So by now all of you have heard the sad news on the loss of Columbia. I honestly don’t know what to say. 2/113 missions lost. 2/5 shuttles lost. I feel there are a lot of weird occurances with this as well… Like the logo almost looks like something falling out of the sky because of an explosion. Or how about the Israel on board, could his involvement with the mission have anything to do with it? What about both shuttles that have been lost starting with a ‘C’ as in Challenger and Columbia. I also have a few questions for NASA… Did anyone go out and look at the wing after it was hit on take off? I don’t know… I know I am trying to make sense of something that is probably not for me to understand… It was a horrific loss. Just horrific.
Now a post about the logo from Nasa’s own website:
KSC-01PP-1087 (05/01/2001) — JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSON, TEXAS — STS-107 INSIGNIA — This is the insignia for STS-107, which is a multi-discipline microgravity and Earth science research mission with a multitude of international scientific investigations conducted continuously during the planned 16 days on orbit. The central element of the patch is the microgravity symbol flowing into the rays of the astronaut symbol. The mission inclination is portrayed by the 39-degree angle of the astronaut symbol to the Earth’s horizon. The sunrise is representative of the numerous experiments that are the dawn of a new era for continued microgravity research on the International Space Station and beyond. The breadth of science conducted on this mission will have widespread benefits to life on Earth and our continued exploration of space, illustrated by the Earth and stars. The constellation Columba (the dove) was chosen to symbolize peace on Earth and the Space Shuttle Columbia. The seven stars also represent the mission crew members and honor the original astronauts who paved the way to make research in space possible. The Israeli flag is adjacent to the name of the payload specialist who is the first person from that country to fly on the Space Shuttle.
The NASA insignia design for Space Shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which we do not anticipate, it will be publicly announced.
My prayers are with the familys, and may we pray that they find the problem, they fix it, and that those still in space get home safely, wether it be by use of the emergency return vehicle, or by another trip of Endevor, Discovery, or Atlantis. May God protect them all, and bring those by his side who have been lost.