View Feedback | Send this Article | Published 2/07/03

Graphic By: Jonelle Thackston

At four years of age I wasnät very worried about world events, but there are moments that stick in my head even today at the age of 21. Distinctly, I can remember sitting in my living room and playing on the tan shag carpeting that has been in my living room for as long as I can remember. I wasnät watching television because there wasnät much on for a little kid. Sometime that morning of Jan. 28, 1986, the telephone rang. My mom answered it, and immediately her tone changed. She talked for a few short moments, then came into our living room and turned on the television. The news was on, and the anchors spoke in compassionate tones. The images of NASAäs Challenger taking off, then exploding moments later played over and over. Even at my tender age I knew it wasnät normal for everyone to be so upset, and it wasnät normal for things to blow up.

Fast forward to Feb. 1, 2003. I was at my boyfriendäs house, like I am most weekends. However, it was unusual that the television wasnät on. We got up and went about our day, trying to take advantage of one of the first nice days in a long time. About 11 a.m., something caught my ear on the radio. The D.J. mentioned that listeners should stay tuned for further information on the shuttle disaster. Shuttle disaster? While I tried to wait for the news break for more information, curiosity got the best of me. Iäm a reporter and I want instant information. So I wandered back in the house, turned on the TV and switched to NBC. Immediately I sensed the same solemn tone that has marked the tragedies of the information age that we live in. After a few minutes I finally learned the fate of the seven astronauts of the space shuttle Columbia. Pictures of the crew members of shuttle mission STS- 107, shuttle commander Rick Husband, David Brown, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael Anderson, William McCool and Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli to enter space, flashed onto the screen.

And while this d¼j˜ vu is tragic and upsetting, there have been dozens of manned space missions that have launched and landed safely since the 1986 Challenger disaster and the Apollo spacecraft fire that killed three on Jan. 27, 1967; and there will be hundreds more once NASA resumes flights. The hearts and prayers of Americans and Israelis are with the families, friends, and coworkers of those brave modern-day cowboys. They form the hopes and dreams of little children, and bring the fantasies of space travel home to the realities of everyday life. They are truly international heroes.