"Most people know what happened. That piece of foam broke off Columbia's external fuel tank and hit the shuttle's left wing. That NASA officials on the ground gravely underestimated the severity of the damage. That, in fact, the damage caused the shuttle to burn and break into pieces in the skies over Texas, just 16 minutes before its scheduled landing on a clear, bright Saturday morning in February nearly three years ago. What everyone doesn't know is something NASA investigators learned when they sifted through and analyzed the wrecked vessel on the ground. Among the shuttle parts that investigators recovered was a damaged but intact piece of equipment called the R-2 instrument panel. When they unfolded it, they saw a series of switches that, according to NASA investigator Jon Clark, appeared to have been engaged and manipulated in the final minutes of the doomed astronauts' lives by the person in the shuttle's right seat -- the pilot. Although NASA's official report is inconclusive, one theory is that the pilot was making adjustments and maneuvers even as Columbia was pitching and spinning toward Earth. That even when death was certainly imminent and known to the crew, Willie McCool as still trying to save the shuttle. Clark, whose wife, Laurel, died along with McCool and five others in the crash, says that what McCool did in those final moments "was a big deal. A very big deal."The article goes on to tell a good deal about Willie's life before the shuttle ride. I do highly recommend picking up an issue while they are still available. I was not able to find it on the Runner's World web site but that is a story for another posting.
Willie McCool was 41 years old when he died that morning, and his singular achievements are what the obituaries and eulogies focused on: Eagle scout, exceptional runner, test pilot, astronaut. He died serving his country, was publicly mourned. Towns where he lived erected statues in his honor. He was a hero in every conventional sense of the word, pronounced at a memorial service by no less a person than the president of the United States. He lived a life deserving of the public recognition he has received."
His coach at Annapolis, Al Cantello, is looking to put up a memorial on the cross country course. Carefully calculated to be at the spot where during the normal cross country race, Willie would have been 16 minutes from the finish line. (The shuttle broke up 16 minutes from its scheduled arrival.)
This seems like a fitting memorial for a great cause.
Al made his proposal in July 2003 and it is stuck in the bureaucratic approval process.
I would like to find out how we can help to move it along.
As I find out, I'll let you know.
If you know of any way, please let me know.
