Downey : Shuttle Memorial Planned
The City Council Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to erect a memorial to the Challenger space shuttle crew on City Hall grounds.
The council approved setting a 48-by-30-inch plaque on a stone pedestal that will depict the airborne shuttle and list the seven crew members along with the legend “We will never forget you.”
The memorial will be designed by Rockwell International Corp., builder of the shuttle, which has its Space Station Systems and Space Transportation Systems divisions in Downey. Meanwhile, city officials plan to participate in a community campaign to raise the estimated $10,000 needed for the memorial.
Councilman Bob Cormack, who proposed the memorial to the council, said the city was proud of Rockwell’s role in the space program and also wanted to honor the fallen crew members.
“Everyone was shocked by the terrible disaster and the lives that were lost there and we wanted to do something to commemorate the sacrifice that these people made,” Cormack said. He added that the idea for the memorial was first suggested by Joseph Ferris, a former Downey mayor.
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