If I could reach the stars, I'd pull one down for you
My life's dream...with a twist. I only wish it were possible for me to be involved.
01.28.2004
Remembering the Sacrifices of the Bold: Apollo 1, Challenger, Columbia
On January 14, 2004, on the heels of a successful robotic mission to Mars, President George W. Bush formally announced a new initiative for the American space program to extend the human presence across the solar system. His plan calls for first completing the International Space Station and retiring the current Space Shuttle fleet by 2010, then developing a new spacecraft called the Crew Exploration Vehicle to fly no later than 2014. That vehicle will carry astronauts beyond Earth orbit to other worlds, starting with the Moon as early as 2015. Research and development conducted on the Moon will then lead to manned missions to Mars. (If the plan stays on track, the prediction made by Star Trek: Voyager's "One Small Step" that human exploration of Mars will take place in the 2030's may very well come true. Colonization of the Red Planet by 2103 predicted in "The 37's" would also not be unrealistic.)
Bush acknowledged the goals he has laid out will not be easy. "We begin this venture knowing that space travel brings great risks," the president said during his speech at NASA headquarters in Washington D.C. "The loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia was less than one year ago. Since the beginning of our space program, America has lost 23 astronauts, and one astronaut from an allied nation - men and women who believed in their mission and accepted the dangers. As one family member said, 'The legacy of Columbia must carry on - for the benefit of our children and yours.' The Columbia's crew did not turn away from the challenge, and neither will we."
Of the 24 astronauts Mr. Bush spoke of, three were lost in the Apollo 1 launchpad fire of 1967; seven in the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger during takeoff in 1986; and seven in the re-entry disaster of the Space Shuttle Columbia last year (the others died in training accidents during the early years of the space program). Interestingly, the anniversaries of those three tragedies take place all within the same week.
As we venture forth to fulfill Bush's declaration that "human beings are headed into the cosmos," let us pause to remember and honor those who gave their lives for the vision of mankind taking its place among the heavens. Let us follow their example and continue to go boldly into the unknown - not because it's easy, but because we must.
Apollo 1
January 27, 1967
Virgil "Gus" Ivan Grissom
Edward Higgins White, II
Roger Bruce Chaffee
Space Shuttle Challenger, Mission STS-51-L
January 28, 1986
Francis R. Scobee
Michael J. Smith
Judith A. Resnik
Ellison S. Onizuka
Ronald E. McNair
Gregory B. Jarvis
Sharon Christa McAuliffe
Space Shuttle Columbia, Mission STS-107
February 1, 2003
Rick D. Husband
William C. McCool
Michael P. Anderson
Kalpana Chawla
David M. Brown
Laurel Blair Salton Clark
Ilan Ramon
...I never thought I'd like a single thing about Bush...but damn! Revamping the space program. *giddy*
01.28.2004
Remembering the Sacrifices of the Bold: Apollo 1, Challenger, Columbia
On January 14, 2004, on the heels of a successful robotic mission to Mars, President George W. Bush formally announced a new initiative for the American space program to extend the human presence across the solar system. His plan calls for first completing the International Space Station and retiring the current Space Shuttle fleet by 2010, then developing a new spacecraft called the Crew Exploration Vehicle to fly no later than 2014. That vehicle will carry astronauts beyond Earth orbit to other worlds, starting with the Moon as early as 2015. Research and development conducted on the Moon will then lead to manned missions to Mars. (If the plan stays on track, the prediction made by Star Trek: Voyager's "One Small Step" that human exploration of Mars will take place in the 2030's may very well come true. Colonization of the Red Planet by 2103 predicted in "The 37's" would also not be unrealistic.)
Bush acknowledged the goals he has laid out will not be easy. "We begin this venture knowing that space travel brings great risks," the president said during his speech at NASA headquarters in Washington D.C. "The loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia was less than one year ago. Since the beginning of our space program, America has lost 23 astronauts, and one astronaut from an allied nation - men and women who believed in their mission and accepted the dangers. As one family member said, 'The legacy of Columbia must carry on - for the benefit of our children and yours.' The Columbia's crew did not turn away from the challenge, and neither will we."
Of the 24 astronauts Mr. Bush spoke of, three were lost in the Apollo 1 launchpad fire of 1967; seven in the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger during takeoff in 1986; and seven in the re-entry disaster of the Space Shuttle Columbia last year (the others died in training accidents during the early years of the space program). Interestingly, the anniversaries of those three tragedies take place all within the same week.
As we venture forth to fulfill Bush's declaration that "human beings are headed into the cosmos," let us pause to remember and honor those who gave their lives for the vision of mankind taking its place among the heavens. Let us follow their example and continue to go boldly into the unknown - not because it's easy, but because we must.
Apollo 1
January 27, 1967
Virgil "Gus" Ivan Grissom
Edward Higgins White, II
Roger Bruce Chaffee
Space Shuttle Challenger, Mission STS-51-L
January 28, 1986
Francis R. Scobee
Michael J. Smith
Judith A. Resnik
Ellison S. Onizuka
Ronald E. McNair
Gregory B. Jarvis
Sharon Christa McAuliffe
Space Shuttle Columbia, Mission STS-107
February 1, 2003
Rick D. Husband
William C. McCool
Michael P. Anderson
Kalpana Chawla
David M. Brown
Laurel Blair Salton Clark
Ilan Ramon
...I never thought I'd like a single thing about Bush...but damn! Revamping the space program. *giddy*