Sorry, should have said the geopolitical irony of it all.

This is very sad. I love the space program, despite it's military uses, because it continues to instill cosmic dreams. May the astronauts all rest in peace, and their families find solace in the months and years ahead.

But this is just chilling, my sense of this accident (which was instantaneous as I heard the news) as tragic cosmic theatre--the crashing to earth of the Bush/Sharon military domination of the Middle East.