OV-102, the first spaceflight capable orbiter in the US space shuttle fleet, shared the name Columbia with the Apollo 11 Command Module.  Columbia also has a special place in my heart as I was on crew with the 12^th Space Warning Squadron conducting the space surveillance mission when Columbia disintegrated upon reentry during its final spaceflight as part of mission STS-107.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) celebrated the 25^th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 on Saturday, July 16, 1994 with a replay of the countdown and the launch of model rockets.  Over 500 people gathered for the launch ceremony, to include Apollo 13 astronaut, Fred Haise and Apollo 17 commander, Eugene Cernan.  [1]  Simultaneously, the space shuttle Columbia was conducting its seventeenth spaceflight mission.  In addition to the shared name, Columbia and Apollo 11 also connected during mission STS-65 when Columbia took part in the 25^th Anniversary celebrations of the Apollo 11 mission.

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