Chad's spot for various thoughts, musings, poetry, ideas and whatnot

Saturday, February 01, 2003

Loss

When I was 14 years old, two events brought to me a re-realization that I, more than anything, wanted to study astronomy and astrophysics. One was the broadcast of Carl Sagan's Cosmos and the other was the launch of the space shutle Columbia. Both kindled my imagination and opened my ideas to the beauty of science and the ideals of discovery. Dr. Sagan died a few years ago. Today, the Columbia broke apart upon reentry into the Earth's atmosphere after a 16 day mission of scientific discovery and exploration, killing the seven humans who made up her crew.

Watching the home video of the space plane's break-up I remembered back to the Columbia's first launch, the excitement I and the rest of the country felt. The excitement of returning to space after what seemed like so many years being Earth bound. The Voyager missions to Jupiter had generated great sceintific excitement but watching the Columbia lift off filled us all with a sense of pride that was hard to contain. I remember that I cried with joy when she slipped from her berth and ascended into the heavens. Watching her roll over onto her back just as she was supposed to was one of the most breathtaking things I had ever seen. The reporters covering the event were breathless in their commentary, as were we all.

Now again I weep. I weep for the families whose loved ones will never return home. I weep for the scientists, engineers, technicians and administrators of NASA who place so much of their lives into these missions and who care for the fleet of shuttles and their astronauts. I weep for us who dreamed one day to fly; not just on any shuttle, but on the Columbia. To soar on a pillar of flame and smoke to the heavens and pursue knowledge from a vantage point that few would ever have.

I pray now that although the Columbia is gone, except as "pieces on the ground", the dream that she and her crew represented will not be allowed to fade. That their loss will bring us to more deeply appreciate the cost of our search for truth. She represented a country regaining its pride and returning to a destiny it had once claimed. She represented the continuation of mankind's drive to pioneer and discover and search beyond the boundaries of the everyday world. Let us who remember her on that glorous first day carry forth the dream she represented.

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