East Texas

By CINDY MALLETTE
Staff Writer

NACOGDOCHES - When Space Shuttle Columbia broke up over East Texas five years ago, it was the dawning of a bittersweet adventure.

A nation was mourning seven lives lost, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was in a clamor to learn what caused the unspeakable tragedy.

Thousands of Nacogdoches and San Augustine county residents were waking up to find the horror in their own backyards. Within hours of learning that the seven-person shuttle had disintegrated above their heads, the communities' streets were flooded with scientists, rescue workers, journalists and photographers who would begin piecing together information on what led to the disaster.

No one could fathom any good coming out of this nightmare.

Ten years before the tragedy, engineers at Stephen F. Austin State University's Regional Geospatial Service Center were developing a mapping system that would play a vital role in the recovery effort.

The men were using geographic information system (GIS) technology to map natural resource areas for the forestry industry and to monitor boundaries, roadways and other geographic elements within the city of Nacogdoches.

The technology was cutting-edge. It basically serves as a database of stored geospatial information that allows users to create a variety of detailed maps for use in urban planning, logistics, resource management, scientific investigations and more.

"It was a serendipitous coincidence that we already working on this at the time," said Dr. Darrel McDonald, assistant director for education and training at the center, now called the Columbia Regional Geospatial Service Center.

On Feb. 1, 2003, thousands of volunteers poured into Nacogdoches to help recover shuttle debris. For two weeks, they trudged through forests, lakes, fields and towns looking for pieces of the shuttle. The entire debris field spanned more than 300 miles in length. McDonald said that if it weren't for the technology already in place, the recovery process wouldn't have gotten off the ground as quickly as it did.

SFA students enrolled in the school's GIS program helped the center create maps based on GPS coordinates of debris. The mappers figured out the debris had fallen more or less in a straight line, so they created detailed maps of the debris field. Each agency involved in the recovery effort - FBI, State Troopers, National Guard, ALERT Academy - used a different type of map. One may have needed more information on bodies of water, while another used physical boundaries, such as waterways, tree lines or dirt roads to complete their search-and-recover efforts.

"We worked around the clock to produce hundreds and hundreds of maps," said Paul "PR" Blackwell, who serves as the center's director of operations

The information the Geospatial Services Center gathered during the recovery effort was invaluable, he said. Using that data and the experiences from the event, the center has developed a crisis mapping system that helps community leaders, rescue workers and new media to quickly and accurately disseminate information about a disaster area.

"Maps are a strategic part of organizing people," Blackwell said. "They have got to be complete and accurate - that was the biggest lesson I learned from this."

Volunteers were working 22-hour days trying to locate debris. McDonald said area residents did a tremendous service to the workers by cooking hot meals for them and washing their laundry.

"They were the lesser-known heroes and heroines," he said.

The volunteer spirit stretched out beyond East Texas. Rescue groups from Canada and throughout the United States showed up in the Piney Woods, ready to provide their services.

"There was no one asking, 'Where's my paycheck,'" McDonald said. "It was, 'What needs to be done?'"

Dr. Morris Jackson, a radiologist in Nacogdoches and space flight enthusiast, wanted to honor the momentous work the volunteers and community members accomplished five years ago. He established the Columbia Memorial Museum, and, with the help of the Columbia Geospatial Service Center, he's opened a temporary display in downtown Nacogdoches that will honor the astronauts, recovery teams and countless volunteers who helped in the aftermath.

"It was time to do this," he said.

The 8,000-square-foot display features several panels that detail the history of space flight, actual scrapped shuttle parts, NASA memorabilia and myriad photographs and maps from the recovery effort.

Visitors can also watch video footage of Col. Rick Husband, Commander William McCool, Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, Dr. Kalpana Chawla, Capt. David Brown, Commander Laurel Clark, and Col. Ilan Ramon - Columbia's final crew - at work aboard the spacecraft. The museum does not feature any actual debris from the Columbia space shuttle.

The exhibit will be on display through Feb. 10 at the Wyatt Building, 204 E. Plilar St. Admission is free, and information is available on how to help fund a permanent display in Nacogdoches. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.

FAMOUS SNAP: This is the photo taken Feb. 1, 2003, by Tyler photographer and cardiologist Dr. Scott Lieberman of Space Shuttle Columbia breaking up upon re-entry. It was one of the clearest shots taken of the event and ran on the cover of Time magazine.
((Photo By Dr. Scott M. Lieberman))