Fifteen Killed in Line of Duty Honored on ‘Space Mirror’ With PM-Astronaut Memorial-List

MARCIA DUNN

Associated Press

May 9, 1991

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A quarter-century has passed since a young test pilot became the first American killed in the line of space duty. Today he was honored with 14 other astronauts who died doing what they loved.

Their families - among them spouses, parents, children and grandchildren - gathered with nearly 2,000 people to help dedicate a monument today at Kennedy Space Center called Space Mirror, a glossy granite wall with mirrors that reflect the heavens.

Vice President Dan Quayle, head of the National Space Council, gave the keynote address during the dedication, saying ″that these were pioneers who led America into space and that America is there to stay.″

″We dedicate this monument to the memory of strong, courageous, smart and daring astronauts who pursued an adventurous career and who died in peaceful service to their country.″ Quayle said.

In attendance were 123 members of the dead astronauts’ families, each wearing a red rose. They filled 11 rows of seats in front of the monument. Some wept; others struggled to hold back tears.

At the end of the ceremony, Quayle placed a large red floral bouquet at the base of the monument; 15 white doves, one for each space pioneer, were set free.

″I’m really, really glad they’re all being recognized for what they gave. So many have given so much,″ said Karen Bassett-Rosane, 33, daughter of Charles A. Bassett II. Bassett and Elliot M. See Jr. were killed in 1966 when their training jet crashed. They had been selected for Gemini 9 four months earlier.

Edward H. White III said he is grateful for the chance to honor his father, one of three astronauts killed when fire consumed their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the launch pad on Jan. 27, 1967. ″This is going to be real special for us as a family,″ White, 37, said. ″It’s never too late.″

Space Mirror is the first monument to honor all the dead, from Theodore C. Freeman, killed in a training jet accident in 1964 and the first to die on the job, to Manley ″Sonny″ Carter Jr., who died last month in a commuter plane crash that also claimed the life of former U.S. Sen. John Tower.

Carter was on his way to give a speech for NASA when he was killed. Ironically, he was to have taken part in the dedication. He and three other astronauts had volunteered to fly training jets overhead in a salute.

His widow, Dana Carter, brought their two daughters from Houston for the dedication ceremony.

″I’m sure it will be hard, but I’m sure it’s something we have to do,″ Mrs. Carter said.

The guest list read like a Who’s Who in Space, including Mercury astronauts Alan Shepard, M. Scott Carpenter, Walter Schirra and L. Gordon Cooper, and Apollo astronauts Neil Armstrong, Eugene Cernan and Thomas Stafford.

The $6.2 million monument is 42 1/2 feet high and 50 feet wide and contains 93 black granite panels.

Fourteen names have been carved in six panels. Each of the three training jet accidents is accorded a panel, as is the Apollo fire. The Challenger disaster that killed all seven crew members 73 seconds after liftoff in 1986 takes up two panels because of all the names. A seventh panel will bear Carter’s name.

Behind each of the carved panels is a mirror tilted upward. The monument turns imperceptibly on a computer-controlled pedestal so that sunlight is constantly reflected off the mirrors, behind the wall and through the letters.

The effect creates the impression that the names are emblazoned in the heavens. Artificial light will be used at night and on overcast days.

The Astronauts Memorial Foundation, a non-profit group established after the Challenger accident, paid for Space Mirror with money generated by the sales of commemorative Challenger license plates in Florida.

Half the $12.4 million from Challenger plates paid for the monument. An additional $2 million went into a trust fund to maintain Space Mirror.

The rest, and money from future sales, will be used to build a space education center near the monument.

Marvin Resnik, father of astronaut Judith A. Resnik, said the education center is the main reason he and the other Challenger families support Space Mirror.

″These people gave their lives for something they believed in and they accomplished more in their lives than most people do,″ Resnik said. ″It’s done. We’ve accepted it and hope it will help the space program and get people interested, children especially.″

[Source: https://apnews.com/article/f140dea33296e7b418551571eab39e37 ]