HEMPHILL, TX – The Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum will honor the legacy of the Space Shuttle Columbia with special events planned on the 16th anniversary of the tragedy that unfolded in the skies over East Texas.
On Friday, Feb. 1, the public is invited to the museum in Hemphill, Texas to take part in a small observance in memory of the seven-member crew of Columbia’s STS-107 mission.
The museum will open at 7:30 a.m., with the program beginning 15 minutes later. A moment of silence will be observed at the time NASA lost contact with the orbiter’s crew. The names of the crew, as well as two volunteers who lost their lives during the 2003 search and recovery effort, will be read aloud.
The museum will also honor its benefactor, Al Smith, who passed away at the age of 91 last February, in addition to Rona Ramon, the widow of Columbia crew member Ilan Ramon. The 54-year-old lost her battle with cancer in December.
At 8:30 a.m. several schools from across the region will take part in the 2nd Annual Space Shuttle Columbia Memorial Robotics Competition, which is sponsored through a grant from the T.L.L. Temple Foundation.
Students will use LEGO EV3 robotics kits to complete a simulated mission to explore the far side of the moon. Built and programmed at the museum on the day of the competition, the robots must be autonomous and include the use of at least one sensor.
Teams will present their robots to a panel of judges at 2:15 p.m., followed by the announcement of the winner at 3:00 p.m. All teams and their coaches will receive t-shirts, while the winning team will receive 10 tickets to Space Center Houston.
First-time and return visitors are invited to explore the museum’s 3,400-square-foot main gallery, which features displays documenting Space Shuttle Columbia’s 28 missions, STS-107 artifacts, scale models, a flown-in-space shuttle launch suit, and a visual account of Columbia’s final mission and the recovery effort that followed.
Also part of the permanent collection — the accomplishments and personalities of the STS-107 crew members are illustrated through personal items and photos donated by their families.
One of the museums newest additions, a shuttle flight desk simulator constructed by former NASA engineers James Dean and Frank Hughes, allows visitors to take the controls and experience a virtual landing of the Space Shuttle.
A gift shop also features a wide variety of souvenirs, from apparel and astronaut food, to books, DVDs and NASA patches, including the ‘Hail & Farewell’ Columbia patch, which is available exclusively at the museum.
Free admission will be offered all day, as the museum is also marking its 8th anniversary of operation.
The Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum ‘Remembering Columbia’ serves as a memorial to the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy and as an educational facility dedicated to creating science and technology-inspiring learning opportunities for children and adults. Learn more at www.NASAColumbiaMuseum.com.
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Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum 'Remembering Columbia' 