Dr. Marvin Resnik, father of the late Challenger astronaut Dr. Judith Resnik, said that “NASA took every precaution it could” in the latest Challenger flight, and that the “manned space program should continue. If they stop it, the Challenger crew will have given their lives in vain.” Resnik added that “President Reagan has given me his assurance that the program will continue.”
Resnik made these remarks during a reception Saturday evening for the Judith Resnik Challenger Crew Memorial to be established at the Beit Halochem Rehabilitation Center for disabled Israeli war veterans in Jerusalem.
Resnik described his daughter as “a private person who was proud of her Jewish heritage and wanted to be known as a professional engineer, dedicated to her work at NASA.” He said that Judith Resnik and her Challenger crew colleagues, “were aware of the risks involved in their work but also prepared to take chances.”
Ernest Zelig, president of Bnai Zion, which sponsors the Beit Halochem centers, reported that the Memorial will consist of a rehabilitative gymnasium with physiotherapeutic facilities. He stated, “the Memorial will be a constant and permanent source of inspiration to Israel’s disabled veterans, who like the astronauts, possess indomitable spirit.” The Beit Halochem centers provide rehabilitative services to over 35,000 disabled veterans and their families.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
