WASHINGTON (nasa) – The President and Mrs. George W. Bush will join NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe Tuesday afternoon in paying tribute to the brave heroes of the Space Shuttle Columbia crew during a special memorial service at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The ceremony to honor NASA astronauts Rick Husband, William McCool, Michael Anderson, Kalpana Chawla, David Brown, Laurel Clark, and Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon is scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. EST in the Central Mall area behind Building One. Gates are scheduled to open at 10 a.m.
This is a private ceremony for family members, friends, and invited guests, along with NASA employees and contractors. The service will be carried live on NASA Television and available on the Internet at www.nasa.gov.
The White House spokesman Ari Fliescher says he does not know who else will attend. He says Mr. Bush believes the tragedy touched the lives of Americans and reminds the world of the dangers of space exploration.
On Sunday, Mr. Bush attended church services in Washington after speaking privately by telephone with members of the astronauts’ families.
Mr. Bush also spoke to Indian Prime Minister Atal Bahari Vajpayee about the Columbia disaster. Mr. Vajpayee says the fact that one of the astronauts, Kalpana Chawla, was born in India “adds special poignancy to the tragedy.”
Other world leaders are sending condolences to the United States, where Americans mourned Saturday’s loss with memorial services across the country. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon spoke about his country’s first astronaut, Colonel Ilan Ramon, who died in the disaster. Mr. Sharon says Colonel Ramon “did not deserve to be taken from us, along with our hopes, dreams, history and future.”
Other leaders from Asia, Europe and the Middle East also expressed their grief over the space shuttle disaster. Chinese President Jiang Zemin expressed his condolences to the United States and Israel, but insisted that space exploration must continue. Pope John Paul prayed for the astronauts during services at Saint Peter’s Basilica.
