Apollo 1 touched my heart because of the way things went down. After watching 'From the Earth to the Moon' with my husband and hearing him talk about LOTS of NASA stuff, I really admired Gus Grissom. He seemed like a guy that you would want to have lunch with and just listen to him talk. When I found out he, Ed White, & Roger Chaffee had perished in Apollo 1, I was very sad. Fortunately, some good lessons came out of the tragedy.
RIP guys!
Challenger was completely different for me. I was in the 3rd grade and we were watching the launch live. Remember those days when NASA was beloved instead of shoved under the rug? Yeah me too. Anyway, interestingly enough I would end up going to High School with Ellison Onizuka's daughter. Challenger still horrifies me. Not that all of the loss of life does not but I was literally watching these wonderful people die, I didn't understand it in 3rd grade. My son, C, is in 3rd grade. I think he would grasp it better than I did but that is because we would have discussed it. Not that my Mother was against discussing it, but she was busy with work and Uncle Sam doesn't usually pause for tragedy. (Except 9/11) I find it wonderfully fascinating though that even today the families (most) of these astronauts (and teacher) are not anti-NASA at all. They all understood the risks taken by their family member.
God bless you all and Godspeed.
The shuttle Challenger flight STS-51L crew members who died January 28, 1986. In the back row, from left, mission specialist Ellison S. Onizuka, Teacher in Space Participant Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist Greg Jarvis and Mission specialist Judy Resnik. In the front row, from left, Pilot Mike Smith, Commander Dick Scobee, and Mission specialist Ron McNair.
And finally, Columbia. WOW. That was a completely different period of my life. I had gotten up a little early that day to have a chat with the guy I was dating (and married) who was living in East Texas to my Houston. He was right there watching when NASA lost communication with Columbia. His Dad was some big NASA guy and he always kept up with that stuff. It was one of the things I liked about him seeing as I have always been a fan of the Shuttle program myself and I have come to appreciate the other programs in the last decade.
By the time I had gotten home from work that evening I had seen, talked to, and hugged many faces of the space program who waited in Mission Control desperately hoping the loss of communication with Columbia was just a glitch. It still haunts my husband that he heard the boom when Columbia re-entered the atmosphere over East Texas. Columbia is the tragedy that sticks out for him the most.
The seven crew members who died aboard this final mission were: Rick Husband, Commander; William C. McCool, Pilot; Michael P. Anderson, Payload Commander; David M. Brown, Mission Specialist 1; Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist 2; Laurel Clark, Mission Specialist 4; and Ilan Ramon, Payload Specialist 1
The Space Shuttle program will always be MY program. :-) It was the vehicle of the space program of my lifetime. My hope is to see another space craft fly in my lifetime. In a perfect world, no one else would have to sacrifice their lives to make it happen. No matter what, I will always support NASA and the work that they are doing. I only hope that the next craft is as beautiful as the Shuttle was to watch launch, fly, and come home. I watched every launch and every return after we lost Columbia and I shared in the apprehension and joy that every member (and every fan) of NASA that went with it until that bird was back on the ground.
Late last year I took my kids to see Shuttle Endeavor as it made its pause in Houston for the last time. The kids were hungry and hot, the crowds were intense, and the traffic was murder but the experience was worth it. As I stood there so very close to that Shuttle, I remembered going to see them as a little girl on my Dad's shoulders. I remembered the horror or watching the Challenger explosion, the sinking feeling when we lost communication with Columbia, and finally all of the times that the school pulled annoying fire alarms to make us go out and watch the shuttle fly over. I longed for the days of those fire alarms. I stood in the shadow of a giant with my (bitchy) kids in awe and didn't want to leave her. I felt like a left a piece of myself with Endeavor. It sounds dramatic but the end of the shuttle program was the end of a piece of me because it was so very much a part of my life growing up near NASA.
To my dearest NASA, good luck and Godspeed! We are watching to see what you do next and anticipating greatness. (If we can retain politicians that support you)
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