She escaped gravity twice—once to reach space, and once when Columbia shattered into 84,000 pieces over Texas, carrying her dream home.February 1, 2003. 8:59 AM Central Time.Mission Control in Houston is tracking Space Shuttle Columbia’s reentry. The crew—seven astronauts who’ve spent 16 days in orbit conducting experiments—are sixteen minutes from landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Everything appears normal. Crew Commander Rick Husband radios down: “Roger, uh, buh—”Then nothing. Silence. On the ground in Texas, people see streaks across the sky. Not one streak—multiple. Debris burning through the atmosphere. Pieces of spacecraft raining
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