SUNUNU HONORS SPACE SHUTTLE COLUMBIA CREW

WASHINGTON, DC – United States Senator John Sununu (R-NH) honored the memory of the astronauts who died aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia during a February 5, 2003, speech on the Senate floor, which follows:

“Mr. President, today I join my colleagues and millions around the world to express our enormous sorrow at the loss of the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia and to extend sympathy to the crew’s families and friends.

“This tragedy, like the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger 17 years ago, has left an empty space in our hearts. We struggle for the words that might help to make sense of the events we witnessed last Saturday.

“A return to Earth that we have come to view as “routine” instead has reminded us of the fragility of life. We are all subject to the flaws of man and the vagaries of nature. Yet these seven brave men and women accepted great risk as they strove to expand the intellectual capital of all mankind.

“For thousands of years, the heavens have inspired, intrigued, and called us to explore their boundaries. This unending quest for knowledge is the very essence of what makes us human. It is a flame that burns so bright. It burns so bright that not even the depth of this tragedy or the shock of our loss can quench the desire to learn, to seek and to explore.

“There is no doubt in my mind that we will move forward to expand and strengthen America’s space program. And through the investigation that has just begun, we will find out what caused this accident and then we will fix it. But today, we mourn for those whom we have lost and offer comfort to those who have been left behind.

“The astronauts who fly the space shuttle are a unique and unparalleled breed of men and women. They inspire us with courage and intellect, and they sacrifice in service to their country and profession. But perhaps their greatest service of all is rendered when they reach out to future generations and plant the seeds of curiosity in a young student's mind.

“I have visited classrooms in the company of astronauts to see faces of children alive with wonder and awe. Like any one of us, our children want to know what it is like in space, what it is like to be a scientist, what it is like to be an explorer.

“Seventeen years ago when the Challenger was lost, among the seven astronauts was a teacher from New Hampshire, Christa McAuliffe, who was dedicated to nurturing and inspiring students not just in New Hampshire but all across the country. Her spirit and enthusiasm has been captured for future generations in the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium in Concord, NH.

“Each time I visit the planetarium, I am reminded that a child’s curiosity grows into a lifetime search for answers to the great questions of our age. As long as we have astronauts to engage this curiosity, the quest for knowledge will endure and our space program will thrive.

“Generations of Americans have been inspired by their courage and vision, but today, thoughts and prayers of millions are with the families and friends of Columbia’s crew.

“The sadness of this moment may well one day fade, but the memory of these seven heroic figures will remain forever strong.”

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