Astronauts Memorial

A giant black granite "space mirror" that tracks the sun was dedicated Thursday to the memory of 15 fallen astronauts, five years after the Challenger explosion inspired the $6.2-million national monument. "We dedicate this monument to the memory of strong, courageous, smart and daring astronauts who pursued an adventurous career and who died in peaceful service to their country," Vice President Dan Quayle said. "Today and forever, the space mirror will send their names into the heavens."

It's called Space Mirror, a massive wall of black granite that turns and tilts its face to the central Florida skies in tribute to the 15 Americans killed while serving in the nation's space program. Yet even before Vice President Dan Quayle dedicated the Astronauts Memorial in a ceremony here in May, structural and mechanical problems had surfaced that were reminiscent of the kind of glitches that have plagued NASA's space shuttle program in recent years.

It's called Space Mirror, a massive wall of black granite that turns and tilts its face to the central Florida skies in tribute to the 15 Americans killed while serving in the nation's space program. Yet even before Vice President Dan Quayle dedicated the Astronauts Memorial in a ceremony here in May, structural and mechanical problems had surfaced that were reminiscent of the kind of glitches that have plagued NASA's space shuttle program in recent years.

A giant black granite "space mirror" that tracks the sun was dedicated Thursday to the memory of 15 fallen astronauts, five years after the Challenger explosion inspired the $6.2-million national monument. "We dedicate this monument to the memory of strong, courageous, smart and daring astronauts who pursued an adventurous career and who died in peaceful service to their country," Vice President Dan Quayle said. "Today and forever, the space mirror will send their names into the heavens."

The City Council has authorized $4,629 for the Greg Jarvis Bicycle Rest Stop Project. Jarvis, a Hermosa Beach resident and avid bike rider, was killed in the Challenger space shuttle disaster Jan. 28. The rest stop is planned for The Strand at 6th Street. The Challenger Shuttle Memorial Committee has raised about $7,200 and has received commitments of donated materials and services for the rest stop, but needs about $9,000 more.

Less than two weeks after its dedication at Cape Canaveral, the $6-million stone monument to America's fallen astronauts is crumbling. The six polished granite panels, carved with the names of 14 in the space program who have died, have developed cracks and officials of the sponsoring Astronauts Memorial Foundation said it will cost about $12,000 to replace them. Architect Alan Helman, a foundation director, said that cutting through the granite may have weakened the stone.

Paul Holt, an award-winning San Francisco architect who specialized in technical buildings, died at home Friday of colon cancer. He was 50. Holt was a co-founder of Holt Hinshaw Architects, known for its technology-inspired designs. He was heavily involved in the design of the Astronauts Memorial for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center's Spaceport USA in Orlando, Fla. The 40-foot-high monument with a granite surface polished to mirror brightness reflects the names of fallen astronauts skyward.

At a mournful remembrance Sunday, the rumbling flyover of Air Force jets at the precise moment of the space shuttle Challenger's last liftoff gave way to 73 seconds of pained silence. The silence, marking the doomed flight's duration, was punctuated only by traffic and the screams of sea gulls.

Fourteen U.S. astronauts who have died during the space program will be honored by a memorial at the Kennedy Space Center's Spaceport USA in Orlando, Fla., chosen as result of a national design competition.

Robert B. Hotz, longtime editor and then publisher of the influential magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology, died Thursday of complications from Parkinson's disease at a hospital in Frederick, Md. He was 91. An expert on arms-control and disarmament issues, Hotz was appointed by President Reagan to the General Advisory Committee of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.

The City Council has authorized $4,629 for the Greg Jarvis Bicycle Rest Stop Project. Jarvis, a Hermosa Beach resident and avid bike rider, was killed in the Challenger space shuttle disaster Jan. 28. The rest stop is planned for The Strand at 6th Street. The Challenger Shuttle Memorial Committee has raised about $7,200 and has received commitments of donated materials and services for the rest stop, but needs about $9,000 more.

The families of the three Apollo 1 astronauts killed in a launch pad fire 30 years ago gathered in the rain Monday to remember their courage and contributions to America's race to the moon. It was the first public ceremony in decades in memory of Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward White II and Roger Chaffee, who died inside their burning capsule on Jan. 27, 1967. "It's still a sad thing, it really is.

Three years ago, Jeanne Gerulskis came to a new job that had her reliving the space shuttle Challenger disaster, all day long, every day. A monitor in the lobby of the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium showed a continuous videotape loop of the explosion high in the sky that killed McAuliffe, a Concord High School teacher, and six other crew members on Jan. 28, 1986. Adults stared at the disturbing video, sometimes in tears.