A bronze statue honoring astronaut Michael Anderson is unveiled at the Museum of Flight.

Museum of Flight honors astronaut

Oct. 2009—The Museum of Flight has unveiled a bronze statue honoring astronaut Michael P. Anderson, a native of Spokane who was lost when the Space Shuttle Columbia broke up on reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere in 2003.

Those present at the dedication ceremony included Anderson’s parents; sculptor Dorothy Fowler, who made the statue; representatives of the Tuskegee Airmen, and business leaders from Spokane, the King County International Airport, and Alaska Airlines.

Alaska Airlines donated $10,000 toward the creation of the statue, and the Alaska Airlines Foundation donated $25,000 toward a new Michael Anderson Memorial Aerospace scholarship for children of color.

Michael Anderson’s dream was for children to know and value education, so it is no coincidence that his statue faces East Marginal Way, where school buses drop children off when they come to visit the Museum of Flight.

Related links

• Michael P. Anderson Memorial Aerospace Scholarship (external site)

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