hosted by Vice-President Bush included a taped message from President Reagan and featured first close-up coverage of Challenger via life remote from Cape Canaveral and last minute preparation for the final test flight of Columbia. Jim Beggs of NASA, Lynn Helms of the FAA, Deputy Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Guy Fiske, Don Fuqua, Chairman of the House Science and Technology Committee, Anna Chennault and General Clifton von Kann also participated. The event was attended by senior executives of the Departments of Commerce and Defense, diplomats and nearly one hundred journalists. It included a live television link with Paris. On the suggestion of Mihlon and Le Grelle, Mathias, who, as a strong Reagan supporter, could see any cabinet member in 24 hours, asked the White House to organize a ceremony for the Bicentennial with President Ronald Reagan. The White House ceremony commemorating the Bicentennial Year of Air and Space Flight was held on February 7, 1983. The President spoke at 1:15 p.m. in the East Room to a group of leading figures in aviation, government, diplomacy, the military, and business. Some of President Reagan's remarks (inspired by Larry Mihlon), reminded the style of President Kennedy's address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort on September 12, 1962 : "As we celebrate the many events for this bicentennial, let's remember we're celebrating more than the building of flying machines. We're making choices that are shaping the world in which our children will live. Our commitment to air and space is a pledge to them that the quality of our lives will be better and their horizons broader because of technology, of vision, of human qualities that we bring in our generation to conquering the endless cosmic frontier which stretches before us. I've always believed that mankind is capable of greatness. We haven't even come close yet to reaching our potential. But it depends on us. God gave angels wings. He gave mankind dreams. And with His help, there's no limit to what can be accomplished." There was a large model of the Space Shuttle Columbia off to the side of the podium, and following his remarks, the President, escorted by Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, inspected the model. Following the President's remarks, Senator Charles McC. Mathias, Jr., Chairman of the Bicentennial Committee, presented Walter J. Boyne, Acting Director of the National Air and Space Museum, with the