Anniversary of Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

RIP .. For real..

It was all so sad.
I remember people holding out hope even after watching the exploded pieces streak across the sky.

For years, I drove that area north-south between Louisiana and Texas. It's a pretty remote. Sabine River, Toledo Bend. Not very many east-west roads. The remoteness continues almost to Kansas City and the Missouri river. Like you are either east of it or west of it.

FWIW, In 1964, I landing at Ellington just a few hours after Astronaut Ted Freeman's birdstrike accident.

Both the Challenger and Columbia were tragic in the the loss of lives and equipment and the huge money pit that space travel has become. I remember the heady excitement of the first earth obit and then the first lunar landing and then the excitement ebbed as the technology failed to advance. Our chemical rockets are just not up to the task of taking us anywhere of significance. Maybe to Mars? What do we hope to gain by going there? The moon turned out to be a waste of time and money so what do we hope to gain by going to Mars? Until our technology improves drastically space travel will be a effort in futility. Kind of like a Tesla car. Great idea, great concept but...... Yeah the technology just is not there.

I was 60 miles south of Kennedy when it happened i was on my way to father in laws house on Merritt Island i watched the explosion from my car and you could here it 50 miles away .

I was working outside (Tarrant County) and heard a sonic boom. I looked up and saw that it had already broken up.

there is a huge article in the paper about this. I was on the road when Challenger broke up. horrible site.

That's when a whole lot of people tuned in live to watch the Shuttle take offs. It was a big deal. That was the last thing I think anyone was even considering. Those were 'feel good' events. So tragic. Couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I recall getting an email if I'd like to join NASA in recovering Columbia's wreckage over northern TX.

Such a terrible day.

Space travel is fool hardy but nationalistic.

You should have did one for the Challenger.