A Time to Remember

Of all the places I want to take Emma's Astronaut, today's stop is probably the most accessible to the general public. Some would say it's also the most important.

Though exciting, adventurous and inspiring, space flight is not easy. Sometimes things go wrong and, sadly, sometimes people die because they did. Historically this is a tough week for NASA. On January 27, 1967 we lost three astronauts in the Apollo 1 fire. On January 28, 1986 we lost seven more when Challenger exploded just over a minute after launch. On February 1, 2003 - exactly 4 years ago today - we lost another seven when Columbia disintegrated on its way home to the Kennedy Space Center.

The Visitor's Complex at KSC is home to a memorial for all 17 of those astronauts, and for others who lost their lives serving the US space program. It's not a happy stop, but I could think of no other that was more appropriate this week. I ignored the rain that started as I left work this afternoon and went anyway.

The Space Mirror Memorial faces the road, so you actually approach it from behind.


The lights on the back make it look like the names carved into the front of the wall are glowing. The last time I had seen the memorial it was full of people there for a ceremony, but today it was empty, wet, and a little cold.


The group of names at the top of the picture are for the STS-107 Columbia Astronauts. The other large group is for the STS-51-L Challenger crew, and the smaller one near the signs is for Apollo 1. The signs and wreaths were placed next to the wall on the anniversaries of Columbia and Apollo.


And here's Emma's astronaut a bit wet from the rain. I would have preferred she didn't cover up so much of the wall, but it was the best I could do being out there by myself.


Some people say that we shouldn't explore space because it's too dangerous. The men and women listed on this wall disagreed. They didn't just believe exploring space was worth risking a human life, they believed it enough to risk their own. How many of us can say that about anything we do?

Thanks today go to a Visitor's Complex employee named Beverly, who was kind enough to give me a plastic bag to protect Emma's Astronaut from getting wetter as I walked to my car.

Thanks also go to Stephen the security guard. When I got to the Visitor's Complex the ticket booths were closed and the entry doors were locked, so I snuck in through the exit door where he was standing. I showed him my badge and told him I just wanted to stop at the wall for a minute if he'd let me. He didn't remember who I was when I thanked him as I left, but today's visit would not have been possible without him.