this one.  I  know John more as a climbing buddy than as an astronaut, but when he invited me to see him launch and land aboard the Columbia on STS-109 last March, I decided to go to the Cape.

Each astronaut is allowed to personally invite 50 people, and most of John's invitations were to his and his wife Carol's family members or very old friends from the Chicago area where he and Carol grew up.  I actually felt touched that he invited me, since I am a relatively new friend, so I decided to go all the way across the country from my home in Northern California to see both the launch and the landing and "be there" for my friend.  

I can tell you that NASA does a good job of shielding the astronauts' family and friends from the media and also congressional and other political bigshots who eagerly line up to be seen consoling the grieving widow, parents, and children if a tragegy should occur.  NASA understands that these would be unwelcome intrusions.

The best view of the Columbia's launch last March was from an area with bleacher-type seating that is closest to Pad 39.  This is where the NASA bigwigs, Senators, Congressmen, key campaign contributors, etc are seated.  We who are close friends and family of the astronauts saw the launch from another area where we could be shielded from the media.  A NASA bus took us to a grassy hill several miles from the pad where there wasn't a single seat and the view wasn't as close, but where the wives would not have to overhear insensitive comments before the launch from from asshole politician ("Gee, I hope it doesn't blow up like the Challenger did"), or if something went wrong, God forbid, during the launch.  This launch was only the second since 9/11, so below us at the place where the hill met the water, we saw soldiers with automatic weapons patrolling.

For the landing ten days later, it was harder to physically separate the astronauts' families and close friends from the media and politicians, because unlike the launch, which could be seen from any of many places over a large area, the actual runway touchdown could only be seen from right next to the runway, where there was bleacher type seating.  But there was still a special separate area for us, away from the media and politicians.  When the word came this morning to those waiting at the runway, the immediate family members ONLY would have been taken quickly away from the runway in a NASA bus to a room at the KSC where they would be briefed on the situation by NASA people who would be accompanied by professional therapists employed by NASA to help with making this process as gentle as possible.

But if the wives of the astronauts who died today are anything like Carol, they are better prepared than you might think.  Like John, Carol is a mountain climber.  I used to kid John about the fact that he took Carol on a climbing trip for their honeymoon, but it was the kind of honeymoon that she wanted too.  John and Carol both understood the risks of both his climbing and his being an astronaut, but believed that the rewards were worth the risks.

I have been leading groups of ten or so adult men and women on mountain climbing expeditions for the last 20 years, and have never lost a climber, although I have many friends who also lead climbs who have lost climbers, one just this last September on the same mountain and route that I will lead a group on in early July.  When a climber is lost during a climb, it is common for the climb to continue.  We do this because the dead climber would have wanted us to.  Sometimes people who hear this think it is insensitive, and disrepectful to the dead climber.  I can't really explin it to them, because they just don't "get it".

What I can say about today's event is that the astonauts who died would not want the US space progrem to be unnecessarily delayed by their tragic deaths.  We need to gather and analyze the data, determine what went wrong, and fix the problem.  Then we need to continue the shuttle program, the ISS program, and the planning for the programs that will come next.  We need to be able to continue to say "The dream is alive!"