to the stars SPECIAL ISSUE: STS-107 Columbia THE MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY March/April/May 2003 $4.95 Columbia, we thank you. Joe Marino On January 16th, we saw our loved ones launch into a brilliant, cloud- free sky. Their hearts were full of enthusiasm, pride in country, faith in their God, and a willingness to accept risk in the pursuit of knowl- edge—knowledge that might improve the quality of life for all mankind. “Columbia's 16-day mission of scientific discovery was a great success, cut short by mere minutes—yet it will live on forever in our memories. We want to thank the NASA family and people from around the world “ for their incredible outpouring of love and support. Although we grieve deeply, as do the families of Apollo 1 and Challenger before us, the bold exploration of space must go on. Once the root cause of this tragedy is found and corrected, the legacy of Columbia must carry on—for the benefit of our children and yours. Statement from the families of the crew of STS-107 Space Shuttle Columbia Are we alone? Our mission is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature, prevalence and distribution of life in the universe... and we can’t do it alone! SETI Institute - 2035 Landings Drive - Mountain View, CA 94043 - phone (650) 961-6633 - fax (650) 961-7099 - www.seti.org JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2002 $4.95 to the stars WASHINGTON UPDATE The Columbia Investigation. THE MAGAZINE OFOF THETHE NATIONALNATIONAL SPACESPACE SOCIETYSOCIETY Volume 14,15, Number 1i5 September/October March/April/May 20022003 BY BRIAN CHASE, REP. RALPH HALL AND SEN. SAM BROWNBACK 12 REMEMBERING KC MODULES Author Laura S. Woodmansee shares her person- al memories of Kalpana Chawla. 4 Launch Pad BY LAURA S. WOODMANSEE 16 AMERICA SPEAKS 5 Transmissions Quotes from around the nation as individuals share their thoughts on Columbia. BY TAMMY RUGGLES 6 Countdown PHOTOGRAPHS BY JOE MARINO 20 PAYLOAD 8 Mission Control HEROES ALL The crew of STS-107 Space Shuttle Columbia Space Beat COMPILED BY FRANK SIETZEN, JR. What’s Up? 24 A SPACE SHUTTLE RETROSPECTIVE The role of the shuttle in human spaceflight. 46 Space Community BY JOAN JOHNSON-FREESE 30 48 Lifting Off SPACE SHUTTLE PEDIGREE Tracing the lineage of NASA’s orbiter. BY FRANK SIETZEN, JR. 35 ON THE COVER: THE FUTURE OF SPACE TRANSPORTATION The question comes to the fore in light of Seven stars. Seven heroes. The crew of Space Columbia. Shuttle Columbia, STS-107 will live in honored memory for their ultimate sacrifce. BY FRANK SIETZEN, JR. 38 AD ASTRA, which means “to the stars” in Latin, is the motto of the National Space Society, an MAKING THE PURSUIT OF international membership group dedicated to fur- SPACE A PLACE FOR ALL thering the exploration and development of space. Minority Grads and their participation in the space Our bimonthly magazine AD ASTRA is only one of program. many NSS activities aimed at creating a spacefar- ing civilization. For more information on NSS call BY JIM ROMEO 1-202-543-1900 or visit www.nss.org. 41 NASA launch pad MODULESa The tragedy of February 1st, once again, highlights the risks and difficultly of HAIL exploring space. I think most people, including astronauts, think that the launch and ascent phase present the greatest risks and it probably does when you consider COLUMBIA the high temperatures, pressures, rotating equipment and amount of energy impart- ed into the orbiter. However, when one realizes that all the energy has to be dissi- pated prior to landing, it becomes obvious that the entry phase presents significant risks with an equally small margin for error or malfunction. As I write this, six weeks later, the root cause of the accident is not yet known, but there is an enormous effort to find the cause, fix it and return to flight. I have Dan Brandenstein been extremely impressed with the full range of the investigation; the cooperation President of many government agencies, the focus of the leadership and the dedication and expertise of the many people involved. Based on the caliber and dedication of all involved, I am confident that the root cause will be determined, appropriate corrective actions will be taken to return to flight as soon as possible. The crew of Columbia, Rick, Willie, Kalpana, Laurel, Mike, Dave and Ilan, were dedicated to the goals of space research and exploration and gave their lives in pursuit of those goals. They had suc- cessfully accomplished all the research objectives and I am sure were very satisfied with their accom- plishments prior to the entry tragedy. This was evident from the mood of the crew during the early phase of the entry that we have seen on the video recovered from the wreckage. This accident reaf- firms the fact that in space exploration the margin between success and failure is very narrow; and as has been the case so many times throughout history, great people have