I'm probably going to give away way too much personal info on this one, but screw it.
My dad flew 2 missions on the Shuttle. For one of them, Rick was our designated family escort throughout the launch and the days leading up to it. I was still pretty young but I remember him clearly. He was always a figure of comfort and support for my mom and I during what could often be hectic days filled with PR events and entertaining our guests that had come from all corners of the world. They pick astronauts to escort families throughout their launch experience based on their personal skills and Rick Husband definitely had all the right attributes to be a rockstar at that job.
By 2003 my dad had recently retired from active status and we had moved back home. That afternoon (it was afternoon where I was living at the time) I was just coming home from school like any other day, oblivious to anything, and opened the door to find my mom crying a river. Confused at first, my eyes quickly moved up to the TV with the news channel on showing the trail of debris and the headline that Columbia was lost. Then she told me Rick Husband was the Captain. It's one of those moments that even 20 years later feels like it just happened yesrerday.
Godspeed to the STS-107 crew who made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of space exploration and furthering our scientific knowledge. I hope the lessons learned will not be forgotten in the future