30 years later: America remembers Challenger space shuttle tragedy

As the families of the lost Challenger crew marked the space shuttle’s 30th anniversary, there was a new voice to address the crowd.

Americans had taken safe space flight for granted by 1986 and were stunned beyond words when the Challenger exploded one minute and 13 seconds after lifting off from Cape Canaveral.

It was a cold January morning in Florida, and freezing temperatures led many to believe the weather was a factor in the failure of the “O-Rings” inside the adjacent rocket boosters.

Among those killed was school teacher Christa McAuliffe, America’s first-ever civilian astronaut. The rest of the Challenger crew (from left): payload specialist Gregory B. Jarvis, mission specialist Judith A. Resnik, mission Commander Francis R. Scobee, mission specialist Ronald E. McNair, shuttle pilot Michael J. Smith, and mission specialist Ellison S. Onizuka.

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who is now spending one year on the ISS, said the moment was held “to recognize the sacrifice of all those crew members and how their spirit and legacy lives on in our achievement in space”. “Do they understand what her contribution was to not just the space station, but to history?'” Principal Adrian Ramirez said. McAuliffe, who works in education technology in ME, said having his own two sons there with him – ages six and eight – made it easier.

Steve McAuliffe, Christa’s widower, told the Associated Press this week that the disaster still feels fresh.

“Thirty years later, nearly 4.5 million children have had the experience of going up into space in our Challenger Center mission and being inspired to achieve more greatness in their life”, said Dr. Lance Bush, Challenger Center CEO. McAuliffe was to be the first of a teacher in space program, sharing lessons from where no teacher had ventured before. “She proves to me and to the kids how ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things”, said Phillip Salcedo, an eight-grade academic readiness coach at the school.

After brief remarks to recognize the anniversary, Ochoa, leading a small group of family members of the Challenger crew, helped them place red roses at the memorial markers for the Challenger and Columbia astronauts and the astronauts of Apollo 1, who died in 1967 in a launch pad fire. But he noted in a statement that although 30 years have passed, “Challenger will always be an event that occurred just recently”. Something to remember on a day we will never forget.