OUR PRAYERS GO OUT TO THE CREW OF STS 107
Seven Strangers?
by Dr. Tony Phillips
At the dawn of the space age some 40 years ago, we always knew who
was orbiting Earth or flying to the Moon. Neil Armstrong, Yuri
Gagarin, John Glenn. They were household names--everywhere.
Lately it's different. Space flight has become more routine. Another
flight of the shuttle. Another visit to the space station. Who's
onboard this time? Unless you're a NASA employee or a serious space
enthusiast, you might not know.
Dave Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael
Anderson, William McCool, and Ilan Ramon.
Now we know. Those are the names of the seven astronauts who were
tragically lost on Saturday, Feb. 1st, when the space shuttle
Columbia (STS-107) broke apart over Texas.
Before the accident, perhaps, they were strangers to you. But if
that's so, why did you have a knot in your gut when you heard the
news? What were those tears all about? Why do you feel so deep-down
sad for seven strangers?
Astronauts have an unaccountable hold on us. They are explorers.
Curious, humorous, serious, daring, careful. Where they go, they go
in peace. Every kid wants to be one. Astronauts are the essence of
humanity.
They are not strangers. They are us.
While still in orbit Dave Brown asked, jokingly, "do we really have
to come back?"
No. But we wish you had.
Please see the NASA Home Page (http://www.nasa.gov) for more
information on the Columbia Investigation.
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since Feb. 15, 2003