The World Mourns - Your Thoughts on the Space Shuttle Columbia Tragedy

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I sat at my desk at JSC planning manned Mars missions on January 28, 1986. A coworker came and told me, with a blank stare, the Challenger had been destroyed during launch and I thought he was kidding. It just wasn't possible. Mars suddenly seemed unattainable. My perspective was changed forever.

Since then I've had 3 children who were raised immersed in the ups and downs of all we do at JSC. They, more than those of us paid to work here, make the daily sacrifice to the Space Program. This weekend, we've visited the memorial outside JSC twice, and they made a small sign for the fence. It's important that they realize that what happened to Challenger and Columbia is the very reason why their parents work so hard at NASA - to keep our work family safe and healthy so we can explore with freedom from worry. When they come on site with us, they always ask why they have to be safer here than they even do at home. I always tell them that nowhere is it more important to be safe than at NASA. Now they know why.

In a small way every day, they do a service to the space program, by putting up with having full time civil servants dedicated to JSC. The sacrifice is partly theirs. I hope their service will not be in vain in the months and years to come.

We learned of Columbia.s demise minutes before having to leave to take my son to a music competition. It was excruciating to have to process this information while surrounded by hordes of folks who didn.t know yet. I wondered how my son would ever be able to do a 9:00 performance under these circumstances. I learned afterward that he was inspired by the enormity of the moment to do his very best at the one thing he had to do that day. And he excelled. It was a good day to do one.s best. Like him, the JSC family continues to do their best this week in the face of miserable adversity. We are working on it.

My heart goes out to all the families of the Columbia tragedy.

Think what a videocamera on each side of the external tank looking at the left and right wings, just like the recent 'shuttlecam' video, would have been able to see during Columbia's launch. My thoughts and prayers are with the brave astronauts' families.

At the center of every kind human heart there exists a desire to understand tragedy and the expense of mortality in the name of science, technology, and modern medicine. You gave so much for so little in return.

Throughout the day, we grieve upon your loss, but rejoice in your contributions. We seek answers to know, yet we ask why? We carry your burden, but regret your fate. We aspire to continue your journey, but hesitate to go on. We drink deeply from the chalice of your courage, but quiver in self-doubt.

But in the evening of our reflections we regain our faith, hope, and courage. Until the morrow of a rising sun, we sleep and dream of a bright and shining future. And when the dawn of a new day begins, we do what we do best, because we believe in ourselves, our values, our strengths, and we will not fail...because we're Americans.

The Columbia tragedy has forced the nation to focus on a space program that for the most part exists in the background. The consensus seems to be that the risk of space exploration is worth it. However, to truly honor the lives of the astronauts, it is time to confront the issue head on and get NASA to move in the direction of real manned space exploration. Endless studies of weightlessness are not needed. What is needed is a bold vision that makes the risk truly worthwhile. One such vision has been laid out by Bob Zubrin and the Mars society. Zubrin has conceived of a plan well within our technological abilities that is not financially outlandish that could put humans on Mars in a decade. I read that Zubrin proposed NASA begin by setting aside just 1% of its budget to develop a manned mission to Mars using this plan. This is a reasonable approach that will not sacrifice current programs such as the shuttle, space station or unmanned missions coming through the pipeline. Yet it could be the seed that actually gets humans moving off the earth. We need to grasp at this opportunity. Those who feel as I do that this is a reasonable approach that should be adopted should write their senators and congressional representatives letting them know. If the government doesn't know that people would support this type of idea, NASA will simply return to what it has been doing for the last 25 years.

N.A.S.A. needs more money.

I call on ALL Americans to contact there local congressmen and women to push for a larger annual budget for manned space exploration.

This is no joke! Do it now! The manned space program is essential to conceptual human destiny.

My humble tears fall in the names of those who gave their lives pushing the evolution of our species.

War is a evolutionary regression, space exploration is the logical continuity of our species evolution.

It's horribly simple from my point of view.

My condolences to the seven uncommon and courageous families who are suffering the most over this great Tragedy:

The true legacy which your love ones left behind and their fallen camerades who went before,is a Call through their vision and courage to face death, perhaps immortality to the leaders of this Nation along with the leaders throughout this world to do likewise. It is my humble request that they truly level with the american people and people eveywhere in this present world crisis, what their honest intentions are to make the valor of these impeccable men and women a lasting Memorial that is giving healing comfort to the people of this great land and the entire human family.

May God grant all of us the grace to be humble servants and participate in this greatly needed Healing.

I am profoundly sad. There's no words to describe how lost I felt when I heard "we lost conctact with the shuttle". I have a special thought about their children left in their childhood. I believe thatit is a great loss for humanity; hardly replaceable because of their distinct personnality. No need to say that it is with that kind of explorers if today we can apreciate all these treasures brought back from these hazardous missions. God bless all these pioneers.

First, the Challenger was the first one. From then on, we knew it could happen again.

But the biggest difference is that Challenger was detroyed at launch while Columbia was destroyed landing back.

The Challenger 7 never experienced space as life was taken away from them too early. The Columbia 7 had just had 16 days of the biggest moments of their life.

I love space so I might want to go there one day, and this is why I'm writing to say my feelings and opinions about the Columbia Space Shuttle burning up in space on February 1,2003 seven brave people died just for us.

I feel sad because they were 16 minutes from landing and they were so close to finishing their mission. Also I feel happy because the astronauts got their dream. It makes me glad because they risked their lives for us.

How they risked their lives was exploring the galaxy. They couldn't share their dream. I think we should always go into this wonderful place called space. We should always go because we can see magnificent comets, planets, stars, meteors and more. Most people's dreams is to go to space, leave earth and be an astronaut. Our people need to go to space and let kids discover the wonderful world of space. If we let robots go to space it would be strange. It would also be brutal to all the fans of space. People admire the sensational part of our galaxy.

That is how this very tragic day touched me.