Space station crew told of Columbia disaster

The three crew members at the International Space Station were today said to be grieving after they were told about the Columbia disaster by a Nasa official.

Bob Cabana, director of flight crew operations, said he told the crew of two Americans and one Russian about the accident about 24 hours after Columbia disintegrated 39 miles over Texas.

“They’re grieving up there, also. And they feel a little isolated. We’re keeping them fully informed,” Cabana said.

The latest crew – Nasa astronauts Ken Bowersox and Don Pettit and Russian Soyuz commander Nikolai Budarin – arrived at the space station in November and are scheduled to return to Earth in March.

“They want to get through this process. And it’s harder for them being detached from it in space,” Cabana said. ”But all I can tell you is they’re in tremendous spirits. They’re proud to be where they are.”

He also said Bowersox, Pettit and Budarin were glad to hear about the successful launch of a supply ship, and are looking forward to its arrival tomorrow morning at the space station.

The unmanned Russian cargo ship was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan yesterday. It is delivering fuel, equipment, food and mail for the trio.

Cabana said he assured Bowersox that he would tell the crew anything learned from the Columbia investigation. He also shared stories about Columbia’s crew.

“I talked about better memories, about (an) on-orbit video conference I had with them and how happy they were to be there, and how much it meant to them to be contributing on this mission. And those are the memories I’m always going to cherish,” Cabana said.