After hearing this morning's news, my mind went back 17 years and 4 days. I was employed by IBM Federal Systems Division in southeast Houston at the time. Though I was on a different project, NASA was our major customer at that location. Many of my friends worked on those projects, and many of my co-workers had in the past. Some of them were close personal friends of one or more of the astronauts who flew on the Challenger when it launched that morning.
I was and still am a huge fan of the space program. I had seen the Challenger once when the 747 it was riding atop made a refueling stop at nearby Ellington Air Force Base. When I heard the news that the Challenger had exploded shortly after liftoff, I was as shaken as I had been by any event in the world I'd ever heard up to that point in my life. Only one event since then (9/11) has shaken me up more.
The space programs were and probably still are the lifeblood of that community. I had met several astronauts, and attended the same church as some of them. The tragedy really hit home.
There are many others besides the crew's families who are being hit hard by the Columbia tragedy today. They are all in my prayers.
After hearing this morning's news, my mind went back 17 years and 4 days. I was employed by IBM Federal Systems Division in southeast Houston at the time. Though I was on a different project, NASA was our major customer at that location. Many of my friends worked on those projects, and many of my co-workers had in the past. Some of them were close personal friends of one or more of the astronauts who flew on the Challenger when it launched that morning.
I was and still am a huge fan of the space program. I had seen the Challenger once when the 747 it was riding atop made a refueling stop at nearby Ellington Air Force Base. When I heard the news that the Challenger had exploded shortly after liftoff, I was as shaken as I had been by any event in the world I'd ever heard up to that point in my life. Only one event since then (9/11) has shaken me up more.
The space programs were and probably still are the lifeblood of that community. I had met several astronauts, and attended the same church as some of them. The tragedy really hit home.
There are many others besides the crew's families who are being hit hard by the Columbia tragedy today. They are all in my prayers.