today I went down a hole of looking at all the media from the 1986 space shuttle challenger disaster (below is sort of where I dumped all the things I found). Last night as I was listening to one of my favourite albums of all time from one of my favourite artists, All Things Bright and Beautiful by Owl City, he has this very short track named January 28, 1986 which leads into the next track called Galaxies, and I don't know why I never investigated it until now, but I realised that he used snippets of Reagan's speech addressing the nation of the disaster in that track, and it was really something. The way Reagan quoted that poem of the pilot who died was really beautiful too. sort of hopeful and dark at the same time... just like owl city's track, with hopeful happy backgrounds/vocals. The images and some phrases I found in this exploration could definitely contribute to a collage or video collage (especially the clips of the crew and explosion). I personally have no memory of this disaster, never heard about it in my childhood, but I know it is very prominent for some/most people. really interesting, the idea of the memory of a disaster, a collective trauma, viewing from distance, the 'aftershocks', the leftover sadness for others.
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- the original poem:
High Flight
by John Gillespie Magee
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air…
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew –
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
[ Reagan concluded by quoting a poem by John Gillespie Magee, an American airman who died in World War II when he was only 19.
“We will never forget them,” he said, “nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’” ]
I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute.
We'll 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.
I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."
There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and an historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."
[ Note: The President spoke at 5 p.m. from the Oval Office at the White House. His address was broadcast live on nationwide radio and television. ]
[ Reagan's national address was written by Peggy Noonan, and was listed as one of the most significant speeches of the 20th century in a survey of 137 communication scholars. ]
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They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths and they had that special grace
That special spirit that says "Give me a challenge
And I'll meet it with joy"
The crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives
We will never forget them as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God
[Chorus]
Livin' close to the ground
Is seventh Heaven 'cause there are angels all around
Among my frivolous thoughts
I believe there are beautiful things seen by the astronauts
[Hook]
Wake me if you're out there
Wake me if you're out there
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And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, – and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air…
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew –
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
[ Reagan concluded by quoting a poem by John Gillespie Magee, an American airman who died in World War II when he was only 19.
“We will never forget them,” he said, “nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’” ]
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And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them.- Reagan's speech (28.1.86)
Ladies and gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss.
Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've 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.
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us.
We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for 25 years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers.
I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute.
We'll 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.
I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them: "Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share it."
There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and an historian later said, "He lived by the sea, died on it, and was buried in it." Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their dedication was, like Drake's, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."
[ Note: The President spoke at 5 p.m. from the Oval Office at the White House. His address was broadcast live on nationwide radio and television. ]
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- January 28, 1986 by Owl City
Ladies and Gentlemen
Today is a day for mourning and rememberingThey had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths and they had that special grace
That special spirit that says "Give me a challenge
And I'll meet it with joy"
The crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives
We will never forget them as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God
(lyrics from angels by owl city)
Livin' close to the ground
Is seventh Heaven 'cause there are angels all around
Among my frivolous thoughts
I believe there are beautiful things seen by the astronauts
[Hook]
Wake me if you're out there
Wake me if you're out there
first few links I saw
https://www.space.com/18084-space-shuttle-challenger.html
https://www.space.com/10668-nasa-space-shuttle-challenger-accident.html
https://www.space.com/31732-space-shuttle-challenger-disaster-explained-infographic.html
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3078062/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/chapter-eternity-descent/#.Xp2iOVNKgUs
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2540376/Never-seen-Challenger-disaster-pics-Photos-discovered-attic-dramatically-capture-1986-tragedy-killed-7-nearly-ended-space-shuttle-program.html
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/1/110127-challenger-disaster-space-shuttle-25th-anniversary-myths-science-nasa/
https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2016/01/28/space-shuttle-challenger-explosion-30th-anniversary-bob-oakes
https://www.nhpr.org/post/30-years-ago-challenger-disaster-devastated-new-hampshire-and-nation#stream/0
some links digging into NASA's online archive: (https://history.nasa.gov/sts51l.html)
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| the apple symbolising the teacher on board. |
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| live audience |
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| 2003 Colombia disaster |
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| last meal before launch |
side note; I saw this image (captioned: space shuttle Endeavour, The space shuttle Endeavour traveling from the Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center, October 2012.) and it made me have a flashback to a dream I had many years ago, I remember it because it gave me a lot of anxiety, but I was on a smallish plane and it was on the road, about to takeoff... it was anxiety inducing because of the fear of hitting something on the road (surely, the wingspan), the captain reassuring that everything is fine nonchalantly, and feeling the gravity shift and know I could die at any moment. similar to another dream (that I think I've had more than once) but also many years ago, where we were in a car but having to go on this road that was vertical. it was all about the anxiety of falling down, really...but we were moving so very slow unlike a roller coaster. it was almost scarier.
https://www.britannica.com/technology/space-shuttle#ref1252981
https://www.britannica.com/technology/space-shuttle#ref1252981
