With Ties To Tragedy, Queens Copes
In Aftermath Of Shuttle Disaster

By STEPHEN McGUIRE

 It was an unforeseen event that occurred thousands of feet from the Earth and miles away from New York, but distance could not keep the shockwaves of grief resulting from the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster from reverberating throughout Queens this week.

From Borough Hall to Grand Avenue, flags flew at half-staff to honor the memories of the seven Columbia crewmembers who perished in a fiery return into the Earth’s atmosphere on Feb 1.

At houses of worship, schools and museums, Queensites tried to come to terms with the loss.

And for one well-known borough resident that knows how it feels to have a loved one take part in three Space Shuttle missions, learning that Columbia’s crew would not be returning home was especially unsettling.

Former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman whose daughter, NASA Astronaut Ellen Shulman Baker, has flown on three space shuttle missions including a trip aboard Columbia in 1992, found it difficult to talk about the disaster.

Teachers at P.S. 149, which is named after fallen astronaut Christa McCauliffe, may participate in a ceremony honoring the victims of the Columbia disaster. Press Photo by Ira Cohen

“My heart goes out to the families. It was absolutely a terrible tragedy,” Shulman said.

Shulman said she was unable to provide any information about the role her daughter was playing in the investigation into Saturday’s disaster, but she indicated that all of the astronauts are “very upset.”

At presstime, Baker was unable to be reached, but a  NASA spokesperson told the PRESS that all current astronauts “are helping with the investigation and working with the families” of those lost in the Columbia disaster.

Astronaut Ellen Shulman Baker graduated from Bayside High School in 1970, attended college and went on to earn degrees in medicine and public health, according to NASA.

Baker later joined NASA in the role of medical officer at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

She was officially given the title of astronaut in June 1985 and since has worked in a variety of roles to move forward the Space Shuttle program and Space Station development.

Baker has a total of nearly 700 hours spent in space.

In 1989, Baker was a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Atlantis during a mission when the crew launched the Galileo probe to explore Jupiter.

In 1992, Baker was aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia for the first flight of the US Microgravity Laboratory and the first “extended duration orbiter flight” when crewmembers conducted science experiments involving biological and combustion science, crystal growth and fluid physics.

During the 331 hour-flight, Baker and crew traveled nearly 5.7 million miles in 221 orbits of the earth.

In 1995, Baker was a crewmember aboard the shuttle Atlantis when it became the first shuttle to dock with the Russian space station Mir.

Baker currently serves as the NASA’s Lead Astronaut for Medical Issues, and the astronaut representative to the Education Working Group at Lyndon Johnson Space Center.

At P.S. 193 in Whitestone, a bronze model tribute to the memory of the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger became a focal point for reflection and new meaning for students and teachers there.

Flags flew at half-staff across the borough this week to honor the shuttle tragedy, including this one in Maspeth. Press Photo by Ira Cohen

On Monday, Feb. 4, students and faculty of the pre-kindergarten through sixth grade school observed a moment of silence to honor the lost crew members of Columbia and “teachers are answering questions [about the Columbia disaster],” said P.S. 193 Principal Joyce Bush.

 According to Bush, P.S. 193 Science Teacher Eugene Englese and students are also in the initial planning stages of forming a committee to “do something” for the families of the Columbia astronauts – “something” similar to what staff and students at the school did immediately following the 1986 explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

 According to former P.S. 193 principal Mildred Schwartz, the idea for a replica of the Challenger as a memorial on school grounds was the brainchild of  then-Resource Room Teacher Mark Rosenberg, who now teaches at P.S. 250.

Schwartz, who was principal of PS 193 from 1973 to 1989, recalled that many of the school’s students were gathered in the auditorium to watch Challenger on what became a fateful take-off.

“We felt it was appropriate,” Schwartz about the model tribute that remains.

The best way to cope with hard-to-explain events like the Columbia Disaster is to talk about it, according to one local expert.

Rafael Javier, a Dr. of Psychology at St. John’s University and director of the school’s Center of Psychological Services and Clinical Studies said events like Sept. 11, talk of an impending war with Iraq and last week’s Space Shuttle disaster can leave us with feelings of vulnerability.

“There are things that we don’t understand . . . and there are feelings of uncertainty among parents themselves, Javier said. “The whole country is going thorough this.”

Javier said the best thing for parents to tell children is that they are there to support and “protect” them.

Javier also suggested that parents try not to minimize these “difficult times,” write to their political representatives to let them know how they are feeling and “try to spend more time with loved ones.”

Borough President Helen Marshall said Borough Hall is planning one or more major events to honor the Columbia astronauts.

“We want to encourage children to think about the future, because space exploration is about the future,” Marshall told the PRESS indicating that any future event(s) will try to involve Astronaut Ellen Shulman Baker and/or students and teachers at Jackson Heights’ P.S. 149, named after lost Challenger astronaut Christa McCauliffe.

Marshall said the fact that those aboard Columbia had few ties to Queens had little to do with any upcoming tributes

“They did this for our country, and that’s enough of a connection,” Marshall said.

Ellen Shulman Baker is not the only Queensite to take part in missions aboard a Space Shuttle.

Decorated Navy captain and NASA astronaut James Wetherbee was born in Flushing in 1952 and has been involved in six shuttle missions, including two aboard Columbia. He was selected as an astronaut in 1985.

Wetherbee piloted Columbia during his first shuttle mission in 1990 and was mission commander on his second shuttle flight – also aboard Columbia in 1992 – and has logged over 1,592 hours in space

He was aboard shuttle flights in 1995, 1997, 2001 and 2002.

Wetherbee currently resides in Huntington Station, NY according to his NASA bio.

At the New York Hall of Science, work is currently underway to restore the rockets that once stood inside Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Originally, the rocket park was erected as part of the 1964 World’s Fair.

The U.S. Space Park exhibit was the site where rookie astronaut Neil Armstrong signed autographs for children who had no way of knowing that he would become the first man to walk on the surface of the moon in 1969.

On display was a Titan Rocket with a Gemini capsule and an Atlas rocket with a Mercury capsule.

The park closed in 1984, but in 2001, the rockets were removed for restoration and museum officials indicated that rocket park is expected to re-open within the next two years.