Fate

In February of 2003 I was vacationing in Costa Rica where access to world news is scarce, so I didn’t hear of the Columbia shuttle disaster until I’d returned home. Even then I heard few details of this tragedy. It was only last night, during a documentary called “Falling Star”, that I got the full story, the gist of which is that the shuttle Columbia was doomed from liftoff. I still have trouble grasping that – 7 astronauts and scientists orbited the earth in a death ship for 16 days, innocently carrying out experiments whilst adrift in the infinite beauty and wonder of outer space.

When the shuttle launched a piece of foam insulation the size of a briefcase flew off the front of the craft and hit the left wing at 500 miles per hour, creating a hole 16 inches in diameter. No one aboard the shuttle or on the ground knew about the hole. On re-entering the earth’s atmosphere the left wing was breached by fiery heat (4000 Celsius). The inner frame of the wing melted, the wing disintegrated and the ship exploded into a fireball which then fell to earth.

I think most folks would admit to wanting a glimpse into their future. I dunno – if faced with such a catastrophic finality I think I’d prefer the bliss of ignorance.