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Retrace the final, tragic flight of the space shuttle Columbia, from its launch to its catastrophic end on Feb. 1, 2003.
NASA observed its annual "Day of Remembrance" for fallen astronauts on Friday with ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, as well as at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and other NASA centers. In this 10th-anniversary commentary, NBC News' longtime Cape Canaveral correspondent, Jay Barbree, looks back at the loss of the shuttle Columbia and its crew:
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — On the morning of that fateful Saturday, the first day of February 2003, the Columbia astronauts prepared their ship for its landing at their Florida launch site.
Touchdown was set for 9:16 a.m. Eastern time, and on Columbia's 255th trip around Earth in 16 days, commander Rick Husband was given the "go" to put on his brakes and leave orbit. The senior astronaut was flying Columbia backward and tail-up when he ignited the ship's two orbiting maneuvering rockets. Twelve thousand pounds of thrust pounded against Columbia's forward speed for two minutes and 38 seconds. The burn was "right on the nose," and it slowed the big shuttle's forward motion just enough to drop it out of orbit.
Columbia slammed into Earth's atmosphere at 400,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean. This is when a spacecraft skips along the upper surface of the planet's air, much like a stone skipping across a lake. The first effects of re-entry heat can be felt when the shuttle penetrates the atmosphere. Its surface grows hotter and hotter as it plows deeper and deeper into the thickening air. The plasma sheath around the shuttle is hotter than the molten lava pouring from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano.
In physics, plasma is a highly ionized gas containing an approximately equal number of positive ions and electrons. The super-hot plasma is the product of friction created by a fast-moving object through air. It first appeared to Columbia's astronauts as a faint salmon glow. Nearing the California coast, Columbia was dropping like a rock. Its nose-up attitude was focusing the plasma's heat on the reinforced carbon-carbon panels covering the shuttle's nose and the leading edges of its wings.
Dec. 31, 2008: NASA releases information about what the astronauts went through in their final moments onboard the space shuttle Columbia in 2003. NBC's Tom Costello reports.
"This is amazing," pilot Willie McCool said. "It's really getting, uh, fairly bright out there," he added, staring at the growing intensity of the fire outside.
Veteran commander Rick Husband smiled. It wasn't his first re-entry. He knew this was only the beginning of the blast furnace that was yet to come. "Yeah, you definitely don't want to be outside now," he told his pilot.
Columbia crossed the California coast at 8:53 a.m. Eastern time, 23 minutes away from its Florida touchdown. Below, two news photographers had set up their cameras to get a view of the returning shuttle, but instead of seeing the perfect trail of plasma they expected, the photographers saw a big red flare shoot from underneath Columbia.
The two looked at each other. Was that thing coming apart?
Six minutes later, Columbia crossed the sky 40 miles above north central Texas. The super-hot plasma sped freely through a six-inch hole in Columbia's left wing, made by a chunk of falling tank foam on launch day. The blast melted the ship's inner structure. America's first space shuttle was ripped into more than 84,000 pieces, killing Columbia's dedicated crew of seven.
Following a seven-month investigation, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, chaired by retired Navy Adm. Harold W. Gehman Jr., issued a scathing report, confirming that the "the foam did it" and indicting NASA as a co-conspirator. The board declared that "the NASA organizational culture had as much to do with the accident as well as the foam." Its report cited eight missed opportunities to detect the problem during the flight, and identified schedule pressures and communications breakdowns as contributing factors.
NASA decided to retire its space shuttle fleet after meeting its obligations to complete the building of the International Space Station, and drew up plans for safer rockets and spacecraft.
President George W. Bush approved a new generation of space vehicles, aimed at sending astronauts to the moon under a project named Constellation. Then, along came Barack Obama. The new president canceled Constellation, and since then, NASA has struggled.
Today, 10 years after the Columbia tragedy, America's $6.6 billion Florida spaceport sits mostly idle. Several projects are trying to get started. Private companies are working on spaceships that could launch astronauts from U.S. soil again starting sometime in the next several years. NASA is developing a launch system that could be sending Americans beyond Earth orbit a decade from now. Meanwhile, about 8,400 NASA employees and contractors are caretakers of what was once the home of the world's leader in space exploration. Those with vision have moved on to more promising projects, while many of those who are left mark time and cut grass.
More about the Columbia tragedy:
- Leaders look back at Columbia, look ahead to Mars
- 10 myths surrounding the Columbia disaster
- Columbia's loss still serves as warning to NASA
- NASA celebrates its fallen astronauts
- Film finds uplifting story amid Columbia's loss
- Special report on the Columbia tragedy
Jay Barbree is in his 55th year with NBC News as a space analyst, correspondent and consultant. He is the only journalist who covered all 166 flights by American astronauts from U.S. soil, and is now writing a book on Neil Armstrong's life of flight.
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Hard to believe 10 years have passed. It seems only yesterday.
Prayers for all of the families.
Oops, meant to post here not below...
As Columbia's mission in part was education I feel compelled to correct this statement. Friction is not what makes the air against a space ship so hot. The high temperature of reentry is from a process call Aerodynamic heating. Essentially compression of the air against the vehicle results in it's sharp rise in temperature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerodynamic_heating
I am not a science major or anything remotely close to that. But what you described sounds like friction to me. "Air against the vehicle results in its sharp rise in temperature." When my finger rubs "against" the surface of paper it gets hot from friction. But I am could be wrong, actually I am sure I will be blasted for my misunderstanding.
