'These brave astronauts will never be forgotten

In times of tragedy, it can help to have an outlet for your thoughts and emotions. After the space shuttle Columbia disaster, the St. Petersburg Times X-Team put pen to paper to express what came from the heart.

To the families of Columbia's courageous heroes:

These brave astronauts will never be forgotten. Their legacies will live on forever in our hearts. Our nation mourns this tragedy, but we honor the men and women on the Columbia. I pray that you are comforted by the words of our president: "The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth, but we can pray they are safely home."

-- Theresa Linnert, 12, is in seventh grade at Westlake Christian School in Palm Harbor.

I watched the space shuttle Columbia take off during first period a couple of weeks ago, but who would have thought that I would be telling my children about what happened to this shuttle just like my parents have told me about what happened with the Challenger? I was in temple as it happened, and hearing about it just as we said the prayer for the dead made it even more difficult to bear. It was very hard to take in, and I was actually thinking, "Did that really happen? What went wrong?" The first Israeli, trying to make a difference for his country. I am very sad about the lives that we lost, but we cannot think that NASA failed. We have to think of this as a learning experience for the future.

-- Reva Luth-Powell, 13, is in eighth grade at Bay Point Middle in St. Petersburg.

I first heard about the Columbia just after it happened, when my rabbi announced it during services. We didn't know the whole story, just that something had gone wrong. As soon as we got in the car, we turned on the radio and heard everything, about the debris falling all over Texas and the confusion of why this had happened. My first reaction was, "How could this have gone so wrong, 15 minutes from landing?" But for a while, forever maybe, no one will know. The whole mystery of it, and then that all the astronauts had died . . . it was a pretty big shock. The next day, in the newspaper and on television, there were pictures of the seven astronauts smiling ear to ear before the launch, and that was probably one of the worst parts for me. -- Jocelyn Howard, 12, is in sixth grade at Bay Point Middle in St. Petersburg.

It is the noble actions of people like the seven astronauts of the Columbia that make us proud to call ourselves Americans. May God bless those brave souls whose lives were lost. Their bodies were cremated in the sky, making their spirits' journey to heaven all the more short. Now they can soar without the aid of a shuttle, in and out of the atmosphere from space to Earth and to that paradise somewhere between.

-- Lindsey Brooks, 13, is in eighth grade at Bay Point Middle in St. Petersburg.

I feel really bad that the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated. It was as if I knew the seven astronauts. My cousins went with my grandmother and saw the launch Jan. 16 at the Kennedy Space Center. They got me extremely interested in the experiments going on in space. The astronauts left behind 12 children who will have to deal with the loss of a parent. I learned of a fund that was set up in 1986 after the Challenger exploded. The fund helped children of the late astronauts by paying for their education and health care. This fund is now taking donations to assist the children of the Columbia astronauts. If you want to help, the write to: The Space Shuttle Children's Trust Fund, P.O. Box 34600, Washington, D.C. 20043-4600.

-- Nathaniel DiMura, 13, is in seventh grade at Seminole Middle.

At 9 a.m. I was standing on the 10th floor of a parking garage in Tampa, looking at the sky for Columbia before heading out to find a spot along the Gasparilla parade route. When my friends and I found out that contact with the shuttle had been lost, we blindly hoped that it was some technical error and that we would see the shuttle coming back to Earth soon. We stood in the lobby of the Hyatt waiting for our Starbucks when a television flashed blue with white light streaking across it. It was then we realized that we were not going to see the shuttle return to Earth that morning. They say driving in a car is more dangerous than flying in an airplane. Obviously, life is a dangerous thing. But I have to believe those seven men and women who lost their lives that day were living their lives to the fullest, doing what they loved. And for that, they are examples for us all.

-- Catherine McCarthy, 17, is in 12th grade at Seminole High School.

The Columbia tragedy has struck the hearts of many Americans. Like Sept. 11, the positive outcome should be a nation bonded together. We shall unite and pray for those who have perished. It will be a day that our country remembers, not just because lives were lost, but because legends were made. These people died heroes.

-- Mackenzie Porter, 13, is in eighth grade at St. Mary's Episcopal Day School in Tampa.

Seven brave and courageous astronauts put aside their differences in nationality and religion and came together in order to expand human boundaries. They were aware of the risks but were willing to put it all on the line so that NASA could enhance its research of space.

