2003年2月1日，哥伦比亚号航天飞机在返回地球大气层时解体，造成了七名宇航员的死亡。这场灾难发生在飞行任务的最后阶段，当时航天飞机正在准备着陆。经过调查，发现是飞船起飞时的部分泡沫保温材料脱落导致了飞船翼面的受损，使得飞船在重返地球大气层时无法承受高温和压力，最终解体坠毁。
这次事故引起了全球范围内的关注，NASA对航天飞机的安全标准进行了重新评估，并采取了多项措施以确保类似的事故不再发生。这场灾难也使人们重新审视了航天飞机的设计和飞行安全问题，对太空探索产生了深远的影响。
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.
By U. S. President George W. Bush, February 1, 2003
［参考译文］
哥伦比亚号航天飞机失事讲话
乔治·W. 布什
美国的同胞们，今天我们的国家遭遇到可怕的消息，陷入巨大的悲伤中。今天上午9点，休斯敦控制中心和哥伦比亚号航天飞机失去了联络。没过多长时间，人们就看到残骸从得克萨斯州上空坠落，哥伦比亚号航天飞机失事，机组人员无一幸免。
航天飞机上有七名机组人员，他们是里克·赫斯本德上校、迈克尔·安德森中校、劳雷尔·克拉克中校、戴维·布朗上校、威廉·麦库尔中校、卡尔帕纳·舒拉博士和驻以色列空军上校伊兰·拉蒙。这些男女宇航员为了全人类的事业，承担了巨大的风险。
在这样一个航天飞行几乎被视为再平常不过的年代，人们很容易忽视乘坐火箭旅行的危险和在地球大气层以外航行的困难。这些宇航员了解这些危险，而且心甘情愿地面对这些危险，因为他们知道自己的生命有着崇高的目标。正是因为他们的勇气、胆识和理想主义信念，我们会更加怀念他们。
今天，所有美国人都会想到那些突然陷于震惊和悲痛中的宇航员的家人。你们并不孤单，我们整个国家和你们一起哀悼。你们的亲人将永远受到这个国家的尊敬和感激。
他们为之献身的事业将继续下去。人类基于发现和求知的欲望才走进大气层以外的黑暗空间，我们对太空的探索会继续下去。
今天，我们在空中看到了毁灭和悲剧，但是在我们未看到的地方，却有着安慰与希望。先知以赛亚说：“你们举目向上，看谁创造这万象？谁创造了那一颗挨着一颗的星星，每颗都有它的名字，因为他伟大的力量，它们无法缺少。”
为星宿命名的那位造物主也知道我们今天悼念的七位英灵的名字，哥伦比亚号航天飞机的机组人员未能平安返回地球，但是我们祈祷他们都可以平安回家。
愿上帝保佑他们悲恸的家人，愿上帝继续保佑美国。
［注释］
-starry [ˈstɑːrɪ] adj. 布满星星的 illustrated by stars
-prophet [ˈprɒfɪt] n. 先知，预言者 a predictor
-Isaiah [aɪˈzaɪə] n. 以赛亚（公元前8世纪希伯来的预言家）
［作者简介］
乔治·W. 布什（George W. Bush, 1946-），美国历史上的第四十三任总统。布什生于1946年7月6日，其父乔治·哈伯特·布什曾任美国总统。2001年1月20日布什宣誓就职，2009年卸任。