What does your post have to do with my generic memory post?
I understand your point. .... but it should have been a stand alone post. :)
It's just so sad.
How this unfolded is simple. There were missing heat tiles and they new it. Instead of trying a repair on them there or coming up with something else they chose to let them come back the way it was. That was one way of finding out what would happen. Wheater it could stand the re-entry with the tiles missing or not. Well they found out. It couldn't. Just another experiment and those people were the guniea pigs.
As a kid, I watched all of the "space race" launches on TV. Once, I missed a televised launch and I asked the teacher about the rocket launch. She said it did not launch, it had to be "scrubbed". I thought how stupid to delay a launch just to wash and scrub it down. I was eight. Forty years later, here in Dallas, I grabbed my wife and told her we could see the shuttle trail from our backyard as it headed to a landing in Florida. We saw the trail but something wasn't right. We had the TV on and I could hear mission control repeating its call for a confirmation of Columbia coming out of orbit. I told my wife "we just saw the shuttle disintegrate" She didn't believe me until they gave the lock-down order @ mission control. We cried together. Time does pass so fast.
At least Reagan didn't order them to fly in spite of the danger like he did with Challenger.
I'm sorry Okicize, your statement is inaccurate. They did NOT know the tiles were missing. that was the point made in the investigation report 8 months after. They had opportunities to search for and find potential problems during the flight, but those opportunities were dropped in priority to the point that they were all skipped. However, there have been critiques concerning whether any shuttles should have been up at all ever. Because, even if they had found the hole, there was no way it could have been fixed during an EVA. There were no materials developed for the patching of a hole on the underside of the shuttles should one have been discovered.
After Columbia, there was a procedure implemented using the arm and a camera, that could be used to film the underside of the shuttle to search for holes. But, should one have been discovered, the shuttle would have had to be brought home anyway, or been stranded in space, because there was no way to patch the underside of a shuttle while it was still in space.
Aerodynamic friction is reall aerodynamic drag which is not what causes the temperature to rise nor is it the same as dry friction like rubbing your hands together.
The rise in temperature, like pointed out by Sanescience, is the result of air flow relative to the craft being slowed down to a standstill (as it comes in contact with the craft's leading edge) which causes a rise in pressure and temperature.
Starderup, you need to growup. Reagon had nothing to do with the launch of Challenger. Good grief, what an idiot.
As for Jay Geo, you are right, it is called atmospheric friction...
No Okicize, there were no missing heat tiles, it was from the hole in the wing allowing gases to melt the interior structures. This was proved by the sensor readings during the breakup...you need to do some research.
And no Starderup, Reagan had nothing to do with the decision to launch Challenger, that was up to Morton-Thiokol managers and the mission mangers. Oh, and Bush was President when this happened. So much much for truth and accuracy coming from liberals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia_disaster
feb 1 2003 ... I believe it was not b=Bush, but Bill Clinton that was president when this happened ... he had just been inaugurated about 2 weeks before this incident ...
let me say that again, it was George W. Bush that was president, I'm thinking 1993 not 2003 sorry
Aerodynamic Heating is a very specific form of friction.
In a very simplistic description, the object develops a boundary air molecule layer and the fluid (air) mass flows across the boundary layer. These air molecules rubbing against one another are generating heat through friction.
Different but also the same as rubbing your fingers together.
I grew up in Daytona Beach, and my friends and I witnessed, in person, the Challenger explosion. We also watched the 1st space shuttle launch, which was Columbia. Those people who are so ignorant to believe that any President was to blame for any of them need to learn the facts! Most of the people working the shuttle missions on the ground were Astronauts on prior missions! God bless the Astronauts and their families!
Just had to correct this article's headline basic information: This was NOT America's first shuttle, first shuttle accident, or first fatal shuttle. That was Challenger in 1986. Wanted to make sure those 7 weren't forgotten!
okicize
There were missing heat tiles and they new it. Instead of trying a repair on them there or coming up with something else they chose to let them come back the way it was.
It was far more involved than just the missing tiles. It goes clear back to a failure to learn from the explosion of Challenger in the 80's.
The Solid rocket boosters were designed with very simple joint system that was sealed with a resistant putty. These boosters would drop into the ocean, an be torn apart and re-assembled for the next launch. The joints were a tongue and groove joint with a coating of a fire resistive putty that had to be scraped off and a new batch of putty applied. Despite 3 occaisions that after use inspections showed the putty nearly failing, no change was ever made until after Challenger exploded. Then the joint was redesigned to be more effective.
Columbia suffered a similar failure, but this time with the external fuel tank.
A light weight foam was applied to the external tank to keep the fuel from freezing. The original formula almost never failed to keep the foam insulation adhered to the tank, but the foam used chemicals the environmentally conscience NASA could not accept to continue to use.
NASA spent several years testing environmentally friendlier formulas. Finally although it was prone to fail under the intense vibrations of lift-off one was approved. This despite the understanding that chunks of foam of some size would fall off and possilbly strike the tiles and damage them.
