Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to Host Annual NASA Day of Remembrance

NASA, in partnership with The Astronauts Memorial Foundation and Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, will host NASA's Day of Remembrance on Thursday, January 28 at the Space Mirror Memorial. The ceremony will honor all astronauts who have sacrificed their lives while furthering the cause of space exploration and discovery. Robert Cabana, director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center, and Mike Leinbach, retired space shuttle launch director, will speak at the ceremony.

The commemoration and the wreath laying ceremony will take place at the Space Mirror Memorial. Attendees will be given flowers to pay respects to our fallen heroes.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Challenger accident. All crew members, including Christa McAuliffe who would have been the first teacher in space, are commemorated in the Forever Remembered exhibit at the visitor complex. Others lost include Gregory Jarvis, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Francis Scobee, and Michael Smith.

As always, the health and safety of crew members and guests is the highest priority for Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex has implemented safety protocols to ensure a trusted space for the well-being of our crew and guests in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions recommendations.

• Thursday, January 28
  Ceremony Begins: 11 a.m. EST

• Space Mirror Memorial
  Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

• Speakers:
  Robert Cabana, NASA Kennedy Space Center
  Mike Leinbach, retired space shuttle launch director
  Cynthia Watkins, retired Lt. Colonel (singing the national anthem)

• Additional Attendees:
  Lowell Grissom (brother of astronaut Gus Grissom)
  Sheryl Chaffee (daughter of astronaut Roger Chaffee)
  Therrin Protze, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk speaks to NASA personnel and others during a wreath laying ceremony as part of NASA's Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

Flowers placed before the Space Mirror Memorial mark NASA's Day of Remembrance at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Jan. 28, 2021.

Each January, NASA honors members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, during the agency's annual Day of Remembrance. As we remember them today, their bravery and dedication continue to inspire us. We carry the lessons they taught us forward as we pursue our mission to the Moon and beyond.

This year's virtual observance includes Marshall Center Director Jody Singer, astronaut Butch Wilmore, and Bill Hill, Director of Marshall's Office of Safety & Mission Assurance.

On the grounds and in the skies at NASA's Johnson Space Center on this Day of Remembrance, a ceremony at the Astronaut Tree Grove includes a T-38 flyover to honor the fallen crew members of Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia with their families.

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Originally posted by Jonnyed:
I presume the T-38s are NASA's

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