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Colorado Peak Receives Name Of Lost Shuttle

Posted on: Wednesday, 18 June 2003, 06:00 CDT

A 13,980-foot mountain peak in Colorado has been named in honor of the space shuttle Columbia.

The mountain peak, which is in Colorado's Sangre de Cristo Mountains, was named Columbia Point in a ceremony Tuesday at the Interior Department.

"Columbia Point will forever commemorate the space shuttle mission," said Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who presided over the naming ceremony with NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "It's a high point that looks up to the heavens."

The peak is one of three peaks in the mountain range that commemorate American explorers of the past and present. One peak honors the 19th century western explorer Kit Carson.

The northwest peak is named in honor of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded after liftoff Jan. 28, 1986. Challenger Point and Columbia Point are both of the same height.

"It's fitting that sister peaks, Challenger Point and now Columbia Point, honor our beloved space missions," Ms. Norton said.

NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski, an avid mountain climber, suggested naming the peak after helping to counsel the families of the deceased Columbia astronauts, who died when their craft broke up as it returned to Earth on Feb. 1.

Mr. Parazynski, who has climbed to Challenger Point, said he plans to climb to Columbia Point this summer and place a bronze plaque in memory of his colleagues.

"I think the crew of STS-107 Columbia would be ecstatic to know that they will have a special place," he said.

The name Columbia Point is registered with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, a federal agency that standardizes geographic names.

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