The Space Shuttle Columbia and a prayer....

QL Damsel

Al's Place / TVS & QR & Radio Files Administrator
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Aug 26, 2002
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At 8:00 AM CST this morning, the space shuttle re-entered the atmosphere around north central texas and now is missing... (They should have landed by 8:20 AM.)

However, pieces did break off of the shuttle as it was coming down. By this point in time (9:32 AM CST) I just heard the news say that the shuttle couldn't stay in the air because of it's weight and that it is down somewhere in Texas. They are on a search... and Texans have been warned to stay away from the debris because of the toxic fumes that are with the shuttle. What I heard was that if you breathed it in, within days you would be dead.

The only thing that we know is that the shuttle is NOT in the air. They don't know what happened at the moment conclusively. The bail out system at 200,000 feet in the air though would not have saved them.

An eyewitness in Layfette, LA, Rob Perillo talked about what he saw... and it's very sad to know that a person in LA saw this happen... the smoke flumes of more than one thing - the usual sonic boom that he uaually hears was heightened and had multiple booms with it.

Again, they haven't addressed the fate of the crew... but I think that we already know what has happened....

Dear Heavenly Father....
Please be with the family and friends of those that were in the crew of the space shuttle. Hold them close to Your heart. As for those people searching for the shuttle and it's debris, please Lord, let them find the debris, and keep those who find it safe and away from the fumes. Be with us as nation as we research what happened.
In Jesus name, I pray...
Amen.
 
As of 9:59 this morning - shuttle debris has been sited in North Central Texas and as Dan Rather was reporting it, a news reporter at the Space Center saw our US Flag lowered to half mast....

Very poignant and very very sad...
 
We have been watching the news for hours, on this side of the pond too.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, and with you all.
 
Early in the morning sunlight
Soaring on the wings of dawn
Here I'll live and die with my wings in the sky
And I won't come down no more

Higher than the birds I'm flying
Crimson skies of ice and fire
Borne on wings of steel, I have so much to feel
And I won't come down no more

Sail on, sail on
I will rise each day to meet the dawn
So high, so high
I've climbed the mountains of the sky
Without my wings, you know I'd surely die
I found my freedom flying high
I've climbed the mountains of the sky

Floating on a cloud of amber...
Searching for the rainbow's end...
Earth so far below me; I'm here alone...
...And I won't come down no more

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of- wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,

I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.

Up, up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace

Where never Lark, or even Eagle flew -
And while with silent lifting mind, I've trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.
 
This seemed appropriate...

---

The night is so dark sometimes that I forget daybreak comes
And it can be lovely, even for me.
And in the sweet light of dawn I swear I'll remember this
But somehow the memory fades in the dusk.

So let there be angels 'cause I need a friend now
Who already knows all the things I can't say
Believing in heaven is hard when it's so far away
If there be angels won't you drop me a feather today

Someone to walk with me and help me to know what's right
someone to tell me there's reasons enough
Some one who knows my heart and tells me it's worth something
To live through the dark times to laugh in the dawn

I know there's bright wings there
Ready to lift me high
I know there's love somewhere
Enough to fill the sky
But when dark closes in and I can't seem to see
I believe in the rest but I lost faith in me

So let there be angels 'cause I need a friend now
Who already knows all the things I can't say
Believing in heaven is hard when it's so far away
If there be angels won't you drop me a feather today.

Eileen McGann - Let There Be Angels - Beyond the Storm 2001
 
Unfortunately, I do not have a wonderful poem or prayer on hand, so I can only use the words from my own heart. Yes, this is indeed a tragic day. What I am about to say may be of little consolation, but it makes me feel a little better:

Those seven brave men and women were doing what they have always dreamed of doing, to explore the great unknown, to have an impact on the study of our wonderful universe. Although their bodies may have passed, their spirits have moved on to an even greater plane of existence. They are now experiencing the ultimate journey of discovery and wonder, seeing and comprehending things that are beyond our wildest imaginations. Here's to our departed friends. May they find peace and the loving arms of God at their side, for they are with Him now.

Maybe it's not the destination that matters... Maybe it's the journey.

Damon
 
Wonderful words...all of you.

I was just at Kennedy Space Center two months ago and saw the AMF memorial honoring all lost astronauts. I am saddened to know that there will be more names added the next time I go back there.

I remember watching as a kid in a classroom of about 30 other children when the Space Shuttle Challenger fell from the sky. We watched it live on TV and I remember that I didn't know exactly what happened (I was about 10 years old) but I knew the shuttle had exploded and that we wouldn't get to see the teacher that was supposed to go into space. Teachers were crying and kids screamed.

I never thought I'd witness something like that on live TV again but then on Nov. 11th...there it happened again with the airplanes crashing. And now, 17 years after the Challenger disaster, another shuttle crew has lost their lives.

My heart goes out to their families...and to you and yours as you deal with the sadness no doubt caused by this. I am glad we all have each other in times like this...and that we can always talk about it and get our feelings on the matter out.

Here's to the present and what we make of it...and to solving the problems of the past in order to save the future from further incidents.
 
Nicely said Brian...

I sure feel old now, though. I was 21 when the Challenger exploded.

It was really interesting, for I was one of the last people to see it intact. The airplane that was carrying it piggy-back landed at Bergstrom AFB (outskirts of Austin), Texas... I had clearance, so I went out to the far side of the runway to view it.

There were suits and MPs running around, stopping us from taking pictures. I remember seeing that big sonofagun on the airplane... marveling at the sucker! It was SO hard to believe that we Americans had made something so wonderful.

Four months later, I saw the explosion, four days after I left the military.

I didn't see this one live, however. I woke up, checked my email, and before I ever got to my mail, the Yahoo homepage had it splashed all over the page in it's horrific glory.

I too will be massively saddened to see seven more names added to the ten that adorn the monument that Brian's talking about. I remember when I was a kid (aging myself here) when the whole hubbub around Apollo 1 happened. And for years afterward the danger of another such event loomed on the horizon.

Apollo 1 was destroyed by fire - January 1967.

( in fact, here's a good synopsis on the space tragedies we've endured = news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=...onology_dc )

Here's hoping that they rethink what they're doing. You can't keep taking these 15 yr old shuttles and putting them through THAT kind of stress. Granted they're built for it, but I seriously doubt that the designers intended them for 20 years of service. AIRPLANES don't fly for that long commercially!!

I for one, hope that the XR-33 model is brought back to life by the NASA administration!

Matt
 
Re: Nicely said Brian...

|I I don't have any beautiful words to share, but my condolences go out to the families...

It's hard to imagine that these things can really happen... And it's even worse when they do :(