COLUMBIA LOST
Last crew of the shuttle Columbia
By Chris Kridler
Florida Today
RICK HUSBAND
- Position: Shuttle commander
- Military rank: U.S. Air Force colonel
- Age: 45
- Hometown: Amarillo, Texas
- Education: Bachelor of science in mechanical engineering, Texas Tech University, 1980; master of science in mechanical engineering, California State University, Fresno, 1990
- Family: Married; two children
- Spaceflight experience: Pilot on STS-96 in 1999
- Cool fact: He's taking memorabilia into orbit for Boys Ranch, the Christian home for at-risk kids outside his hometown of Amarillo, Texas.
Rick Husband had the personality of a shuttle commander, even though it was his first time in the job and only his second spaceflight.
He wasn't given to many emotional descriptions of spaceflight or science. He was a calm, friendly sort who focused on the performance of his crew, which he praised during an on-orbit press conference last Wednesday.
Husband, 45, was inspired by the first Mercury flights and the Apollo moon missions.
"It was just a very, very exciting time and certainly something I looked at with a lot of desire and motivation, thinking, I really want to be an astronaut when I grow up," Husband said, remembering the heroes of his childhood.
Away from his job as an astronaut, Husband sang in a church choir, keeping up with a lifelong love of singing. He was in barbershop quartets and high school choir, then college choir at Texas Tech.
His religious feelings were evident in not only his choral performances but in some of the items he took with him to orbit. They were to be delivered, upon Columbia's return, to the Christian childrens' home Boys Ranch outside Amarillo, Texas, his hometown, as well as Focus on the Family and Christian Broadcasting Network.
"One of most enjoyable things about flying in space is getting to see God's creation from a different perspective," Husband said.
"And just seeing the difference in the contrast between the land and the water."
As the ship orbits the Earth, he said before the trip, "there are just so many different beautiful aspects of the views you get to see out there that it is an awe-inspiring sight, almost no matter in which direction you're looking. It's something I'm really looking forward to."
Husband had bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Texas Tech and California State universities, respectively.
He was married and had two children.
• • •
WILLIE MCCOOL
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Position: Pilot
- Military rank: U.S. Navy commander
- Age: 41
- Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
- Education: Bachelor of science in applied science, U.S. Naval Academy, 1983; master's in computer science, University of Maryland, 1985; master of science in aeronautical engineering, U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, 1992
- Family: Married; three children
- Spaceflight experience: This was his first flight.
- Cool fact: He didn't apply to be an astronaut until he was in his 30s, when he realized he was on the right kind of career track.
Willie McCool, Columbia's 41-year-old pilot, came to his astronaut dream late.
"I can't say that I dreamed of being an astronaut as a child," the soft-spoken U.S. Navy commander said.
"Rather, doors of opportunity opened. First, to go to the Naval Academy, then to go to naval aviation."
As a test pilot, he realized he was on the right track to become an astronaut, and he applied for the job when he was in his 30s. After two applications, he made it.
Like Commander Rick Husband, McCool had Texas connections although his hometown was San Diego.
"We kind of are surprised that we didn't bump into each other," he said.
"My mom was teaching at Texas Tech at the same time Rick was going to school there."
McCool was Columbia's pilot and a rookie astronaut. He didn't hide his excitement at getting to go to space.
"One of the biggest challenges that I'm faced with oftentimes is being able to push that excitement onto the back burner and to stay operationally focused on the tasks at hand, and that's, I'm sure, a challenge of every first-time flyer," he said.
Once he got to space, he found a "smorgasbord" of "invigorating and fun and sometimes not so fun experiences," he said Wednesday.
He spent a lot of his time maneuvering the orbiter.
"I've had the opportunity to be on the flight deck probably more than most of my crewmates to look outside and really soak up the sunrises and sunsets, the moonrises and moonsets, the views of the Himalayas, Australia, all the continents," he said.
McCool received a bachelor's degree in applied science from the Naval Academy, a master's degree in computer science from the University of Maryland, and a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School.
McCool and his wife, Lani, had three children.
• • •
KALPANA CHAWLA
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Position: Mission specialist
- Age: 41
- Hometown: Karnal, India
- Education: Bachelor of science in aeronautical engineering, Punjab Engineering College, India, 1982; master of science in aerospace engineering, University of Texas, 1984; doctorate of philosophy in aerospace engineering, University of Colorado, 1988
- Family: Married.
- Spaceflight experience: STS-87 in 1997
- Cool fact: She was an avid pilot and enjoyed flying aerobatics.
Kalpana Chawla, during her second shuttle flight, often had a smile on her face and an eye for the magic of spaceflight.
