I was in Israel when the first Israeli astronaut -- Ilan Ramon -- went up with the Columbia (I still have a scrapbook with him smiling as he entered the shuttle)It was not just another ho-hum shuttle launch as it was in the US, for the most part. The embattled country (Israel in the middle of yet another intifada)was stunned into to a mourning, screeching halt when the Columbia was lost with all aboard.
Bee, the Challenger and Columbia disasters are both in that group of events that I can distinctly remember where I was and what I was doing when they occurred or were announced. Right up there with the JFK assassination, 9/11, John Lennon's murder, Reagan's shooting, and a few other major events that will always be with me. That was a very sad day, especially after having had one shuttle accident already.
