If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or email alerts. Thanks for visiting!
NASA is all set to launch Discovery, the space shuttle on July 13; the first after the Columbia disaster in early 2003. Astronauts will be leaving for space after a gap of more than 2 years. Recently, I had the opportunity of seeing the shuttle on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral being readied for launch. If you remember, Kalpana Chawla was among the seven astronauts who died aboard Columbia. Life since then has moved on for her husband, J.P. Harrison. He is doing his bit to keep his wife’s memory alive and striving to further her dedication to science:
“J. P. Harrison, who was married to Dr. Kalpana Chawla, a Columbia astronaut and aerospace engineer, has established a foundation called Montsu Inc., named for the traditional birth name of his wife, who was raised in India. The foundation awards scholarships to students in third world countries for study in science or medicine, Mr. Harrison said. Because his wife had a deep love of the outdoors - mountain climbing and bird watching, especially - the foundation is also raising money for projects to help protect the environment, especially in India, he said.
Into space on the Discovery, Mr. Harrison said he was sending a photograph of his wife from her college days in India, where she is sitting in her dorm room surrounded by photographs of aircraft and one of a space shuttle.” [via NY Times]
Although everyone around the world was saddened by the disaster, we still will support space exploration. Man’s thirst for reaching beyond the known frontiers is not easily quenched. Rocket science is as nerdy as it can get but even during my visit to the launching station, I sensed a deep sense of commitment to furthering knowledge. The human stories filled with rich emotion are far more compelling than the complex science that sends them to space. Cape Canaveral has a simulation on the Apollo 11 moon landing’s final minutes. Most of the tourists watching the show were non-Americans but you could sense the feeling of quiet accomplishment amongst all. Nothing unites us all better than pure science.
by Patrix | on Tuesday, July 12th, 2005 at 8:00 am | 
Science . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
July 13th, 2005 at 10:51 am reply
Hi,
Check out my post on space science at ChutneySpears