Columbia Crash Memorial

Hemphill, Texas

Unveiled in 2009, the "Columbia Memorial Star" marks the day in 2003 that the Space Shuttle Columbia blew apart over Texas and rained debris and remains on Hemphill.

Flanked by granite headstones listing the names of the doomed crew, the memorial is a large round disc made of painted brick and tile, tilted at a slight angle so that its design can be seen from the ground, and elevated to keep people from walking on it. A visible-from-space-size Columbia mission patch is set into a big white Texas star superimposed over an American flag, ringed by the words "Sabine County Columbia Memorial - Their Mission Became Our Mission."