I remember where I was when I first heard about it. I was up at Wintergreen with my parents for my dad's yearly meeting. Me and my mom had gotten on the ski shuttle to head down to the lodge from our condo, but the bus was quiet. The radio was turned up as the news reporter was confirming that all 7 crew were dead. The space shuttle Columbia had broken apart on re-entry.

Yesterday I was so happy to see Discovery launch. But today all of that was shattered. The "undiscovered country" is now so much farther away. I used to watch Star Trek obsessively, wondering if that'd be me...maybe I'd be the first one to break the warp barrier. I'd be the one to make first contact. I did science fair projects on anti-matter in middle school. I understood the quantum physics principals behind light speed travel by the time I was in high school. In college I was the lonely theatre major who got an A in Observational Astrophysics - a senior level Physics course that I took for fun. I would have gone to the Airforce Academy if I hadn't sucked at Calculus...or been too short to be a fighter pilot, and therefore too short to be an astronaut.

I thought if I didn't see the warp barrier break in my lifetime, I'd at least see the first manned trip to Mars. Now, I don't know.

Zefram Cochrane, where are you?