FLASHBACK: President Reagan’s Speech The Day of the Challenger Disaster

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – As families of the lost Challenger astronauts gather with NASA to mark the space shuttle accident’s 30th anniversary, there’s a new voice to address the crowd. The disaster grounded NASA’s space shuttle program for almost three years.

WashingtonPost reported that, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 30 years ago Thursday, killing its seven crew members, including high school teacher Christa McAuliffe, the woman touted as “the first private citizen” in space.

The Challenger launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, shortly after which an external fuel tank erupted, dropping the shuttle over 45,000 feet to the Atlantic Ocean below. A solemn reminder of the tragedy.

Inside the Christa McAuliffe Room in Concord, New Hampshire, a small, red, ceramic apple hangs on the wall.

At 9:00 a.m. today a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s Space Mirror Memorial.

Still, Young said Challenger’s aftermath brought about significant changes in NASA’s culture. In 1995, she founded the Challenger Center in Chattanooga.

“Space exploration is one of the most hard endeavors we undertake, and from Apollo 1 to Challenger to Columbia, courageous Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice in our quest to push new boundaries, and explore new frontiers”, President Barack Obama said in a statement marking NASA’s annual Day of Remembrance.

“This is something you don’t get to do every day because being an astronaut takes a lot of training”, said Alan Tran, an 8th grader at Discovery Interdistrict Magnet School.

“I feel. A responsibility to carry on her mission”, Irene Porro, director of the Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State, said.

In perhaps the more resonant moments of the 45-minute ceremony, Barbara Morgan, who was backup to Christa McAulliffe on the Challenger, shared her memories of the crew. The families and friends of the seven crew members looked on, and countless more watched from home. Both his children are now in their 50s.

Today kids at this magnet school for space and technology pay tribute to a teacher they never knew, a tragedy they’ve only seen pictures of, but a lesson that lives on.