THE TEXT

'We will miss them all the more'

By Reuters, 2/2/2003

The following is the text of President Bush's televised address to the nation on the loss of the space shuttle Columbia yesterday:

''My fellow Americans, this day has brought terrible news and great sadness to our country. At 9 o'clock this morning Mission Control in Houston lost contact with their space shuttle Columbia. A short time later, debris was seen falling from the skies above Texas.

The Columbia is lost. There are no survivors.

On board was a crew of seven: Colonel Rick Husband, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Anderson, Commander Laurel Clark, Captain David Brown, Commander William McCool, Dr. Kalpana Chawla, and Ilan Ramon, a colonel in the Israeli Air Force.

These men and women assumed great risk in the service to all humanity. In an age when space flight has come to seem almost routine, it is easy to overlook the dangers of travel by rocket and the difficulties of navigating the fierce outer atmosphere of the earth.

Full coverage of the crash  TODAY'S GLOBE NASA e-mails show worry over wing  PROFILES The crew of shuttle Columbia  GRAPHICS Shuttle Columbia statistics Columbia's final approach Map of shuttle debris area How a shuttle returns to Earth Debris strikes Columbia Keeping heat outside shuttle Focus on shuttle tiles Trouble in the left wing The private sector in space Spinoffs from space  MORE COVERAGE Deadly accidents in space program Timeline of Columbia's last flight Glossary of space shuttle terms  REALVIDEO | NECN.com | Help with video | Latest in the investigation Sen. Kennedy reacts to tragedy The future of shuttle program Searching for debris in Texas Debris leads to hospitalization John Glenn on the tragedy Radar captures falling debris NASA lowers flag to half-staff Witnesses heard a 'big bang' Profiles of the Columbia crew NASA official: 'A tragic day' Video clips require RealPlayer and Windows 98 or higher.  PHOTO GALLERIES Memorials to the astronauts Images from the mission  ON THE WEB Space shuttle Columbia About the mission (Needs Flash) Space shuttle reference manual Shuttle facts, activities, and history How the space shuttle lands Virtual tour of shuttle Columbia. Background on the Columbia NASA www.nasa.gov Space Shuttle Encyclopedia (unofficial site) www.shuttle.org  THE CHALLENGER DISASTER From the Globe archives: Challenger explodes Profiles of crew members Final words of crew Profile of Christa McAuliffe

These astronauts knew the dangers, and they faced them willingly, knowing they had a high and noble purpose in life. Because of their courage and daring and idealism, we will miss them all the more.

All Americans today are thinking, as well, of the families of these men and women who have been given this sudden shock and grief. You are not alone. Our entire nation grieves with you, and those you love will always have the respect and gratitude of this country.

The cause in which they died will continue. Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into space will go on.

In the skies today, we saw destruction and tragedy. Yet farther than we can see, there's comfort and hope.

In the words of the prophet Isaiah, ''Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.''

The same creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth, yet we can pray that all are safely home.

May God bless the grieving families, and may God continue to bless America.''

This story ran on page A21 of the Boston Globe on 2/2/2003.
© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.