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Volume 40, Issue 10.
February 25, 2003
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East Valley memorializes
shuttle crew
By Andrew James
Mesa Legend
The first space mission of the year ended in tragedy when the shuttle
Columbia disintegrated upon reentry, ending the lives of seven of the
worlds finest.
Columbia’s crew began their voyage into the unforgiving environment
of space on Jan. 16, unfolding the event that would ultimately seal their
fate. They spent 16 days in space, working around the clock on over 80
experiments for the advancement of humans in space and on Earth.
These individuals dedicated their lives to the dream of one day being
an astronaut, and dedicated many years to this one particular mission
alone. For four individuals this mission represented a completion of a
lifetime of work, dedication, and dreaming for the fulfillment of going
into space. For the other three, Columbia was another opportunity to get
back to the place they have dedicated their lives to.
When it was time to come home, everything went wrong, the space shuttle
Columbia broke apart and a shutter was felt by millions. Part time student,
Lucas Landreth said, “After witnessing the event it was difficult
to keep the emotions and memories of the Challenger out of my mind, intensifying
the hurt I felt inside.”
There is some comfort in knowing that these astronauts had an opportunity
to achieve their lifetime dream, but the devastating effects of an event
like this are hard to understand and cope with.
Understanding the pain of the situation, the Challenger Space Museum in
Peoria held a memorial in honor of the crew on Feb. 4 According to administrative
assistant Emily Cox, there are plans in the works for a permanent memorial
to be added for the space shuttle Columbia and the crew.
There is no time frame for the completion of the memorial, but the museum
itself is a memorial of mankind in space.
Upon entering the building all doubt of space exploration is left at the
door and the imagination shared by the crew members of Columbia is easy
to see. It is difficult not to get a sense of pride for the space program
while walking down the halls. It is invigorating to see all the school
kids running around with big smiles on their faces pretending to be astronauts.
The futuristic feel of the building, the tour guides dressed as astronauts,
and flight simulators make the dream of space come to life for a few minutes
allowing for an understanding of why Michael P. Anderson, David M. Brown,
Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, Rick D. Husband, William “Willie”
McCool, and Ilan Ramon would risk their lives for a chance to go to space.
Understanding their need to go into space can’t bring them back but
it may help console some through this tragedy.
Keeping these seven crew members in mind is a good reminder that dreams
do happen, hard work pays off, and anything is possible. It was dreams
that founded the U.S., it is dreams that took man to the moon, and it
is dreams that will ultimately guide humanity into the future.
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