About Us

Voyage: A Journey through the Solar System, Grand Opening

Vance Ablott
Former President, Challenger Center

Good morning. It is truly a great pleasure and a distinct honor to be here today to launch this fantastic exhibition. We have heard the heartfelt thoughts of Secretary small and Dan Goldin the NASA Administrator, and not to take anything away from what they have said, I think Stephen Hawking said it better when he said, "To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit." As we stand on the National Mall this morning, we will see great memorials, monuments to America's great achievements and remembrances of those who did so much. But we will also launch a new experience, a monument of sorts to the future, to remember the opportunities that lie ahead for this and future generations of Americans. An inspiration to us to continue to explore and to learn.

Seven years ago, I had a chance to meet a rather dynamic astrophysicist who shared with me a vision for a new exhibit that he wanted to build that would share the excitement and wonder that he and so many others feel when they explore the high frontiers of space. That astrophysicist is Dr. Jeff Goldstein. For the past five years, he has been leading our Space Science Research department at Challenger Center. But he never gave up on the dream of sharing what he feels with the rest of the world.

Challenger Center would like very much to thank NASA, Dan Goldin, Frank Owens, and Dr. Jeff Rosendahl for their commitment to make this exhibit happen. Without their support, this would all still just be a dream. We would also like to thank Secretary Small and General Dailey for giving this exhibit a home where all can share in the excitement. Challenger Center is pleased to loan this beautiful exhibit to the Smithsonian Institution as a testament to the future.

But I think the question we are all asking is what makes this exhibit so compelling? What sets this exhibit apart from all the other wonderful exhibits here at the Smithsonian Institution? Well, the answer is found in Dr. Jeff's original vision: to share the excitement of exploration with everyone, to make that sense of wonder in the Universe a powerful tool to ignite the human spirit and carry it to new heights.

Carl Sagan, no stranger to the wonders of the Universe, put that thought into words much better than mine. He said, "When you make the finding yourself—even if you're the last person on Earth to see the light—you'll never forget it." Voyage will allow all of us to make the journey ourselves and to find our own discoveries. To understand both the size and scale of the Solar System and the magnitude of information we have yet to learn.

Do you know that on this scale...1:10 billion...the extent of all human presence is limited to a space that would fit in the palm of your hand? That's right. The Solar System stretches from here to the Smithsonian Castle, but mankind's physical presence can be contained in the palm of your hand. Think about that powerful image. Six football fields of space, and all we as humans have physically visited will fit in the palm of your hand.

So to those students here with us today from schools from the District of Columbia, I have this challenge. Where will you take us? It is up to you as the next generation of explorers to take us beyond our current knowledge and to push us beyond Earth's grasp into new worlds. Allow Voyage: A Journey through the Solar System to ignite your imaginations, to create questions in your mind, and then open a new window on the universe for all the rest of us.

In just a few minutes, we will all be moving outside to cut the ribbon and officially open Voyage: A Journey through our Solar System. As you take your personal tour of the Solar System, you will be able to see each of the planets and their moons embedded in crystal, with graphic storyboards to help you understand their individual place in the Solar System and the unique characteristics of each planet. It will be hard to stand at Saturn, look both ways down the exhibition, and not feel the wonder of space.

As we prepare to go outside, let me leave you with this one last thought. It is a quotation given to me by Dr. June Scobee Rodgers. Dr. Rodgers is the widow of the Challenger shuttle commander Dick Scobee. June tells me that she and her children found this in Dick's briefcase following the tragedy. It is a quotation from the science fiction writer Ben Bova. "We have whole planets to explore. We have new worlds to build. We have a Solar System to roam in. And if only a tiny fraction of the human race reaches out toward space, the work they do there will totally change the lives of all the billions of humans who remain on Earth..."

With that thought, let the exploration begin.

Thank you.

October 17, 2001
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.

Additional Information

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