Thu, Jun 19, 2008
Scott Parazynski Sends Memorial Flags To Mt. Everest
It was an appropriately high-reaching manner, we think, to honor
fallen astronauts and cosmonauts. Dr. Scott Parazynski, a 16 year
veteran of the NASA astronaut corps and avid mountain climber
traveled to Mount Everest earlier this spring in hopes of ascending
a mountain he had aspired to his whole life. While on the summit he
had planned to tie off two special memorial flags in honor of
fallen astronauts and cosmonauts.
The flags were patterned after Tibetan prayer flags that dot the
high summits and mountain passes of the Himalayas. In a recent
letter to the families of Apollo 1, Challenger, Columbia, Soyuz 1
and Soyuz 11 crews, Dr. Parazynski wrote, "I couldn't think of a
better way to honor my heroes, your beloved family members, than on
the apogee of the world's highest mountain."
Given that he was pursuing a very personal goal, Parazynski made
the trip at his own expense, on his own time, according to the
Challenger Center for Space Science Foundation.
Reflecting on the motivation for this trip, he said "My boyhood
was filled with all sorts of adventures, both as a result of
traveling all over the world with my Dad's job, and through the
many books of exploration that I devoured. One such book was The
Ascent of Everest."
While Dr. Parazynski was unable to reach the summit, he asked a
friend and climbing partner, Adam Janikowski to do the honor for
him, and now these two memorial flags fly on top of the world
commemorating the fallen astronauts and cosmonauts. There were
actually two sets of flags made, with the second set held in
reserve, just in case Dr. Parazynski gets a chance to return to Mt.
Everest.
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