nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. but weve never lost an astronaut in flight. weve never had a tragedy like this. and perhaps weve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle. but they, the challenger seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. we mourn seven heroes: michael smith, dick scobee, judith resnik, ronald mcnair, ellison onizuka, gregory jarvis, and christa mcauliffe. we mourn their loss as a nation together.
and i want to say something to the schoolchildren of who were watching the live coverage of the shuttles take-off. i know its hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. its all part of the process of exploration and discovery. its all part of taking a chance and expanding mans horizons. the future doesnt belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. the challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and well continue to follow them.
well continue our quest in space. there will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more teachers in space. nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.