Several events across the Tennessee Valley celebrated the life of the seven astronauts killed in the Challenger explosion.
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Scott Kelly, astronaut on the International Space Station: “Houston as you know it’s NASA’s day of remembrance when, we recognize, formally recognize, the sacrifices of the crew of the Apollo 1 fire, the space shuttle Challenger and the space shuttle Columbia disasters”. He had also journeyed aboard the Challenger in 1984 as the mission’s payload specialist.
The event included a candle ceremony and talks by Homer Hickam and Todd May, the acting Marshall Space Flight Center Director. The lift off appeared normal until the shuttle began to careen off course and, just 73-seconds into the flight, burst into flames.
Rocket center workers, guests and space campers gathered to remember one of NASA’s darkest days under the shadow of the Space Shuttle Pathfinder.
It honored the seven challenger crew members who died when the shuttle blew up in the sky during launch on January 28th, 1986.
The explosion took an immediate toll on the astronaut community, who were “very shaken” by the accident, Garneau said, despite the keen understanding of the possible dangers of space travel.
177-a-14-(Barbara Morgan, teacher and a former NASA astronaut, during memorial service at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex)-“for the stars”-Barbara Morgan, Christa McAuliffe’s backup in the Teacher in Space program, says the Challenger crew believed their mission was worth the risk”.
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Despite the Challenger’ disaster, Garneau said the lure of space remained strong. And I think, that Dick Scobee’s statement, that “We can only go as far as we dream” – that’s what makes this so critical.
