Mark Steyn has some thoughts on Katie Couric’s less-than-royal “we.” And yes, I didn’t make a mistake in the categorization. It is a space post, though it’s also a politics post.

No, they weren’t an “airborne UN”. They were an airborne America. For a start, if there was such a thing as a UN rocket, the Israeli guy wouldn’t get anywhere near it, except on a one-way ticket to establish the viability of Ahmadinejad’s new designated homeland for the Jews on Planet Zongo. I doubt even an EU space shuttle would be eager to admit any astronauts from the Zionist Entity. As for the “Indian woman”, Kalpana Chawla was the American Dream writ large upon the stars: she emigrated to the US in the Eighties and was an astronaut within a decade. There’s no other country on earth where you can do that. And I’ll bet she had no qualms about using the dread “we” word.

Matt Bowes was a young space enthusiast, who had a blog called Space Liberates Us. I met him at a conference (I think in July, in DC, though it may have been at the ISDC in Dallas, in May).

He was far too young to die in a senseless accident but sadly, the young (particularly those young who want to conquer the newest and highest frontier) tend to be less risk averse, and sometimes, it bites them. He was only nineteen.

When I was his age, I (too?) thought that I was immortal. I imagine that he did as well. But no matter how advanced the technologies, accidents will still happen. I feel older now, and chastened, and mortal. But somehow, because of many of the advances that I read about as a child only as science fiction, but that I can now see on the technological horizon, I hope to live much longer, and my sadness at Matt’s loss (and ours, who knew him) is only magnified by that thought.

From Michael Mealling (who informed me of this via email, noting that it was a motorcycle accident), of Masten Space:

Matt was an intern at Masten Space Systems this past summer. Very sad and shocking…

Indeed.

On Sunday, September 9, 2007 of Bethesda, MD. Beloved son of Dr. Julia A. LaJoie and Robert B. Bowes; loving brother of Audrey and Jackie Bowes. Matt is also survived by a large family and numerous friends. Friends will be received at St. Bartholomew’s Catholic Church, 6900 River Rd., Bethesda, MD, on Friday, September 14 from 4 to 8 p.m., where Mass of Catholic Burial will be offered on Saturday, September 15 at 10 a.m. Interment Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Silver Spring, MD. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Anselm’s Abbey School, 4501 S. Dakota Ave., NE, Washington, DC 20017-2795, Olin College of Engineering, c/o Office of Student Life, Olin Way, Needham, MA 02492-1200 or to the MARS Society, PO Box 273, Indian Hills, CO 80454.

Please view and sign the family guestbook.

Here another obit, at the WaPo.

[Friday morning update]

More thoughts from Clark Lindsey, Jon Goff (who worked with him briefly at Masten) and Keith Cowing.