My fellow Americans, this day has brought terrible news and great sadness to our country. At 9:00 a.m. this morning, Mission Control in Houston lost contact with our Space Shuttle Columbia. A short time later, debris was seen falling from the skies above Texas. The Columbia is lost; there are no survivors.

On board was a crew of seven: Colonel Rick Husband; Lt. Colonel Michael Anderson; Commander Laurel Clark; Captain David Brown; Commander William McCool; Dr. Kalpana Chawla; and Ilan Ramon, a Colonel in the Israeli Air Force. These men and women assumed great risk in the service to all humanity.

In an age when space flight has come to seem almost routine, it is easy to overlook the dangers of travel by rocket, and the difficulties of navigating the fierce outer atmosphere of the Earth. These astronauts knew the dangers, and they faced them willingly, knowing they had a high and noble purpose in life. Because of their courage and daring and idealism, we will miss them all the more.

All Americans today are thinking, as well, of the families of these men and women who have been given this sudden shock and grief. You're not alone. Our entire nation grieves with you. And those you loved will always have the respect and gratitude of this country. The cause in which they died will continue. Mankind is led into the darkness beyond our world by the inspiration of discovery and the longing to understand. Our journey into space will go on.

In the skies today we saw destruction and tragedy. Yet farther than we can see there is comfort and hope. In the words of the prophet Isaiah, " Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."

The same Creator who names the stars also knows the names of the seven souls we mourn today. The crew of the shuttle Columbia did not return safely to Earth; yet we can pray that all are safely home.

May God bless the grieving families, and may God continue to bless America.

布什总统就“哥伦比亚”号失事发表讲话

我的美国同胞们，今天传来噩耗，巨大的悲痛降临我们的国家。今早9点钟，位于休斯敦的航天地面指挥中心同我们的“哥伦比亚”号航天飞机失去了联系。此后不久，便发现得克萨斯州的上空有残骸飘落。“哥伦比亚”号失事，无一人生还。

机上的7名机组人员是：里克·赫斯本德空军上校、迈克尔·安德森空军中校、劳蕾尔·克拉克海军中校、戴维·布朗海军上校和威廉·麦库尔海军中校、卡尔帕娜·乔娜博士和以色列空军上校伊兰·拉蒙。这些男女宇航员为造福全人类承担了巨大的风险。

在一个太空飞行似乎已基本成为常规作业的时代，人们很容易忽视乘火箭飞行的危险性和在恶劣的地球外层空间遨游的难度。这些宇航员知道这些危险，但他们甘愿面对，因为他们知道自己拥有远大而崇高的人生目标。正是因为他们的勇气、胆量和崇高理想，我们会更加缅怀他们。

今天所有美国人都在牵挂着经受了这种突如其来的打击和悲伤的男女宇航员的家人。你们并不孤单，我们全体国民同你们一起哀悼他们。你们所爱的人将永远受到这个国家的尊重和感激。他们为之献身的事业仍将继续。人类正是在探索精神和求知欲望的引导下，超越我们的世界，进入到黑暗的外层空间。我们的太空之旅仍将继续。

今天，我们在空中目睹了毁灭和悲剧。然而，在我们看不到的远方，有着慰藉与希望。用预言家以赛亚的话说："抬起眼帘，望向天空。是谁创造了这一切?是造物主创造了点点繁星，并将其逐个命名。由于他的伟大才智与神奇力量，才无一遗漏。"

给群星命名的造物主也知道我们今天缅怀的7位亡灵的名字。“哥伦比亚”号航天飞机的机组人员虽未平安地返回地球，但我们能祈祷他们均已安息。

愿上帝保佑这些悲伤的家属，愿上帝继续保佑美国。