ARLINGTON, Va. — NASA chief Charlie Bolden paid tribute to the agency’s 17 fallen astronauts Thursday in a short but solemn ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery — a memorial made a little more raw by the 25th anniversary of the Challenger accident today.
Trudging through a fresh layer of snow, Bolden laid wreaths at shrines to the shuttle crews of Challenger and Columbia and then at the tombstones of two Apollo 1 astronauts who are interred in Arlington.
“We thank them and their families for their extraordinary sacrifices in service to our nation,” said Bolden, who choked up toward the end of his speech. “These men and women will always be a part of us, and we’re still building on their legacy.”
U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall, the Texas Republican who chairs the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, also dabbed his eyes.
Each year, NASA honors its fallen astronauts in the final week of January, as each of the tragedies occurred at this time of year. On Jan. 27, 1967, the three-member team of Apollo 1 — Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee — died in a fire during a pre-launch test of their capsule.
Nineteen years later, Challenger exploded on Jan. 28, 1986. Columbia broke apart on Feb. 1, 2003, while re-entering the atmosphere.
It was the memory of Challenger that carried extra weight Thursday.
“The nation will never forget, and I will never forget, Jan. 28, 1986, or its indelible image,” said Bolden, a former astronaut who described the Challenger crew, and that of Columbia, as “personal friends of mine.”
A quarter-century ago, Challenger blew apart 73 seconds after liftoff, killing the astronauts aboard, including Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire high-school educator and participant in NASA’s Teacher in Space Project. Because of her involvement, schoolchildren nationwide had watched the launch.
Her widower, Steven McAuliffe, issued a statement Thursday saying the country would be best served by remembering why she decided to join the Challenger crew — and not what happened afterward.
“Christa confidently and joyfully embraced life, no less than her friends and colleagues on Challenger, and no less than the crews of Columbia, Apollo 1, and all of those people who courageously follow their own paths every day,” he said in a statement.
Bolden echoed that sentiment as he stood, head bowed, at the shuttle memorials — a short walk from the Tomb of the Unknowns.
“They’ve all left their legacy of exploration for us to follow. They all lived and breathed NASA. They would tell you, if they came here today, to reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so the things we learn and the things we do benefit all humankind,” said the retired Marine Corps general.
A separate tribute to the Challenger crew is planned today by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation at Kennedy Space Center.
