#VeteranOfTheDay Navy Veteran Laurel Clark - VAntage Point

I feel so sorry for the crew of Columbia, and especially for Laurel Clark. They had no idea that their spacecraft had been fatally damaged on launch. Later, after there was evidence in launch videos that there might have been damage from fuel tank foam falling off, NASA bean-counters prevented the Dept of Defense from using defense imaging satellites to look at Columbia and determine if the shuttle had sustained damage.
I've studied the Columbia disaster thoroughly. If there is any reason for any comfort, it is that the final loss of control came so suddenly and violently that the crew was rendered unconscious very quickly and did not suffer during the disintegration as Columbia re-entered the atmosphere and burned.

Personal for me. Lost Dave Brown on that flight. We got to be friends on Adak. Single, loved his golden retriever, and dressed up as a clown on a unicycle to entertain kids in the hospitals. Dave always wanted to be an astronaut and nobody ever doubted he'd be one. Humble and moving forward every day towards his goal. Dave was seeing patients at the Adak dispensary when the place went dark. From way down the hall, we heard Dave yell "Next!" Always rolled with the punches.

Very sad and she is a hero.