Known as "K.C.," she was an avid pilot who enjoyed aerobatics and thrilled to the experience of flying on the shuttle, to the point where she didn't think much about the risks.
"Personally, I'm just so excited about the whole thing," she said.
Born in India, the 41-year-old astronaut got a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering there in 1982, then got a master's and a doctorate in aerospace engineering at the University of Texas and University of Colorado, respectively.
She could talk at length about the details of the scientific experiments she performed on Columbia, with an enthusiasm that bespoke her intimate knowledge of the work.
She said she had the most fun working on the combustion module on the orbiter, which contained three fire experiments.
In space, she said Wednesday, "the coolest thing for me is the experience of floating, not feeling my weight." Chawla also loved looking out the window and would take minutes out of her mealtime every day to gaze upon the stars, especially the brilliant Milky Way.
"It's just an absolutely amazing, magical, wonderful feeling to do that," she said.
On one occasion, when the orbiter was being maneuvered to benefit some of the experiments on board, "the whole spaceship was glowing in silver light from the moon, and the attitude was changing, and you really felt that you were in a spaceship headed somewhere," she said.
She also described seeing her reflection in an orbiter window, and beyond that, the Earth, half in sunlight. Then she saw the Earth reflected in her own eye.
"I called all the crew members one by one, and they saw it, and everybody said, 'oh, wow!' " she said Wednesday.
Chawla was married. She had no children.
• • •
MICHAEL ANDERSON
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Position: Payload commander
- Military rank: U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel
- Age: 43
- Hometown: Considers Spokane, Washington, his hometown
- Education: Bachelor of science in physics and astronomy, University of Washington, 1981; master of science in physics, Creighton University, 1990
- Family: Married; two children
- Spaceflight experience: STS-89, shuttle-Mir mission, 1998
- Cool fact: As a kid, he loved science-fiction shows, including "Star Trek" and "Lost in Space."
Michael Anderson's cheerful investment in his duty was evident every time he talked about the science on board the shuttle.
"A lot of what we're doing now is really in preparation for future flights aboard the space station," he said Wednesday from the orbiter. ". . . The science we're doing here is great, and it's fantastic, it's leading edge, but I think once we get a seven-member crew on board the space station, you're really going to see some outstanding science in space."
His optimism was reflected in his upbringing. One of the few African-American astronauts, he said he was "oblivious" to segregation growing up, thanks to his parents' encouragement.
"I just knew I had to work hard and beat the system, and that's what I did," he said.
He grew up in Spokane, Wash., on the same Air Force base that shuttle program manager Ron Dittemore grew up on.
"As a kid growing up, I was always fascinated by science-fiction shows, shows like 'Star Trek' and 'Lost in Space,' and just watching those television shows just kind of captured my imagination, and it just kind of made me think, these people have the best job in the world," he said. "They're traveling in space and beginning to do all these very exciting things."
His father's role in the Air Force inspired him too, as he watched fighter jets go by. Anderson, too, rose through the ranks of the Air Force, to lieutenant colonel.
"What I'm doing can have great consequences and great benefits for everyone, for mankind, and being a part of that is important to me," Anderson said. "I'm not the kind of person that would really feel satisfied going to work every day and just earning a paycheck."
Anderson earned a bachelor of science in physics and astronomy from the University of Washington in 1981 and a master of science in physics from Creighton University in 1990.
Anderson was married, with two children.
• • •
ILAN RAMON
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Position: Payload specialist
- Military rank: Israel Air Force colonel
- Age: 48
- Hometown: Tel Aviv, Israel
- Education: Bachelor of science in electronics and computer engineering, University of Tel Aviv, Israel, 1987
- Family: Married to Rona Ramon; four children
- Spaceflight experience: This was his first flight.
Cool fact: Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut, will be taking into space a painting showing the Earth as seen from the moon. It's by Peter Ginz, who was killed as a teen-ager in a Nazi concentration camp. Ramon's mother survived the Auschwitz death camp, though other family members were slain.
Ilan Ramon was celebrated as the first Israeli astronaut, and especially in his home country, he was the focus of a maelstrom of attention as the Columbia flight approached.
Much of the attention revolved around whether he would be a target of terrorism, but he pushed those concerns aside, saying the mission was about science and benefiting the world.
He assured his family — Ramon, 48, and wife Rona had four children — that flying on the shuttle was safe.
"I tell them maybe now, more than ever, after the last delay, that NASA is taking care, very, very seriously, of all the safety issues, and I feel like I'm going to fly as safely as I could ever be in the shuttle," he said.
Though he was a secular Jew, he respected his role as the first Israeli in space and ate kosher food provided by NASA. He also tried to observe the Sabbath, but was having a hard time fitting it in during Columbia's heavy work schedule, during which a sunset occurred every 90 minutes.