The tiles were chosen because the material was far superior to the alternate of a solid carbon coating used on previous vehicles. The tiles would be a better insulator, much more than the carbon shield and handle and if damage occured, the smaller tiles would be easier to replace. But the tiles were very brittle and the adheasives were known to fail if they were struck too hard. What they did know that if too many tiles were damaged, the system could fail, and the shuttle could burn up in re-entry.
Despite knowing these tiles could be damaged NASA then did not investigate ways to repair the damage in space if a questionable amount of damage did occur.
When the historically large piece of foam clearly struck Columbia, they simply crossed their fingers since several other shuttle missions had experience some foam striking the tiles causing some tiles to be damaged, these had appeared to have no serious problem threatening the safety of the shuttle.
There is one other unhearalded environmental failure, the World Trade Center Towers. The fire-proofing for the towers started out as asbestos based. The towers were being constructed with this when NYC determined that Asbestos should not be used and banned it's use. About 7 floors of the structure was erected with the suspect material. Above that a substitute fireproofing was used which was a brittle cementicious mineral fiber mix. When the Jets hit the upper floors the fire proofing was believed to have been knocked off the structural steel, unknowingly decreasing the time for rescue operations to be carried out. Worse yet because the collapse was imminent, when it did collapse, the asbestos in the lower floors was disturbed making those who sifted through the ruins breathing asbestos. We will lose many more good people because something better was not available.
It also wasn't NASA's first accident. Most of you are too young to remember but three astronauts died in January 1967. It was to be the first Apollo mission and even though it wasn't during an actual flight, the three were killed during the "plugs out" test. The news of that accident didn't reach the general public until hours after the tragedy. "Gus" Grissom had already flown in space, as had Ed White. Ed White also happened to be the first American to perform an EVA, or going outside the capsule. For Roger Chaffee, this would have been his first flight into space.
No matter what type of accident occurred, all these brave men and women, as well as those who flew successful mission without incident, deserve our praise and respect. So many of us could not possibly understand the hard work and sacrifice they endured to have the opportunity and privilige of going into space.
Sanescience,
is it self evident then that friction contain the air molecules between ship and earth for compression, therefore friction causes aerodynamic heating on re-entry?
It's also a tragedy that we are still not flying in space. If Obama hadn't cancelled Constellation and decimated NASA's budget, we would probably orbiting our own manned spacecraft right now. Instead, we are struggling to get back into manned orbit with an ever shrinking shoestring budget and a hodgepodge of private, foreign and government projects that at best won't launch an American astronaut from Cape Canaveral for at least seven years. It's a crying shame for America and it's record of innovation and achievement in what used to be the leader in manned space exploration and technology.
Pete, our country almost tanked economically just before Obama took office. Suddenly pretty much everyone had less money than they thought they had. People lost their retirement savings and anyone who had invested in stocks, directly or indirectly, took a hit. It is not surprising that NASA took a hit, as well.
I would like to see Obama reinstate NASA. I have a very bad feeling about the privatization of the space program. By and large, all private companies do is look to make a profit. Only the national program would take into account scientific exploration and international cooperation.
Given the state of the country -- and the obstructionists in Congress, particularly when it comes to government spending -- I'm not sure when or if NASA will be able to get back on its feet.
'Heat' is the result of increased movement of atoms that bounce and rub against each other....some call that friction but 'yot ta hey' do I know? Choctaw for "WTF"?
To clarify; heat from reentry comes from two different sources, friction and compression. Of the two, at the speeds that the shuttle was moving; compression would provide most of the heat. Basic thermodynamics, the same thing that makes a diesel engine run and your air conditioner work. See the Combined Gas Law.
Again....what does compression basically involve....the bumping and rubbing of atoms....friction.
Not really Stack. And to everybody, there's a difference between heat and temperature.
Though the act of compression in practice does introduce a little bit of heat into the system, it's not significant and the amount of heat pretty much stays the same. However, compression increases the temperature of the system, this is because we are concentrating the amount of heat into a smaller volume. This is the basis for how compressors for a/c, refrigerators, can of cold air, etc works.
The high temps of reentry are mostly due to compression, not friction as there is a lot of compression going on.
Mitchell
@winston 1205 columbia most certainly WAS our first space shuttle. Challenger was our second shuttle, it was merely involved in disaster long before columbia, as it exploded over our heads during takeoff. No , it wasnt the first shuttle ACCIDENT, but it most certainly WAS the first shuttle. please dont correct people with incorrect information.
It was 20 years ago today, not 10.
It was 10 years ago. 20 years ago would have made it 1993. The Columbia died in 2003.
10 years, Mitch. 2013-10=2003
However, it was 20 years ago today, Sargent Pepper taught the band to play.
Maybe that's where you got confused.
no it is 10 years happened in 2003. You are probably thinking about the Discovery back in 1986.
Uh...check your history, Mitch. Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Are you thinking of the Challenger explosion? That happened on Jan. 28, 1986.
Not So Up On History Mitch, it was 10 years ago, Today.
You're thinking of the Challenger disaster which was in 1986...
Mitch, did you flunk history? It was 10 years ago that the Columbia blew apart upon re-entry. The Challenger blew apart seconds after lift off on Jan. 28, 1986.
