My job today was to track down some of the 100-plus astronauts who’ve flown on Columbia over the last two decades. (A few of them will show up in a story in tomorrow’s DMN.) I spent some time trying to track down a working phone number for Ken Bowersox, who’d gone up on Columbia twice (STS-50 and STS-73). For some reason, I just couldn’t get in touch with him.
Then on the way home, I realized why: He’s been on the International Space Station since November. I imagine he wasn’t waiting by the radio for my call today.