The Space Shuttle Catastrophe Off Cape Canaveral
While as a nation we grieve for the seven crew members who gave their lives in the name of discovery, let us not be angered by our commitment to the manned space program.
The seven astronauts who died aboard Challenger were pursuing one of man’s most fundamental desires, that of exploration. Whether they were pilots commanding a craft beyond our atmosphere, or engineers taking technology to a place most of us only dream of, or educators helping to bring that dream back home, all were graced with that certain pioneering quality.
If manned space missions are halted on account of this accident, then the seven will have died in vain. On the other hand, the most fitting tribute we as a country can pay to these pioneers, is to press onward and continue exploring.
It is a strange paradox that as men we’re inquisitive, always wanting to expand our horizons, but as engineers we’re imperfect, and meeting those horizons often involves a degree of risk. With the memory of the Challenger crew in mind, we must push ahead to help ensure that the dream stays alive.
I will always remember the names and faces of Gregory Jarvis, Christa McAuliffe, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Francis Scobee and Michael Smith. They were all American heroes.
MICHAEL A. LEON
Culver City
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