Starry starry flight
First Apollo's three brave souls
Training for their Lunar goal
Lay strapped inside their capsule on the ground
Pure O2 all around
Sudden spark, then violent flame
Their anguished cries of burning pain
Heard by those weeping in Mission Control

Can we hope to know
Of the courage you possessed?
How you calmly faced the arms of death
Giving even your last breath
To teach a lesson, to humanity,
That dreams can set one free

Starry starry flight
Challenger was climbing fast
In a sky so blue and vast
It looked like it was heaven's very home
A holy azure dome
O-ring failure as they rose
Ended seven lives of those
Whose courage drove them where so few dared go

Can we hope to know
Of the courage you possessed?
How you calmly faced the arms of death
Giving even your last breath
To teach a lesson, to humanity,
That dreams can set one free

Humanity loves you
We will remember you
And if we weep when we recall
Your spirit's starry starry flight,
We only need to think of all of you -
For you showed your fellow humans,
What courage, love, and faith in oneself and one's dreams can do

Starry starry flight
Columbia now descends
Smiling crew at mission's end
Congratulated for their job well done
Descending like the Sun
Tiny breach within her wing
Let in plasma that would bring
Her brave crew down to their eternal home

Now I think we know
Of the courage you possessed
How you calmly faced the arms of death
How you gave your final breath
To teach a lesson, to all here on Earth,
About life's precious worth