The death of seven astronauts in the Columbia tragedy this
weekend brings human life and the pursuit of progress into
perspective. A space accident of similar proportions had not
occurred since the explosion of the Challenger upon lift off in
1986.
The mystery of the space frontier has been the subject of human
speculation since before humankind first reached the moon in 1969.
Countless science fiction movies, television series and literature
have been forged out of humans’ natural curiosity about outer
space. Space does more than fuel our imagination; it also provides
the context for the most complicated spiritual and intellectual
enigmas humanity has known. We turn to the enormity of space to try
to comprehend our origin, future and place in the universe, but are
philosophically and scientifically dwarfed by such concepts as
eternity and relativity.
The astronauts aboard Columbia had the same questions and
curiosity, but they did something about it. They underwent years of
education in various scientific and engineering fields, and spent
hundreds of hours on physically and psychologically rigorous
astronaut training. And when they finished, they courageously
accepted the dangers of launching into space.
It takes courage to board a shuttle destined to exit the
atmosphere and lose gravity via a propulsion mechanism the size of
the Statue of Liberty, burning 11,000 pounds of fuel per second at
a temperature of 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It also takes courage to
board the shuttle knowing it will return to the earth at a speed
seven times that of sound, or approximately 12,000 miles per hour.
But the scientists had the requisite courage. To them, the
potential for increasing human medical and scientific knowledge
outweighed the dangers of space travel ““ it surpassed the
emotional difficulty of knowing they might never see their families
again if disaster struck.
The Columbia astronauts came from diverse backgrounds. The first
Israeli in space, Col. Ilan Ramon, was aboard, as was Kalpana
Chawla, the first woman of Indian descent in space. Lt. Col.
Michael Anderson was one of few black astronauts. Along with Ramon
and Anderson, three other astronauts on board ““ Col. Rick
Husband, Cmdr. William McCool and Cmdr. Laurel Clark ““ all
left behind spouses and children. Capt. David M. Brown, also on
board, was a renaissance man of sorts ““ not only was he an
astronaut, but also a surgeon, a test pilot, circus performer and
gymnast.
The Columbia shuttle should be remembered for these people:
brave men and women who took a risk for all of us. The astronauts
represented some of the best talent humanity has to offer. It is
only fitting they represented us in our search for answers beyond
this world.