Five years ago this day, the second of America's two Space Shuttle Orbiters to be lost with all hands, Columbia, exploded in the skies over east Texas as she was streaking homeward toward Florida's Kennedy Space Center. This culminates a week filled with remembrances of space-exploration fatalities that my dear friend ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wcg informs me is often referred to by those who work in this risk-fraught field as "Dead Astronauts Week." (Monday's entry noted the 22nd anniversary of Challenger's destruction, and Sunday's 41st of the Apollo I test-sequence fire that killed its three.) I prefer to call it "Heroes of Space Exploration Week," and back of the cut are the reasons why.
To these and all the rest who died paving our road to the stars, we pay due respects this week, and each year at this time...and in their names, we continue on that road—for doing otherwise would be a desecration of their supreme sacrifice. That people like these, even after these disasters, still freely choose to strap themselves onto what is basically a gigantic flying bomb and hurl themselves into the airless, freezing void for all our sakes is still astonishing and awe-inspiring to me...and I know God-damned good and well I'm not the only one.
And in closing, a pointer to this music video of Columbia's crew and their memorial service, held in Washington, DC's magnificent National Cathedral five years ago Wednesday. I know of no finer tribute to these brave people's memories than this song, and no more glorious voice to sing it than that of multi-Grammy winner Patti LaBelle (who, by sheerest coincidence, was just here last night for a Hands On Atlanta benefit concert). Just try and watch it without crying; go on, I double-dog dare you.
wcg informs me is often referred to by those who work in this risk-fraught field as "Dead Astronauts Week." (Monday's entry noted the 22nd anniversary of Challenger's destruction, and Sunday's 41st of the Apollo I test-sequence fire that killed its three.) I prefer to call it "Heroes of Space Exploration Week," and back of the cut are the reasons why.To these and all the rest who died paving our road to the stars, we pay due respects this week, and each year at this time...and in their names, we continue on that road—for doing otherwise would be a desecration of their supreme sacrifice. That people like these, even after these disasters, still freely choose to strap themselves onto what is basically a gigantic flying bomb and hurl themselves into the airless, freezing void for all our sakes is still astonishing and awe-inspiring to me...and I know God-damned good and well I'm not the only one.
And in closing, a pointer to this music video of Columbia's crew and their memorial service, held in Washington, DC's magnificent National Cathedral five years ago Wednesday. I know of no finer tribute to these brave people's memories than this song, and no more glorious voice to sing it than that of multi-Grammy winner Patti LaBelle (who, by sheerest coincidence, was just here last night for a Hands On Atlanta benefit concert). Just try and watch it without crying; go on, I double-dog dare you.