Columbia

 just got the news about what happened to the Columbia.

Just when I starting to think that it was going to be a nice day, I read
John's e-mail.	As someone who follows space exploration closely, this
news
hits me hard.  Damn.   It's almost exactly 17 years ago, back in 5th
grade,
when I walked into class after lunch to find out that the Challenger
exploded.  I feel the same way now as I did then: numb with shocked
disbelief.  But the images of the fragments of Columbia falling to earth
are
as real as the images of the demise of the Challenger.

I had long ago resigned myself to fact that something like this was
going to
happen again.  Space flight is a risky operation, and mistakes will be
made.
Accidents will happen.	Lives will be lost.  I just didn't expect it to
be
today.

None of us did.

Later,
Mark A. Siefert