AMERICA’S SPACE
PROGRAM
By Bill
Larson
I
spent many years in the news business covering America’s space program.
There were periods of great exhilaration such as John Glenn’s flight of
Friendship 7 becoming the first American to orbit the earth.
There
was Ed White’s walk in space during the Gemini 4 mission, another first for an
American astronaut. And, of course, nothing could top that moment when Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder on the lunar
module to become the first human the walk on the moon….followed moments later
by Buzz Aldrin while Michael Collins remained in moon
orbit. .
But
there were also times of grief and overwhelming sadness. I recall the
great sense of loss while reporting on the Apollo 1 fire that took the lives of
Grissom, Chafee and White during a test on the launch pad. Then came the Challenger and Columbia
disasters.
Each of those events made clear the danger of exploration into the
unknown. But without such exploration progress comes to a
standstill. If all of the earlier voyagers from Europe
had never left their native shores….you and I might be speaking another
language in another country. It is the explorers in every discipline who
push the limits to carry us into the future. In doing so they often give
their lives and must not be forgotten!
And
so I felt compelled several years ago to dedicate something to the memory of
those gave everything to help advance our knowledge beyond the confines of this
little spaceship we call earth.
This
is my “thank you” to them. It was written by RCAF Pilot Gillespie Magee
as a tribute to all who explore the skies…..and beyond. He died in combat
shortly thereafter on December 11th, 1941.