{"id":37577,"date":"2020-05-31T00:40:44","date_gmt":"2020-05-30T16:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/tradition-tragedy-tribute-the-story-of-doug-hurley-bob-behnken-columbia-and-endeavour\/"},"modified":"2020-05-31T00:40:44","modified_gmt":"2020-05-30T16:40:44","slug":"tradition-tragedy-tribute-the-story-of-doug-hurley-bob-behnken-columbia-and-endeavour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/tradition-tragedy-tribute-the-story-of-doug-hurley-bob-behnken-columbia-and-endeavour\/","title":{"rendered":"Tradition, Tragedy, Tribute: The Story of Doug Hurley, Bob Behnken, Columbia, and Endeavour"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Saturday, May 30, Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken became the first astronauts to launch to orbit from the United States in almost nine years. Demo-2 was the first crewed launch for SpaceX, and the culmination of a decade of hard work in NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew program.<\/p>\n

20 years ago, Hurley and Behnken were just Bugs. That was the nickname given to the NASA Astronaut class of 2000, of which both Doug and Bob were members. Also in their class were Karen Nyberg and K. Megan McArthur, whom Doug and Bob would marry.<\/p>\n

Doug and Bob were selected by NASA, in part, due to their extensive test pilot experience. After all, Hurley was the first United States Marine to pilot the F\/A-18 Super Hornet, and Behnken had served as lead Flight Test Engineer for the 4th F-22 Raptor. But over the next two decades, Doug and Bob would be changed forever, into the crew that would fly the newest American spaceship.<\/p>\n

Tradition<\/p>\n

Through their two years of training, Doug and Bob became best friends. After completing their evaluations, they eagerly awaited their chance to fly into space. They were first assigned as Astronaut Support Personnel, a group better known as the \u201cCape Crusaders.\u201d These personnel were tasked with supporting launch and landing operations, including helping their fellow astronauts strap into their seats before launch, and help them out after landing.<\/p>\n

In 2003, Doug Hurley was the lead Cape Crusader for the STS-107 mission. Space Shuttle Columbia and her seven crew were slated for a sixteen day research mission to orbit. The mission was long-awaited for, having endured two and a half years of delays before launch.<\/p>\n

On January 16, 2003, Columbia stood at LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center on what would finally be her launch day. The crew of STS-107, commanded by Rick Husband on his second spaceflight, walked across the crew access arm to board their home for the next sixteen days. As the lead Cape Crusader, Doug Hurley was waiting in the white room to help the crew aboard.<\/p>\n

According to tradition, the commander of the mission would take the name patch of the lead Cape Crusader with him to orbit, returning the patch upon their return to Earth. As he strapped Commander Husband into his seat, Hurley wondered if Husband had forgotten. But as Hurley prepared to leave Columbia\u2019s flight deck, Husband ripped Hurley\u2019s name patch off of his closeout crew bunny suit, and placed it on the Commander\u2019s side of the cockpit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Rick Husband on the flight deck of Shuttle Columbia during STS-107. Doug Hurley\u2019s name patch is visible above Husband\u2019s elbow. \u2013 via NASA<\/p>\n

In his Shuttle history titled Wheels Stop<\/em>, Rick Houston narrates a message from Columbia\u2019s pilot Willie McCool, just before Hurley left the cockpit: \u201cI can\u2019t wait for you to be sitting here like I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hurley and the rest of the closeout crew closed Columbia\u2019s hatch, and departed the launch pad. At 10:39 AM, Columbia, her crew, and Doug Hurley\u2019s patch lifted off to begin their final mission.<\/p>\n

Tragedy<\/p>\n

On the morning of February 1, 2003, both Hurley and Behnken waited at the space center\u2019s Shuttle Landing Facility to help the crew out of Columbia after landing. The orbiter was expected to touch down on runway 33 at 9:16 AM. Other than a slight concern about fog, the weather at the landing site was good.<\/p>\n

At 8:59 AM, Columbia and her crew were 39 miles over Texas, at speeds greater than Mach 12.<\/p>\n

When the time of Columbia\u2019s expected arrival came and went, Hurley stood with Kennedy Space Center director and Space Shuttle veteran Bob Cabana as he delivered the tragic news to the crew\u2019s families. Hurley then went with Behnken to the hotel for the astronaut families in order to gather their belongings.<\/p>\n

Hurley recounted that day to Houston. \u201cThat was excruciating to do that. You were packing notes to parents that the kids had written. I still, to this day, can\u2019t imagine what that must have been like for those families to go through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has had a sustained and lasting effect on me personally. I don\u2019t know how to explain what exactly it changed, but there was my life before February 1, 2003, and then there was my life after. I think there probably are a fair amount of people here who would be able to say that. Maybe it was youth, my loss of that. Or idealism. Something. It really did have an effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behnken made his first spaceflight in 2008, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, on STS-123. As a Mission Specialist, Behnken conducted three spacewalks to complete assembly of the Canadian Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, the part of the Space Station\u2019s robotic arm better known as Dextre. Behnken returned to space in 2010, again aboard Endeavour, on STS-130, where he completed another three spacewalks to install the Tranquility and Cupola modules of the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bob Behnken participating in the second spacewalk of STS-130 \u2013 via NASA<\/p>\n

Doug Hurley first launched to space in 2009, aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-127. During launch, insulation foam from the external fuel tank fell and struck Endeavour\u2019s heat shield, the same danger which crippled Columbia. Post-launch inspections mandated on all missions after STS-107 revealed no significant damage, allowing Hurley to pilot Endeavour to a safe landing.<\/p>\n

Hurley then piloted Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2011 on STS-135, the final flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the last crewed launch to orbit from the United States until Demo-2 on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Tribute<\/p>\n

In 2018, NASA selected Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to be the first crew for SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon spacecraft. Demo-2, at its core, is a test flight, designed to ensure all of the spacecraft\u2019s systems can support future crews travelling to and from the International Space Station. So it is fitting that the crew of Demo-2 is a pair of test pilots.<\/p>\n

See Also<\/h4>\n