Posted on 01/28/2006 7:09:06 PM PST by new yorker 77
"We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights...more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space."
Video LINK: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/rreaganchallenger.htm
SPEECH:
Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd 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 mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.
Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three 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've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn their loss as a nation together.
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're 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 challenge, and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. 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 dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United States 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're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.
And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the 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 man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.
I've 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. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute.
We'll continue our quest in space. There will 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 have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."
There's a coincidence today. On this day three hundred and ninety 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 a historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today, we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.
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 goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."
Thank you
I am an Engineer, in my profession I take deep pride. To it I owe solemn obligations. Since the Stone Age, human progress has been spurred by the engineering genius. Engineers have made usable Nature’s vast resources of material and energy for Humanity's [Mankind’s] benefit. Engineers have vitalized and turned to practical use the principles of science and the means of technology. Were it not for this heritage of accumulated experience, my efforts would be feeble.
As an Engineer, I pledge to practice integrity and fair dealing, tolerance and respect, and to uphold devotion to the standards and the dignity of my profession, conscious always that my skill carries with it the obligation to serve humanity by making the best use of Earth’s precious wealth.
As an Engineer[, in humility and with the need for Divine guidance,] I shall participate in none but honest enterprises. When needed, my skill and knowledge shall be given without reservation for the public good. In the performance of duty and in fidelity to my profession, I shall give the utmost.
My brother in law was an engineer who worked on the shuttle launching pad.
Stories about the contracts, sub contracts, etc. would lead us to believe it was a miracle anything got off the ground.
He was on the Cape when the astronauts were burned up in the fire. Imagine piping pure oxygen into the capsule. As if no one thought of the terrible fire hazard.
He told us that the entire Cape was locked down and everyone questioned by the FBI to be sure it wasn't sabotage.
I couldnt believe it when a local news gal said this evening that it's "20 years since Challenger never arrived on the Moon." Argh. No wonder so many people are ill informed about space and other issues. I will have to email her and the news director to inform them the shuttle never went to the moon and is not capable of doing so! You'd think news professionals would know this. Unreal.
Over on National Geo. channel they did a show called 'Challenger: the untold story.' I did not watch it all but from what I saw of it, there was nothing new to report. It was not exactly "untold" info.
The ignorance of those working in our media is breathtaking.
Sad commemoration ping. NBC found a way not to mention Reagan either last night or tonight in their coverage on the 20th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. CBS played the end of Reagan's speech tonight. I can't remember the Challenger disaster without also remembering President Reagan's comforting presence and words. One without the other just isn't "history."
I remember
I've been staying on the sidelines reading FR for about 4 years now. I watched the video of the the "man" and had to post, set up an account and here goes.
I never knew how much until I watched the video. . .
My God how I miss him . . . .
Jon
Check out my profile brother. Look at the quotes. And if the video doesn't get you, I don't know what do say.
Welcome
vision,
Just spent the last 10 minutes reading yor profile. And yes, you are my brother.
The program indicated that they were "probably" killed due to de-pressurization, but it sounded to me like that was just wishful thinking.
The pictures of McAuliffe's parents just after the explosion really get to me. Her mother looks like mine and it tears me up every time I see that video and see the confusion and anguish in their faces.
Some chances taken in the pursuit of saving time or money or both result in death. Also, let's not forget ego.
President Ronald Reagan. What man he was! And truly a man in every respect. I miss him and his kind so much.
de-pressurization would not have killed the crew.
The crew possibly, but not certainly, lost consciousness in the seconds following orbiter breakup and they would not have been regained it before water impact. Yet, it was undetermined if the cabin actually lost pressure, so it was possible they were conscious for the near three minute descent. Slaming into the ocean is what killed them.
"When Challenger broke up, it was traveling at 1.9 times the speed of sound at an altitude of 48,000 feet. The crew module continued flying upward for some 25 seconds to an altitude of about 65,000 feet before beginning the long fall to the ocean. From breakup to impact took two minutes and 45 seconds. Impact velocity was 207 mph, subjecting the module to a braking force of approximately 200 times the force of gravity. Any astronauts still alive at that moment were killed instantly."
http://www.space-shuttle.com/challenger1.htm
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