I recieve a call early this morning... my wireless phone was downstairs but my answering machine was in my bedroom... I let the machine get it... it was my brother from the east coast telling me that the shuttle burned up on re-entry....

I was stunned- he hung up before I could get to the phone... The first thing I did, before going downstairs and turning on cnn, was log in here...already there were dozens of posts confirming the news... I was stunned

This IS a tragedy- A horrible accident that probably has a terribly mundane cause... I would like to say to all those speculating about terrorism "SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!" This was an accident, a terrible, awful, accident...

At 200,000 feet and at mach 18 no missile could hit it, and a missile would easily be detected if it tried... As for sabotage, the quote on cnn says a lot..." It would be easier to get a bomb on air force on than on the shuttle"

This was an accident- the probable result of a long chain of minor occurrences that when taken together spelled disaster. Such as the Apollo 13 incident, except this time it was fatal...

I have been very lucky to work on projects where everyone was devoted to the goal... Even the janitors believed in the projects and looked for ways to help... and in several cases they did...I dont know, but I believe, that NASA employees have even more commitment... THIS IS NOT THEIR FAULT!!!! I am willing to bet that this is an accident that is a freak... one that reasonable expectations could not have forseen...

You all know my political leanings, but I want Bush to come out and say..."We will find out what went wrong if we can, but we will NOT leave space for 3 years like we did after the challenger incident!"

The worst that can happen is if congress decides to hold things up.... conducting reviews on things they cannot understand...

The challenger incident was horrible, as is this incident with columbia, but, we need to remember.... in the 1700's if we had the same attitude towards exploration, then America would still be just the east coast. Going into the unknown has the possibility of death.... THIS IS THE COST, THE HIGH COST, OF EXPLORING.... These brave souls knew better than we, the risks... They were willing to take those risks... we need people like this and projects like this...

If we are to realize our potential space is where we must go...