HomeYes. None of them were personal friends but they were professional associates. I met each one at least twice in person and some of them many times. I interviewed each one at least twice before the mission and Rick Husband over 30 times over his career. I was one of the only people fortunate enough to have the opportunity to talk to them while they were in space. This CD-ROM and book are primarily based on those interviews, plus following their mission in detail.
Your website has some information but I'd like to find out more, can you refer me to other websites or resources?
The book "Columbia Final Voyage" goes into more detail than what's available on the website. The companion CD-ROM includes additional multimedia files which are not on the website.
How come the book doesn’t include more information about (any particular topic)?
The book has to come in at a fixed length so there certainly isn’t enough space to include every story. Just as important is the purpose for the book – to tell the story of the astronauts and their mission. While the accident and aftermath are important parts of the STS-107 story they aren’t the focus of the book.
What computer hardware and software do I need to use the CD-ROM?
The CD-ROM is optimized for Windows XP with Internet Explorer. The CD-ROM should work with other versions of Windows and other web browsers although some of the menus may look different.
To listen to the audios you will need a sound card and speakers. Movies are in WMV (Windows Media Player) format and some technical documents are Adobe PDFs. Free utilities are available to view those files.
Menus are optimized for 800 x 600 displays but will work at any resolution. Most photos are 1024 x 768 pixels.
On a Macintosh running OS/X the main menus, photos, technical documents, and audio files all work. However movies do not play directly from the menus. (see next question)
I get an error message “The specified stream type is not recognized.” when I try to play the movie files.
That’s a bug with the Macintosh version of Windows Media Player which claims the path is incorrect. The path names are correct. If you wish you can browse through the CD-ROM on the Mac’s desktop and view the movies directly.
Why are the photos only 1024 x 768 resolution? Why not larger?
The CD-ROM concentrates on content. Keeping the photos at medium resolution means more photos can be included on the CD-ROM. Some special photos are at a higher resolution. In addition many of the photos are video frames where still photos are unavailable, so higher resolution images don’t exist.
Why is this particular photo so lousy?
It’s probably a video capture and the best which is available unfortunately.
Why don’t many of the links work and why do the photos just show up as thumbnails?
The website and a promotional business card CD-ROM are just promotional materials. While they include information and some samples there isn’t enough room for everything. The actual CD-ROM has full size photos and all of the linked materials.
Why are some thumbnails small and others are large?
A combination of reasons including the amount of space on the CD-ROM and web server, and a desire to make certain thumbnails larger and more legible.
What's so special about the photos which are labeled as 'rare'?
Those photos are not available through NASA's Internet websites. They include exclusive photos provided by astronaut family members, scientists and engineers, and recovered photos which NASA chose not to release.
I’ve got a wonderful photo of one of the STS-107 astronauts growing up or some other aspect of the mission that isn’t on your CD. Are you interested?
Absolutely! If it’s a public domain photo or if you have the rights to the photo then contact me via e-mail and if I decide to use it in the next edition of this CD-ROM you will get proper credit.
Why is the “Moon Landscape” photo a PDF instead of a JPG?
That’s part of our licensing agreement with the Yad Vashem Art Museum which owns the illustration.
How come there are so many photos about (any particular topic) or so few photos about (any particular topic)?
The choice of photos in the book and CD-ROM are a function of what’s available where I have legal rights to use, and which photos help tell the story. Also, in many cases there are far more photos of a particular astronaut in training and less photos of them on orbit or vice versa.
There's a mistake in your book (or CD-ROM)!
If you think you've found a mistake send an email to the webmaster with a description. There are some intentional minor mistakes in both the book and CD-ROM. These are standard publishing practices to provide legal evidence of theft of information. If somebody takes information without asking permission and republishes it those documented mistakes can be used as evidence to prove that they were stolen.
Are you planning on putting out any updates?
An updated CD-ROM is in the preliminary planning stages. It will include more photos, movies, audio clips, and additional information which wasn’t available when the first edition of the CD-ROM was published. It will also include (sigh) an errata section with any mistakes that are discovered in either the CD-ROM or book. Owners of the current CD-ROM can purchase the new edition directly from the website http://www.sts107.info with a $5 discount.
Are you planning any more books on Columbia?
Possibly. There are many wonderful stories that didn’t fit into the book “Columbia – Final Voyage”. There’s also plenty of information I’ve obtained since the book was finalized. If there’s enough interest then there may be a follow-up book covering different aspects.