As Columbia's mission in part was education I feel compelled to correct this statement. Friction is not what makes the air against a space ship so hot. The high temperature of reentry is from a process call Aerodynamic heating. Essentially compression of the air against the vehicle results in it's sharp rise in temperature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerodynamic_heating
Better check your history, Mitch. You must be thinking of Challenger that went down in 1986.
You need to pick a different handle: The Columbia disaster happened on February 1, 2003. It was the Challenger disaster, which happened on January 28, 1986, closer to the 20 years you remember, but still 27 years ago.
For all you telling Mitch he's thinking of Challenger...even that was 27 years ago, not 20!
The guy made a mistake!. Why are some of you so mean spirited?.
@Man of The Box5 ....Thanks for the good laugh ....It is always ONE ......I was telling someone on the phone to check it out on Internet and he did the same thing ........before finishing my sentence he goes "20 YEARS YELLING "at me not 10 .........So Mitch you are not alone .
Hey Mitch don't feel bad - my mind went to the Challenger disaster first too. I can still remember where I was and who I was with when it happened. Not to say the Columbia disaster wasn't as horrific. The only solace I could come up with is those astronauts who died did so doing what they loved.
Yeah, Thanks, BlackBama for cancelling a wonderful and educational program. And, leaving yet another hole in the American society!! Pretty soon, everything will be gone!
Wow, you are so disrespectful to the POTUS. When you leave then this country will be perfect!
That was unnecessary!!
I mean really, BlackBama? Did you prefer to Clinton or Bush as WhiteClinton or WhiteBush? I agree with the rest of your commentary but bringing race into it is so weak and very unoriginal.
Yep, Barry Soroto crushed NASA, changing the mission from Science to making muslims feel good about their non-accomplishments. From leader of Space Exploration to grass cutting. NASA has falled and it's sad. But that's Foward in the Obama kingdom.
The other replies can take him to task for the obvious racism. I would like to take him to task for his obvious ignorance. The decision to retire the space shuttle fleet was done by then POTUS George W Bush. This gentleman would have known this if he had taken any time to learn about what he's commenting on. Sadly, this point is even made in this article!
And if he wouldn't have canceled it, you along with others would have complained that he was using tax money to fund expensive space programs that have no financial ends.... Oh wait I'm pretty sure that happened anyways. The moon is not where our focus should be... Its super expensive to get there.. Focus on mars and Jupiters moons...
NASA really is a 'Buck Rogers' fantasy and have proved it knows little of real space exploration in its estimations and program projections. Obama was correct in discontinuing it. The article was written to get up your old American nostalgia of past 'greatness.' That's the technique Ray-gun used to get elected- nostalgia.
Why in the world do you find it necessary to insult the President? Our space program has not ended nor has our development of a new space craft ceased. The Orion is close to being complete and will be tested in 2014. We just landed a space vehicle on Mars which is gathering vital information. If China wants to bother landing on the moon, who cares. Been there...done that. Many Russian rockets fail yearly. We do not hear of China's failures. Iran is just now sending a monkey into space. I seem to recall that Russia and the U.S. did that 40 or more years ago. We are still the leader in space exploration. I am just so happy that President Obama is our President if for no other reason than to annoy all the racists. What a disgrace you are to our county.
Football Fan1
this guy is probably a tea party radical, and klan member
You told on yourself......Exploring space when people were losing jobs....with the economy crumbling....and the deficit sky rocketing is about as FAR OUT OF SPACE as we needed to be.......EARTH to FOOTBALL....just keep watching the SuperBowl!!
What the hell does the President's RACE have to do with the state of NASA? Bigots like you lose all credibility when you make comments like this. Not to mention that you're soiling an article written to mark the 10th anniversary of the loss of Columbia and her crew which, I might add, included an African-American lead scientist amongst its heroes.
I find it interesting that while Bush cancelled the shuttle program, he approved of a new space vehicle program that Obama cancelled. But what choice did Obama have, he inherited a very expensive war on terror. As a white republican, I think Obama did the right thing under the circumstances. I just wish we had less pork in our budget and more ambition in exploration.
He might have inherited a lot of things. But he still hasn't done anything about these problems.
Don't forget, not only did President Bush cancel the Shuttle program, he also did not fund the Constellation program. All of the funding for Constellation was to come from 'savings on current project' or 'from the savings of shutting down the Shuttle program'. Never mind there were no savings on the Shuttle program until the program was shut down. Even then, the Constellation ws 10 years behind schedule, and over $10 billion over cost estimates.
Frank- interesting you bring the clan up considering that it is made up of southern white democrats. But ignoring history and fact are a trade mark of the left. The tea party simply want the constitution to be followed. They have their racists and bad elements like any group left or right is going to. I can say with fear of contradiction that most of the tea party are civilized decent human being that just want a rule of law. The lefts version I believe was the occupy movements. IF you think they were rational and the tea party was not i think you need to reevaluate you values in life. Yes this guy was racists and there was no call for it. But obama has not been a good president when it comes to education or jobs. Take this as you will.
Posts about it being fantasy and not down to earth practical are right. But we need that fantasy to develop the future. We MUST travel to Mars with astronauts, not just unmanned.
