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, up the long, delirious burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never Lark, or even 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.
- John Gillespie Magee, Jr, 1922-1944
NASA Photo
David Brown
Rick Husband
Laura Clark
Kalpana Chawla
Michael Anderson
William McCool
Ilan Ramon
White House Photo by Paul Morse
IN MEMORY
I have run into the wind head up, and mane flying; wonderful, not terrifying;
What lies there, beyond the hill? A rivers bend, Oh! what to see? What will they find, For you and me? Those who went so far, so far. To lead mankind from star to star. The cost, this was a tragic day. They chart the course, Of the Milky Way
