Such sad news! My condolences go to the families and friends of the crew of the Columbia, and to the NASA family. it is unfortunate that larger number of deaths occur each day on the highways and byways of the US and yet we will forever remember this tragedy without even hearing about the others, but I suppose thats how the American people will react when the media controls what we hear about.

Speaking of which, the comment allegedly attibuted to the Iraqis is definitely uncalled for, but I would question the source...meaning, who said this comment, and does he/she represent All the Iraqi people? I highly doubt that the Iraqi people are all of this opinion. It is most likely someone in the media was able to get the comment so that they could use it to incite more anger, thus more press. There will always be people in the world who will rejoice at the death of American, and I guess that is the price we have to pay for being the world's police. Sad how things work like that.

NASA will likely ground the fleet for awhile to see if they can find what triggered this incident. The Columbia was the oldest shuttle in tthe fleet having flown its first flight some 20 years ago. I hope they can findthe issues without devestatin the Shuttle program.

 

I echo the sentiments expressed in this thread. I consider space travel to be a very important part of the human puzzle. One day we're going to destroy the Earth, either by using up all of it's natural resources or something more obvious like a Nuke. At that point we're gonna need somewhere to live. In any event I hope this doesn't derail our space program TOO much although I suspect it will. Best wishes for all of the families affected by this tragedy.

 

The crew of the space shuttle Columbia will be sorely missed. They gave their lives exploring the outer reaches of man's understanding in the final frontier that is space, boldly going where no one has gone before - the exemplary expression of the human spirit.

 

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by OhioRacer
[B]God forgive me for my comments...

 

Dario,

There is such a "disconnect" betweeen these types of threads and reality. I can't figure out why these people hate us so much.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by OhioRacer
[B]

Dario,

There is

 

To die in the pursuit of joy is the best way to die. I'm sure the Columbia crew died happy, as they were in the pursuit of what they loved. Exploration.

R.I.P. Columbia and crew

 

My prayers go out to their families.

We heard the "Boom" from inside our house this morning - it rattled our windows. We thought that it was an explosion from an oil refinery. Debris has landed in a lot of communities within 20 - 50 miles from us.

So sad.

 

I agree. While it's sad I can't think of a better way to go. Riding a rocketship at 12,500 mph while looking down at the Earth from 200,000 feet. Awesome way to go out.