National Aeronautics and Space
Administration Astronaut William Cameron “Willie” McCool, the pilot of the
ill-fated Columbia mission STS-107 that exploded
in space during reentry in 2003, has been immortalized with his very own Gawad
Kalinga “McCool” Village in Luzon.
McCool, who is survived by his
Philippine-born wife Lani and son Sean, was recently honored by his
mother-in-law Atilana Rambayon, who donated a hectare of land in Moncada,
Tarlac to build the GK McCool Village.
McCool, known at NASA for his humility
and exceptional talents, died onboard the Space Shuttle Columbia launched on
January 16, 2003. Columbia
ended tragically on February 1, 2003 at the end of its 16-day scientific
mission. The space shuttle disintegrated during re-entry to earth’s atmosphere
a few minutes before landing at the Kennedy
Space Center
in Florida.
All seven crew members aboard were killed. McCool was 42.
Near the end of his flight, McCool had
sent a meaningful insight back home: “From our orbital vantage point, we
observe an Earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and
we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it,
and strive to live as one in peace,” he said.
Tony Pascua was the only Filipino in the
team who worked on the Columbia Space Shuttle while it was being constructed in
the early 80s. Fast forward to the present year and in a surprising twist of
fate, Tony together with his wife Malou decided to sponsor 50 GK houses for the
poorest of the poor without knowing that the land in which their sponsored
village will rise belonged to the pilot of the same space shuttle that Tony
worked on early in his career.
This development was like a fulfilled
prophecy of Willie McCool’s dream of a ‘borderless world’ where people from all
over the world ‘live as one in peace’.
Plans to set up a mini-Science Museum
in the village have already been proposed by Atilana, a retired school teacher
who shares her beloved son-in-law’s love for children with a desire to educate
them further in science and math.
On the “USN Commander Willie McCool GK
Village,” 50 homes for the poorest of the poor are expected to rise in Tarlac
giving reality to his vision.
From one man’s death, hundreds will now
gain new life.
Many of the children in the village will
now probably dare to become astronauts one day when they learn the story of the
man who gave his life for their future. Who knows, the first Filipino astronaut
might even come from this GK Village inspired by U.S. Astronaut William McCool.
