A Day Of Remembrance In Space Exploration

Perhaps you remember January 28th, 1986.  25 years ago, The Space Shuttle Challenger left earth for a journey to space...

74 seconds after liftoff, the shuttle exploded in a terrifying cloud miles above the earth, killing the crew of seven.  While the shuttle appeared to have exploded, the main unit actually broke apart, and the crew capsule plummeted for nearly three minutes before smashing into the Atlantic Ocean, an impact that actually accounted for the crew fatalities.  The most notable of the crew was Christina McAuliffe, a school teacher from New Hampshire who was chosen from 11,000 applicants to be the first civillian in space.   While the tragedy was shocking, it did not stop America's desire to continue to explore space, and dozens of Shuttle flights have occurred over the last two and a half decades.  We remember these pioneers of Space of the Shuttle Challenger.