Interplanetary travel will be necessary and normal, perhaps before the babies of today have grown old and left us. Population expansion and other factors simply do not allow for any other inevitable conclusion.
Manned Moon outpost is doable now. Essentially an ISS with legs sitting on the surface of the Moon. Modules can land on the Moon unmanned, using methods we have seen used in the Mars landers then retrieved by astronauts later to assemble into an outpost. Obviously supply and personnel transfers will take longer than the few minutes to get to orbit, but certainly within our capabilities.
I don't fault Obama for cancelling current programs, the economy simply did not support that kind of spending at the time.
I hope there will be something again soon.
Sad to think that we were once the leader in this area and now.... nothing. We learned and gained so much from the exploration of space and sending people to the moon and now we sit idle as others pass us. The Chinese will send people to the moon while we watch. We depend on Russia to send our folks to the space station while we watch.
The plans were drawn up to send us back to the moon and then beyond, but have been cancelled. You have to ask yourself, WHY?!
I suspect many of us know the reasons, and others have no clue. Lets just watch the next four years, shall we?
"The plans were drawn up to send us back to the moon and then beyond, but have been cancelled. You have to ask yourself, WHY?!"
That's easy. We weren't there 2 start with. It was all-just another-Kennedy family conspiracy.
The U.S. economy gained many advantages from the '60s space program: integrated circuits, weather & GPS satellites, solar panels, and medical breakthroughs. There is no point in repeating the Apollo program with newer hardware, because little new knowledge would be gained benefitting our economy. However, if we set a goal to explore the moon with intelligent robotics, the struggle to do it would leave the U.S. in a commanding position in the robotics software revolution here on Earth. We would lead in robotics for manufacturing, agriculture, construction, transportation, military, hospitality, food services, landscaping and household work.
I hope the Chinese send people to the Moon, and our intelligent robots are there to greet them. When the Chinese leave a few days later, our robots will wave goodbye to their temporary guests!
Jay, thanks for your reporting!
While you guys defending the ignorants that stop the proceeding for space shuttle program,WHO did WHAT thanks to Obama administration and his political strategy ......The IRAN are on the move and CHINA next in line and we will stand in line for Chinese food stamps and sleeping under the California bridges .OH wait the minute ,we'll have to learn Chinese in order to teach our children to integrate in the Chinese Corporate world .Can Obama go 4 more.....?
Too many wars; too little money, too little interest.
A note for you ignorant racist revisionists - Nixon killed the moon program, Reagan shortchanged the shuttle program until it became the white elephant it was, (but damn it was fun while it lasted!) and Bush finally ended that program completely. Obama has had very little influence over the space program - yet.
Obama cancelled the replacement program that Bush approved, but in defense of Obama, he did inherit a very expensive war. I wish this country leaders could find a vision about space exploration and reduce all of the pork spending to pay for it!
Don't forget, not only did President Bush cancel the Shuttle program, he also did not fund the Constellation program. All of the funding for Constellation was to come from 'savings on current projects' or 'from the savings of shutting down the Shuttle program'. Never mind there were no savings on the Shuttle program until the program was shut down. Even then, the Constellation was 10 years behind schedule, and over $10 billion over cost estimates.
President Obama did the right thing by shutting it down. He also gave NASA the mission to design heavy lift capability, to visit an asteroid, to eventually go to Mars, and even back to the moon. Except he told them to do it is steps that will build on each other, and funded everything he asked them to do.
Corrections to the corrections to the corrections...
Shuttle program was scaled back after the Challenger disaster in 1986. Happened to happen on Reagan's watch. He had very little to do with it.
Bush laid out Constellation in his Moon, Mars, and Beyond vision in 2004. Yes, it called for the retirement of the space shuttles, but they would have been useless for this purpose anyway. The shuttle, while a marvel of engineering, was a space truck, designed to move cargo into low-Earth orbit. It was never capable of deep space missions. For that yes, we do have to have an Apollo-like capsule, as that is still the best method of transport beyond low-Earth orbit.
Obama canceled Constellation. While it was behind, several important steps such as the construction of the Orion crew module and the construction and testing of the motor for the Aries 1 rocket were already well underway. He left NASA with exactly nothing in its place, other than some vague language about an asteroid (hardly worth the effort to send humans to - you have to harpoon the thing in order to stay because it has no gravity and thus zero human explorational value) and maybe Mars down the line. NASA'S budget did increase, but by pittance - they were no closer to being able to accomplish Obama's "plans" than when Constellation was in force. The task to design a heavy lifter was already set out by Constellation as well. All the cancelling of the program did was cancel a program and then ask NASA to do...exactly what the program would have done anyway. Obama would have scrapped every bit of Constellation except Orion was already being built. He initially called for it to become the new escape vehicle for the ISS - and what a waste that would have been! A capsule designed for deep space to be parked at the station as a lifeboat??? Idiotic at best. Political mumbo-jumbo took care of that problem by renaming it from the Orion CEV (Crew Exploration Vehicle) to the Orion MPCV (Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle) which apparently made it not the "same" as Constellation and allowed it to continue. Absolutely no change to the actual ship.
