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Ten years since loss of space shuttle Columbia
by Marcia Dunn
This Dec. 2012 photo provided by Jonathan Clark shows Dr. Jonathan Clark, husband of Columbia astronaut Laurel Clark, stands with his son, Iain Clark, 18, in Arizona. Clark's wife and six other astronauts, Commander Rick Husband, co-pilot William McCool, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, Dr. David Brown and Israeli Ilan Ramon, were killed in the final minutes of their 16-day scientific research mission aboard the space shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003. Iain is set to graduate this spring from a boarding school in Arizona; he wants to study marine biology at a university in Florida.(AP Photo/Jonathan Clark)
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This Dec. 2012 photo provided by Jonathan Clark shows Dr. Jonathan Clark, husband of Columbia astronaut Laurel Clark, stands with his son, Iain Clark, 18, in Arizona. Clark's wife and six other astronauts, Commander Rick Husband, co-pilot William McCool, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, Dr. David Brown and Israeli Ilan Ramon, were killed in the final minutes of their 16-day scientific research mission aboard the space shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003. Iain is set to graduate this spring from a boarding school in Arizona; he wants to study marine biology at a university in Florida.(AP Photo/Jonathan Clark)
NASA lost the space shuttle Columbia 10 years ago Friday and 12 children lost a parent.
A decade later, the youngest is now 15 and the oldest is 32. The oldest son of Columbia's pilot is now a Marine captain with three young children of his own. The commander's daughter is a seminary student. The young boy who lost his astronaut mother now likes scuba diving and parachuting, just like mom.
This photo provided by NASA in June 2003 shows STS-107 crew members,from the left (bottom row), wearing red shirts to signify their shift's color, are astronauts Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist; Rick D. Husband, mission commander; Laurel B. Clark, mission specialist; and Ilan Ramon, payload specialist. From the left (top row), wearing blue shirts, are astronauts David M. Brown, mission specialist; William C. McCool, pilot; and Michael P. Anderson, payload commander. The astronauts were killed on Feb. 1, 2003, in the final minutes of their 16-day scientific research mission aboard Columbia. Altogether, 12 children lost a parent aboard Columbia. The youngest is now 15, the oldest 32. (AP Photo/NASA, File)
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This photo provided by NASA in June 2003 shows STS-107 crew members,from the left (bottom row), wearing red shirts to signify their shift's color, are astronauts Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist; Rick D. Husband, mission commander; Laurel B. Clark, mission specialist; and Ilan Ramon, payload specialist. From the left (top row), wearing blue shirts, are astronauts David M. Brown, mission specialist; William C. McCool, pilot; and Michael P. Anderson, payload commander. The astronauts were killed on Feb. 1, 2003, in the final minutes of their 16-day scientific research mission aboard Columbia. Altogether, 12 children lost a parent aboard Columbia. The youngest is now 15, the oldest 32. (AP Photo/NASA, File)
NASA will remember Columbia's seven astronauts at a public memorial service at Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Friday morning. The shuttle was headed home from a 16-day science mission when it broke apart over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003, because of damage to its left wing.
This Dec. 2012 photo provided by Jonathan Clark shows Iain Clark at an indoor skydiving center in Denver. Clark's mother, Dr. Laurel Clark, and six other astronauts, Commander Rick Husband, co-pilot William McCool, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, Dr. David Brown and Israeli Ilan Ramon, were killed in the final minutes of their 16-day scientific research mission aboard the space shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003. Iain is set to graduate this spring from a boarding school in Arizona; he wants to study marine biology at a university in Florida. (AP Photo/Jonathan Clark)
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This Dec. 2012 photo provided by Jonathan Clark shows Iain Clark at an indoor skydiving center in Denver. Clark's mother, Dr. Laurel Clark, and six other astronauts, Commander Rick Husband, co-pilot William McCool, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, Dr. David Brown and Israeli Ilan Ramon, were killed in the final minutes of their 16-day scientific research mission aboard the space shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003. Iain is set to graduate this spring from a boarding school in Arizona; he wants to study marine biology at a university in Florida. (AP Photo/Jonathan Clark)
Flights resumed two years later and the shuttles were retired in 2011.
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