NASA marked the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy with somber ceremonies and remembrances during its annual tribute to fallen astronauts.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA marked the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy with somber ceremonies and remembrances during its annual tribute to fallen astronauts on Thursday.
None of the Columbia astronaut family members attended the morning ceremony. But Zvi Konikov, a local rabbi, recalled how Israel's first astronaut, Ilan Ramon, asked him before the flight how to observe the Sabbath during two weeks in orbit with multiple sunsets a day. Columbia was destroyed during reentry on Feb. 1, 2003, after a piece of fuel-tank foam came off and punctured the left wing during liftoff 16 days earlier. The shuttle broke apart over Texas, just 16 minutes from its planned Florida touchdown.during liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986, killing all seven aboard, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.Because of the clustering of these three dates, NASA sets aside the last Thursday of every January to commemorate its fallen astronauts.
"When we look back, why do we have to keep repeating the same hard lessons?" he said. "I don't ever want to have to go through another Columbia."
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NASA marks 20 years since space shuttle Columbia disasterNASA is marking the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy with somber ceremonies during its annual tribute to fallen astronauts. nasa kprc2 click
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NASA marks 20 years since space shuttle Columbia disasterNASA marked the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy with somber ceremonies and remembrances during its annual tribute to fallen astronauts on Thursday.
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NASA marks 20 years since space shuttle Columbia disasterNone of the Columbia astronaut family members attended the morning ceremony.
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NASA marks 20 years since space shuttle Columbia disasterNone of the Columbia astronaut family members attended the morning ceremony.
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NASA 'Day of Remembrance' marks 20 years since space shuttle Columbia tragedyRobert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, an online publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of 'Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018. He previously developed online content for the National Space Society and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, helped establish the space tourism company Space Adventures and currently serves on the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society, the advisory committee for The Mars Generation and leadership board of For All Moonkind. In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History.
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NASA marks 20 years since space shuttle Columbia disasterNASA is marking the 20th anniversary of the space shuttle Columbia tragedy with somber ceremonies during its annual tribute to fallen astronauts.
Read more »