The loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and her intrepid crew is a global tragedy. By way of a memorial to the crew of Columbia, I am posting my photographs of Columbia taken at Edwards Air Force Base and Air Force Plant 42 at Palmdale, California.
(Download a higher resolution picture by clicking on any
picture below.)
Space Shuttle Columbia, OV-102 was delivered to NASA from Edwards Air Force Base on March 20, 1979.
747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
(747-SCA), N905NA prepares for take off with Columbia from Runway
04 at Edwards AFB.
747-SCA flies over Edwards AFB with
Columbia.
Columbia landed on Rogers Dry Lake
at Edwards AFB at the conclusion of its first mission on April
14, 1981. John Young, Jr. was the Commander and Navy Captain
Robert Crippen was the pilot of STS-1. Northrop T-38A Talons
joined formation with the shuttle during its descent to the
runway marked out on Rogers Dry Lake.
Emergency vehicles were parked at
strategic locations around the lakebed.
Columbia kicks up a rooster tail of
dust from the surface of Rogers Dry Lake.
Link to the Astronautix.com page with information about STS-1.
Columbia landed on Runway 22 at Edwards AFB at
the conclusion of its fourth mission on July 4, 1982. Captain
Thomas Mattingly II was the Commander and Henry "Hank"
Hartzfield was the pilot of STS-4.
Columbia rolls out after landing at Edwards AFB
on July 4, 1982. President Ronald Reagan observed the landing
from a position near the giant flag in the hangar door on the
other side of the runway. NASA Northrop T-38A Talon, N923NA is
still flying at a speed well below the landing speed of the Space
Shuttle.
A fleet of recovery vehicles and numerous
support crew are required to service the orbiter after reentry.
The vehicle in front of the word UNITED is equipped with a large
fan to blow noxious fumes away from the orbiter
Space Shuttle Challenger, OV-099
was delivered to NASA from Edwards AFB shortly after Columbia
landed. President Ronald Reagan held a press conference in front
of the Enterprise, OV-101. Columbia sitting on Runway 22 with
747-SCA, N905NA carrying Challenger at Edwards AFB on July 4,
1982. This was the first occasion on which two spaceflight
capable space shuttles appeared together. I was the only
photographer still waiting on the south side of the runway. All
the others had gone to see the President's speech. At the moment
I took this picture, President Reagan was leading the crowd in a
rendition of God Bless America.
Columbia was towed to NASA's Dryden Flight
Research Center at walking speed.
Link to the Astronautix.com page with information about STS-4.
Columbia landing on Runway 22 at Edwards AFB at
the conclusion of its fifth flight on November 15, 1982. Vance
Brand was the Commander and Marine Colonel Robert Overmyer was
the pilot of STS-5. This was the first spaceflight to carry more
than three people. It carried mission specialists William Lenoir
and Joseph Allen.
Columbia after landing at Edwards AFB on
November 15, 1982.
Columbia after landing at Edwards AFB on
November 15, 1982.
Link to the Astronautix.com page with information about STS-5.
Columbia descending to a landing on
Runway 22 at Edwards AFB at the conclusion of its eighth flight
on August 13, 1989. Brewster Shaw, Jr. was the Commander and
Richard Richards was the pilot of STS-28. It carried mission
specialists James Adamson, David Leestma, and Mark Brown.
Columbia had launched two
classified Department of Defense satellites on the mission.
Link to the Astronautix.com page with information about STS-28.
The space shuttle orbiter Columbia, OV-102 was
delivered by Boeing 747 SCA, N905NA to Air Force Plant 42 at
Palmdale, California on Saturday, September 25, 1999 .
Space
Shuttle Columbia arrived at Air
Force Plant 42 shortly after 10:00 A. M. It had made low
passes over NASA's
Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base and
Fox Field, west of Lancaster. For a moment, the 747-SCA, N905NA
was handed off to the Fox Field tower by Joshua Control. It
circled at low altitude over the city of Lancaster and paraded
around the Antelope Valley before lining up on Runway 25.
Astronaut Gordon Fullerton was at the controls of the 747-SCA.
The
Space Shuttle Columbia was at Palmdale for about eighteen months.
Columbia broke up on reentry over the state of Texas at the conclusion of its twenty-eighth flight on February 1, 2003, killing her crew of seven astronauts.
More pictures from Space Shuttle events.
These photographs are all copyrighted. Do not put them on your web site or reproduce them in any way without my permission.
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