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California's NASA Community Reacts

NPR | By Andy Bowers
Published January 31, 2003 at 9:00 PM PST

NPR's Andy Bowers reports from Palmdale, Calif., where the space shuttle Columbia was upgraded in 2001. Palmdale is near Edwards Air Force Base, which was the original landing site during the space shuttle program's infancy. It is still the alternate landing site.

Copyright 2003 NPR
Andy Bowers
Andy Bowers oversees Slate's collaboration with NPR?s daytime news magazine, Day to Day. He helps produce the work of Slate's writers for radio, and can also be heard on the program.