Image: Astronaut Michael Finke rings the ISS ship’s bell 40 times in honor of Ronald Reagan
Astronaut Mike Fincke and cosmonaut Gennady Padalka paid
tribute to President Ronald Reagan during a video downlink
message from the International Space Station. The following
is text of that message:
“We, the crew of the International Space Station, join
millions of others in mourning the passing of President
Reagan, who worked tirelessly to bring the world closer
together,” Padalka said.
“President Reagan proposed building the Space Station,”
Fincke said, “which Gennady and I are privileged to be
working aboard today for the benefit of all humankind. He
spoke to astronauts in space during his tenure in the White
House, greeted the crew of Columbia at Edwards Air Force Base
after its fourth voyage and mourned the loss of the
Challenger crew along with the rest of us.
“President Reagan realized that freedom would ring in a new
era of International cooperation and with his vision guiding
us, the United States again began to work with our former
Cold War rivals, the Russians. Within a decade, the American
Space Shuttle Atlantis docked to the Russian Mir Space
Station, and President Reagan’s Space Station Freedom became
the International Space Station.
“As the ninth expedition to the International Space Station,
and in honor of President Ronald Reagan, our 40th president,
we remember him on behalf of all of NASA with 40 chimes of
the ISS’s ship’s bell. We all mourn his passing as freedom
loving people around the world. God bless him, and God bless
America.”
The message will first air during today’s 6 p.m. EDT “Video
File.” NASA “Video File” airs at 10 a.m., Noon, 3 p.m., 6
p.m., 9 p.m. and Midnight EDT.
NASA TV is available on AMC-9, transponder 9C, C-Band,
located at 85 degrees west longitude. The frequency is 3880.0
MHz. Polarization is vertical, and audio is monaural at 6.80
MHz. For information about NASA TV on the Internet, visit:
