Challenger, IIRC, disintegrated on liftoff on January 19th. The Columbia astronauts (along with all other NASA personel) observed a moment of silence on the exact moment that Challenger exploded. This moment of silence took place whilst Columbia was in orbit.
edit: A quick google search finds that the challenger was lost on January 28th. So much for my memory...
2nd edit: Mount St. Helens? Where's that, in Canada?
3rd edit: Heres another theory for you. Apollo 1 fire tragically kills 3 astronauts on the pad: Jan 27. Challenger explosion: Jan 28th. And now Columbia on Feb. 1.
Conclusion: Don't be a NASA astronaut at the end of January/beginning of February.
[ February 02, 2003, 11:38: Message edited by: dumbluck ]