Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger Speech
by Ronald Reagan
On January 28, 1986, just 73 seconds after liftoff, the space shuttle orbiter Challenger exploded in the sky. All seven astronauts on board the spaces
were killed. That evening, President Ronald Reagan was scheduled to give his State of the Union speech. But out of respect, Reagan decided to
postpone that speech and instead talk to the nation about the tragedy.
(1) Ladies and gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to chang
those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering.
(2) Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This
truly a national loss.
(3) Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never lost an astronaut in flight; we'v
never had a tragedy like this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware o
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Select the correct sections of text in the passage.
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Which details in paragraphs 7 and 8 of the speech refine the central idea that the nation's space program will endure?
(7) I've always had great faith in and respect for our space program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We don't hide our space
program. We don't keep secrets and cover things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a
minute.
(8) We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more civilians, more
teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.