NASA and United Airlines have lead tributes from the aerospace industry after it was announced that former US President Jimmy Carter had died at the age of 100.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said on December 29, 2024, that President Carter was the “pinnacle of a public servant” and a person “who always strove to do what was right”.
“President Carter understood an important truth: that we find common ground when we look to the stars. His words will forever belong to the heavens, and his legacy has forever bettered our country – and our Earth. The NASA family and I are keeping the Carter family close in our thoughts. May President Carter rest in peace,” said Nelson.
United Airlines posted a photo of President Carter stepping off an aircraft chartered by the carrier during the presidential election campaign in 1976 and wrote that it joined the “nation in remembering the life and service of Jimmy Carter”.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died on December 29, 2024, at his home in Plains, Georgia.
In 1976, a presidential hopeful campaigned across the country in an aircraft chartered by United that he called "Peanut One" – an homage to his family's peanut farm.
— United Airlines (@united) December 29, 2024
We join the nation in remembering the life and service of Jimmy Carter. pic.twitter.com/NcY5mBYvhN
In a statement from the White House, President Joe Biden described Jimmy Carter as a “man of character, courage, and compassion, whose lifetime of service defined him as one of the most influential statesmen in our history”.
“He embodied the very best of America: A humble servant of God and the people. A heroic champion of global peace and human rights, and an honorable leader whose moral clarity and hopeful vision lifted our Nation and changed our world,” said President Biden.
Delta Air Lines recalled how President Carter would shake hands with each person on the plane when he flew with the carrier.
“Today we celebrate his life – a great friend, family man, Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader who showed us all how to properly treat those around us. Rest in peace, Mr. President. Your legacy lives on,” Delta wrote in a statement.
NASA’s Voyager 1, the most distant human-made object from Earth, carries a message from President Carter addressing any other potential life forms in space.
President Carter’s message says: “If one such civilization intercepts Voyager and can understand these recorded contents, here is our message: This is a present from a small distant world, a token of our sounds, our science, our images, our music, our thoughts, and our feelings. We are attempting to survive our time so we may live into yours. We hope someday, having solved the problems we face, to join a community of galactic civilizations. This record represents our hope and our determination, and our good will in a vast and awesome universe.”
A National Day of Mourning to remember President Carter will be held in the US on January 9, 2024.