2 Columbia widows say husbands loved careers

2 Columbia widows say husbands loved careers

Mars plan will recapture imaginations, one states

Associated Press

Monday, January 26, 2004

Houston — Speaking at the church where they have found solace since space shuttle Columbia broke apart, two widows of the astronauts said Sunday that their husbands followed their dreams into space.

“The very first thing that captured Rick’s imagination when he was 4 was when they placed man on the moon,” said shuttle commander Rick Husband’s widow, Evelyn. “He was so excited about that.”

Husband spoke alongside Sandy Anderson, widow of Columbia astronaut Michael Anderson, at Grace Community Church in Houston. Husband said she thinks President Bush’s plan announced this month to return man to the moon and go eventually to Mars will “recapture the imagination” of Americans.

“My husband always said we would be the first family to go to Mars, and I just used to laugh at him,” Anderson said. “He would have been thrilled. It was coming. And I think it is a good thing, too.”

The women added, however, that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration needs to heed recommendations in a report about the Feb. 1 Columbia accident that killed Husband, Anderson and five other astronauts, including Laurel Clark of Racine.

“It is always going to be a risky business,” Husband said. “But we would like to see it succeed under the conditions” outlined in the report.

Columbia accident investigators urged NASA to eliminate launch debris, to toughen the shuttle wings and to develop a plan for astronauts to make emergency repairs. Investigators also urged changes to the space agency’s culture.