I am in total shock and dismay over what has happened. My prayer was that this would not end up like the Challenger shuttle. Looking at the images on t.v. reminds me what I saw as a second-grader in 1986 when the Challenger exploded. It's so sad because Christa McAlluffe was the first teacher to attempt to go to space.... and there was a first female doctor on board today. My prayer is now for the families of the astronauts. May they have strength to endure this horrible tragedy.

May God have mercy on their souls.

I recieved a phone call from my mother at 10:30am saying that the Columbia "went down". Still, half asleep, I was trying to figure out where the Columbia building was located. When it dawned on me that it was the Space Shuttle, I thought "There isn't a launch" today. I race to the living room and my wife already had the TV on. The picture I saw eerily reminded me of January 1986 when Challenger "went down". After a minute of watching, NBC showed the flawless launch of the Columbia on January 16. So this was the landing? How could the landing go awry? I'm in shock, in a state of disbelief, and terribly saddened by this tragedy.

My heart goes out to family of the seven crew members.

Jerry

My brother just e-mailed me with the terrible news...

Oh God... Oh my God...

How much money does anyone want to bet that we can kiss the remaining shuttles and the space station goodbye?

While at the same time China is expanding their manned spaceflight capability to a tremendous degree...

There are three astronauts still on the space station as we speak. We'll have to get them down somehow.

Long term, we have strategic reasons to be in space. I've long thought we needed to completely overhaul how we do things. But this doesn't seem like the moment to talk about that.

It is very clear to me that when Bush looks at the budget for this year, there has got to be better funding for NASA and the shuttle program. There have got to be some revisions to the space program..... I'm sorry, tears are just flowing down my face, as I listen to Sean O'Keefe talk about the tragedy.

There is relevance for the space works being done. However, it does look to me that there is a lot of resources to do that. Again, as Dean has stated, there are 3 others that need to come down. Let's hope that they are successful with their landing.

Again, let our hearts and prayers be with the families of the astronauts that lost their lives, believing, and loving what they did. We must prevail and be strength for them.

Casey:

I'll take that bet. Too Much money has been spent on the ISS for the WORLD to let it die. Currently, one of the only means of transport from the US is the Space Shuttle. The only way the ISS can stay in orbit is via onboard HUMAN intervention. The three astronauts can return to Earth via an escape "Soyuz" capsule. The only thing that does is seal the fate of the ISS.
Which I still say that it won't happen.

It appears NASA was too certain of its landing procedure to not check it out when the Columbia was overhauled for this mission. I believe this mission should have happened in summer 2002, but problems caused its delay.

When I think of the 7 heroes who died, I also think of what could have happened had they landed safely.

The next scheduled launch of Columbia was November 2003. STS-117 would have marked the return of the "Teacher In Space" Program.

As Yogi Berra once said its like "Deja Vu, All over again"

Today is a very very sad day..

Casey,

Bush was going to announce a nuclear space drive program this week. I don't think, we are goign to cede space to the Chinese, even now, but with any luck, this spells the end of NASA and marks the point where we get SERIOUS about space, starting with a new agency.

"High Flight" was an excellent choice for a post. Nicely done.

Jerry and Gary:
Having heard Bush's words, perhaps there is some hope. I was concerned that there would be another 3-year delay to pick nits, as after Challenger. Back then, Chuck Yeager said the best thing we could have done would be to launch the next available good-weather day. I still agree with that.

Gary, I certainly hope that tomorrow's children won't be speaking Mandarin, but I wouldn't bet on it yet. This is a worse challenge to Western Civilization than "terrorism" ever was. That is nothing more than hi-tech piracy, and the Marines managed that quite well 200 years agone ("To the shores of Tripoli...")

This is worse. Forty years ago Martin Caidin brought up the "Viking Phenomenon": the Vikings were demonstrably the first to the New World. Alas, centuries later their accomplishments were so forgone that 19th Century claims for Viking explorations were recieved with ridicule.

The Vikings were first. But the settlers of the New World spoke ENGLISH.

The Americans were first. What will be the language of the Final Frontier?

Dean, I think this IS the time to talk about it, it being the future of the US space INDUSTRY. We won't be off of this rock as long as its a "Space Program."

Bush could jump start it immediately if they, say, put a moratorium on taxes for space industries for, say, 25 years (the same for alternative energy wouldn't hurt either).

Because Casey above has a point, and I believe in the Invisible Hand, not Govt. Beauracracies.

While I may agree with you, David, I simply didn't think it was time to start that debate while the bodies were still, you know, smoking.

I expect that the space exploration and transportation programs of the United States, both manned and unmanned, will continue after an interlude sufficient to ascertain with some degree of accuracy what caused the most recent crash.

Mankind evolved from troops of baboons that came down from their trees to create a new environment for themselves, first on the wide veldt, then on other lands, then on the oceans, then into the skies. Now in the vacuums of space surrounding our planet. And eventually deep into outer space in exploration and settlement of the planets of other stars and even outside our own galaxy.

No such beginning in any of these important steps of human development ever were totally safe, and none may ever be. But explore we will, because it is at the heart of our nature to do so, and therefore it is the human destiny.

In any case, long live our memories of the crews of Columbia, and of Challenger, and all others who have lost their lives in the quest to move the human experience beyond the bounds of Earth.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

Just a minor correction, John G. Magee died in 1941, not 1944. Please look at http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/history/prewwii/jgm.htm. And yes, I remember feeling a great loss when Challenger exploded also.

Randy Christilles