Obama has NOT funded "everything he asked NASA to do". NASA is struggling to do what it's been doing for years - making a silk purse out of that sow's ear budget that Congress keeps giving them. Increasing the budget for NASA would be so easy and it would make absolutely NO statistical difference to our debt. Doubling it from .1% to .2 % of our federal budget would allow them to move forward by leaps and bounds - and create no small amount of jobs along the way. You don't think all that money just gets put on a rocket and sent to space do you? Nope, it pays the engineers and scientists who design the thing and plan the mission.
Anyone who wants this country to succeed needs to support NASA. By giving them the capability to accomplish great things we will inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists that this nation so desperately needs. You can try to legislate STEM education all you want - kids aren't gonna stick with it unless they have an inspiration to work towards, like going to the Moon. I'm speaking from experience here - I'm on the verge of deciding whether or not to continue pursuing a STEM degree. Although I'm passionate about this subject, I'm not sure the rewards that are waiting for me in terms of opportunities are worth it. As I would like to work for NASA, until Congress and this president decide to give them free rein, there's not much that's waiting for me there, if anything at all. Not to say NASA is dead - they have plenty going on in other divisions in terms of science and unmanned missions (Curiosity), but I'm interested in the human spaceflight side of things - spacecraft and rocket design, and possibly flying myself. THAT is where NASA has been hit hardest by this administration's ineptitude.
thought the first one blew up in 1986?
Challenger died on liftoff in 1986. Columbia died on return in 2003.
How odd they didn't even mention Challenger ... the references to the "first space shuttle" destruction threw me off at first; my initial thought was "that was wayyy back in the '80s, must be a typo..."
I believe, when they make reference to Columbia as "the first space shuttle" they do not mean that it was the first shuttle loss (since clearly Challenger was the first). Columbia was the first Space Shuttle in the NASA fleet.
Columbia was the first shuttle in space. Enterprise was the first shuttle, but only flew in Earth's atmosphere to test flying and gliding back to land.
The Columbia disaster was ten years ago 2003. The Challenger disaster that you may be referring to happened in 86 and if you are doing the math that was 27 years ago. If your going to challenge something with a name like History, know yours
It wouldn't have been so tragic if just the female astronauts had died.
Yeah, killing 7 men is OK. I see our next serial killer is on line.
Trying to entertain yourself bumrush? This isn't the place to stir $hit up.
@bumsrush!
Too bad YOU weren't the ONLY one on there. That is just the most asinine comment I have ever heard someone say. I cannot believe anyone could be so cold hearted as to say something like that. You MR BUMsrush need to go crawl back under the rock you came from.
troll
As someone who has met a good number of female astronauts (all of whom have way more balls than you) I have one thing to say to you, you asinine troll:
F*** off.
I didn't want Romney any nearer to the White House than a tour group. However, this is one area where I ADAMANTLY disagree with Obama on. NASA's budget miniscule compared to our military and social security. It did NOT need to be cut, and a magnificant era in U.S. history has taken a backseat many, many lesser concerns.
@Jamie.....In four years you'll disagree with a lot more ..........TOO late buddy.
It was President Bush who cancelled the Shuttle program, he also did not fund the Constellation program. All of the funding for Constellation was to come from 'savings on current projects' or 'from the savings of shutting down the Shuttle program'. Never mind there were no savings on the Shuttle program until the program was shut down. Even then, the Constellation was 10 years behind schedule, and over $10 billion over cost estimates.
President Obama did the right thing by shutting it down. He also gave NASA the mission to design heavy lift capability, to visit an asteroid, to eventually go to Mars, and even back to the moon. Except he told them to do it is steps that will build on each other, and funded everything he asked them to do.
Shuddup fool....In four years Hillary will be elected. So YOU are in for at least 8yrs of rightwing torment...I'll still be smiling just like I am ;)
Matthew, maybe if you keep repeating who really is responsible for ending the shuttle program, folks who keep blaming Obama will see the light. Maybe.
As the child of an aeronautical engineer, my appreciation to those of you knowledgeable enough to correct the report's explanation of why space vehicles reentering the earth's atmosphere heat up. Sad that we no longer care or understand why investment in such programs advance our scientific knowledge and result in marketable technology. Think about all those consumer products we so enjoy that would not have been possible without the advances gained from the space program. But then again, our engineering schools are filled with students not from the U.S. Sad.
Every government expendature is miniscule compared to those two but social security doesn't use income tax revenue so has no bearing on general funds. Romney was an idiot claiming he could revive the space program, increase military spending 200 billion, cut taxes 500 billion a year all while reducing the deficit. He couldn't explain it because it wasn't possible. The debt would have exploded.
Yeah, thanks to Obomba, with his new "jobs" program. The jobs are going to other countries that have a "forward" thinking president, not just a "forward" saying imposter.
It was President Bush who cancelled the Shuttle program, idiot, he also did not fund the Constellation program. All of the funding for Constellation was to come from 'savings on current projects' or 'from the savings of shutting down the Shuttle program'. Never mind there were no savings on the Shuttle program until the program was shut down. Even then, the Constellation was 10 years behind schedule, and over $10 billion over cost estimates.
President Obama did the right thing by shutting it down. He also gave NASA the mission to design heavy lift capability, to visit an asteroid, to eventually go to Mars, and even back to the moon. Except he told them to do it is steps that will build on each other, and funded everything he asked them to do.
