Voted the Best Space Book of 2018 by the Space HipstersThe dramatic inside story of the epic search and recovery operation after the Columbia space shuttle disaster. On February 1, 2003, Columbia disintegrated on reentry before the nation’s eyes, and all seven astronauts aboard were lost. Author Mike Leinbach, Launch Director of the space shuttle program at NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center was … NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center was a key leader in the search and recovery effort as NASA, FEMA, the FBI, the US Forest Service, and dozens more federal, state, and local agencies combed an area of rural east Texas the size of Rhode Island for every piece of the shuttle and her crew they could find. Assisted by hundreds of volunteers, it would become the largest ground search operation in US history. This comprehensive account is told in four parts:
- Parallel Confusion
- Courage, Compassion, and Commitment
- Picking Up the Pieces
- A Bittersweet Victory
For the first time, here is the definitive inside story of the Columbia disaster and recovery and the inspiring message it ultimately holds. In the aftermath of tragedy, people and communities came together to help bring home the remains of the crew and nearly 40 percent of shuttle, an effort that was instrumental in piecing together what happened so the shuttle program could return to flight and complete the International Space Station. Bringing Columbia Home shares the deeply personal stories that emerged as NASA employees looked for lost colleagues and searchers overcame immense physical, logistical, and emotional challenges and worked together to accomplish the impossible.
Featuring a foreword and epilogue by astronauts Robert Crippen and Eileen Collins, and dedicated to the astronauts and recovery search persons who lost their lives, this is an incredible, compelling narrative about the best of humanity in the darkest of times and about how a failure at the pinnacle of human achievement became a story of cooperation and hope.more
I am a child of the Space Program, having watched numerous launches and recalling when man first landed, then walked on the moon. This book discusses the unseen part of a terrible space disaster. This is the story of what occurred after the Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry on that fateful February morning.
If you are a fan of the Space Program, or even history in general, or want to understand the true roles of leadership, you will enjoy this book. While it may seem tedious in some ways, it is a detailed accounting of some important months in space history.
The book covers not only the physical and mental challenges of recovering the Columbia, but the emotional challenges as well, and the toll this assignment took on fellow astronauts, searchers, and other recovery personnel.
Very well written, a lot of detail however one does not get bogged down in the details. Hard book to put down
Stick to the facts. Don’t impose your mystical worldview on random events, and refrain from making every character a hero.
I have lived in Orlando, 45 miles from Kennedy Space Center, since the first shuttle after the Challenger disaster was launched so the Shuttle launches and landings have been a large part of my adult life. Watching the eastern sky for the plume of fire on takeoff or hearing the sonic booms when the shuttle came home always brought a tear to my eyes. The recovery of Columbia was both heartbreaking and heart warming. So many people working together for a common cause is inspiration for all if us.
Very detailed behind the seems look at the recovery process.
This is the story of the effort to retrieve the bodies of the astronauts and the wreckage from the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia over Texas in 2003. Over 25,000 people rallied together to perform a huge search and recovery mission. There is a fair amount of technical detail in this book (which is why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5) but I kept reading because it was so inspirational to read how NASA employees, other agents of the federal and state governments involved, and local residents joined together to work side by side to accomplish what turned out to be an overwhelming and emotional effort.
Informative account off professional actions taken following a major tragedy, to give closure and honor to all involved.
I lived at Lake Sam Rayburn while this was going on. Had never read a complete record of the disaster and recovery effort. Very real. Know the country well and am totally amazed at the effort it took to recover as much as they did in this terrain.
Well written account of the tragedy by someone part of the shuttle program. Brings home Columbia and her crew with love and reverance
My husband and I were sleeping in, a rare occurrence for us, when our Nacogdoches home was shaken by the incredible noise of Columbia’s return to earth that fateful February morning. We immediately got up, thinking that something near our small town had exploded, and went outside to try to determine what had happened. All seemed quiet, without the fire sirens we expected to hear moving toward what could only be the site of great damage and human injury. We went back inside to turn on the television, but there were no informative bulletins to explain what we’d heard, at least not immediately. That’s the way I remember the beginning of the tragic loss of Columbia and her crew. It seemed incredible that East Texas was the stage on which this tragedy would unfold, but indeed our piney woods held the remnants of that great star ship and her brave crew. Reading this book gave me a glimpse of the agony endured by those who lost family and friends and helped me see the ship as almost a living being that was part of the daily lives of so many. It also made me proud of the response of so many small-town East Texans, and indeed of so many Americans, who felt the loss so deeply that they gave their time and knowledge of the area to search the dense forests for weeks to recover any part of the ship, no matter how small. This book helps any reader understand what makes this country unique on the planet. What a beautiful tribute to everyone who participated in bringing Columbia home.
Not as technical as you would think, but very clear and explanatory as to how this tragedy happened. The author takes great care to be gentle when describing the crew and what happened to them, while being concise about the shuttle itself, and gracious and grateful to all the people who volunteered and worked to find as much evidence as possible.
Too detailed, too emotional
Great book for anyone interested in the Columbia tragedy! It was a very informative book starting with the tragedy and it’s aftermath. The book also gave a history of the space shuttle program and Columbia’s history as well. Overall, it was a great book to read!