Mike Levin: “I join my Senate colleagues and our Nation in honoring the seven astronauts who lost their lives as Space Shuttle…”

“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.”