NASA to remember Challenger, Columbia & Apollo disasters

Along with Scott was Alison Smith Balch, daughter of Challenger pilot Michael Smith and Kathie Scobee Fulgham and her brother Air Force Brig.

At 9:00 a.m. today a wreath-laying ceremony was held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex’s Space Mirror Memorial. Many in the audience were very young, watching high school teacher Christa McAuliffe become the first civilian in space.

Some wonder if, indirectly, they were affected by the tragedy enough that they wanted to make a difference, like she did.

Inside the Christa McAuliffe Room in Concord, New Hampshire, a small, red, ceramic apple hangs on the wall – a pin given to the teacher before her fateful voyage. The shuttle exploded less than two minutes into its January 28, 1986, flight – a disaster that was captured on television. Thursday, Jan. 28, 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the accident which killed all seven crew members.

Thursday is the first day of this semester’s American Women in History class at the school, a course McAuliffe created. They put together a petition to have a national holiday “to honor Christa and the other astronauts for their ultimate sacrifice”. Kids and adults have the opportunity to be an astronaut for the day at the Challenger Learning Center, which is the only one in CT.

Christian singer Brandon Heath has helped pay tribute to the seven astronauts who perished aboard the space shuttle Challenger 30 years ago, and the loved ones they left behind.

The explosion of the craft occurred due to a malfunction in the O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) after liftoff.

Thirty years later, the Challenger has not been forgotten, but unfortunately, it seems that much of its spirit has.

The space shuttle program was formally ended in 2011 after three decades of ferrying astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit. “They – the members of the Challenger crew – were pioneers”, said President Ronald Reagan.

At Kennedy, the Scobee contingent numbered 12, including June’s son Richard, a major general in the Air Force, and a 16-year-old granddaughter.

NASA is also using this “day of remembrance” to honor those killed in the Apollo one and Columbia shuttle disasters.