Post by starbase63 on Feb 3, 2003 6:25:42 GMT -5
Once again tragedy has struck the US Space Program.
Some of you are barely old enough to remember the Challenger disaster 17 years ago. That one was tragic in the fact that that crew was on its way up, ready to forge ahead it the quest for knowledge, the taming of our local part of space. The Columbia was on her way home, her crew's work done, a success in the books.
Some of you are old enough to have lived through the near disaster of Apollo 13, where in the middle of its mission, three astronauts had to rely on cool heads, some tricky risks and a lot of prayer to avoid being the first casualties in space, managing to return to Earth safely.
Some of you are a little older than me, able to remeber the bitter loss of the crew of Apollo 1, who burned to death in the pure oxygen atmosphere of their capsule before rescuers had any chance of getting the hatch open to save them. I was too small to remeber that one.
What I do know and remember about being that small is watching Star Trek on TV, and wanting to be able to go out into space like Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. As I started school, when the lunar missions were going on, I couldn't wait to get home to put the TV on to see what was going on...those were the days when every space mission was a big event. I wanted all the more to be there someday.
When the Space Shuttle program was started, I was part of the campaign to get the first orbiter named Enterprise...little did we know, that ship would never see actual orbit, but we watched every drop test and hoped for the future.
When the Young Astronauts program started when I was in 9th grade, I sent for the materials. To my dismay, even after already knowing my first steps would be to join the Air Force or Navy, go on to OCS and Flight Training School and HOPE I was selected, I found the truth that you had to practically be a math genius to even begin being considered for the program.
So my hope of actually being among the stars ended, but my hopes for man in space in general didn't.
Shortly before my 18th birthday, the first real orbiter, the Columbia, made her first launch from the Cape. Our first member of the US Space Fleet was a reality.
I didn't believe the news when I heard Challenger had exploded. I heard it for myself and was saddened. I grieved for people I never met, but thought of as kindred in our mutual wish to see mankind expand into space.
I didn't believe it at first when I heard the news Saturday. When I saw the video of the streaking debris burning across the sky, I knew seven more souls had joined the company of the Apollo 1 and Challenger crews.
My older daughter, in a very profound moment, asked me how high up they were when the ship broke up. I told her about 40 miles. She thought for a moment and said,"At least they didn't have far to go to get to heaven."
And in some future episode of Star Trek, that takes place around the time of TOS, when there is mention of the SS Columbia, a survey vessel which crashed on planet Talos IV, there may be some mention that the ship was named for the 21st century Earth orbiter, which was lost with all hands in the line of its duty of exploration and discovery, February 1, 2003.
God bless them all.
Some of you are barely old enough to remember the Challenger disaster 17 years ago. That one was tragic in the fact that that crew was on its way up, ready to forge ahead it the quest for knowledge, the taming of our local part of space. The Columbia was on her way home, her crew's work done, a success in the books.
Some of you are old enough to have lived through the near disaster of Apollo 13, where in the middle of its mission, three astronauts had to rely on cool heads, some tricky risks and a lot of prayer to avoid being the first casualties in space, managing to return to Earth safely.
Some of you are a little older than me, able to remeber the bitter loss of the crew of Apollo 1, who burned to death in the pure oxygen atmosphere of their capsule before rescuers had any chance of getting the hatch open to save them. I was too small to remeber that one.
What I do know and remember about being that small is watching Star Trek on TV, and wanting to be able to go out into space like Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. As I started school, when the lunar missions were going on, I couldn't wait to get home to put the TV on to see what was going on...those were the days when every space mission was a big event. I wanted all the more to be there someday.
When the Space Shuttle program was started, I was part of the campaign to get the first orbiter named Enterprise...little did we know, that ship would never see actual orbit, but we watched every drop test and hoped for the future.
When the Young Astronauts program started when I was in 9th grade, I sent for the materials. To my dismay, even after already knowing my first steps would be to join the Air Force or Navy, go on to OCS and Flight Training School and HOPE I was selected, I found the truth that you had to practically be a math genius to even begin being considered for the program.
So my hope of actually being among the stars ended, but my hopes for man in space in general didn't.
Shortly before my 18th birthday, the first real orbiter, the Columbia, made her first launch from the Cape. Our first member of the US Space Fleet was a reality.
I didn't believe the news when I heard Challenger had exploded. I heard it for myself and was saddened. I grieved for people I never met, but thought of as kindred in our mutual wish to see mankind expand into space.
I didn't believe it at first when I heard the news Saturday. When I saw the video of the streaking debris burning across the sky, I knew seven more souls had joined the company of the Apollo 1 and Challenger crews.
My older daughter, in a very profound moment, asked me how high up they were when the ship broke up. I told her about 40 miles. She thought for a moment and said,"At least they didn't have far to go to get to heaven."
And in some future episode of Star Trek, that takes place around the time of TOS, when there is mention of the SS Columbia, a survey vessel which crashed on planet Talos IV, there may be some mention that the ship was named for the 21st century Earth orbiter, which was lost with all hands in the line of its duty of exploration and discovery, February 1, 2003.
God bless them all.