paid the ultimate price in fur- thering the cause of research and exploration. Now, more than ever, is the time for the membership of NSS to step up our activity in support of our space exploration goals. We can do this by actively participating in the three R’s … Recruiting, Responding and ‘Riting. Recruiting new members makes NSS a more viable voice nationally. Washington decision makers are especially attuned to the size and visibility of organizations such as NSS. Responding to an opportunity to be seen, heard or counted. NSS Headquarters has a number of recent initiatives that require a response to increase our visibility and support. I am sure many of the chapters have a wide variety of activities that could benefit from a proactive response from NSS members. Now is a critical time to ‘Rite any and all Washington decision makers, especially the ones that count on your vote. I am confident that all of our members will rise to the occasion to actively promote the NSS vision and goals. Finally, I want you all to know what an honor it was to have been your President for the past four years. I accepted the position for two reasons, first I truly believe in continuing to push the boundary of human knowledge and understanding of the universe in which we live. Secondly, during all my years in the Astronaut office, I was amazed by the vast support of the Space Program across America, but by the very low visibility of this support. It always seemed to me the vast support came from the moms and dads of America that were not reactive in nature. I hoped that my participation with NSS could draw out some of that grassroots support for the Space Programs. Hopefully, I helped in a small way to accomplish that. Unfortunately, my “real job” requires additional time over the next couple years such that I didn’t feel I could adequately participate in a leadership role. However, I am totally confident that NSS will make great strides forward in the future. Our new Executive Director, Brian Chase, came onboard in December running at full speed and hasn’t broken stride yet. He has an out- standing background for the position and a wealth of great ideas to take us forward. Additionally, the dedication and foresight of the officers, Executive Committee and Board of Directors will direct NSS to bright future. With every member’s active support and participation and the outstanding leadership, I am con- fident that NSS will do more than takeoff (a slow gradual climb) … it will LAUNCH (a rapid ascent to great heights) … Ad Astra! http://www.nss.orhttp://www.nss.ordg / 4 march Ⅲ april 2003 Ad Astra to the stars transmissions 600 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. Suite 201 Washington, DC 20003 (202) 543-1900 http://www.nss.org/ NSS wants to hear your voice on the Brian E. Chase Columbia tragedy. Executive Director Write Ad Astra with Vivian Silver your thoughts. Membership Database Manager Sherry Wilson Thank you. Direct Marketing / Chapter Relations Manager Joe Marino JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2002 $4.95 to the stars THE MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY Publisher Officers National Space Society Hugh Downs, Chairman of the Board of Governors Ⅲ Kirby Ikin, Chairman of the Board of Directors Ⅲ Chris Pancratz, Chairman of the Executive Committee Ⅲ Greg Allison, Executive Vice President Ⅲ Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Liss, Senior Vice President Ⅲ Greg Rucker, Vice President of Projects Ⅲ Frank Sietzen, Jr. Jay Wittner, Vice President of Membership Ⅲ Frank Braun, Vice President of Public Affairs Ⅲ Senior Contributing Editor Ⅲ Ⅲ Jim Plaxco, Vice President of Chapters Mark Hopkins, Secretary John Kross Joe Redfield, Treasurer Ⅲ David Millman, Assistant Secretary Ⅲ Bob Goetez, Assistant Treasurer Ⅲ Ken Schwetje, General Counsel Copy Editor Jonathan Aretakis Directors Photographer Ⅲ Ⅲ Ⅲ Ⅲ Laurence Ahearn David Baxter Marianne Dyson Robby Gaines Rich Godwin Joe Marino Francis Govers Ⅲ Dana Johnson Ⅲ Alan Ladwig Ⅲ Ronnie Lajoie Ⅲ Bruce Mackenzie Ⅲ Stewart Nozette Ⅲ Robert Pearlman Ⅲ Seth Potter Ⅲ Harry Reed Ⅲ Peter Vajk Ⅲ Charles Walker Ⅲ Art Direction and Graphic Design Elaine Walker Ⅲ Alan Wasser Ⅲ Wayne White Ⅲ Philip Young Leonard D. Righter Andrew S. Ladson Advisors Production Services C. J. Cherryh Ⅲ David Criswell Ⅲ Jerry Grey Ⅲ Joe Haldeman Ⅲ Eleanor Helin Ⅲ Mercury Publishing Services, Inc. http://www.mercurypubs.com Mark Holthaus Ⅲ Barbara Marx Hubbard Ⅲ Margaret Jordan Ⅲ Florence Nelson Ⅲ Scott Pace Ⅲ Ⅲ Ⅲ Ⅲ Glenn Reynolds Stanley G. Rosen Stanley Schmidt Craig Ward Ad Astra (ISSN 1041-102X) is published bimonthly by the National Space Society. Editorial offices are Governors located at 600 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Suite 201, Washington, DC 20003-4316. No material in this Ⅲ Ⅲ Ⅲ Ⅲ Ⅲ Mark J. Albrecht Buzz Aldrin Norman R. Augustine Majel Barrett-Roddenbery Alan B.