COLUMBIA F I N A L V O Y A G E THE LAST FLIGHT OF NASA’S FIRST SPACE SHUTTLE P H I L I P C H I E N COPERNICUS BOOKS An Imprint of Springer Science+Business Media in Association with PRAXIS PUBLISHING, LTD. © 2006 Praxis Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system,or transmitted,in any form or by any means,electronic,mechanical,photocopy- ing,recording,or otherwise,without the prior written permission of the publisher. All photos are courtesy of NASA and the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) unless otherwise noted. Published in the United States by Copernicus Books, an imprint of Springer Science+Business Media. Copernicus Books Springer Science+Business Media 233 Spring Street New York,NY 10013 www.springer.com Additional information is available at the author’s website—http://www.sts107.info Library of Congress Control Number: 2005932843 Manufactured in the United States of America. Printed on acid-free paper. 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN-10: 0-387-27148-1 e-ISBN 0-387-27149-X ISBN-13: 978-0387-27148-4 FOREWORD J O N A T H A N B . C L A R K Columbia—Final Voyage is the most comprehensive book about the final mission of Columbia STS-107 to date. I have known the author, Phil Chien, since I started working shuttle missions as a flight surgeon in 1998. He was always there asking the shuttle crew questions when they were at the Cape for their Terminal Count Down Tests and press conferences just prior to launch. I was always impressed with his very insightful questions and deep grasp of technical issues. As I have come to know him more, I am profoundly impressed with his encyclopedic knowledge of human spaceflight. I can think of no more dedicated journalist to write this book. He had come to know the STS-107 crew very well in the long period prior to launch. He was one of a handful of journalists who was at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on February 1, 2003, and like all of us felt the visceral emotion as the clock ticked down to landing time and then started counting up. This book has captured the essence of human spaceflight and the intri- cacies of space shuttle operations. A companion CD-ROM [available for purchase separately] will provide additional historical references for countless space aficionados, including myself. Phil has been able to explain the myriad of science experiments on this flight so that even I can understand them. The book also presents a very well documented analysis of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. The author has also crafted the story behind the story concern- ing how politics is intertwined with NASA. More importantly, he has captured the essence of the human spirit—of the crew, the families and friends, and the people who really make it happen behind the scenes, in training, science support, and launch and Mission Control. As we all come to deal with the aftermath of the triumph and tragedy of Columbia’s final flight, this wonderful book will serve as a guidebook for us to learn from the past and enable the future. iii INTRODUCTION B U Z Z A L D R I N About 400 people have had the opportunity to fly in space over the past 45 years. Only a few are famous or household names—primarily the ones who have flown on historic missions, and the ones who died. It’s regrettable that we remember the Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia crews primarily because of their deaths. In contrast, most astronauts remain relatively anonymous people. In this book Philip Chien takes a passionate look at the people who flew on Columbia’s last mission. Not just as astronauts—but as people. Most reporters considered STS-107 to be a “boring non-newsworthy mission.” But Philip Chien went to the effort to get to know the astronauts and their mission in detail because they were important as human beings and their mission was important even if it wasn’t as historic as some other flights. Rick, Willie, Dave, Kalpana, Laurel, Mike, and Ilan were a varied group of people—they included military pilots, like the early astronauts, but also medical doctors and engineers. In 1969, Neil, Mike, and I flew to the moon in a ship named “Columbia.” Eleven years after our mission, another ship named Columbia launched from the very same launch pad. But it was drasti- cally different. Instead of just space for three people in a small living space, the Columbia space shuttle was massive—with room to carry many more people and lots of cargo. And a varied cargo it did carry— commercial satellites, military payloads, scientific satellites, and plenty th of scientific