Proclamation 5603

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

Will America continue to lead the world in space exploration as we move into the 21st century?

The Challenger crew, lost one year ago on the 25th Space Shuttle mission, dedicated themselves to America's leadership in space exploration. That leadership depends not only on our courage and determination, but also on the knowledge, capability, and inspiration of our students who will be the researchers and the astronauts of the 21st century.

A goal of the Space Shuttle Challenger mission was to bring the study of space science directly and dramatically into the Nation's classrooms.

In recognition of the critical need to provide America's students with access to outstanding space science education and to motivate study and excellence in science, the families of the Challenger crew established a Challenger Center for Space Science Education. This Center will honor the memory of the Challenger crew with an ongoing monument to their achievements, to their courage, and to their dedication to future generations of space explorers.

In commemoration of the brave members of the Challenger crew, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 24, has designated January 28, 1987, as "National Challenger Center Day" and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this event.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim January 28, 1987, as National Challenger Center Day, and I call on the people of the United States to observe this day by remembering the Challenger astronauts who died while serving their country and by reflecting upon the important role the Challenger Center will play in honoring their accomplishments and in furthering their goal of strengthening space and science education.

In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh.

RONALD REAGAN

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:58 a.m., January 29, 1987]