a shuttle window. His flight represented Israel's longing to be part of human purposes beyond the headlines from the Middle East. It was the promise and hope that makes space travel attractive to so many, in fiction and in fact.

The sum of the sadness about Saturday's disaster is that it ended a flight -- for just a few, for just a few days -- that escaped all the foibles, stupidity and cruelty back below.

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