While the Space Shuttle would eventually fly its last flight on July 8, 2011, its contribution to human spaceflight remains immeasurable. Here both sides argue the pros and cons of NASA's chariot to the stars. Safety and staggering operating costs had caused many to question its usefulness in the future of human spaceflight. All rights reserved.Two years removed from the Columbia disaster, the June 2005 issue of Popular Mechanics investigated a growing sentiment that the space shuttle needed to be retired. "As we continue to expand humanity's reach in this new era of exploration, we must always embrace NASA's core value of safety," he said.įollow on Facebook and on Twitter at collectSPACE. We are thankful that NASA's adventurers shared their lives with us and made life better on Earth." "While this will always be solemn day, it's also one of gratitude. "NASA's Day of Remembrance is about pausing, remembering and uplifting the legacies of the NASA family who gave their lives to advance the cause of discovery," said Nelson in a statement. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who flew on the last space shuttle mission that preceded the Challenger tragedy, was scheduled to lead an observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where monuments stand to Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia crews. Space shuttle Columbia: NASA's first shuttle in space New NASA video honors fallen astronauts of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia NASA's fallen astronauts: a photo memorial Related: Space travel: Danger at every phase (infographic) The employees at Ames Research Center in California observed a moment of silence, while Glenn Research Center planned a panel discussion on safety with aeronautics and spaceflight experts. Similar wreath and flag-laying ceremonies took place at Langley Research Center in Virginia, Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama and Stennis Space Flight Center in Mississippi. NASA also marked the Day of Remembrance and 20th anniversary of the STS-107 tragedy at other ceremonies around the country.Īt the Johnson Space Center in Houston, a T-38 jet flyover concluded a commemoration held at the center's Astronaut Memorial Grove, where trees have been planted for each member of the NASA astronaut corps who have died. The three, joined by the other attendees, then observed a moment of silence. ![]() "I don't ever want to have to go through another Columbia," said Cabana.īefore concluding the ceremony, Cabana, Petro and Sheryl Chaffee, chair of The Astronauts Memorial Foundation and daughter of Apollo 1 astronaut Roger Chaffee, placed a wreath at the base of the Space Mirror. For Columbia, it was the agency's choice to keep flying after knowing that insulation foam was separating from the vehicle's external fuel tank, creating the risk for impact damage on the orbiter's susceptible heat shield. In each of the post-tragedy investigations, it was found that by NASA diverting from its own stated flight rules, lives were lost. NASA associate administrator Bob Cabana, Kennedy Space Center director Janet Petro and The Astronauts Memorial Foundation chair Sheryl Chaffee position a wreath dedicated to "Remembering Our Fallen Heroes" at the base of the Space Mirror Memorial in Florida on NASA's Day of Remembrance, Jan. "Why do we have to keep repeating the same hard lessons that this normalization of deviance - that you can have something wrong, but as long as nothing bad happens, it's okay. "It is so important that they learn these lessons so that they are not repeated again," he said. But more importantly, it's so we do not forget the hard lessons learned from Apollo, Challenger and Columbia." "Obviously, it is to honor our fallen comrades on the mirror, those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in our quest to explore. ![]() "Why do we do this every year? Why do we have a NASA Day of Remembrance?" said Bob Cabana, NASA associate administrator and a former astronaut. The names of nine other astronauts who lost their lives while training, most during aircraft accidents, are positioned around those of the three fallen crews. The names of the STS-107 crew members - commander Rick Husband, pilot William McCool, mission specialists Michael Anderson, David Brown, Kapala Chawla and Laurel Clark and the first Israeli to fly into space, payload specialist Ilan Ramon - appear on the memorial above and between the names of the astronauts lost in the 1986 space shuttle Challenger tragedy and the 1967 Apollo 1 fire on the launch pad. Dedicated in 1991, the Space Mirror Memorial displays the names of each fallen astronaut cut through the surface of the 42.5-foot-high by 50-foot-wide (13-by-15-meter) monument's polished black granite, such that light can shine through from behind.
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