Dorothy Brush "Random Thoughts" Published Feb. 5, 2003

Reflections on space travel

All the ups and downs of our country's rendezvous with space have punctuated my entire adult life. Early last Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003 , I was working on this week's column when the music on my radio was interrupted and replaced with the unfolding tragedy of the shuttle Columbia.

On a day in 1957, another news bulletin had filled Americans with uncertainty and some fear. Russia had just successfully launched Sputnik I. Another jolt came when in 1961 when Russia's Yuri Gagarin made his flight in the first manned spacecraft. Later that same year the United States responded, and Alan Shepherd became the first American to pilot a manned spacecraft.

As a native of Ohio, I felt pride when John Glenn was boosted into space by an Atlas rocket and orbited the earth three times in February 1962. That shameful pride increased tenfold when on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. He grew to manhood in Wapak, about 10 miles from my family home.

During this space race between Russia and America there were failures and deaths on both sides. The tragic fire aboard Apollo during ground tests shocked the nation. Astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee were consumed in the blaze. Terrible as that loss was, the Apollo program continued with one success after another until Apollo 13 ran into trouble because an explosion had damaged their craft as they headed for the moon. The eyes of the nation watched television late into the evening as Mission Control worked to get them back on Earth.
In the early years of the space program, television followed all launches and re-entries as they happened, but it was inevitable that as all went well they became routine and were not covered unless the missions offered something new and different.

As the competition between the two nations dissolved into cooperation, progress continued in exploring the vastness of space. The mystique of space lost much of its luster for ordinary citizens. The space shuttle was introduced, and in February 1981, shuttle Columbia made its first flight. The 54-hour mission climaxed with a perfect landing. All went well until Jan. 28, 1986, when the world watched as Challenger exploded just after launch.

Kennedy Space Center hosted the National Federation of Press Women for one day during their conference in Florida. Apollo 15 astronaut James B. Irwin, the eighth man to step on the surface of the moon, showed us movies of that event and talked of his experience. Later that afternoon, he took part in our annual memorial service for NFPW members who have died during the year. It was held at the new Astronaut's Memorial site. Engraved on the glass are the names of those astronauts who freely accepted the dangers and gave their lives in exploring space. The names of the Challenger's seven crew members were there. Col. Irwin concluded our service by reciting the poem "High Flight." The first line is, "Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth," and the four verses end with "I've ... put out my hand and touched the face of God."

Soon seven more names will be engraved on that glass memorial, but before Feb. 1 ended, the group picture of Columbia's crew and a bouquet had been placed there.

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Dorothy Copus Brush is a Fairfield Glade resident and Crossville Chronicle staffwriter whose column is published each Wednesday.