[meteorite-list] Remembering Challenger and Columbia

From: Bernd Pauli HD <bernd.pauli_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:18:24 2004
Message-ID: <3E3C19F3.54D079C7_at_lehrer.uni-karlsruhe.de>

Mark Miconi wrote:

> God Speed to our fallen heros, they gave their lives
> in a most noble cause, fully aware that the danger
> exists long before they stepped aboard.




S H U T T L E T R A G E D Y - Jan 28, 1986

Ronald Reagan's Address To The Nation After The Shuttle Tragedy:

Ladies and gentlemen, I've planned to speak to you tonight to report on
the state of the Union but the events of earlier today have led me to
change those plans. Today is a day for mournings and remembering. Nancy
and I have pain to the core over the tragedy of the shuttle CHALLENGER.
You know we share this pain with all the people of our country. This is
truly a national loss. Nineteen years ago almost to the day we lost 3
astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground but we've never lost an
astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like this and perhaps we
have forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle but they
- these CHALLENGER seven - were aware of the dangers and overcame
them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes:

DICK SCOBEE - RONALD McNAIR - MICHAEL SMITH - GREGORY JARVIS
- JUDITH RESNIK- ELLISON ONIZUKA - CHRISTA McAULIFFE

We mourn their loss as a nation together. The families of the seven – we
cannot bear as you do the full impact of this tragedy but we feel the
loss and we are thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were
daring and brave and they had that special grace - that special spirit
that says: 'Give me a c h a l l e n g e and I'll meet it with joy'.
They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truth, they
wished to serve and they did - they served all of us.We've grown used to
wonders in this century - it's hard to bedevil us - but the 25 years the
US space program has been doing just that; we've grown used to the idea
of space and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun - we are still
pioneers.

They, these members of the CHALLENGER crew were pioneers and I want
to say something to the school children of America who were watching the
life coverage of this shuttle's take-off: I know it's hard to understand
but sometimes painful things like this happen; it's all part of the
process of exploration and discovery; it's all part of taking a chance
and expanding men's horizons.The future doesn't belong to the
faint-hearted - it belongs to the brave. The CHALLENGER crew was
pulling us into the future and we'll continue to follow them. I'd always
had great faith in and respect for our space program and what happened
today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program, we
don't keep secrets and cover things up - we do it all up front and in
public and that's the way freedom is and we wouldn't change it for a
minute.

We'll continue our quest in space, there'll be more shuttle flights and
more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more
teachers in space. Nothing ends here - our hopes and our journeys
continue. I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman
who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your
dedication and professionalism has moved and impressed us for decades
and we know of your anguish - we share it.

There is a coincidence today that this year 390 years ago, the great
explorer Sir Francis Drake, died aboard ship off the coast of Panama;
in his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans and the story later
said he lived by the sea, died on it and was buried in it. We today, we
can say of the CHALLENGER crew, there dedication was like Drake's:
complete!

The crew of the space shuttle CHALLENGER honored us for the manner
in which they lived their lives. We'll never forget them nor the last
time we saw them - this morning - as they prepared for their journey and
waved good-bye and slipped the serving bonds(?) of Earth to touch the
face of God ... Thank you!
Received on Sat 01 Feb 2003 02:03:15 PM PST