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“non est ad astra mollis e terris via“ — Lest we forget:

• Apollo I: January 27, 1967: Grissom, White, Chaffee
• Challenger (STS-51-L): January 28, 1986: Scobee, Smith, Resnik, Onizuka, McNair, Jarvis, McAuliffe

• Colombia (STS-107): February 1, 2003: Husband, McCool, Brown, Chawla, Anderson, Clark, Ramon

Thank you, and goodnight, ladies and gentlemen.

PHOENIX

Julia Ecklar

In a tower of flame on Test Pad Two, I was there.
I know not where they laid my bones; it could be anywhere.
But when fire and smoke had faded, the darkness left my sight…
And I found my soul in a spaceship’s hull, riding home on a trail of light.

Chorus:
And my wings are made of tungsten, my flesh of glass and steel.
I am the joy of Terra for the power that I wield.
Once upon a lifetime I died a pioneer;
Now I sing within a spaceship’s heart. Does anybody hear?

Before each morning’s launch, they know that I am there.
To the the soul that warms this vessel’s hull they say a silent prayer.
I am father, ship, and spirit of the dream for which they strive.
For I am man at the hands of man; see us rocket for the sky!

CHORUS

My thunder rends the morning sky. Yes, I am here!
Though lost to flame when I was man, now I ride her without fear.
For I am more than man now, and man built me with pride.
Oh, I led the way, and I lead the way, of man’s future in the sky!