CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Those closest to the shuttles launches and landings shared a profound sorrow today over Columbias seven fallen astronauts while celebrating their lives.
Ominous, dark clouds rolled in as more than 8,000 people sat or stood at the southern end of the three-mile-long runway at Kennedy Space Center where Columbia would have landed last Saturday.
"This is the place where our space exploration dreams take flight," NASA administrator Sean OKeefe said. "From here, seven courageous astronauts sailed to the heavens on their daring adventure of exploration and discovery. This is where the great lives are defined by great purposes."
Spectator John Levitt held his digital camera above his head to snap shots of the moment.
"Its been a long week," said the 47-year-old from Satellite Beach, a manager with Computer Sciences Corporation, a NASA contractor. He said he -- like many involved with the space program -- came for closure.
"Were all family out here," Levitt said. "Of course, Columbias very important to us."
That chime of belonging rang throughout the memorial service for the astronauts who died Feb. 1 aboard shuttle Columbia.
The voices of the Patrick Air Force Base Chapel Choir set the solemn tone for the service. Sunlight peeked through the clouds as an audio track of Columbias launch and final moments, set against a cacophony of guitars and vocals, played over two elevated loudspeakers.
U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., shook hands with other dignitaries before sitting in the front row as the prelude continued with President Bushs announcement to the nation: "The Columbia is lost."
Wind howled through open microphones as soloist Joel Wells sang "Amazing Grace."
The service centered on themes of family, the astronauts inspirational lives and continued commitment to the space program.
"With Gods help, we can endure this hardship and begin once again to focus on the future," said James Jennings, former deputy director of KSC and a NASA official.
Bob Crippen, Columbias first pilot, praised the ships accomplishments as a research vessel and recalled its history as the oldest shuttle.
"Theres heavy grief in our hearts, which will diminish with time, but it will never go away, and we wont ever forget," Crippen said, choking up as he called out the first names of the seven astronauts: Commander Rick Husband, pilot Willie McCool, payload commander Michael Anderson, payload specialist Ilan Ramon, and mission specialists Dave Brown, Kalpana "K.C." Chawla and Laurel Clark.
A few drops of rain sent a wave of restlessness through the crowd, but the sun brightened the stage briefly as Florida Gov. Jeb Bush spoke.
"We Floridians are so proud of this place," Bush said of KSC. "Were so proud that for four decades, our astronauts have journeyed into the heavens from our beloved shores."
OKeefe spoke of the strong connection of Brevard County to the space program, citing the many schools named for shuttles and astronauts.
"Up and down the Space Coast, there are kids who go to bed dreaming they will one day grow up to be the heroes of the caliber" of the Columbia crew, he said.
"When the history of our time is written, future generations will always know that the port that sent spirits and spacecrafts soaring was named Kennedy," OKeefe said.
Father John S. Murray, pastor of St. Teresa Catholic Church in Titusville, spoke of Americans resilience in the face of tragedy.
Rabbi Zvi Konikov of Chabad Jewish Community Center of the Space Coast in Satellite Beach got a chuckle from the crowd when he talked about advising Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut, on when to celebrate the Sabbath in orbit, when theres a sunset every 90 minutes. "Jerusalem, we have a problem," he quipped.
Col. Jim Halsell, an astronaut who was the launch integration manager at KSC, spoke of the bond felt by those who work with the astronauts, strengthened by their warm personalities.
He described Husband as a brilliant commander with an "aw, shucks" Texas demeanor. The quiet Anderson was "a class act." Clark was meticulous and sweetly considerate of colleagues.
McCool was filled with boyish enthusiasm. "Laurel described Willie as an 8-year-old trapped in a 10-year-olds body," Halsell said to laughter.
Ramon, he said, was known as "the machine" for his ability to master any task. Chawla, affectionately called K.C., loved the details of her work. Brown, a surgeon, fighter pilot, gymnast and even, once, a circus acrobat, was known as a "Renaissance astronaut."
The memorial was Tim Tabets opportunity to grieve with the family of NASA workers. Tabet, a calibration technician from Palm Bay, works for the Wyle Laboratory at Patrick Air Force Base.
"I feel like I can go back and share with my fellow workers," Tabet said of those who could not attend the memorial.
One space worker who came to the landing strip on a bicycle said the ceremony helped him. "This is where they were supposed to come home," he said softly. As tears rolled down his cheeks, he couldnt say more.
"It was very moving," Margo Linder, a worker with NASAs fire department, said at the end of the service.
"We all feel so personally responsible," she said. "We all feel we let them down."
"We were here almost 17 years ago, handling a great deal of grief," Nelson said afterward, referring to the Challenger disaster, "and what is unique about Americas space program is that we can grieve, but we are absolutely determined that we will find the problem and fix it and get back to flying."
Some workers laid flowers on the landing strip. For many, the most powerful moment of the ceremony came at the end, after a mournful rendition of "Taps," when astronauts flew four T-38 airplanes over the crowd.
The airplane flown by Alan Poindexter and Joan Higginbotham peeled away, the "Missing Man" in the formation, as spectators wiped away tears. The jet engines seemed to echo forever, the sound reflecting off the clouds.
Published under license from FLORIDA TODAY. Copyright © 2003 FLORIDA TODAY. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any way without the written consent of FLORIDA TODAY.
advertisement
