Columbia

I woke up about 9:30 this morning despite the fact that I was up late last night watching Band of Brothers. I went downstairs and flipped on the TV. I watched a bit of SpongeBob for a bit before I flicked over to NBC. I couldn't believe it. It was like I was living in a dream. I was watching when the Challenger exploded. Despite NASA's and various astronaut's assertions that it isn't taken for granted, I have considered it a given that it was safe now.


Early word is that the left wing had a major shutdown on re-entry. Mind you, this is the same left wing that was hit by a piece of debris during take-off. Apparently, no one thought that it would be prudent to examine that wing before attempting re-entry. The technology was available. Even though there was no robot arm, there were plenty of satelites that could have been re-directed so that they could look at the damage.

Some of the video footage is pretty clear and spectacular. And it brings one back to reality. Much like the video of the bits of the shuttle in people's yards and reports that bodies have been found bring one back to reality. This was a national tragedy.


Strike that. It is a man-kind tragedy. These men and women represented the best that peope can be. They were striving to make us more than simply ants that scurry across the earth awaiting death. These people danced in the heavens and brought us all closer to a higher stage of mental evolution. I was very glad that Bush made clear in his speech that this would not be a death knell for NASA.
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May they find their way home.