HEMPHILL, Texas. The 20th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy and the legacy of its last crew will be commemorated with a public multi-day commemoration event in East Texas.
A full list of events from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, titled “STS-107: Our Mission Still 20 Years Later” aims to engage and educate community members and students about the tragedy that unfolded in East Texas in 2003. The extraordinary efforts that followed to recovery.
Hosted by NASA’s Patricia Huffman Smith “Remembering Columbia” Museum in Hemphill and the NASA Alumni League, an affiliate of Johnson Space Center, the schedule includes art shows, NASA exhibits, panel discussions, solemn memorial service, meetings, student robotics competition, museum tours and invited speakers.
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Beginning Monday, January 30, Columbia Remembers is offering three days of free admission to its 3,400-square-foot main gallery, which features exhibits documenting 28 shuttle Columbia missions, STS-107 exhibits, scale models, and aircraft. a space shuttle launch suit, flight deck simulator, and personal items illustrating the accomplishments and personalities of the STS-107 crew members. An all-day free art exhibit featuring original artwork and a collection of historical NASA photographs will also be on display at VFW 10351, Texas Highway 184 in Hemphill.
On Tuesday, January 31, about a dozen high school teams will compete for cash and prizes in the annual Shuttle Columbia Memorial robotics competition, held at the First Baptist Church Family Life Center on Mann Street in Hemphill. Participating students will have a unique opportunity to receive personal feedback and mentorship from NASA astronauts and engineers. Additional groups and spectators are invited to observe. The winning team will also display their creation at the museum the following day.
On Wednesday, February 1, First Baptist Church will host a 20th anniversary program honoring the seven crew members of STS-107, as well as two volunteers who died during search and recovery efforts in 2003. The memorial service will begin promptly at 7:45 am. Guest speakers include Gerald Shuman, former head of the accident investigation program at NASA; Mike Leinbach, last director of shuttle launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center; former NASA Administrator Sean O’Keeffe; former East Texas congressman Louis Gomert; Vanessa Veach, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center; and former NASA astronaut Jerry Ross.
The program will be followed by a series of panel discussions at the Remembering Colombia Museum starting at 10:00 am in the museum’s auditorium. Topics include: “NASA Incidents: Current and Upcoming”; “Creating STEM for All”; “Creating space for women”; and “Why is space dangerous but so safe?” The impressive line-up of guest speakers includes astronauts, engineers, NASA administrators and employees, consultants, educators, authors and historians. An autograph session and an autograph session will take place after the panels at 16:00.
NASA’s interactive traveling exhibit will also be open to the public from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in the museum’s parking lot.
