Kent Conrad: “I would like to include a few words for the Record about the horrible tragedy that our Nation suffered on Saturday…”

“I would like to include a few words for the Record about the horrible tragedy that our Nation suffered on Saturday morning. Our Nation grieves for the brave astronauts that lost their lives on the Space Shuttle Columbia. My thoughts, and the thoughts of all North Dakotans, are with the families and friends of the seven crew members who died in the skies over Texas and Louisiana. Rick Husband, Michael Anderson, Laurel Clark, David Brown, William McCool, Kalpana Chawla, Ilan Ramon. These men and women came from around the country and around the world to risk their lives, and ultimately give their lives, for human space flight and all that it can offer. Their mission was one of cooperation, research, and discovery. In these troubled times when we talk of war every day, their mission was, significantly, a mission of peace. I have always said that, when done right, space exploration can be of tremendous benefit to those of us on the ground. The cutting edge research that NASA conducts in space, including the research performed by these seven brave individuals on Columbia, simply could not happen on the surface of the Earth. Now, we are reminded not only of how difficult and how important this research is, but also just how dangerous it is.”