NASA postpones Remembrance day due to US shutdown

US space agency NASA has indefinitely postponed its Day of Remembrance due to the ongoing government shutdown.

Each year around the end of January, NASA takes a day to remember those that have given their lives for space exploration.

In a statement via Twitter, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said the events scheduled for January 31, 2019, would have to be postponed.

“NASA’s annual Day of Remembrance reminds us to reflect on not just the sacrifices that have been made by our fallen family, friends, and co-workers, but also to remind us of our core values of safety, integrity, and teamwork as we carry out our history-making missions,” Bridenstine said.

“Unfortunately, most of our NASA family are on furlough and we recognize that participation in many of the Day of Remembrance activities would be a challenge. As a result, we have decided to delay our observance until the NASA family is able to come together to remember our fallen astronauts and those who have given their lives in pursuit of exploration.”

The Day of Remembrance marks the agency's three most serious tragedies, all of which occurred in late January or early February.

Apollo 1, which burned during a launch simulation on January 27, 1967; the Challenger space shuttle, which exploded a minute after liftoff on January 28, 1986; and the Columbia space shuttle, which burned during re-entry on February 1, 2003.

Seventeen astronauts were killed in those three tragedies: Roger Chafee, Gus Grissom and Ed White in Apollo 1; Gregory Jarvis, Christa McAuliffe, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Francis Scobee and Michael Smith in Challenger; and Micahel Anderson, David Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel Clark, Rick Husband, William McCool and Ilan Ramon in Columbia.

NASA centers across the country arrange ceremonies to mark the deaths, with some events including family members of astronauts who have died while working for NASA.

The partial shutdown, which started on December 22, has become the longest on record, overtaking the previous record of the 21-day impasse in 1995-96 under then-President Bill Clinton.

The shutdown, without a budget, has affected 800,000 employees as they have not received paycheques, the report said.