The Columbia space shuttle disintegrated upon reentry after completing mission STS-107 on Feb. 1, 2003. Commander Rick Husband, was an Amarillo native as well as an Amarillo High School graduate. Since the disaster, Amarillo has honored Commander Rick Husband in numerous ways, such as renaming the airport to the Rick Husband International Airport, the statue downtown and the memorials at the schools he attended, including the memorial in the commons. Newly donated memorabilia of Husband’s time at Amarillo High now seeks a spot on his memorial wall.
Recently, Husband’s brother donated a collection of his graduation memorabilia. This included his graduation announcement, the program from both the graduation ceremony and the baccalaureate service, his honor cords and his high school diploma. With an entirely new set of objects, personal to Husband and his connection to the school, the journalism department hopes to place these items in a shadow box, adding to the existing memorial located in the commons.
From the donated items, students can envision the type of high school career Husband had. From the Ken Club and National Honor Society stickers on his diploma to the slightly frayed chords he wore at graduation, these little details reveal who he was as a Sandie before becoming famous. By displaying this collection, the Archives and the Journalism Department hope to show current students that Rick Husband, who literally reached for the stars, began at the same place they currently reside. 
Mission STS-107 began on Jan. 16, starting a 16-day mission to space to carry out experiments studying things like microgravity. Space Shuttle Columbia launched its 28th flight at 10:39 a.m. EST, carrying a crew of seven: Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool; Mission Specialists Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, and Laurel Clark; Payload Commander Michael Anderson and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon. During takeoff, a piece of the foam from the external tank struck the left wing, damaging the thermal panels in what would become a catastrophic incident. At 8:44 a.m. on Feb. 1, the Columbia reentered Earth’s atmosphere above the Pacific Ocean. At approximately 9 a.m., the space shuttle and all seven crew members were lost as the vehicle broke apart over East Texas, 16 minutes prior to their scheduled landing.
Born and raised in Amarillo, Texas, Rick Husband attended Amarillo High School, graduating in 1975. In interviews, he mentioned that he had the dream of becoming an astronaut since he was 4 years old. He left behind his wife, Evelyn Husband and their two kids after his death.
