"...................." This is so fucked up. I remember the thrill I got as a kid when I saw space shuttles being ferried around on the back of 747s. For some reason that seemed even more incredible than the fact that they could get into space and come back. I was gutted when I heard the news. As I've already remarked elsewhere the shuttle is one of the few American symbols that represents something different from commerce and war - I'm sure some people will make jokes (probably the same ones thay made in 1986) and others will see this as a blow for America and something to snigger at. Fuck them - the space programme needs to not only recover from this but also to be invested in anew. I'll be so pissed off if we haven't got to Mars before the time I drop dead. The shuttles, as awesome as they are, are around 21 years old... that's a cute age for girls but its hardly cutting edge anymore. I think the men and women strapping themselves into these things deserve a little more... Anyway... I'm sorry those seven astronauts died and I can't begin to imagine how the three people still on board the International Space Station begin to deal with this. Nothing else to say. Mike is blogging to: nothing