A hard week for dreamers

Winter is cruel on so many levels, but none, I think, more so than when she dashes skyward dreams. This week holds a lot of tragic history, giving the ultimate meaning to "ad astra per aspera", or, to the stars through hardship.

On 27 January, 1967, Apollo 1 caught fire on the launch pad, killing its crew of Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee.

As I mentioned the other day, on 28 January, 1986, the Challenger exploded a few seconds after launch, taking the lives of Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, and Judith Resnik.

And six years ago, the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart on reentry, claiming the lives of Rick D. Husband, William C. McCool, Michael P. Anderson, Ilan Ramon, Kalpana Chawla, David M. Brown and Laurel Clark.


To the stars, with prayer.

Wally Schirra, R.I.P.

Via Instapundit: Astronaut Walter "Wally" Schirra has passed on to the great beyond. Bummer. Another one of my childhood heroes is gone.

On the bright side, though, now he will never again have to worry about getting a stuffy nose in space.

Scotty launched into final frontier

The Beeb reports that a portion of James Doohan's remains have been launched toward the stars. His ashes join those of Star Trek creator/producer Gene Roddenberry, out there, in the great beyond.

Shuttle lights up night -- in a good way!

The Discovery left ground this evening on its way to the space station. It's pretty darned awesome, even in photographs. It would have been cool to feel the rumble all around while it lit up the sky. I wish I'd been there to see it in person.

Must be the child of the '60s coming out in me.

I wonder if there will be a time (after I win the lottery. Uh huh, ya betcha), when I'll be able to book a flight out there?