News

NASA to Pay Tribute to Fallen Heroes with Day of Remembrance

By Doug Messier

Parabolic Arc

January 27, 2020

Filed under Apollo 1, Challenger, Columbia, human spaceflight, Jim Bridenstine, NASA, space shuttle

The crew of STS-107, the last flight of the space shuttle Columbia. From left to right are mission specialist David Brown, commander Rick Husband, mission specialist Laurel Clark, mission specialist Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist Michael Anderson, pilot William McCool, and Israeli payload specialist Ilan Ramon. (Credit: NASA)

NASA will honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, during the agency’s annual Day of Remembrance Thursday, Jan. 30.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, along with other senior agency officials, will lead an observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia beginning at 1 p.m. EST. A wreath-laying ceremony will take place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, followed by observances for the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia crews.

Various NASA centers also will hold observances on and leading up to the Day of Remembrance for the public, employees and the families of those lost in service to America’s space program.

Challenger crew. Back row, left to right: mission specialist Ellison Onizuka, payload specialist Christa McAuliffe, payload specialist Gregory Jarvis, mission specialist Judith Resnik. Front row left to right: pilot Michael J. Smith, commander Francis “Dick” Scobee, mission specialist Ronald McNair. (Credit: NASA)

Kennedy Space Center, Florida

NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in partnership with The Astronauts Memorial Foundation and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, will host Day of Remembrance observance activities, including a wreath-laying ceremony at 10 a.m. at the Astronauts Memorial Foundation Space Mirror Memorial in the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Thad Altman, president and chief executive officer of the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, and Kelvin Manning, Kennedy associate director, technical, will speak at the ceremony. This ceremony is open to the public.

Johnson Space Center, Houston

NASA’s Johnson Space Center will hold a commemoration for employees at the Astronaut Memorial Grove to honor Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia crews.

Astronauts, from the left, Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee stand near Cape Kennedy’s Launch Complex 34 during training for Apollo 1 in January 1967. (Credits: NASA)

Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

NASA’s Stennis Space Center will host a Day of Remembrance ceremony memorializing crew members of the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia missions, as well as members of the Stennis Space Center family lost in the past year. It will feature the laying of a ceremonial wreath in memory of those who have sacrificed in support of the nation’s space program.

Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will observe Day of Remembrance with a candle-lighting ceremony for employees at 9 a.m. CST. Marshall Associate Director Steve Miley and former astronaut Jan Davis will offer remarks.

Video and still images of various agency observances will be available at:

https://www.nasa.gov/mediaresources

The agency also is paying tribute to its fallen astronauts with special online content available Wednesday, Jan. 29, at:

https://www.nasa.gov/dor2020

Images and multimedia from this year’s events will be added following the events.

Doug Messier