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Glenn Mahone/Doc Mirelson
Headquarters, Washington           April 22, 2003
(Phone: 202/358-1600)

RELEASE: 03-147

SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA MEMORIAL APPROVED FOR ARLINGTON

The Columbia Orbiter Memorial Act, born in the legislation introduced
in March in the Senate by Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), and in the House of
Representatives by C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.), was signed into law by
the President last Wednesday.

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe said, "The actions by the Congress
and the President to honor the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia is
heartfelt by the entire NASA family and by the entire country. A
national memorial in the Nation's capital will serve as a reminder
about what the crew of Columbia stood for, bravery, honor, and the
quest for knowledge. I feel it will help inspire future explorers and
help keep the spirit of exploration alive in America. We at NASA are
grateful for the support from Senator Stevens and Congressman Young
for the timely and thoughtful legislation and their caring approach
to commemorate the Columbia crew." 

President George W. Bush signed the "Emergency Wartime Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 2003" into law on April 16, 2003.  The "Columbia
Orbiter Memorial Act" is contained in what is now Public Law Number
108-11. 

The memorial will be placed in the Arlington National Cemetery near
the memorial to the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger. The law
authorizes the Secretary of the Army, in consultation the NASA, to
place the Columbia marker in Arlington National Cemetery, and
authorizes up to $500,000 of previously appropriated funds for the
memorial. The legislation also authorizes NASA to collect gifts and
donations, over the next five years, for the Columbia  Memorial. It
also permits NASA to erect other appropriate memorials or monuments
with private donations. The law allows NASA to transfer collected
money or property for the fund to the Secretary of the Army to defray
expenses. Memorial fund procedures will be established and announced
in the near future.

The Space Shuttle Columbia was lost on February 1, 2003 with her
seven crewmembers, astronauts Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Mike
Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, and Ilan Ramon.
The Columbia crew's marker will join the memorial to Challenger crew,
Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnick, Dick Scobee, Michael
Smith, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe, lost on January 28,
1986. 

For more information about NASA, the Columbia Accident Investigation,
and human space flight on the Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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