Hail, Columbia!

[TheSlashFiveTourer]

HAIL, COLUMBIA!
1 FEBRUARY 2003
R.I.P.

[kbasa]

Roger that.

dave

[Voni]

At 14:05 hrs GMT, 2/1/03, radar over east Texas confirmed the worst. The debris trail disappeared just southwest of Natchez, Mississippi six and a half hours later. Chilling!!!

Voni

[The_Veg]

It was a very sad day a year ago.

I heard something very interesting on NPR this morning. It seems that the dates of both shuttle tragedies and of the Apollo fire are all within a week of each other. NASA chief proclaimed it a day of remembrance; I'd go for a full-on national holiday.

Until 9.11, the Challenger was my generation's equivalent of JFK.

I just missed seeing Columbia's breakup- I would have if I'd taken my walk 30 minutes earlier. I was just putting on my shoes to do so when my brother (who's in the TV news biz) called and told me to turn on any channel. I always hate that eerily familiar feeling I get when someone says that, the strange apprehension before you find out why.

I dreamed of being an astronaut as a child. I know we all did. Even though I forgot about that dream before it was time to start making plans for life, I have always kept a place in my heart for those who got there, for those who dared, those who took the risks. I salute them all.

I've always been a space fan, and I always will be.