National Park Service For Study Updates and to Provide Comments visitNewsletter http://planning.nps.gov/spsh Issue 1 U.S. Department of the Interior February 2011

Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial Special Resource Study

d Michaels and his daughter Ewere standing in a treeless clear-cut on the morning of February 1, 2003 hoping to watch the space shuttle Columbia re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere high above their hometown of Nacogdoches, Texas. At about 7:56 a.m., a bright glow appeared in the blue sky 15 to 20 degrees above the western horizon. They focused their binoculars on it and Michaels, the planetarium director at Stephen F. Austin State University, was immediately disturbed. “The shuttle looked like a Fourth-of-July sparkler in slow motion,” he says. “Clearly something was horribly wrong. Within seconds, multiple contrails were becoming visible as the shuttle was obviously breaking up. Suddenly, a series of low-frequency rumblings began that gradually increased in loudness until they became quite intense. We had just witnessed the death of seven dedicated space explorers…” Michaels started slowly walking back to his house. But his daughter was transfi xed, silently looking at the sky. “It was clear that she understood the magnitude and historical January 16, 2003: The STS-107 Crew, waving to onlookers, exits the Operations and signifi cance of the human Checkout Building on their way to the launch pad. continued on page 2 Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial Special Resource Study For Study Updates and to Provide Comments, visit http://planning.nps.gov/spsh continued from page 1 disaster that had just unfolded 2009, as soon as schedules and you can help the NPS as it What Is a Special Resource? high above our Texas home,” he budgets allowed. This newsletter completes this important task says. briefl y describes the study’s long on behalf of the American he NPS was created 95 years ago to protect and preserve a wide Now the National Park and technically complicated people. Tvariety of America’s most precious resources. They include Service (NPS) is also trying process. It also explains how places like battlegrounds and wilderness areas, and buildings to understand the historical such as historic military forts and ancient American Indian cliff signifi cance of the Columbia dwellings. Resources often also include physical objects like trees, disaster. rocks and rivers, and animals such as fi sh, elk and turtles. The disaster captured the Some resources aren’t objects at all—the clear view of a starry night world’s attention, and led to sky, for example, or the quiet and solitude of a sheltered canyon. one of the largest search and Even the human stories that surround a place or event can be recovery eff orts in history. considered resources. It’s estimated that up to All of these resources are equally important to the park service’s 30,000 people—many of mission. them volunteers—spent 1.5 million hours combing the Special resource studies help determine which of America’s fi elds and forests of rural East resources are special enough to be included in the national park Texas, fi nding thousands of system. pieces of the shuttle as well as the astronaut’s remains. Dozens of local, state and Special Resource Study Criteria federal agencies participated in the search, including the National Aeronautics and For the Secretary of the Interior to recommend new Space Administration (NASA), national parklands, an area must: the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), • Contain nationally signifi cant natural or cultural resources. and the U.S. Department of • Be a suitable addition to the national park system. Homeland • Be a feasible addition. Security. • Require direct NPS management, instead of alternative In 2008, fi ve “We got to see a small protection by others. years after portion of East Texas pull Columbia liftoff the shuttle together in a big way. disintegrated, The people here don’t then-President have much, but we gave George W. everything that we had. Bush signed a We showed the nation that congressional here in East Texas, we bill directing have got a big heart.” the NPS to ~ Texas Ranger Pete Maskunas, describing the disaster search. research and write a report called a Special Resource Study to help determine whether the Columbia was the oldest shuttle in NASA’s fl eet. Named after an 18th-century American nation should create a new park ship that once explored the waters of what is now British Columbia, Canada, it was memorializing the Columbia fi rst launched in 1981. It was ending its 28th mission, STS-107, when it was torn apart as superheated gasses penetrated a 6- to 10-inch hole in the shuttle’s left wing. All eyes in the VIP stand at Kennedy Space Center focus on space Crew members strike a “fl ying” pose for their traditional in-fl ight and its crew. The study began in Investigators later determined that the hole was caused by a chunk of insulating foam shuttle Columbia as it roars toward space on mission STS-107. crew portrait aboard the space shuttle Columbia. that fell off an external fuel tank during the shuttle’s launch.

2 3 Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial Special Resource Study For Study Updates and to Provide Comments, visit http://planning.nps.gov/spsh National Treasures are Identifi ed by Special Resource Studies

pecial resource studies Sare designed to identify treasured national resources that ought to be protected and preserved for the enjoyment of future generations. They are authorized by Congress, and can take 2-5 years to complete. In this case, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, “You could have brought all introduced a the people you wanted from bill authorizing Dallas, Houston, whatever. the Secretary of the Interior But we know this country—the to direct the backwoods—and without the National Park people of the county to help you, Workers organizing in one of the recovery areas. (Photo by Hardy Meredith) Service (NPS) to you’d never find anything.” ~ Former San Augustine County Judge Randy study whether a Williams, describing the challenges searchers faced in 2) Ten acres of a 61-acre tract memorial to the the dense wooded thickets of East Texas. owned by the Campbell Group, Columbia should bounded by State Highway be created. The 83 and Bayou Bend Road in legislation became law in May 1) A one-fi fth-acre site, owned Hemphill. 2008, and the NPS began the by the Fredonia Corporation, 3) Bronaugh Park at 301 Columbia study last year. at the southeast corner of the Charlton St. in Lufkin. intersection of East Hospital The legislation directs the NPS 4) The San Augustine County to focus its study on four specifi c Street and North Fredonia Street in Nacogdoches. Fairgrounds at 1109 Oaklawn. properties in East Texas. continued on page 7