Though his family was at Kennedy Space Center for launch and landing, he didn't expect a lot of Israelis to attend the launch.
"I believe that the hearts and the souls of the people from Israel will be with me, but maybe not the bodies," Ramon joked before the mission. His good humor was always in evidence, even when plagued by questions about terrorism and strife in his homeland.
The Israel Air Force colonel had a bachelor of science in electronics and computer engineering from the University of Tel Aviv, in his hometown.
Ramon's main responsibility on the shuttle was the Israeli experiment that studied dust storms' effect on climate and unusual lightning phenomena.
He was amazed at what he saw during his first space flight.
"The world looks marvelous from up here," Ramon said Wednesday, "so peaceful, so wonderful and so fragile."
• • •
DAVID BROWN
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Position: Mission specialist
- Military rank: U.S. Navy captain
- Age: 46
- Hometown: Arlington, Va.
- Education: Bachelor of science in biology, College of William and Mary, 1978; doctorate in medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, 1982
- Family: Single; parents live in Washington, Virginia
- Spaceflight experience: This is his first flight.
- Cool fact: A collegiate acrobat, he spent time with Circus Kingdom as an acrobat, 7-foot unicyclist and stilt walker.
David Brown could juggle his life as a gymnast, circus acrobat, doctor and rookie astronaut in his 46 years of life.
Surprisingly, he said there was a comparison between working in a circus and flying on the shuttle: Both involved traveling in small vehicles, staying in close quarters and setting up a lot of equipment.
When he was in college at William and Mary in Virginia, "I started off there at Busch Gardens as an acrobat, a tumbler. I walked stilts for them, and I rode a 7-foot unicycle." Then he joined a traveling show.
"I told my gymnastics team coach there at college, in Williamsburg, that I'm going to set the record for the highest backflip of anybody on the team," Brown said last summer, well before Columbia's oft-delayed launch.
Indeed he did.
"I got to do some backflips here in the center of the module," Brown said Wednesday. "It's big enough to do that. And that was quite a bit of fun."
Brown found a rare scientific plum on this mission when he used cameras on the Israeli dust-storm experiment to capture a rare lightning phenomenon called an elf.
He didn't know he captured it until people on the ground sent the image to a printer on the orbiter.
"That was one of the real highlights here on the flight for me," he said.
He was the only single member of Columbia's crew. His parents live in Virginia.
Before the flight, he was confident in the safety of the shuttle program.
He told his parents that "there's no rush here, and that people are very, very focused on making sure that the hardware is ready to go before we get into the vehicle."
An avid cyclist, he took long, touring trips across the state of Nevada and through California. In Houston, where he lived for his astronaut training, he took shorter rides of 30 to 40 miles, he said.
• • •
LAUREL CLARK
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Position: Mission specialist
- Military rank: U.S. Navy commander
- Age: 41
- Hometown: Considers Racine, Wisconsin, her hometown
- Education: Bachelor of science in zoology, 1983, and doctorate in medicine, 1987, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Family: Married; one child
- Spaceflight experience: This was her first flight.
- Cool fact: She brought a hat into space to try to keep her hair under control in microgravity.
Laurel Clark was a surgeon, a mom, a Navy submarine veteran. She also was a first-time astronaut excited about her trip to space and the opportunity to be a subject for science.
Clark, 41, was encouraged by a fellow officer to join the space program.
"When I was an intern at Bethesda, I had had a hard time choosing between undersea surgery and flight surgery anyway," she said.
She spent time on submarines, a confined, isolated ship not unlike the shuttle.
"You're kind of on your own," Clark said. "You're in a ship that's far away from any hospital or tertiary-care center."
On Wednesday, she made the comparison from space.
"This has been a great experience for me," Clark said. "There were many similarities to being on a submarine, one of which is, if there are rough seas on a submarine, there's not much of a keel. The submarine rolls a lot. So the first couple of days, you don't always feel too well. I feel wonderful now."
In medical school, Clark had a knee injury, and she later had appendicitis. Both experiences taught her what it was like to be a patient, and she used that knowledge to become a subject of blood draws and urine collections for medical experiments on Columbia.
She chose to take risks because of their rewards. When it came to the risks of spaceflight, she said, it was not unlike the risks people face in everyday life.
"Each of us justify things in our minds," she said. ". . . I choose not to stop doing those things."
The many delays in the launch of Columbia dismayed her a little. "I feel like it's kind of like a marathon, where . . . you know the finish line's a mile away, and then all of a sudden somebody moves the finish line back five miles," she said.
Clark was married and had an 8-year-old son.
