… to the New Year as I woke up around noon today to the news that the space shuttle Columbia had been lost on re-entry. Since then I’ve been getting up to speed on the tragedy, from CNN, NASA and other news sources.

One of the few events I remember from my childhood was the loss of the shuttle Challenger. I remember first hearing about it from a friend on my way home from school for lunch, and relating the news to my mom who realized the enormity of the event.

In a way it feels like I grew up with the space shuttle—the missions started around the same time I became “aware” of the world around me and things like space exploration. But as I grew up and technology changed all around me, the space shuttle remained pretty much the same as it ever was. These days it feels old, the best of its days long past… I really hope that this accident will push forward efforts towards building a replacement for the shuttle.