AN EAST Lancashire businessman with links to the NASA space programme said the Columbia shuttle disaster must not stop man's exploration of space.

Although horrified and devastated by the shuttle's explosion, John Getty said grief for the seven dead astronauts should not mean an end to manned space missions.

John, chairman of PDS Engineering in Nelson, met Indian astronaut Kalpana Chawla during one of his many trips to the NASA space centre, in Houston.

His company has been asked by the American space agency to build, alongside Lindstrand, a balloon capable of holding 400 people.

It was while dining out, John first met Kalpana, or KC as she was affectionately known.

John, 52, said: "KC was part of the class of 1995 and they all used to go to a bar in Houston.

"They have a folk night there and we used to go singing with them.

"Her husband works for NASA and I met them both in a restaurant.

"We chatted and I told her about our balloon project.

"She was an incredible person, all astronauts are. They are lovely, incredible people."

The former Burnley Grammar School pupil said he was heartbroken when he heard news of Columbia's disintegration.

But he insisted astronauts must still be sent into space.

He said: "The space programme is something bigger than we could ever imagine. These people are pushing limits and boundaries.

"The exploration of space has to carry on.

"If we used the philosophy of giving up after every disaster, the world would not be what it is today.

"If it was not for the exploratory nature of man we would never have discovered the Americas or Australia.

"Man has always had an inquisitive nature. That is how we develop and evolve.

"Most of the people I have spoken to who have been into space said it had changed their lives.

"I spoke to my own son, William, about it. He's been out to America, been all around the space centre and seen inside one of the real shuttles.

"I asked him how he felt about it and he said, straight away, he would still go on a mission -- I feel the same way.

"What has happened is a very tragic accident.

"But if everyone who had an accident on the roads didn't get back in their car; the roads would be empty," he added.

John is planning to return to Houston within the next three weeks and has been in contact, via e-mail, with another astronaut.

He said that although the whole nation will be in shock, he is sure NASA's commitment to sending astronauts into space will be as solid as ever.