NASA Challenger explosion remembered 37 years later

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — NASA’s Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral on its 10th mission on January 28, 1986.

It exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven people on board: Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnick, Dick Scobie, Ronald McNair, Mike Smith, Allison Onizuka and Christa McAuliffe.

NASA remembered the fallen Challenger astronauts, as well as the crews of Apollo 1 and the Space Shuttle Columbia, at Thursday’s Memorial Day ceremony. More than 100 people gathered at the Kennedy Space Center to pay tribute to the astronauts who died in the line of duty, and other ceremonies were held at NASA centers across the country.

The NASA memorial ceremony began in 2004 and pays tribute to three of the agency’s most devastating tragedies: the Apollo I fire, the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger, and the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

Due to the merging of the three dates, NASA sets aside the last Thursday of every January to honor the dead astronauts. Flags were flown at half mast at space centers across the country, and ceremonies were held along with space safety discussions.

Saturday marks the 37th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy.

Along with experienced astronauts, the shuttle carried Christa McAuliffe, who was to become the first teacher in space. A woman from New Hampshire has been selected to join and teach lessons from space to children across the country.

A few months after the incident, an investigation revealed that two rubber o-rings that were designed to separate sections of the rocket booster had failed due to the weather. The shuttle lifted off on a cold Florida morning despite engineers’ behind-the-scenes concerns, according to a 2021 NASA article.

“We will never forget these astronauts or all those who died in pursuit of discovery,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a video released Thursday by the space agency. “And so on this Memorial Day, we honor and try to better understand our place in this vast, vast universe and our attempts at discovery and exploration within it.”

Vice President Kamala Harris also paid tribute to the tragedies on Thursday. post on twitter: “The crews of Apollo 1 and the Space Shuttle Challenger and Columbia are always in our hearts as our nation continues its legacy.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.