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All the United States Texas Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum
AO Edited

Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum

Located in the place where the Columbia space shuttle came down, a museum-memorial that is both touching and informative.

Hemphill, Texas

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mickeyslimp
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Science specialist and payload commander Michael Anderson’s exhibit.   mickeyslimp / Atlas Obscura User
  mickeyslimp / Atlas Obscura User
NASA and the families of the Columbia astronauts provided many of the exhibit items.   mickeyslimp / Atlas Obscura User
Guided tours and videos are provided for all visitors   mickeyslimp / Atlas Obscura User
Memorial circle near the museum   mickeyslimp / Atlas Obscura User
  mickeyslimp / Atlas Obscura User
This is a separate marker about a half mile away at the Sabine County Courthouse. It’s worth a few more minutes to visit the downtown square, enjoy a cup of “Moon Pie” flavored coffee, and check out the quilting shop.   mickeyslimp / Atlas Obscura User
  mickeyslimp / Atlas Obscura User
Exhibit featuring Kalpana Chawla, the robotics specialist on the shuttle   mickeyslimp / Atlas Obscura User
Museum flyers   mickeyslimp / Atlas Obscura User
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About

When the Space Shuttle Columbia started pulling apart across the east Texas sky in 2003, remnants of the craft were scattered across an area of 100 miles. When the bulk of the shuttle descended in Hemphill, Texas, near the Louisiana border, it triggered one of the largest non-terrorist forensic investigations in American history.

When NASA put out a call for assistance, more than 3000 volunteers from Hemphill and the surrounding area stepped up, doing everything from an inch-by-inch search of the surrounding forests to cooking up meals a thousand or more home-cooked meals each day in the city center for all of the rescue teams.

The Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum is well worth this trek into deep east Texas. The museum opened on February 1, 2011, the eighth anniversary of the shuttle's tragic accident, and tells the story of space exploration from Columbia's first mission to its last.

The museum also honors the crew of STS-107 who lost their lives, and recognizes the efforts of those who worked on the investigation. A small area is dedicated to each crewmember, as well as the Texas Forest Service employee and the helicopter pilot who lost their lives during the recovery effort.

Related Tags

Nasa Space Museums Memorials Crash Site

Know Before You Go

As of the time of this posting, the closest hotels are about 30 minutes away in San Augustine, Texas' first settlement, dating to the 1600s. The drive, along the old Camino Reale (King's Highway) is densely populated with historical markers, though, well worth a few extra hours to explore this Lonesome Dove pathway into Texas.

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mickeyslimp

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September 8, 2021

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Sources
  • https://texasforesttrail.com/plan-your-adventure/historic-sites-and-cities/sites/patricia-huffman-smith-columbia-space-shuttle
  • https://www.toledo-bend.com/attractions/columbia/
  • https://www.ktre.com/2020/01/29/educator-whose-experiments-flew-final-shuttle-columbia-mission-speak-hemphill-museum/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia
Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum
375 Sabine Street
Unit B
Hemphill, Texas, 75948
United States
31.345813, -93.844858
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Lobanillo Swales

Bronson, Texas

miles away

Aldridge Sawmill

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miles away

Sturrock Cemetery

Zavalla, Texas

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Texas

Texas

United States

Places 378
Stories 65

Nearby Places

Lobanillo Swales

Bronson, Texas

miles away

Aldridge Sawmill

Zavalla, Texas

miles away

Sturrock Cemetery

Zavalla, Texas

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Texas

Texas

United States

Places 378
Stories 65

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