EDITORIAL: Farewell to Columbia's heroes (02/09/03)

EDITORIAL

Farewell to Columbia's heroes

"Their mission was almost completed, and we lost them so close to home." - President George W. Bush, speaking at a memorial service in Houston on February 4.

The perils of space exploration were made clear once again as tragedy struck on February 1, killing the seven-person crew of the space shuttle Columbia: Rick Husband, Michael Anderson, Laurel Salton Clark, David Brown, William McCool, Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon - six Americans, one of them a native of India, and an Israeli.

Immediately there were flashbacks to 17 years earlier, on January 28, 1986, when the shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after liftoff. This time, tragedy struck just minutes before successful completion of Columbia's 16-day mission.

The shuttle fleet, which once encompassed five spacecraft, now is down to three: the Discovery, the Atlantis and the Endeavour. The space shuttle program has been suspended indefinitely - it could be months or years before another shuttle flies. (After the Challenger tragedy flights were on hold for 32 months). And our nation and the world mourn.

Columbia, the oldest of the shuttles was first launched on April 12, 1981. It has a record of 28 flights - all of which made history and contributed to this nation's inventory of scientific advances. One of those flights, however, was particularly memorable for Ukrainians around the world as it carried aloft independent Ukraine's first astronaut. Col. Leonid Kadenyuk may not have been the first Ukrainian in space (that distinction belongs to Maj. Gen. Pavlo Romanovych Popovych, who traveled aboard the Soviet spaceship Vostok 4 in 1962), but he was well aware of the significance of his role and said he would "do everything I can to be worthy of this honor." He said at the time that he would like the 1997 mission to be remembered "as the start of a great cooperation in manned space flight between Ukraine and the United States," and pledged to do everything possible as a cosmonaut "to allow the National Space Agency of Ukraine and Ukrainian space efforts to develop." (Col. Kadenyuk took a Ukrainian flag, a "tryzub," the state emblem of Ukraine, and music by Ukrainian composers aboard the Columbia.)

The Columbia and the space shuttle program as a whole played an important role in international relations. Shuttle crews have included astronauts-specialists from many lands, and the International Space Station solidified that common effort of many nations. Thus, the shuttles and the space station have been a tangible expression of peaceful international cooperation in space. The next shuttle mission was to be the March launch of the Atlantis; after that, in May, the Endeavour was to lift off with a crew that includes Ukrainian American Heidemarie M. Stefanyshyn-Piper. Those two launches and two more after that were to work on completing the core facility of the International Space Station.

Now, the loss of the Columbia has raised numerous questions about the future of the space program. What remains unquestioned, however, is the dedication and heroism of Columbia's crew of seven men and women, whose extraordinary lives of achievement were so suddenly cut short.

We bow our heads in tribute, and we offer our prayers as we look to the heavens.

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