Columbia Investigation Update
Retired Adm. Harold Gehman, chairman of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, has said an external tank virtually identical to the one launched with Space Shuttle Columbia Jan. 16 has been impounded at Michoud Operations near New Orleans. Speaking at a press conference at JSC, he said the external tank, produced just after Columbia's, would be carefully examined. In addition, farmers, ranchers and workers are asked to be on the lookout for debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia on their property 60 miles north or south of a line stretching generally from San Francisco, Calif., to Lafayette, La. With spring plowing already under way or beginning, it is possible for some of these items - which may still be hazardous - to be covered up or damaged through normal agricultural activities.

Plan now to attend
All American Picnic
The 2003 KSC All American Picnic is scheduled for April 26 at KARS I. Mark your calendar now -- more details will be available in the coming weeks regarding ticket sales and committee news..

Choose design for the new Florida quarter
The public is invited to choose the design that will grace the back of the Florida quarter by visiting the state's web site at www.myflorida.com . Voting ends March 5 at 9:30 a.m. The design that captures the most votes will be submitted to the United States Mint for circulation.

Five designs have been selected for consideration: The Everglades - a great white heron standing in the Florida Everglades surrounded by sawgrass; Gateway to Discovery - from a Spanish Galleon to the Space Shuttle; Fishing Capital of the World - a sailfish found in Florida's waters; St. Augustine: Oldest United States City - the Castillo De San Marcos National Monument built between 1672 and 1695 as an outpost of the Spanish empire to guard St. Augustine; America's Spaceport - a Space Shuttle superimposed over an outline of the state and surrounded by 27 stars signifying Florida as the 27th state admitted to the Union. The Mint is expected to circulate the Florida quarter in spring 2004.

Volunteers Needed
The 2003 Central Florida FIRST Regional Robotics Competition is being held March 20-22 in the University of Central Florida Arena. To volunteer for this event, please go to http://www.usfirst.org/volunteer to sign up.

EEAW Speaker
Dr. Stuart D. Strahl, president/ CEO of Audubon of Florida, is the guest speaker at the Environmental and Energy Awareness Week Opening Ceremony The ceremony will take place April 21 at 10 a.m. in the KSC Training Auditorium. A well-respected author and distinguished lecturer, Dr. Strahl is the principal author of numerous scientific and popular publications, and served for over 10 years as the founding chair of the IUCN/SSC Specialist Group on the Avian Family Cracidae. He also has considerable background in higher education and has served as adjunct faculty at the University of Florida, State University of New York, Washington College, and elsewhere. Dr. Strahl received his B.A. degree in biology from Bates College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, and his Ph.D. in biology from the State University of New York in Albany, with an emphasis on ecology and conservation.