Michael Leinbach - Bringing Columbia Home - The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew

Two fellows cannot write a book about twenty-five thousand Americans without a lot of help. We would like to take this opportunity to thank a number of people whose assistance and encouragement made this book possible.

First, we owe our collaboration on this book to the inimitable Norm Carlson, chief NASA test director during the first part of the shuttle era. Norm passed away on March 1, 2015. Mike and Jonathan met for the first time at Norm’s memorial service. We decided to go to lunch together and get to know each other better. At that first lunch, Mike said, “I always threatened to write a book about Columbia .” Jonathan said, “If you wanted to collaborate, I’d be glad to work with you.” And the rest, as they say, is history. We’re grateful to Norm, who brought us together, and whose memory constantly inspires us.

Greg Cohrs was as dedicated to helping this book succeed as he was to ensuring the success of the Columbia recovery effort. His technical assistance, his keen memory, his eye for detail, and his affable demeanor made him an incredible collaborator. We were proud to shine the spotlight on this wonderful man.

Marsha Cooper and Belinda Gay invited us to Hemphill and set up interviews with dozens of the people you have read about in this story. Their passion for keeping the memory of Columbia alive knows no bounds.

Jan Amen, Mark Stanford, Pam “Pambo” Melroy, Dom Gorie, Robert Hanley, Robert Pearlman, Michael Key, and Patrick Adkins provided us with detailed notes and with photographs that greatly enriched our understanding of the recovery and reconstruction efforts. Pambo, Jim Wetherbee, Steve Altemus, Mike Ciannilli, Dave Whittle, and Sean O’Keefe reviewed sections of the book for technical and historical accuracy. Astronauts Jerry Ross, Eileen Collins, John Herrington, and Bob Crippen also went far beyond the call of duty in assisting us during the research and writing process. Jeff Williams from Stephen F. Austin State University, who generated maps for searchers in February 2003, graciously produced several maps for this book using data from the search database.

To everyone we interviewed for the book (who we’ve listed in the “Interviewees” section), we thank you for sharing your memories, your pains and sorrows, and your moments of personal triumph. Your contributions made this book a story rather than a recitation of facts.

We thank our agent, the renowned military historian Jim Hornfischer, for his sage advice and for helping get our book in front of the Right Person. Maxim Brown, our editor at Skyhorse Publishing, was that Right Person. He made the publication process as painless as authors could ever wish it to be. We’re grateful to him for giving us the latitude to write the book we wanted to write.

Scott Mack helped us structure the story, and he reviewed our drafts. How can you possibly go astray when you have a multi-time Teacher of the Year from the Fairfax County (Virginia) School System looking over your shoulder? Coralee Leon reviewed our draft manuscript with the keen eye of a highly successful editor and author. She made sure we were telling a coherent story. Thanks also to Penny Ward for transcribing many of the interviews and for reviewing the manuscript.

Susan Roy and Holly Williams acted as excellent coaches, spending countless hours talking Jonathan down off the ledge and lending their ears and encouragement when the going got tough. Jonathan’s wife Jane gave him love, support, and space when he needed it most.

And to Charlotte, affected as much by the tragedy and its aftermath as Mike, you were and continue to be his perfect partner in all things.

The following people graciously offered their time and thoughts during the research for this book. Most initial interviews were conducted between April 15, 2015, and September 30, 2016. Follow-up interviews were conducted as necessary to clarify and confirm information as the book developed.

Adkins, Patrick — KSC quality assurance; identified and processed debris at the collection center in Hemphill

Alexander, Mike — Volunteer searcher, Sabine County

Allen, Mark — Logistics chief for the Sabine County Incident Command Center during the initial search; now is county judge of Jasper County.

Altemus, Steve — Columbia reconstruction director

Amen, Jan — Texas state fire chief’s office; photographed much of the recovery activity in East Texas for the Texas Forest Service and NASA, escorted astronauts and crew families

Angermeier, Jeff — NASA debris recovery coordination from Lufkin

Arriëns, René — United Space Alliance closeout crew member in KSC’s “White Room”; debris recovery operations in Hemphill

Awtonomow, Debbie — NASA manager of the debris collection and processing center at Hemphill beginning in late February

Bean, Olen — Branch fire coordinator, Texas Forest Service

Biegert, John — Crew module reconstruction lead engineer

Borsi, Mark — Head of security at KSC, ran security NASA security operations for Mishap Investigation Team out of Barksdale

Bridges, Roy — Astronaut; Kennedy Space Center director at the time of the accident

Cabana, Robert — Astronaut; director of Flight Crew Operations during the accident

Ciannilli, Mike — NASA test project engineer, air searcher during recovery operations; current curator of Columbia Preservation Office; director of NASA’s Apollo 1/ Challenger / Columbia Lessons Learned Program

Cohrs, Greg — US Forest Service timber sale forester in Sabine County National Forest; planned and directed crew recovery search operations in Sabine County; branch director for the remainder of the search in Sabine and San Augustine Counties

Collins, Eileen — Astronaut; commander of STS-114 “Return to Flight,” the first mission after Columbia accident

Comer, Jim — Reconstruction lead engineer for United Space Alliance

Cooper, Marsha — US Forest Service staff in Sabine County; searcher, media relations during recovery; one of the driving forces behind the Columbia memorials in Sabine County

Cowart, Jon — Reconstruction lead engineer; JSC Orbiter Project Office

Crippen, Robert “Bob” — Astronaut; first pilot of Columbia ; delivered eulogy for the ship and crew at the KSC runway after the accident

Eddings, Don — Texas Forest Service air search operations

Furr, Jim — Space Flight Awareness representative for NASA/United Space Alliance; coordinated morale events for searchers and community relations in Nacogdoches

Garan, Ron — Astronaut; first person to see the recovered video recorded by Columbia ’s crew at the start of reentry

Gay, Belinda — Ran the volunteer feeding operation at Hemphill’s VFW; one of the driving forces behind Columbia memorials in Sabine County

Gay, Roger — Commander, Hemphill VFW

Gehman, Admiral — Chairman, Columbia Accident Investigation

Harold “Hal,” USN (ret) — Board (interviewed by email)

Gibson, Robert “Hoot” — Astronaut; commander of Atlantis STS-27 mission that returned from space heavily damaged by launch debris

Gorie, Dom — Astronaut; member of STS-107 Mishap Investigation Team; one of the “air bosses” for aerial debris searches

Gray, Mary Beth — Hemphill florist

Hamilton, Doug — US Forest Service law enforcement officer in Sabine County; one of the first responders on site after the accident

Hanley, Robert — JSC Flight Crew Operations, Melroy’s deputy in crew module reconstruction

Herrington, John — Astronaut; one of the “air bosses” for aerial search for Columbia debris; first Native American astronaut