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

Bowen, Steve, 96

Bowersox, Kenneth, 264

Breznik, Greg, 188–189

Bridges, Roy, 39, 46, 56, 207, 248, 273

“broomstraw fracturing,” 225

Brown, Cpt. Dave, 10–11, 20, 53–54, 211–212, 237, 293

Brown, Doug, 237

Brown, Michael, 160

“bubbles,” Firing Room observation areas, 19–20

Budarin, Nikolai, 264

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, 69

Bush, Laura, 237

Bush, President George W., 56, 70, 79–80, 115, 235, 237, 267, 272

Cabana, Robert, 20, 45–46, 57

Cain, LeRoy, 37, 45–47, 278

canine search teams, 124

Cape Canaveral, 4

“Cape Crusader,” 40, 210

Carswell Naval Air Station, 63, 104, 153

Castleman, Ron, 70

Chadwick, Kirstie McCool, 243

Challenger

accident of, ix–x, 4–5, 7, 39

anniversary of accident, 256

experience with, xi

need to be vigilant, 293

as part of space shuttle fleet, 8

precautions after, 21, 28

storage of debris, 252

wreckage turned in, 150

Challenger/Columbia reconstruction compared, 212–214

Chamberland, Chris, 221

Chandler, Michael, 78

Chandra X-ray Observatory, xi, 293

Chawla, Kalpana “KC,” 10, 237, 293

Chickasaw, 191

Choctaw, 192, 202

Ciannilli, Mike, 180–181, 193–195, 224, 259–260, 282, 287

Cipoletti, John, 194

Civil Air Patrol, 153

Clark, CDR Laurel, 10, 237, 291–293

Clark, Jon, 282

cockpit video of reentry, 154–155

cockpit window frame found, 160

Cohrs, Greg

call to report for duty, 75–76

on debris continuing to be found, 255–256

emotional and physical toll on, 124, 129–132, 202

illness at end of recovery effort, 202

in front of cameras, 119

importance of tight searching pattern, 113

lessons learned, 284, 287–288

monitors weather data, 179

Orbiter Experiment system (OEX) recorder, 188–190

organizes search teams, 80, 93, 107–108, 113, 124–129

Recovery Day 1, 55–56

startled from sleep by noise, 43

thank-you dinner, 203–204

thoughts on being in Hemphill, 49

transitioned to another team, 130

unwillingness to leave work unfinished, 240

Cohrs, Sandra, 43, 55–56

Cold War , xi

collection centers, 70, 105, 153, 161–162, 185–187

Colley, Jack, 69–70

Collins, Eileen, 199–200, 203–204, 273–276, 291–295

Columbia

analysis of reentry problems w. damaged heatshield, 33

anniversary of accident, 256

concerns about reentry, 34

consequences of foam strike, 25–33

failure to land, 3–6

first flight, ix

Landing Day, “go” to return to KSC, 36–37

launch, 23–24

mission preparation, 14–15

mission STS-107, 9

nose cap retrieval, 143, 146–147

path of breakup and debris, 95

payloads, 8

projected reentry, 38

propellant tank found, 147

reentry and loss, 291

STS-1, intelligence images, 30

tank jettison imagery, 25

unusual telemetry readings, 41–42

Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB)

activated, 65

announces cause of accident, 203

and debris testing, 162

feasibility of rescuing crew, 266

orders foam strike tests, SwRI, 244–247

recommendations and NASA, 272

report on accident, 242–243, 264–265

on-site at reconstruction hangar, 214–215

tours debris field, 116

Columbia Preservation Team, 254–256

Columbia Research and Preservation Office, 256, 259–263

Comer, Jim, 210, 220, 244, 254–257, 260, 281, 286

commemorations in TX communities, 280

Commercial Crew Program, 277–278

communication problems, search crews, 108–109, 129, 143

Community Coffee, 142

Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, xi

Constellation Program, 272, 277

Cooper, Marsha

commemorative efforts, 281–282

cow manure investigation, 106

Discovery launch, 274

finds crew remains, 94

helicopter crash, 196–197

lessons learned, 288

takes media to nose cap retrieval, 146

thank-you dinner, 203–204

trauma of crew remains retrieval, 243

Corsicana, 44, 104, 173, 199, 203

counseling for searchers, 241

countdown simulations, 251

Covey, Richard, 272

Cowart, Jon, 210, 249–250, 286

Creek, 192

Crew, STS-107

astronauts, 10–11

children of, 21

families of, Landing Day, 46, 52–53

families visit reconstruction hangar, 247–250

feasibility of rescuing crew, 267–269

handling of remains, 63, 101–102

honored in TX, 280

laid to rest, 237–239

learns of foam strike, 31–32

recovery of remains, 92–99, 108, 123, 125, 130, 133–134

remembers Challenger and Apollo 1, 32–33

spouses fly to TX to thank searchers, 200–201

at TCDT week, 15–17

transfer of remains to Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, 117

“crew equipment interface test,” 14–15

Crew Exploration Vehicle (Orion), 272

crew module breakup, 225–226

crew patch

STS-107, 94

STS-114, 275

crew quarters, KSC, 6, 40, 46, 52, 54, 57–58, 63

crew survivability investigation, 257–259

Crippen, Capt. Robert L., ix–xii, 155

Crippen, Susan, ix

Critical Incident Stress Management network, 173

Crookshanks, Clint, 88–90, 147

Currie, Nancy, 110

Custer, George, 192

Dale, Ronnie, 196

Davis, Lyle, 231

“Day 2 object,” 33, 151, 159

debris loan program, 256–257

debris retrieval

agency coordination, 147–149

analysis of reentry videos, 158–159

assessment of, 139–141

cockpit window frame found, 160–161

crew personal items, 144–145, 162

debris reconstruction, 139–140

debris search field and teams, 159–160

emphasis on left wing retrieval, 152–154, 163–164

guidelines for, 149–150

hazardous materials, 145

importance of, xi

possible western US sightings, 141–142

recovery operations wind down, 202–206

Stephen F. Austin State University support, 150–151

thefts of shuttle wreckage, 150, 325–326

videotape cassette found, 154–155

debris search path, 96, 168–171

decontamination site at reconstruction hangar, 209

Department of Criminal Justice, 124

Department of Defense, 22

Department of Defense Manned Spaceflight support group, 63

Department of Homeland Security, 70, 77, 88–90, 226

Department of Public Safety (TX), 130

Diboll Country Club, 203–204

Dickerson, William, 196

disaster mortuary team, 142

Discovery , 8, 246, 274–275, 279

Dittemore, Ron, 62, 65–67, 80, 140, 158, 165

Drug Enforcement Administration, 72

Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB, 41, 54

Dufour, Paul, 125

East Texas Mutual Aid Association, 67

eBay, debris offered for sale, 79

Eddings, Don, 95, 129–130, 132, 161

educational use of Columbia debris, 254, 256–257, 260, 282

“Eight, Eight, Eight rule,” 111

Ellington Field, 61, 72

Emergency Operations Vehicle, FEMA, 82

emotional response of reconstruction team, 218–221

Endeavour , 8, 15, 270, 279

Ener, Nathan, 143, 146

Engelauf, Phil, 45–46

engine turbopump found, Fort Polk, LA, 185–186

Engineering and Safety Center, Langley Research Center, 273

Enterprise , 246, 279

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

analysis of lake water sample for shuttle contamination, 142

debris retrieval, 145

deploys hazmat teams, 101