Goodbye, Columbia
It was deja vu all over again. Much of America woke up on February
1st only to discover that Columbia, the country's first
fully-functional space shuttle, had disintegrated in orbit over
Texas as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere.
For ANN Associate Editor Pete Combs, it was a trial by fire. That
first Saturday in February was his first day on the job. Living in
Dallas (TX) at the time, Combs heard the sonic boom that
accompanied Columbia's destruction. Moments later, he and
Correspondent Rob Milford were on the phone as Milford sped south
to the debris field.