HOUSTON — Standing before the weeping relatives of the lost shuttle astronauts, President Bush on Tuesday invoked their memory with a vow that “America’s space program will go on.”
Bush made the commitment to an emotional audience of more than 10,000 NASA workers and contractors who gathered at the space agency’s headquarters for a tearful farewell to the seven astronauts of the space shuttle Columbia. Despite the size of the crowd, the memorial felt more like a private chapel service, as NASA workers shared anecdotes about their co-workers who died Saturday morning when the shuttle broke up over Texas.
Bush said the seven astronauts fulfilled “an ancient dream of humanity” by leaving behind “Earth and air and gravity” in a quest for knowledge.
“This cause of exploration and discovery is not an option we choose; it is a desire written in the human heart,” he said.
His reaffirmation of support for the space program was a comforting message to a crowd with an intensely personal interest in Saturday’s disaster. Bush and his wife, Laura, sat among more than two dozen relatives of the fallen astronauts.
Other audience members laughed knowingly when Navy Capt. Kent Rominger, the chief of the astronaut corps, offered a series of anecdotes about all seven astronauts. He recalled the shuttle crew’s high-spirited antics at the last NASA holiday party, when they slapped temporary tattoos with the mission’s identifying designation — STS-107 — on anyone who came near their table.
“The world lost seven heroes. We lost seven family members,” Rominger said. Addressing his departed colleagues by name, he added: “I know you’re listening. Please know you’re in our hearts. We will always smile when we think of you.”
Seventeen years ago, NASA hosted a similar remembrance for the crew of the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded over Florida shortly after takeoff. NASA administrator Sean O’Keefe promised a thorough investigation of the most recent accident “to make sure it never happens again.”
Outside the gates of NASA’s headquarters, hundreds of other people held their own makeshift memorial service.
“We love our astronauts here just as they love their firemen in New York,” said Kathryn Lott, a Clear Lake resident who came on her lunch break. While some mourners placed flowers or read poems, others simply milled about.
“Every person coming out here has some type of hurt,” said Gene Grounds, the director of Victim Chaplain, a Dallas-based Baptist disaster-relief organization.
John Cobarruvias brought his 8-year-old son, David, who was dressed in a blue astronaut flight suit. Cobarruvias couldn’t explain why he had come.
“Hard to explain,” said the NASA computer analyst.
Bush, who paid tribute to each of the seven astronauts individually, said they faced the risks of their work with joy.
“Yet, some explorers do not return. And the loss settles unfairly on a few,” Bush said. “To the children who miss your Mom or Dad so much today, you need to know, they love you, and that love will always be with you.”
After the ceremony, Bush met privately with family members and told them that he struggled to maintain his composure during the brief remarks, according to an administration official who was in the room.
The memorial service was held under a clear blue sky, remarkably similar to the backdrop for Saturday’s accident. At the end of the 55-minute ceremony, four white T-38 trainer aircraft roared overhead, with one peeling away in the missing man formation.
“This type of thing is always needed,” said Tom Moser, a former director of engineering for NASA. “It was important for NASA people to hear this, and for the citizens of the United States — the world, even.”