Submitted March 7, 2003, 11:19 PM
What were your thoughts and feelings when you heard that Columbia was lost?
I was on the way to the Scout store to pick up some patches for my 2 boys in Cub scouts when I first heard the news on the radio. I first thought it was a replay of the Challenger story since it was so close to the anniversary of it. While in the store I heard them talking about it and realized that it had just happened. I was deeply saddened by it and shocked that it could happen. I went back in my car and still couldn't believe it. I prayed for the families and hoped that the families of the Challenger astronauts would be available to talk to them since they are the only people that can relate to what they were feeling.
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If you are old enough to remember, please compare your responses to other important moments in space travel like the Challenger disaster and the moon walk.
Just like the Challenger explosion it is hard to believe that we have become used to space flight and don't even think about it until something terrible happens. We rose above the problem and solved it just as we will again even if we have to build the next generation shuttle to do it. Hopefully NASA will find all possibe bugs or problems before some one else dies from it. We were very lucky with Apollo 13 that the men made it back safely.
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Have your views of space travel changed over time?
I remember watching the Apollo missions as a child and being in awe at what we were able to do. I remember the Apollo-Soyuz mission and how proud I was that we could reach out and work together with the Russians. I loved watching the ENTERPRISE shuttle drop test flights and then the real shuttles going to flight. Then I remember now 2 shuttles not making it back from a mission. I realize that we need to keep going back to space just look at how many inventions we have because of things developed for space. The only thing that has changed in my view is that I am not a star glazed child going ooohh but now I am an adult that knows that things can fail on our space ships. I still love looking at the shuttle launch when ever it is on television and hope to get to Florida to see a launch in person.
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Name
In addition to saving your story to the archive, may we post it to the web? (yes/no)
How did you hear about this project?
your email sent from my brother
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