Astronauts Day
| Astronauts Day | |
|---|---|
| Observed by | United States |
| Type | Day of remembrance ofNASAastronauts |
| Date | Last Friday in January |
| 2023 date | January 27 |
| 2024 date | January 26 |
| 2025 date | January 31 |
| 2026 date | January 30 |
Astronauts Dayis an American holiday, dedicated toNASAastronauts and their achievements. It is a "floating" holiday, observed on the last Friday of January.
Overview[edit]
This date was chosen[citation needed]to commemorate a number of space-related disasters which took place around this time, including the 27 January 1967 deaths of Command PilotVirgil Grissom,Senior PilotEdward Higgins White,and PilotRoger ChaffeeaboardApollo 1,[1]and disasters involving theSpace ShuttleChallengeron 28 January 1986,[2]and theSpace ShuttleColumbiaon 1 February 2003.[3]
Observants of this holiday are asked to light a candle in their window, reflect on the sacrifices astronauts have made, and re-dedicate themselves to a personal dream or goal of their own, a reference to a quote fromAlan Shepard.While stuck in his suit for hours during a space mission, enduring technical delays, his patience gave out and he said "Why don’t you fix your little problem and light this candle!"[4]
See also[edit]
- Cosmonautics Day(Russia and some former USSR countries)
- National Astronaut Day(USA)
- Yuri's Night
References[edit]
- ^Mansfield, Cheryl L. (16 March 2015)."Apollo 1".
- ^Warnock, Lynda (19 January 2016)."NASA - STS-51L Mission Profile".
- ^Warnock, Lynda."NASA - STS-107".Archived fromthe originalon 2018-02-06.Retrieved2016-12-17.
- ^""Light This Candle": The Hours Before Freedom 7 ".9 May 2012.
