Chaplain Chris Lovejoy
Chaplain, USS Corsair NCC-26556
Chaplain Liaison, Region 3

Today, as I sit here, I reflect on a great tragedy that befell the US and the Space Program; the Challenger Disaster. I was but three years old at the time, but I still feel the weight of it.
Seven NASA astronauts gave their lives, as President Reagan so eloquently said, “to touch the face of God.”

Their sacrifice must be remembered and honored. The Challenger Seven knew the risks of space exploration and were undaunted. As so many of our astronauts up to today, they were and are pioneers of the final frontier. Celebrate the lives they lead, mourn our loss, and remember the meaning of their lives and what they sought.

• Michael Smith
• Dick Scobee
• Judith Resnik
• Ronald McNair
• Ellison Onizuka
• Gregory Jarvis
• Christa McAuliffe

For so long as they are remembered, their stories told, the fallen will never be truly gone.