In attendance were the families of the Space Shuttle Columbia astronauts, along with friends, coworkers and political leaders. The president and first lady were accompanied by Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon and by Senator John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth.
The service, which began at 1 p.m. ET, was opened by a US Navy rabbi who provided the invocation, followed by the singing of the hymn, "God of Our Fathers."
NASA administrator, Sean O’Keefe also spoke to the crowd, which was limited to NASA employees and family but also televised nationally. He said, “Our duty now is to provide comfort to the families of the Space Shuttle Columbia crew.
“We also have a tremendous duty to honor the legacy of these fallen heroes by finding out what caused the loss of the Columbia and its crew, to correct the problems we find and to make sure that this never happens again.”
“America’s space program will go on,” President Bush told the mourning crowd, gathered outside the center where mission control specialists lost contact with Columbia on Saturday. Of the seven heroes lost in the disaster, he said, “"All mankind is in their debt.
“The grief is heavy, our nation shares in your sorrow and in your pride,” the president said to relatives of the seven astronauts in the crowd. “And today we remember not only one moment of tragedy but seven lives of great purpose and achievement.”
"And to the children who miss your mom or dad so much today, you need to know, they love you, and that love will always be with you.
"They were proud of you, and you can be proud of them for the rest of your life.
"The final days of their own lives were spent looking down upon this earth, and now, on every continent, in every land they can see, the names of these astronauts, known and remembered".
