A Moment of Silence

As I was writing the previous post, I learned that the Space Shuttle had broken apart while landing, killing all seven astronauts. Of course, it’s on all of the TV and radio stations by now, so I’m sure you already knew.

I have to admit feeling a little weirded out, because I remember when the Challenger exploded. One of the teachers came into our class and made the announcement. Being pretty young, I don’t think I had the faculties to truly understand what had happened, but I knew something big had occurred.

I’ve been going through the shuttle’s Mission Report, a constantly updated log on what was going on during the mission, including the first reports of the accident. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, with regular updates every few minutes. That is, until 15 minutes before the scheduled landing time, when loss of communications was reported.

15 minutes before they were home.