Debris reconstruction of Columbia Space Shuttle, 2003
The primary colors of the grid are unintentionally festive, and it’s hard not to think of De Stijl, as we cannot block knowledge we already possess. Such a referential thought can be called professional deformation, yet in the face of tragedy, abstraction may actually be a comfort. Reconstruction requires knowledge, memory, imagining of material possibilities. How to make sense of the missing?
Mission STS-107 was the 113th Space Shuttle launch. Planned to begin on January 11, 2001, the mission was delayed 18 times and eventually launched on January 16, 2003, following STS-113. The Columbia Accident Investigation Board determined that this delay had nothing to do with the catastrophic failure.