Vakkotaur

Some folks, in letters to editors and other places, have asked why the destruction of Columbia was a big deal, pointing out other lives lost that did not get such coverage. There are a few reasons for this. One is that people are sadly accustomed to hearing of some things. An aircraft accident is somehow more newsworthy than a house fire, and a house fire is somehow more newsworthy than an auto crash. It's not that reporters and journalists don't care. It's that car crashes are so common. If one happens in front of your house, chances are you'll only read it in the police report section of the paper. Car crashes happen often. Only the nastiest and unusual ones get coverage beyond the local area. House fires are less common, so they get more attention. They also tend to be bigger. The same principle applies to aircraft accidents. Now extend that to spacecraft. Spacecraft tend to be big things. Not necessarily physically, but a huge effort goes into using them. And they are rather rare. This year there are, or were, only two models in use: the shuttle, and the Soyuz. There might be a third, when and if the Chinese launch a manned Shenzou. Just three designs. And two are rather old designs. There's no "2004 model at your Acme dealer" just waiting for a test flight.

Also, many people saw the accident or its aftermath. Not on TV, but live. They heard a bang or a boom themselves. They saw the trails across the sky. Many saw bits of debris and got the warnings to alert authorities - but stay clear, lest they become a victim of the accident themselves. The phrase "an accident scene the size of West Virginia" was one I'd heard. It'd be hard NOT to say something like that ought to get some attention.

And then there's the biggest reason of all. The accident turned into a nightmare what is a grand dream for a great many. Escaping the bonds of Earth has a been a dream for a long, long time. Dreams of flight, dreams of flight to the moon, and when the nature of the planets was learned, dreams of flight to them... and to the stars. Most people will never get into space, but I'm not sure I've met very many who wouldn't like to go. The popularity of space science fiction (and fantasy) comes from this. People want to go new places. People want to explore. Sending probes, robots, is a start, but just a start. There's nothing like being there, wherever there might be. Earth is very nice place, but it is hardly the only place. A very old, very grand dream is still only just starting to come true, and the breakup of Columbia means that the ultimate realization of that dream will be all the slower in coming. That's what all the fuss is about.