I think Phil's got a good point. As terribly devastating as Saturday was, most of us have been here before, and we know from Challenger that we can get through this.

I also think the President, O'Keefe and many other spokespeople, experts and pundits are helpful in voicing the attitude that we need to find out what went wrong, fix it, and move on. My brother said he thought that was an oversimplification, but it's not, because it's not a solution in and of itself, but is rather an approach which supports finding a solution. It's an enunciation of a positive attitude--a refusal to retreat in the face of difficulty and loss...indeed, we're going to increase our efforts.

The poll numbers I've seen are very encouraging. Even in a time of heartbreak, it seems, America supports its space program.

I get the sense, as well, that there's a quiet understanding that Prometheus has the potential to usher in something of a new age.