Top: The remains of Space Shuttle Columbia could be seen streaking across the Texas sky as it fell back to earth. (AP photo/Dr. Scott Lieberman) Center: Kennedy Space Center employees listen solemnly as Center Director Roy Bridges speaks about the tragedy of the loss of the Columbia. Bottom: Members of a U.S. Forest Service search team walk a grid during a Columbia recovery search near Hemphill,Texas. The group is accompanied by a space program worker able to identify potential hazards of shuttle parts. Recovery search teams consisted of law enforcement personnel along with volunteer GPS specialists and amateur radio operators. Right: Media broadcast outside of the NASA News Center as they report the loss of Columbia. (Photo by Hardy Meredith) 4 5 Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial Special Resource Study For Study Updates and to Provide Comments, visit http://planning.nps.gov/spsh

continued from page 5 This East Texas area is where team fi nds that another entity recommendation whether or the astronaut’s remains and a can adequately protect a site and not the sites should become majority of the shuttle debris keep it open to the public, it may part of the national park system, were found. It’s also where conclude that there is no need and will send the study and his the search and recovery eff ort, for NPS management. recommendation to Congress. perhaps the largest in American At the conclusion of the Congress alone has the authority history, was headquartered. Columbia study, the NPS to add the sites to the national The act also gave the NPS fi ndings will be sent to the park system; Congress could permission to study additional Secretary of the Interior. also choose to honor the sites. One new site—the Neches The Secretary will make a Columbia story in other ways. Wildlife National Refuge—is already being looked at. Others A reconstruction team member uses 1:1 engineering drawings as a Columbia main engine powerhead recovered from Fort Polk in may be named as the study tool in the process of identifying recovered debris material. Louisiana. progresses. “Window frames rattled, pictures fell from walls, and Conducting a special resource still the horrible sound grew louder. As we began to study doesn’t guarantee that realize that this nightmare was really happening, a proposed site will become a many panicked minds reached out, grasping the most national park. Sites fi rst have to terrible possibilities they could imagine, everything meet three main criteria to be from pipeline explosions to nuclear war and included in the national park Armageddon … The sound grew to such a crescendo that system: national signifi cance, Photo byHardy Meredith the walls of our houses began to shake. And some even suitability and feasibility. They had the added horror of opening their windows to see also have to meet a fourth jagged pieces of twisted metal raining from the sky.” criterion, the need for direct ~ East Texas author Byron Starr, describing the disintegration of Columbia in his book, NPS management. If the study Finding Heroes.

NASA got nearly 1,500 debris reports from 42 states, Canada, Jamaica and the Bahamas. But Columbia wreckage was recovered in a 600-mile-long swath stretching from Littlefi eld, Texas to Ft. Polk, Louisiana. Nearly 84,000 pieces of the spacecraft were recovered, representing 39 percent of the shuttle by weight. Most of the debris and astronaut’s remains fell Looking down the line of identifi ed main fuselage debris located on the grid system in the in and around Hemphill, Nacogdoches and San Augustine, Texas. Columbia debris hangar.

6 7 Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial Special Resource Study For Study Updates and to Provide Comments, visit http://planning.nps.gov/spsh What is the Historic Signifi cance of this Event? Is a New National Memorial Appropriate?

