Peggy Noonan has always been class. She is the one who wrote the Challenger Speech for Reagan. Of course, "...slipped the surly bonds of earth, to touch the face of God." is excerpted from High Flight.
Last paragraph of Challenger speech, written by Peggy Noonan.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will 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 surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."
Remember, Reagan was set to give the State of the Union that night, but instead gave this speech beacuse of the Challenger disaster. Just a little history refreser for us all...so we dont allow the re-writers any chance.