By Nicholas K. Geranios, Associated Press, 02/01/03

Michael P. Anderson, 43 (AFP Photo)  RELATED INFORMATION A transcript of the final radio transmission between Mission Control and space shuttle Columbia, shortly before 9 a.m. EST: Mission Control: "Columbia, Houston we see your tire pressure messages and we did not copy your last." Columbia: "Roger, uh, ..." (transmission breaks off after the crew member starts to say a word begining with the sound "buh.")  TODAY'S GLOBE Top stories Damaged wing under suspicion At 8:59, a sign of trouble Initial inquiry focuses on wing Debris found, officials seek clues Warning of NASA safety issues Russian capsule may bring 3 home Mysterious boom shatters calm morning Bush offers words of comfort Text of Bush's speech For McAuliffe kin, tragedy resonates As with Challenger, a nation grieves Families' expectancy turns to sorrow World leaders voice sorrow On TV, scenes of grief Opinion: Columbia's final flight History and timeline Deadly accidents in the history of space Key dates in history of space program Timeline of Columbia's last flight Science Shuttle carried Northeastern experiment Flight included 80 experiments Glossary of space shuttle terms  CREW PROFILES Astronaut's rise was great hope India's reaction is stunned dismay Astronauts shared passion for space  NECN VIDEO Searching In Texas Shuttle is 'gone' Debris found in Texas Sensitive radar captures falling debris NASA lowers flag to half-staff Witnesses heard 'big bang' in the sky A profile of Columbia's crew Shuttle debris found NASA: 'A tragic day' Too early to speculate  RELATED GRAPHICS Space shuttle Columbia stats Final Moments Map of debris found Getting down History of shuttle program  NASA LINKS About the mission (Needs Flash) Space Shuttle reference manual Shuttle facts, activities, and history Landing the Space Shuttle Virtual tour of shuttle Columbia. About the Columbia Note: The volume of traffic is causing significant slowdowns on NASA's web servers.  RELATED LINKS Unofficial shuttle encyclopedia  A LOOK BACK AT CHALLENGER Fiery blast destroys space shuttle Challenger's crew who died in blast The Challenger disaster - final words McAuliffe: 'Reach for the stars'

SPOKANE -- Astronaut Michael P. Anderson left his hometown of Spokane years ago, but he never stopped inspiring young people here, those who knew him said Saturday after the shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas, killing Anderson and six others.

His former Sunday School teacher, the Rev. Happy Watkins of New Hope Baptist Church, carries a picture of Anderson, which he shows off when speaking to group of young people.

"It shows him in an astronaut suit standing next to the Columbia space ship," Watkins said Saturday morning. "The kids can look at him and see he is black."

"It's inspiring to show," Watkins said. "If he can aspire to be the best, you can be the best."

Anderson, 43, was a payload commander and lieutenant colonel in charge of science experiments on the Columbia, NASA's oldest shuttle. It was his second mission to space.

The shuttle's pilot, William C. McCool of San Diego, also had ties to Washington state. In 1986, he completed flight training and was assigned to the Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 129 at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, about 80 miles north of Seattle.

The son of an Air Force man, Anderson was born in Plattsburgh, N.Y., and grew up on military bases. The family eventually settled in the Spokane area, where Watkins remembered Anderson as a quiet and determined youngster.

"He was a very gentle, determined young man who was focused," Watkins said. "One of his early goals was he wanted to be a pilot."

"He was just a role model young man," Watkins said. "It's a real, real heartbreaking tragedy."

Anderson's wife, Sandra Hawkins, formerly of Spokane, and the couple's two daughters, ages 9 and 11, now live in the Houston area, where the space program is based.

His parents and in-laws live in Spokane. A neighbor of the Andersons answered the phone at their home Saturday morning, saying the astronaut's parents were not ready to make any statements and were being comforted by friends.

"It's hard on them right now," the woman said, declining to give her name.

Michael Anderson was born on Christmas Day in 1959. His family moved to Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane when Michael was 11, and stayed here when his father, Bobbie Anderson, retired from the Air Force in 1977.

Anderson graduated from Cheney High School, 15 miles southwest of Spokane, in 1977.

He grew up watching "Star Trek," "Lost in Space" and dreaming of going to Mars. He worked hard in school to achieve those dreams.

"I was part of a group of kids that just seemed fired up about the academic side of high school," he recalled in a 1998 interview with The Spokesman-Review of Spokane.

"He was always somewhat different from most kids," his mother Barbara told the newspaper. "I mean, when everybody else was off playing or doing whatever, he was inside doing experiments with his chemistry set or studying some sort of electronics."

Anderson earned a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy in 1981 from the University of Washington. He got a master's degree in physics from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., in 1990 at the same time he was flying for the Air Force.

The Rev. Thomas McShane, a teacher of Anderson's at Creighton, remembered him as a person who was driven, but masked it with an easygoing personality.

"He decided on his own to work on a master's degree in physics," McShane said. "He kept that ball in the air while taking turns piloting an airborne command post.

"He was an intense kind of person, but kept it disguised. He didn't like to flaunt his capabilities," McShane said.

Anderson was an instructor pilot and tactics officer at Plattsburgh Air Force Base in New York when NASA selected him in 1994. He reported to Johnson Space Center in Houston in March 1995, went through a year of training and qualified for flight crew assignment as a mission specialist.

"I remember how excited he was when he got accepted into the astronaut program," said Rich Cantwell, chief of military justice during Anderson's years at the Plattsburgh base, which closed in 1995.

"He was as professional as could be," said Cantwell, now district attorney in New York's Clinton County. He knew what his job was and he was one of those guys who could do his job so well and make it look so easy."

Anderson's first trip to space was a flight to Russia's Mir space station in January 1998. He carried aloft a Cheney High Blackhawks banner, and a city of Spokane banner. Another member of that crew was astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, a Sunnyside native and University of Washington graduate.

During the nine-day mission, Anderson and his crew transferred more than 9,000 pounds of scientific equipment, logistical hardware and water from the space shuttle Endeavor to Mir.

While Anderson loved flying, he said he didn't like the riskiness of launching.

"There's always that unknown," he said in an interview before Columbia's launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Jan. 16.

A career in space was a lifelong dream.

"I was always fascinated by science-fiction shows, shows like 'Star Trek' and 'Lost in Space,"' he said in a previous interview. "And going out of your house and looking up and seeing jets fly by, that seemed like another very exciting thing to do.

"So I knew I wanted to fly airplanes, and I knew I wanted to do something really exciting, and I always had a natural interest in science. So it all kind of came together at a very young age, and I thought being an astronaut would be the perfect job."

Hal Sutter was one of Anderson's teachers at Cheney High School. "He was certainly a student leader," Sutter told KHQ-TV in Spokane Saturday morning. "The kids really respected him."

A plaque showing the space shuttle, along with pictures of Anderson talking to students, is permanently on display at Cheney High School.

Student Gavin Garrett remembered a recent speech Anderson made, recalling that he said a toy airplane he got from his father initially sparked his interest in flight. "He set his goals high, but achievable at the same time," Garrett said.

The Columbia was in space for 16 days, conducting scientific experiments dealing with global climate, human physiology and fire suppression. Anderson was in charge of the shuttle's payload and oversaw science experiments.

The Columbia's mission was the 113th flight in the shuttle program's 22 years. It was the 28th flight for Columbia.

In 42 years of U.S. human space flight, there had never been an accident during the descent to Earth or landing. On Jan. 28, 1986, space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after liftoff.