Commemorating the Columbia Astronauts

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I join my Senate colleagues and our Nation in honoring the seven astronauts who lost their lives as Space Shuttle Columbia returned home last Saturday. These brave individuals flew into space in the name of all humanity, and together we mourn their loss.

Those who perished with Columbia represented not only the best of our Nation, but the best of humankind. On board was a crew of seven: COL Rick Husband; LTC Michael Anderson; CDR Laurel Clark; CAPT David Brown; CDR William McCool; Dr. Kalpana Chawla; and Ilan Ramon, a colonel in the Israeli Air Force. They left behind 12 children, their spouses, along with numerous family members and friends. The people of the State of Michigan and our Nation share the grief and the pride of those who lost a loved one aboard the shuttle.

When Columbia blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral a few weeks ago, the astronauts aboard left earth in relative anonymity. In many ways this is a result of NASA's success: there have now been 144 manned space missions. Consequently, many have come to view spaceflight as routine.

However, the journey of exploration which they shared posed great risk. But the astronauts aboard Columbia, like those aboard Challenger and in Apollo I before them, understood those risks associated with their mission. Last Saturday, our Nation and the world once again received the ultimate and painful reminders that these are still our first steps into space. Nevertheless, space exploration will continue, for exploring our world and the heavens above has been a dream of humanity since long before the namesake of the Columbia set out across the Atlantic Ocean seeking a new route to India.

I am confident that in the coming months we will leave no stone unturned in the quest to find the causes of this catastrophe. I am sure the necessary changes will be made to safely transport the heroes of today and those of tomorrow.

A generation ago, the challenge of manned spaceflight inspired thousands of students to pursue careers in math, science and engineering. We are still benefitting from the innovations that this generation is responsible for. By rededicating ourselves to spaceflight and the wonders of science, we can produce another generation that will tackle new challenges and inspire us with their discoveries.

I believe the comment of my friend and our former colleague John Glenn summarizes it best. Following the tragedy of the Space Shuttle Challenger, he remarked, "they indeed carried our hopes and our dreams with them. Let us carry their memory with us." The men and women of the Space Shuttle Columbia carried with them the dreams of all of us and for that we thank them and hold them in our hearts.