[meteorite-list] Remembering Challenger and Columbia

From: mark ferguson <refam_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:18:24 2004
Message-ID: <20030201192227.20019.qmail_at_web40210.mail.yahoo.com>

Hi Bernd and list
I wish to join those who feel a loss in this tragic
event. Like those before them, these 7 were among
those who trained for a long time to have this job.
And like the test pilots who put their lives on the
line every day to further our knowledge and improve
our technology, they went into this full aware of the
chances for loss of life. Doesn't make it any easier
to live with or understand. I have followed our space
program since the earliest days. Not understanding,
but thrilled at watching the Mercury launches, then
the Gemini and the Apollo missions. Watching Walter
Chronkite's 21st Century and his coverage of missions
was a must event for me. I've grown up watching these
brave people risk it all, and watched some die. I can
only hope that those in the places to make the
choices, choose the best options, not the 6th or 7th
best because of cost. Find ways to learn from this and
improve, and don't spare cost, our research facilities
use the best equipment around, why should our test
pilots and space crews settle for anything less.

My thoughts go out to the families and wish them to
smile proudly for these brave 7 were doing what they
wanted to do.

Mark
--- Bernd Pauli HD
<bernd.pauli_at_lehrer.uni-karlsruhe.de> wrote:
> 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!
>
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>
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Received on Sat 01 Feb 2003 02:22:27 PM PST