CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) Schoolchildren joined NASA managers and relatives of the lost crew of space shuttle Columbia on Friday to mark the 10th anniversary of the tragedy and remember the seven astronauts who died.

More than 300 people gathered at Kennedy Space Center for the outdoor ceremony, just a few miles from where Columbia was supposed to land on Feb. 1, 2003, following a 16-day science mission. It never made it, bursting apart in the sky over Texas, just 16 minutes from home.

Representing the families of the Columbia seven, the widow of commander Rick Husband told the hushed audience that the accident was so unexpected and the shock so intense, "that even tears were not freely able to fall."

"They would come in the weeks, months and years to follow in waves and in buckets," said Evelyn Husband Thompson.

She assured everyone, though, that healing is possible and that blessings can arise from hardships. She attended the ceremony with her two children, her second husband and Sandra Anderson, widow of Columbia astronaut Michael Anderson.

"God bless the families of STS-107," said Thompson, referring to the mission designation for Columbia's last mission. "May our broken hearts continue to heal and may beauty continue to replace the ashes."

A pair of songs added to the emotion of the day. The young nephew of a NASA worker performed a song he wrote, "16 Minutes from Home," on the keyboard, along with a vocalist. And Grammy award-winning BeBe Winans, an R&B and gospel singer, performed "Ultimate Sacrifice," which he wrote for soldiers serving overseas.

As it turns out, Anderson had taken a CD of Winans' music into orbit with him. It was recovered in the debris that rained down on East Texas that fateful morning. Winans did not know that until it was mentioned at Friday's ceremony.

"I honor you today, I really do honor the families and those who have given the ultimate sacrifice," he added. Some in the crowd wiped away tears as he sang.

Also present were 44 students from Israel, the homeland of Columbia astronaut Ilan Ramon. He was Israel's first astronaut.

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NASA marks 10 years since loss of Columbia, crew