Thanks for the posts on the Columbia tragedy...

It's been a rather difficult week, but I know that we'll get back to business, figure out what went wrong, fix it, and move on.

Now we just need a budget! ;-)

Hang in there. I think you'll find that most Americans support the continuation of manned exploration of space.

I'm sad for the crew and their families, but I'm also sad that this will set us back a few more years in our quest to go further.

I'm not trying to be macabre here, but ever since I was awoken by the noise on that Saturday morning- I've spent quite a bit of time on the 'net collecting images and info of what other people had seen and heard in the surrounding areas.

A link to these images is listed below.

-Schotte

• Photo gallery - Space Shuttle Columbia Tragedy

Just remember they were explorers no different to the sailors hundreds of years ago that explored the worlds oceans. How many of them were lost in the name of progress and exploration.

Did this stop new continents being discovered, No America is proof of this. If they gave up every time something went wrong then we might not have got out of the dark ages.

The space programs will go on bigger and better than before.

Just remember how the U.S. came into being thanks to explorers who had as much to lose as the astronauts.

Simon