David Weldon: “today I rise to honor the crew of Columbia. The names Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla…”

“today I rise to honor the crew of Columbia. The names Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark and Ilan Ramon will now forever be linked to the risks and rewards of exploring the frontier. They were all extraordinary people. Rick Husband. A man of strong faith in God. A man who dreamed of taking part in space travel since his childhood in Amarillo, Texas. A family man, committed to his community. He set the highest of standards for us all. William McCool. A man who personified excellence in all he did. From San Diego, since the earliest age, he dreamed of flying and followed his dream with an unending fount of energy and skill. While gifted, he never showed any hubris; in fact, he was always humble--something we all could learn from. Michael Anderson. From Pittsburgh, he had a drive uncommon to most people. He loved science and learning. He followed his passion for science. This led him to NASA and space flight. He knew his responsibility as an astronaut and took every opportunity to talk to schoolchildren about the excitement and value of space exploration. Kalpana Chawla. She lived a uniquely American life. Born and raised in India, she came to America as an immigrant. She worked hard and studied engineering and science. She became an American citizen and from there became an astronaut. She made her home nation and her adopted nation proud of her in all that she did.”