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Bringing Columbia Home
Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew | Michael D. Leinbach, Jonathan H. Ward
5 posts | 6 read | 4 to read
Mike Leinbach was the launch director of the space shuttle program when Columbia disintegrated on reentry before a nation’s eyes on February 1, 2003. And it would be Mike Leinbach who would be 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. 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, this is an incredible narrative about 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.
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review
rabbitprincess
Pickpick

An excellent book written with sensitivity and authority. A must-read if you‘re in any way interested in the shuttle program.

blurb
Amiable
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Just starting this book, and remembering where I was on Feb. 1, 2003 when I heard that the space shuttle Columbia had disintegrated upon reentry. I was at a craft fair at my sons' elementary school, and many of us crowded into the gym to watch the news coverage.

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kimgnix
Pickpick

This was a fascinating book about the recovery of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew after the vehicle broke up over Texas. I had assumed everything burned up, but 40 percent of the shuttle was recovered and the remains of all crew members.

Kimzey Welcome to Litsy! 6y
RaimeyGallant Interesting! And welcome to Litsy from me too! #LitsyWelcomeWagon Some of us put together Litsy tips to help new Littens navigate the site. It's the link in my bio on my page in case you need it. Or if you prefer how-to videos, @chelleo put some together at the link in her bio. 6y
kimgnix @Kimzey Thanks for telling me about it! 6y
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kimgnix @RaimeyGallant Thanks for the tips! 6y
RaimeyGallant My pleasure. :) 6y
RaimeyGallant And in case you're looking for a few Littens to follow to get started, I recommend @jamie_in_the_library @jenreadsalot @tournevis @tomes4gnomes @susanita 6y
Kimzey Another Alabama Litten to follow is @LisaJo We met up at the Alabama Book Festival last year. 6y
LisaJo @kimgnix & @Kimzey I am attending again this year. It‘s on the calendar. Looking forward to hearing Gin Phillips speak, I really enjoyed her book. See you there. 6y
Kimzey @LisaJo Great! I will look for you! 6y
kimgnix @LisaJo Hope to meet you! 6y
Kimzey @LisaJo Were you able to attend the book festival this year? I missed seeing you! 6y
LisaJo @Kimzey I did attend the festival. I met @kimgnix one of the discussions. There were a lot of good panels and I was moving back-and-forth through all of them. Sorry that we couldn‘t hook up this year. But, next year. 6y
Kimzey @LisaJo Great! Glad you made it and got to meet a new Litten! See you next time. 6y
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review
Helloknitty
Pickpick

This book is really interesting, because it‘s not about the launch, where Columbia was doomed, or what the astronauts did during their time in space, it‘s fully about the recovery of the Columbia debris and the effort to find out what caused its break up. I probably wouldn‘t recommend this book to those who aren‘t huge NASA nerds like myself, but for those who are, it‘s a must read.

blurb
Helloknitty
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An excellent book about a heartbreaking subject. As a NASA nerd, I was so excited for this book‘s release, but it‘s a hard read, given that there is a fair amount in this about the recovery of remains. I‘ve seen some of the pieces of Columbia in person, and given the high altitude the shuttle was at when it broke up, it‘s amazing so much debris survived reentry. I‘m glad there‘s a public documentation of the substantial recovery efforts.