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

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They worked in space for all of us and the mankind must continue to go in space to continue their work. I pray for them and their families. They lost their lives, not their souls.

I know this is superstitious of me, but since the Challenger diaster, I cringe every time a shuttle goes up for a mission that includes the anniversary of that tragedy in its time span. Now there are two reasons to be sad and to worry. I wear a space shuttle necklace every year at the end of January as my personal memorial to the Challenger crew. I will be wearing it a little longer every year now for the lost Columbia crew. I hope that their loss will not be in vain and that NASA will receive future funding at the levels that it should have been receiving all along. I also hope that this tragedy will not be used to justify an abandonment of the space station project or of future shuttle missions. When I was a little girl, more than anything I wanted to be an astronaut on the shuttle. It was part of what kept me going, what kept me striving to achieve. It was powerful motivation and it made me stronger. The very idea of the space program helped me to achieve more than I may have without such a powerful dream to sustain me. We need to make sure that this is not the end of the space program. My husband put it very well yesterday when he said, "What will kids strive for if we take away the stars?" Yes, it is dangerous, but I would have gladly gone on that or any other space mission. I still would.

Our Thoughts and condolences go to the families of these seven Brave crew members.

A horrifc event and a reminder to us all that we must strive to make space travel as faultless as possible. Our thoughts go to the families of those brave lost souls.

I am a second year college student at Arizona State University and I was lucky enough to be able to attend the launch of the space shuttle Columbia, the first I have every seen. I was able to attend the launch because it was a Christmas present from my parents. I love everything about space flight and it is my dream to one day become an astronaut and venture into space. I recieved an autographed picture of the crew from the family of Rick Husband last Saturday, while the crew was still in orbit. I was so over joyed at being able to see the launch and then recieve that photo, but now that happiness and joy seems so far away. And yet even through this tragedy I believe that we must press on. The members of this crew loved what they did and they believed that the risk of spaceflight was worth the rewards that would be gained by all humanity. My prayers are with their families, and may God bless america.

I was living in Chicago January 28, 1986 awaiting the birth of my second child when The Challenger exploded. I cried so much for the families and for the space program.

On February 01, 2003 I was at work in Plano Texas when my husband called to inform me that Columbia was gone. Once again I shed tears of grief for the families and for the space program. To the families----thank you for having such wonderful sons and daughters who were not affraid of what might be. They are heroes in every since of the word. They went where I can only imagine what space looks like. I am proud of them as should everyone be.

I felt the same sense of disbelief and unreality as I felt when I first heard the Challenger had exploded on takeoff. It's so easy, with all our successes, to forget how many risks these brave men and women take each time they board a shuttle.

I may sit and watch it all from my comfortable sofa, but I share the dreams of those who take the risks. We need to be in space, we need to reach beyond the known and into the unknown, and we need to explore our universe to discover who we really are.

I feel so much shared grief with those families who lost their heros on Columbia. Such loss is not easily accepted, yet accept it we must.

I've heard people talk about the potential blow to NASA. That made me angry. We should not sacrifice the lives of our best and brightest in vain. We should not give up on the ideals which founded NASA.

I wrote a letter to my US Senator and enclosed a check for $20 for NASA. It occurred to me that if each American contributed $20 to NASA, they would have the money to build a New Columbia that might colonize the moon and put men on Mars. I also thought it would be appropriate to place some momento on the New Columbia shuttle of those who sacrificed so that their spirit of exploration can continue to play a part in our future in space. Their current journey may have ended, but we can ensure that their spirit lives on in our future explorations by including some small symbol of their spirit on each new journey.

With all the difficult things the US is facing now, it's so important to cling to our dreams and our idealism. What better way than to reach toward the stars?

I am sadened by this subject and event. The U.S. is going through so much and this is the last thing we need. May God be with us all everyday of our lives here on. We cannot solve these issues on our own and we've learned that from past experience. To all the families of these seven people, my heart goes out to all of you.

I have followed the shuttle missions and anything space related closely (read daily) since before the first launch of Columbia in 1981. I have followed closely this particular crew since they were assigned. It is a staggering lose. My sincere sympathies and prayers go out to the families of these brave explorers.

My thoughts turn to the Space Station program. I have heard a number of people speculate about the station having to be abandoned but this seems to me to be totally premature. If in fact the shuttle program is grounded for several months or even a year, why can't the ISS crews be exchanged by the Soyuz? The Russians were able to keep the MIR station occupied for nearly 15 years without a shuttle! Just keep the current crew there till the end of April or early May and then send up the next soyuz with the Exp 7 crew of Malenchenko, Lu, and Kalery to carry on till fall. The current crew can then return on the old soyuz. The upmass will be limited so the science program would need to be rearranged somewhat but the station lives on! We will fix the Shuttle. Let's make sure that there is still a viable station for it to go to when that time comes.

I have been a very avid follower of the space program for long before the Challenger disaster. It was a very sad moment yesterday to see that destruction of Columbia. It even sadder to think that 4 days before the crew were remembering the people lost on Challenger and Appollo 1 and now we are remember this crew also.

NASA will pull through this and will continue to explore space and grow the space station. It's the best way to remember the commitment and dedication of the STS-107 crew.

Personally f I had the chance I would still travel on the Space Shuttle as I have dreamed of doing for many many years.

Words can not describe the grief we felt on Saturday morning as we waited and watched in horror the tragic events unfolding before us. My wife, children and myself sat openly weeping and praying for Americas lost Son, Daughters, husbands, wives, Mothers, Fathers, friends and countrymen as STS 107 fell from the sky.

We watched as our President annouced the tragedy to the world, we told our children to the best of our knowage what had happened to Colimbia, we held each other and prayed for those left behind on this Earth whom would forever be remembering what it felt like to hold thier loved one, and finally we held fast to our belief the Lord above has swept the seven astronaughts to his Kingdom on the wings of Angels.

President GW Bush 02-01-03

From the Republic of Panama. From light to darkness we rise from birth to come to earth. For those who dare, for those who poke into uncertainty, look upon them for an example of courage and might, for them we owe the advancement of science and the intellectual growth of mankind.

At about 8 am, Sat. Feb. 1, I heard one of my son's toys, which is only triggered by movement. I went to the play room where I thought I would find my son playing with this toy and the toy was going off on it's own. I felt a slight vibration underneath me and thought I was feeling an earthquake. When I learned it was the space shuttle that had come to pieces right above my home, a sombering feeling swept over me. The sad feelings from 17 years ago came rushing back. Since the Challenger tragedy, I have become a wife and mother and my heart sank for the families of the Columbia space shuttle knowing what a terrible loss they must be experiencing. The fact that this tragedy took place above where I live makes it that much more sombering. My thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost their loved ones yesterday and they will be remembered always.

With deepest sympathy to the Columbia space shuttle crew families. May God give you comfort in the coming days, weeks and years.

To the families of the crew of the space shuttle Columbia, be assured that your loved ones willnot be forgotten. Our country and the world will forever remember the courage and hope that those special people had. Without their sacrafice mankind would be forever lost in the past. Their williness to put their lives on the line for the advancement of science deserves the utmost respect.

We should all be comforted by the thought that these people were doing something that they truely loved and believed in.