laboratories. On Columbia’s 28 and last mission it was car- rying one of these scientific laboratories—filled to the brim with science which could only be performed in space. Many shuttle critics have claimed that it was a “make work” mission that didn’t have to be flown. But judge for yourself after reading this book’s chapters about each of the experiments. STS-107 certainly wasn’t as historic as going to the moon or building a space station, but it was important in the long run— extending our knowledge about what we can do in space and even extending the capabilities of scientific laboratories on Earth. This book will tell you about the real people who flew on STS-107 and their mission. iv CONTENTS Foreword by Jonathan B. Clark iii Introduction by Buzz Aldrin iv Preface vii Chapter 1 A Modest Mission 1 PART I MISSION MAKERS 10 Chapter 2 Rick Husband: The Boy from Amarillo 12 Chapter 3 Willie McCool: Running Man 32 Chapter 4 Dave Brown: Pilot, Doctor, Gymnast 40 Chapter 5 Kalpana Chawla: The Girl from India 49 Chapter 6 Mike Anderson: The Kid Who Wanted to Fly 59 Chapter 7 Laurel Clark: Submarine Doctor, Mother 69 Chapter 8 Ilan Ramon: Israel’s First Space Traveler 77 Chapter 9 Dodging Bullets: The Astronauts Who Weren’t Selected 87 Chapter 10 It Isn’t Just the Astronauts 94 PART II THE LONG ROAD TO LAUNCH 110 Chapter 11 A NASA Primer 112 Chapter 12 The Eighteen Delays 127 Chapter 13 Training for the Mission 136 Chapter 14 Presenting NASA to the World 152 Chapter 15 Prequel: STS-112 and STS-113 160 Chapter 16 Preparing for Launch 167 Chapter 17 Launch Day 181 Chapter 18 Behind the Scenes 195 Chapter 19 Living in Space 215 PART III SIXTEEN DAYS IN SPACE 226 Chapter 20 Flight Day 2: MEIDEX, Phab4, ARMS, Ascent Video 228 Chapter 21 Flight Day 3: Calcium Kinetics, Press Interviews 238 Chapter 22 Flight Day 4: LSP, Spacehab Problems 241 Chapter 23 Flight Day 5: VCD, MPFE 248 Chapter 24 Flight Day 6: Ariel Sharon Call, Internet Questions 252 Chapter 25 Flight Day 7: MGM, Astroculture 254 Chapter 26 Flight Day 8: SOFBALL, CIBX 257 Chapter 27 Flight Day 9: S*T*A*R*S, FREESTAR 263 Chapter 28 Flight Day 10: BDS, BRIC, OSTEO 271 Chapter 29 Flight Day 11: ZCG, Biopack 274 v vi CONTENTS Chapter 30 Flight Day 12: Ship-to-Ship Call, FRESH 279 Chapter 31 Flight Day 13: Mist, Biotube, Challenger Anniversary 284 Chapter 32 Flight Day 14: Press Conference 291 Chapter 33 Flight Day 15: MEIDEX, External Spacehab Payloads 300 Chapter 34 Flight Day 16: Automated Payloads, Preparing to Come Home 306 PART IV FEBRUARY 1,2003 310 Chapter 35 Reentry 312 Chapter 36 The Accident 317 Chapter 37 Mission Control on Landing Day 325 Chapter 38 What Should Have Happened 331 Chapter 39 The Media’s Coverage of STS-107 338 Chapter 40 The First Hours After the Accident 345 Chapter 41 Viewing Columbia’s Reentry 350 Chapter 42 Where Were You...? 357 Chapter 43 The Public’s Reaction 365 PART V AFTERMATH 370 Chapter 44 The Search for Debris 372 Chapter 45 Other Evidence 383 Chapter 46 Completing the Investigation 390 Chapter 47 Kooks and Myths 399 Chapter 48 Was a Rescue Possible? 408 Chapter 49 Memorials 412 Chapter 50 Legacy: The Science Not Lost 419 Afterword 428 Appendixes— A: Charities 433 B: Companion CD-ROM 434 C: Emails with Columbia 436 D: The STS-107 Crew Logo 440 E: The 18 Delays to STS-107 441 F: Special Thanks 442 G: Bibliography 444 H: Glossary 445 Index 449 PREFACE February 1, 2003—Space Shuttle Columbia was on its 28th mission, com- pleting a routine microgravity science mission. Like over 100 shuttle mis- sions before, it fired its engines to reduce its speed enough to drop out of orbit and reenter the Earth’s atmosphere. But unlike every other time a shut- tle returned from space, Columbia didn’t make it. Instead of the signature twin sonic booms normally heard a couple of minutes before landing, there was only an eerie silence. In east Texas people saw Columbia come apart and saw its pieces fall out of the sky. A relatively plain spaceflight had sud- denly become major international news. Every shuttle flight is important, but certainly some are more glam- orous than others. The STS-107 mission was not an extraordinary shut- tle flight—while there were some minor “firsts,” it was basically anoth- er flight for fundamental scientific research. In no way was STS-107 a “historic” mission—it didn’t accomplish the first servicing of a satellite in orbit, make the first docking with a Russian space station, assemble the first components of the International Space Station, or even collect radar mapping data of the entire world. Had Columbia landed safely, it would be just one of 112 shuttle flights that