Evelyn Husband Wants Shuttles Back In Space

"Fix it and fly again." Those words from Evelyn Husband, widow of the last person to ever command the space shuttle Columbia. Rick Husband was among the seven astronauts on board when Columbia disintegrated over the skies of Texas and Louisiana Feb. 1.

"I would like for (NASA) to solve the problem so nobody ever has to go through this again," Mrs. Husband told the Associated Press after speaking to a faith-based conference in Anaheim (CA).

Not Bitter

"I don't want to see NASA hammered over issues that are irrelevant or unfair," she said. "I just don't want there to be a witch hunt just for the sake of a national television audience." The day Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry, Mrs. Husband said, "was the worst day in my life." She told the Women In Faith Conference that she woke up at 2 a.m. in her Florida hotel room Feb. 1, turned on NASA television and heard Rick, along with the other six crew members, making final preparations for landing at the Kennedy Space Center.

She went back to sleep, then woke again four hours later. This time, she woke her two children, 12-year old Laura and 7-year old Matthew, and played for them videotapes Rick had made just for them. The tapes contained a Bible passage for each day of the mission, prayers and private messages.

Later in the morning, the Husband family joined other Columbia families at the KSC landing site. The clock counting down until Columbia's arrival went to zero, then started counting up. "Rick had already died," Ms. Husband said, "and I didn't have a clue. You just feel like the elevator has gone down in your insides."

FMI: www.nasa.gov