I luckily had the privilege of working on the SRB's as an ME for United Space Alliance and started right out of college as Return to Flight was kicking off. Those birds were some of the most magnificent pieces of human engineering I've ever seen. I also had the privilege of working on the first concepts for the five segment boosters for the Constellation program. I remember Barry coming down here in 2008 and lying to all the space workers on how he was going to keep this passion going. Instead he summoned up a bogus Augustine Commission who canceled Constellation and in turn handed over America's space program to one of his largest supports, Elon Musk and SpaceX. Of course nobody reported the connection between campaign contributions from Musk and the Barry administration. Now Brevard county is dying and SpaceX is not hiring here, even though they promised all these great jobs. Just another slick Chicago trick. Good job Barry!
Well said!!!
Not well said, and very misleading.
It was President Bush who cancelled the Shuttle program, not President Obama. Bush also did not fund the Constellation program. All of the funding for Constellation was to come from 'savings on current projects' or 'from the savings of shutting down the Shuttle program'. Never mind there were no savings on the Shuttle program until the program was shut down. Even then, the Constellation was 10 years behind schedule, and over $10 billion over cost estimates. And the Constellation was going to drop a capsule in the ocean? Really? After the shuttle, that was a huge step back, and NASA was just reinventing the wheel at an astronomical cost.
President Obama did the right thing by shutting it down. He also gave NASA the mission to continue on the Orion capsule, design a heavy lift capability, to visit an asteroid, to eventually go to Mars, and even back to the moon. Except he told them to do it is steps that will build on each other, and funded everything he asked them to do.
Mitch, did you flunk history? It was 10 years ago that the Columbia blew apart upon re-entry. The Challenger blew apart seconds after lift off on Jan. 28, 1986.
While visiting some friends in east Texas some years ago we went walking thru his woods and he stopped and picked up a what looked like a piece of tree bark and handed to me, but it wasn't, it had the weight of a feather. He said it was a piece of the Columbia. His woods are litered with pieces like this. Down the road a farmer found a gurgling piece of smoking machinery near his home which was picked up by some HAZMAT people. To the crew of the Columbia: I hope you are all in a better place, 'cause this old world is quickly becoming unfit to live in and getting worse by the day.
Although the space program was/is exciting and educational, maybe there are more pressing problems here on earth to address.
Bniss, it was more than just "exciting and educational." It has a practical purpose. We've gotten many great inventions here on Earth because of the space program. Things like water filters, scratch resistant lenses, and safety grooves on the highway are all thanks to NASA and space exploration.
Also, humans need to look beyond Earth if they're going to survive as a species for the long term. We need to explore what's out there if we have any hope of surviving. Sure, nothing may happen in our lifetime, or even for several generations after us, but eventually, we'll need to look beyond Earth. Whether due to overpopulation, a meteor hitting Earth, climate change, or even our sun turning to a red giant billions of years from now, this planet will not last forever.
But we're nowhere near ready to deal with that possibility. The more we explore and learn about the space around us, the more we can prepare for something coming towards us, or to deal with having a human population that's too big for this planet, etc.
NASA uses up very little of the annual US Budget. In fact, in its 50 year existence, it has used about $750 billion dollars (adjusted for inflation). Our military spends about that much money in one year.
I think we can spare less than 1% of our budget for NASA.
Oh kiss my aZZ. Punk, you probably don't pay federal taxes anyway. I remember Colombia, I was in the Peace Corp in Central America laying block when the Challenger exploded, would have been 12 watching it in black and white when we landed on the moon. I will continue working and paying taxes for so many of you losers, on both the right and the left but yes exploring space then and now is worth it. We weren't democrats and republicans then, just Americans. Most of you wouldn't understand maybe briefly for a day or 2 on 9/11 but not like the space race, oh hell, now I sound like an old person.
Football Fan1: BlackBama, really? I agree with the rest of your comments but bringng race into it is completely uncalled for. Ugh.
god bless the magneficent 7, your in our thoughts and prayers all the time. prayers and thoughts to your loved ones. ive seen every nasa mission since the beggining, we need nasa as much as they need us. space is in our blood and we must let it continue. everyone we have lost to space exploration did not die in vain, they made things better and safer for the next explorers and we honor their past endovers everyday. columbia, you did not die in vain, you touched the hand of god that day, rest in peace, and keep reaching for the stars, boldly go where no man has gone before.
Whenever these anniversaries come up and we reflect on the sacrifices our astronauts have made I think It's also important to look forward to see what they were working toward. Their work on the International Space Station has paved the way for the future of humans in space, and commercial space companies are sprouting up at a quickening pace. I see the non-profit National Space Society is making a movie about the future of space development, so if you want to take some action right now to move the vision forward you might consider throwing a few bucks into their Kickstarter campaign for that. I did.
I was fortunate enough to see the launch of the Columbia on that fateful mission. It filled me with so much pride that we as Americans could build and fly such an awesome piece of engineering and I was brought to tears on the news of it exploding on re-entry. A truly sad day for our Country.
Obama administration is making a serious mistake by not energizing the NASA space program. This is/was the forefront of technology and innovation. This is the pride and joy of this nation and nursery for many of the new innovative technology. If strangle our space program, eventually, you will see the Europeans, Russians and the Chinese over take us.
