19 years ago, we lost 7 brave souls aboard the Challenger space shuttle.

I was at home, sick, 19 years ago, playing games on my Atari 2600. I had just shut the console off to change game cartidges when I noticed the shuttle launch coverage, so I settled in to watch another exciting space launch.

I’ve always been a space fan, and even at 11 years old I knew that each launch was special. I remember the explosion, and how Walter Cronkite kept talking about how the shuttle would roll over and open its bay doors at apogee, even after there were no bay doors left to open.

Not very long ago we lost even more brave souls on re-entry when the Columbia broke apart, and I was more crushed than I have been since 9/11.

My heroes have always been astronauts. And they still are.

In parting, here is a link to president Reagan’s address the evening of the disaster. He said it better than I ever can. Go and read it, please.