女士們,先生們:
我原來打算今晚發(fā)表演講,向你們匯報政府的工作。但今天早些時候發(fā)生的事件使我改變了那些計劃。今天是一個悲痛和哀悼的日子。南希和我因挑戰(zhàn)者號航天飛船的悲劇而痛徹心肺。我們知道我的國家和人民正和我們一起經(jīng)歷這一痛苦——這是國家的重大損失。
十九年前,幾乎就在同一天,我們在一次可怕的地面事故中行動失去了三名宇航員;但是我們從未在飛行中失去一名宇航員,我們從未發(fā)生過這樣的悲劇。也許我們都忘記了飛船全體成員所抱持的勇敢精神。但是他們——挑戰(zhàn)者號上的七人,清醒地認(rèn)識到所面臨的危險并超越了它們,完成了杰出的工作。
Ronald Reagan: The Space Shuttle"Challenger" TragedyAddress
delivered 28 January1986
Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to youtonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events ofearlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day formourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by thetragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain withall of the people of our country. This is truly a nationalloss.
Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lostthree astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But, we'venever lost an astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy likethis. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crewof the shuttle. But they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of thedangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mournseven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, RonaldMcNair, Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. Wemourn their loss as a nationtogether.
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, asyou do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, andwe're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daringand brave, and they had that special grace, that special spiritthat says, "Give me a challenge, and I'll meet it with joy." Theyhad a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. Theywished to serve, and they did. They served all ofus.
We've grown used to wonders in this century. It'shard to dazzle us. But for twenty-five years the United Statesspace program has been doing just that. We've grown used to theidea 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 schoolchildrenof America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle'stake-off. I know it's hard to understand, but sometimes painfulthings like this happen. It's all part of the process ofexploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance andexpanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to thefainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew waspulling us into the future, and we'll continue to followthem.
I've always had great faith in and respect forour space program. And what happened today does nothing to diminishit. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets andcover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's theway freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for aminute.
We'll continue our quest in space. There will bemore shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, morevolunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing endshere; our hopes and our journeyscontinue.
I want to add that I wish I could talk to everyman and woman who works for NASA, or who worked on this mission andtell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved andimpressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We shareit."
There's a coincidence today. On this day 390years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard shipoff the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers werethe oceans, and a historian later said, "He lived by the sea, diedon it, and was buried in it." Well, today, we can say of theChallenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's,complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honoredus by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will neverforget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as theyprepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surlybonds of earth" to "touch the face ofGod."
Thank you.