The United States has been through so much during the past two years. Columbia's loss on Feb. 1 was another event that united not only Americans, but also people all over the world. We Americans put aside all other problems such as war and terrorism when we mourned the deaths of these astronauts. These seven fearless astronauts will forever be in the hearts of Americans and will be remembered as true heroes.

-- Amita Shah, 14, is in 10th grade at St. Petersburg High.

It's the dream of many,

The reality of few

To behold the Earth in all of its glory.

Floating in a sea of ebony

Perfectly serene.

Itwas their reality,

Their life,

The dream that they pursued.

And that glimpse of turquoise marble,

Etched in beauty's magnificence,

Was worth the cost.

-- Jacky Johnson, 15, is in ninth grade at Seminole High.

When I woke (Feb. 1), I was made aware of the tragic ending of the space shuttle Columbia's mission and related it to the only other failed NASA mission that I had known, that of the space shuttle Challenger. However, when the Challenger tragedy occurred, I was still in diapers. What made the situation more eerie was that the anniversary for the space shuttle Challenger disaster had been days before. As we remember those seven brave souls, we evaluate their motives. Up in space they devoted their studies and experiments hoping to benefit mankind, whereas here on Earth, much of mankind is not driven by such lofty goals. We are), consumed by elements of greed and selfishness. What we can learn from this catastrophe is that such endeavors don't go unnoticed, not only in the global community but in the scientific community as well. It is my hope that the space program continues not only as a tribute to those fallen astronauts, but also as an opportunity to expand our knowledge for the future.

-- Kelly Bryce, 18, is in the 12th grade at Palm Harbor University High.

The explosion of the space shuttle Columbia was a very tragic moment. Seven lives were lost, and now there are seven grieving families who have only memories of their loved ones left to hold on to. Seven dreams of going to space have been shattered: people who wanted to leave a legacy, people who wanted to go down in history to have been among those to travel to space. But their lives were not in vain.

-- Kente Jamison, 14, is in eighth grade at Academy Prep in St. Petersburg.

When I first found out about the Columbia, I didn't think much of it because I was in the middle of a soccer game. When I got home, it was all over the television. At first I thought that it was another terrorist attack, but that isn't the case. How could this happen to us after all that this country has been through? How? I wasn't alive when the terrible Challenger accident occurred, but now I know how the people must have felt. I look at the people on television, and I notice them crying. These people had probably no clue that there was even a space shuttle named Columbia or that it was in space. Do we start paying attention to things like this only when tragic things happen? Only when "bad" takes place and not "good?" I think America will start being more alert with not just the space program but the whole world and the people who live in it.

-- Kwynn Kirkhuff, 14, is in eighth grade at St. Paul's School in Clearwater.

For centuries, people have looked at the night sky's beautiful stars and wondered about them. For decades, people have been inspired by the space program and the trips to those distant places, and for days we have been trying to cope with the loss of a part of America and the world's hope for the exploration of space. Space represents our goals and aspirations. To lose our vehicle there is terrible, and to lose the people courageous and adventurous enough to be pioneers in the unknown is worse. But above all, the worst loss would be the loss of our hopes and grasping our dreams. To lose them would be to lose in vain the lives of those seven heroic astronauts. Space exploration was their dream, and it is our dream. We must not let this stop us from achieving it.

-- Jessica DaFonte, 14, is in ninth grade at Palm Harbor University High.

Yet again, America mourns the loss of heroes. Seven innocent lives were taken because they were simply living their lifelong dream of exploring space. Despite the devastating loss of these seven heroes, that they got to fulfill their dream makes the terrible situation a little better. While thousands of lives are taken each year from drunken driving, abuse and other common tragedies, at least these seven wonderful people will forever be remembered in our hearts as the heroes who died doing what they loved.

-- Dana Orlando, 12, is in the sixth grade at Seven Springs Middle in New Port Richey.

I learned about the Columbia disaster on the way to synagogue. When we picked up my grandmother, she asked, "Did you hear the terrible news?" I did not know until she told me. Before the accident, I had read about the shuttle in the newspaper. I had learned that Ilan Ramon was the first Israeli in space. He took a Torah with him. At the time that I learned of the accident I thought, "Don't America and Israel have enough to be upset about?" My family and I were very sad as we listened to the breaking news on the radio in the car that Saturday morning. At synagogue, we said a special prayer, and the rabbi made a speech about the disaster. Everyone felt sorry for the astronauts' families. It was a tragedy that I hope will never happen again.

-- Jacob Ludin, 11, is a fifth-grader at the Pinellas County Jewish Day School in Clearwater.

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