It was President Bush who cancelled the Shuttle program, not President Obama. Bush also did not fund the Constellation program. All of the funding for Constellation was to come from 'savings on current projects' or 'from the savings of shutting down the Shuttle program'. Never mind there were no savings on the Shuttle program until the program was shut down. Even then, the Constellation was 10 years behind schedule, and over $10 billion over cost estimates. And the Constellation was going to drop a capsule in the ocean? Really? After the shuttle, that was a huge step back, and NASA was just reinventing the wheel at an astronomical cost.
President Obama did the right thing by shutting it down. He also gave NASA the mission to continue on the Orion capsule, design a heavy lift capability, to visit an asteroid, to eventually go to Mars, and even back to the moon. Except he told them to do it is steps that will build on each other, and funded everything he asked them to do.
don't know how many illegals are in this country but they know how many pieces the shuttle was ripped into.
What a tragedy for the U.S, NASA, as well as the families who's loved ones perished in the Columbia.
10 years ago? Oh crap, I am still in the army... I think I am AWOL.
Hey, typos are ok occassionaly... but in a headline? Just one real editor to take a look at things would probably be a good thing.
??
I was trying to be sarcastic from all the wrong postings... I am stupido. Didn't workio. Sorrio. Who cares?
:-)
I lived in Texas at that time. I walked outside to retrieve the newspaper from the front yard and heard two sonic type booms overhead. I didn't pay much attention o it, went back inside where my wife and I read the newspaper and had coffee. After finishing we turned on the TV and were in total shock when we learned of this disaster.
Dave Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, William McCool and Ilan Ramon. The least we can do is remember their names.
Thank you barowner.
Bless them all.
@Ddra37; These jealous *ss crackers will always bring race into things, just remember this, it has been the white man who has set this country on its current path. They created greed and anarchy when they first came here, phucking the Natives in the a**, and its been going downhill ever since, they have been in control since the very beginning, and still are regardless of who is POTUS. Our financial situation is their fault, because they are greedy, selfish and narcisistic.
Steve sorry to burst your bubble but the only hater I see here is you. I get the fact you're stupid, but can the hate.
Head back to Africa if you don't like it. We even formed a country just for you; it's called Liberia.
Way to enforce stereotypes on both sides. Painting a whole of a people with the same broad-stroke brush is never accurate, saying "all white people are greedy" or "all asians are smart" or "all black people are gang members" or... man, the list goes on. Don't go blaming a bunch of people who may be entirely opposite of what you think - we're not all "greedy, selfish and narcissistic". That's making folk like me guilty by association, and that's just not fair, much less correct.
And @Mike C. - what gives, dude? That old song-and-dance, "go back to where you came from"? Really? I thought that went out of use in the sixth grade. Willing to bet money Steve was born here just like me, and it makes him no less an American, regardless of ancestry or skin color. Comments like that just enforce the thought that we're a bunch of @!$%#s.
Why do I bother... neither of you will listen to me anyway. You'll go on believing the other side is at fault, and us folks who actually want to bridge the gap will have to watch you tear yourselves apart. It sucks. Just... stop it, will you? Please?
Well, when some dumba88 calls me a cracker I tend to get pissed. That black power bs is just as bad as that kkk, neo-nazi crap. Never said he wasn't American, just stated that if he doesn't like it here he can leave; if you are discontented with a system that bends over backwards for you then maybe you don't belong there. As for the world thinking we are a88holes; they will continue to think it no matter what we do or how many times our President apologizes, so screw them and let them think it. I'm tired of kissing peoples' a88es just because they are "different".
Yeah Steve and the worthless ignorant black in the White House now is doing the country so well right. Get educated you moron.
Hey Steve, why'd you get rid of your "black power" avatar?
I'll never forget that morning watching the cluster of smoke streaks racing across the sky and hearing the boom, and knowing what I was seeing was the death of those on board. It was a sickening feeling. I remember the how eager the media was to get any eye witness on the air to tell the story, and some guy called in and said that he found parts of an astronaut....... the guy then started a rant directed towards the reporter about how stupid and blood thirsty the media was which was very quickly cut off.......imagine that.
It's kind of sad that President Obama killed Constellation. It makes perfect sense, though, that the funding for such projects was cut. I mean, President Obama didn't receive a single vote from anyone on the moon.
It was President Bush who cancelled the Shuttle program, not President Obama. Bush also did not fund the Constellation program. All of the funding for Constellation was to come from 'savings on current projects' or 'from the savings of shutting down the Shuttle program'. Never mind there were no savings on the Shuttle program until the program was shut down. Even then, the Constellation was 10 years behind schedule, and over $10 billion over cost estimates. And the Constellation was going to drop a capsule in the ocean? Really? After the shuttle, that was a huge step back, and NASA was just reinventing the wheel at an astronomical cost.
President Obama did the right thing by shutting it down. He also gave NASA the mission to continue on the Orion capsule, design a heavy lift capability, to visit an asteroid, to eventually go to Mars, and even back to the moon. Except he told them to do it is steps that will build on each other, and funded everything he asked them to do.
Yeah this writer was looking for a sorry excuse to blame the president in office now. Some people should get jobs that better suit them.