Journalists Ready to Ride Shuttle Despite Tragedy

NEW YORK —  Some of the hundreds of reporters--including Walter Cronkite--who have applied to become the second private citizen on a shuttle flight say they are undeterred by the Challenger tragedy.

Former CBS anchorman Cronkite said that while “we all share this terrible sense of loss . . . I don’t think we should turn our backs on what this country has accomplished in space.”

Mark Bowden, 34, of the Philadelphia Inquirer, said the Challenger tragedy did not diminish his desire to report on space from space. “I applied fully prepared for the potential for something like that to happen,” he said.

Gideon Gil, 28, of the Louisville Courier-Journal said he raised the subject of fear in his application. He said he had weighed the risk again and decided--over his wife’s objections--that he would go if chosen.