hat happened to the To be considered nationally hould a new national represented in the national park WColumbia’s seven- signifi cant, the sites related to Smemorial to the Columbia system or is not comparably member crew and the eff ect the the Columbia must meet the be created when dozens of represented in the national park disaster had on East Texas are following: memorials already exist? system, or is not comparably clearly signifi cant on a local and • Are an outstanding example of To answer that question, the represented and protected for regional level. It was arguably a particular type of resource. sites identifi ed in the Columbia’s public enjoyment by another nationally signifi cant for a given • Possess exceptional value special resource study must federal agency; tribal, state, time. Many people’s lives here or quality in illustrating or meet a key criterion the NPS or local government; or the and abroad were profoundly interpreting the natural or calls suitability. Suitability is private sector. Adequacy of aff ected by loss of the shuttle cultural themes of our nation’s another way of asking whether representation is determined and its crew. heritage. it’s appropriate to establish a on a case-by-case basis by But the National Park Service • Offer superlative opportunities new unit of the national park comparing the proposed (NPS) has a tough job in this for recreation, public use and system. To meet the suitability area to other units in the case. In addition to determining enjoyment, or scientifi c study. criterion, one or more of the national park system and other whether it’s appropriate and • Retain a high degree of Columbia sites must represent a protected areas for diff erences practical to create a new integrity as a true, accurate, natural or cultural resource type or similarities in the character, and relatively unspoiled quality, quantity, or combination Columbia memorial, the NPS that is not already adequately Memorial to the crew of space shuttle is required to determine if example of the resource. of resource values. It will Columbia at Arlington National Cemetery. the disaster was nationally Historians almost always changed the course of history mean distinguishing the East signifi cant in the light of U.S. believe that they must wait 50 enough to be judged nationally Texas study sites from existing history. years before deciding if an event signifi cant. It’s only been eight Columbia memorials. It is near a monument to the years since the Columbia There is a national memorial shuttle Challenger, which “When I heard about the shuttle that disintegrated while re-entering honoring the Columbia and exploded during takeoff on morning, I had no idea how big an the Earth’s atmosphere. This her crew at Arlington National January 28, 1986. The graves 50-year factor would also Cemetery in Arlington, Va. of 29 astronauts are also in the impact it would have on my life.” need to be considered in national cemetery. ~ Renee Thompson, the City of Lufkin secretary who became the main operational contact for more than 2,000 government offi cials, the assessment of national Other national memorials volunteers and media following the Columbia’s breakup. signifi cance. include a display at the Johnson One of the ways the NPS Space Center in Houston, determines whether a resource Astronaut Memorial Space Mirror at Texas, and the 42.5-foot-tall the Kennedy Space Center. is nationally signifi cant is to Space Mirror Memorial at ask historians if it meets well- Kennedy Space Center near established National Historic Orlando, Fla. There are also Landmark (NHL) guidelines memorials in California, for determining national Colorado, Washington, Texas, signifi cance. Independent Guam, Afghanistan, India, researchers at the University Israel, and the Canadian arctic. of Houston’s Center for Public Even outer space contains History are studying that now, memorials to the Columbia. and the results of their fi ndings The National Aeronautics and will contribute to the assessment Space Administration (NASA) of national signifi cance dedicated seven asteroids In memory of the Space Shuttle Columbia crewmembers who lost their lives on February 1, incorporated into the study to the memory of the seven 2003, a massive collection of fl owers, balloons, fl ags, signs, and other arrangements were report. Brilliant roses and carnations frame the names of the Columbia crew carved continued on page 10 placed at the Johnson Space Center sign at the Center’s main entrance. (NASA) onto the black granite surface of the Astronaut Memorial Space Mirror.

8 9 Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial Special Resource Study For Study Updates and to Provide Comments, visit http://planning.nps.gov/spsh

Is it Feasible to Create A New continued from page 9 National Memorial?

astronauts who were killed Let’s say the special resource study fi nds that certain Columbia- when the Columbia broke up. It related sites are nationally signifi cant and suitable for addition to also put a memorial on its Mars the national park system. Exploration Rover. The study would still need to determine if it’s feasible to make Existing memorials may tell the one of more of the sites part of the national park system. That Columbia’s story adequately. Or, means the site (or sites) would have to be of signifi cant size, set the study may fi nd that the East up to ensure the long-term protection of its resources and able to Texas sites are signifi cant and provide opportunities for public use and enjoyment. unique enough that they warrant A lot of issues are studied to determine feasibility, including land preservation and protection for ownership, acquisition costs, access, threats to resources, staffi ng future generations. needs and development requirements.

Among the visitors placing fl owers in the wire mesh fence surrounding the Space Memorial Are Other Management Options Mirror is one of the American Indian dancers who performed a healing ceremony during a memorial service for the crew of the Columbia. Possible for a National Memorial? Even if the study sites pass the signifi cance, suitability, and “The final days of their own lives were spent feasibility standards, the NPS may determine that a new national looking down upon this Earth, and now, on every park is not the best way to memorialize the Columbia story and continent, in every land they can see, the names preserve resources related to the story. NPS may fi nd that the of these astronauts are known and remembered.” study sites could be managed equally well by other organizations, ~ President George Bush, speaking at a Feb. 4, 2003 memorial service for the including another federal agency, or state and local agencies. Columbia’s crew at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The study will examine potential alternatives for management to determine which is the best option. AstronautA t t RickRi k D.D Husband,H b d What Are Your Mission Commander Thoughts?

We encourage you to share your thoughts with the study team by visiting the project website at http://parkplanning. nps.gov/spsh and posting your comments. This is the most Astronaut David M. Brown, Astronaut Laurel B. Clark, effi cient and cost-eff ective Astronaut William C. McCool, Mission Specialist Mission Specialist Pilot way to communicate with the study team. The National Park Service will use this website to convey public information throughout the course of the study. Meeting dates and locations will be posted here, along with a draft special resource study, once the document is ready for public One of the crew members aboard the space shuttle Columbia used a digital still camera AstronautA t t MiMichaelh l PP. AAndersond AstronautAK Kalpanal Chawla,Chh l Ilonl Ramon, Payloadl d Specialistl to capture a sunrise from the crew cabin during fl ight day seven. Mission Specialist Mission Specialist Representing the Israeli Space Agency review. 10 1111