accomplished its goals and returned excellent results for its scientists (the only exception being the Challenger accident). But because the shuttle was destroyed and the seven-person crew perished, STS-107 entered the history books. What caused the Columbia accident is simple—a 1.67 pound chunk of foam fell off of the External Tank 81 seconds after launch. The foam hit the front of the left wing, and as it descended into the atmos- phere, the hot reentry gasses flowed into the damaged wing, leading to Columbia’s destruction. Why the foam fell is a book in itself—the com- promises in the original space shuttle design, how the engineers decid- ed to use foam as an insulator, and how NASA treated the issue of falling foam throughout the shuttle program. But this book is not about the accident, it’s about the STS-107 astronauts and their mission. There are some amazing stories about the Columbia mission, both happy and sad. Astonishingly, tiny worms survived the accident and contin- ued to grow after their canister hit the ground. Even more amazing, off-the- shelf electronics boxes continued to record data for a couple of weeks after the accident, until their batteries ran down. Even if you’ve followed the space program extremely closely you’ll discover in this book fascinating things about Columbia’s STS-107 mission and her crew. Many people ask why am I including information on the negative things in the lives of Columbia’s astronauts—their human failings. I’ve been asked, “What good does it serve to dredge up those old feelings again?” or “Isn’t it tacky to say bad things about a person who died as a hero?” To those people I’ve said it’s good because it’s the truth. The seven Columbia astronauts were incredibly well-trained people, but they were vii viii PREFACE not perfect. They were humans. When they were alive, they always acknowledged their limitations and mistakes, and I will not dishonor them by pretending they were perfect heroes. This is their real story, not a sani- tized version written by a publicity person. If you want to know the birth- dates of the Columbia astronauts or their various awards, then read their NASA bios, which are included on this book’s website and CD-ROM. If you want to find out about seven real and fascinating people and every- thing they accomplished on their flight, then read this book. The seven Columbia astronauts were not the superheroes, saints, or patriarchs memorialized in eulogies, and they were not all the same. Some were religious, some were not. Some wanted to become astronauts from the time they were young kids, others only decided to try to become astronauts when they became adults. They had different interests and long-term goals. They were seven very talented but otherwise ordinary individuals who were trained to do an extraordinary task—to fly in space. This book is their story and the story of Columbia’s last mission. A few days before the end of the mission, I had the opportunity to talk to Columbia’s astronauts in space. It wasn’t just a plain, dry inter- view. I was talking to people I knew, and it was a pleasure to see the smiles on their faces when they heard many of my questions. Three days later when the accident occurred, I felt like I had lost seven friends. Philip Chien Merritt Island, Florida August 2005 NOTES All times are Eastern Time (standard or daylight) unless otherwise spec- ified. NASA still hasn’t gone metric, so English units have been used for most measurements, with the exception of cases where metric units are the overriding convention (e.g., 35-mm. film). Miles are statute miles (5280 feet) unless specified as nautical miles (6080 feet). NASA is an extremely acronym-intensive organization, and in many cases acronyms are made out of other acronyms! Whenever possible I’ve spelled them out, even when only the acronym is normally used. When they’re pronounced as words, it’s noted the first time the acronym is used. Chapter 11, “A NASA Primer,” is recommended for first reading if you’re unfamiliar with NASA terminology and organization, but hope- fully still useful even if you’re familiar with the space program. The website http://www.sts107.info includes updated information, photos, audio and video clips, and technical documents. The compan- ion CD-ROM [available for purchase separately], with over 1,000 photos and multimedia items, can be ordered from the author’s website or with the form in Appendix B. This book is dedicated to the STS-107 Columbia crew— Rick Husband Willie McCool Dave Brown Kalpana Chawla Mike Anderson Laurel Clark Ilan Ramon —and their families. ex orba siencia —from orbit, knowledge