Here is the video clip of the Challenger Disaster.
And here is the video clip of Reagan's Address on the Challenger
Disaster. Scroll
down for the transcript.
It follows the full text transcript of
Ronald Reagan's Address on the Challenger
Disaster, nationally broadcast from the Oval Office at the
White House at Washington D.C. - January 28, 1986.
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 25
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 takeoff. I know
it is 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 390
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 an 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.''
