Photo: The seven person crew of Columbia free-float in space on board Space Shuttle Columbia.
A large group of Kennedy Space Center employees, Florida teachers, and students huddled together on the east facing viewing area atop the Astronaut Hall of Fame, in Titusville Florida. It was a perfect day for STS 107, NASA’s 113th Space Shuttle launch. The Indian River, that brackish, dynamic body of water where salt water meets fresh was calm, almost expectant. Dolphins, manatees and multitudes of fish occasionally raised their heads above the river as if waiting impatiently for the start-up of Columbia’s main engines. Those prehistoric creatures we call alligators, were not so impressed. Occasionally they poked their noses above the water-line, prepared to submerge when the first shock waves erupted. Hosts of birds’ seagulls, pelicans and osprey, floated with unpremeditated art in the blue sky. In the distance, the NASA Causeway West stretched for miles across Merritt Island towards NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), then onwards towards the distant Space Shuttle Launch Pads. It was almost 10.39am EST, the date January 16, 2003.
At Launch Complex 39A, the one-hundred-ton butterfly (a description often used by astronaut Story Musgrave to describe the vehicle), christened Columbia, was strapped to seven and a half million pounds of thrust. This force represented almost the entire combustion of an atomic bomb. The fragile aluminum vehicle with seven dedicated astronauts inside also contained explosive liquids, hypergolic combustibles, over two million pounds of solid fuel, hundreds of miles of wiring, complex electronics, computers, scientific experiments and a myriad of sensors. The vehicle’s shell was encased by a critical, yet fragile and complex thermal protection system made up of thousands of individual silica tiles and blankets, specifically designed to protect Columbia during its flight. Within seconds of ignition, the vehicle would clear the Launch Tower for the last time while accelerating at more than one hundred miles per hour. In space however, orbital velocity of 17,500 mph would be achieved in approximately eight and a half minutes.
Space Shuttle Columbia was defined as a truly scientific mission; it was also unique in that one of the astronauts on board was the first Israeli to fly into space namely, IIan Ramon. Ilan was the prime crew member for the Mediterranean Israeli Dust Experiment (MEIDEX), a multispectral camera that measured small dust particles (aerosols) in the atmosphere over the Mediterranean and the Saharan coast of the Atlantic.
“Ten, nine, eight”, the countdown continued with yells, excitement and screams from the spectators while others feared to make a sound. The atmosphere was intense. Tens of thousands of space enthusiasts lined the beaches, thoroughfares, and causeways throughout central Florida. Millions throughout the world watched live (on television and on laptops) while waiting expectantly for an event that would later be defined as the beginning of the end of the Space Shuttle program.
“Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, lift-off of Space Shuttle Columbia”, the NASA announcer broadcasted over the sound system. To tumultuous roars, Columbia rose spectacularly from the Launch Pad, cleared the Tower, and then performed a perfect rolling maneuver. NASA personnel in Johnson Space Center now assumed control of the vehicle and crew. Seven astronauts onboard braced themselves as the three shuttles main engines lit up, followed seconds afterwards by the ignition of the two enormous solid rocket boosters. Space Shuttle Columbia’s ill-fated mission had begun, the devastating damage to the orbiter’s left wing was only 82 seconds away. Columbia’s return date was determined for February 1, 2003. That was a date that I would be in Ireland, following the 2003 FÁS Opportunities Fair, in Dublin.
NASA-KSC’s Dr. Ray Wheeler has dedicated his entire life to science. Ray’s life science applications however also have an important, secondary terrestrial significance. As populations on Earth increase the amount of fertile land available for crops is dwindling. Scientists need to develop alternative agriculture systems that produce food more efficiently and at a higher quality. Data from the operation of the Biomass Production System (BPS) in the Big L Hanger in Cape Canaveral and later at Space Florida’s (Space Life Sciences Lab), was also intended to help advance greenhouse and controlled-environment agricultural systems so that farmers would produce better, healthier crops in a small space while using the optimum amount of nutrients. To summarize, the bio-regenerative life-support goal developed by Ray and his life sciences team was intended not only to feed the seven Astronauts on board the Space Shuttle or the ISS, but to more efficiently feed the seven billion people who live on Planet Earth. A nobler mission it would be hard to find.
At the Big L Hanger, I gave Ray the background to the Opportunities Fair as well as provided him an introduction to the FÁS initiative whereby they were prepared to financially support Ireland’s Michelle McKeown in an internship at KSC. “I saw the article in the NASA Spaceport News, it looked like fun,” he added. “As regards the internship however, the best thing you can do at this time is provide me Michelle’s Bio. I will start from there.”
Our meeting lasted almost two hours and towards its conclusion, Ray escorted me to his scientific pride and joy located inside the building – the Biomass Production Chamber (BPC), a facility originally utilized in the Mercury program for endurance testing. My Ireland to NASA mission had truly begun and Ray and I later firmed down Ireland’s first science internship with NASA-KSC. That was a good day for Ireland and the first of many dozens of science internships and opportunities for Irish graduates.