Valley weeps with world

By JEFF JARDINE AND RICHARD T. ESTRADA BEE STAFF WRITERS Published: February 3, 2003, 05:34:26 AM PST

 

Patterson's Chuck Marble displays the antenna he uses to track satelllite orbits. ADRIAN MENDOZA/THE BEE

Karen Heiser, who grew up in Atwater beneath the roar of Castle Air Force Base's B-52s, simply wept.

Lloyd Griffin of Modesto said his heart sank when he heard the news Saturday morning.

"I feel for the families of those astronauts," Griffin said. "I know what they're feeling. I lost my wife in November. In seconds, they lost fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters. Just boom instantly no warning."

The soppy fog shrouding the Northern San Joaquin Valley early Saturday prevented valley residents from seeing Columbia as it sped over the state moments before disintegrating. But it couldn't mask the magnitude of a disaster that claimed the lives of seven astronauts.

 

Across the nation, as at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., fresh memorials bring tears. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS and KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS

Whether avid followers or casual observers of the space program, the shuttle's destruction touched valley residents.

"It affects me deeply," said Linda Jolliff, who teaches fifth grade and space science at Virginia Parks School in Ceres. "It's a tragic loss of life. I know how much preparation went into this -- the education to become an astronaut and the commitment of the people involved."

Modesto Mayor Carmen Sabatino ordered all city flags to half-staff.

Some people saw the video footage of the Columbia on TV networks. Some heard it on radio.

Modesto's Carole Collins, who met astronaut Mae Jemison in Modesto last week, heard the news at Wal-Mart.

"They announced it over the (public-address) system," she said. "It was very quiet. They were shopping, but they were listening, too."

They were not alone.

About a dozen local ham radio operators linked up at 5 a.m. to track the re-entry, said Chuck Marble of Patterson. Calling themselves SpaceNet, they love to track satellites and shuttle flights, and are part of the larger Stanislaus Amateur Radio Association.

From various points ranging from Placerville to Los Banos, they listened to transmissions between the shuttle Columbia and Mission Control.

"We were talking amongst ourselves, trying to see if anybody could see anything because we were fogged in down here," said Marble, a lifelong space enthusiast who recently became a NASA solar system ambassador. The ambassador program is an outreach program sponsored by the NASA to educate the public about the space program, its flights and activities.

"We were having a wonderful time, monitoring transmissions and talking among ourselves," he said. "Everything was going OK."

Two of them -- Marble believes one was in Pinecrest east of Sonora and the other in Placerville -- were above the fog and could see the shuttle.

"One of them said, 'I see it! I see it,'" said Marble, who drove along Interstate 5 in his Ford Taurus equipped with satellite communication equipment, looking for a break in the fog.

"There was a wonderful, beautiful orange trail," one of them said.

But there was something else.

"Both said they had never seen a re-entry before," said Marble, "They said (the Columbia) seemed to be puffing. Maybe they did see the early signs of the problem."

Minutes later, they heard NASA had lost track of the Columbia.

"What a terrible, terrible tragedy," Marble said.

The Columbia's seven astronauts included Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. His presence added an international component to the flight.

"This wasn't just our country going to space, so I think the impact will be felt outside the U.S.," said Karen Kincy, a Modesto resident who awoke to the news.

Kincy admires the courage of the space shuttle astronauts because they put their lives on the line each time the go into space.

"When you go up in a plane, there's not reason to think you won't come down safe," she said. "But astronauts go into space, through the atmosphere. They know the risks, yet they still go."

This was the 113th mission of the 22-year-old space shuttle program. The crew had performed more than 80 scientific and research experiments in orbit.

People heard the news at different times.

"I was crushed," said Amelia Ramos, a Modesto mother of two children. "We were eating breakfast, and I turned on the TV so the kids could see cartoons.

"The news came on, and I saw smoke. I thought maybe a plane had crashed. When they said the space shuttle, I started crying."

Leo Carrillo scurried around the Oakdale High School gymnasium Saturday morning, making sure everything was in place for the Knights of Columbus free-throw shooting contest.

He got the news about the shuttle while taping up a poster.

"It's a national tragedy, losing people who dedicated their lives to this country," Carrillo said. "I think every time the shuttle goes up, we just assume it will land."

The space program epitomizes the spirit of the nation, he said.

"One of the reasons the shuttle is important to America is because it shows what we're capable of," Carrillo said. "A lot of people will dream, but we do it."

For Waterford's John Smith, timing was everything. His brother's grandson, John Herrington, was a member of the previous shuttle's crew in November, when he became the first American Indian in space.

When Smith learned of the Columbia's demise Saturday morning, he felt for the families of the astronauts, knowing his own family could have lost a loved one.

"It's a terrible feeling, you know ," he said.

Visiting the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, Marc Ebeid of Oakland was awestruck by the idea of space flight.

"The feeling you have of being one of a handful of people looking down on Earth. It must be a surreal feeling," he said.

Ebeid said the deaths were tragic, but added, "they got to die doing something they love, not in a car accident or something."

Jim Bustamonte Jr. of Chowchilla went to the museum to see the SR-71, a spy plane that soared to the edge of Earth's atmosphere.

He hoped the incident wouldn't end the space program. "I hope the space station continues. I hope they go back to the moon," he said. "We'll bounce back, we always do."

Hugh Flanagan, a Merced County Superior Court judge, wonders about the space program's future.

"It's such a shame," Flanagan said. "This makes three major events for them."

Flanagan was referring to the Columbia destruction, the Challenger shuttle explosion in 1986 and the Apollo 1 fire on Jan. 27, 1967, that killed Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee during a test.

He said those events are seared in his memory.

"I know exactly where I was for Gus Grissom, I know where I was for the Challenger, and now this one," Flanagan said.

Bee staff writer Mike Conway contributed to this report.