The loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and her intrepid crew is a global tragedy. By way of a memorial to the crew of Columbia, I am posting my photographs of Columbia taken at Edwards Air Force Base and Air Force Plant 42 at Palmdale, California.
(Download a higher resolution picture by clicking on any
picture below.)
Space Shuttle Columbia, OV-102 was delivered to NASA from Edwards Air Force Base on March 20, 1979.
747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft
(747-SCA), N905NA prepares for take off with Columbia from Runway
04 at Edwards AFB.
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Work on the thermal protection system of Columbia was not yet completed.
747-SCA flies over Edwards AFB with
Columbia.
> Columbia landed on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB at the conclusion of its first mission on April 14, 1981. John Young, Jr. was the Commander and Navy Captain Robert Crippen was the pilot of STS-1. Northrop T-38A Talons joined formation with the shuttle during its descent to the runway marked out on Rogers Dry Lake.
Columbia kicks up a rooster tail of dust from the surface of Rogers Dry Lake.
Link to the Astronautix.com page with information about STS-1.
Columbia landed on Runway 22 at Edwards AFB at
the conclusion of its fourth mission on July 4, 1982. Captain
Thomas Mattingly II was the Commander and Henry "Hank"
Hartzfield was the pilot of STS-4.
Columbia rolls out after landing at Edwards AFB
on July 4, 1982. President Ronald Reagan observed the landing
from a position near the giant flag in the hangar door on the
other side of the runway. NASA Northrop T-38A Talon, N923NA is
still flying at a speed well below the landing speed of the Space
Shuttle.
A fleet of recovery vehicles and numerous
support crew are required to service the orbiter after reentry.
The vehicle in front of the word UNITED is equipped with a large
fan to blow noxious fumes away from the orbiter
Space Shuttle Challenger, OV-099
was delivered to NASA from Edwards AFB shortly after Columbia
landed. President Ronald Reagan held a press conference in front
of the Enterprise, OV-101. Columbia sitting on Runway 22 with
747-SCA, N905NA carrying Challenger at Edwards AFB on July 4,
1982. This was the first occasion on which two spaceflight
capable space shuttles appeared together. I was the only
photographer still waiting on the south side of the runway. All
the others had gone to see the President's speech. At the moment
I took this picture, President Reagan was leading the crowd in a
rendition of God Bless America.
Columbia was towed to NASA's Dryden Flight
Research Center at walking speed.
Link to the Astronautix.com page with information about STS-4.
Columbia landing on Runway 22 at Edwards AFB at the conclusion of its fifth flight shortly before sunrise on November 15, 1982. Vance Brand was the Commander and Marine Colonel Robert Overmyer was the pilot of STS-5. This was the first spaceflight to carry more than three people. It carried mission specialists William Lenoir and Joseph Allen.
Columbia after landing at Edwards AFB on November 15, 1982.
Columbia after landing at Edwards AFB on
November 15, 1982.
Link to the Astronautix.com page with information about STS-5.
Columbia descending to a landing on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB at the conclusion of its eighth flight on August 13, 1989. Brewster Shaw, Jr. was the Commander and Richard Richards was the pilot of STS-28. It carried mission specialists James Adamson, David Leestma, and Mark Brown. I photographed this landing from near Claymine Road, north of Highway 58.
Columbia had launched two classified Department of Defense satellites on the mission.
Link to the Astronautix.com page with information about STS-28.
STS-42 Landing at Edwards AFB, January 30, 1992: The Space Shuttle Discovery landed at Edwards AFB at the conclusion of STS-42.
Shuttle Columbia arrived at Air Force Plant 42 shortly after 10:00 A. M. It had made low passes over NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base and Fox Field, west of Lancaster. For a moment, the 747-SCA, N905NA was handed off to the Fox Field tower by Joshua Control.
747-123 SCA N905NA with Space Shuttle Columbia OV-102 at Palmdale on September 25, 1999.
You can buy framed prints or greeting cards of this photograph.
The 747-SCA circled at low altitude over the city of Lancaster and paraded around the Antelope Valley before lining up on Runway 25. Astronaut Gordon Fullerton was at the controls of the 747-SCA.
The space shuttle Columbia was expected to be at Palmdale for about nine months. It was scheduled to return to the Kennedy Space Center the following July.
Columbia broke up on reentry over the state of Texas at the conclusion of its twenty-eighth flight on February 1, 2003, killing her crew of seven astronauts.
More pictures from Space Shuttle events.
These photographs are all copyrighted. Do not put them on your web site or reproduce them in any way without my permission.
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