South Bend, January 1, 1986
Unexpected Good Wishes for the New Year
What had been unimaginable just a year ago, happened today: President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev exchanged messages for the New Year, which were broadcast simultaneously on American and Russian television. It was an act of reconciliation and rapprochement between the two superpowers.
January 20, 1986
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
The birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., is being more and more observed as a national holiday. The bust of Martin Luther King was unveiled today in the Rotunda of the Capitol. Much progress has been made in overcoming race discrimination. America as a whole has become more humane for it.
[Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is observed as a national holiday on January 20, or on a Monday closest to his birthday.]
South Bend, January 22, 1986
Reason to Be Astonished
After eight years traveling through space, the spacecraft Voyager 2 is now flying by the planet Uranus and is sending perplexing pictures back to earth. The precision by which this NASA project is being carried out gives reason to be astonished. Already new moons have been discovered, which, together with the rings, orbit the faintly lit planet.
January 25, 1986
As the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, announced, especially clear images of Oberon, the outmost and second largest moon of Uranus, are being received from the spacecraft. Our knowledge of this planet at the fringe of the solar system is increasing by leaps and bounds. Voyager 2 has traversed a distance of 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers), which equals a distance of two hours at the speed of light. From Uranus, the spacecraft will travel on to the planet Neptune, which Voyager 2 should reach in 1989.
[Voyager 2 was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on August 20, 1977. The spacecraft sent back to earth a large amount of new information about Uranus. In addition to the previously known 5 large moons, 10 smaller moons were discovered so that the number of known moons of Uranus has increased to 15. The newly discovered moons were named after figures from Shakespeare’s plays.]
Tuesday, January 28,1986
The Disaster
What had been feared for some time, happened today in the most unexpected and dreadful way. At the liftoff of the Space Shuttle Challenger on Cape Canaveral, a powerful explosion occurred before the eyes of the spectators and the television cameras. Within seconds, the carrying rocket and the space shuttle were engulfed in flames. All seven astronauts on board the Challenger lost their lives. This disaster shocked America. President Reagan postponed his State of the Union Address by one week.
January 30, 1986
The American nation has been overcome with deep feelings of sorrow over the tragic death of the seven astronauts. And a stream of expressions of sympathy has been coming in from all parts of the world. This has been until now the worst disaster of the manned space program. It not only saddened America deeply, but touched the entire world.