^{This week marks a time of remembrance for NASA with the agency marking its annual day of remembrance; honouring the memories of the astronauts lost in the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia accidents.}

^{In reality, it is a time for all in the space community to pause and reflect on the sacrifices of those who sought to expand our horizons in space.}

^{Since the flight of Alan B Shepard in 1961, we have lost seventeen astronauts in three accidents over 166 flights in 54 years. Some may consider such a figure unacceptable, but let us not lose sight of the fact that commercial aircraft accidents claim many hundreds of lives in one calendar year. Indeed, the recent crash of the Air Asia flight on December 28 claimed 162 lives. What makes space related accidents more impacting is that space accidents by their very nature are visually horrific, some may say horrifically hypnotic as thousands of pounds of energy are released resulting in the destruction of the spacecraft. They create an image that endures forever. Even 29 years after the event; many can recall where they were when the shuttle Challenger was lost in 1986.}

^{It is a fact that NASA is a transparent agency. It is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, under which NASA was founded that the civilian agency will conduct all its activities in an open manner. This means that for better or worse, all NASA’s activities are in the public eye. Therefore events such as the loss of the Space Shuttles Columbia and Challenger are made all the more horrific because they occurred within and in front of the public eye, in the case of Challenger, live on nationwide TV.}

^{We do not shy away from our failures, we acknowledge them learn from them and move on.}

^{Every astronaut, regardless of their level of experience or training, knows exactly what risks they are facing every time they enter the spacecraft; every astronaut has come to terms with and accepts the inherent dangers of spaceflight.}

^{It is inevitable that others seeking to enhance our knowledge of the heavens will make the ultimate sacrifice. That is the price we must pay as we seek to move outwards and conquer space.}

^{As we move forward, there will surely be other lives lost, other names to be added to the Astronaut memorial mirror at the Kennedy Space Center.}

^{In this week of remembrance, with the recent successful flight of the Orion spacecraft so fresh in our minds, we recall the memorial for the Challenger astronauts delivered by Commander Rick Hauck and the crew of STS 26 in September 1988 on the return to flight mission:}

^{“Dear friends we have resumed the journey we promised to continue for you, dear friends your loss has meant that we can confidently begin anew, dear friends your spirit and your dream are still alive in our hearts”}

^{Godspeed the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia,}