Saturday,
1 February 2003 8:30 pm
A
very, very sad day today. I followed the space shuttle Columbia
disaster almost all day long, and felt the loss very personally,
even though I do not know any of the astronauts involved. In the
1960’s, as a young boy, I wrote NASA and asked how I could
become part of the space program. To my surprise and delight,
they responded to my letter, sending me a variety of materials
including a large poster that I proudly attached to my wall
above my bed. Although I never ended up having anything to do
with the space program, it was an inspiration to my whole
generation of engineers and scientists, including me. If we
could successfully go to the moon, what else is possible, we
asked. The sky was literally no longer the limit to our dreams,
and we went on to create the modern computers, software,
communications systems, and Internet revolutions.
None
of this would have been possible if it were not for the very
courageous and professional astronauts who put their lives on the
line trusting in our technology. Rick, William, Michael, David,
Kalpana, Laurel, and Ilan - our thoughts and prayers are with you
and your family. You and your fellow astronauts inspired a
generation of technologists. We sincerely mourn your deaths and
salute your courage.
Making Sense of It All