Nasa honours Challenger crew on 30th anniversary of explosion

Thirty years ago today, all seven members of the Space Shuttle Challenger crew lost their lives when the ship broke apart 73 seconds after it took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“I knew right then that this was a disaster, Huber says”. NASA has made today its official Day of Remembrance to commemorate the three tragedies, but today holds some added weight as it is the 30-year anniversary of the Challenger explosion.

Steeped in STEM education, the role-playing gives students first-hand experience in moon and Mars-mission scenarios.

Fulgham – not Rodgers – will be on the stage for Thursday morning’s ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

The explosion was broadcast live around the globe, marking one of the darkest days for NASA and space travel as a whole.

Many remember the Challenger for its most famous astronaut, who was supposed to be the first teacher in space, Christa Mcauliffe. “I said, its going to show up, its going to pop out of that cloud, we’re going to see the shuttle pop out of that cloud”, Klumpe explained.

Children in San Antonio, Texas, are taking virtual trips to the International Space Station and conducting experiments at a new high-tech facility.

Anderson was selected as an astronaut in 1998 and said he was confident after being at NASA for so long that the agency’s engineers were able to analyze what went wrong and eventually make the shuttle program safer. A seal on one of the solid rocket boosters was not working properly. Cold temperatures are believed to have factored in to the explosion as well.

Today, there are more than 40 Challenger Learning Centers focusing on science, technology, engineering and math, mostly in the U.S. More are being built. Viola was only 11 years old at the time of the Challenger tragedy.

She said, “I was carrying on as if nothing happened, just getting groceries, when I picked up ajar of peanut butter, and realized Dick no longer was with me”. “It was really unreal and I think that’s why people kept on watching it over and over again just because it was just a complete shock”.