On February 1, 2003 the Space Shuttle Columbia, NASA OV-102, disintegrated upon re-entry at the end of its 28th mission to space. The tragedy killed the seven brave crew members, in a moment of sadness we’ll never forget.
Space travel has always been a feat of pride for humans. It shows how awesome we can be. We might be small in the universe but we’re capable of feats much bigger than us. It makes the moments of our successes in space more triumphant and the moments of failure intensely sad. I’ll never forget where I was when I heard about the Columbia disaster — I was working at a Starbucks in the Chevy Chase Pavilion.
May they rest in peace and forever be remembered for what they accomplished.